Like he did with the Israelites of old, Heavenly Father teaches us according to our understanding, tradition, and culture.
Sometimes it seems like there’s a disconnect between what the Creation account in Genesis 1 and 2 teaches and what we know from modern science. Can we find truth in the Creation story, even when it seems like our modern understanding of the Earth and its atmosphere doesn’t match the descriptions we find in the Bible? What does God want us to understand from this account?
In his article “The Genesis Creation Account in Its Ancient Context,” Brother Avram R. Shannon explains how learning about the cosmology, or scientific understanding of the structure of the universe, of ancient Israel can help us resolve this disconnect. Our modern cosmology of a spherical earth orbiting the sun wasn’t shared by the Israelites; instead, they believed that the earth was flat and divided from the chaotic waters of creation above and below it. The “firmaments” acted as this divide, and sections known as the “windows of heaven” (Genesis 7:11) could literally be opened by Jehovah to send rain.
The way God explains the Creation within this cosmology can teach us a lot. Brother Shannon explains, “The Creation accounts are not intended, either anciently or modernly, to serve as definitive scientific statements about the universe.” God knew the beliefs of his audience, the Israelites. Instead of correcting them, he chose to use their traditions to teach the most important truths of the Creation: that Jehovah created the earth and that we are children of Heavenly Father, created in his image.
“For the authors and editors of Genesis,” Brother Shannon says, “Creation is fundamentally about humanity and its relationship to God.” As we study the Creation, we can learn about God’s love for his children and our importance to him.
Another lesson we can learn is that God shows his love for us by teaching us in ways we can understand, according to our language, traditions, education, and culture. He will help us learn eternal truth, and, as with the ancient Israelites, he’ll do it by sharing what we’re prepared to know.
We can trust in God as our teacher. He knows that his children are different and has prepared a way for each of us to learn, practice, and become like our Savior, Jesus Christ. When we reach out to him and ask him to teach us, he will do so with a perfectly tailored experience.
Read more about what we learn from the history of Genesis in Brother Avram R. Shannon’s BYU Studies article, “The Genesis Creation Account in Its Ancient Context.”
Source: BYU Studies
—Hadley Parker, Latter-day Saint Insights
FEATURE IMAGE BY QUINGBAO MENG
Find more insights
Discover more about how God teaches us truth in Elder John C. Pingree Jr.’s general conference address “Eternal Truth.”
Read more about studying the Old Testament in context in the Come Follow Me—For Home and Church: Old Testament 2026 lesson “Thoughts to Keep in Mind: Reading the Old Testament.”