684 South University Avenue, St. George, Utah 84770 435-773-7366 www.ascentadvantageacademy.com as c ent advantage [email protected]

History 1-A: Overview of World History & Geography and Overview of American History, Culture & Geography

Course Written & Compiled by Mary C. Kessler © 2019, 2020 by Beehive LDS Schooling, LLC Materials & Format

Materials: This Syllabus. Old Testament Stories, published by the Church of Christ of Latter-day Saints. Available through Church distribution, store.lds.com or www.deseretbook.com or free for the viewing at lds.org. A copy of the , the , and The Pearl of Great Price. Index Cards, etc. as needed for the Beehive Brain Box Learning System, taught in Study Skills 2 or a Knowledge Journal (Composition book.) We advise that one of these study methods should be used throughout the curriculum and should be learned asap. (See Study Skills courses and/or videos for these methods.)

Format: There are 15 Lessons. Each lesson is taught two days a week for 15 weeks. Review Brain Box cards or Knowledge Journal notes to the point of the lesson. Listen to the new lesson. Card or quiz book important information. Close with prayer, thanking the Lord that we have this information.

Table of Contents

Lesson 1 - Introduction Lesson 2 - Before the Old Testament – The Council in Heaven Lesson 3 – What Did We Learn? Lesson 4 – Jesus Makes the Earth. Lesson 4 – The Purpose of the Earth & Our Purpose on Earth. Lesson 5 – and in the . Lesson 6 – Adam and His Family, Part 1 Lesson 7 – Adam and His Family, Part 2 Lesson 8 – The Patriarchs Lesson 9 – Enoch & Zion Lesson 10 – Noah & the Flood Lesson 11 – The Post Flood World & The Tower of Babel Lessons 12 & 13 – The Jaredites and the Promise on the Land Lesson 14 – The Nephites and the Promise Lesson 15 – You and Me and the Promise Today

2 Section One: In the Beginning The Grand Council to the Tower of Babel & the Arrival of the Jaredites in America.

Lesson 1 - Introduction

This part of the course covers what is normally called “Prehistory,” - before written records. However, as Latter-day Saints, we believe that there are true and valid records of the early history of the earth. Some of these records are, the in the 3 , the Books of and Moses in the Pearl of Great Price, and various verses as given to Smith in the Doctrine and Covenants.

Because we have these records, we can definitely say what happened. One of our Latter-day Saint historians, W. Cleon Skousen, also wrote extensively of this period in his books: The First Two Thousand Years, and The Third Thousand Years.

From the scriptures and the research of Brother Skousen, we can piece together a reliable account of the story of the earth from the time it is first mentioned in the Grand Council in Heaven to the arrival of the Jaredites in America.

We have five objectives or five items we want to learn from this portion of our course. They are: • To understand the general story or history of the earth and man on the earth from the Grand Council in Heaven to the arrival of the Jaredites in America. • To understand the purpose of the earth. • To understand our purpose on the earth. • To be able to list important events and approximate dates. • To be able to recite the list of the first 10 Patriarchs. • To memorize and be able to recite the Blessing or Curse which is on this land of America and why it is a Blessing or a Curse. • To understand our responsibility as inhabitants of this land of America.

We will memorize Ether 2:11-12. We will start today. These are those verses.

“And this cometh unto you, O ye Gentiles, that ye may know the decrees of God – that ye may repent, and not continue in your iniquities until the fulness come, that ye may not bring down the fulness of the wrath of God upon you as the inhabitants of the land have hitherto done.”

4 And further in verse 12:

“Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ, who hath been manifested by the things which we have written.”

Lesson 2 - Before the Old Testament – The Council in Heaven Read & Discuss: Old Testament Stories, p. 6-8, Before the Old Testament

Lesson 3 – What Did We Learn? Follow the lesson format. Re-read the lesson from yesterday frame by frame (picture by picture). Record, and CARD or JOURNAL the important facts that we learn about the history of the earth. Frame 3: Heavenly Father told us He was going to make an earth for us so 1 - We could gain flesh and blood bodies. 2 – We could be tested to see if we would choose to obey his commandments. If we were obedient we could return to live with Him forever. Frame 5: God chose Jesus Christ to be our Savior. He would obey God and live a perfect life. He would suffer for and pay the price for our sins so we could return to God.

Frames 6-8: rebelled against God. He wanted the God's and power. He convinced many to follow him. God sent Lucifer and those who followed Lucifer out of Heaven. They could not go back. They could not have bodies of flesh and bone. 5 The story of the history of the earth is much the story of the continuation of this “War in Heaven” between the forces of Our Father and His Son Jesus Christ and Lucifer or Satan and those who follow him.

We will see as we study history that Satan is still tempting the sons and daughters of God to sin, to hate and to rebel. Jesus on the other hand, gives us laws and leaders to help us and guide us in being good and obeying God, so that we can return home to Heaven some day.

