Supplement to OT Lesson #9: Ishmael, Our Brother

POP QUIZ:  WHO IS THIS GREAT MAN?

• He saw that the people of the world had rejected the values of the Bible, and through his teachings, he raised them to a higher plane of personal and social morality.
• He inspired the utmost love and devotion in his disciples, who were ready to give their lives for his cause.
• He and his first converts were shunned, persecuted, and tortured for their beliefs.
• He was considerate of slaves, freed them when he could, and forbade the separation of captive mothers and their children.
• He taught that at a great council in the heavens at the creation of the earth, God set forth His plan and Satan rejected it and was cast out of Heaven, falling to the earth, where he now undertakes to tempt the children of men during their time here below.
• Members of his community plotted to kill him.
• He eventually won the loyalty of men of superior intelligence and high social standing.
• He had a dream in which he was carried into heaven and there met Moses, Christ, Abraham, John the Baptist, Enoch, and Aaron, and he there saw Adam presiding as judge over the great assembly of all his children.
• Early LDS apostles gave lengthy sermons speaking highly of his leadership.
• He was especially fond of children, and was criticized for playing with them, rather than acting in the role of a prophet.
• He helped to bring forth a book, supplementary to the Bible and considered sacred to his followers.
• He was born into a nation of people debased and superstitious, but left them united in faith, destined to become world leaders in religion and all forms of culture.
• The religion he founded is one of the fastest growing in the world.

THE CHILDREN OF ABRAHAM

As stated in the previous post, God was with both of Abraham's sons, Ishmael and Isaac.  Both were blessed by the covenant made to Abraham, although Isaac was the birthright son and therefore received both greater blessings and greater responsibilities.  Through Ishmael's twelve sons the Arab nation was born.  Through Isaac's twelve grandsons, the Israelites came.  Both nations have always kept the covenant of circumcision, even to this day.  Both nations live in the Holy Land and claim it as their Promised Land.  Both nations believe that Abraham was asked to offer their ancestor (Isaac or Ishmael) as a sacrifice to God.  The site of the sacrifice is sacred to both nations and is now the site of the Dome of the Rock, a beautiful Muslim mosque.

All the families of the earth have been blessed (Gen. 12:3) because of the descendants of Isaac, the House of Israel, who preserved the Bible, and who bear the gospel to the world through the Priesthood, as well as the one great Descendant, Christ, who offered the infinite Atonement for the sins of all mankind.  But the families of the earth have also been blessed by the great nation which eventually came forth from Ishmael: the Muslims.  The Muslim people have influenced the course of world history in many great ways.  There are more than one billion Muslims in the world, almost one-fifth of the world population.

To understand the Arab nations, the children of Ishmael, one must understand Islam, their predominant religion, because every activity in the life of a Muslim (one who practices the Islamic religion) is spiritually oriented.  The word Islam means "submission to Allah;" the word Muslim means "one who submits."  This is not a passive but an active state, actively seeking righteousness, something Father Abraham did (see Abr. 1).  They are not secularized or compartmentalized as most Westerners are, reserving religion for certain areas of life, separating church and state.

So, now, the answer to the pop quiz above:

MUHAMMAD, THE PROPHET

The founder of Islam, Muhammad, was born in Mecca about 570 A.D., in the midst of the Great Apostacy.  He was an influence for good, always trying to resolve difficulties between people.  Muhammad prayed to the same God his ancestor Ishmael cried unto in the desert, the God of Abraham, our Heavenly Father, in Arabic: Allah.  At about 40 years of age, after spending much time in meditation and prayer, he reported experiencing a vision in which the angel Gabriel appeared and told him he would be a prophet.  Although he was constantly unsure of his ability to be a prophet, his wife and uncle encouraged him (James A. Toronto, "A Latter-day Saint Perspective on Muhammad," Ensign, Aug. 2000; see also Hugh Nibley, "Islam and Mormonism--A Comparison," Ensign, Mar. 1972.)

Muhammad saw that his people had rejected Abraham's values and were steeped in idolatry, worshipping multiple gods, rather than the one true God.  The Ka'ba, an altar which they believed Abraham and Ishmael had made to God, was now the site of various pagan practices.  This worship involved alcoholic and sexual orgies, and possibly also human sacrifice.  The killing of unwanted infants was common, especially of females.  There were gambling and blood feuds as well.

Muhammad recognized that both Judaism and Christianity had become corrupt and apostate.  Although at first he met with great opposition, before his life was over, Muhammad's following was great, and the change he effected was tremendous.  "In the short span of 20 years between his calling as a prophet and his death, Muhammad uplifted an entire country, on every side.  He not only persuaded all Arabia to worship only one God, but to apply their religion to every aspect of morality, law, and social organization...In this world, waiting for the liberating voice of God, Muhammad had the eloquence, conviction, and intensity of an inspiring preacher; the courage, chivalry, and success of an admirable soldier" (James B. Mayfield, "Ishmael, Our Brother," Ensign, June 1979). 

So was Muhammad really a prophet?  Well, yes, in a way.  Not a prophet in the sense of holding the keys of a dispensation of the gospel; he had no priesthood authority, living as he did during the time of the Great Apostacy.  But as a messenger of God who brought a great deal of truth and light to the world, a resounding yes.  "For behold, the Lord doth grant unto all nations, [people] of their own nation and tongue, to teach his word, yea, in wisdom, all that he seeth fit that they should have" (Alma 29:8).

"While the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is established for the instruction of men; and it is one of God's instrumentalities for making known the truth, yet he is not limited to that institution for such purposes, neither in time nor place.  God raises up wise men and prophets here and there among all the children of men, of their own tongue and nationality, speaking to them through means that they can comprehend...All the great teachers are servants of God, among all nations and in all ages.  They are inspired men, appointed to instruct God's children according to the conditions in the midst of which he finds them" (B.H. Roberts, Defense of the Faith and Saints, 1:512-51).

THE ISLAMIC RELIGION

There are many, many Muslim sects with variations on beliefs, but the following are basic to all:

The Five Pillars of Islam

1. Repeating and fully accepting the Muslim creed included in the call to prayer:  "There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is His prophet."
2. Prayer five times daily, summoned by the prayer caller (muezzin), at home, at work, or in the street. 
3. Almsgiving, 1/40th of possessions annually.
4. Daily fast, sunrise to sunset, during the month of Ramadan.
5. A pilgrimage to Mecca. 

Their holy book, the Qur'an, or Koran, means "recitation."  Its origin comes from Muhammad's recitations while in his frequent translike states, words he said he received from the angel.  The Qur'an itself affirms that the Old and New Testaments are a part of their religion, as it says in the second chapter: "We believe in Allah and that which is revealed unto us and that which was revealed unto Abraham, and Ishmael, and Isaac, and Jacob, and the tribes, and that which Moses and Jesus received, and that which the Prophets received from their Lord" (Qur'an 2:136).  The Qur'an also contains stories about the prophets of the Old and New Testaments.

