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ZION VS. THE RESIDUE
ICEBREAKER
As an icebreaker to Moses 7, I like to do the following simple activity to illustrate the principle of contrast or what Lehi termed an “opposition in all things” (2 Nephi 2:11). Show the class the following pictures and ask them to name that object or principle’s opposite. What’s the opposite of these things?
Darkness Light
Empty Full
Conflict/War Peace
Misery Joy
Ignorance Knowledge
Fear Faith or confidence or trust
Selfishness Generosity
And, one of the biggest contrasts we’ll see today in the scriptures
Hate Love
TRANSITION
Moses chapter 7 is a chapter of contrasts. All throughout these verses we’re going to go back and forth between opposing forces and the representative groups of people that personify those forces. Moses 7 is all about the prophet Enoch and describes two visions that he has as prophet and recounts the establishing of the city of Zion during his lifetime. Vision one is found in verses 2-11, and vision two is found in verses 20 to 67 We’ll spend the majority of our time in vision #2. But right off the bat, verse 1 is a perfect example of the contrast that we’re going to see all throughout our study of this chapter. Can you find the contrast in verse 1?
1 And it came to pass that Enoch continued his speech, saying: Behold, our father Adam taught these things, and many have believed and become the sons of God, and many have believed not, and have perished in their sins, and are looking forth with fear, in torment, for the fiery indignation of the wrath of God to be poured out upon them.
What’s the contrast? On one side you have those that believe and have become the sons of God, and on the other side you have those that have believed not and have perished in their sins. That group of people is filled with fear and torment. Which would suggest to us what the other group of people are feeling. What’s the opposite of fear and torment? Faith and comfort? Well, Moses 7 is going to help us understand these two groups of people and the way God feels about and deals with them. And before we go any further, I want to instill an image in your mind. It’s not necessarily what Enoch sees but I’ve found it to be a helpful metaphor for understanding this chapter. I want you to picture Enoch standing in a room. On one side of the room is one window, and on the other side of the room is another window. Both windows look out on a group of people. The Lord is going to move Enoch (and therefore us) back and forth between these two windows and teach us about them.
THE LABELS
First, we need to label these windows. Let’s give each one a descriptive name so we know who we’re talking about.
We’re going to find the label of the first group in verse :18. What is it? That window we are going to label “Zion”. Whenever we look out that window, we’re going to see the people of Zion. Other names we could give them are “the righteous, the sons and daughters of God, or the disciples of Christ.”
Now, what about the other group? We’ll find their label in verses :20, 22, and 43. Can you find it?
We’re going to label the other window “the Residue” . They’re referred to as the “residue of the people” all throughout the chapter. Now that’s an interesting term. In the context here, residue would be defined as the rest the people, or the amount of something that remains after the main part has gone or been taken. But residue, to me, also seems to have a polluted or unclean connotation to it. Other names for the residue could be “the wicked, the rebellious, or the unrepentant”.
SCRIPTURE TENNIS OR SCRIPTURE SEARCH ACTIVITY
What we want to do now is get a really good understanding of the contrast between these two groups. To do this, you could play some scripture tennis with your class. To play scripture tennis you divide your class up into two teams, which I usually do by just splitting the class down the middle or boys vs. girls can work well too. If you’re teaching adults, you may not want to play a game, but you could instead do a scripture search session by drawing a line on the board and putting Zion on one side and The Residue on the other and ask them to look for the qualities of these two groups as you write them up on the board. With the scripture tennis activity, you ask one of the teams to see if they can find a quality of Zion in verses 15-20 and 27. If they can, you write that quality up on the board. Now the ball, figuratively speaking, is in the other team’s court. They now must identify a different quality of Zion found in those verses, which will symbolically hit the ball back into the first team’s court again. Then you just go back in forth in a kind of scripture dual that ends once one team can no longer find any new qualities to put on the board. The other team wins when that happens. I find it useful to have a 30 second time limit between “hits of the ball”. You could then have a Round 2 and have them do the same thing with qualities of the “residue of the people” in verses :1, :8, :14-16, :33. Round 2 will be a bit shorter than round 1.
Let’s take a look at some of the qualities they could mention together. First . . .
