Moses 7 - The Visions of Enoch

When the Son of Man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? Lord, I believe. Help thou mine unbelief. May our testimonies be as deep and as strong as that of Jacob, who when confronted by one who sought to destroy his faith, declared, I could not be shaken. hello and shaken saints jared halverson here glad to be back with you i've either got a bad head cold or i'm hitting puberty again uh my voice is a about an octave lower than normal it's been awesome to sing some songs and hit the low notes like i've never been able to before my dream is still hitting that sheer con note in jungle book maybe maybe someday I'm not feeling super great, but the show must go on, right? Or in better words, the scriptures should still be studied. And especially based on what we've got to cover this week, I can't let a cold get in the way of the building of Zion, which is exactly what we're in for with this second half of the visions of Enoch. Moses chapter seven is where we'll be today. And of all the masterpieces of scripture, this might be one of the absolute greatest. to understand what Joseph Smith is revealing to us. Again, like I mentioned last week, what we have in Moses 6 and 7, the story of Enoch, has no equivalent in the book of Genesis. You get those four little verses about Enoch that he was and then he wasn't, and he walked with God, and talk about this dropping hints that there's more to this story than what we have in Genesis, or at least more than I want. And Joseph gives us such incredible truth. Better said, the Lord does through the prophet Joseph. In fact, I've mentioned this in previous years. For a year in college, I got to work for the BYU Religious Study Center, working on a transcription of the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible. The church had gotten permission from the Community of Christ, the former RLDS church. They own the manuscripts themselves, but our church got permission from theirs to scan them all and then to use those scans to be able to create a scholarly transcription. Now, a transcription is just writing, copying over exactly what was on a previous page. Well, our job then was to transcribe it. Here's the original manuscripts. We're trying to type it out so it's more searchable and more legible. It's not handwriting we're worried about, But we wanted to have an exact replica of what was there on the page to begin with. Smudges and crossouts and insertions and all. And so it was a challenge. In those days, if the ink was still wet and you knew you wanted to change something, you could lick your thumb and then wipe out the ink and then write right over it. If it was dry, then you'd have to cross it out and you'd write something in the margin and put a little carrot in there to show that, OK, this is where it needs to go and so on. our job was to figure out what was under the smudge. And so we would, we would zoom in and we change the contrast and we'd study the handwriting styles of John Whitmer, for example, and, and try to figure out every letter, every word, is that, is that exactly what was written? Because the hope was to figure out what's the process like? And are there times, there are times obviously where you're writing and that's not right. And just picture Joseph wrestling with a, with a language and now that's go back, go back Oliver or go back John or go back Sydney, one of his scribes. And they'd cross it out and he'd write, then they'd write something in the, in the space between the lines. In fact, sometimes you could sense such a wrestle on Joseph's part with the language that they'd write it and cross it out and then rewrite it in the space and then cross that out and try to find some other nook or cranny to be able to include more language, cross that out. There were even things called pin notes where they take a scrap of paper and literally pin it to the page. So they had a little extra room to keep writing on it. I remember asking one of the professors that was responsible for the project, what do you make of this? Because in my naive understanding, I just pictured, I mean, it's prophet and it's revelation. So it doesn't just flow perfectly the first time. Well, sometimes it does. And we'll see that in a second, but often it doesn't. And this professor very wisely said, Do you remember the story in the New Testament about the blind man healed in stages? Where Jesus blessed him and then asked, what do you see? And he said, well, I see men as trees walking. Well, at least you're seeing something. It's not quite there yet. Let me bless you again. And he does a second time. And then the man ends up seeing perfectly. Now, was Jesus having an off day? Of course not. I think there's something to that, though, that at least in my case, most of my life's miracles have come in stages. That it's not a one and done and everything is exactly as it should be. But line upon line and precept upon precept, I come to an understanding. And I thought that was a great analogy for what Joseph is doing with language of, Heavenly Father, what is exactly that you're trying to say? Remember that verse from D&C 35, what's the scripture like in thine own bosom? What is thy word as held in the heart of God? And getting closer to it, but not quite, and then getting a little bit closer still. It's amazing to watch that process. And I hope that we mimic it in our own scripture study. Heavenly Father, am I understanding this right? Is there more you want to give me? Well, there are other places, like I said, you look at the manuscripts and there are places where it's, some pages are just written all over and scratched out and smudged under and everything else. There are others that the manuscript page looks like a Mozart original. And from what I understand about Mozart's composition, his first draft was his final draft. Now, some of you are probably thinking, that's how I always wrote in college. My first draft was always my final. Well, that, and our grades probably showed that. In Mozart's case, there were a million rough drafts. They were just all in his head. And by the time he was ready to put it down on paper, it came out as close to flawless as imaginable. Now, to the point that even other composers looked at it thinking, are you kidding me? Well, there are pages of the JST manuscript that are Mozart masterpieces where Joseph just seemed to open his mouth and God filled it. And Sidney, make sure there's lots of ink on that quill because you're going to have a lot of writing just to keep up. We're not going back and correcting things. There's going to be no need. And that's Moses 6 and 7. If you go to the Joseph Smith Papers website, you can actually see the scanned images themselves. And there are hardly any corrections on those pages. To see what the Lord is trying to convey to the Prophet Joseph, this is a scriptural masterpiece. And honestly, I'm humbled by the chance to be able to read it together with you and to discuss it in hopes of helping it come to life for each of us, because it certainly came to life for Joseph. And it needed to. As we talked about last week, Enoch was Joseph's code name in some sections of the Doctrine and Covenants. Enoch was one of Joseph's heroes as far as someone he needed to pattern his life after, because what Enoch accomplished today in Moses 7 was the establishment of Zion. Well, in some ways, today's chapter revolves around verse 18, Moses 7, 18, that God called his people Zion. It's not a title we can claim for ourselves. It's one God has to give once we deserve it. And he called his people Zion because they'd qualified for it. They were of one heart and one mind. They dwelt in righteousness. There was no poor among them. That's the kind of people God can claim as his own. If you're not one, you're not mine. Well, they'd become one. And so they could become his. Think of all Joseph is doing in trying to teach the law of consecration, in trying to build a unity of the faith with those early saints, and trying to establish a place that God would call Zion. Now in church history, that would be Independence, Missouri. And as we recall last year's study, it was so hard for people to become Zion when they just wanted to go be in Zion. And they were rushing headlong to Missouri when they weren't ready to be the kind of saints that they were supposed to be. And so here's Joseph's challenge. How did Enoch do it? In fact, if we think of old Zion and new Zion, we think old Jerusalem and new Jerusalem. In some ways we think of old Eden and new Eden when the earth receives its paradisiacal glory. And in some ways the borders of the garden encompass planet earth. We've talked about these the last couple of weeks. our goal here is to reverse the fall through the atonement of Jesus Christ. Our goal is to return to the garden of Eden, but to do it in the right way, not by going back and head faking cherubim and getting around, you know, end around the flaming sword. No, it's going forward on through Gethsemane and Golgotha to be able to partake of the tree of life as offered us from the gardener of God himself. To see what the Savior is trying to help us live into and live up to, that is the challenge of building Zion. And it was on Joseph's mind all the time, because it was on God's people's mind throughout history. Listen to how Joseph put it. The building up of Zion is a cause that has interested the people of God in every age. It is a theme upon which prophets, priests, and kings have dwelt with peculiar delight They have looked forward with joyful anticipation to the day in which we live, and fired with heavenly and joyful anticipations, they have sung and written and prophesied of this our day. But they died without the sight. We are the favored people that God has made choice of to bring about the latter-day glory. It is left for us to see, participate in, and help to roll forward the latter-day glory. That is our opportunity. It's our blessing. It's our responsibility. Like I said, we're trying to build a second Zion, a new Jerusalem, a return to the Garden of Eden. And even that language for Moses 7, 18, one heart, one mind, well, Adam and Eve, they twain shall be one flesh. They were meant to be truly one. But this time we're not just going back to the horizontal oneness of man and woman, but to be one with God. You see, our return trip to Eden, it will be at a higher elevation than before. No fall to bring us downward. But that kind of oneness with each other as human beings, but also oneness with our Father in heaven. To dwell in righteousness. Oh, they dwelt in innocence in Eden. Our hope is to dwell in holiness when we return. That's even, again, a higher elevation there. No poor among them, no poor in spirit, no poor in any other way. Again, that harkens back to that idea of oneness in both the horizontal and vertical dimensions. That's what we're trying to accomplish. And to get there, it's like the end of section 45 that describes what Zion will be like. And the only place on earth that's not at war with their neighbors, a place of safety and security, a sanctuary, a refuge to be able to, I don't know about you, but I live in a time that I could use a little more refuge, that I am looking for home base as I'm running around playing tag and being chased by the challenges of our day. I look forward to that millennial day. And in order to prepare the earth for the coming of Christ, that 10th article of faith puts it all together. We have to build Zion. That Zion, the new Jerusalem, will be built. and not just brought back from heaven. That will happen too. But the kingdom of God must go forth so that the kingdom of heaven may come. That's that great prayer in the NC 65. I'm sorry, I'm jumping all over the standard works here, but it is everywhere, just like Joseph said. This