Introduction

Moses 5 ended with wicked oaths and murder that began to prevail on the earth. Secret combinations (organized evil) began to spread the works of darkness, “and it displeased God” (v. 52), “for they would not hearken unto his voice, nor believe on his Only Begotten Son, even him whom he declared should come in the meridian of time, who was prepared from before the foundation of the world” (v. 57). Having been shown these difficult times, Moses learned that the gospel began to be preached to Adam and that promises were confirmed to him by “an holy ordinance” (v. 59)—a system of organized good in contrast to organized evil. Moses 6 picks up this theme of the gospel and its significance in the lives of Adam, Eve, and all their family members who would embrace it, and Enoch would become a pivotal figure in continuing and disseminating God’s word and ordinances to the people.

Amid these revelations, Moses also learned that the gospel and the priesthood would be eternal and eventually touch the whole human family (see Moses 5:59; 6:7). This was great news considering that, by Enoch’s time, the “children of men were numerous upon all the face of the land” and “Satan had great dominion among men, and raged in their hearts” (Moses 6:15; see v. 28). Moses gained a knowledge of Enoch’s ministry during that troubled period. What Moses learned surely must have profoundly touched and guided him as he recorded his own prophetic writings.[1] Though little is written of Enoch in the Old Testament, Moses 6–7 restores some of the most vivid teachings and experiences of this great prophet who was instrumental in creating a society, called Zion, that was able to obtain heaven (see Moses 7:69).[2] Moses 6 introduces us to Enoch and his efficacious teaching that would create Zion amid widespread wickedness and also enables us to witness God’s efforts to bring people into places of holiness and ultimately into his presence.[3]

Transitioning from the story of Cain and Abel and the formation of the first secret combinations, the first third of Moses 6 (vv. 1–23) tells the story of the generations between Adam and Enoch, beginning with Seth. Adam glorified God after Seth’s birth, as “God hath appointed me another seed, instead of Abel, whom Cain slew” (v. 2).[4] These early verses describe the “book of remembrance” and genealogies that became the first scripture (v. 5), genealogy, and registry of the priesthood and priesthood authority. Afterward, Moses 6 continues to establish the theme of presiding priesthood authority.[5] The second third of the chapter (vv. 24–47) describes Enoch’s prophetic call and commission, his further growth in becoming a “seer” (v. 36), and the beginning of his growth from the humblest of speakers to one of the greatest preachers of the divine word of whom we have record. The final third of the chapter (vv. 48–68) preserves Enoch’s teaching of the doctrine of Christ, including the plan of salvation, using Adam as the model. These verses constitute an essential component of Moses 6–7, which is sometimes viewed as “the inauguration of temple ordinances among the righteous,”[6] although it is unclear if or to what degree such ordinances were performed in formally constructed temples or at localized altars or in mountain settings such as those we have encountered thus far in the Book of Moses (and in other scriptural accounts) and will encounter in Moses 6.[7] Regardless, Enoch’s presentation stands as one of the plainest and most precious presentations of the doctrine of Christ, the gospel, and the plan of salvation (see Moses 6:62) anywhere in (or out of) scripture.[8]

The Reception of Moses 6

Moses 6 was revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith between late October/November and December of 1830.[9] A month earlier, on September 26, 1830, the Lord had already begun to reveal truths about the Creation, the Fall, and the Atonement,[10] topics that Joseph Smith would learn were prominent in Enoch’s ancient discourses in what is now Moses 6–7.[11] Throughout the month of September, other revelations had begun discussing the topic of Zion.[12] During October 1830, Parley Pratt, Ziba Peterson, Ezra Thayre, and others would be called on missions to preach that “the kingdom of heaven [was] at hand” and that the Lord would “come quickly” (Doctrine and Covenants 33:10, 18). These revelations appear to have foreshadowed receipt of the Lord’s revelation of Moses 6 and the missionary work Enoch engaged in to prepare and create Zion.

In a revelation on November 4, 1830, to Orson Pratt, who had recently entered the covenant and ordinance of baptism, the Lord explained that all who would believe in him “might become the sons of God”; he then lovingly declared to Orson, “Wherefore, you are my son” (Doctrine and Covenants 34:3). Becoming a son of God was a major theme in Enoch’s ancient discourses as they were revealed to Moses (see Moses 6:68). These revelations witness God’s tenderness through the ages as a Father who delights in the covenantal relationship he is able to establish with his sons and daughters. By extension, Enoch’s teachings also emphasized care and concern for the poor among covenant keepers, with the objective of all becoming united as they cared for one another. These revelations must have been a great comfort to the Prophet Joseph Smith, whose father, Joseph Smith Sr., was imprisoned in Canandaigua, New York, for his inability to pay his debts.[13] The reality of poverty in the Prophet’s family and among the Saints must have pulled at his heartstrings, and it must have come as a great relief and a source of hope when the Lord began revealing principles associated with the Zion of Enoch, including the necessity of caring for the poor and needy.[14]

By early December 1830, the Lord revealed to Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon, “I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was crucified for the sins of the world, even as many as will believe on my name, that they may become the sons of God, even one in me as I am one in the Father, as the Father is one in me, that we may be one” (Doctrine and Covenants 35:2). By the end of the revelation, the Lord would continue to address themes that would be found throughout Enoch’s ministry: “Keep all the commandments and covenants by which ye are bound; and I will cause the heavens to shake for your good, and Satan shall tremble and Zion shall rejoice upon the hills and flourish” (v. 24). The “Prophecy of Enoch” (Moses 7) would eventually be inserted between Doctrine and Covenants 36 and 37 in the hand of William W. Phelps,[15] further suggesting the contemporaneous reception of these revealed texts amid the unfolding revelations concerning Enoch and Zion. By January 2, 1831, additional revelations had been received that would flesh out the details of Zion.[16]

Moses 6: Adam and Seth

In the wake of Abel’s death and in the face of proliferating secret combinations, Adam and Eve pressed forward, feasting on the words of Christ (“hearken[ing] to the voice of God”) and living and preaching the doctrine of Christ, including the principle of repentance:

1 And Adam hearkened unto the voice of God, and called upon his sons to repent.

2 And Adam knew his wife again, and she bare a son, and he called his name Seth. And Adam glorified the name of God; for he said: God hath appointed me another seed, instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.

3 And God revealed himself unto Seth, and he rebelled not, but offered an acceptable sacrifice, like unto his brother Abel. And to him also was born a son, and he called his name Enos.

4 And then began these men to call upon the name of the Lord, and the Lord blessed them.

Adam and Eve continued to extend the invitation to their posterity to repent, and we learn that Seth would fill a priestly role in Abel’s place.

“God hath appointed me another seed”

The Book of Moses text clarifies the ambiguity of the Hebrew text (and thus the King James Version of the Bible) in attributing the naming of Seth (Hebrew šēt) to Adam, as seen in this representation: “God hath appointed/set/placed [šāt] me another seed, instead of Abel, whom Cain slew” (Moses 6:2). Seth’s naming is etiologic and is explained by the ancient Israelite narrator in terms of the Hebrew verb šāt, conveying the idea that “he [God] has appointed.”[17] In other words, Seth would become an “appointed” priesthood leader “in place of Abel.”[18] In a revelation on the priesthood given between March and May 1835, the Lord revealed that Seth had been ordained by Adam at the age of sixty-nine because Seth “was a perfect man.”[19] Kent Jackson insightfully observes that “while it is clear from the scriptures that the world as a whole in those ancient days could be characterized as extremely evil, still the records tell us that at the same time there were people who were extremely righteous. The same generations that produced humanity at its lowest level also produced men and women whose disposition to obey and serve God is unparalleled in human history.”[20] Seth restored the hope that Adam and Eve could have a righteous posterity who lived the gospel, a lineage through whom the Messiah would come.[21] This seems to be the force of Adam’s use of the phrase “another seed,” and it recalls the “seed” of Eve from the Fall narrative who would “bruise” or crush the serpent’s head (Moses 4:21).[22]

Although the time horizons are compressed, the Book of Moses text goes even further in explaining how Seth lived up to this hoped-for role as an “appointed” righteous posterity and a successor to the martyred Abel: “And God revealed himself unto Seth, and he rebelled not, but offered an acceptable sacrifice, like unto Abel his brother” (Moses 6:3). Importantly yet subtly, this statement reveals several narrative details that shed light on the events of the Cain and Abel tragedy described in Moses 5 (Genesis 4). Just as “God revealed himself to Seth, and he [Seth] rebelled not,” God had implicitly “revealed himself” to both Cain and Abel in Moses 5—that is, he had visibly appeared to both sons. Cain, on the one hand, rebelled after this theophanic experience and gave himself wholly over to Satan. Abel, on the other hand, did not rebel but offered an acceptable sacrifice. This helps us appreciate the literality of Cain’s exclamation “Behold thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the Lord” (Moses 5:39) and his later experience when he was “shut out from the presence of the Lord” (5:41).[23] For his rebellion, Cain was eternally cut off from the face/presence (Heb. pānîm) of God, which he had actually seen.