The Qualities of Zion :15-20, 27
:15 They are protected from their enemies
:16 The Lord dwells with them
:16 They dwell in righteousness
:17 The glory of the Lord is upon them. Remember “The glory of God is intelligence or in other words, light and truth” (Doctrine & Covenants 93:36). So God’s intelligence, his light, his truth was with them.
:17 They are blessed
:17 They flourish
Now verse 18 is a great place to go to understand the definition of Zion. Remember in Doctrine and Covenants that the Lord defined Zion as “The Pure in Heart”. Zion is a people more than place. And what three qualities does the Lord highlight or emphasize above all others as Zion-like attributes?
:18 They are of one mind and one heart. So, they are unified.
:18 They dwell in righteousness.
:18 There are no poor among them. Interesting that that is one of the major attributes of Zion. That’s not secondary in importance, but fundamental. They took care of the poor and needy. You may recall President Thomas S. Monson adding a fourth mission to the well-known three-fold mission of the church. Taking care of the poor and needy.
Those three things embody the idea of Zion. Unity, Righteousness, and Compassion for our fellowman. Those are the things that will make us pure in heart.
:20 They dwell in safety
:20 Once again, they are blessed.
:27 They have the Spirit.
All right, now for the contrast:
Qualities of Residue :8, :14-16,20
:8 Cursed
:8 Barrenness
:8 Despised
Now we’ve got to be careful how we interpret verse 8. When it says the people of Canaan had a blackness come upon them, we’re not talking about a racial difference here. The key to understanding that verse lies at the beginning where it says the land was cursed with much heat. They are living in a desert environment. Well, what happens to the skin when you’re in the desert or a very sunbaked location. The skin darkens. So this verse just means that they’re tan. The sun has darkened their skin and because of this, it says that they are despised. Now in our society, being tan is actually a sought-after quality that denotes youth, and vitality, and health. But for most of earth’s history, being tan was not a positive quality. It said, “common laborer” or “poverty”. The wealthy didn’t have to spend their time out working in the sun. Thus, they are despised by others. But realize, this is not the only reason that they are despised by the people of God, We learn in the previous verse that they are also the perpetrators of what nowadays we would call “genocide”. They completely eradicate an entire culture known as the people of Shum. So that would suggest the slaughter of men, women, and children. Still, I don’t believe there is anything in this verse that indicates that the Lord condones this despising, but shows these images to Enoch to illustrate the sad state of the world he’s living in. A world of hate, violence, bloodshed, and prejudice.
Now if your students bring up verse 22, that’s a little bit of a tougher verse to understand. First, know that this is describing a different group of people from verse 8. The people of Canaan are not the descendants of Cain. The descendants of Cain, it says here, are black. Unfortunately, this verse has sometimes been used to justify racial prejudice. Let’s not make that mistake here. We know that the Lord does not justify racism of any kind, but that “he inviteth all to come unto him” (2 Nephi 26:33). We also know that children are not responsible for the transgressions of their parents, so anyone that was a descendant of Cain was not automatically under any kind of condemnation and black skin does not mean a cursing from God or unworthiness. I think the phrase, “they had not place among them” should not be interpreted as a sign of any spiritual or moral separation but that they were separate as a nation of people in Enoch’s day. They had moved and established themselves as a different people in another place and the two groups didn’t have much interaction. So just keep this in mind if any of your students have questions about either of those two verses. But, continuing with our activity.
:14 fear and fleeing
:15 cursed
:16 wars and bloodshed
:20 cursed
THEIR DESTINIES
Briefly, I think it would be good to see the eventual destinies of these two groups of people. What is the ultimate destiny of Zion, and what is the ultimate destiny of the residue?
Zion—:21, 23, 69
:21 in process of time, was taken up into heaven
I think that first phrase is significant. This didn’t happen all at once. It was a gradual process. Reaching that level of holiness takes time.
:23 taken up into heaven
:69 Received up into the bosom of God. Zion is fled (and we would say, it has fled from the world)
The eventual destiny of Zion, then, is to be taken off the earth. They are translated, taken up into heaven without tasting death.
What about the residue though?
You’ll find their destiny in verse :43 The floods came and swallowed them up.
So the residue is also taken off the earth—just in a different way. Eventually, both righteous and wicked people, when they are fully ripe, are removed from the earth. So, why does it matter which group I’m a part of if they both eventually lead to the same outcome. Well, it’s the way they are removed and where they are removed to that, makes all the difference. Ask yourself which way you would prefer to be taken off the earth, the way Zion was taken, or the way the Residue is taken. And we’ll discuss that idea in more detail next week as we study the story of Noah.