So do Muslims believe in Jesus?  Yes, but not as the Christ.  They believe he was the greatest prophet prior to Muhammad, but they do not believe he was the literal Son of God who atoned for our sins.  They think that he was taken into heaven, and another was substituted for him on the cross.

What is the message of the Qur'an?  That God is the Creator and Judge of man, that God spoke to prophets (although Muslims now believe that Muhammad was the last and God never spoke again), that we will be held accountable for what we do, and that everyone should obey God's laws.  Reading the Qur'an and becoming familiar with its contents would help LDS people to communicate the gospel message to Muslims.  It is full of beautiful and inspired messages, such as:  "Charity extinguishes sin as water extinguishes fire."

The Muslim fast has an almost identical purpose to the LDS fast:  To bring one in submission to God, and to foster care and compassion for the needy.  Almsgiving is inseparably connected to the Muslim fast, as fast offerings are connected to the LDS fast.

GOD OFFERS LIGHT TO ALL HIS CHILDREN

"The great religious leaders of the world such as Mohammad, Confucius, and the Reformers, as well as philosophers including Socrates, Plato, and others, received a portion of God's light. Moral truths were given to them by God to enlighten whole nations and to bring a higher level of understanding to individuals" (First Presidency Statement, Feb. 15, 1978)

Apostles George A. Smith and Parley P. Pratt lectured extensively on Muhammad's leadership qualities in 1855. Elder Smith testified that Muhammad was "descended from Abraham and was no doubt raised up by God on purpose" to preach against idolatry. Elder Pratt asserted that "[Muslims] have better morals and better institutions than many Christian nations" (Deseret News, Oct. 10, 1855).

"In a...meeting with Muslim dignitaries, Elder Neal A. Maxwell of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles focused on the common spiritual heritage of Mormons and Muslims. After quoting a verse from the Qur’an, he observed:  'God is the source of light in heaven and on earth. We share the belief with you. We resist the secular world. We believe with you that life has meaning and purpose. … We salute you for your concern for the institution of the family. … Mutual respect, friendship, and love are precious things in today’s world. We feel those emotions for our Islamic brothers and sisters. Love never needs a visa. It crosses over all borders and links generations and cultures'"  (James A. Toronto, "A Latter-day Saint Perspective on Muhammad," Ensign, Aug. 2000).

A cabinet minister in Egypt said to Elder Howard W. Hunter, then an apostle, "If a bridge is ever built between Christianity and Islam, it must be built by the Mormon Church" (Hugh Nibley, Ensign, Mar. 1972, p. 55).  Indeed we can do this, because we can confidently tell our Muslim friends that we belong to a church that affirms the truths taught by Muhammad. "Every truth found in every church in all the world, we believe. But we also say this to all men--come and take the added light and truth that God has restored in our day.  The more truth we have, the greater is our joy here and now; the more truth we receive, the greater is our reward in eternity. This is our invitation to men of good will everywhere" (Elder Bruce R. McConkie, quoted in Russell M. Nelson, "Teach Us Tolerance and Love," Ensign, May 1994, p. 70).  That is the message that we, as Isaac's children, are obligated, through the Abrahamic Covenant, to offer to our cousins, the Muslims, the children of Ishmael.

Update: Daniel Peterson has written another excellent article on this topic in the April 2018 Ensign: "Understanding Islam." I highly recommend it!

Old Testament Lesson #9 "God Will Provide Himself a Lamb"

(Abraham 1; Genesis 15-17; 21-22)

As Latter-day Saints and members of the House of Israel, we share a common ancestry with the Muslims, who also descend from Abraham, and who also were blessed of the Lord with a great promise.  I'm going to approach this lesson in two parts.  First, this blog entry, with the story of the fulfilling of the Abrahamic Covenant through Abraham's heir, Isaac.  Then, my next blog entry will touch on the fulfilling of the promises made by the Lord to Abraham's older son, Ishmael, and the founding of the great nation of Islam.

THE PROMISES TO ABRAHAM

Abram was promised a great posterity which would bless all nations of the earth.  (See The Abrahamic Covenant in a previous post.)  Years went by with no indication that this promise was going to be fulfilled.  The heir of Abram's house was a steward, a servant.  The Lord assured Abram that an heir would be born to Abram himself (Gen. 15:1-5).

ABRAHAM'S WIVES

As time went on, Sarai, still childless, apparently began to consider whether she should do something in order to fulfill this covenant made to her husband.  Laws of the period gave a solution to this dilemma, stating that should a woman not bear a child, she was required to provide her husband a concubine, a legal wife who was previously a servant.  The child born to the concubine would be under the authority of the first wife, and the concubine would remain a servant to the first wife.  However, being the means of providing the first child often confused the status of the concubine and she would sometimes elevate herself.  If this happened, creating confusion and contention in the household, there were three options available to the head wife:  "1) free the concubine and send her away, 2) brand her a slave and return her to servitude, or 3) punish her.  The first option is arguably the most generous course of action" (Camille Fronk Olson, Women of the Old Testament, p. 37, 42; also Encyclopedia of Mormonism, p. 1260).

Sarai followed the custom of the time and the command of the Lord (D&C 132:65), and gave her Egyptian handmaiden, Hagar, to her husband to wife.  Before the baby was even born, Hagar elevated her status and "despised" her mistress (Gen. 16:4).  Sarai consulted with her husband, he gave her authority in the situation, she punished Hagar, and Hagar ran away (Gen. 16:5-6).

But the Lord loved Hagar, too, and heard her despair.  An angel visited her, promised her to be the mother of a great nation who would dwell among their brethren, and commanded her to return and submit herself to her mistress, which she did (Gen. 16:7-16).  When her son was born, she named him Ishmael, "God heareth" (LDS Bible Dictionary, p. 707). Abram was 86.

When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord restated the covenant, and expanded upon it.  He changed Abram's name, which means "honored father," to Abraham, which means "father of many nations," and Sarai's name to Sarah, which means "princess," and promised a child through Sarah.  As Abraham rejoiced in this announcement, still his thoughts turned to his beloved eldest son, and he said to the Lord, "O that Ishmael might live before thee! (Gen. 17:18). The Lord promised that Ishmael also would be a great nation, through twelve princes, but that through Isaac would come the Priesthood leadership (Gen. 17:18-20).  And indeed, Abraham became the father of many nations: the Jewish and Christian nations through Isaac, the Islamic nation through Ishmael, and other nations through the six sons of his third wife, Keturah, most notably the Midianites.  The blessings of the priesthood applied to all the descendants of Abraham (for example, Moses was ordained by his father-in-law, Jethro, who was a Midianite), but the leadership, the House of Israel, would come through the birthright son, Isaac (Gen. 17:21).

