Endowment Narratives in the Book of Mormon, Part 5

This post continues the exploration of an endowment pattern found throughout the Book of Mormon in which a new covenant group is formed and called by God to:

1. leave the fallen world behind, 
2. enter into the wilderness, 
3. learn to be led by the hand of God, and 
4. find a promised land.

In previous installments of this series, we've focused on many symbols and details shared in these stories, and then discussed the meaning of those symbols. I've mentioned that I believe this pattern is typified by the story of Adam and Eve being cast out of the Garden of Eden into the world to fulfill the first commandment given to them by God, that they should "be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over ... every living thing that moveth upon [it]." (See Genesis 1:28.) In this post, we'll look at other ancient stories which also follow this endowment pattern, at least to some degree, and see what we can learn.

There are two comprehensive examples, Abraham and Moses, followed by a few partial examples. We'll begin the Abraham, as found in Genesis and the Book of Abraham. With each example we cover, I'll begin by giving references to the symbols we've already discussed, then I'll give a general assessment of how the endowment pattern relates to that story.

Abraham

Cry unto God: Abraham 1:15 "...I lifted up my voice unto the Lord my God, and the Lord hearkened and heard..."

Warned to depart: Abraham 2:3 "Now the Lord had said unto me: Abraham, get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will show thee." Also Genesis 12:1.

Escape secret plans to murder: Abraham 1:7, 12, 15

Bring all who will hearken: See also Abraham 2:6 for a connection to a promise contained in the Abrahamic covenant that all who hearken to God's voice will be given to Abraham as his "seed" for "an everlasting possession."

Pass through a wilderness: Genesis 12:9 makes reference to the Negev, a desert region in the south of Palestine.

"Many days": Not specifically found, but we know from the chronology of the story that the journey was long.

Tents: Genesis 12:8; Abraham 2:15, 20

Animals: Genesis 13:2.

Seeds: A reference to bringing physical seeds or grain is not found. Abraham 2:15 mentions "all our substance that we had gathered." See also Genesis 12:5. There is an important connection to the word "seed" in Abraham 2:6 (see note about "hearken" above). See also Abraham 3:14. 

Inherit a new land: Abraham 2:3

New Name: Genesis 17:5.

Obedience to Commandments: Genesis 22:18.

"Prosper": Genesis 13:2

Led by a righteous patriarch/king: Abraham 1:2-3 contains father/son language (he sought "the blessings of the fathers" and desired to be "a father of many nations" and "a rightful heir" and "a prince of peace." Verse 3 describes Adam as the Firstborn and the first father.)

Moses

Cry unto God:  Exodus 2:23 - "...the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage." See also Exodus 3:9.

Warned to depart: See Exodus 3:8-10.

Escape plans to murder: Pharaoh's plan for the Israelites is bondage and captivity.

Bring all who will hearken: Exodus 3:16-18 - "Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me ... And they shall hearken to thy voice"

Pass through a wilderness: Exodus 13:20.

"Many days": The Israelites wandered forty years in the wilderness.

Tents: The tent/tabernacle of the congregation is a major topic of the later chapters of Exodus. See Exodus 39:32 for example.

Animals: Exodus 12:38. Of additional note, Moses was keeping the flock of his father in law at the time of his call on Horeb.

Seeds: Manna, which fed the children of Israel of forty years, is described as "like coriander seed" in Exodus 16:31.

Inherit a new land: Exodus 3:17.

New Name: Interesting note -- In Numbers 13, Moses sends twelve spies to assess the land of promise. He gives a new name to Hoshea, the head of the tribe of Ephraim in Numbers 13:16 (This will be the topic of a standalone post in the near future.)

Obedience to Commandments/"Prosper": Deuteronomy 29:9 - "Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and do them, that ye may prosper in all that ye do."

Led by a righteous patriarch/king: Moses has a dual lineage. He is a Levite by birth (Exodus 2:1) but was raised in the house of Pharaoh (Exodus 2:10).