TRUTH
I think we can now take what we’ve learned about both Zion and the Residue and simplify it all into one overarching statement as our foundational truth of this part of Moses 7. It’s the statement we found in verse 20.
Zion have I blessed, but the residue have I cursed.
LIKEN THE SCRIPTURES
A pair of discussion questions that you might consider asking your class here as they look at the lists they’ve just made:
Why do you think these particular qualities are important for the building of Zion?
Then, When have you seen examples of the qualities or blessings of Zion in your own life?
CONCLUSION
I feel it’s important for us to keep in mind that we too are building Zion on the earth right now. We, as a Church, are all seeking what Enoch sought—to create a people that are worthy and ready to return to the presence of God. Hopefully, we too are seeking to be of one mind and one heart as spouses, families, wards, communities, nations, and as a church collectively. Are we doing the kinds of things that will bring us together rather than split us apart and focusing on what we have in common rather than where we differ. Hopefully we too can dwell in righteousness and live in stark contrast to the values and behaviors of the world. And hopefully, we can seek to eliminate the problems of poverty from among us through our charity and service. “Why did the city of Enoch get taken up into heaven,” you might ask? Perhaps the Lord reasoned with himself, “You know, these people are already basically living in heaven, what’s the use of leaving them here on earth any longer. I might as well bring them back to me.” The people of Enoch figured it out. They discovered the best way to live here on the earth. They understood the importance of unity, righteousness, and service. Therefore, they were able to create heaven on earth, collectively. We too can strive to create the same thing. And I believe that to the extent we match their efforts, we too will find ourselves in heaven, now and in the future.
ZION AND THE RESIDUE
Now let’s examine the rest of the chapter. We’ve become formally introduced to the people in the two windows and more specifically, know what it means to be a Zion people. But you know, the truth of the matter is that the description of the righteous and Zion in Moses 7 is fairly brief, comparatively speaking. The vast majority of the chapter is going to focus on the second window, the fate and destiny of the Residue. Now, our typical gut-reaction to seeing the Residue and their cursing is probably going to be a “well, serves them right, they should be miserable” kind of attitude. They are hateful, violent, and wicked people. And we may be tempted to feel like they are just getting what they deserve. The second vision of Enoch is going to help us see the residue in the way that God sees them. Let’s see how God sees the residue.
ICEBREAKER
As an icebreaker to this section I like to do the following activity. I’d like to read a few phrases from Moses chapter 7 and ask you a question. The question is, “How do you picture the face of the individual saying these words?” What is the expression or emotion behind them? If these words were being texted, what emoji do you think would most likely accompany them? For fun you could even do this as a small handout where they could circle the emoji that they feel best matches the words. Here we go:
:20 the residue of the people have I cursed.
:34 And the fire of mine indignation is kindled against them;
in my hot displeasure will I send in the floods upon them
my fierce anger is kindled against them.
:37 their sins shall be upon the heads of their fathers; Satan shall be their father
misery shall be their doom;
What’s the face behind those words in your mind? Which emoji would you pick? I imagine most people would envision an angry face full of vengeance and harshness. Well, do you know who’s speaking those phrases? This is God speaking, or Jesus even, and he says all those things here in Moses 7. Is that how you picture him? I don’t tend to. I don’t like to see him as the “Sinners in the hands of an angry God” type of being.
And that brings up a common concern that people have when they study the Old Testament. There is quite a bit of this kind of language found within it. And people have trouble reconciling the Jehovah of the Old Testament with the gentle, compassionate Jesus of the New.
Now, trust me, there are plenty of examples of the kind, loving voice of Christ in the Old Testament that we’ll see that this year, but you’re also going to find a number of examples of this kind of language with words like “vengeance,” “anger,” and “hot displeasure,” and examples of the Lord destroying entire groups of people from off the face of the earth.
That’s why Moses 7 is so important for us to read here near the beginning of our study of the Old Testament. Because this chapter uses those kinds of words but provides us with the face behind them.
THE TWO FACES
Now back to our windows analogy. Imagine Enoch there looking out the windows. But now the Lord is going to have him turn around and come to the window that is labeled the Residue. Since wickedness never was happiness, we can safely assume that what Enoch sees is a miserable people. He sees a world full of violence, and hate, and suffering. You’ve got the perpetrators of violence, and the victims of it. Sounds like a terrible sight, right?