In Moses 6:3, Moses sees that Seth lived up to parental expectations as an “appointed” successor for Abel in following the pattern of a righteous son that Abel had established. With the revelations given to the Prophet Joseph Smith linking Seth to the priesthood, it is also revealing that Seth was additionally linked to the priesthood while Joseph Smith was translating the Book of Abraham and introducing temple ritual to the Saints in 1842. In describing Facsimile 2 of the Book of Abraham, Joseph Smith said that figure 3 was “made to represent God, sitting upon his throne, clothed with power and authority: with a crown of eternal light upon his head; representing, also, the grand key words of the Holy Priesthood, as revealed to Adam in the Garden of Eden, as also to Seth, Noah, Melchisedek, Abraham and all to whom the Priesthood was revealed.”[24]

“Then began these men to call upon the name of the Lord, and the Lord blessed them”

The description of Enoch’s days in Moses 6:4 (“And then began these men to call upon the name of the Lord, and the Lord blessed them”) further emphasizes the cultic and priestly character of the text and highlights the centrality of “the covenant family.”[25] Regarding Genesis 4:25–26, the biblical text parallel to Moses 6:3–4, John Sailhamer has observed the following:

To underscore the central importance of the line of Seth, the author notes that the worship of the covenantal God has already begun in his day: “At that time men began to call on the name of the Lord” (v. 26). To “call on the name of the Lord” means to worship God. The worship of God established and institutionalized in the Mosaic covenant was not new. The worship called for in the Mosaic (Sinaitic) covenant was a return to the ancient worship of the God known by the sons of Adam and the sons of Seth. Men and women of old, like Adam, Seth, and Abraham, were worshipers of the God of the covenant.[26]

Moses thus witnessed the priestly duties of the family of Adam and Eve continuing through Seth. Regarding Seth’s righteous line, John Hartley notes, “From the early days of humans’ living outside the garden of Eden there was a line who worshiped the one true God. Their devotion was an antidote to the increasing sin in Cain’s line. Whereas Cain’s line contributed to the arts and crafts, Seth’s line developed true worship.”[27]

According to Bill Arnold, calling upon the name of the Lord may have reference “to the institution of public worship . . . and the development of religious practices.”[28] The revelation that this practice occurred during Enoch’s time may have been particularly significant to Moses, since instituting public worship and religious performance were duties God charged Moses to do as prophet and leader. By the end of Moses 6, references to atonement and temple rites appear in some of the Joseph Smith Translation manuscripts, emphasizing the ritual that Moses would implement in the form of temple worship, to the end that worshippers would be “cleansed by the blood, even the blood of mine Only Begotten, into the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven that ye may be sanctified from all sin.”[29] Moses 5–6 emphasizes sacrifices, ritual, and worship designed to draw people and communities closer to God.

“A son in his own likeness, after his own image”

Another vital religious conception highlighted in the account of Seth and his lineage is the nature of the close link between him and his father, Adam: “Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his own image, and called his name Seth” (Moses 6:10).

Moses 6:10, like Genesis 5:3, uniquely describes Adam siring Seth “in his own likeness, after his own image.” This hearkens back to the religious and theological principles in the creation accounts, underscoring the creation of humankind in the image and likeness of God. Not only does this verse suggest Seth’s “likeness” to Adam in religious propensities and behavioral characteristics, but it also has physical implications, illustrating the personal, familial relationship between father and son. Unparalleled in all of scripture, the language of this short verse helps us better understand our own relationship to God.[30] As Robert Alter points out, “Adam, then, replicates God’s making of the human being (with the order of ‘likeness’ and ‘image’ reversed) in his own act of procreation”[31]—that is, reversing the order in Genesis 1:26–27. An 1835 revelation to the Prophet Joseph Smith sheds further light on the subject. The father-son likeness of Adam and Seth reflects—or constitutes a type of—the likeness of God the Father and Jesus Christ, solidifying that connection for all of us: “[Seth] was a perfect man, and his likeness was the express likeness of his father’s, insomuch that he seemed to be like unto his father in all things; and could be distinguished from him only by his age.”[32] This description illuminates additional principles pertaining to our creation, our relationship to the Creator, and our shared capacity to become like him.

Adam’s Book of Remembrance: The Record of Adam and His Righteous Posterity

The Book of Moses provides an etiology (an account of origin) for holy scripture as it has existed among the human family. For Moses, and later the Prophet Joseph Smith, one of the important contributions of the Book of Moses is the restored knowledge that scripture originated with Adam and his descendants.[33] The eternal nature of the priesthood and its ordinances is also described in the revelations, providing a theological basis for recording ordinances (be it in heaven or on earth) and underscoring the relevance of ordinances in the plan of salvation:

5 And a book of remembrance[34] was kept, in the which was recorded, in the language of Adam, for it was given unto as many as called upon God to write by the spirit of inspiration;

6 And by them their children were taught to read and write, having a language which was pure and undefiled.

7 Now this same Priesthood, which was in the beginning, shall be in the end of the world also.

8 Now this prophecy Adam spake, as he was moved upon by the Holy Ghost,[35] and a genealogy was kept of the children of God. And this was the book of the generations[36] of Adam,[37] saying: In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;

9 In the image of his own body, male and female, created he them, and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created and became living souls in the land upon the footstool of God.

The book of remembrance, genealogies, and the book of generations had at least four major functions. First, they served as a repository for revelation “given unto as many as called upon God to write by the spirit of inspiration” (Moses 6:5). Second, the writings in the book of remembrance served as a means of teaching Adam’s posterity to read and write. Third, the book of generations may have been used to record Adam’s posterity in their priesthood line of authority.[38] Fourth, and relatedly, Adam’s posterity—the “children of God” (or “sons of God,” vis-à-vis the “sons of men” in Moses 8:13–14)—registered and kept their genealogy, hence the name “the book of the generations of Adam” (6:8). The significant part of all this is that these measures were implemented as a result of the following prophecy: “Now this <same Priesthood, which> is in the beginning, shall be in the end of the world also” (Moses 6:7).[39] The connection of this prophecy with Moses 5:59—namely, its reference to holy ordinances and the preaching of the gospel—may also indicate that ordinances were recorded as well.[40]

These revelations on record keeping offer precedent for the recording of genealogies and priestly lineages that are extant throughout the Bible. They seem to also have influenced record keeping in the restored Church. Doctrine and Covenants 85:3–5, part of a revelation given through the Prophet Joseph Smith to William W. Phelps on November 27, 1832, describes a “genealogy” as part of the records of the Church for those Saints willing to keep the law of consecration—“a book of the Law of God” in which the “names” of the “people of God” would be “enrolled”:

It is contrary to the will and commandment of God that those who receive not their inheritance by consecration, agreeable to his law, which he has given, that he may tithe his people to prepare them against the day of vengeance and burning, should have their names enrolled with the people of God. Neither is their genealogy to be kept, or to be had where it may be found on any of the records or history of the church. Their names shall not be found, neither the names of the fathers, nor the names of the children written in the book of the law of God, saith the Lord of Hosts.[41]

In Ezra 2:61–62, the “children of the priests” who in vain “sought their register among those that were reckoned by genealogy” and, “as polluted, [were] put from the priesthood” were cited in this revelation as the scriptural precedent for excommunication, but the revelation also echoed the language of Malachi and his description of a “book of remembrance” (Malachi 3:16) that was kept by the faithful before the day that would “burn as an oven” and leave the wicked “neither root nor branch” (4:1).

Apart from Adam’s “book of remembrance” as recorded in the Book of Moses, the only other scriptural attestation of a “book of remembrance” is the aforementioned example in Malachi 3:

16 Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name.

17 And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels [Hebrew sĕgullâ, “marked” or “sealed” possession];[42] and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.

18 Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.[43]

This “book of remembrance” would link “fathers” (ancestors) to “children” through priestly functions and service in various dispensations, being sealed in connection with later restorations of priestly powers, authorities, ordinations, and ordinances through Elijah the prophet ahead of the second coming of Jesus Christ: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse” (Malachi 4:5–6; also 3 Nephi 25:5–6).

