Moses 6: Enoch Preaches the Gospel Plan

                God continues to tell Moses about Adam and Eve and his offspring…

“…Adam hearkened unto the voice of God, and called upon his sons to repent…. Adam knew his wife again, and she bare a son, and he called his name Seth…  Adam glorified the name of God; for he said: God hath appointed me another seed, instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.” (Moses 6:1-2)

Now, Seth was good in the eyes of the Lord and offered acceptable sacrifice like his brother Abel. “…And to him also was born a son, and he called his name Enos.” (Moses 6:3)These men began to call upon the name of the Lord, and they were blessed for it. God tells Moses that Adam and his offspring kept “…a book of remembrance was kept…  in the language of Adam, for it was given unto as many as called upon God to write by the spirit of inspiration; And by them their children were taught to read and write, having a language which was pure and undefiled.” (Moses 6:5-6) Here we learn that not only were these children righteous, many of Adams offspring also knew how to read and write!

We also learn that Adam and his offspring were given the Priesthood from God Himself, and that; “…this same Priesthood, which was in the beginning, shall be in the end of the world also.” (Moses 6:7) Adam kept a record of his family and created a book of his generations (see verse 8).

8 Now this prophecy Adam spake, as he was moved upon by theHoly Ghost, and a genealogy was kept of the children of God. And this was the book of the generations of Adam, saying: In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;

God goes on to explain to Moses that; “…Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his own image, and called his name Seth… after he had begotten Seth, were eight hundred years, and he begat many sons and daughters; … all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years, and he died.” (Moses 6:10-12) Adam lived for 930 years!

Seth (who died at the age of 912 – see verse 16), the son of Adam went on to have many sons and daughters including Enos. The posterity of Adam was “…numerous upon all the face of the land. And in those days Satan had great dominion among men, and raged in their hearts; and from thenceforth came wars and bloodshed; and a man’s hand was against his own brother, in administering death, because of secret works, seeking for power.” (Moses 6:15)

God goes on to explain more of the genealogy of Adam;

“…Enos lived ninety years, and begat Cainan… Enos lived, after he begat Cainan, eight hundred and fifteen years, and begat many sons and daughters. And all the days of Enos were nine hundred and five years, and he died… Cainan lived seventy years, and begat Mahalaleel; and Cainan lived after he begat Mahalaleel eight hundred and forty years, and begat sons and daughters. And all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years, and he died…Mahalaleel lived sixty-five years, and begat Jared; and Mahalaleel lived, after he begat Jared, eight hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters. And all the days of Mahalaleel were eight hundred and ninety-five years, and he died… Jared lived one hundred and sixty-two years, and begat Enoch; and Jared lived, after he begat Enoch, eight hundred years, and begat sons and daughters. And Jared taught Enoch in all the ways of God” (Moses 6:17-21)

God explains that because Satan raged in the hearts of men, God had to call the righteous men to teach them. So God called preachers of righteousness who; “… spake and prophesied, and called upon all men, everywhere, to repent; and faith was taught unto the children of men.” (Moses 6:23) From this we learn that the work of bringing souls to God has existed since the dawn of time. Jared lived until the age of 962, before he died.  At the age of 65, Enoch had Methuselah. One day Enoch was traveling when God descended upon him from heaven and said;

“…Enoch, my son, prophesy unto this people, and say unto them—Repent, for thus saith the Lord: I am angry with this people, and my fierce anger is kindled against them; for their hearts have waxed hard, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes cannot see afar off; And for these many generations, ever since the day that I created them, have they gone astray, and have denied me, and have sought their own counsels in the dark; and in their own abominations have they devised murder, and have not kept the commandments, which I gave unto their father, Adam.” (Moses 6:27-28)

God had commanded Enoch to warn the children of Adam that they were breaking God’s commandments and following after Satan. He warned that those who did not cease from their actions and repent immediately would be destroyed. Enoch bowed himself before the Lord and asked; “…Why is it that I have found favor in thy sight, and am but a lad, and all the people hate me; for I am slow of speech; wherefore am I thy servant?” (Moses 6:31) The Lord responded to Enoch saying; “…Go forth and do as I have commanded thee, and no man shall pierce thee. Open thy mouth, and it shall be filled, and I will give thee utterance, for all flesh is in my hands, and I will do as seemeth me good. Say unto this people: Choose ye this day, to serve the Lord God who made you.” (Moses 6:32-33)