The story of Moses is long and complex, but these symbols offer fascinating insights into deeper meaning. For example, notice in Exodus 9 how the fiery hail destroys the Egyptians' cattle and some of their crops (interestingly only those which had fully ripened -- more about this in a future post). See Exodus 9:19-22, 31-32. The cattle of the Israelites had been gathered to Goshen and were unaffected (see Exodus 9:26).

Incomplete examples

From this point on, we won't be dealing with complete patterns. The following examples contain a few of the symbols, but I'm not sure how interpret these examples aside from pointing out the symbols that are present.

Christ

The story of the beginning of Christ's earthly ministry breaks the pattern in some ways, but many of the same symbols are present when we look at the ministry of John the Baptist.

Mark describes it like this:

12 And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness.

13 And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him. (Mark 1)

Cry unto God: We don't have a direct mention of Christ crying to God (at least not at the beginning of His ministry), but we do see John the Baptist in the wilderness. John is described as "the voice of one crying in the wilderness" (Matthew 3:3). 

Warned to depart: See Matthew 3:7.

Pass through a wilderness: Matthew 4:1, Luke 4:1.

"Many days": Forty days in the wilderness

Seeds: Wheat mentioned in the context of gathering in Matthew 3:12 and Luke 3:17.

Animals: "with the wild beasts" in Mark 1:13

Enos

This example is almost a counter-example in some ways. The Nephites are in decline as covenant-keepers. 

Enos uses some familiar language as he describes his conversion process:

3 Behold, I went to hunt beasts in the forests; and the words which I had often heard my father speak concerning eternal life, and the joy of the saints, sunk deep into my heart.

4 And my soul hungered; and I kneeled down before my Maker, and I cried unto him in mighty prayer and supplication for mine own soul; and all the day long did I cry unto him; yea, and when the night came I did still raise my voice high that it reached the heavens. (Enos 1)

He is reminded of the central promise connecting obedience and that promised land, as well as the covenant God made with the Nephites:

10 And while I was thus struggling in the spirit, behold, the voice of the Lord came into my mind again, saying: I will visit thy brethren according to their diligence in keeping my commandments. I have given unto them this land, and it is a holy land; and I curse it not save it be for the cause of iniquity; wherefore, I will visit thy brethren according as I have said; and their transgressions will I bring down with sorrow upon their own heads. ... 

16 And I had faith, and I did cry unto God that he would preserve the records; and he covenanted with me that he would bring them forth unto the Lamanites in his own due time.

17 And I, Enos, knew it would be according to the covenant which he had made; wherefore my soul did rest.

He also contrasts the Nephites and Lamanites using some of these symbols, but the meaning doesn't seem completely clear:

20 And I bear record that the people of Nephi did seek diligently to restore the Lamanites unto the true faith in God. But our labors were vain; their hatred was fixed, and they were led by their evil nature that they became wild, and ferocious, and a blood-thirsty people, full of idolatry and filthiness; feeding upon beasts of prey; dwelling in tents, and wandering about in the wilderness with a short skin girdle about their loins and their heads shaven; and their skill was in the bow, and in the cimeter, and the ax. And many of them did eat nothing save it was raw meat; and they were continually seeking to destroy us.

21 And it came to pass that the people of Nephi did till the land, and raise all manner of grain, and of fruit, and flocks of herds, and flocks of all manner of cattle of every kind, and goats, and wild goats, and also many horses.

I honestly don't know how to interpret these verses. On the one hand it seems the Nephites are trying to bring about the promises of God to restore the Gospel to the Lamanites, but they are unsuccessful due to their own wickedness (see verse 22). Wandering in the wilderness and feeding upon beasts of prey makes sense in this symbolic context, but why does Enos describe the Lamanites as dwelling in tents? Perhaps he's simply documenting the facts as they are, or perhaps he's indicating symbolically that the Lamanites had not yet found the rest of the Lord. Verse 21 seems more obviously in line with the endowment pattern. Even though I don't understand all of the deeper meaning here, it is certainly interesting to ponder how these symbol impact the message of Enos' account.