is the burden of scripture. How do we build Zion? And Enoch will show us the way. So verse one, it came to pass that Enoch continued his speech. So we're picking up right from where we left off last week, as he, that whole kind of second half of last week's lesson, this is Enoch's message, which in reality was Adam's message to his posterity. So he continues that speech saying, behold, our father Adam taught these things and many have believed and become the sons of God. There's the good news. Remember we talked about sons of God by choice rather than simply sons and daughters of God by creation. That there were two options in Eden and and beyond it and before it, there'd always been those choices. Will we follow Lucifer or Jehovah? Will we go with the serpent or with the angel? Which fruit will matter most to us? Follow it down another generation. Will we be more like Cain or more like Abel? We are caught between these polarities and pulled in each direction. There are many now. Remember we saw that first multi-generational family through the line of Seth last week. And many followed in that lineage. However, the second half of verse one, 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. That strong language again, which we talked a little bit about last time, although Amulek put it beautifully, I believe, was it Alma 34, that God is only angry when we think him to be angry, that his anger is kindled when we do not trust the tender mercies of the Lord. In some ways, we turn God into an angry being, at least in our own minds. And it's that fear that creates that image when, as we'll see through the remainder or later on in this chapter, fiery wrath. Well, that might be one way to look at it from your perspective. Like I said last time of crawling into the end table, afraid of my father who only wanted what was best for me. Same thing here. And we'll see not later in this chapter, not a God of anger and wrath, but a God of sorrow and weeping. This all ties into the flood and you want to talk about a flood of tears. We'll see all of that today. It's beautiful. But there's the choice that we're place that's placed before us right at the beginning of this chapter. Are we going to build Zion or are we going to start building Babylon? Because the Tower of Babel is a story that's coming up soon too. We are caught between these poles. Choice is ours. Verse two, from that time forth, Enoch began to prophesy. So he's picking up the baton from Father Adam. Remember he knew him. He'd been blessed by him and ordained by him to continue this multi-generational family of faith. Enoch picks up the family business. He begins to prophesy, saying unto the people, and here's his message. As I was journeying and stood upon the place Mahuja and cried unto the Lord, there came a voice out of heaven saying, turn ye and get ye upon the Mount Simeon. Now I always chuckle with that verse because God and Enoch have already begun the conversation. But what's the first thing that God tells him? Hey, why don't we come to this other spot so we can talk? Up the mountain. And I picture, I don't know the elevation of Mahuja, but to think, wait, we got to climb up Mount Simeon so we can talk? Well, we're already talking. Can we just continue the conversation here? No. Some conversations must be held at higher altitudes, the mountain of the Lord. Even the word Simeon comes from the Hebrew word to hear. Some places God's voice will be clearer. There's less distraction. There's less interference. I know a lot of people who will climb to the mountain of the Lord as their place to really commune with God. When they built the temple in Manhattan, knowing how much street noise there would be outside, they basically built a temple within a temple with that space in between the structures being soundproof, among other things. I think it was President Kimball that said, temples in general are built with thick walls to keep the world out. So even if you can hear God's voice in Mahuja, there are times where the Lord will say, why don't you keep ascending, climb higher, leave the earth below and behind, and come up to Simeon where you can really hear me. And so that's exactly what Enoch does. Verse three, it came to pass that I turned. And remember, turning is the word for repentance. that with this change of heart, this turning of our attention to better things. He's turning. He went, I went up onto the Mount and as I stood upon the Mount, I beheld the heavens open and I was clothed upon with glory. Now, speaking of temple, think about the kind of experience that's happening here. He's already back in chapter six, he was anointed and washed. Remember when it spoke of anoint your eyes with clay and then wash them away so that you can see. He's already been washed and anointed. Now he is being clothed with glory. The heavens, the veil that separates us from God is being parted so he can truly see. Remember last week we talked about the three body parts that were problematic. Their hearts have waxed hard. Their ears are dull of hearing. Their eyes cannot see afar off. And so God was going to work on their heart and on their eyes and on their ears. He already worked on the ear last week with, this is what you'll need to say, Enoch, even if you're slow of speech. I'll give you the words. And then the eyes. This is what you'll see and hopefully help the people to see as well. So wash away the world's dirt. And remember last week I said, we haven't gotten to the heart yet. Well, that's today. And we're starting to see Enoch's heart be changed as it begins to resonate on the same frequency as the heart of God. And so what's happening here? Again, washed, anointed, clothed, veil parts, verse four, and I saw the Lord. He stood before my face and he talked with me, even as a man talketh one with another face to face. This sounds a lot like what we'll see in Exodus chapter 33, when Moses has an experience like that. You could couple it with the first vision where Joseph Smith has an experience like that. This is the hope. And in many ways, this is what we're practicing for when we go to the temple, to be able to have these kinds of epiphanies that someday to be able to see the face of God. D&C, what, 88 tells us that, that it will come in his own way and in his own time, according to his own will, but that we can have similar experiences. It's awe-inspiring. And again, it's what constitutes Zion. Well, what's the Lord's message to Enoch? Look, he says, and I will show unto thee the world for the space of many generations. Again, And similar to what we saw in Moses chapter one, the grand epiphany and panoramic vision that Moses has. Verse five, it came to pass that I beheld in the valley of Shum and lo, a great people which dwelt in tents, which were the people of Shum. And again, the Lord said unto me, look, and I looked towards the north and I beheld the people of Canaan, which dwelt in tents. Remember last time where they talked about those that were going to stay, tarry behind and watch the tents because the rest of us are going to go up and behold the seer. And we talked a little bit about this tension between tarrying and ascending, or between watching worldly possessions, or going up to see the seer. Well, here you have these two civilizations, these two tribes, perhaps, Shom and Canaan. And they're all the type that are down in the valleys instead of up in the mountains. They're dwelling in tents. And then seven, the Lord said unto me, prophesy. Now, back in chapter six, Enoch was first told to prophesy. And again, baby steps. I'm slow as speech. I'm inadequate. I'm just a lad. Everybody hates me. Well, here's the thing to prophesy, repent. And repentance is such a beautiful prophecy because you do know the future of forgiveness and redemption. Well, this is going to be a more specific kind of time sensitive. This is what's about to happen here. He says, dwellers, against the mountain inhabitants. But here it's evil against evil. It's a dog-eat-dog world. It is survival of the fittest. It is a war of all against all. Thomas Hobbes talks about that in Leviathan. That's his picture of human nature. It's a scary scene. In some ways, the world has become inhabited by a multitude of Canes, looking for ways to murder and get gain. That was the secret combination. You see a similar parallel in verse 8, Behold, the Lord shall curse the land with much heat, and the barrenness thereof shall go forth forever. And there was a blackness came upon all the children of Canaan, that they were despised among all people. Now, I don't totally know what to make of that blackness coming upon them. And I do understand that throughout so much of Judeo-Christian history, people have used the so-called curse of Cain as some kind of justification for African slavery, which is not justified in that text. There's no connection to Africa, first of all. In the Genesis account that we studied last week, this idea of a mark being placed upon Cain was actually meant to protect him. I guess that was two weeks ago. Now, to protect him, not as an additional curse. We talked about last year in the Book of Mormon, two years ago, sorry, the difference between the curse and the mark when it came to the Lamanites. And again, that has nothing to do with slavery. It has nothing to do with Africa. We don't jump to those conclusions. There's even the possibility here that blackness might be metaphorical rather than literal. We don't know exactly what the mark, in fact, Book of Mormon language, a mark, anything that helps people distinguish between those that are with God and those that were without him, because that's the curse. The curse is separation from God. It's always been that same curse. And it's a curse we bring upon ourselves. Ask Cain about that. So here, people that because of their own secret combinations, again, here we have the opposite of Zion. One heart, one mind? No, they are dividing and slaying one another. Dwelling in righteousness? No, it is wicked. And in some ways, rather than having the fruits of the Spirit, talk about the fruits of the fall, no wonder their land is barren and unfruitful. No wonder this heat has spread so that nothing can grow. No wonder this darkness has come upon them because the light of Christ is absent from their countenance. And there we see at the end that they were despised among all people. There is, again, something to discern the righteous from the wicked and to try to stay on the Lord's side of the line. In verse 9, it came to pass that the Lord said unto me, look, there's a lot of looking going on here. This is like 1 Nephi 11, right? As God is trying to help Nephi understand Lehi's vision of what? Of a tree of life. They were not very far removed from the generation that stood in its midst. And so let's see what they're needing to see. The Lord said unto me, look, and I looked and I beheld the land of Sharon and the land of Enoch and the land of Omner and the land of Henai and the land of Shem and the land of Hanar and the land of Hananiah and all the inhabitants thereof. We're starting to broaden our perspective here, just like Moses did in Moses 1. And the Lord said unto me, go to this people, say unto them, repent, lest I come out and smite them with a curse and they die. Enoch, you've already seen in vision that it's going to happen with the people of Canaan. We want to help the other inhabitants of the land far and wide to avoid a similar self curse. And so preach repentance. Verse 11, he gave unto me a commandment that I should baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son, which is full of grace and truth and of the Holy Ghost, which beareth record of the Father and the Son. Just like we saw in Adam's own experience, being baptized and receiving the Holy Ghost through the Spirit of God himself. To see