When Isaac was born, 13 years after Ishmael, there was a culmination of strife between Sarah and Hagar, and Ishmael "mocked" or "persecuted" his little brother (Gen. 21:9-10; Gal. 4:29).  According to the well-respected ancient historian Josephus, Sarah loved Ishmael "with an affection not inferior to that of her own son," but she began to fear that Ishmael might take the life of Isaac after their father died, in order to supplant him (quoted in Olson, p. 42).  Perhaps she was, again, doing her best to make sure the covenant was fulfilled.  She chose the kindest recourse of the law, freeing Hagar and sending her away with her son.  In this first recorded divorce, as in any divorce, there was sorrow.  "And the thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight because of his son.  And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.  And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed" (Gen. 21:11-13).  God was with Ishmael and Hagar, as well as with Sarah and Isaac, and saved and blessed them in the wilderness in answer to Ishmael's prayer (Gen. 21:20).

Ishmael remained in contact with his father and brother, or returned to it at some point in life, because when Abraham died, Ishmael and Isaac, as brothers, buried their father (Gen. 25:9).

THE BIRTHRIGHT SON

(Picture from LDS.org)


Although Isaac was the second son of Abraham, he was first son of the first wife, giving him the birthright.  This means he had greater blessings in order to carry out the responsibility of caring for the entire family.  He had been promised 1) land, 2) posterity, 3) and priesthood through which to 4) carry the gospel to the world.  He was also promised 5) the protection of the Lord.

With these promises in mind, we come across the story of the sacrifice (Gen. 22:1-2).  The Lord calls Abraham to go to the mountain, which is the temple, and offer Isaac as a sacrifice.  "And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him" (Gen. 22:3).  We receive an insight into Abraham's emotions: rather than merely chopping wood, the word clave denotes extreme violence in the action.

"And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together" (Gen. 22:7-8). 

Having been in Isaac's position himself as a youth, this must have been extremely traumatic for Abraham to be the one holding the knife.  He may have hoped that an angel would intervene and save his son's life, as his had been saved on the altar of the idol.  (See "Abraham's Dysfunctional Family" in a previous post.)   Another possibility also seems likely:  The Lord had assured Abraham, in Gen. 15, that the promise of posterity would be fulfilled through a child born to Sarah, despite her advanced age.  When we read Abraham's response to the Lord (verse 6), "And he believed in the Lord; and the Lord counted it unto him for righteousness" we see in the footnotes a link to the JST. In this inspired insert, as Abram asks the Lord how this will be fulfilled, the Lord says, "Though thou wast dead, yet am I not able to give it thee? And if thou shalt die, yet thou shalt possess it, for the day cometh, that the Son of Man shall live; but how can he live if he be not dead [first]? he must first be quickened. And it came to pass, that Abram looked forth and saw the days of the Son of Man, and was glad, and his soul found rest..." (JST Gen. 15:9-12, p. 798 of LDS Bible).  I think it is likely that Abraham expected Jehovah to raise his son from the dead.  But when, and how?  Trusting in this resolution would have required an incredible amount of faith.
 
Fortunately, he did not have to lower the knife.  Abraham's statement to his son was literally prophetic:  The Lord did provide a ram.  Isaac's life was spared, and the covenant was fulfilled (Gen. 22:9-13).
 
THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, ISAAC, AND JACOB
 
Ever after, when the phrase "The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob" is used in the Bible, it refers to the Abrahamic Covenant, and specifically to God's ability to save his children in any circumstance.  Although God requires us to submit everything to him, even (and especially) the fondest desires of our heart, yet he will preserve us and reward us for so doing.  No matter what God asks us to do, if we obey, it will always turn out right.  Eventually.
 
Of course, the offering of Isaac was a type of Christ (Jacob 4:5).  Isaac and Christ were both the promised, covenant, birthright sons.  The site known traditionally as the place where Abraham offered Isaac is now the site of the Dome of the Rock.  A few hundred yards to the north on a higher point of that same ridge system is Golgotha, the place where God offered his Only Begotten Son as a sacrifice.  It is likely that Isaac was in his thirties as the time of the sacrifice (see Gen. 23:1), and old enough to be able to overpower his father and refuse to be placed on the altar, but "they went both of them together" (Gen. 22:6).  Likewise, the Savior of the World submitted himself to the will of his Father.  Elder Dallin Oaks tells us, "This story...shows the goodness of God in protecting Isaac and in providing a substitute so he would not have to die.  Because of our sins and our mortality, we, like Isaac, are condemned to death.  When all other hope is gone, our Father in Heaven provides the Lamb of God, and we are saved by his sacrifice" (Ensign, Nov. 1992, p. 37).

Old Testament Lesson #8 Living Righteously in a Wicked World

(Genesis 13-14; 18-19)

Abraham and Lot left Ur and traveled to Haran, Canaan, Egypt, and then back to Canaan.  No matter where he lived, Abraham remained on fire with testimony and faithfulness.  Lot seemed to be influenced by the environment which cooled his faith to lukewarm.  Here are some comparisons:

ABRAHAM AND LOT

• Putting God first.  The first thing Abraham did upon reentering Canaan was to visit his former altar, and call upon God (Gen. 13:3-4).  Everywhere he went, this is what he did (Abr. 2:17-20).  No worship of any kind is mentioned in regard to Lot at this time, but he used to be active in his religion (Abr. 2:6).  After they became wealthy, it seems that he changed.
• Valuing people more than things.  When a conflict arose between the servants of the two relatives, Abraham offered Lot the choice of land because peaceful relationships were more important than property to him.  Lot took his preference, rather than defer to the elder Abraham.  He "beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where...even as the garden of the Lord."  Land was his priority (Gen. 13:6-11). 
• Standing in holy places.  Abraham took the land the Lord offered to him, in the plain of Mamre, in Hebron, and of course, he "built there an altar unto the Lord" (Gen. 14-18).  He was promised a great posterity.  Lot, however, "pitched his tent toward Sodom" even though "the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly" (Gen. 13:12-13).  It wasn't long until Lot moved right into Sodom, and became one of its citizens (Gen. 14:12).

 

(This beautiful image of the Salt Lake City Temple

was taken by Bob Brown

and is used with his permission)

TWO KINGS

In a war of many kingdoms, Lot was taken captive along with the city of Sodom and others on the plain.  Abraham and his household of 318 servants went to battle to rescue them (Gen. 14:14)-15.  Neither Lot nor the citizens of Sodom and Gomorrah were turned to the Lord after having been saved.  Lot moved right back into the city, and Sodom's wickedness ripened for destruction. 

After the battle, Abraham had dealings with two kings almost simultaneously, the king of Salem (Melchizedek), and the king of Sodom (Bera).  Once again, we see contrasting examples of righteousness and worldliness.

• Forming an alliance with God, not men.  Melchizedek was the High Priest.  He administered the sacrament to Abraham, blessed him, and reminded him that the Most High God had won the battle for him, whereupon Abraham, recognizing his covenant with the Lord, voluntarily paid tithes of all he had taken (Gen. 14:18-19, including JST footnote).  The king of Sodom was the king of the worldliest of cities.  He offered all his goods recovered from the enemy to Abraham as payment for winning the war .  Abraham refused because he had covenanted with God, the "possessor" of everything, that he would take nothing from the king of Sodom; this prevented him from being bonded in any way to the king of Sodom and his evil citizens (Gen. 14:21-23).
• Being sanctified or damned.  Salem means "peace, righteousness, Heaven." Sodom means "their secret."  Salem later was translated and taken into Heaven (JST Gen. 14:34, p. 798 of LDS Bible).  Sodom later was buried in lava from an earthquake, and is thought to have eventually been covered by the salt of the Dead Sea, making it forever uninhabitable (O.T. Institute Manual, p. 77).