Lehi's dream

This example is an endowment pattern embedded within another endowment pattern. Just after leaving Jerusalem, as his family was camped in tents in the wilderness, Lehi has this dream of the tree of life.  It is interesting to note that in the first edition of the Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 6-9 were all one chapter. Notice how the vision of the tree of life is embedded within a larger narrative -- beginning right after the brothers take wives and right before Nephi closes the chapter by describing his plates and their content.

Notice 1 Nephi 8:1-2, which opens the account of the dream -- 

1 And it came to pass that we had gathered together all manner of seeds of every kind, both of grain of every kind, and also of the seeds of fruit of every kind.

2 And it came to pass that while my father tarried in the wilderness he spake unto us, saying: Behold, I have dreamed a dream; or, in other words, I have seen a vision.

And 1 Nephi 9:1, which concludes the account of the dream --

1 And all these things did my father see, and hear, and speak, as he dwelt in a tent, in the valley of Lemuel, and also a great many more things, which cannot be written upon these plates.

Cry unto God: "I began to pray unto the Lord that he would have mercy on me, according to the multitude of his tender mercies."

Bring all who will hearken: 

14 ... I beheld your mother Sariah, and Sam, and Nephi; and they stood as if they knew not whither they should go.

15 And it came to pass that I beckoned unto them; and I also did say unto them with a loud voice that they should come unto me, and partake of the fruit, which was desirable above all other fruit.

16 And it came to pass that they did come unto me and partake of the fruit also.

17 And it came to pass that I was desirous that Laman and Lemuel should come and partake of the fruit also; wherefore, I cast mine eyes towards the head of the river, that perhaps I might see them.

18 And it came to pass that I saw them, but they would not come unto me and partake of the fruit.

 

Pass through a wilderness: "a dark and dreary wilderness" in verse 4

"Many days":  "many hours in darkness" in verse 8

Other examples

This pattern is found in other stories as well.  Consider the story of Isaac in Genesis 26 and see how many of these elements are contained in that account. Consider what it means that Abraham sent Hagar and Ishmael into the wilderness and the Lord hear Hagar's cry and blessed them with water (see Genesis 21:12-21). As we deepen our understanding of each individua symbol and also of the pattern as a whole, we can find beautiful new messages in these familiar stories.

Conclusion

This post is very long and contains far more references than I normally include in a single post.  I sincerely hope you will take the time to look these up on your own and study these examples for yourself. I hope this exercise has been fruitful for you.

This pattern is so intimately connected to covenants, and yet (aside from the accounts of Abraham, King Benjamin, and Alma-1) covenants are not really ever the central focus of the stories. This is a great example of how hidden wisdom is contained in the scriptures, waiting to be discovered by those with eyes to see.

In my next post -- which I intend to be the final post in this series -- we will turn to the Doctrine & Covenants and look at hos some of these same symbols are found in latter-day revelations.  For me, this brings the message out of the ancient past and right into my heart. It is clear that God stand ready to bless us with the same blessing he gave His people throughout human history.

Melchizedek -- Part 3 (the Prince of Peace)

Here are links to part 1 and part 2. I am quoting the same verses multiple times in this series because there are multiple aspects to discuss and we need to focus on one at a time. Here is another item from the JST of Genesis 14 that I have not highlighted yet but want to discuss in this post

33 And now, Melchizedek was a priest of this order; therefore he obtained peace in Salem, and was called the Prince of peace...

36 And this Melchizedek, having thus established righteousness, was called the king of heaven by his people, or, in other words, the King of peace.

Why was Melchizedek called both king of peace and prince of peace? Alma 13 gives a possible clue

But Melchizedek having exercised mighty faith, and received the office of the high priesthood according to the holy order of God, did preach repentance unto his people. And behold, they did repent; and Melchizedek did establish peace in the land in his days; therefore he was called the prince of peace, for he was the king of Salem; and he did reign under his father. (Alma 13:18)

He literally was the king of peace since he was the king of a city named Salem (meaning peace in Hebrew and which most scholars agree was Jerusalem). But since he simultaneously was a king and reigned under his father, he was both king and prince. We know little about Melchizedek but absolutely nothing about his father. We can reasonably assume that he was righteous based on what we know about Melchizedek and the fact that he reigned under him.