that message, the fourth article of faith, passed down from generations. This is the good news. This is the gospel. So Enoch continued to spread it. Verse 12, it came to pass that Enoch continued to call upon all the people, save it were the people of Canaan, to repent. That people had cut themselves off from God, brought upon themselves the curse, and weren't given that same opportunity. We see that in the Book of Mormon, where Mormon is desiring to cry repentance to all, and the Lord stops his mouth. And are they past feeling? Have they gotten to a point where the Spirit ceaseth to strive with man? We'll see that next week in the flood episode. But here we're starting to see inklings of it among these people of Canaan before. Verse 13, and so great was the faith of Enoch that he led the people of God and their enemies came to battle against them. And he spake the word of the Lord. Now remember last time it was the word of God that came at such a cost for Enoch. He's the one that struggled with language. And yet what did God say? Open your mouth and it shall be filled and all thy words will I justify. You'll move mountains, you'll turn rivers from their course. And that's exactly what happened. Why? Because Enoch was willing to walk with God. I in you and you in me, wherefore walk with me. And with that kind of companionship, no amount of enemy. Those that be with us are more than those that be with them, right? And so notice what Enoch does with this word of God. He spake the word of the Lord and the earth trembled, and the mountains fled, even according to his command. The rivers of water were turned out of their course, and the roar of the lions was heard out of the wilderness. All nations feared greatly. So powerful was the word of Enoch, and so great was the power of the language which God had given him. Far cry from slow of speech, right? It's amazing what God can do with our inadequacy. If we will simply lay it on the altar and say, you can have me, weakness and all. And then the Lord makes weak things become strong unto us It exactly what he did with Enoch as promised Mountains moving rivers turning and the roar of the lion Now, maybe there's a literal component there. I don't know. But spiritually speaking, symbolically speaking, when Alma and Amulek come out of the prison reduced to rubble. And it says that their enemies fled before them as goats flee before lions. In the book of Amos, we'll get to at the end of this year, Amos compares prophets to lions. And when he says that surely the Lord God will do nothing save he reveal his secrets to his servants, the prophets, famous verse. Well, the very next verse, the lion hath roared. You see what Amos is getting across there? The roar of the lions. Every time I tune into General Conference, there is a pride of lions roaring from Salt Lake City. It's amazing to see that. And all of that miraculous power came because of the power of God's language, the power of God's word, which we get to study anytime we open his scripture. Verse 14, there also came up a land out of the depth of the sea. So great was the fear of the enemies of the people of God that they fled and stood afar off and went up upon the land which came up out of the depth of the sea. I don't know about you, if there was some like new made island or peninsula, I'd be a little, I'd be a little iffy. I'm not sure if I would rush out there. You know, they always say that, Well, land is a good thing to invest in because they're not making any more of it. Well, maybe not. Maybe they are making more of it. But I'd be a little nervous if it's brand new and unproven. What's interesting is people in the world willing to launch out into unknown ideologies, unproven philosophies, because they're scared of having to live according to the standards of absolute truth. God has conveyed his word, and yet some people just run from it into land that the bedrock hasn't even really settled yet. In verse 15, the giants of the land also stood afar off, and there went forth a curse upon all people that fought against God. There again, giants could be literal. Perhaps there were just larger people at that time period, or maybe this is metaphorical. and people that think of themselves as so much bigger than anyone else, I can handle it. I can stand up to truth or righteousness. I can stand up to God himself. Look at me, I'm a giant. And yet those that get too big for their own britches sometimes are the ones that are most afraid of the consequences of the decisions that they're making once they come to see them for what they are. I would so much rather be a giant of the Lord. The Hebrew term here is Nephilim. And I think it's amazing that Nephi, Nephilim, Nephi, some have suggested that Nephi, who was large in stature, his name was based on the same Hebrew root. Fascinating possibilities there. But he was a true giant of the Lord, not a giant in his own eyes. Verse 16, and from that time forth. There were wars and bloodsheds among them, but the Lord came and dwelt with his people and they dwelt in righteousness. We're getting closer and closer to this Zion community, but notice what they had to come through in order to get there. And in fact, it's interesting when you read in the Book of Mormon, King Benjamin's address creates a Zion people. They cry out with one voice. There's one heart, one mind. They covenant to dwell in righteousness. There is no poor among them. That's Amosiah 4, to care for the poor and needy around them. King Benjamin pulls off an Enoch-like experience. And yet go back and see the background of King Benjamin. And if you see it in Words of Mormon and in Omni, he's a battle-hardened old warrior by the time he's giving his final address. he did have to fight the enemies of God and prevail over them. Exactly what's happening here with Enoch. Verse 17, the fear of the Lord was upon all nations. So great was the glory of the Lord, which was upon his people. There's some parallels to that in D&C 45 also about Zion. And the Lord blessed the land and they were blessed upon, notice the specific places, the mountains and upon the high places and did flourish. Who shall ascend to the hill of the Lord? The psalmist asks. Those who have clean hands and a pure heart. Those that will turn and ascend the right mountain. Those that won't worry about the tent keepers and will leave the valley and the rear view mirror and climb to the mountain of God. And then verse 18, which is what we're aiming for throughout this chapter and throughout our own discipleship. And the Lord called his people Zion. They qualified for it. They were of one heart, one mind. They felt the right things. They thought the right things, one with one another, one with God. They dwelt in righteousness. Righteousness was not just a passing visitor or a passing phase. They lived in it. Remember what Enoch said last week, I come from the land of my fathers, a land of righteousness. That's who we are. It's where we're from. It's what we're trying to spread around the world. There was no poor among them. So come, wherever you happen to be, whatever stage of faith or whatever level of righteousness, if you'll come, when all is said and done, there will be no poor. There is enough and to spare, enough to share with those that struggle or that suffer. So just come. And they did to see what Enoch accomplished to establish Zion, but he's not done. Again, this could be the crescendo and the climax of chapter seven. And yet we're barely a quarter of the way through, suggesting that even when we've arrived, we haven't fully arrived. In fact, look at verse 19, And Enoch continued his preaching in righteousness unto the people of God. And it came to pass in his days that he built a city that was called the city of holiness, even Zion. Did you catch that? Enoch continued his preaching. Oh, he's building Zion, but it's not a permanent state until we have, oh, permanently changed our hearts to become more like Jesus. To see that continuation then, the need for ongoing encouragement until the city itself. It's like, is Zion a people or is it a place? By now it's both. The Lord called his people Zion in 18, but as they continue to gather and assemble and build themselves and build their culture, their society, then the entire city itself can be called Zion, a city of holiness. Remember, if Eden is a garden of innocence, Zion is a city of holiness. And holiness is greater than innocence. It typically just, you have to pass from innocence into guilt. This is the creation fall atonement model. You have to pass through guilt to recognize that innocence is not enough. And to just get back to the level of innocence is mere justification. And what Christ has come for is true sanctification, which brings us beyond just the justification, elevation of Eden, onto sanctification, the elevation of Gethsemane and Golgotha, to see that this hill of the Lord we're trying to ascend. Now, verse 20, the conversation picks up again. It came to pass that Enoch talked with the Lord, and he said unto the Lord, surely Zion shall dwell in safety forever. Interesting word there, safety, surrounded by enemies, having to move mountains and reroute rivers in order to protect the people of God. So safety, that's the word that's used at the end of D&C 45. And if you've ever felt unsafe physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually, Zion is a place where you can dwell in safety forever. But then notice the Lord goes on. But the Lord said unto Enoch, Zion have I blessed, but the residue of the people have I cursed, which to me suggests an interesting reality. Enoch, you have done an incredible work gathering the righteous, but not everyone has listened to you. You've done an amazing job overcoming your enemies, but your enemies are still my own children. I bless you. The residue have I cursed. In fact, they cursed themselves, cut themselves off from me. But no one can cut themselves off from my paternal regard, to borrow a phrase from Joseph Smith, to cut themselves off from the love and concern of heavenly parents. And what we see throughout so much of the rest of this chapter is God looking at both sides and wanting to help people move from the residue up to redemption, to go from the valley to the mountain, to go from cursedness to blessedness. Zion, I've blessed, the residue have I cursed, but I'm aware of them. I'm aware of both. I remember years ago in a seminary class when I first started teaching, We were talking about the second coming and describing the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And for me, I had oversimplified it. Just say, yeah, it's great for the righteous. It's dreadful for the wicked, but kind of, oh, well, we better be righteous. And a sweet young woman who was far more sensitive than I raised her hand and said, but for Jesus, won't it be both? And I said, what do you mean? And she said, well, he died for all of them. Just some accepted and some don't. To picture judgment finally being passed and that day being great for Jesus as he looks at Zion, but dreadful for him and for the Father as they look upon the residue who have remained outside their redeeming reach. Well, what is God going to do for them and with them? Buckle up for the rest of the chapter. Verse 21, it came to pass that the Lord showed unto Enoch all the inhabitants of the earth. He is this grand panoramic vision that prophets, especially dispensation heads, seem to have. He beheld, and lo, Zion, in process of time, was taken up into heaven. And the Lord said unto Enoch, Behold, mine abode forever. Don't you love that phrase, in process of time? I guess we're back to that miracle that happened in stages for the man born blind. This was not just a one and done, this was in process of time. And so if you're still wrestling with your elevation, a valley