Lesson 5 – Jesus Makes the Earth. Read: Old Testament Stories, pages 9-13. What do we learn here about how and when the earth was made? Did Someone make it? OR Did it just happen? THAT IS the BIG QUESTION. All people live their lives based on their own individual answer to that question. If a person believes there is a God who created the earth, he lives one way. If a person does not believe there is a God who created the earth, he lives another way. The first person who believes in God will live as God wants him to live; the person who does not believe in God, will live as he wishes & not obey God.

The Purpose of the Earth & Our Purpose on Earth. Read: The Pearl of Great of Great Price, , 3:23-26 This is another version of of the earth and who made it. Re-read Verse 24. Did Jesus make the earth by Himself or did he have help? Re-read Verse 25. What was the purpose behind creating the earth? What is our purpose for being on the earth?

6 Lesson 6 – in the Garden of Eden. Read: Old Testament Stories, page 14—17 Where was the Garden of Eden? According to https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Garden_of_Eden “The Garden of Eden is considered to be mythological by most scholars. Among those that consider it to have been real, there have been various suggestions for its location: at the head of the Persian Gulf, in southern Mesopotamia (now Iraq) where the Tigris and Euphrates rivers run into the sea; and in Armenia.” However, according to , second President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as quoted by W. Cleon Skousen in The First 2,000 Years, pages 34-35: “Joseph, the prophet (meaning ), told me that the Garden of Eden was in Jackson County, Missouri.

Locate Jackson County, Missouri, on a globe, large map, puzzle or on the maps below.

7 Jackson County

What did Adam and Eve do in the Garden of Eden before they were tempted? Who tempted them? God had told them they could choose. What choice did they make? Why did they have to leave the Garden of Eden? What happens to us when we make a bad choice?

Lesson 6 – Adam and His Family, Part 1 Read: Old Testament Stories, page 18 What did Adam and Eve do after they left the Garden of Eden? What did God do after Adam and Eve left the Garden?

What did the angel tell Adam? How did making sacrifices help Adam and Eve? (As we have the Sacrament today that helps us always remember

8 Jesus and what He did for us, so, too Adam and Eve sacrificed a lamb or other animal that helped them remember Jesus and what He would come to earth and do for them and all mankind.)

Lesson 7 – Adam and His Family, Part 2 Read: Old Testament Stories, pages 19-21 What happened with Adam and Eve's family? What choices did most of their children make? Who did they listen to? Who was ? What did he do?

Lesson 8 – The Patriarchs The Patriarchs are those who headed-up the human family during the time of prehistory. They were righteous holders of the priesthood and lead their children, their posterity to believe in and obey God. The first ten patriarchs are listed in the Doctrine and Covenants, 107:40-52. Read verses 40-52 and listen for their names. Memorize the first ten Patriarchs: 1. Adam 2. Seth 3. Enos 4. Cainan 5. Mahalaleel 6. Jared 7. Enoch 8. Methusalah 9. Lamech 10. Noah What great meeting occurred three years prior to Adam's death? Read: Doctrine and Covenants 107:51-57 Toward the end of our Dispensation, there will be another great meeting with

9 Adam, Jesus, and all the prophets in the very same place: Adam-ondi-Ahman. Adam-ondi-Ahman is the name of the place Adam lived. You will learn more about it when you study Geography 1, when you have finished History 1.

Lesson 9 – Enoch & Zion - Because of wickedness around the area that Adam lived, Enos was told to leave and start a righteous colony at a distance away from Adam-ondi-Ahman. This he did. It was the first time that God's people had to 'bug-out' or leave a place to be able to live in peace and establish a righteous community. But, it was not the last. Enoch established the City of Zion – which you will learn about in a few minutes. Jared and his brother left the Tower of Babel and were brought back to America. Abraham was told to leave Ur. Lehi was told to leave and established a new colony of the righteous. The Pilgrims came to America for religious freedom. The Latter-day Saints had to leave New York and then Ohio and Missouri and finally Nauvoo, until they could build a permanent a place of peace in the Rocky Mountains. This is a pattern to watch for in studying history.

Read: Old Testament Stories, pages 22-25, Enoch. Did you know that it is a goal of the Church to again establish Zion on earth? How do we go about doing that? (Being obedient.)

Lesson 10 – Noah & the Flood Read: Old Testament Stories, Noah, pages 26-29. Also read: Moses 8:8-30 I have three very important notes for you at this point in your study of History in the Beginning. 1 – Noah and his family and those in the City of Enoch were NOT the only ones who escaped the flood. Read Moses 7:27. Noah and the righteous could not be everywhere to preach the Gospel, so God sent angels to help them. No one who was righteous was destroyed in the Flood.

10 2 – Most of the history to this point took place on a large super continent called Pangea as the whole land mass of the earth was in one piece. Further, we know from Brigham Young and Joseph Smith that both the Garden of Eden and the place where Adam lived after leaving the garden, called Adam-ondi-Ahman, were located in what is now the state of Missouri in the United States of America.

3 – When the Ark landed, it landed on Mount Ararat in what is now Turkey – on the other side of the world! That meant that the land that we now call America was not populated. So, God kept it as a special place where He could send righteous people to establish righteous nations. Lesson 11 – The Post Flood World & The Tower of Babel This is a map that depicts Mt. Ararat where the Ark landed and the rivers flowing down from Ararat into the Fertile Crescent, especially into the areas of Babylon and Ur.

