When we lived as spirit children with our heavenly parents, our
Heavenly Father told us about His plan for us to become more like
Him. We shouted for joy when we heard His plan (see Job 38:7).
We were eager for new experiences. In order for these things to
happen, we needed to leave our Father’s presence and receive
mortal bodies. We needed another place to live where we could
prepare to become like Him. Our new home was called earth.
Jesus Christ created this world and everything in it. He also created
many other worlds. He did so through the power of the priesthood,
under the direction of our Heavenly Father. God the Father said,
“Worlds without number have I created; . . . and by the Son I created
them, which is mine Only Begotten” (Moses 1:33). We have other
testimonies of this truth. Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon saw Jesus
Christ in a vision. They testified “that by him, and through him, and
of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof
are begotten sons and daughters unto God” (D&C 76:24).
The earth and everything on it were created spiritually before they
were created physically (see Moses 3:5). In planning to create the
physical earth, Christ said to those who were with Him, “We will
go down, for there is space there, . . . and we will make an earth
whereon these [the spirit children of our Father in Heaven] may
dwell” (Abraham 3:24) .
Under the direction of the Father, Christ formed and organized the
earth. He divided light from darkness to make day and night . He
formed the sun, moon, and stars. He divided the waters from the
dry land to make seas, rivers, and lakes. He made the earth beautiful
and productive. He made grass, trees, flowers, and other plants of all
kinds. These plants contained seeds from which new plants could
grow. Then He created the animals—fish, cattle, insects, and birds of
all kinds. These animals had the ability to reproduce their own kind.
Now the earth was ready for the greatest creation of all—mankind.
Our spirits would be given bodies of flesh and blood so they could
live on earth. “And I, God, said unto mine Only Begotten, which
was with me from the beginning: Let us make man in our image,
after our likeness; and it was so” (Moses 2:26) . And so the first man,
Adam, and the first woman, Eve, were formed and given bodies
that resembled those of our heavenly parents. “In the image of God
created he him; male and female created he them” (Genesis 1:27).
When the Lord finished His creations, He was pleased and knew
that His work was good, and He rested for a time.
God’s Creations Show His Love
We are now living in this beautiful world. Think of the sun,
which gives us warmth and light. Think of the rain, which makes
plants grow and makes the world feel clean and fresh. Think of
how good it is to hear a bird singing or a friend laughing. Think
of how wonderful our bodies are—how we can work and play
and rest. When we consider all of these creations, we begin to
understand what wise, powerful, and loving beings Jesus Christ
and our Heavenly Father are. They have shown great love for us
by providing for all of our needs.
Plant life and animal life were also made to give us joy. The
Lord said, “Yea, all things which come of the earth, in the sea-
son thereof, are made for the benefit and the use of man, both to
please the eye and to gladden the heart; yea, for food and for rai-
ment, for taste and for smell, to strengthen the body and to enliven
the soul” (D&C 59:18–19). Even though God’s creations are many,
He knows and loves them all. He said, “All things are numbered
unto me, for they are mine and I know them” (Moses 1:35).
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