pull in one direction and mountain pulling you in the other. If you're still wrestling with, am I Zion or am I residue? Which direction am I going? We seem to keep turning and turning again. Well, it's process of time. So be patient with yourself and be patient with those that you love. In verse 22, Enoch also beheld the residue of the people, which were the sons of Adam. So it's just like I see both great and the dreadful, Enoch, you need to also. I need you to have a heart like mine. So as excited as you are about the success among the saints in Zion, I need you to see the residue also. They are also the sons of Adam. That's not many generations have passed. There's relation we're talking about here. They were a mixture of all the seed of Adam, save it were the seed of Cain, for the seed of Cain were black and had not place among them. Again, we're back to that same challenge. Is this literal or metaphorical? Is this a curse or is it Mark? Again, don't ever use these things to justify racism. Sadly, throughout so much of history, including early church history, such passages were and have been used for that kind of justification. It does not require that kind of interpretation. Okay. And unfortunately, so often people will come to the scriptures with their own answers already set in stone and then try to seek justification. We can't afford to do that. Okay. So be careful with those kinds of passages. Now, verse 23, after that Zion was taken up into heaven, Enoch beheld and lo, all the nations of the earth were before him. Now we're watching prophecy unfold, which is defined as history in reverse. And so he's watching the history of the world before it happens. And he's seen, okay, Zion has now been taken up. Where do we go from here? The righteous have been gathered and translated. And now what is left and what shall we do for them? 24, there came generation upon generation and Enoch was high and lifted up, even in the bosom of the father and of the son of man. And behold, the power of Satan was upon all the face of the earth. So it looks like Enoch at least has a safe vantage point. Caught up to the bosom of the father. And this is really where he, remember, we've seen the eye and the ear. We have to get to the heart. So Enoch, come and don't just see with me or sit with me, feel with me. Come and place yourself right here in my bosom. Feel my beating heart. And the feelings that I have, we're going to talk in a moment about a God of body, parts, and passions, a far cry from the God of the creeds that have denied him body and denied him parts, and worst of all, denied him passions. I need you to come right here in my bosom and feel some things. Verse 25, he saw angels descending out of heaven. And he heard a loud voice saying, woe, woe be unto the inhabitants of the earth. So picture God in heaven, Satan and his power upon the earth, angels ascending and descending, trying to connect the two in order to bring out, to continue gathering out the righteous from below and bringing them above. Because what are they up against? What happens to them if they stay at that lower elevation? 26 haunts me. This verse, if you really think about it hard enough, we'll give you the willies. It'll keep you up at night. If you're reading in the dark, make sure you turn on some lights for this one. Verse 26, he beheld Satan and he had a great chain in his hand and it veiled the whole face of the earth with darkness. And he looked up and laughed and his angels rejoiced. Oh, that verse does bring a tremor to the soul, as Elder Maxwell used to say. There's a verse in 3 Nephi, by the way, I think it's chapter 9, where after the destruction of the wicked before the coming of Christ in 3 Nephi 8, the Lord describes the laughter of Satan, that he is laughing at the slaying of my people, that there is, when the adversary overcomes you, or even to put it in a different perspective, you could spend your life serving the adversary. And yet when he brings you down to his level, there's no gratitude. There's only derision. There's only mockery. It's like Korihor, who makes a good ministry for the adversary. And then when he is finally trodden underfoot by fellow apostates, what's Mormon's takeaway? Oh, that's fitting. Thus we see that Satan does not support his children in the last days. Instead, he speedily drags their souls down to hell. There is no loyalty on that side. There is no... It's like we receive wages of him who we list to obey. He has nothing good to pay you with. And so for those who fall to his fictions, they end up getting laughed at by the very person who tricked them. Now think about the elements of that part of the vision. He sees Satan. He sees the earth. Satan has a chain. And with it, he veils the whole face of the earth with darkness. And then this laughter. So what's the chain of darkness? Alma teaches this beautifully in Alma chapter 12, that if we have a hard heart, we receive the lesser portion of the word until we know nothing concerning the mysteries of God. And that is what is meant by the chains of hell. So chains of hell, that's spiritual ignorance. I mean, flip it around, you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free. Oh, so a knowledge of the truth, the kinds of things that Adam has been preaching since he left the garden, the things that Enoch has been preaching with the voice and power and language of God himself. Will we open our eyes to that or will we remain blinded by the chains of hell? In fact, the more I think about verse 26, I think the best visual aid for this is the story of Samson. Samson, we'll get to this in a couple of months when we get to the book of Judges. Samson was like the one judge that really had no reason to feel inadequate for the job ahead. I mean, he could do anything, right? We'll get into his specifics when we get to his story. But when all is said and done, what happens when the Philistines finally capture him? They put out his eyes. It's hard to fight when you can't see. They chain him into the temple of their false god, which they then pack with Philistines who can laugh and mock at their fallen enemy. Do you see all the same elements here? That here we are, Samson's. Here we are, children of God with every bit of divine potential to overcome the enemy of all righteousness. Will we? Or will we succumb to an adversary who wants to bind and blind us and then mock at us in our fallen condition. That's exactly what they did to Samson until he brought the temple down upon them all, including himself. Please, my friends, beware the chains of hell, the spiritual darkness that would keep us in ignorance of our true identity and divine potential. And if you listen hard enough, nobody likes to be laughed at. It's one of the most shameful things. I've done a lot of study on the power of ridicule. And it's interesting, many early philosophers, as they're trying to wrap their heads around it, said, why is it that we're so afraid of that? Why is it if we're in a crowded room and we hear laughter, our almost instinctual thought is, I'm sure they're laughing at me. Well, maybe this can motivate us. I don't want to hear the laughter of the adversary at my own expense. I'd rather ignore his temptations. I'd rather overcome his opposition. I want to see through the veil of darkness and escape the chains through the light of the world. And that's exactly what Enoch is trying to preach so that people can prepare and escape. Verse 27, Enoch beheld angels descending out of heaven there. That is, again, God is not giving up on this fallen world. They're bearing record of the Father and the Son. And the Holy Ghost fell on many. And then notice this, and they were caught up by the powers of heaven into Zion. So when the angels descended, they didn't re-ascend empty-handed. So often we think of Noah's mission, which we'll study next week, as an absolute failure. That for 120 years, as he was building the ark, everyone was mocking, speaking of laughter, mocking him, thinking you're crazy for doing this, and no one would listen. Well, that doesn't seem to be the case because according to verse 27, this is after, remember, Zion has already been caught up. God hasn't given up on the people. Yes, the next big event is the flood, but in between Zion's rapture, Zion's ascent to heaven and the flood, the righteous are caught up by the powers of heaven into Zion. I used to feel bad for Noah that he had a real conversion problem. Just nobody would join the church. Well, that's not the case. He had a retention problem. He just couldn't hold on to them. As soon as they had converted, they were caught up to heaven. And we'll see why there had to be some that remain next week. But I love the thought that even though Zion has ascended, it's not too late to join. In fact, that's what Zion from below is meant to accomplish. In some ways to create this conduit between heaven and earth, to set up Jacob's ladder, as we'll study in a month or two, to see what God is asking us to become through all of this so that we can connect back to Zion. We can ascend above the problems of the world. So there is good news in 27. Now, it's not all good news, though. 28, it came to pass that the God of heaven looked upon the residue of the people and he wept. And Enoch bore record of it, saying, how is it that the heavens weep and shed forth their tears as the rain upon the mountains? You see, this is so shocking for Enoch. How is this possible that you could weep? But again, notice who the Lord is looking at. Enoch seems to be focused most on Zion. And look at what we did. We pulled it off. the righteous remnant. And again, God doesn't have that luxury because he can't simply play favorites and root for the winning team. He has, both teams are comprised of his own posterity, the people he cares so much about. And seeing the residue, the ones that resist repentance and refuse to be caught up to heaven. The heavens weep over them. They shed forth tears. No wonder there's about to be a flood. We think of the flood as evidence of God's wrath. In many ways, it's more truly evidence of God's sorrow. And Enoch is so shocked by this that he bears record of it. It's like, well, this is a journal entry. I didn't think God had tear ducts. I didn't think that, that omnipotence and omniscience itself, that the, the moved, it's interesting that there's a, um, in, in theology, they call, they often call God the unmoved mover. In other words, he's the, the source of it all. Okay. And so he moves everything. He's the uncaused first cause. He's the unmoved mover. There's actually some interesting theology that's been done in kind of corners of evangelical Christianity. It's called open theology, and it speaks, there's actually a great book called The Most Moved Mover. It's fascinating because it describes a God of passions, a God of feelings, a God who wants relationships with us. It's such a far cry from the God of the creeds that fellow evangelicals are very concerned about the salvation of these evangelical scholars who are working in open theology. And yet those scholars who are writing these things say, well, what we're trying to explain may seem foreign to the creeds. It's certainly not foreign to the Bible. I mean, read your scriptures again. We're not being anti-scriptural. Again, we're born-again Christians. We love Bible only. And they don't even have restoration scripture like we do to be able to clarify just how right they are. But they say, read the Old Testament, read the New. And it is a God who longs to connect with his creation, who cares for them and speaks with them. Say what you will from Nicaea or Constantinople or Chalcedon or any of the other Christian councils. The scriptures speak of a different kind of God, and actually they speak of this kind. Enoch was so floored by it, he had to bear