In the post Flood world, there were two factions, as there always are: 1 – those who believed in God, obeyed him and had the priesthood and 2 – those who did not believe in God or at least did not choose to obey Him.

12 It was this second faction – the disobedient who wanted to build the Tower of Babel. Read: Old Testament Stories, pages 30-32

Lesson 12 – The Jaredites and the Promised Land, Part One We know that the Jaredites ended-up in America. We know this from the Book of Mormon. We also know it because there are legends among native Americans about their ancestors coming to this land in “turtle boats.” When you think of the description of the boats the Jaredites came in, calling them turtle boats is very appropriate.

Read the account of the Jaredites in Book of Mormon Stories, 1 – The Jaredites Leave Babel, pages 143 – 144, 2 – The Jaredites Travel to the Promised Land, pages 145-148.

Lesson 13 – The Jaredites and the Promise on the Land, Part Two In the last lesson we learned about the Jaredites left the Tower of Babel and came to America. Let's read a little bit more about their journey and about this land, America.

Read: Ether 2:5-10

What must the people do who live in America? (Be righteous and serve Jesus Christ.)

What happens to the people who live on this land if they do NOT serve God? Read the final story of the Jaredites in Book of Mormon Stories, Chapter 52, pages 149-151, “The Destruction of The Jaredites”.

What happened to the Jaredites? Why?

13 Lesson 14 – The Nephites and the Promise Heavenly Father and Jesus are consistent in what they do. They do not treat one person or people any different. They treat all peoples and persons the same. The Jaredites were plainly told by the Lord that they must obey the laws of the Lord and serve Him – or when they ripened in iniquity (wrongdoing), they would be destroyed. The Nephites were also made aware of this promise of the Lord upon the land. We know this by reading the account of Nephi in I Nephi 1:20 – before Nephi ever left Jerusalem: “And inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall prosper, and be led to a land of promise; yea; even a land which I have prepared for you; yea, a land which is choice above all other lands.” And again, later in Alma 50:19-22, we read: “And thus we see how merciful and just are the dealings of the Lord, to the fulfilling of all his words unto the children of men; yea, we can behold that his words are verified, even at this time, which he spake unto Lehi, saying: “Blessed art thou and thy children; and they shall be blessed, inasmuch as they shall keep my commandments they shall prosper in the land. But remember, inasmuch as they will not keep my commandments they shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord. “And we see that these promises have been verified to the people of Nephi; for it has been their quarrelings and contentions, yea their murderings and their plunderings, their idolotry, their whoredoms, and their abominations, which were among themselves, which brought upon them their wars and their destruction.

“And those who were faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord were delivered at all times, whilst thousands of their wicked brethren have been consigned to bondage, or to perish by the sword, or to dwindle in unbelief, and mingle with the Lamanites.”

Both the Jaredites and the Nephites obeyed and served the Lord in the beginning. But, eventually, wickedness spread and took over their societies. Hence, the Lord, who keeps his word, destroyed them. 14 Lesson 15 – You and Me and the Promise Today

Today, many of us live on this land, choice above all other lands, whereupon WE must obey and serve the Lord. This is the decree , the law of the Lord upon this land.

Let's read again in the , in the Book of Mormon, this time Ether 2:11. “And this cometh unto you, O ye Gentiles, that ye may know the decrees of God – that ye may repent, and not continue in your iniquities until the fulness come, that ye may not bring down the fulness of the wrath of God upon you as the inhabitants of the land have hitherto done.” And further in verse 12: “Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ, who hath been manifested by the things which we have written.”

So, WE SEE, that, WE, too, must be obedient and serve the God of this land who is Jesus Christ.

How do we serve him? 1 – Be obedient. 2 – Pay our tithes and offerings. 3 – Say our prayers and read the scriptures, especially the Book of Mormon, daily. 4 – Attend church. 5 - Be member missionaries. 6 – Work on our family histories and do work for deceased family members. And - 7 – Willingly serve our fellowman.

We have now come to the end of this course, but YOU have just reached the beginning of a life time of righteousness and service. To help us serve, the Church has sponsored the website: www.justserve.org Here there are opportunities to serve others. Most opportunities seem to be for older students, however, you and your family may find something in your area with which you, as a family, could help. Check it out.

Also, look for persons within your own immediate or extended family who may need your service.

Look around in your neighborhood.

Ask your Primary President, your Brothers and Sisters, your President, your Bishop - and don't forget to ask Mom and Dad!

Maybe even your older brother or sister, cousin, or your aunt or uncle may have some ideas or know of someone in need.

Service can be anything anyone needs from walking the dog to grocery shopping to cleaning the yard to just bending down to get the daily milk delivery – because your neighbor can't. LOOK AROUND & SERVE!

(HINT: Look for the SERVE Subject Icon and learn ways you can serve others.)

Memory verse: “And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” Matthew 25:40

16