The book of remembrance also tied into other important concepts in the scriptures, all related to God’s book of life and judgment:

The Bible’s multiple mentions of a “book of life” (Psa 69:28), “book of remembrances” (Mal 3:16), or book in which the holy community “has been recorded for life in Jerusalem” (Isa 4:3) suggest Israelite belief in an afterlife. Daniel 12:1–2 expresses an eschatological offer of life to “everyone whose name shall be found written in the book,” including those who already “sleep in the dust of the earth” (Dan 12:1–2). Thus, the Old Testament’s offers of “life” (especially those in the Psalms) may refer to an eternal life rather than just a temporal life.[44]

This picture helps us better appreciate what the Lord, through the Prophet Joseph Smith, was attempting to accomplish in Joseph’s final years when he urgently directed the Latter-day Saints not only to build the temple but to keep faithful records of all the ordinance work done therein. Joseph’s description of the heavenly “book of life” and its contents corresponds to the “book of remembrance” in Malachi 3:18 that would be a registry of the Lord’s sĕgullâ (“sealed” possession), enabling one to “discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not”:

And further, I want you to remember that John the Revelator was contemplating this very subject in relation to the dead, when he declared, as you will find recorded in Revelation 20:12—And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

You will discover in this quotation that the books were opened; and another book was opened, which was the book of life; but the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works; consequently, the books spoken of must be the books which contained the record of their works, and refer to the records which are kept on the earth. And the book which was the book of life is the record which is kept in heaven; the principle agreeing precisely with the doctrine which is commanded you in the revelation contained in the letter which I wrote to you previous to my leaving my place—that in all your recordings it may be recorded in heaven. (Doctrine and Covenants 128:6–7; emphasis in original)

Adam’s “book of remembrance” and the various genealogies seem to have functioned similarly in terms of a genealogical record[45] and a registry of “this same Priesthood” (Moses 6:7), suggesting that Adam’s record also functioned as a registry of ordinances. These records and books may thus be viewed as a primary means through which God “in the dispensation of the fulness of times . . . [would] gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him” (Ephesians 1:10; see Doctrine and Covenants 27:13; 84:100). As the Prophet stated in the language of Malachi 3:3, 16–17, “Let us, therefore, as a church and a people, and as Latter-day Saints, offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness; and let us present in his holy temple, when it is finished, a book containing the records of our dead, which shall be worthy of all acceptation” (Doctrine and Covenants 128:24).[46]

Thus, Moses 6 stresses Adam’s preeminent role as father of “all the families of the earth” (Moses 5:10; compare Genesis 12:3), and records were kept to bind and to keep in remembrance the family and the covenant they sought to embrace. The Prophet Joseph Smith elaborated on Adam’s eminence as progenitor of the human race:

Adam who was the first man who is spoken of in Daniel as being “the Ancient of Days” or in other words the first and oldest of all, the great grand progenitor of whom it is said in another place he is Michael because he was the first and father of all, not only by progeny, but... the first to hold the Spiritual blessings to whom was made known the plan of ordinances for the Salvation of his posterity unto the end and to whom Christ was first revealed, and through whom Christ has been revealed from heaven and will continue to be revealed from henceforth. Adam holds the keys of the dispensation of the fulness of times, i.e. the dispensation of all the times, have been and will be revealed through him from the beginning to Christ and from Christ to the end of all the dispensations that are to be revealed.[47]

The Prophet Joseph Smith also explained why Adam’s patriarchal and priestly roles were relevant to humanity’s future, including the last days, and how this stewardship tied back to the priesthood and its ordinances, which are mentioned in the Book of Moses as having existed from the very beginning as a part of the eternal gospel, just as they would until the end of the world:

Now the purpose in himself in the winding up scene of the last dispensation is, that all things pertaining to that dispensation should be conducted precisely in accordance with the preceding dispensations. And again, God purposed in himself that there should not be an eternal fulness until every dispensation should be fulfilled and gathered together in one and that all things whatsoever that should be gathered together in one in those dispensations unto the same fulness and eternal glory should be in Christ Jesus; therefore he set the ordinances to be the same for ever and ever, and set Adam to watch over them, to reveal them from heaven to man or to send Angels to reveal them. Hebrews I.14. “Are they not all ministering Spirits sent forth to minister to those who shall be heirs of salvation?” These Angels are under the direction of Michael or Adam, who acts under the direction of the Lord.[48]

In a November 1831 revelation, Joseph Smith learned that Adam, before his death, gathered his descendants together and “predicted whatsoever should befall his posterity unto the latest generation” (see Doctrine and Covenants 107:53–56).[49] Thus Adam, the Ancient of Days,[50] taught his children what he had learned in the beginning about the latter days. He did this throughout his life, and those teachings bind dispensations and generations together in ways that are illuminated by the revelations of the Restoration. The revelation also stated that Adam called his righteous posterity together in the valley of Adam-ondi-ahman and “bestowed upon them his last blessing.”[51] Adam’s intent in blessing his family was to bring them into “the presence of God.”[52] Moses 6:12 recounts that Adam died. Nevertheless, he departed mortality having established a righteous line through whom he could extend covenants and spiritual blessings to the human family, even as conditions among humanity worsened.

Enoch and Preachers of Righteousness

Evidencing the horrific state of affairs that ensued as Satan exercised “great dominion among men, and raged in their hearts” were “wars and bloodshed” (Moses 6:15).[53] However, the Lord had not left Adam’s righteous posterity defenseless. He called and commissioned preachers of righteousness.[54] After Seth, we are introduced to Enos, Cainan, Mahalaleel, Jared, and Enoch.[55] Linking the human family to God again emerges as a vital concern of the Lord, and we witness the efforts extended to ensure this message was spread:

21 And 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.[56]

22 And this is the genealogy of the sons of Adam, who was the son of God, with whom God, himself, conversed.

23 And they were preachers of righteousness, and spake and prophesied, and called upon all men, everywhere, to repent; and faith was taught unto the children of men.

Enoch was the seventh generation from Adam.[57] According to the chronology presented in the Book of Moses, he was born 620 years after the Fall, he was ordained to the priesthood at 25 years of age, he walked with God for 365 years (he was 65 years old when this started; see Moses 6:25, 34, 39), and at 430 years old he and his people were taken into heaven without tasting death—that is, translated (see Doctrine and Covenants 107:48–49). An additional quotation from the prophecies of Enoch (i.e., from the Book of Enoch) is found in Jude 1:14–15, and more information on his life is found in Luke 3:37 and Hebrews 11:5. As with the names of his predecessors, the meaning of the name Enoch is significant within the ancient context of the Book of Moses. In Hebrew the name Enoch (ḥănôk) sounds like the Hebrew passive participle of the verbal root ḥnk and may mean something like “trained up” or “dedicated.”[58] Seth had “taught . . . Enos in the ways of God” (Moses 6:13), and Jared had “taught Enoch in all the ways of God” (v. 21; emphasis added). Such statements may constitute biographical descriptions drawn from Enoch’s own autobiographical statements subsequently mentioned in Moses 6:41: “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” (emphasis added).

These characterizations are not only relevant to Enoch’s role as a teacher himself but also indicative of his “training” as reflected in later terms used to describe esoteric rites (i.e., temple rites and ordinances); he could thus train and initiate others as a hierophant[59] or a paralēmptōr.[60] Thus, “taught . . . in all the ways of God” may go beyond some abstract declaration that Enoch was learned in religious matters and into the realms that he was prepared to teach the essential doctrine that Nephi later described as “the doctrine of Christ” or “the way” (2 Nephi 31; see especially verse 21),[61] which mirrors ancient temple ritual[62] and the “way of the tree of life” at every step (Genesis 3:24).[63] We see Enoch do exactly this in Moses 6:48–68.

Enoch’s prophetic responsibility as a “preacher of righteousness” would be to teach the everlasting gospel—its fundamentals (see Moses 6:23) and its fulness (see vv. 43–68). All “preachers of righteousness” hold the priesthood of the King of Righteousness, the Son of God, the same priesthood bestowed upon Adam when he was declared “a son of God” (v. 68; compare the prophetic promise that “this same Priesthood, which was in the beginning, shall be in the end of the world also” [Moses 6:7],[64] a concept later encapsulated in the name Melchizedek, which means “king of righteousness” in Hebrew).[65] Regarding the ancient and eternal nature of the gospel preached by Enoch and his predecessors, President Wilford Woodruff affirmed:

Now, any man acquainted with the Scriptures can clearly understand that there is but one true Gospel. There never was but one Gospel. Whenever that Gospel has been upon the earth it has been the same in every dispensation. The ordinances of the Gospel have never been changed from the days of Adam to the present time, and never will be to the end of time. While there were many sects and parties in existence in the early times, Jesus gave his disciples to understand that there was but one Gospel. He told them what it was. He declared unto them its ordinances. He commissioned them to preach the Gospel to every creature.[66]

This is the commission that Enoch received from the Lord firsthand and fulfilled.