record. And yet, when I first read The Unmoved Mover, I kept thinking, what's the big deal? I learned this stuff in primary. Well, that's the added benefit of restoration scripture and restored truth, restored to a correct understanding of our heavenly parents and the love they have for us. Thank you, Enoch, for bearing record. It was shocking to you. I hope it's not so shocking to us. I hope we know our father in those terms. Well, verse 29, Enoch says to the Lord, how is it that thou canst weep, seeing thou art holy and from all eternity to all eternity? Now, I want us to wrap our heads around what Enoch is doing here as if to reassure God himself. So here he starts, wait a minute, how could you weep? And then notice what he's doing here mentally, okay, trying to make sense of this. His first thought is, God, you're holy. You always will be from eternity to eternity. In other words, no amount of wickedness on the world's part can stain you. You're far enough removed in terms of holiness that none of the mud we're slinging at each other could end up staining your spotless raiment. He goes on in 30, and were it possible that man could number the particles of the earth, yea, millions of earths like this, it would not be a beginning to the number of thy creations. You see how parallel this is to Moses 1, as Moses is being shown worlds without number? Like I said in that first lesson, God is both the infinite and the intimate. And which side is Enoch most familiar with right here? The infinite. God, look around you. Quit looking down at this world, because you're right, there's not much good to see, especially now that the city of Zion has been lifted up and there's not much left but residue. Well, look around at the universe itself and there's no end to thy creation. In fact, the way verse 30 ends is amazing as Enoch focuses on God. He says, thy curtains are stretched out still and yet thou art there. Thy bosom is there. Remember, that's where Enoch was. He got caught up to the bosom of God. And also thou art just, thou art merciful and kind forever. Now, please try to wrap our hearts around verse 30. What Enoch is doing when he sees a weeping God is saying God why would you weep over this one miserable speck of a planet When you have worlds without number when what we done wrong doesn reflect upon you in any way you still just You're just for destroying the earth with a flood next week. you're just in your righteous indignation because you've been merciful all along as well. You're kind forever. You have given them chance after chance to repent as Adam to Seth to Enos, all the way down this family of righteousness. Our family business is to cry repentance. You can wash your hands of responsibility because it's not your fault that the people of this planet have gone so horribly astray. He goes on in 31, thou has taken Zion to thine own bosom. Again, think how successful you were with people as soon as they give you a chance and listen to you. In fact, from all thy creations, from all eternity to all eternity. So, Zion itself is much bigger than one city. It's bigger than this one planet. There is a universal Zion. of people who, from across creation itself, who have come to know their creator. Not but peace, justice, and truth is the habitation of thy throne, and mercy shall go before thy face and have no end. So again, Enoch's underlying question, how is it thou canst weep? Now before we turn to the Lord's response to Enoch, again I want to just dramatize for us the way Enoch is trying to console the creator. Look at all creation. You're that glorious. You're that powerful. There's no end to your glory, your wisdom, your justice, your mercy, your power. So don't feel bad about one little speck of perdition. this is the i mean you talk look at sports and if you're a professional baseball player and you hit the ball one out of every three chances you're amazing uh in basketball you you make a shot every other one you miss more than you make and you're still amazing it's like god look around and you're batting almost a thousand. It's miraculous. Nothing horrible that we do can diminish thy divinity. So just forget about this planet and rejoice in all the other good that is being done throughout the expanse. Well, 32, notice the Lord's response. And here we shift from Enoch's focus on the infinite to God's own focus on the intimate. It's as if he says to Enoch, you think it's about me? No, it's about you. So how could I not be devastated for their sake? 32, the Lord says to Enoch, behold, these thy brethren. He doesn't even talk about himself. It's them. These thy brethren, that relationship. He doesn't even call them residue here. It's thy brethren. They are the workmanship of mine own hands. I gave unto them their knowledge in the day I created them. And in the garden of Eden gave I unto man his agency. And my whole purpose in doing that, this is my work and my glory to bring to pass your eternal life, your immortality, to be able to put in perspective my hopes, my dreams for you. I'm always haunted by that phrase in a little town of Bethlehem. The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight. The confluence of hopes and fears, that's the garden of eden that's a piece of fruit that will open the doors to greater hopes and yet greater fears as well to see god looking down upon us i gave you agency i gave you knowledge i let you choose and look how you're choosing 33 unto thy brethren have i said and also given commandment. So I wasn't just saying it, I was commanding it, that they should love one another. There's the second great commandment. And that they should choose me, their father. There's the first great commandment. But behold, they are without affection. They hate their own blood. You see God's response? Enoch, thanks for trying to make me feel better. thanks for trying to comfort those who stand in need of comfort. But that's the second step, if you remember that verse from Mosiah 18. First step is to mourn with those that mourn. I brought you to my bosom for a reason, and it wasn't just to rejoice in your successes. It was so that you could share in my sorrows for the people you've been called to teach, including the ones that won't listen to you. You have to feel as much concern for them as joy you feel for those who will listen. So here's the tragedy. I gave them agency. I gave them knowledge. I taught them what to do with the agency I gave them. It's like, this is all I was asking. Love God and love neighbor. And yet those are the two things you couldn't bring yourself to do. That idea of hating their own blood, that could be either, again, you're all related, okay? We're only seven generations back from Eden. Can you not love your fellow man when they are real family? I was amazed last summer there was a family reunion for this first family they joined the church in Italy, the John Daniel Malin family. And it's his children, and there's a certain line of the family tree that has massive, massive posterity. They're amazing. But I come from a different sibling. And I had met some fellow Malins, and they invited me to come to this family reunion. And it was amazing to go and not know anyone, but love everyone, because we were family. My wife, when she was in Tennessee, when we lived there, she found out that on one family line, it was all Tennesseans. I told her, I'm like, I had no idea I married a Southern Belle. Welcome home. And she and her sister went out and did some family history and found the little country town an hour west of Nashville where their ancestors went and her had lived. And they drove out there and were just looking for gravestones, but it's not a big town. It's not like a city cemetery. It's just like graves on farmer's fields scattered throughout the wilderness. And so they found some kind of diner in town and looked for the oldest person present and said, excuse me, we have ancestors that lived in this town a hundred years ago or whatever. I just wondering if you could maybe point us in the direction of people that we might be able to talk to. And he said, oh, well sit down. Southern hospitality, right? And he asked, so what's the family? And they said, well, the Hoopers and this sweet old country bumpkin said, Hoopers? Sit down, y'all are kin. And it's like, well, I'm related to you somehow. And you're related to lots of people in town. So let's, he spent the rest of the day with them just going around, showing, finding these gravestones in farmer's fields and introducing them to this town that their ancestors had lived in. Amazing. It's supposed to be that way across any dividing line. Nation, race, gender, orientation, you name it, it's still our own blood. Can we see each other like that? Can we treat each other like that? I also wonder, by the way, if there's a certain self-loathing that sometimes informs or maybe even generates that loathing of others. There's an irony in that second great commandment, to love thy neighbor as thyself. Well, actually, in a twisted way, maybe they are. Maybe people are loving their neighbor as themselves because they don't love themselves at all and therefore can't bring themselves to love anyone else. When we hate our own blood, we end up hating the blood all around us because that's our blood too. Now 34, the fire of mine indignation is kindled against them. In my hot displeasure will I send in the floods upon them, for my fierce anger is kindled against them. Now think of the wording there, fire, hot, kindled. Think of the imagery. And if there is a hot burning forest fire, What's the best way to put it out? Well, flood it with water. It's interesting, again, the flood, was the flood an act of anger or was the flood an act of mercy to overcome the righteous indignation of God? We'll talk more at length about that next week. 35, behold, I am God. Man of holiness is my name. Man of counsel is my name. And endless and eternal is my name also. So in God's focus on us, the intimate, he's not losing sight of himself, the infinite. He's perfectly kept these in balance. He is proving the contrary constantly. I know who I am, Enoch, but I can't just retreat into my all-sufficiency when I care so much for my children. I may be man of holiness, but it's holiness I want to share. I may be man of counsel. I just want people to take that advice, endless and eternal, I am in this for the duration, not just for this, oh, three score years and 10 of the mortal experience of people. I've got the big picture to think about. Verse 36, wherefore I can stretch forth mine hands and hold all the creations which I have made, and mine eye can pierce them also. And among all the workmanship of mine hands, there has not been so great wickedness as among thy brethren. Now that statement ought to sober us. You can't count the creations. They are innumerable unto man, but I know them all. I've numbered them. I've named them. I can hold them all in my hands. I can see every particle. My eye can pierce them. And I've never seen anything like I'm seeing there on earth. Wow. We see a similar statement from Jacob in 2 Nephi 10, when he talks about, he's prophesying of the coming of the Messiah. And he says that he has to come at his time, at his place among those people, because no one else would crucify their God. Yikes again. Wow. So Christ had to come. Some have wondered, why this planet? If God is the God of world without number, If we can take section 76 that describes that Christ has created them all and redeemed them all, then why, how lucky are we that we got to come to the same earth that Jesus came to? The NC 88 has that incredible kind of cosmic parable of visiting parts of the vineyard wherever they might be. And that's cosmos we're talking, not just parts of planet earth. Well, here, yeah, I guess it is an honor to be on the same