Moses 3:5-7 Harmonizes with the Expanded Doctrine of Creation

Moses 3:5-7 harmonizes beautifully with the expanded doctrine of creation presented in my discussion, Spirit as Refined Matter. It frames the spiritual creation as the realm of refined spiritual substance and the subsequent natural (material) creation as its coarse, physical counterpart. This synthesis preserves the sovereignty of God’s creatio ex nihilo in the ultimate origination of all reality while illuminating the layered, eternal process described across the Book of Moses, Bible, Book of Mormon, and Book of Abraham.

The Text of Moses 3:5-7

5 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew. For I, the Lord God, created all things, of which I have spoken, spiritually, before they were naturally upon the face of the earth. ... for in heaven created I them; and there was not yet flesh upon the earth. ...

7 And I, the Lord God, formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul, the first flesh upon the earth, the first man also; nevertheless, all things were before created; but spiritually were they created and made according to my word.

The passage explicitly distinguishes two phases: a spiritual creation (in heaven, according to God’s word) and the later natural (physical or fleshly) formation on earth. This is not a contradiction of Genesis 1 but a complementary, higher-dimensional perspective.

Spiritual Creation as Refined Matter (in the “Bulk”)

Joseph Smith’s revelation in D&C 131:7–8 provides the key interpretive lens: “There is no such thing as immaterial matter. All spirit is matter, but it is more fine or pure, and can only be discerned by purer eyes.” The spiritual creation of Moses 3:5 and 7 refers to the organization and formation of all things in their refined, spiritual essence: intelligences, spirits, plants, animals, and the prototypes of humanity as “spiritually” made according to God’s word.

This refined matter aligns with the eternal “elements” that are organized rather than originated de novo in every phase. In the framework of the attached document, this spiritual realm corresponds to the higher-dimensional Bulk in Brane Cosmology analogies. Refined spiritual substance exists in this encompassing, “invisible” reality. It is dynamic, elastic, interpenetrating, and responsive to divine will, much like the higher-dimensional space in which branes reside. God’s creative Word operates through this refined medium: “The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth” (D&C 93:36), which “proceedeth forth from the presence of God to fill the immensity of space” (D&C 88:12). The spiritual creation is thus the eternal blueprint and living substance in the Bulk, fully real and “created” (organized and vivified) before translation into the lower-dimensional physical plane.

This view enriches rather than undermines ex nihilo. God sovereignly originates the entire spectrum of matter, coarse and refined, from ultimate nothingness at the foundational level. The spiritual creation manifests His power to call forth refined realities that precede the coarse physical world in sequence and dimensionality, not in absolute independence from the Creator.

Material or Natural Creation as Coarse Matter (on the Brane)

Moses 3:7 then describes the transition: man is formed from the dust of the ground and becomes “the first flesh upon the earth.” Genesis 1 (paralleled in the physical account) depicts the sovereign origination and organization of the visible, tangible cosmos, the coarse matter on our 3+1 dimensional “Brane.” The “natural” state emerges as refined spiritual prototypes interface with or condense into the physical brane, where they take on coarse, observable form subject to mortal conditions after the Fall.

The mist watering the ground (v. 6) and the formation from dust illustrate the divine process of bringing refined spiritual realities into tangible expression. This is consistent with the Book of Abraham’s depiction of the gods organizing the heavens and earth, structuring preexisting (eternal in endurance) elements. These elements now include both refined spiritual matter (already created spiritually) and the coarse physical matter originated ex nihilo in the ultimate sense. There is no conflict: the Scriptures affirm that God created “all things” in the comprehensive, physical-origin sense. Moses 3 and the Book of Abraham supply the richer, eternal view of how that unfolds across dimensions.

Brane Cosmology offers a helpful modern parallel. Refined spiritual matter resides and operates in the higher-dimensional Bulk. As divine will and organization “intersect” or manifest on the Brane, coarse physical matter and observable phenomena come into being, much as gravity or other forces leak or project from higher dimensions into our observable universe. Quantum field theory’s subtle vacuum energies, dark matter and energy (in reality the effects of the Bulk, invisible yet influential), and the Creation singularity further resonate. They hint at layered realities and a definite physical beginning, leaving room for deeper eternal substrates. Joseph’s 19th-century insight anticipates these expansions of “matter” itself.

Consistencies with Broader Synthesis and Themes

This discussion maintains full harmony with our emphasis on the literal, historical reliability of Genesis, the young-earth or catastrophic framework, and the majesty of God’s creative power:

• Ex Nihilo Intact: God’s ultimate origination of all reality (coarse and refined) stands firm. The “eternal” nature of elements refers to their post-origination endurance and divine organization, not self-existence independent of the Creator.

• No Conflict Between Accounts: Moses 3 clarifies the spiritual precedent without contradicting Genesis 1’s physical focus. Both affirm God as the sovereign source; the Pearl of Great Price simply unveils the multidimensional process.

• Divine Council and Organization: This aligns with Abraham 4–5, where the Gods organize elements already spiritually prepared.

• Living Temple Cosmology: The universe, filled with refined spiritual matter (God’s glory, light, and power), becomes a dynamic, responsive creation sustained by His word, magnifying rather than diminishing traditional doctrine.

• Faith and Wonder: Believers embrace both the foundational ex nihilo (Bible and Book of Mormon) and the glorious expansion (Joseph Smith and Pearl of Great Price), seeing science’s glimpses of unseen realities as consistent witnesses to a purposeful Creator.

  
  

In conclusion, Moses 3:5-7 exemplifies the “eternal, expanded view” articulated in Spirit as Refined Matter. The spiritual creation in refined matter (Bulk or heaven) precedes and undergirds the natural, coarse creation (Brane or earth). All of it originates from and is sustained by the Light of Christ, the Word. This synthesis enriches faith, resolves apparent tensions, and invites deeper reverence for the God who creates and organizes across every degree of reality, visible and invisible, coarse and refined, for His glory and our eternal progression. It stands as another powerful witness to the harmonious restoration of truth.