ABRAHAM, LOT AND THE VISITORS

Three priesthood brethren visited Abraham and then Lot to warn them of the coming destruction.  The way that the two men responded to these brethren is also indicative of their faithfulness:

• Respecting the Lord's messengers.  Abraham's entire household took upon themselves the covenant of circumcision as directed (Gen. 17), then Abraham was visited by the Lord (Gen. 18:1-2).  (Joseph Fielding Smith in Doctrines of Salvation, 1:17, states that there should be a new paragraph after "The Lord appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre," because it was a separate visit than that of the three men. Notice the name "Lord" is in all capitals, the King James translators' way of writing the name "Jehovah." They made this substitution in reverence to the Jews' custom of never speaking the name of the Lord [Bible Dictionary, p. 711].)  After the Lord's visit, three men who held priesthood authority over Abraham, visited him, then later visited Lot in Salem.  Both men recognized them, and revered them by "bowing low toward the ground" (Gen. 18:2; 19:1).  (In verse 3, "Lord" is in lowercase, indicating that Abraham is not refering to God, but just speaking respectfully to his priesthood leader.  In the footnotes to 19:1, the JST says there were "three angels," and the Hebrew word for "angels" equates to "messengers.")
• Supporting the Brethren.  Abraham offered to bring the men water for washing their feet, allowed them to rest under his tree, offered to feed them bread, and to comfort their hearts before they passed on their journey.  Abraham "hastened" to get Sarah to "quickly" make cakes of "fine meal." He "ran" to the herd and fetched a calf "tender and good," and gave it to a servant who "hasted" to dress it. He took butter, milk, and the calf and "stood by them," as a servant would, under the tree while they ate (Gen. 18:3-8).  Lot also offered them water for washing their feet, a feast, and bread, and "pressed upon them greatly" to stay in his home, rather than in the street, knowing the dangers of the city (Gen. 19:2-3).
• Staying out of "Babylon."  The men blessed Abraham by their priesthood power and promised his wife a child (Gen. 18:10-15).  When they visited Lot, however, they had a polar opposite experience.  Lot insisted the brethren stay in his home for safety, but the men of the city, claiming that Lot had moved in with them and therefore shouldn't condemn their actions, attacked the house, insisting he allow them to rape the visitors and Lot's daughters.  Lot had mistakenly assumed that he had the power to keep his home safe, despite being in Sodom.  He tried to protect his guests, but was not successful.  The holy men ended up protecting themselves and Lot by dragging him back inside the house and using their priesthood power to blind the assailants so that they couldn't find the entrance (JST Gen. 19:4-11, p. 798).  (Note that the JST says that Lot did not offer his daughters to the men of Sodom, as the Bible reports.)
• The prophet as an advocate.  The brethren told the prophet, Abraham, their mission: to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets" (Amos 3:7).  Abraham went with the holy men to show them the way to Sodom, thereby helping them with their mission. Abraham went toward Sodom (remembering his nephew, Lot) and asked the Lord if he would spare it if there were 50 righteous, or 45, or even only 10, undoubtedly hoping his nephew's family would qualify (Gen. 18:16-33, also JST Gen. 18:23), but it was in vain.  The men also warned Lot of the destruction of Sodom and allowed him to warn his married children, but this was also in vain; they didn't believe him (Gen. 19:12-14).
• Lingering in sin.  After the messengers gave their warning to Lot, they "hastened" Lot out of Sodom, but Lot "lingered."  They had to "take" him, his wife and unmarried daughters "by the hand" to "bring them forth" and "set them outside the city" (Gen. 19:15-16).  Lot's family was not in a hurry to go.  The messengers told Lot to flee to the mountain (which is often a symbol of a temple-type place), and not look back toward the city. But Lot was afraid of the mountain and asked for another asylum.  Did he feel he was not worthy to be in a mountain-temple, was he just frightened of wild animals, or did he have doubts that the destruction would actually occur so he wanted to stay close for an easy move back?  Who knows? At any rate, he begged to instead go to a town that was more humble and less worldly than Sodom (Gen. 19:17-20).  The holy men accepted Lot's plan; it was an improvement upon living in Sodom.
• Looking back on sin.  "Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven."  Lot's wife turned back and was caught in the destruction, eventually becoming a figurative "pillar of salt" as the Dead Sea likely overtook the ruins (Gen. 19:24-26).  After this, Lot was afraid to stay in the little town of Zoar, but moved to the mountain, as initially instructed. Could that be because he changed his ways and desired to be closer to God, or did he just want to distance himself from the destruction on the plain? (Gen. 19:-21-30).
• Visiting the temple in times of fear. Early the next morning, Abraham went to the mountain "temple" ("the place where he stood before the Lord") and from that elevated point saw that Sodom and Gomorrah had been consumed.  God then spoke comfort to Abraham, letting him know that he had saved Lot from the destruction (Gen. 19:27-29).
• Teaching the family to trust in the Lord.  Abraham carefully taught his family and servants to keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment, and to honor the covenants they had made (Gen. 18:19).  He waited upon the Lord for decades for the long-promised blessing of posterity.  In contrast, Lot's daughters left Sodom with him, but having grown up in that environment, they retained those wicked ways in their hearts, and in their incredible short-sightedness, committed incest in order to create progeny (Gen. 19:31-36).  From the children they bore in this wicked manner, came two of the most evil, idolatrous nations of Bible times:  The Moabites and the Ammonites.

THE MERCY OF THE LORD

Abraham asked the Lord if he would spare the City of Sodom if 50 righteous people could be found, or if 40 could be found, and so on down to 10.  Not even 10 were found.  Only Lot was found as marginally righteous, with his wife and two daughters who really weren't.  But the Lord in his mercy was willing to go to extra effort to save just Lot, even though Lot was not obedient enough to leave the city quickly, or to travel directly to the mountain.  Simply because he was willing to go partway in the right direction (although at first he had to be dragged there), he was saved from destruction--that's how merciful and kind the Lord is. 

The intensely and constantly faithful Abraham, however, was given many more blessings than just the avoidance of destruction.

WHICH EXAMPLE DO WE FOLLOW?

Latter-day Saints live in a promised land (even if just in a pocket of Zion), under covenant with God, but surrounded by worldly influences.  To remain safe, we must be vigilant in our faithfulness like Abraham, and not lukewarm, like Lot.