Now two other beings are going to join Enoch in the room and also look out upon this group of wicked and miserable people.
Read verses :26 and :28 with the following questions in mind. Teachers, when everyone has had sufficient time to read the verses, you can call on volunteers to answer the questions.
Who are the two beings?
How does each react?
What do their reactions tell you about how they feel about “The Residue?”
Ok. Who are the two beings? Satan and Jesus.
How do those two react? Satan laughs at them.
26 And 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.
Wow, what a chilling vision that must have been for Enoch. How does Satan react to all that misery, sadness, and pain? Does he feel some portion of empathy for the agony he’s caused? No. He laughs, and his angels rejoice. He thinks it’s delightful. Like it’s a big joke. All that pain and suffering and evil. It must have been a very malicious and self-satisfied kind of laugh. I wonder if that laugh would haunt Enoch’s dreams for ever after.
And that tells you a lot about Satan, doesn’t it? Satan does not care about his followers. His loyal subjects—those that are committed to him, and his ideals don’t get any love from their master. They’re just tools or pawns in his hands, ready to be cast away as soon as their usefulness to him has passed. Alma put it this way:
60 And thus we see the end of him who perverteth the ways of the Lord; and thus we see that the devil will not support his children at the last day, but doth speedily drag them down to hell. (Alma 30:60)
Satan is a deadbeat dad. He just doesn’t care about his children. And what about the object in his hands? What does that teach us about the devil? He has a great chain in his hand, and it veils the earth in darkness. There we have Satan’s two greatest tools, bondage, and darkness. His top priorities are to enslave people to addiction and punishment and cloud their eyes with the mists of ignorance, hatred, and sin. He wants to fill their lives with darkness and captivity. I’m sure Enoch would want to quickly turn away from that sight.
But then another individual comes up to the window and joins him. Who is it this time and how does he react? God looks upon the residue, and in this case, we would say Jesus Christ. And he weeps! His eyes are filled with tears. Weeping is more than crying. This is a crying full of deep emotion, empathy, and anguish. Jesus doesn’t look out that window dispassionately and say, “Well, it serves them right, these wicked, disobedient people”. It’s not a cold, unfeeling, or dismissive face. He weeps for the wicked. The correct emoji that accompanies the words at the beginning of this lesson is the crying emoji. What does that reveal about how HE feels about the wicked? I’ll let you ponder that for a while as we move on.
THE FIVE QUESTIONS OF ENOCH
This weeping of the Lord really shocks Enoch, and he starts to ask Him some questions. And that’s the way I like to frame the remainder of the chapter—by Enoch’s questions. He wants to understand why God would weep for such wicked people. Why would he weep for the wicked and rebellious and violent? And I have to say here that the remainder of the lesson is rather difficult to teach without just going verse by verse with your students. There are some places we can summarize, but for the most part, to really grasp the power and meaning of this vision, you have to take it piece by piece. As a teacher, that presents you with a timing challenge, and maybe, in this case, it’s best to take a more teacher-centered approach as you walk your students through this part, helping them to understand what Enoch is seeing and feeling.
So, we’ll call this framework, The FIVE Questions of Enoch. First see if they can identify the questions and then they can mark them in their scriptures. Also, if you wish, a handout could work here as well if they wish to take some notes as you go. I’ll provide that as an option to teachers as well. But let’s get an aerial view of the chapter before we start digging deeper into it.
Question #1 (7:28-31) How is it that the heavens weep?
Answer #1 (7:32-44)
Question #2 (7:45) When shall the day of the Lord come?
Answer #2 (7:46-48)
Question #3 (7:49-50) O Lord, wilt thou not have compassion upon the earth?
Answer #3 (7:51-53)
Question #4 (7:54, 58) When the Son of Man cometh in the flesh, shall the earth rest?
Answer #4 (7:55-58)
Question #5 (7:59) Wilt thou not come again upon the earth?
Answer #5 (7:60-67)
The first question comes in verse :28. And it’s:
“How is it that the heavens weep, and shed forth their tears as the rain upon the mountains?” That’s the basic gist of the question, but there’s a whole lot more to it. Verses 29-31 reveal Enoch’s shock and surprise at this weeping of the Lord. You could read this almost like an example of Enoch trying to comfort God. Or to give him as many reasons as he can think of for why he should not be weeping. What are they?