But there might be deeper underlying truths to this idea of being a prince of peace. There are three persons in the scriptures that are referred to as prince of peace. In addition to Melchizedek, only Abraham and Jesus Christ get this title. Interestingly, the father/son or king/prince duality is a recurring theme. Notice for instance the extensive use of "father/fathers" in the beginning of the Book of Abraham where Abraham seeks to become a prince of peace

1 In the land of the Chaldeans, at the residence of my fathers, I, Abraham, saw that it was needful for me to obtain another place of residence;

2 And, finding there was greater happiness and peace and rest for me, I sought for the blessings of the fathers, and the right whereunto I should be ordained to administer the same; having been myself a follower of righteousness, desiring also to be one who possessed great knowledge, and to be a greater follower of righteousness, and to possess a greater knowledge, and to be a father of many nations, a prince of peace, and desiring to receive instructions, and to keep the commandments of God, I became a rightful heir, a High Priest, holding the right belonging to the fathers.

3 It was conferred upon me from the fathers; it came down from the fathers, from the beginning of time, yea, even from the beginning, or before the foundation of the earth, down to the present time, even the right of the firstborn, or the first man, who is Adam, or first father, through the fathers unto me.

4 I sought for mine appointment unto the Priesthood according to the appointment of God unto the fathers concerning the seed.

To become a follower of righteousness and prince of peace, Abraham needed to be appointed unto the Priesthood. This priesthood was a patriarchal order, transmitted from father to son, creating kings and princes, like Melchizedek who became the archetype of a holder of this priesthood. In the original language, Abraham, means "father of a multitude".  The wordplay is evident: "In the land of the Chaldeans, at the residence of my fathers, I, Father of a Multitude...sought for the blessings of the fathers".

The only other passage of scripture containing the title "prince of peace" is Isaiah 9:6

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Again we see the pattern of father and son (implied by prince). We know that Jesus Christ is both the father (in more than one sense) and the son. Some people trip over the oddity of that passage to our modern ears, but I find it beautiful

1 And now Abinadi said unto them: I would that ye should understand that God himself shall come down among the children of men, and shall redeem his people.
2 And because he dwelleth in flesh he shall be called the Son of God, and having subjected the flesh to the will of the Father, being the Father and the Son—
3 The Father, because he was conceived by the power of God; and the Son, because of the flesh; thus becoming the Father and Son—

4 And they are one God, yea, the very Eternal Father of heaven and of earth. (Mosiah 15)

What we have seen so far is that there are three persons with the title, Prince of Peace in the scriptures: Melchizedek, Abraham and Jesus Christ. In each case, there is a father-son theme. I think it has much to do with the priesthood. The Melchizedek Priesthood is not dependent on a tribe like the Levitical Priesthood. It's a pattern of Father-Son family priesthood. Paul spends much of his letter to the Hebrews that this is the priesthood that Jesus came to restore

5 So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee.

6 As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.

There is no coincidence that Abraham, the father who sought for the blessings of the fathers, is mentioned so much in D&C 132. We get too hung up on plural marriage sometimes that we miss the beautiful truths about the priesthood and the everlasting covenant.

28 I am the Lord thy God, and will give unto thee the law of my Holy Priesthood, as was ordained by me and my Father before the world was.

29 Abraham received all things, whatsoever he received, by revelation and commandment, by my word, saith the Lord, and hath entered into his exaltation and sitteth upon his throne.

30 Abraham received promises concerning his seed, and of the fruit of his loins—from whose loins ye are, namely, my servant Joseph—which were to continue so long as they were in the world; and as touching Abraham and his seed, out of the world they should continue; both in the world and out of the world should they continue as innumerable as the stars; or, if ye were to count the sand upon the seashore ye could not number them.