earth that Jesus came to. But why did he come here? Because it was the only place that he could fulfill his purpose, which included his own sacrificial death. In a way, we live in the sewer of the universe. And perhaps at the worst possible time, as the earth goes through its own fall stage in preparation for its ultimate redemption, to become the celestial kingdom for us, no wonder God is weeping over this I've never seen such wickedness as what I see among your brethren verse 37 behold their sins shall be upon the heads of their fathers because their their parents raised them wrong they had the choices before them are we going to go with Cain's way or Abel's way which Adam and Eve made all things known unto their sons and their daughters that's such an important verse back from Moses 5. These fathers, though, these mothers did not teach their children. They didn't tap into that branch of the family tree that was establishing righteousness. And so, sins shall be upon their father's heads. Satan shall be their father, when God intended to be their father all along. And misery shall be their doom, and the whole heavens shall weep over them even all the workmanship of mine hands. Wherefore should not the heavens weep, seeing these shall suffer? Now do you understand, Enoch? You can close your jaw-dropped mouth now, so shocked that I, in all my omnipotence, would condescend to cry. How can I not? now that you're here in my bosom with me, how can you not weep? All the workmanship of my hands will weep over their fellow workmanship, their own blood, their own brethren. How can I keep from crying? God is saying here. If any of you need to know this God better, if any of you are still haunted by the God of the creeds, without body parts and passions. Then we spend more time pondering the God of Moses chapter 7. Spend some more time trying to to approximate the bosom of God. If you want an amazing book to help you with that, Terrell and Fiona Givens are an amazing couple, so well read, not just in scripture, but in world literature and with hearts of gold, uh, in a book that they call that is called the God who weeps. Now it's an amazing message to help introduce all of us to, to the God of Moses seven, who isn't confined to Moses seven by any stretch. This is our true father in heaven. This is truly how he feels about us, even in our lowest moments, even in our worst days, even when we're nothing but residue. Okay. Let me give you one taste from that beautiful book. Terrell and Fiona Givens say this, tenderness suggests sensitivity. A loving heart, like an exposed nerve, is by definition susceptible to pain. Do we really want to believe in a God who is thus exposed, unshielded from human sin and evil? Not merely as God incarnate, Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of Man, who suffered, bled, and died, but as God, the Eternal Father, the Everlasting One, the Man of Holiness? The Christian Church's first theologian, Origen, was sure this must be so. This is what he said, the Father too, himself, the God of the universe, patient and abounding in mercy and compassionate, does he not in some way suffer? Or do you not know that when he directs human affairs. He suffers human suffering on account of us. And there's the great origin, one of the greatest of early Christian theologians. And he knows this kind of God, this kind of God that was eventually relegated to some distant part of the universe where he wouldn't have to feel what we're going through. That's not the God that we worship. In fact, drawing attention to the phrase or the language of verse 37, which we just read, when it says that misery shall be their doom, the Givens say this, it is not their wickedness, but their misery, not their disobedience, but their suffering that elicits the God of heaven's tears. Not until Gethsemane and Golgotha does the scriptural record reveal so unflinchingly the costly investment of God's love in his people, the price at which he placed his heart upon them. There could be nothing in this universe, or in any possible universe, more perfectly good, absolutely beautiful, worthy of adoration, and deserving of emulation, than this God of love and kindness and vulnerability. That is why a gesture of belief in his direction, a decision to acknowledge his virtues as the paramount qualities of a divided universe, is a response to the best in us, the best and noblest of which the human soul is capable. A God without body or parts is conceivable, but a God without passions would engender in our hearts neither love nor interest. In the vision of Enoch, we find ourselves drawn to a God who prevents all the pain he can, assumes all the suffering he can, and weeps over the misery he can neither prevent nor assume. I am so grateful for the God of Enoch because he is our man of holiness. He is our man of counsel. He's our Father in heaven, and his passions are towards us, his children, no matter how far away from him you feel. There is room in his bosom yet for us all. And I pray we can know him and come unto him. In fact, if we truly know him, how can we not want to come unto him? That is love's beckoning call. That is the reach of redemption. And boy, is there a pull if we will simply be open to his invitation. Now, keep reading. Verse 38, behold, these which thine eyes are upon shall perish in the floods. Behold, I will shut them up. A prison have I prepared for them. Now, that sounds like bad news, but let's come back to this verse next week when we talk about the flood, and that prison is actually a place of preparation. That's what we see with the help of Peter in 1 Peter. It's what we see with the help of Joseph F. Smith in D&C 138. Verse 38 here sounds like bad news. It is glorious news. It is second chances from a God who weeps over children who miss their first opportunity, but it's not their only opportunity. So hold on to that thought as we wrestle with the flood next week. 39. And that which I have chosen, my chosen and anointed from the beginning, we saw in a previous chapter. That which I have chosen hath pled before my face, wherefore he suffereth for their sins, inasmuch as they will repent in the day that my chosen shall return unto me, and until that day they shall be in torment. You get shades of D&C 19 there, of repent or suffer as I suffered. But I came to suffer so that you wouldn't have to if you repented. That which I have chosen, that's Jesus. Pleading before God's face, there's D&C 45, right? The advocate with the Father, who is pleading our cause before him. 40, wherefore, for this shall the heavens weep, yea, and all the workmanship of mine hands. Now, he just shifted our attention for a moment to draw our gaze to another source of God's sorrow. Earlier, again, Enoch simply sees God weep and he's shocked by it, has to record it, right? Bear record. Why? You're everything. But you're my everything. So how can I not weep seeing that these shall suffer because of their sins? But then the attention to the spotlight turns to that whom I have chosen. There's Christ himself, and he will suffer for their sins. And that causes God the Father intense pain as well. So he is weeping over our suffering. He's weeping over the suffering of Jesus Christ, who suffered so that we wouldn't have to. Either way, God himself is suffering as a result. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son. He loved us that much, but he loved his only begotten son that much too. And so, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me, as Jesus says, feeling abandoned by the Father on the cross? Imagine what the Father must have been feeling as he is weeping over the sufferings of his only sinless son. And according to verse 40, God is not alone in his tears. All of creation, all his workmanship is weeping over the suffering of the Savior as well. In verse 41, he goes on, and it came to pass that the Lord spake unto Enoch and told Enoch all the doings of the children of men, not enough to see them, see all that they've done. And then notice what happens to Enoch now that he fully understands. Wherefore Enoch knew, and there's that Hebrew word for an intimate, experiential, visceral, gut-felt knowledge, a tasting of fruit in order to prize something. This isn't just cognitive acquiescence. This is experiential embrace. He knows. And what happens as a result of that knowledge? He looked upon their wickedness and their misery and wept and stretched forth his arms and his heart swelled wide as eternity and his bowels yearned and all eternity shook. That is one of the most profound passages in all of scripture because Enoch finally gets it. In fact, if you didn't know that you were talking about Enoch, you could picture Jesus there on the cross in verse 41, that Jesus knows each of us. Our hopes and fears are met in him. And in that knowledge, he sees our wickedness and in fact assumed it as his own, that he knows our misery and takes it upon himself. As a result, picture Christ weeping, stretching forth his arms. I can't imagine a better depiction of the crucifixion than this. Not only with his arms stretched wide, but his heart swelling as wide as eternity. Ask doctors about the crucifixion. And they say that when Jesus's side was pierced with the spear and out flowed blood and water. Remember we saw that last week in Moses chapter 6, that it's blood and spirit and water that's part of birth and rebirth and crucifixion. For blood and water to flow out, doctors suggest that that happened from a rupture in the heart of Christ himself, suggesting that all medical explanations aside, the simplest way to describe Christ's death was that he died of a broken heart. And so to picture his heart swelling wide as eternity, his bowels yearning, there's the guts, there's the visceral knowledge, there's the experiential anguish. His bowels yearn. He always says that shortly after the crucifixion and the resurrection, when he's among the Nephites in 3rd Nephi 17, what does he say? My bowels are filled with compassion. My bowels are filled with mercy. These are things I feel down to the gut level. And no wonder all eternity shook. To see what Jesus would go through, and to see what Enoch is going through as he steps into the bosom of God. The closer we come to God, Joseph Smith said, the more we will look with compassion upon perishing souls. We'll want to pick them up on our shoulders and cast their sins behind our backs. I love that quote from Joseph. He lived that way. He invited us to live that way. Enoch gets it. And now he fully understands why God is weeping, because he's joined him in his tears. That's a process we all need to go through. If we hope to cry repentance with feeling, out of charity instead of simply out of duty. These passages are meant to be life-changing. They were for Enoch. They need to be for us. Now, 42, Enoch's view goes from Christ back to the flood, which we'll study next week. Enoch also saw Noah and his family, that the posterity of all the sons of Noah should be saved with a temporal salvation. They're going to make it. 43, wherefore Enoch saw that Enoch built an ark and that the Lord smiled upon it and held it in his own hand. But upon the residue of the wicked, the floods came and swallowed them up. And again, there's great and dreadful and the father and the son feel them both. I do love that imagery though. People talk about how on earth could Noah have built something that would preserve, oh, the animal kingdom and preserve his own family as well. How is it even possible? I love the metaphor here of God smiling through his tears as the rain falls as floods upon the mountains. I love to see him, picture him holding the ark in his own hands. In fact, I remember when my, as a young father, we only had one child, a newborn, and my wife and baby were flying to Houston to see one