• Like Abraham, we need to worship at the altar of the Lord often and renew our covenants through the sacrament.
• Like Abraham, we need to acknowledge the hand of the Lord in all our successes.
• Like Abraham, we need to get out of "Babylon" by going to the "mountains of the Lord's house" (D&C 133:10-15).  The only place in the scriptures in which this phrase is plural is in latter-day scripture.  We have 130 temples now, and 22 more under construction.  The best "fire insurance" is a temple recommend!
• Like Abraham, we need to earn our money honestly and pay our full tithe willingly.
• Like Abraham, we need to honor and support our priesthood leaders as "angels" or messengers of God.
• Like Abraham, we need to plead in prayer for those who succumb to the world's influence, and go with His power to rescue them, while never "moving into Sodom" ourselves.
• Like Abraham, we need to continue to love and care for them, even when they do not seem to learn from their mistakes.
• Like Abraham, we need to provide a home and work environment in which our families and employees are safely taught to "keep the way of the Lord" (Gen. 18:19).

Old Testament Lesson #7 The Abrahamic Covenant

(Abraham 1:1-4; 2:1-11; Genesis 12:1-8; 17:1-9)

THE IMPORTANCE OF ABRAHAM

"Genesis" is a plural word meaning "many beginnings" (Robert J. Matthews, Old Testament Symposium, Logan, Utah, Jan. 2002).  The Bible Dictionary says, "Genesis is an introduction to the rest of the Bible."  Also, "The Book of Genesis is the true and original birthplace of all theology."  Theology is, of course, the study of God.  Genesis is the first book in the Old Testament.  "Testament" means "covenant."  The ancient covenant begun in the Book of Genesis is the Abrahamic Covenant.

Chapters 1-10 of Genesis cover thousands of years and three dispensations of the gospel.  Chapters 11-25 cover only 175 years:  Abraham's life.  Obviously, Abraham is extremely important in understanding the rest of the Bible, but is he important to us today?  The answer is: Absolutely!  A large body of text is given to Abraham in Genesis, but surprisingly, "Abraham is mentioned in more verses of modern revelation than in all the verses of the Old Testament.  Abraham...is inextricably linked to all who join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" (Elder Russell M. Nelson, Sydney B. Sperry Symposium, BYU, 1997).

THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT

Once again, the latter-day revelations are the best commentary on the Old Testament, and make it easier to understand.  Let's look at the Abrahamic Covenant as found in the Pearl of Great Price:

"My name is Jehovah, and I know the end from the beginning; therefore my hand shall be over thee. And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee above measure, and make thy name great among all nations, and thou shalt be a blessing unto thy seed after thee, that in their hands they shall bear this ministry and Priesthood unto all nations; And I will bless them through thy name; for as many as receive this Gospel shall be called after thy name, and shall be accounted thy seed, and shall rise up and bless thee, as their father; And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee; and in thee (that is, in thy Priesthood) and in thy seed (that is, thy Priesthood), for I give unto thee a promise that this right shall continue in thee, and in thy seed after thee (that is to say, the literal seed, or the seed of the body) shall all the families of the earth be blessed, even with the blessings of the Gospel, which are the blessings of salvation, even of life eternal" (Abr. 2:7-11).

Why was Abraham privileged to receive this great covenant?  As always, the reason for any revelation is a request; Abraham desired righteousness with all his heart, and asked the Lord to make him "a father of many nations, and a prince of peace" (Abr. 1:2).  (See "Abraham's Dysfunctional Family" in previous post.)  Abraham's response to the blessing of this covenant is inspiring:  "Now, after the Lord had withdrawn from speaking to me, and withdrawn his face from me, I said in my heart: Thy servant has sought thee earnestly; now I have found thee...I will do well to hearken unto thy voice" (Abr. 2:12-13).

The covenant was initially promised when Abraham was 75 years old (Gen. 12). When he was 99 years old (Gen. 17), the Lord restated the covenant, because the people had not been following it correctly.  They were baptizing infants with sprinkling, rather than baptizing by immersion at the age of accountability, and they were giving Abel the credit for the Atonement. (See the footnote to Gen. 17:3, which refers to JST Gen. 17:3-7, p. 798 of the LDS Bible.)

THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT TODAY

All of the covenants we make as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, from baptism to temple sealing, are part of the Abrahamic Covenant; the Abrahamic Covenant is just the Gospel of Jesus Christ, with the added emphasis of the responsibility to share the gospel with other potential heirs.  When any person joins the church through baptism, he becomes an heir of Abraham; then it becomes his duty and joy to share that gospel with others.

Four Ways the Nations are Blessed by the Abrahamic Covenant:
1) Jesus Christ's Atonement
2) Priesthood
3) Leaven of Righteousness
4) Opportunity to join Abraham's family, or discover that they already belong, and receive the Holy Ghost
(Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 3:246)

The last three of these blessings are administered by us as we keep our part of the Abrahamic Covenant.  "The responsibility of the seed of Abraham, which we are, is to be missionaries to bear this ministry and Priesthood unto all nations" (Pres. Ezra Taft Benson, Ensign, May 1987).

THE LEAVEN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

Jesus spoke of the children of Abraham in a parable when he said, "The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened" (Matt. 13:33).

When you add yeast to warm water, the yeast softens, bubbles up and grows much large than its original size.  In the Old Testament, by the time of the Exodus, Abraham's posterity numbered 1 million plus.  Their 40 years in the wilderness provided a time of trial and preparation in which they could grow spiritually.  (See "The Journey" in a previous post, for the symbolic meaning of the 40 years.)  In the latter days, the saints gathered to Kirtland, Jackson County, Nauvoo, and Salt Lake City in order to have the manpower, land, and finances to build temples, which provided them with access to the full Abrahamic covenant.  The trials that drove them from one place to another refined them.

When you mix the yeast in with the other ingredients of the bread, it influences the dough and makes it rise.  In the diaspora (the scattering of Israel) the covenant people were spread throughout the middle east, placing pockets of believers throughout the nations.  In the latter-days, once the initial gathering to Salt Lake was accomplished and the U.S. mountain west was settled, the saints in other nations were counseled to stay where they lived and build up Zion in their own countries.  For this reason, temples now "dot the earth."

If the leaven does not soften and develop at first, it does not have the power to raise the bread.  The same is true of the covenant people.  Their testimonies must be firm in order to bless those around them with the gospel.

HOW TO LIVE THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT TODAY

By definition, then, the children of the Abrahamic Covenant live in environments that are spiritually inferior.  It is their calling, as leaven, to elevate those surroundings.  The Book of Genesis set ups the overall theme of the Old Testament in these 15 chapters on Abraham and the following 14 chapters on Jacob, which is the question of whether the Lord's people will keep their covenants to influence others toward righteousness, or whether they will allow the environment to influence them.

"Abraham received promises concerning his seed, and of the fruit of his loins...This promise is yours also, because ye are of Abraham, and the promise was made unto Abraham; and by this law is the continuation of the works of my Father, wherein he glorifieth himself.  Go ye, therefore, and do the works of Abraham; enter ye into my law and ye shall be saved" (D&C 132:30-32).