31 This promise is yours also, because ye are of Abraham, and the promise was made unto Abraham; and by this law is the continuation of the works of my Father, wherein he glorifieth himself.

32 Go ye, therefore, and do the works of Abraham; enter ye into my law and ye shall be saved.

As we enter into the law of the Melchizedek Priesthood, we like Joseph Smith, are the seed of Abraham and the same promises apply to us. That is, as Abraham's seed, our seed will also perpetuate into the eternities. This is how the priesthood and the covenant are preserved, from father to son becoming kings and princes. It is perhaps confusing then that Paul states:

Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually. (Hebrews 7:3)

From the context, it seems like Paul describes Melchizedek here. But Joseph Smith clarifies and explains that this does not apply to the person, Melchizedek, but rather his priesthood.

For this Melchizedek was ordained a priest after the order of the Son of God, which order was without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life. And all those who are ordained unto this priesthood are made like unto the Son of God, abiding a priest continually. (JST Hebrews 7:3)

Early Christian extra-Biblical sources show that there was a great deal of confusion back then as well. Some considered Melchizedek as a divine figure and perhaps even the pre-mortal Christ himself. Others considered him just a mortal man, although a righteous high priest. I think the confusion comes from the fact that Melchizedek became the archetype of a priesthood holder after the order of the Son of God. Epitomizing this order, the man and the priesthood got confused as the tradition was passed down, scriptures were lost and perhaps deliberately changed. This is just my theory anyway.

The point is that the priesthood itself is eternal, without father and descent, while those who enter into this order become part of an eternal chain of father and descent. They are the seed of Father Abraham (who sought the blessings of his fathers) and receive the promise that their seed shall continue "out of the world". They become princes of peace and kings of righteousness, like Abraham and Melchizedek, receiving all these promises that are too great to fully comprehend.

Let me just add as a final note that I think princess, queen and priestess applies just as much. Despite the technicalities of the patriarchal order where men are ordained at least here on earth, the promises and blessings apply in equal measure and women obviously have a sacred role in the "continuation of the seeds for ever and ever" (D&C 132:19).

Hearing, Seeing, Smelling, and Speaking the Word of God

In this post I'm going to introduce a concept from a fascinating presentation given by John Thompson, PhD, as part of the Interpreter Foundation 2021 Egypt Lecture Series. I'll have more to say in future posts on this presentation, but this post will focus on a one-minute segment dealing with ancient Egyptian anointing rituals.

Here is the one minute clip:

When he mentioned seven openings to the head and how each one is anointed, my curiosity was piqued. These rituals he is describing are extremely old, far older than Moses or Solomon's temple. The tombs in which this iconography is found are from ~2600 BC. 

Dr. Thompson points out that the Book of Abraham offers an intriguing explanation for where these rituals came from:

26 Pharaoh, being a righteous man, established his kingdom and judged his people wisely and justly all his days, seeking earnestly to imitate that order established by the fathers in the first generations, in the days of the first patriarchal reign, even in the reign of Adam, and also of Noah ... (Abraham 1)

In other words, these rituals were sincere imitations of the Priesthood ordinances established and passed down by Adam.

Hearing, Seeing, Smelling, and Speaking the Word of God

Three out of four of these are pretty easy to connect with the Gospel.  We "hear" the word of God by hearkening to the messengers and to the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit.  We "see" the word of God when we rend the veil of unbelief and see the heavenly light. Let's skip the nose for now. And, of course, Nephi teaches us quite clearly how we can "speak" the word of God:

2 Do ye not remember that I said unto you that after ye had received the Holy Ghost ye could speak with the tongue of angels? And now, how could ye speak with the tongue of angels save it were by the Holy Ghost?
3 Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do. (2 Nephi 32)

Most of my life, I interpreted "speaking with the tongue of angels" in a very broad and generic way.  Anytime anyone speaks words that are inspired by the Spirit, they are speaking with the tongue of angels. I still believe that is an entirely valid interpretation. But like so many Gospel principles, there is deeper covenant significance to be found when we understand the doctrine and symbols of the temple (modern and ancient).  Recent experiences in the temple and in the scriptures have opened my eyes to a deeper meaning for speaking with the tongue of angels. The ordinances of the priesthood literally add power -- priesthood power -- to our prayers to God. Our walk on the covenant path is an ascension. Metaphorically speaking, that added elevation takes us out of the world and draws us closer to heaven, where our prayers will be heard by God in a way not previously possible.