Enoch the Seer: Enoch’s Prophetic Call and Commission

Although “taught . . . in all the ways of God” and apparently already a “preacher of righteousness” (Moses 6:41, 23), Enoch received a special call and commission to speak forth God’s word as a prophet. He would also become a “seer,” which is “greater than a prophet,” as King Limhi in the Book of Mormon pointed out, and is “a revelator and a prophet also,” as Ammon (another figure in the Book of Mormon) averred. Regarding seership, Ammon further noted, “A gift which is greater can no man have.” Enoch thus became the recipient of the gift of divine speech and had “great power given him from God” in speaking forth the divine word. Enoch came to “know of things which are past, and also of things which are to come” (Mosiah 8:15–17). “And the Lord showed Enoch all things, even unto the end of the world” (Moses 7:67; compare Mosiah 8:17).

The Book of Moses narrates Enoch’s prophetic call and commission as follows:[67]

26 And it came to pass that Enoch journeyed in the land, among the people; and as he journeyed, the Spirit of God descended out of heaven, and abode upon him.

27 And he heard a voice from heaven, saying: 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;

28 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.

Imagine Enoch’s reaction to the call! Hard hearts, dull ears, limited vision, counsels in dark, abominations and murder, broken commandments—this must have felt overwhelming for Enoch. The people of his day had digressed into a state that may be encapsulated in a statement by Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin:

I fear that some members of the Lord’s Church “live far beneath [their] privileges” with regard to the gift of the Holy Ghost. Some are distracted by the things of the world that block out the influence of the Holy Ghost, preventing them from recognizing spiritual promptings. This is a noisy and busy world that we live in. Remember that being busy is not necessarily being spiritual. If we are not careful, the things of this world can crowd out the things of the Spirit. Some are spiritually deadened and past feeling because of their choices to commit sin. Others simply hover in spiritual complacency with no desire to rise above themselves and commune with the Infinite. If they would open their hearts to the refining influence of this unspeakable gift of the Holy Ghost, a glorious new spiritual dimension would come to light. Their eyes would gaze upon a vista scarcely imaginable. They could know for themselves things of the Spirit that are choice, precious, and capable of enlarging the soul, expanding the mind, and filling the heart with inexpressible joy.[68]

Enoch saw that the people had chosen to live far beneath their spiritual privileges and that their spiritual faculties had atrophied accordingly.[69] And now the Lord commissioned him to help them. It was up to Enoch to help the people understand what great spiritual blessings and privileges they had been forfeiting. In the Moses 6 narrative, the Lord then turns to the people’s broken promises and covenants and the attendant consequences.

“They Have Foresworn Themselves”

29 Wherefore, they have foresworn themselves, and, by their oaths, they have brought upon themselves death; and a hell I have prepared for them, if they repent not;

30 And this is a decree, which I have sent forth in the beginning of the world, from my own mouth, from the foundation thereof, and by the mouths of my servants, thy fathers, have I decreed it, even as it shall be sent forth in the world, unto the ends thereof.

31 And when Enoch had heard these words, he bowed himself to the earth, before the Lord, and spake before the Lord, saying: 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?[70]

32 And the Lord said unto Enoch: 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.

33 Say unto this people: Choose ye this day, to serve the Lord God who made you.

34 Behold my Spirit is upon you, wherefore all thy words will I justify; and the mountains shall flee before you, and the rivers shall turn from their course; and thou shalt abide in me, and I in you; therefore walk with me.

35 And the Lord spake unto Enoch, and said unto him: Anoint thine eyes with clay, and wash them, and thou shalt see. And he did so.

Enoch was beside himself, confused, and concerned. The people of Enoch’s time had “foresworn themselves” (Moses 6:29), deeds perhaps to be viewed in terms of breaking oaths and covenants with the Lord in favor of oaths and covenants with Satan, following the precedent that Cain established in Moses 5.[71] However, the Lord comforted Enoch and reassured him that, despite his inadequacies, his mouth would be filled if he opened it, his words would be justified, and he would have command over the elements. God would do for him as “seemeth me [God] good” (Moses 6:32).[72] After God anoints Enoch’s eyes, we are introduced to Enoch the seer.

Enoch the Seer: “I Beheld a Vision”

36 And he beheld the spirits that God had created; and he beheld also things which were not visible to the natural eye; and from thenceforth came the saying abroad in the land: A seer[73] hath the Lord raised up unto his people.

37 And it came to pass that Enoch went forth in the land, among the people, standing upon the hills and the high places, and cried with a loud voice, testifying against their works; and all men were offended because of him.

38 And they came forth to hear him, upon the high places, saying unto the tent-keepers: Tarry ye here and keep the tents, while we go yonder to behold the seer, for he prophesieth, and there is a strange thing in the land; a wild man hath come among us.

39 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.

40 And there came a man unto him, whose name was Mahijah, and said unto him: Tell us plainly who thou art, and from whence thou comest?

41 And he said unto them: I came out from the land of Cainan, the land of my fathers,[74] a land of righteousness unto this day. And my father taught me in all the ways of God.

42 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.

As a seer, Enoch was privy to revelations that others were not. As he called on the people to repent, “testifying against their works,” many “were offended because of him” (Moses 6:37). Most prophets do not win popularity contests, and the truth of their messages does not depend on their popularity in the eyes of the people. However, despite any desires or efforts of the people to harm Enoch, the Lord kept his promise to him that “no man shall pierce thee,” for we read that “no man laid hands on him” (vv. 32, 39). Moreover, it is striking that despite the pejorative claims that Enoch was “a wild man,” the people could sense and observe that he was a man of God, “and fear came on all them that heard him; for he walked with God” (vv. 38–39). That the people could recognize this, despite their animosity toward Enoch, is a remarkable detail, and it leaves us with the sense of awe that the people felt when we read the story.[75] It is interesting that in numerous dispensations people are asked to believe a prophet’s story coming from a vision, and this was part of Enoch’s response to them when they inquired as to his origin: “I beheld a vision, and lo, the heavens I saw” (v. 42). It was for this reason that Enoch had been sent to the people. In the sermons that follow, Enoch proves to be one of the most effective teachers who taught with the power of God.

The Sermons of Enoch: “Why Counsel Ye Yourselves?”

43 And Enoch continued his speech, saying: The Lord which spake with me, the same is the God of heaven, and he is my God, and your God, and ye are my brethren, and why counsel ye yourselves, and deny the God of heaven?

44 The heavens he made; the earth is his footstool; and the foundation thereof is his. Behold, he laid it, an host of men hath he brought in upon the face thereof.

45 And death hath come upon our fathers; nevertheless we know them, and cannot deny, and even the first of all we know, even Adam.

46 For a book of remembrance we have written among us, according to the pattern given by the finger of God; and it is given in our own language.

47 And as Enoch spake forth the words of God, the people trembled, and could not stand in his presence.

Enoch first taught that the people were all part of God’s heavenly family. This doctrine of belonging to the family of God helped establish a bond of unity and solidarity among a community of people fragmented by dissensions. The commonality of human origins constituted a unifying principle, a belief on which Zion would be built amid diversity. Enoch’s message forwarded an enlightening question: “Why counsel ye yourselves, and deny the God of heaven?” (Moses 6:43). Why one would pursue one’s own understanding when one could pursue the understanding of the omniscient God of heaven was a soul-searching question.[76] Enoch next established God as Creator. The image of his footstool solidified the power and kingship of God.[77] The mention that “an host of men hath he brought in upon” the earth appears to reference a spiritual existence before mortality (Moses 6:44; compare 3:5, 7; 6:51). Enoch thus understood the reality of a spiritual existence before a physical one. After teaching of the Creation, Enoch taught of Father Adam, “the first of all we know” (6:45). This again bound his listeners to each other as family and built his teaching on a reality that they all knew and comprehended: Adam was the patriarch and a son of God, who still lived at that time (see Doctrine and Covenants 107:48–57), and he had attempted to teach the gospel covenant to all his children. Enoch’s message was so powerful that “the people trembled, and could not stand in his presence” (Moses 6:47).

Enoch Teaches the Doctrine of Christ and the Plan of Salvation

48 And he said unto them: Because that Adam fell, we are; and by his fall came death; and we are made partakers of misery and woe.

49 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.

50 But God hath made known unto our fathers that all men must repent.

51 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.

52 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.

53 And our father Adam spake unto the Lord, and said: 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.

54 Hence came the saying abroad among the people, that the Son of God hath atoned for original guilt,[78] 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.