Old Testament Lesson #6 "Noah...Prepared an Ark to the Saving of His House"

(Moses 8:19-30; Genesis 6-9; 11:1-9)

INCREASED UNDERSTANDING THROUGH JOSEPH SMITH'S "TRANSLATION"

In June of 1830, the Prophet Joseph Smith followed the command of the Lord to re-translate the King James Bible (see D&C 35:20).  He did this by studying the Bible prayerfully, and making notes and additions through inspiration as he read, in order to restore what had been corrupted or removed through the ages as the Bible made its winding way through civilization.  Most of the work was done by July of 1833, but he kept revising and editing it until his death (Garr, et.al, Encyclopedia of Latter-day History, p. 589).  The entire Book of Moses was revelation received by Joseph Smith as he read the Book of Genesis, the first chapter being completely new material, and the rest being revisions on the Genesis narration.  After the Book of Moses, the story resumes with Genesis 6:14, but there are still some very enlightening changes which have been put in the footnotes of the LDS Bible, or in the Appendix.

Here are some interesting insights about Noah and the ark, most of which come as a result of JST changes and additions:

NOAH

• He was the great-grandson of Enoch (Gen. 5:18-32), whom Enoch saw in vision (Moses 7:41-43); the grandson of Methuselah; and the son of Lamech. 
• He was the prophet of the next major dispensation after his great-grandfather's.
• He had a very short priesthood line of authority:  "Methuselah was one hundred years old when he was ordained under the hand of Adam...Noah was ten years old when he was ordained under the hand of Methuselah" (D&C 107:50-52).
• Noah was born as the child of promise who would save civilization.  Methuselah, his grandfather, was left behind when the City of Enoch went up to Heaven, for the purpose of bringing Noah into the world.  "And it came to pass that Methuselah, the son of Enoch, was not taken, that the covenants of the Lord might be fulfilled, which he made to Enoch; for he truly covenanted with Enoch that Noah should be of the fruit of his loins" (Moses 8:2). 
• At his birth and naming, his father, Lamech, prophesied that he would "comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the Lord hath cursed" (Gen. 5:29).  
• He was righteous (Moses 8:13).
• In an incident about which we have no details, he was saved from murderous giants by the hand of the Lord (Moses 8:18).
• Noah's sons were also righteous men:  "And thus Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord; for Noah was a just man, and perfect in his generation; and he walked with God, as did also his three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth" (Moses 8:27).  They weren't saved from the flood just by being related to Noah.
• For 120 years (!) Noah warned the people about the flood (Moses 8:17).
• Noah was commanded to build an ark, which he obediently did, without hesitation or argument, despite what Bill Cosby says in his famous comedy routine :)  "Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he" (Gen. 6:22).
• At the end of the warning period, Noah was 600 years old, his grandfather Methuselah finally died (sparing him the whole ark ordeal), and Noah's family entered the ark with the animals.

THE ARK

• The Hebrew root for "ark" is the same as that used for baby Moses' floating basket.
• Cubits varied by region, but the Egyptian cubit of 18 inches was most likely Noah's measure, making the ark 450 feet by 76 feet by 45 feet, equal to an icebreaker, double a man o' war, half an oceanliner.  (See picture from Institute Old Testament Student Manual below.)
• It had 3 decks, enclosed of course, with 15-foot ceilings, if they were equal.  There was over 100,000 square feet of floorspace all told: over 30 times the square footage of a 1970s ranch-style American home.

THE ANIMALS

The ark hosted two of a kind of unclean animals (to repopulate the earth) (Gen. 6:19-20), and seven of a kind of clean animals (two to repopulate the earth; five as food storage for the year-long journey on the water) (Gen. 7:2-3).

THE JOURNEY

• 
  
  The number 40 in the Bible is almost always symbolic.  Saying that some ordeal lasted 40 days or 40 years was a way of stating that it was a long period of trial, of testing, of preparation, which would be followed by a reward or a restoration. The specific phrase "40 days and 40 nights" occurs three other times in the Bible:  Moses on Mt. Sinai (Exo. 24:18), Elijah traveling to Horeb (1 Kings 19:8), and Jesus fasting in the wilderness (Matt. 4:2).  In fact, the journey of the ark lasted a lot longer than 40 days and 40 nights.
• 
  
  The flood began on the 17th day of the 2nd month of the 600th year of Noah's life (Gen. 7:11). That day, the family boarded the ark (Gen. 7:13).
• The waters covered the earth for 150 days, and the ark rested on the mountains of Ararat on the 17th day of the 7th month (Gen. 8:3-4).
• 
  
  The waters decreased continually until the mountains became visible on the 1st day of the 10th month (Gen. 8:5).
• 
  
  After having sent out the raven and the dove, the waters were finally dried off the earth on the 1st day of the 1st month of the 601st year of Noah's life (Gen. 8:13).
• 
  
  The earth itself was dry on the 27th day of the 2nd month, and the family disembarked (Gen. 8:14-16).

150 days afloat + 73 days anchored with no land in sight + 90 days until the water receded + 57 days until the land dried out = 370 days total, but this was calculated figuring months of only 30 days, so add about 5 days for the longer months = 375 days!!!

THE RAINBOW COVENANT

 

(This beautiful photo showing the Rainbow Covenant 

over the place of covenants was taken by my friend,

Laurie Hendricks Fifield)

Are not all revelations given in answer to questions or requests, as Joseph Smith said?  The Joseph Smith Translation reveals that the rainbow was the sign of a covenant answering the heartfelt prayer of Noah's great-grandfather, Enoch, when he saw the devastating flood in a vision.

"And when Enoch heard the earth mourn, he wept, and cried unto the Lord, saying: O Lord, wilt thou not have compassion upon the earth? Wilt thou not bless the children of Noah? 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" (Moses 7:49-50).

Three generations later, after the flood had come and gone, and his family had safely disembarked, Noah built an altar, offered thanks with an animal sacrifice (there were animals born during the long journey on the ark, of course, and so there were "firstlings" to offer) and made the self-same request, undoubtedly passed down through the generations from his great-grandfather: 

"And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord, and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar; and gave thanks unto the Lord, and rejoiced in his heart.  And the Lord spake unto Noah, and he blessed him.  And Noah smelled a sweet savor, and he said in his heart; I will call on the name of the Lord, that he will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake, for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; and that he will not again smite any more every thing living, as he hath done while the earth remaineth" (JST Gen. 9:4-6).