of her best friends. And I remember being at the airport and helping them get to their gate and down the ramp onto the plane, and then just standing there, looking out the windows as the plane was taxiing out to the runway, which I could see. And then it took off and ascended, which I could see. And I stood there in the airport window, looking at that speck until it disappeared off in the distance. Because everything that mattered to me in life was on that plane My wife and my daughter that was it That was my whole existence in that tiny little metal tube that was going to be 30 feet above the ground I'd never been nervous about flying myself, but I all of a sudden got nervous about them flying because if something happened to them, that was my everything. And I remember them standing there at the window and I prayed silently and I said, Heavenly Father, this verse came to mind. And I said, Heavenly Father, please smile upon that aircraft and hold it in thy hands until you bring my family back to me. I know God has a sense of humor because when they landed in Houston and my wife called to say everything was okay, said, man, it is raining here like I've never seen before. It's total flood level here in Houston. And I just chuckled and I thought, God, that's not what I meant when I quoted that verse. You know that. You were supposed to treat it like the ark, but you weren't supposed to have it descend into a floodplain, okay? Well, God knows what he's doing. I am grateful that he smiles upon us. I'm grateful that he has our lives in his own hands. Now, 44, as Enoch saw this, he had bitterness of soul and wept over his brethren. Like I said, he understands now. He said unto the heavens, I will refuse to be comforted. But the Lord said unto Enoch, lift up your heart, be glad, look. I love that God won't allow Enoch even to finish the verse in the emotional state he's in. I'm glad you are finally feeling the level of sorrow that will bring you to tears. But if you remain there, you'll be of no help to them. You see, there's a proving of contraries that has to happen here too. Here's God's intimate to feel the pain, but infinite to be of help. Ask bishops about this. Ask therapists and counselors about this. Ask doctors and parents and friends and loved ones about this. You have to be close enough to mourn with those that mourn. And you have to have just enough distance to be able to comfort those that stand in need of comfort. Faith and great anxiety is how Jacob described it. He had to have that anxiety to be moved by the concerns of his people, but he hadn't have enough faith to lift them up to a higher level. So Enoch, to me, there's something powerful. I refuse to be comforted. At first, I don't understand your tears. What's so sad about this? And then it's like, oh, I get it and I'll never feel happy again. Talk about over-correcting instead of just correcting. So the Lord tries to correct the over-correction. Enoch, lift up your heart. There's cause to rejoice here. In fact, let me show you the source of it. 45, what is he supposed to look at? It came to pass that Enoch looked and from Noah, he beheld all the families of the earth. And he cried unto the Lord saying, when shall the day of the Lord come? When shall the blood of the righteous, the capital R righteous be shed that all they that mourn may be sanctified and have eternal life. So what is it he's searching for? As God says to look, look, and I'll show you something that will comfort you. Look, and I'll show you something that will help dry your tears or better said, shift them from tears of sorrow to tears of joy. It's the coming of the Son of Man. It is the righteous coming to shed his blood so that all who mourn may be sanctified. That's the solution to this problem. Yes, even that is a source of tears for me, because that is my, that which I have chosen, that is my beloved Son. That is the righteous. But it is both tears of sorrow for him and tears of joy for those that he saves. Christ himself would be shedding both kinds as well. Remember the way Alma describes it, which is such a beautiful parallel to Christ's feelings with atonement and crucifixion and resurrection. I felt joy as exceeding as was my pain. Oh, he's feeling both extremes in that contrary. Now verse 46, the Lord begins to answer. So, and remember the question, when will this time come? When will the Savior save things? 46, the Lord said, it shall be in the meridian of time, in the days of wickedness and vengeance. So meridian, the middle or the high point, when Christ shall come, the light of the world. There's noonday, right? It will be a day of darkness, however, wickedness, vengeance, just like your days, Enoch, just like our days for you and me. 47, behold, Enoch saw the day of the coming of the Son of Man, even in the flesh, and his soul rejoiced. The same one, I refuse to be comforted. Oh, all it takes is seeing Christ, seeing his ministry, understanding what he'll do. And again, sorrow will be swallowed up in joy. He rejoiced saying, the righteous, capital R again, is lifted up. The lamb is slain from the foundation of the world. And through faith, I am in the bosom of the father. And behold, Zion is with me. It's through Christ that we could all come. Now, it's again odd that his rejoicing would come in seeing crucifixion, which, like I said before, is a source of such sorrow. But it is sorrow mingled with joy. It is Christ's blood being shed, but being shed for us. And that is cause to rejoice. In 48, it came to pass that Enoch looked upon the earth, and he heard a voice from the bowels thereof. So what's the earth feeling here? Gut level. It says, woe, woe is me, the mother of men. I think Adam from the dust metaphorically, right? Or even bringing by the sweat of his brow, shall he bring forth bread from what? From the earth all the days of his life. The metaphor of mother earth and mother nature is a beautiful symbol here. Woe is me, the mother of men. I am pained. I am weary because of the wickedness of my children. When shall I rest and be cleansed from the filthiness which has gone forth out of me? When will my Creator sanctify me that I may rest and righteousness for a season abide upon my face? That's why I love thinking of the flood as the earth's baptism and the flood of fire at the second coming being its baptism by fire and the Holy Ghost. That's why I love the 10th article of faith, that the earth itself shall be renewed and receive its paratocycle glory. It's about time. It's been through so much, just enduring the filthiness that we are spreading across its face. In verse 49, when Enoch heard the earth mourn, he wept yet again and cried unto the Lord saying, O Lord, wilt thou not have compassion upon the earth? Wilt thou not bless the children of Noah? God, are you going to give them a second chance? Are we going to try again? Is there hope ahead? Verse 50, it came to pass that Enoch continued his cry unto the Lord saying, I ask thee, O Lord, in the name of thine only begotten, even Jesus Christ. You want to talk about a formal prayer here. All that thou doest do in the name of the only begotten. To see what he is calling upon Christ in hopes of affecting the Father's will, this is what he's asking for, that thou wilt have mercy upon Noah and his seed, that the earth might never more be covered by the floods. Now, we know that promise is given to Noah, and the rainbow becomes evidence of that fact, a token of the covenant, as it's called. Now, as we see here, that promise is actually rooted a few generations earlier in Enoch. That's his posterity too, after all. And he feels for them, gut level. And so, God, will you please be merciful upon them? Will you flood the earth with something other than water to give my posterity, Noah's posterity, a chance? We'll talk more about that next week, and we'll even see that Noah's rainbow is actually better described as the rainbow of Enoch. So preview of coming attractions. Now 51, the Lord could not withhold. Amazing statement. We saw that with the brother of Jared. Your faith is so great. I can't stay here behind the veil. I have to come through. You're outing me. Your faith is so strong. Same with Enoch. The Lord could not withhold and he covenanted with Enoch and swear unto him with an oath. And this is part of this rainbow as token of the covenant, that he would stay the floods, that he would call upon the children of Noah. Ah, okay. It's not just going to be consequence for their decision. It will be calling them into greater repentance and faithfulness. We'll see in a moment that there will be another kind of flood and it will be a flood of truth. That's what the Lord is covenanting with Enoch to give. The family business will continue. You and I are part of it. 52, he sent forth an unalterable decree. This one is set in stone, and he is the rock of Israel, that a remnant of his seed should always be found among all nations while the earth should stand. In some ways, this is preview of scattering of Israel. Why? So that a remnant of God's seed, that believing blood, will be found throughout all nation, kindreds, tongues, and people. So as soon as God begins to gather Israel, they gather the rest of the world with them. That's what's supposed to happen in our day. 53. The Lord said, Blessed is he through whose seed Messiah shall come. And that's going to include you, Enoch. He'll be part of your seed, and Noah's seed. For he saith, I am Messiah, the King of Zion, the rock of heaven, which is broad as eternity. Whoso cometh in at the gate and climbeth up by me shall never fall. Wherefore, blessed are they of whom I have spoken, for they shall come forth with songs of everlasting joy. I love verse 53. To see all of those names, I'm Messiah. I'm the anointed one, king and priest, the king of Zion. Who do you think brought that people up to me? Yeah, we can call it the city of Enoch, but Zion's a better name and it's God's Zion, not just Enoch's. Christ is the king. He's the rock of heaven. Remember on day three, was it, where land came out of sea, that solid rock grew out of chaos? Well, Christ is that rock of heaven, and he is as broad as eternity. There's no rolling off the bed, okay? There's no edge to it. You cannot escape the redeeming reach of Christ. You can deny it. You can reject it. But when his bows yearned, when his heart swelled, when his arms reached, they were as broad as eternity itself. And so you can come. Come in by the gate. Climb up by me. We'll see later this idea of Jacob's ladder. I hinted at that before. Angels ascending and descending and trying to bring people up to Zion. Well, if you'll climb up by me, you'll never fall. I've got you. A high enough ladder, your knees would probably start knocking. You'd get a little trembling of the soul at higher altitudes. But just climb up by me. Just eye to eye. Him on one side of the ladder, you on the other, maybe. Just looking at peering out between the rungs. Stick with me. Keep climbing. We got this. We're coming home. That's the invitation he's making to us. In 54, it came to pass that Enoch cried unto the Lord with another question. When the son of man cometh in the flesh, shall the earth rest? I pray thee, show me these things. I'm just worried about the mother earth. I'm worried about her posterity, my siblings, my blood. Will we finally be able to rest? And the Lord's response in 55, look, I'll show it to you. Look, and he looked and beheld the Son of Man lifted up on the cross after the manner of men. Notice he didn't just show Gethsemane, where we tend to focus our attention on atonement. He showed him the cross because it's the entire ordeal. It is Gethsemane to Golgotha to Garden Tomb. And even all of that, if you take section 19 seriously, was just preparation. Preparation for all that the Savior would do ever after