:29 How is it that thou canst weep, seeing thou art holy, and from all eternity to all eternity?
So, in terms of time, why are you crying Lord? You’ve lived forever and will continue to live forever. How can you weep over this small portion of people that just happen to live on the earth right now? Don’t weep in view of time.
: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; and thy curtains are stretched out still; and yet thou art there, and thy bosom is there;
So, in terms of creation, why are you crying? This is just one of millions that you’ve created. How can you weep over this one miserable little planet. You’ve still got all those other earths to occupy your attention. Don’t weep in terms of creation.
:30 and also thou art just; thou art merciful and kind forever;
So, also in terms of your character, why are you crying. You are just and merciful and kind. This isn’t your fault they are this way. You don’t need to worry about these few miserable souls. They aren’t a reflection on your character. You are good. Just forget about these disobedient children. Don’t weep in terms of your character.
And finally, verse 31
31 And thou hast taken Zion to thine own bosom, from all thy creations, from all eternity to all eternity; and naught but peace, justice, and truth is the habitation of thy throne; and mercy shall go before thy face and have no end; how is it thou canst weep?
So, don’t weep. Not all of your children are bad. You’ve got Zion! You HAVE been successful with a large group of your children. Think about them! Forget these others that refuse to obey you. Focus on Zion! That should make you happy! Don’t weep in terms of the righteous.
So, how do you think Enoch is doing in comforting God? Is his reasoning sound? Well let’s take a look at the Lords’ answer in verses 32-33. It’s beautiful. “Why am I crying Enoch? What would cause me to weep despite all of those great reasons you just gave me?”
32 The Lord said unto Enoch: Behold these thy brethren; they are the workmanship of mine own hands, and I gave unto them their knowledge, in the day I created them; and in the Garden of Eden, gave I unto man his agency;
33 And unto thy brethren have I said, and also given commandment, that they should love one another, and that they should choose me, their Father; but behold, they are without affection, and they hate their own blood;
So, Enoch. They’re the workmanship of mine own hands. They’re my children. And all I want for them is to be happy. I don’t ask for much. I just ask that they love each other and choose me to be their Father. The Father of love. Not Satan—the father of lies. There are echoes of the two great commandments in that statement—Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and love your neighbor as thyself. But they don’t love their neighbor. They hate their own blood—meaning, they hate their brethren, they hate each other, and worst of all, they hate themselves. They’re miserable. And then we see that more wrathful kind of language we began with. But the face behind it is weeping, pained, and concerned.
Pick it up again in verse 37.
37 But behold, their sins shall be upon the heads of their fathers; Satan shall be their father, 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?
38 But behold, these which thine eyes are upon shall perish in the floods; and behold, I will shut them up; a prison have I prepared for them.
39 And 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;
40 Wherefore, for this shall the heavens weep, yea, and all the workmanship of mine hands.
So Enoch, “It pains me to see my children suffer. It pains me to see them miserable. It pains me to see them hurt each other. Yes. They have brought these things upon themselves. Yes, they deserve justice. Yes, they must and will face the consequence of their poor use of agency. But I love them.” Any parent of a wayward child understands this sentiment. Most parents are not going to just write their wayward children off with a “serves them right” kind of attitude. They cannot condone their actions and they recognize the fairness and justice of their consequences. But they love them and hope and pray for their change and a prodigal like return.
And then we have one of the most beautiful verses of all scripture, in my opinion. This is the moment of comprehension and understanding for Enoch. The turning point in Enoch’s attitude toward the residue. The Lord is going to help give him a God-like perspective. He’s going to let Enoch see them through his eyes.
41 And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto Enoch, and told Enoch all the doings of the children of men; wherefore Enoch knew, and 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.