God blessed Noah and his sons and gave them counsel (Gen. 9:1-8), and made the promise symbolized by the rainbow (Gen. 9:9-16).  The JST clarifies (again) that the covenant was originally made with great-grandfather Enoch (see the footnote to verse 9).  In the JST in the Appendix, comes this beautiful passage linking Noah back to the city which left his grandfather Methuselah behind (changes/additions made by Joseph Smith are noted in italics):

"And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant, which I made unto thy father Enoch; that when men should keep all my commandments, Zion should again come on the earth, the city of Enoch which I have caught up unto myself.  And this is mine everlasting covenant, that when thy posterity shall embrace the truth, and look upward, then shall Zion look downward, and all the heavens shall shake with gladness and the earth shall tremble with joy;  And the general assembly of the church of the first-born shall come down out of heaven, and possess the earth, and shall have place until the end come.  And this is mine everlasting covenant, which I made with thy father Enoch.  And the bow shall be in the cloud, and I will establish my covenant unto thee, which I have made between me and thee, for every living creature of all flesh that shall be upon the earth.  And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant which I have established between me and thee; for all flesh that shall be upon the earth" (JST Gen. 9:21-25, p. 798 of the LDS Bible).

LOOK FOR RAINBOWS

The Primary song "When I Am Baptized" begins, "I like to look for rainbows."  Believers in the Bible recognize rainbows as symbols of the Lord's promise to never again flood the entire earth.  The Latter-day Saints, however, should have a deeper love for and understanding of rainbows.  The Joseph Smith Translation adds the beautiful truth that the rainbow also symbolizes the covenant that the day will come when the inhabitants of the earth will embrace the truth, and the City of Enoch will return and rejoin them.  As we "look upward" at rainbows, we can envision the heavenly city "looking downward" upon us, and anticipate the time when "the heavens will shake with gladness, and the earth shall tremble with joy" as the Zion people on earth are joined by the city of Zion from heaven.

Old Testament Lesson #5 "If Thou Doest Well, Thou Shalt Be Accepted" (Moses 5-7)

(Moses 5-7)

THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL

Tom Holdman stutters.  As a young man, this was such a trial for him, that he threw himself into art, which doesn't require much speaking.  When he served his mission, however, he found that whenever it really mattered, when he was teaching a gospel discussion, for example, if he prayed for help, he would be able to speak intelligibly.  He was given a gift of tongues.  And he even found that God could use his disability to touch the hearts of others.

As an adult, Tom became a stained glass artist.  First he made windows for the children's library in Orem, Utah.  Then the interior designer for the Palmyra New York Temple asked Tom for a sketch of what he might do on a window of the First Vision.  He was so overwhelmed, he went to the Mount Timpanogos Temple to ask the Lord for help, and while there, he said, "my mind was flooded with a vision of all 108 windows."  He took his sketches to the Church Office Building and they were all approved. 

The panels that went in the front doors of the Palmyra Temple were not the Tree of Life, but the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
"[Brother Holdman] explained how the Palmyra temple windows represent a person’s journey through life. Entering the front doors, which depict the tree of knowledge of good and evil, one can look down a hallway through windows overlooking the world, or turn toward the First Vision window. “You see,” said Tom, “you must make a choice in life to follow the world, or to obtain a testimony of our Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Restoration of the gospel” (Jane H. Forsgren, "Windows on Eternity," New Era, December 2001).

If you turn toward the First Vision window, and go through the temple endowment, you reach the Celestial Room with its Tree of Life window.  (The picture below is actually the Tree of Life window in the Winter Quarters Temple--the caption below it is incorrect.)

In other words, once you have knowledge of good and evil, you can choose to do nothing with it and follow the way of the world, or you can turn yourself and choose to seek God.  And this is where we pick up from last week's lesson with these two contradictory statements:

"Because that Adam fell, we are; and by his fall came death; and we are made partakers of misery and woe" (Moses 6:48). 

"Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy" (2 Ne. 2:25).

Misery and woe are guaranteed in this life; joy is conditional.  They might have joy.  Of course, it isn't totally obvious to the children of men that choosing to seek God will bring joy, because it isn't immediate.  Everyone gets some of the misery, even those who are righteous, because the earth is in a fallen state and we are subject to sickness, and death, and accidents, and living with other people who choose wrongly.

"If all the sick for whom we pray were healed, if all the righteous were protected and the wicked destroyed, the whole program of the Father would be annulled and the basic principle of the gospel, free agency, would be ended.  No man would have to live by faith.  If joy and peace and rewards were instantaneously given the doer of good, there could be no evil--all would do good but not because of the rightness of doing good.  There would be no test of strength, no development of character, no growth of powers, no free agency, only satanic controls."  (Spencer W. Kimball, Faith Precedes the Miracle, p. 97)

Two men early in the scheme of things were perhaps the most extreme examples of agency with the knowledge of good and evil.  Cain is well-known as the father of wickedness among humans, who turned himself away from God, and Enoch is known as the one who grew so close to God that he was literally pulled up into heaven to live with Him.

CAIN

The best commentaries available to us on the Old Testament are the modern-day revelations.  The Book of Moses teaches us a great deal more about Cain than does the Book of Genesis.  It tells us much more about his motives and about his methods.  When Eve gave birth to Cain, she said, "I have gotten a man from the Lord; wherefore he may not reject his words" (Moses 5:16).  Clearly she expected Cain to be a righteous son.  But within the same verse we find that, "Cain hearkened not, saying: Who is the Lord that I should know him?"

The trouble began with Cain when he offered a sacrifice of plants to the Lord rather than animals.  In the Book of Genesis, there is no explanation as to what is wrong with this.  But in the Book of Moses, we find that "Cain loved Satan more than God. And Satan commanded him, saying: Make an offering unto the Lord" (Moses 5:18).  So we know that Cain was not motivated by faith in Christ, but by the temptation of Satan.  The Lord knows the intent of the heart, but in this case, the outward action also displayed opposition to the Savior.  The Lord had given unto Adam and Eve "commandments, that they should worship the Lord their God, and should offer the firstlings of their flocks, for an offering unto the Lord. And Adam was obedient unto the commandments of the Lord.  And after many days an angel of the Lord appeared unto Adam, saying: Why dost thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord? And Adam said unto him: I know not, save the Lord commanded me. And then the angel spake, saying: This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth. Wherefore, thou shalt do all that thou doest in the name of the Son, and thou shalt repent and call upon God in the name of the Son forevermore" (Moses 5:5-8).  "And Adam and Eve blessed the name of God, and they made all things known unto their sons and their daughters" (Moses 5:12).  So Cain knew very well that only a sacrifice of the firstlings of the flocks was an expression of faith in the coming Savior.  His sacrifice of "the fruit of the earth" was his own invention and expressed clearly his disobedience and disregard for the Christ.

Elder Thomas S. Monson said, "There are those who do not hear, who will not obey, who listen to the beat of a different drummer. Most prominent among their number was that son of Adam born of Eve, even Cain—a well-known name among men. Powerful in potential, but weak of will, Cain permitted greed, envy, disobedience, and even murder to jam that personal rudder which would have guided him to safety and exaltation. The downward gaze replaced the upward look; Cain fell" (Thomas S. Monson, "Sailing Safely the Seas of Life," Ensign, July 1999).

Of course, knowingly giving an inappropriate offering and then being offended that the Lord did not accept it was not the end of Cain's evil.  He continued to hearken to the temptations of Satan until he finally created a secret society with murderous intent (Moses 5:29).