Notice these beautiful closing words from the dedicatory prayer of the Kirtland Temple, including the three-fold repetition "O hear" in verse 78:

77 O Lord God Almighty, hear us in these our petitions, and answer us from heaven, thy holy habitation, where thou sittest enthroned, with glory, honor, power, majesty, might, dominion, truth, justice, judgment, mercy, and an infinity of fulness, from everlasting to everlasting.

78 O hear, O hear, O hear us, O Lord! And answer these petitions, and accept the dedication of this house unto thee, the work of our hands, which we have built unto thy name;

79 And also this church, to put upon it thy name. And help us by the power of thy Spirit, that we may mingle our voices with those bright, shining seraphs around thy throne, with acclamations of praise, singing Hosanna to God and the Lamb! (Doctrine & Covenants 109)

"Speaking" the word of God, then, involves fully embracing His covenant path and "mingl[ing] our voices" with the angels who constantly sing praise to God. Notice also the tight connection in 2 Nephi 32 and D&C 109 between the "power" of the Holy Spirit and the voice of angels. We'll come back to that after we tackle the mystery of the nose in all of this.

So now we've covered "hearing," "seeing," and "speaking." What about "smelling"?

How does one "smell" the word of the Lord?

In short, temple incense, or to put it a little bit more accurately, the desire to serve God according to His divine pattern. I think we can summarize the essence of what it means to "smell" the word of the Lord as the natural effect that hearing the word and seeing the heavenly light has upon a person -- it creates a strong desire to worship God and offer Him praise for His mercy and love. 

Stisa covered much of this in this post, and one point he makes in that post is key:

The reyach [sweet savor associated with temple sacrifice rituals] should be done with ruach [the Spirit]. 

The sweet aroma produced by the burning incense is a symbol of the Spirit. Anciently, only with a broken heart and a contrite spirit could a disciple of Christ please God by sacrificing an animal, shedding its blood, and burning it on an altar. It was to be done with humility and according to the specifications given by God. The ritual, in addition to producing a "sweet savor," would also point the mind to the sacrifice of the Only Begotten Son of God.

When Noah exited the ark, he emulated Adam and built an altar and offered sacrifice, which created a "pleasing odor" to the Lord (Genesis 8:21 NRSV). God then covenanted with Noah and gave him commandments (see Genesis 9:1-17). (More to come on that "pleasing odor" in a future post.)

As an aside, this a great example of a symbol that would have been so obvious to any temple-worshipping Israelite that it would have gone without saying, but for us it is almost completely foreign, especially since we do not use incense at all in our modern temple worship. Instead, we have certain symbols which evoke the image of temple incense when understood in their original context. This paper summarizes the symbolism associated with incense in the temple.

Conclusion

There are seven openings in the head, and the arrangement and function of each outlines a heavenly pattern. As part of "becoming a new creature" in Christ (see Mosiah 27:26), each of these openings can be consecrated for the purpose of seeking the word of God. Ears to hear, eyes to see, a nose to smell (a symbol of our humble efforts to worthily worship and praise God), and a mouth to speak with the tongue of angels.  

The arrangement of these openings also points to unity with God. The ears are situated on opposite sides of the head, and we see progressive closeness with the eyes and then the nostrils, until we are united with God and the angels and are taught to speak (through one mouth) with the tongue of angels and the power of the Spirit. 

This is a beautiful set of symbols. I am constantly amazed by the layers of depth embedded in these sacred things.

Adam and Eve in the scriptures, part 3

This is the final post in a series about references to Adam and Eve in the scriptures. Part 1 offered a numerical overview. Part 2 looked qualitatively at references to Adam and Eve in the Bible and the Doctrine & Covenants. This final part will first look at references to Adam and Eve in the Book of Moses and Book of Abraham, and then we'll conclude with a look at the Book of Mormon.