to help us navigate sin and death ourselves. There are times we find ourselves in Gethsemane, but there's times we find ourselves in our own Calvary, and Christ can find us in both spots. To see this, to see him lifted up. And then 56, he heard a loud voice. The heavens were veiled, all the creations of God mourned. We saw earlier that they would. And the earth groaned, and the rocks were rent, and the saints arose, and were crowned at the right hand of the Son of Man with crowns of glory. There is crucifixion. There's a fascinating phrase in Jacob chapter 1, where he says, I just wish I could convince everyone to believe in Christ and to view his death and suffer his cross and bear the shame of the world. More than anything, Jacob wished we could see that. Well, that's exactly what Enoch is seeing here, and it's changing him. He sees the crucifixion. He sees its results. He sees its effect upon creation itself. In 57, as many of the spirits as we're in prison. Remember we saw the prison mentioned earlier for the residue that were swallowed up in the floods? Here he sees spirits in prison coming forth, standing on the right hand of God. The remainder were reserved in chains of darkness until the judgment of the great day. But that's additional chances. That's prison doors being flung open. In 58, again Enoch wept, But are we starting to see the constitution of his tears change from sorrow to joy? Enoch wept and cried unto the Lord saying, when, when shall the earth rest? 59. And Enoch beheld the son of man ascend up unto the father. And he called unto the Lord saying, wilt thou not come again upon the earth? It's like, no, don't, don't, don't leave now. You've just performed the greatest good in all history and all eternity, but you're leaving. Will you not come again? For as much as thou art God, and I know thee, I've been in thy bosom, and thou hast sworn unto me and commanded me that I should ask in the name of thine only begotten. Well, here goes. I'm going to. I did it before. I'll do it again. Thou hast made me and given unto me a right to thy throne, not of myself. This is not me usurping authority, but through thine own grace, wherefore I ask thee, if thou will not come again on the earth. See what he's pleading for? In the name of Christ, will you send your son? Will you save us? Will you give us another chance, even after the flood, when the Savior comes to change scarlet sin to white as wool? That's not it, is it? After he ascends, we've seen crucifixion. We see ascension. Can we see second coming? Will he return in the name of the only begotten Son? I plead with you, Father. Send him again. And again, God cannot withhold. Verse 60, the Lord said unto Enoch, as I live, and that's oath language, I swear on my own existence, Even so will I come in the last days, in the days of wickedness and vengeance, same language used to describe Noah's day and Enoch's day, and again, our day. Here it is. We're living it. To fulfill the oath which I have made unto you concerning the children of Noah. So my answer to this question is part of my answer to the first. I promised I wouldn't flood the earth again with water. So before I flood the earth with fire, I will flood the earth with truth. And we'll talk all about it next week. There were three floods. First, I guess four. First, a flood of wickedness, then a flood of water. And then in preparation for the flood of fire, there will be a flood of truth. And that's the covenant that God is making with Enoch here. And he's made with and through every dispensation had ever since. Verse 61, the day shall come when the earth shall rest. But before that day, the heavens shall be darkened. And a veil of darkness shall cover the earth. There's that chain and the devil laughing again. The heavens shall shake. Got to shake off that chain somehow. Also the earth and great tribulation shall be among the children of men. Here's the good news though, after all that bad news, but my people will I preserve. Now, how's he going to do that? He preserved a righteous remnant in the ark. He preserved a righteous remnant in the city of Enoch that caught up to him. He kept catching more converts up as time went on. Well, how to preserve the people? Well, with this other flood I was hinting at. 62. Beautiful verse. And righteousness will I send down out of heaven, and truth will I send forth out of the earth to bear testimony of mine only begotten, his resurrection for the dead, yea, and also the resurrection of all men. And righteousness, that's what's coming down, and truth, that's what's coming up, will I cause to sweep the earth as with a flood. There's the kind of flood that we're looking forward to. In fact, it's the kind of flood we're trying to engage in. And what's it for? To gather out mine elect from the four quarters of the earth unto a place which I shall prepare and holy city. Here's Zion again, a new Jerusalem. That my people may gird up their loins and be looking forth for the time of my coming, for there shall be my tabernacle and it shall be called Zion, a new Jerusalem. You understand what the Lord is promising here in 62? Righteousness down from heaven. Can you think of the first vision in those terms? Can you think of the restoration of the priesthood in those terms? Can you think of revelation from heaven coming down and meeting the truth that's coming up from the earth. Can you think of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon? A voice from the dust speaking truth again. And as those two converge, just heaven and earth coming together, righteousness and truth meeting in order to flood the earth and gather out the elect. My elect, hear my voice. They resonate with that righteousness from above. they recognize the voice from below that that voice from the dust and they respond they respond to the call to repent they respond to the call to gather they respond to the call of christ to come and build zion which is what we're trying to do not just in independence Missouri, but in every stake of Zion all around the world, to lengthen those cords, to strengthen those stakes so that when the Son of Man comes, the King of Zion, to set up his earthly kingdom, to erect that middle pole so that the tent of Zion then encompasses all of the earth and prepares all of us for the kind of Zion that this earth is supposed to be. I want to be engaged in that work. I want to be a fellow flood maker by spreading righteousness and truth. In verse 63, the Lord said unto Enoch, then, so after all of this, then shalt thou and all thy city meet them there. This is Zion from above meeting Zion from below. That's the rainbow by the way. Rainbows connect heaven and earth. We'll see it clearly next week with the help of another JST edition. But Zion from above will meet Zion from below. Thou and all thy city will meet them there. And we, now God even includes himself, we will receive them into our bosom. There's that intimate knowledge. There's that fellow feeling. And they shall see us, and we will fall upon their necks and they shall fall upon our necks and we will kiss each other. Talk about righteous reunion. To be able to feel again that we're one another's blood, that we're family, and that we're all the family of God, and that we see as we are seen and know as we are known and love as we are loved. What a reunion. In 64, there shall be mine abode. Where else would God want to stay? And it shall be Zion, which shall come forth out of all the creations which I have made, a universal Zion. And for the space of a thousand years, the earth shall rest. Oh, it took a long time to wait for it. But once it comes a millennial rest, the earth renewed, receive its paradisiacal glory. I hope it's worth the wait. I know it will be. 65, akin to pass that Enoch saw the day of the coming of the Son of Man, in the last days, to dwell on the earth in righteousness for the space of a thousand years. And we're seeing that too, on a closer horizon. We're preparing for it. 66, but before that day, so there's still things we have to go through to get there. He saw great tribulations among the wicked. And again, if we love them as we should, then we'll sense some of that tribulation ourselves. He also saw the sea, that it was troubled, and men's hearts failing them, looking forth with fear for the judgments of the Almighty God, which should come upon the wicked. Welcome to the signs of the times, exactly as it's happening, as prophesied. 67. The Lord showed Enoch all things, even unto the end of the world. And he saw the day of the righteous. that's maybe us the day where we mere mortals you and me have come to to tap into the righteousness of capital righteousness himself to become righteous ourselves the day of the righteous the hour of their redemption and received a fullness of joy i told you enic to lift up your head. Don't ever refuse to be comforted. Allow yourself to see the big picture. As hard as it is right now, what you're going through or the decisions and choices your loved ones are making, don't ever deny the comfort of the comforter. Don't refuse to be comforted. Here Enoch is receiving a fullness of joy because he's opened his heart to it. He's opened his heart to all the pain and he felt it viscerally, but he's opened his heart to all of the joy. You can't have the one without the other. So how does this end? 68, all the days of Zion and the days of Enoch were 365 years, one for every day, one for every period of time that it takes to circle the sun, since that's what we're trying to do, to circle the true son of God. And Enoch and all his people walked with God. Remember, that was the Lord's individual invitation back in chapter 6. Enoch, I and you, you and me, walk with me. Well, now he wants us all to join in the journey. We all walked with God. He dwelt in the midst of Zion, and it came to pass that Zion was not. for God received it up into his own bosom. And from thence went forth to say, Zion is fled. Oh, it's not so much what we're fleeing from, it's what we're fleeing towards. I want to come home to God. I want to be embraced by loving parents. that's why it's called the bosom of the father that's heaven more than a place it's a relationship we've become one with him we've come to know him as he knows us i am so moved by this this incredible panoramic vision that enoch has in my best moments when i read it by his word and by his power through his spirit that I'm moved to weeping to, that I begin to sense and to feel and to taste the love of our Father in heaven and his desire to do whatever it takes to bring us home, to send his only begotten Son to suffer and die for us, to send him again, to give the earth its rest, to send preachers of righteousness, generation after generation and dispensation after dispensation, to flood the earth with opportunities to heed and hearken and come back home. I testify of God's love for each of us. I testify of the promise and power of Zion. I pray that we can live into it and live up to it, to live for it, to teach others so that they can come back to God too. I pray that we can feel just a piece, a portion of what Enoch felt, so that our heart will swell just wide enough to make room for one another, as we're all trying to help each other home. As Elder Maxwell once said, yes, there will be wrenching polarization on this planet, but also the remarkable reunion with our colleagues in Christ from the city of Enoch. Yes, nation after nation will become a house divided, but more and more unifying houses of the Lord will grace this planet. Yes, Armageddon lies ahead, but so does Adam on Diomone. And that's where we're headed. I pray that you and I can help prepare the earth for that glorious coming of Christ. Zion above is waiting in the wings to find you and me in Zion below as soon as we are able to build it. Thank you.