Despite the fact that Enoch was slow at speech, God gave him a commandment and promised him that if he was faithful that His Spirit would be with him and all the words he needed would come forth. So, Enoch went forth and preached among men, and was hated for it; “…all men were offended because of him.” (Moses 6:37) However, the Lord promised to protect Enoch and; “…it came to pass when they heard him, no man laid hands on him; for fear came on all them that heard him; for he walked with God.” (Moses 6: 39)

With Enoch’s presence and the words he spoke, it brought forth a great deal of attention. There came a man named Mahijah, questioning Enoch;

“…Tell us plainly who thou art, and from whence thou comest? And he [Enoch] said unto them: I came out from the land of Cainan, the land of my fathers, a land of righteousness unto this day. And my father taught me in all the ways of God. And it came to pass, as I journeyed from the land of Cainan, by the sea east, I beheld a vision; and lo, the heavens I saw, and the Lord spake with me, and gave me commandment; wherefore, for this cause, to keep the commandment, I speak forth these words.” (Moses 6:40-42)

Enoch went on to explain that God created the Heavens and the Earth, and that death will one day come upon them, for it is written in the book of remembrance that even Adam died. After hearing these words the people were scared of his presence, because he spoke with authority from God. Enoch said that because; “…Adam fell, we are; and by his fall came death; and we are made partakers of misery and woe. Behold Satan hath come among the children of men, and tempteth them to worship him; and men have become carnal, sensual, and devilish, and are shut out from the presence of God. But God hath made known unto our fathers that all men must repent…  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 6:48-52) This is very important doctrine that Enoch taught to the offspring of Adam. Because Adam (their father, and the first man) fell, death came into the world and so all men and women became partakers of misery and woe. However, God made a plan for us to return to Him and overcome this world of misery and woe. If we hearken unto the voice of God and repent of our sins and overcome the temptations of the Devil… we can return to live with God.

Why do we need to be baptized?

God explains that Adam asked Him; “…Why is it that men must repent and be baptized in water? And the Lord said unto Adam: Behold I have forgiven thee thy transgression in the Garden of Eden. Hence came the saying abroad among the people, that the Son of God hath atoned for original guilt, wherein the sins of the parents cannot be answered upon the heads of the children, for they are whole from the foundation of the world.” (Moses 6:53-54) Because God has forgiven the transgression of Adam and Eve, we must be baptized in water to obtain the promise of returning to live with God again. Because Jesus Christ would go on to Atone for the sins of the world, this ‘original sin’ was no longer, because Jesus Christ ATONED for that sin. We are born into this world to experience life and learn to overcome sin, so that we might better ourselves. In this life we will; “…taste the bitter, that [we] may know to prize the good. And it is given unto them to know good from evil; wherefore they are agents unto themselves…” (Moses 6:55-56)

Enoch goes on to teach the people and asks the offspring of Adam to continue to teach this to their children; “…that all men, everywhere, must repent, or they can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God, for no unclean thing can dwell there, or dwell in his presence…” (Moses 6:57)

Why the Fall of Adam?

“…by reason of transgression cometh the fall, which fall bringeth death, and inasmuch as ye were born into the world by water, and blood, and the spirit, which I have made, and so became of dust a living soul, even so ye must be born again into the kingdom of heaven, of water, and of the Spirit, and be cleansed by blood, even the blood of mine Only Begotten; that ye might be sanctified from all sin, and enjoy the words of eternal life in this world, and eternal life in the world to come, even immortal glory; For by the water ye keep the commandment; by the Spirit ye are justified, and by the blood ye are sanctified;” (Moses 6:59-60) The Fall of Adam had to occur in order to bring forth Agency among men, that we might learn for ourselves, be baptized (born again) into the Kingdom of God.

God goes on to explain to Moses that He gave us the Holy Ghost to be a comforter in this life, and that all things bear record of Him. God explains that even Adam was baptized;

“…Adam cried unto the Lord, and he was caught away by the Spirit of the Lord, and was carried down into the water, and was laid under the water, and was brought forth out of the water. And thus he was baptized, and the Spirit of God descended upon him, and thus he was born of the Spirit, and became quickened in the inner man.” (Moses 6:64-65)