Isn’t that magnificent. He gives Enoch a perfect understanding of what wickedness brings and what it feels like. The pain and suffering it causes to both perpetrator and victim. The misery of the wicked. If you want a really good description of that kind of pain, just read how Alma the Younger describes it in Alma 36:11-18. Words like fear, racked, tormented, inexpressible horror, pains, harrowed up, and the gall of bitterness. And he knows. And with that, Enoch now joins the Lord in his weeping. And that understanding has a visceral, physical effect on him. He can’t help but stretch forth his arms. He feels it in his heart. He feels it in his bowels. And all eternity shakes. Now that word “shook” in this context doesn’t mean what you think it means. It doesn’t mean to shake like an earthquake, or to shake your fist. Shook means “to overflow” in this case. And I ask you what you think eternity is overflowing with in this instance? What was so great, so big, so infinite, that even eternity itself wasn’t big enough to contain it? I would answer that it overflowed with LOVE . . . understanding, mercy, compassion, and empathy. Enoch sees their pain and suffering and can’t help but weep for them.
ANOTHER VIEWPOINT
I’d like you also to consider another viewpoint of verse 41. I feel that this could be one of the greatest descriptions of the atonement of Christ anywhere in scripture even though it’s specifically referring to Enoch and the Savior. I believe that that is what the Lord was trying to give Enoch in this experience. He gives him just a small taste of what the atonement was like. And perhaps this suggests that the pain of Gethsemane wasn’t so much the pain of suffering the demands of justice to pay the price for sin as it was the pain of anguish over human suffering. King Benjamin taught this in Mosiah 3:7
7 And lo, he shall suffer temptations, and pain of body, hunger, thirst, and fatigue, even more than man can suffer, except it be unto death; for behold, blood cometh from every pore, so great shall be his anguish for the wickedness and the abominations of his people.
On that fateful night in Gethsemane, Jesus knew, and perfectly understood the pain and misery and suffering of the wicked. This individual who only knew righteousness and therefore happiness all his life, now understood the pain that wickedness brings. And he weeps.
In this context, we could read that verse like this:
41 And it came to pass that God spake unto [Jesus] and told [Jesus] all the doings of the children of men; wherefore [Jesus] knew, and 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.
Does that help you to understand the atonement of Jesus Christ a little better?
ROLE REVERSAL
Enoch is then shown Noah and the floods, and an entire generation of people being swept off the earth.
44 And as Enoch saw this, he had bitterness of soul, and wept over his brethren, and said unto the heavens: I will refuse to be comforted;
So, to Enoch, this vision is so terrible to behold or contemplate that he refuses to be comforted. I imagine there are many people in their lives who have said something similar to Enoch here. There has been some loved one, family member, or close friend who has entered the ranks of the residue and it pains their soul deeply. Can I even dare to hope for this person? they ask. If there’s somebody like that in your life, please pay close attention to the remainder of the chapter. God is going to try and help Enoch through that bitterness of soul and weeping. In terms of our window analogy, it’s almost as if Enoch is saying that he will not find peace until all the pain and misery and suffering of the residue window is gone. Let’s see how God can comfort someone who refuses to be comforted.
“but the Lord said unto Enoch: Lift up your heart, and be glad; and look.”
Now we come to the second question of Enoch in verse 45. It’s as if Enoch recognizes that the world only has one hope for redemption. The sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so he asks:
When shall the day of the Lord come? When shall the blood of the Righteous be shed, that all they that mourn may be sanctified and have eternal life?
46 And the Lord said: It shall be in the meridian of time, in the days of wickedness and vengeance.
47 And behold, Enoch saw the day of the coming of the Son of Man, even in the flesh; and his soul rejoiced, saying: The Righteous is lifted up, and 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.
So it works! He rejoices! Temporarily. Because as Enoch rejoices in that vision of compassion and mercy, the earth speaks up and has something to say. Now that’s not to suggest that the earth itself actually has a conscience or a sense of agency. This is just a literary technique we’d call personification. The Lord is going to grant the earth a voice. And it says:
48 And it came to pass that Enoch looked upon the earth; and he heard a voice from the bowels thereof, saying: Wo, wo 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 is gone forth out of me? When will my Creator sanctify me, that I may rest, and righteousness for a season abide upon my face?
The earth is tired of having to be the scene of wickedness and misery. It is pained that it all that sadness and hurt have to abide upon its face. And as Enoch hears the grieving of the world, he weeps again. He still refuses to be comforted.
So he asks his next question in verse 49
O Lord, wilt thou not have compassion upon the earth? Wilt thou not bless the children of Noah?
0 And 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, that thou wilt have mercy upon Noah and his seed, that the earth might never more be covered by the floods.
So Lord, will you promise me that the earth will never be flooded like this again?
