Feasting with Nephi

Today is Rosh Hashanah! This ancient festival, originally known as Yom Teruah (the Feast of Trumpets), commemorates what Hebrew tradition considers the sixth day of creation—the day God created mankind—and celebrates God’s sovereignty as King of the universe.

The Theological Foundation of Human Creation

As rabbinic tradition explains, “the year is not calculated from the time of the redemption from Egypt… but is clearly and specifically calculated from the creation of man, of the human species in general.”

“The creation of man marks the beginning of God’s kingship on earth.” Each annual return to this commemorative moment involves not merely historical remembrance, but “a recoronation ceremony for the King.” The festival thus establishes the relationship between God and us as the foundational axis around which sacred time revolves.

The Books

Central to Rosh Hashanah’s theological framework is the rabbinic concept of divine judgment through heavenly records. According to rabbinic tradition, “Three books are open on Rosh Hashanah, the beginning of the new year and the day of judgment. One is the book of the righteous, another the book of the wicked, and the third the book of the average persons, those who are neither completely righteous nor completely wicked. The righteous are recorded in the book of life, the wicked in the book of death.”

This opening of the heavenly ledgers transforms Rosh Hashanah from a purely celebratory occasion into a moment of profound accountability, where each individual’s spiritual trajectory becomes subject to divine review. The festival thus establishes both the reality of divine judgment and the possibility of redemption, as these books remain unsealed during the subsequent Ten Days of Awe, providing opportunity for spiritual rectification before final judgment is rendered on Yom Kippur.

Eternal Promises

For members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Rosh Hashanah carries extraordinary significance because it celebrates the moment when the plan we fought for in the War in Heaven moved from eternal possibility to mortal reality.

Think about this: every person walking the earth today represents a successful advocate for the Father’s plan. We stood in that grand council, listened to both proposals, and chose the plan that required faith over sight, agency over compulsion, and a Savior over guaranteed exaltation.

The creation of Adam and Eve transformed our premortal faith into certain knowledge. When the breath of life entered Adam’s nostrils and he became a living soul, every spirit child witnessing that sacred moment understood that they too would receive the gift of physical embodiment. Adam’s first breath was proof of concept that God’s plan would actually work. Our faith that we would receive bodies, experience mortality, and have the opportunity to become like our Heavenly Parents was no longer hope—it became reality. The creation of mankind wasn’t just the beginning of human history; it was the moment when every spirit in the premortal realm could see tangible evidence that the plan they had chosen to follow would deliver on its promises.

Resurrection

As Rosh Hashanah celebrates the past creation of mankind, it simultaneously serves as a type and shadow of things to come. The same physical forms we receive during mortality will be reunited with our spirits in perfected, glorified states. This promise transforms our understanding of embodiment from temporary stewardship to eternal inheritance—the creation we celebrate today is merely the first chapter of our embodied existence, with resurrection representing the glorious completion of God’s creative work in us.

The shofar blasts that could metaphorically “wake the dead” point toward that future moment when the trump of God will literally call forth the dead in the first resurrection. The creation celebrated at Rosh Hashanah thus finds its ultimate expression in the recreation promised through Christ’s atonement.

Kingship and Human Agency

The coronation ceremony associated with Rosh Hashanah provides God’s people the opportunity each year to proclaim Him their king, both as a nation and as individuals. As we step back and view our lives from a celestial perspective, we conduct our own spiritual inventory of where we stand on the covenant path.

Rosh Hashanah can become an annual opportunity to make a deliberate, conscious commitment to follow God as our King—not out of compulsion, but from the same agency that led us to choose His plan in the premortal existence. It’s a chance to honestly assess our spiritual progress: Are we moving forward on the covenant path? Where do we need course corrections? What relationships need mending?

The beauty of this season lies in its promise of divine grace. For the next ten days, tradition holds that the books of judgment remain open, giving us opportunity to write our names in the Book of Life through genuine repentance and renewed commitment. This isn’t a time of spiritual anxiety but of blessed opportunity—a sacred window when we can make amends with those we’ve wronged and extend forgiveness to those who have hurt us.

Understanding Rosh Hashanah through the lens of restored gospel truth transforms it from ancient tradition into personal revelation about our eternal potential. We’re not just commemorating the creation of mankind; we’re celebrating our own successful journey into mortality and renewing our covenant to let God reign in our hearts. This High Holy Day becomes a profound reminder that we are exactly where we chose to be—embodied, learning, and progressing toward our divine destiny.