55 And the Lord spake unto Adam, saying: Inasmuch as thy children are conceived in sin,[79] even so when they begin to grow up, sin conceiveth in their hearts, and they taste the bitter, that they may know to prize the good.

56 And it is given unto them to know good from evil; wherefore they are agents unto themselves, and I have given unto you another law and commandment.

57 Wherefore teach it unto your 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; for, in the language of Adam, Man of Holiness is his name, and the name of his Only Begotten is the Son of Man, even Jesus Christ, a righteous Judge, who shall come in the meridian of time.

As he taught about the Fall, Enoch taught of the temptations of Satan and his efforts to lead people astray and “out from the presence of God” (Moses 6:49). At this stage, Enoch also began to infuse hope into the seemingly hopeless human condition: “But God hath made known unto our fathers that all men must repent.” Enoch went right to the heart of the matter: we are not stuck where we are. We have a choice. And as God had exclaimed earlier in the commandment “Choose ye this day” (v. 33), this would be Enoch’s message to the people. Enoch then portrayed God in extremely personal tones: God called on Adam “by his own voice” (v. 51). God’s message to Adam was also the message to Enoch’s audience: “I am God; I made the world” (v. 51). God assured his children that if they would turn to him, engage in the plan of ordinances and salvation that he (not they) had prescribed, be baptized, and receive the Holy Ghost, then they would come to know the Only Begotten Son of God and all his “grace and truth” (v. 52). This was the good news of the gospel. And just as Enoch’s audience presumably had questions, Enoch assured them that Adam did too. But on a note of comfort, Enoch explained that God also clarified the plan of salvation to Adam, and Enoch assured the people that they were responsible for their own sins, not for Adam’s transgressions. Then Enoch reassured his audience with God’s words that “it is given to them [Adam’s children, or humankind] to know good from evil; wherefore they are agents unto themselves” (v. 56). This was the heart of the whole matter! The people really could choose. Enoch also explained that Christ would be their judge, but judgment would come only after they first learned about his grace and truth through repentance and faith on his name. In other words, he was not a judge to be feared but one to be trusted. If they would so choose, Christ would justify and sanctify them.

Justification and Sanctification

Using Adam as his model, Enoch further taught the necessity of divine rebirth.[80] Enoch uniquely tied the elements of divine rebirth “through the blood of mine Only Begotten” to those of physical birth (Moses 6:52). Through the process of rebirth, people could be both justified and sanctified:

58 Therefore I give unto you a commandment, to teach these things freely unto your children, saying:

59 That 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;

60 For by the water ye keep the commandment; by the Spirit ye are justified, and by the blood ye are sanctified.

Moses 6:60 explains how the significant elements of birth and divine rebirth relate to two critical theological concepts: justification and sanctification. Justification—or to be justified—means to be declared or pronounced “just or righteous”—that is, acquitted, pronounced innocent, or vindicated in a legal sense. It means to be set in a right relationship with God.[81] Elder Bruce R. McConkie had an expansive view of this concept:

To be justified is to be made righteous and therefore to be saved. . . . Righteous acts are approved of the Lord; they are ratified by the Holy Ghost; they are sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise; or, in other words, they are justified by the Spirit. Such divine approval must be given to “all covenants, contracts, bonds, obligations, oaths, vows, performances, connections, associations, or expectations”—that is, to all things—if they are to have “efficacy, virtue, or force in and after the resurrection from the dead.” (D&C 132:7.) Such a requirement is part of the terms and conditions of the gospel covenant.[82]

Enoch taught, however, that in the grand scheme of things as viewed through the purposes of God, it was not enough to only be pronounced innocent or pardoned. It was not even enough to be set in a “right” relationship with God. The purpose of mortality was to become. This ongoing process was the process of sanctification.[83] Regarding sanctification through the Savior’s atonement, Elder McConkie additionally taught: “The atonement of Christ is the rock foundation upon which all things rest which pertain to salvation and eternal life. Hence the Lord said to Adam: ‘By the blood ye are sanctified’ (Moses 6:60), although the usual scriptural pronouncement is that men are ‘sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost.’ (3 Nephi 27:20.) The meaning is that although [individuals] are sanctified by the power of the Holy Ghost, such sanctifying process is effective and operative because of the shedding of the blood of Christ.”[84] For Enoch and his listeners, this was the key to success and the operative power that could enact change as long as they chose to pursue that divinely prescribed path.

Elder D. Todd Christofferson has further explained the interrelationship of justification and sanctification:

Figure 1: The Sanctification Process. All who reach the age and condition of accountability before God commit sin, subjecting themselves to misery. Grace through Christ's atonement justifies us from sin and empowers us to live the doctrine of Christ (and all divine law) and to be restored to eternal happiness through the sanctification process.

Justification and sanctification are at the center of God’s gracious plan of salvation and are the essence of our witness of the Lord Jesus Christ. While justification and sanctification may be viewed as distinct topics, in reality I believe they are elements of a single divine process that qualifies us to live in the presence of God the Father and Jesus Christ. . . .

The Savior offers to all who will have faith and accept it, the gifts of being justified or pardoned before the law and also being sanctified—that is, being made spotless and holy. There is no other name, nor way, nor means whereby such redemption may occur (see Mosiah 3:17; Moses 6:52). And truly His grace is sufficient to achieve it (see Moro. 10:32). So my witness to each member of the Church, and our witness to the world, is as recorded in the scripture of this last and greatest dispensation:

“And we know that justification through the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is just and true;

“And we know also, that sanctification through the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is just and true, to all those who love and serve God with all their mights, minds, and strength” (D&C 20:30–31).[85]

As highlighted in the illustrations on the right, Enoch taught that spiritual change and growth into more godly people was possible and that it would produce a greater form of happiness than the people were then enjoying. That change would be effected by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel. Living those principles through time would enable the atonement of Jesus Christ to continually take a more permanent hold and have influence in people’s lives as the sanctification process became more complete through Christ. As characters, attitudes, and behaviors changed, so would we as human beings become more divine. Commenting on the symbolism of divine rebirth, President Joseph Fielding Smith explained the necessity of individual elements in completing the process: “Every child that comes into this world is carried in water, is born of water, and of blood, and of the spirit. So when we are born into the kingdom of God, we must be born in the same way. By baptism, we are born of the water. Through the shedding of the blood of Christ, we are cleansed and sanctified: and we are justified, through the Spirit of God, for baptism is not complete without the baptism of the Holy Ghost. You see the parallel between birth into the world and birth into the kingdom of God.”[86]

Rebirth through Christ’s Atonement: From First Principles and Ordinances to Temple Ordinances

As the Lord revealed through Enoch the first principles and ordinances of the gospel in his day, those same principles and ordinances would be revealed through the Prophet Joseph Smith in the latter days. Moses 6 seems to have heavily influenced the congruity between how Enoch taught those eternal truths anciently and how Joseph and the early Saints taught them in this dispensation. Orson Pratt’s expanded explication of what would later become an abbreviated description of the principles in the Articles of Faith reveals just how much the teaching of Enoch appears to have enlightened the Saints’ understanding of basic gospel principles. After identifying those principles as faith, repentance, baptism, and receiving the Holy Ghost, Pratt concluded the following:

These are the first conditions of the gospel. All who comply with them receive forgiveness of sins, and are made partakers of the Holy Ghost. Through these conditions, they become the adopted sons and daughters of God. Through this process, they are born again, first of water, and then of the spirit, and become children of the kingdom—heirs of God—saints of the most High—the church of the first-born—the elect people, and heirs to a celestial inheritance, eternal in the presence of God. After complying with these principles, their names are enrolled in the book of the names of the righteous.[87]

Although they cannot be attributed solely to the Enoch material, the connections and correspondences between Orson Pratt’s statement and the discourse and themes of Enoch are remarkable, and Pratt’s concluding reference to the Saints’ names being “enrolled in the book of the names of the righteous” brings us back full circle to the beginning of Moses 6. Orson Pratt continued:

They are then required to be humble, to be meek and lowly in heart, to watch and pray, to deal justly; and inasmuch as they have the riches of this world, to feed the hungry and clothe the naked, according to the dictates of wisdom and prudence; to comfort the afflicted, to bind up the broken-hearted, and to do all the good that is in their power.[88]

These are all principles that Enoch’s Zion would be built on, as attested in the revelations now contained in Moses 7. Moreover, what Enoch taught the ancient Saints about what God required of them and could do for them was what Joseph Smith would teach the Latter-day Saints. They represented the same process and effect.