And the Lord does make that promise. He covenants in verses 51 and 52 that he will never again flood the earth.
And then verse 53 is a bit of a bright spot in this gloomy reflection.
53 And the Lord said: Blessed is he through whose seed Messiah shall come; 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.
Some great titles for the Savior here. The Messiah, the King of Zion, and then my favorite—the Rock of Heaven. I love that because, as a rock climber and canyoneer, securing yourself to the rock is an important part of safety within the sport. And every so often I read tragic stories of people falling and losing their lives doing these activities. Usually, it happens because they aren’t attached correctly to the rock. Here the Lord invites his people to climb up on this rock, to be rock climbers, and makes them a promise. “If you can get on top of this rock, you will never fall.” And can you see the reason why? Why can’t you fall off the Rock of Heaven according to verse 53? Because that rock is broad as eternity. There are no edges. There are no cliffs. There is no way to fall. It’s impossible to fall off a rock that is as broad as eternity. No wonder Helaman exhorted us to build our foundation upon the Rock of our Redeemer (Helaman 5:12). As long as you have made your way to the surface of that rock and built your foundation there, you will never, ever fall.
Now that’s great, but we still have this grieving earth. Enoch’s next hopeful question. :54
When the Son of Man cometh in the flesh, shall the earth rest? I pray thee, show me these things.
The Lord’s answer:
55 And the Lord said unto Enoch: Look, and he looked and beheld the Son of Man lifted up on the cross, after the manner of men;
56 And he heard a loud voice; and the heavens were veiled; and all the creations of God mourned; and the earth groaned; and the rocks were rent;
(And in my mind, I’m thinking, “Well don’t show him that!!!” That’s not going to comfort him. The crucifixion? But still)
and the saints arose, and were crowned at the right hand of the Son of Man, with crowns of glory;
57 And as many of the spirits as were in prison came forth, and stood on the right hand of God;
(So great! The resurrection comes. Christ does not remain dead for long. AND, there are going to be a number of individuals that are going to escape the prison of spirits with him. That’s hopeful. Right Enoch? However . . .)
and the remainder (or, the residue) were reserved in chains of darkness until the judgment of the great day.
(Dang it. There still pain and suffering in that residue window. So is he going to stop weeping?)
58 And again Enoch wept (he’s not) and cried unto the Lord, saying:
Repeating his former question again:
When shall the earth rest?
As an answer to that question, Enoch is shown the ascension of Christ. Christ leaves the earth behind! Well that’s not going to stop him from crying and it doesn’t answer his question. In fact it just prompts another one.
:59
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? Forasmuch as thou art God, and I know thee, and thou hast sworn unto me, and commanded me that I should ask in the name of thine Only Begotten; thou hast made me, and given unto me a right to thy throne, and not of myself, but through thine own grace; wherefore, I ask thee if thou wilt not come again on the earth.
Enoch’s final question. Are you going to come back? Ever?
Answer:
60 And the Lord said unto Enoch: As I live, even so will I come in the last days, in the days of wickedness and vengeance, to fulfil the oath which I have made unto you concerning the children of Noah;
61 And the day shall come that the earth shall rest,
So yes. Enoch. I’m coming back. One day I will return, and in that day, the earth will rest.
And then verses 61-67 is going to give us the final scenes of this earth’s mortal existence and beyond. Enoch beholds the last days and the second coming. And I’d like to jump you ahead to the end of the vision and show you the result. This final scene is ultimately going to have what effect on Enoch’s soul. Look at verse 67
67 And the Lord showed Enoch all things, even unto the end of the world; and he saw the day of the righteous, the hour of their redemption, and received a fulness of joy;
Oh, thank heavens. He’s going to have a fulness of joy. He will be comforted. He will find happiness once again. Now OUR question becomes, “What did he see that brought him that joy. Because we know that there are still some pretty horrible scenes to behold considering the last days and the second coming. So what brings him joy. Find and mark all the things that you feel could bring Enoch and all of us joy, despite the wickedness and misery of mankind in the last days.
· :61 My people will I preserve.
· :62 Righteousness will I send down out of heaven and truth will I send forth out of the earth.
o What two things does that sound like? What’s the righteousness that God sends down from heaven? Revelation. Revelation to his prophets. Personal revelation to his people through the power of the Spirit. How has he sent forth truth out of the earth? The Book of Mormon comes immediately to mind. It came from out of the ground-voices from the dust.