So in this first dispensation of time, the prophet Adam's son Cain killed his brother through a conspiracy, as the Book of Moses tells us (Moses 5:29).  These secret combinations increased until "Satan had great dominion among men, and raged in their hearts" (Moses 6:15). 

Into this environment of wickedness was born Enoch, who would become the prophet of the next dispensation.

ENOCH
 
Enoch received a call of God to become the prophet (v. 27) and he asked the Lord very humbly why, which is the typical response of anyone who has ever been called to be the head of the Church.  Enoch pointed out that he might not be the best choice, as he was a poor speaker and highly unpopular (v. 31).  The answer the Lord gave was the answer that always applies:  "Open thy mouth and it shall be filled," or in other words, the personal abilities of the individual called are largely irrelevant, because with God's help, he would have all the power he would need (v. 32).  Enoch believed the Lord and never again expressed self-doubt.  (We can learn something here!)  The message he was to deliver to the people:  "Choose ye this day, to serve the Lord God who made you" (Moses 6:33).

Enoch's righteousness and obedience was so great that the Lord's Spirit was upon him and he was promised that "all thy words will I justify" (Moses 6:34), even to the point of moving mountains or changing the courses of rivers.  But although Enoch was given power over the elements, no one is given power to make people choose the Lord.  However, Enoch created the opportunity through his teaching for the children of men to turn, and in the midst of a very wicked civilization, many people did turn.

"And from that time forth Enoch began to prophesy, saying unto the people, that: As I was journeying, and stood upon the place Mahujah, and cried unto the Lord, there came a voice out of heaven, saying—Turn ye, and get ye upon the mount Simeon. And it came to pass that I turned and went up on the mount; and as I stood upon the mount, I beheld the heavens open, and I was clothed upon with glory" (Moses 7:2-3).

Because Enoch turned to the Lord, he was shown a series of three great visions, which this blog post does not have space to cover, but one of the most telling aspects of the last vision, the vision of the spiritual history of the inhabitants of the earth, was the sight of the great God of Heaven weeping.  "And Enoch said unto the Lord: How is it that thou canst weep, seeing thou art holy, and from all eternity to all eternity?" (Moses 7:29).  God explained that it was the choices of His children to do evil and bring upon themselves misery that made him sorrowful.  "Wherefore, for this shall the heavens weep, yea, and all the workmanship of mine hands. 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" (Moses 7:40 - 41).

SORROWING FOR THE WRONG CHOICES OF OTHERS

Elder Richard G. Scott gave counsel to those who experience this type of godly sorrow:

"Many of you have heavy hearts because a son or daughter, husband or wife, has turned from righteousness to pursue evil.  My message is for you.  Your life is filled with anguish, pain, and at times, despair.  I will tell you how you can be comforted by the Lord.  First, you must recognize two foundational principles:

"1) While there are many things you can do to help a loved one in need, there are some things that must be done by the Lord.
"2) Also, no enduring improvement can occur without righteous exercise of agency.  Do not attempt to override agency.  The Lord himself would not do that.  Forced obedience yields no blessings.

"I will suggest seven ways you can help.

"1) Love without limitations.
"2) Do not condone the transgression, but extend every hope and support to the transgressor.
"3) Teach truth.
"4) Honestly forgive as often as is required.
"5) Pray trustingly.
"6) Keep perspective.

"When the things you realistically can do to help are done, leave the matter in the hands of the Lord and worry no more.  Do not feel guilty because you cannot do more.  Do not waste your energy on useless worry...In time, you will feel impressions and know how to give further help.  You will find more peace and happiness, will not neglect others that need you, and will be able to give greater help because of that eternal perspective...

"One last suggestion--Never give up on a loved one, never!"
(Ensign, May 1988)

NEVER GIVE UP HOPE

Enoch was then shown the next dispensation of the gospel in which the prophet would be Noah.  Here, the Book of Moses gives us more commentary and insight into the Bible story, as we are told, twice, that Noah's three sons were saved, not just because they were the prophet's children, but because they also had turned to the Lord (Moses 8:13,27).  Their choices saved them from the watery grave that opened to receive all the rest of humankind.  "Wherefore, Enoch saw that Noah built an ark; and that the Lord smiled upon it, and held it in his own hand" (Moses 7:43).  Then the waters overtook the world, "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; but the Lord said unto Enoch: Lift up your heart, and be glad; and look" (Moses 7:44).  He then showed Enoch "the day of the coming of the Son of Man, even in the flesh; and his soul rejoiced" (Moses 7:47).

Even for the grossly wicked in the time of Noah, there was still some hope.  God had given them the best chance by removing them from the clutches of Satan on the telestial earth to a better environment.  They would have the opportunity to turn to the Lord outside the limits of time in Spirit Prison, as they were taught by a host of the greatest prophets who ever lived on the earth (See D&C 138:28).

After his visions, Enoch went on to influence enough people to turn to God, that they were taken up into Heaven as the City of Zion.  (See Moses 7:69)

TURNING TO GOD

Every day, every hour, as we make choices, we choose whether to simply look out the window on the world, or whether to turn and walk with God.  "But God hath made known unto our fathers that all men must repent.  And he called upon our father Adam by his own voice, saying: I am God; I made the world, and men before they were in the flesh. And he also said unto him: If thou wilt turn unto me, and hearken unto my voice, and believe, and repent of all thy transgressions, and be baptized, even in water, in the name of mine Only Begotten Son, who is full of grace and truth, which is Jesus Christ, the only name which shall be given under heaven, whereby salvation shall come unto the children of men, ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, asking all things in his name, and whatsoever ye shall ask, it shall be given you" (Moses 6:50-52).

As we turn to the Lord, we choose the option offered, "Men are, that they might have joy" (2 Ne. 2:25). 

"I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore" (Psalms 16:8-11).

Teaching Tip: Easy Ways to Manage Scripture Reading in Class and Encourage Personal Reading at Home

(Photo from LDS.org)




Here is a quick tip that facilitates easily assigning readers, while making Gospel Doctrine class feel safe and comfortable for adults or teens who have reading difficulties, need glasses, are terrified of speaking out in class, or even have just a sore throat.  Get a small item to represent the scripture "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path" (Psalms 119:105).  I had a small clay Hebrew lamp I bought at a bookstore, but you could also use an ordinary (unlit) candle.  Hand the candle or lamp to a class member when class begins, and explain to the class that if they would like to read out loud, they should hold it until you call for a scripture to be read; if they are uncomfortable reading out loud, they just pass it to the next person.  After a scripture is read, the lamp or candle is passed to the next class member who either chooses to be the next reader or passes the candle on.  This worked great in our class and made it so people didn't have to try to avoid eye contact with me when I wanted a scripture read and they didn't want to be chosen.

To get class members to read the lesson assignment--no joke, this works with adults--bring small treats and simply pass them around the class in a basket.  They take one if they read the assignment.  Several of my students said this was the first they had ever actually read Sunday School assignments.  It just gave them a personal accounting each Sunday, and a mini reward.