It is further possible that some connections between these gospel principles and ordinances extended further into the realms of templelike ritual. We will encounter the language of theophanies and face-to-face communication with God on mountain peaks, of being clothed with glory, and of being blessed on the mountains and high places in Moses 7:3–4, 17. Orson Pratt’s Enoch-sounding description of the ritual process by which people become “the church of the first-born,”[89] including ritual and spiritual rebirth and divine adoption as sons and daughters of God, corresponds with what would become recognized as temple ritual as restored in this dispensation.[90] Various manuscript editions of Moses 6 may also intimate temple ritual associated with these passages and relate to the teachings and ordinances of the temple—or mysteries of the kingdom of heaven—that prepare us for eternal life:

I give unto you a commandment to teach these things freely unto your Children saying that <in> as were <as much as they were> born into the world by the fall which bringeth death by water & <blood &> the spirit which I have made & so became of dust a living soul even so ye must be born again of water & the spirit & cleansed by blood even the blood of mine only begotten into the mysteries[91] of the kingdom of Heaven that ye may be Sanctified from all sin & enjoy the words of eternal life in this world & eternal life in the world to come even immortal glory.[92] (Moses 6:59)

As Enoch concluded this portion of his sermon, he tied all these concepts together:

62 And now, behold, I say unto you: This is the plan of salvation unto all men, through the blood of mine Only Begotten, who shall come in the meridian of time. . . .

64 And it came to pass, when the Lord had spoken with Adam, our father, that 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.

65 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.

66 And he heard a voice out of heaven, saying: Thou art baptized with fire, and with the Holy Ghost. This is the record of the Father, and the Son, from henceforth and forever;

67 And thou art after the order of him who was without beginning of days or end of years, from all eternity to all eternity.

68 Behold, thou art one in me, a son of God; and thus may all become my sons. Amen.

Enoch delivered hope to his people that the gospel their father Adam had embraced and sought to teach all his children was still available to and efficacious for them. The good news was that through the atonement of Christ and his gospel, the posterity of Adam could become not only sons and daughters of God but also parents to their own children for eternity by virtue of additional covenants that would eternally endure. Elder Bruce R. McConkie described all that God offered Adam and Eve as follows:

Adam and Eve—our first parents, our common ancestors, the mother and father of all living—had the fulness of the everlasting gospel. They received the plan of salvation from God himself. . . . They saw God, knew his laws, entertained angels, received revelations, beheld visions, and were in tune with the Infinite. They exercised faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; repented of their sins; were baptized in similitude of the death, burial, and resurrection of the Promised Messiah; and received the gift of the Holy Ghost. They were endowed with power from on high, were sealed in the new and everlasting covenant of marriage, and received the fulness of the ordinances of the house of the Lord. . . . Having charted for themselves a course leading to eternal life, they pressed forward with a steadfastness in Christ—believing, obeying, conforming, consecrating, sacrificing—until their calling and election was made sure and they were sealed up unto eternal life.[93]

Enoch taught that the same blessings were afforded to all people as part of the family of God. For Enoch’s listeners, they had just been given the greatest power of all: the power to become.

Notes

[1] For discussion of the divine direction provided by the Book of Moses revelations and their relationship to the Genesis material, see Bradshaw and Larsen, Enoch, Noah, and the Tower of Babel, 17–18.

[2] Pseudepigraphic works on Enoch and scholarly treatments of them are voluminous. For an overview of the Enoch literature, see Bradshaw and Larsen, Enoch, Noah, and the Tower of Babel, 467–77. While passages in the Enoch material in the Book of Moses have some overlapping similarities with ancient works about Enoch, it does not seem possible that Joseph Smith simply drew from the pseudepigraphic material during his translation of the Bible. These materials had not yet been discovered by Western scholars, much less translated into English by then. See Bradshaw and Dahle, “Could Joseph Smith Have Drawn on Ancient Manuscripts When He Translated the Story of Enoch?,” 305–73. The similarities in content appear to preserve threads of the ancient stories of Enoch. See Bradshaw and Larsen, Enoch, Noah, and the Tower of Babel, 33–34; and Ludlow, “Where Did Enoch Go after Genesis?”

[3] For these themes in the Primeval History of Genesis 1–11, see Bradshaw and Larsen, Enoch, Noah, and the Tower of Babel, 4.

[4] The etymology of the name Seth is suggestive of “put, or set,” referencing Seth as the one who was put in place of fallen Abel. See Wenham, Genesis 1–15, 115; and Arnold, Genesis, 82. Seth’s name also “expresses Eve’s faith in God to continue the covenant family in spite of death.” Waltke, Genesis, 101.

[5] For the genealogies here in Genesis as constituting “legitimacy of an individual in his office,” see Waltke, Genesis, 106. The genealogies listed in Moses 6 appear to represent a theme of priesthood and leadership offices of presiding authorities. See Bradshaw, Story of Adam and Eve, 1:456. For Seth’s line as a family of believers, see Hartley, Genesis, 86.

[6] Bradshaw, Story of Adam and Eve, 1:456. Elsewhere, Bradshaw, in “Science and Genesis,” 141, cites Hugh Nibley on the “inauguration” of temple ordinances among Adam’s righteous posterity. This happened “when God set them apart, gave them a blessing, gave them a new name, [and] registered them in the new Book of the Generations of Adam [i.e., the book of remembrance], setting the true family of Adam on its course beginning with Seth.” Nibley, Temple and Cosmos, 62–63.

[7] For discussion of various temple themes throughout the stories of Enoch and the Book of Moses, see, e.g., Bradshaw, Temple Themes in the Book of Moses; Bradshaw, “LDS Book of Enoch,” 39–73; and Nickelsburg, “Temple according to 1 Enoch,” 7–24.

[8] Givens and Givens, in How Mormonism Makes Sense of Life, 24, describe this account of Enoch as the “most remarkable religious document published in the nineteenth century.”

[9] See Faulring, Jackson, and Matthews, Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible, 57–59; Matthews, “Plainer Translation”; and Jackson, Book of Moses and the Joseph Smith Translation Manuscripts, 3.

[10] See Revelation, September 1830–A [D&C 29], p. 36, The Joseph Smith Papers.

[11] Enoch is also a prominent figure in many revelations of the Lord to the Prophet Joseph Smith. Bradshaw and Larsen, in Enoch, Noah, and the Tower of Babel, 33n4, provide the following sources and comment: Doctrine and Covenants 38:4; 45:11; 76:57, 67, 100; 84:15–16; 107:48, 53, 57; 133:54. “Joseph Smith was identified with ‘Enoch’ as a substitute name in D&C 78, 82, 92, 96, 104. . . . This substitution was removed beginning in the 1982 edition of the D&C.”

[12] See Doctrine and Covenants 28, 29, and 30.

[13] See Berrett, Sacred Places, 2:235; and “Canandaigua Township, New York.”

[14] As early as April 6, 1830, a revelation states the Lord has seen Joseph’s “weeping for Zion.” Revelation, 6 April 1830 [D&C 21], p. 28, The Joseph Smith Papers.

[15] See Joseph Smith, History, 1838–1856, volume A-1 [23 December 1805–30 August 1834], pp. 80–87, The Joseph Smith Papers.

[16] See discussion in chapter 20 herein.

[17] There may be some ambiguity as to the exact etymological meaning of the name Seth. See Wenham, Genesis 1–15, 115; and Arnold, Genesis, 82. The verb šāt here (“granted”) is clearly a sound play on the name of Seth. See Hartley, Genesis, 86.

[18] Hartley, Genesis, 86.

[19] Instruction on Priesthood, between circa 1 March and circa 4 May 1835 [D&C 107], p. 85, The Joseph Smith Papers.

[20] Jackson, Restored Gospel and the Book of Genesis, 103.

[21] Compare Moses 7:53. The Abrahamic covenantal promise “And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed” (see Genesis 22:18; 26:4; 28:14; Acts 3:25; 1 Nephi 15:18; 22:9; 3 Nephi 20:25, 27) can be interpreted messianically, as Paul does (see Galatians 3:16; Romans 9:7; compare Hebrews 11:18). The Book of Moses draws the pre-Abrahamic, Abrahamic, and post-Abrahamic covenants much closer together (i.e., as part of an eternal covenant or a “new and everlasting covenant”). See, e.g., Revelation, 12 July 1843 [D&C 132], p. [1], The Joseph Smith Papers; and Letter to Noah C. Saxton, 4 January 1833, pp. 14–18, The Joseph Smith Papers.

[22] See discussion in Waltke, Genesis, 103, 105–7.

[23] For the Prophet Joseph Smith’s remarks on understanding scripture “precisely as it read” and avoiding speculation on difficult passages, see Discourse, 29 January 1843, as Reported by Willard Richards–A, p. [157], The Joseph Smith Papers. For taking the Primeval History seriously, see discussion in Bradshaw and Larsen, Enoch, Noah, and the Tower of Babel, 4ff.

