Question
Dear Gramps,
Please explain why Cain’s sacrifice was not acceptable to Heavenly Father but Abel’s was.
Paula
Answer
Dear Paula,
Upon the birth of Cain, Eve declared: “I have gotten a man from the Lord; wherefore he may not reject his words.” Though Eve had great hope for her son, Cain did not hearken to the Lord, but rather rejected Him saying: “Who is the Lord that I should know him?” (Moses 5:16) In Mormon Doctrine, Elder McConkie states that Cain:
“understood the gospel and the plan of salvation, was baptized, received the priesthood, had a perfect knowledge of the position and perfection of God, and talked personally with Deity.”
Adam and Eve were commanded by the Lord to offer the “firstlings of their flocks” as sacrifices. In Moses 5: 7, an angel of the Lord explained to them why they had been commanded to make sacrifices:
“7 And then the angel spake, saying: This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth.”
We read in Moses 5:
“18 And Cain loved Satan more than God. And Satan commanded him, saying: Make an offering unto the Lord.”
What greater blasphemy than for Cain to make an offering in the similitude of the sacrifice of the Lord, having been commanded to do so by Satan. Not only did he make the offering at the command of Satan, but he offered “the fruit of the ground” and not the “firstlings of the flock” as had been commanded. Abel did offer a correct offering as had been commanded. Because his offering had been rejected, Cain became wroth. When the Lord asked him why he was wroth and why his countenance had fallen, the Lord stated:
“23 If thou doest well, thou shalt be accepted. And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door, and Satan desireth to have thee; and except thou shalt hearken unto my commandments, I will deliver thee up, and it shall be unto thee according to his desire. And thou shalt rule over him.”
Cain entered into a secret pact with Satan, where Satan agreed to deliver Able into his hands. Whereupon Cain states:
“31… Truly I am Mahan, the master of this great secret, that I may murder and get gain. Wherefore Cain was called Master Mahan, and he gloried in his wickedness.”
Gramps
