Objective:
The meditation/prayer begins by addressing the Creator. This week’s discussion is around identifying who exactly it is we are addressing.
We are here to ponder upon the question: Who is the Creator? What is “the Beginning”? Who is “the Beginning”?
Beads:
These passages are for exploring the meaning of the very beginning of the first section of the meditation, the bead we call “The Tree.”
The phrase associated with this bead is:
O Ahyeh Asher Ahyeh, Creator of all things from the Beginning.
Passages to Ponder
Neum 1:3-4
3. Lift up your eyes on high and behold!
Who is it that has created all things?
Lift up your eyes on high and see!
4. By the pathakh azeen* will you recognize Ha’Elohim**;
Who is the Creator?
Even as Moses was told:
I AM that I AM.
* The term “Pathakh Azeen” (פתח אוזן) is a Hebrew phrase that translates to “opened the ear” or “open ear.”
** the term “Ha’Elohim” is Hebrew and it literally means “The Gods” but in many translations of the Hebrew Bible, in English it is translated as simply “God” with the capital letter because it is THE God.
Helaman 5:66 [14:12]
5:66 [14:12]. And also that ye might know of the coming of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and of earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning; and that ye might know of the signs of his coming, to the intent that ye might believe on his name.
1 Moses 1:1-2 (From the Plates of Brass)
1. The words of Ahyeh Asher Ahyeh* which He spake unto Moses at a time when Moses was caught up into an exceeding high mountain;
2. And he saw The Creator face to face, and he talked with Him;
* The phrase “Ahyeh Asher Ahyeh” (אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה) from Exodus is generally translated “I Am Who I Am”. or “I AM That I AM”.
1 Nephi
3:38 [11:1b]. As I sat pondering in mine heart, I was caught away in the Spirit of the Lord, yea, into an exceeding high mountain, which I never had before seen and upon which I never had before set my foot.
…
3:50a [11:11b]. For I spake unto him as a man speaketh; for I beheld that he was in the form of a man;
3:50b [11:11c]. Yet, nevertheless, I knew that it was the Spirit of the Lord; and he spake unto me as a man speaketh with another.
Questions of Knowledge (What it says at the surface)
- Who does the passage from Moses say the Creator is?
- How did he describe seeing the Creator?
- Who does the passage from Helaman say the Creator is?
- How does he recommend we see the Creator?
- Who does the passage from Neum say the Creator is?
- How does she recommend we see the Creator?
Questions of Wisdom (What it means below the surface)
- What does “caught up into an exceeding height mountain” mean?
- What do you think Moses meant by describing his interaction with the Creator as “face to face”?
- Do you believe that these two passages are describing the same sort of experience?
- What are your thoughts on how literal this experience was?
- How does “Lifting up your eyes to see” compare with what you feel Nephi and Moses described? Are those the same? Or different?
Questions of Understanding (Likening it to Ourselves)
- Have you ever been taken to an exceeding high mountain?
- Have your ears ever been opened?
- Have you ever spoken with the Spirit of the Lord as a man speaketh with another?
- If so, what were the circumstances that brought you to that point?
- If not, is it something you desire?
Questions of Mystery (What deeper meaning can be harvested)
- Ponder upon the possible meanings of the combination of the words: “Ahyeh Asher Ahyeh”, and ask God to unfold its meaning to you. The word “Asher” means “Blessing” and the word Ahyeh means “To Be” or “I Am” or “I Was” or “I Will Be” or “I Exist” or “Existence is Me”