[24] History, 1838–1856, volume C-1 [2 November 1838–31 July 1842], p. 1290, The Joseph Smith Papers. See “A Facsimile from the Book of Abraham, No. 2,” in the Pearl of Great Price.

[25] Waltke, Genesis, 101.

[26] Sailhamer, Genesis, loc. 3887–91. See Wenham, Genesis 1–15, 117.

[27] Hartley, Genesis, 86. Mention of “lines” here is based on observable patterns from the text, not on stereotypes derived from assumed curses or limited blessings afforded to only one “line.”

[28] Arnold, Genesis, 82.

[29] Matthews, “Plainer Translation,” 136, 223 (capitalization and punctuation adjusted).

[30] “The already unmistakable linkage of this statement with Gen 1:26–27 is strengthened by the recurrence of ‘likeness’ in [Genesis] 5:1. . . . As God created humans in his image in order to have dominion over the created order, so now Adam becomes the father of Seth in his (Adam’s) image. The image was his father’s. Without this statement, we might have taken Gen 1:26–27 as sui generis, leaving open the possibility that a primeval human being in God’s image might have been unique to that ancient period and having little to do with later humans. But since Seth was made in Adam’s image, and Adam was made in God’s, the image of God becomes an actuality for all humans.” Arnold, Genesis, 86. “Each act of procreation is an imitation of God’s original creation of man.” Sarna, Genesis, 41.

[31] Robert Alter, Hebrew Bible, 1:35.

[32] Instruction on Priesthood, between circa 1 March and circa 4 May 1835 [D&C 107], p. 85, The Joseph Smith Papers. Hebrews 1:3 similarly describes Jesus Christ, God’s Son, as “being the brightness of his [God the Father’s] glory, and the express image [charactēr] of his person.” The Greek term charactēr (clearly the source of our English word character) denotes “a mark or impression placed on an object.” In terms of coinage, charactēr denotes an “impress, reproduction, representation.” In terms of the Father-Son relationship of God the Father and Jesus Christ, this term denotes “someth[ing] produced as a representation, reproduction, or representation.” Bauer et al., Greek-English Lexicon, 1077–78. Joseph Smith learned the truth of Hebrews 11:3—and thus also the truth of Genesis 5:3—in his first vision, and we can appreciate Moses 6:10 and Doctrine and Covenants 107 as reflecting a similar revelation. In Joseph’s 1842 account of the First Vision, we read the following: “I was enwrapped in a heavenly vision and saw two glorious personages who exactly resembled each other in features, and likeness, surrounded with a brilliant light which eclipsed the sun at noon-day.” “Church History,” 1 March 1842, p. 707, The Joseph Smith Papers.

[33] See Bowen, “Many Functions of the Divine Word in the Book of Moses,” 737, 759–61.

[34] This exact phrase is rare in the Old Testament but is found in the book of Malachi. “סֵפֶר הַ־ זִכָּרוֹן (sē·p̄ěr hǎ- zik·kā·rôn) Book of Remembrance, i.e., a written record of historical records (Ex 17:14; Est 6:1; Mal 3:16+).” Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages, s.v. 2355 זִכָּרוֹן.

[35] The term Holy Ghost is found in OT2 but is absent from OT1. Faulring, Jackson, and Matthews, Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible, 97, 608.

[36] Not every individual is listed in the genealogies in Genesis or the Book of Moses, which appear to list significant and pivotal figures that link family lines back to Adam. See Hartley, Genesis, 91. The genealogies “express social relationships with their rights and privileges, rather than . . . describe strict biological kinship” and explain “the legitimacy of an individual in his office.” Waltke, Genesis, 106. The focal point in the limited genealogies seems to concentrate on the “covenant” and those who administer it. Waltke, 113. The word book in Genesis may refer to a “legal document,” perhaps underscoring or implying the recording religious events, ordinations, ordinances, and so forth. Wenham, Genesis 1–15, 125.

[37] This is a personal name but also a general term with a nuanced meaning of “people” and can include males and females, as described in the next verse. The expansive genealogical record keeping mentioned here would include people who are not explicitly mentioned in the text. See Bradshaw, Story of Adam and Eve, 1:481. In Genesis, the Hebrew word for “generations” literally means “descendants, family history, or genealogy.” Waltke, Genesis, 113; see Wenham, Genesis 1–15, 125. The connection is about describing and defining men and women as a part of God’s family from the time of creation through Adam and Eve. See Arnold, Genesis, 85. “Genealogies are integral to the structure of Genesis. They establish that all humans are united through a common origin.” Hartley, Genesis, 91. “‘The entire linear genealogy thus deals with the transmission of the divine image and the blessing through a series of firstborn sons,’” creating a “coherent and inclusive genealogical system.” Waltke, Genesis, 107. The limited and extended genealogies not recorded in the biblical text seem to be linked via priesthood, priestly figures, and adherence to the covenant.

[38] “Seth’s line was already identified as the one responsible for the religious cult and the institution of public worship . . . (Gen 4:25–26).” Arnold, Genesis, 87. See Bradshaw, Story of Adam and Eve, 1:477.

[39] Reading with the later emendation in the hand of Sidney Rigdon. See Jackson, Book of Moses and the Joseph Smith Translation Manuscripts, 102.

[40] The scriptures are replete with references to divine records like the “book of life.” See Philippians 4:3; Revelation 3:5; 13:8; 17:8; 20:12, 15; 21:27; 22:19; Alma 5:58; compare “written among the living” in Isaiah 4:3. Regarding the importance of written records, Jesus taught in the Book of Mormon, “And behold, all things are written by the Father; therefore out of the books which shall be written shall the world be judged” (3 Nephi 27:26). The “book of life” has been described as “a figurative expression denoting God’s record of those who inherit eternal life (Phil 4:3; Rev 3:5; 21:27). From man’s point of view individuals may be blotted out of that book (Ps 69:28; Matt 25:29); but from God’s point of view it contains only the names of the elect, which will not be blotted out (Rev 3:5; 13:8; 17:8; 20:15).” Douglas and Tenney, New International Bible Dictionary, s.v. “Life, the Book of.”

[41] See Joseph Smith, History, 1838–1856, volume A-1 [23 December 1805–30 August 1834], p. 241, The Joseph Smith Papers.

[42] Establishing the Lord’s people as the Lord’s sĕgullâ would be an important part of Moses’s own prophetic calling. See Exodus 19:5; Deuteronomy 14:2; 26:8.

[43] For these passages referring to priestly functions and ordinances, see Schade and Seely, “Writings of Malachi in Third Nephi,” 261–79. The language here for treasure/jewels is the same as that encountered in Exodus 19:5–6, where it is directly tied to the covenant and becoming a kingdom of priests.

[44] Dale A. Brueggemann, “Descent into the Underworld,” in Barry et al., Lexham Bible Dictionary.

[45] Joseph Fielding Smith asks, “What was the promise made to the fathers that was to be fulfilled in the latter-days by the turning of the hearts of the children to their fathers? It was the promise of the Lord made through Enoch, Isaiah, and the prophets, to the nations of the earth, that the time should come when the dead should be redeemed. And the turning of the hearts of the children is fulfilled in the performing of the vicarious temple work and in the preparation of their genealogies.” Doctrines of Salvation, 2:154.

[46] See Doctrine and Covenants 128:15–18, 22; and Joseph Smith, Letter to the Church, 7 September 1842 [D&C 128], The Joseph Smith Papers.

[47] Joseph Smith, History, 1838–1856, volume C-1 [2 November 1838–31 July 1842], p. 16 [addenda], The Joseph Smith Papers.

[48] Joseph Smith, History, 1838–1856, volume C-1 [2 November 1838–31 July 1842], p. 16 [addenda], The Joseph Smith Papers.

[49] See Revelation, 11 November 1831–B [D&C 107 (partial)], p. 123, The Joseph Smith Papers.