Book of Moses

Moses 1:34 -- The first man of all men is called Adam.

Moses 3:19-23 -- Adam named all living things; Eve was created from one of Adam's ribs.

Moses 4:6-31 -- Satan beguiles Adam and Eve; the ground is cursed for their sake; they are clothed with coats of skins; they are driven out.

Moses 5 -- Adam and Eve obey the law of sacrifice and are taught by angels. Cain slays Abel and secret combinations are formed.

Moses 6 -- Adam and Eve hearken unto the voice of the Lord and repent. They teach their children the Gospel. Adam is baptized.

Moses 7:1 -- 

And it came to pass that Enoch continued his speech, saying: Behold, our father Adam taught these things, and many have believed and become the sons of God, and many have believed not, and have perished in their sins, and are looking forth with fear, in torment, for the fiery indignation of the wrath of God to be poured out upon them.

Book of Abraham

Abraham 1:3, 26 -- The priesthood came to Abraham through Adam.

Abraham (Facsimile 2) -- Key-words of the Holy Priesthood were given to Adam in the Garden of Eden.

Abraham 5:13-21 -- Creation account.

Book of Mormon

Doctrinal topics found in connection with references to "Adam" or "Eve" or "first parents" abound in the Book of Mormon. It's impressive to see how often and how deeply the doctrine connects.  There is also a conspicuous amount of overlap with doctrinal concepts in the Book of Moses.

2 Nephi 2:15-26 (Lehi)

• God created all things “to bring about his eternal purposes in the end of man” including opposition in all things. 

• Satan seeks our misery.

• In mortality mankind is given the opportunity to repent.

• Men are that they might have joy.

• Christ came to redeem mankind.

2 Nephi 9:9,21 (Jacob)

• Satan seeks our misery.

• Satan beguiled our first parents.

• He “transformeth himself nigh unto an angel of light”

• Christ suffered the pains of all mankind.

Jacob 4:3-5 (Jacob)

• “All the holy prophets” had a hope of Christ’s glory.

Mosiah 3:11-26; 4:7 (King Benjamin -- quoting an angel in ch. 3)

• The natural man in each of us can be “put off” through:

• The Atonement of Jesus Christ

• Yielding to the enticings of the Holy Spirit

• Becoming submissive meek, and humble

• The atonement was prepared “from the foundation of the world for all mankind who ever were, are, or will be.

Mosiah 16:3 (Abinadi)

• Satan beguiled Adam and Eve and caused their fall

Alma 12:21-26 (Alma-2)

• Death came about by the fall.

• Space was granted unto man to repent

• The purpose of life is to prepare to meet God and prepare for the endless state that comes after the resurrection.

Alma 42:2-7 (Alma-2)

• Becoming cut off from God’s presence allowed mankind to “[become] subjects to follow their own will”

Helaman 14:16-18 (Samuel the Lamanite)

• Adam’s fall cut us off from the presence of the Lord.

• Christ brought about the resurrection and conditions of repentance to bring us “back into the presence of the Lord”

Mormon 3:20 (Mormon)

• Every soul must stand before the the judgment seat of Christ to be judged

Mormon 9:11-14 (Moroni)

• The fall came by Adam, the redemption of Adam came by Christ

Ether 8:25 (Moroni)

• Satan beguiled our first parents.

Moroni 8:8 (Mormon -- quoting the word of the Lord)

• The curse of Adam is taken from little children through Christ.

Moroni 10:3 (Moroni)

• God was merciful to Adam

Conclusion

I can't help but marvel at the amount of deep yellow in that Book of Mormon list.  There is a tight connection between references to deep gospel doctrine and Adam and Eve.  This is essentially absent from the Old Testament.  Why? Was it because the temple doctrines once had by ancient Israelites ended up suppressed and stripped away?  Was this doctrinal tradition preserved on the brass plates?