· :62 The resurrection of Christ and all people will bring joy
o And then the Lord is going to fudge a little bit on his promise not to flood the earth again. He is going to send another flood. But this time it will be a flood of truth and righteousness, revelation, and scripture.
· :62 The gathering of Israel will bring us joy.
· :62 When it speaks about a tabernacle here, he’s talking about the temple. The temple surely brings us joy.
· :63 Reunions with our loved ones and those we have looked to in past generations in our book of remembrance will bring us joy.
· :64-65 The millennium will be a time of unspeakable joy. The earth will truly rest and only happiness and peace will abide upon its face.
· :67 But in the end of it all. Enoch sees all things, even unto the end of the world and receives joy. I believe that a lot is being summed up in that short little verse. I think we can safely assume that he saw a lot of things that had not yet been revealed to Joseph Smith when he was receiving this. There is a lot of truth regarding the Plan of Salvation that had yet to be revealed to Joseph. Doctrine and Covenants 76, and 131, and 137 and 138 are still yet to come. Remember that Enoch refuses to be comforted until he sees the misery of the residue subside. I’m sure he saw the gospel being preached in spirit prison by the great legions of spiritual missionaries organized by the Savior himself between his death and resurrection. I’m sure he saw the second chance offered to the wicked and the ignorant to accept the Lord and the cleansing waters of baptism. I’m sure he saw the kingdoms of glory and that the majority of the wicked would receive at least a Telestial glory, which is still a kingdom of glory, and a place of happiness that far surpasses all current understanding. The only ones who remain in misery are that small minority of ultra-rebellious souls known as the sons of perdition who willingly choose hell(see D&C 76:31-38, 43-48, 109). I’m sure that Enoch saw and understood on a deeper level than he ever knew before the great plan of happiness for all of God’s children. Both windows ultimately are going to find peace. Moses 7 has a happy ending, and so does the plan of salvation. God’s love and grace wins in the end. The residue will be redeemed.
TRUTH
The great truth of Moses chapter 7 then, to me, is the conclusion that John the Beloved came to in one of his short epistles, that “God is love”(1 John 4).
LIKEN THE SCRIPTURES
How has Enoch’s vision helped you to better understand God’s love for his children?
CONCLUSION
The scriptures are ripe with deep meaning for all those who are open to the inspiration and promptings of the Holy Ghost as they study. The Spirit deepens our understanding of individual words and phrases within the standard works. Often the best stuff in the scriptures, is the stuff that isn’t even on the page but what you find in between the lines. When I read the 4th article of faith, I see so much more in the first principle of the Gospel than what is written there. This is how I would read that verse. We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel, are: first: Faith in the great goodness, mercy, long-suffering, patience, compassion, willingness to forgive and love of the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Father in Heaven’s and our Savior’s love shake eternity. Eternity overflows with that love. It flows from the Rock of Heaven. The rock that is broad as eternity. So sorry, Satan, but guess who gets the last laugh? And it’s a laugh of rejoicing and peace and rest and celebration—for even the residue. Sometimes music can capture the feeling of a gospel principle in a different way than words alone can. There is a hymn in our hymn book that I feel captures the spirit of Moses chapter 7 in a special way. That would be hymn #113—Our Savior’s Love. Perhaps at the conclusion of the lesson you could have your classes watch a performance of that beautiful hymn. I’ll provide you with a link above that will take you to a performance of that song that I find particularly well done. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OuWBNJRLws
5But allow me to conclude with the words of one of the verses of that hymn:
Our Savior’s love
Shines like the sun with perfect light,
As from above
It breaks thru clouds of strife.
Lighting our way,
It leads us back into his sight,
Where we may stay
To share eternal life.
I know of many people who ache over the decisions of those they love. Whose bowels yearn for those who suffer. Who wonder if God’s mercy and forgiveness can ever be extended to those who are disobedient, rebellious, or without affection. People who refuse to be comforted. Please take heart in what is shared here in Moses 7. The Lord whispers to us the same message that he whispered to Enoch in verse 44. Lift up your heart and be glad; and look! If we can look with Enoch’s eyes, we too will be comforted. Perhaps we can see ahead to the day of the righteous, the hour of redemption and also receive a fulness of joy. That you may feel that love and joy is my prayer.
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