[50] The Prophet Joseph Smith further taught, “Daniel vii speaks of the Ancient of days he means the oldest man, our father Adam, Michael, he will call his children together and hold a Council with them, to prepare them for the coming of the Son of Man. He (Adam) is the father of the human family and presides over the Spirits of all men.” History, 1838–1856, volume C-1 [2 November 1838–31 July 1842], p. 11 [addenda], The Joseph Smith Papers. Joseph Fielding Smith taught:

Daniel speaks of the coming of Christ, and that day is near at hand. There will be a great gathering in the Valley of Adam-ondi-Ahman; there will be a great council held. The Ancient of Days, who is Adam, will sit. The judgment—not the final judgment—will be held, where the righteous who have held keys will make their reports and deliver up their keys and ministry. Christ will come, and Adam will make his report. At this council Christ will be received and acknowledged as the rightful ruler of the earth. Satan will be replaced. Following this event every government in the world . . . will have to become part of the government of God. Then righteous rule will be established. The earth will be cleansed; the wicked will be destroyed; and the reign of peace will be ushered in. (Doctrines of Salvation, 3:13–14. See Doctrine and Covenants 78:15–16; 107:53–57; 116; History, 1838–1856, volume B-1 [1 September 1834–2 November 1838],” p. 798, The Joseph Smith Papers; and Discourse, between circa 26 June and circa 4 August 1839–A, as Reported by William Clayton, pp. 11–12, The Joseph Smith Papers)

[51] Instruction on Priesthood, between circa 1 March and circa 4 May 1835 [D&C 107], p. 86, The Joseph Smith Papers. Doctrine and Covenants 107:42, 44–48 explains that the named persons were ordained to the priesthood under the hand of Adam.

[52] Discourse, between circa 26 June and circa 4 August 1839–A, as Reported by William Clayton, p. 15, The Joseph Smith Papers.

[53] Moses 6:15 offers an etiology for war as a human behavior. Indeed, this passage offers one of the most important scriptural descriptions of the conditions that prevailed on the earth during the generations between Adam and Enoch. The scriptures elsewhere are equally clear that this “rag[ing] in the hearts” of humankind represents Satan’s modus operandi. Jesus taught the Lamanites and Nephites, who had a long history of Satan-inspired contention, “Verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another” (3 Nephi 11:29). Quoting the words of his father, Mosiah I, King Benjamin had warned his people about the influence of the devil and his power to effect mass destruction among them: “But, O my people, beware lest there shall arise contentions among you, and ye list to obey the evil spirit, which was spoken of by my father Mosiah” (Mosiah 2:32). Satan’s raging in human hearts, wars and bloodshed, and secret combinations all precipitate the social conditions that precede destruction. See Amos 5:11–24; Helaman 4:12. On the adversary’s methods, see 2 Nephi 28:20–22.

[54] Regarding the ecclesiastical structure that existed among Adam’s righteous descendants through Seth, Joseph F. Smith postulated: “We are not to understand that these men were the only ones who held the divine authority before the flood, but that they were called to positions of responsibility, or presiding authority, among their fellows. It is hardly reasonable to suppose that these men were left in their day and generation to perform all the labor required of men holding the Priesthood. They had a church organization.” Way to Perfection, 73.

[55] In a discourse given in the summer of 1839, Joseph Smith averred the following regarding Adam’s righteous posterity and the priesthood they held:

These men held keys first on earth and then in heaven. The priesthood is an everlasting principle and existed with God from eternity, and will to eternity, without beginning of days or end of years. The keys have to be brought from heaven whenever the gospel is sent. When they are revealed from heaven it is by Adam’s authority. Daniel 7. speaks of the Ancient of Days, he means the oldest man our Father Adam, Michael. He will call his children together and hold a council with them to prepare them for the coming of the Son of man. He (Adam) is the father of the human family and presides over the spirits of all men. (Discourse, between circa 26 June and circa 4 August 1839–A, as Reported by William Clayton, p. 12, The Joseph Smith Papers)

[56] For the ages of these figures in the Book of Moses, see Jackson and Swift, “Ages of the Patriarchs in the Joseph Smith Translation,” 1–11.

[57] Enoch occurs in the seventh position in the line of descendancy of the human family, demonstrating his place of prominence and significance in the equation of what he will do for humanity. See Arnold, Genesis, 87; and Waltke, Genesis, 114. Seven constitutes perfection in biblical numerology.

[58] Stamm, Köhler, and Baumgartner, Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon, 334.

[59] See Bradshaw, Bowen, and Book of Mormon Central Team, “Teachings of Enoch.”

[60] Nibley, in Teachings of the Book of Mormon, 287, notes: “The paralemptor is the one who accompanies you through the temple and makes sure that you perform all the ordinances correctly, that you know what you are doing, that you don’t blunder and use the wrong words, etc. And Jesus is the paralemptor for all of us (cf. John 14:3).”

[61] See Bradshaw, Bowen, and Book of Mormon Central team, “Teachings of Enoch.”

[62] See Parker, “Doctrine of Christ in 2 Nephi 31–32,” 173–75.

[63] Compare Volluz, “Lehi’s Dream of the Tree of Life,” 14–38. Volluz connects the “path” in Lehi’s dream (1 Nephi 8:20–23) with the “way of the tree of life” from Genesis 3:24. See especially p. 35.

[64] Those “who having received of his fulness, and of his glory, are priests of the most High after the order of Melchisedek, which was after the order of Enoch, which was after the order of the only begotten Son.” Revelations printed in The Evening and the Morning Star, June 1832–June 1833, p. [2], The Joseph Smith Papers. Joseph Smith was clearly influenced by Enoch’s stories since he promised in multiple priesthood blessings that individuals would have faith like Enoch. See, e.g., Blessing to Lyman Johnson, 14 February 1835, pp. 149–50, The Joseph Smith Papers.

[65] See Joseph Smith Translation, Genesis 14:25–40 (in the appendix in the Latter-day Saint edition of the King James Version of the Bible); Alma 13:14–19; Hebrews 7; Doctrine and Covenants 107.

[66] Wilford Woodruff, in Journal of Discourses, 24:239–40. See Nathan Eldon Tanner, in Conference Report, October 1964, 44.

[67] For an overview of Enoch’s call, see Ricks, “Narrative Call Pattern in the Prophetic Commission of Enoch,” 97–105.

[68] Wirthlin, “Unspeakable Gift,” 27.

[69] Prophets have often been called to teach in environments where the people do not want to hear what they have to say. When Isaiah received his prophetic commission, the Lord commanded him, “Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not” (Isaiah 6:9)—or, as it reads in the Book of Mormon, “Go and tell this people—Hear ye indeed, but they understood not; and see ye indeed, but they perceived not” (2 Nephi 16:9; see Matthew 13:14–17). Without the Holy Ghost empowering their spiritual faculties, the people would become even duller spiritually. This would lead to disastrous circumstances—after all, the story of Enoch is a prelude to the Flood!

[70] Enoch’s prophetic call and commission invite comparison with the prophetic calls and commissions of other important prophets. We find a close analogy in some respects to Moses. Both Enoch and Moses protested to the Lord that they were “slow of speech” (compare Moses 6:31; Exodus 4:10). When the Lord commanded him to go and speak to Pharaoh, Moses protested that he was “of uncircumcised lips” (Exodus 6:12). In each case, the Lord empowered the prophet’s speech. Enoch became a great orator, and Moses was given Aaron as a “spokesman” and “power . . . in a rod” and thus became “stronger than many waters” (2 Nephi 3:17; Moses 1:25). The Lord’s response to Jeremiah’s trepidation teaches an equally important doctrine: “Then said I, Ah, Lord God! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child. But the Lord said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord. Then the Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth” (Jeremiah 1:6–9; emphasis added). See discussion in Ricks, “Narrative Call Pattern in the Prophetic Commission of Enoch,” 97–105.

[71] Webster’s 1828 dictionary indicates that as a transitive verb forswear (or foreswear) meant “to reject or renounce upon oath” or “to deny upon oath”; as an intransitive verb, it meant “to swear falsely; to commit perjury.” Reflexively, “to forswear one’s self, is to swear falsely; to perjure one’s self.” Webster, American Dictionary of the English Language, s.v. “forswear.” We can compare the rendering of Jesus’s statement in the King James Version of Matthew 5:33 as part of the Sermon on the Mount: “Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: but I say unto you, Swear not at all.”

[72] Sometime during October 1830, the month before Joseph Smith began receiving the text of Moses 6, the Lord promised Ezra Thayre and Northrop Sweet, “Open your mouths and they shall be filled, and you shall become even as Nephi of old, who journeyed from Jerusalem in the wilderness. Yea, open your mouths and spare not, and you shall be laden with sheaves upon your backs, for lo, I am with you. Yea, open your mouths and they shall be filled, saying: Repent, repent, and prepare ye the way of the Lord, and make his paths straight; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Doctrine and Covenants 33:8–10). They were to go forth and proclaim the doctrine of Christ (see 33:11–13). For them, and for all the elders of the restored Church, Enoch would serve as a model for how to open one’s mouth and have it filled and how to proclaim the doctrine of Christ (see Moses 6:48–68 and below). Later the Lord warned the elders of the Church, “But with some I am not well pleased, for they will not open their mouths, but they hide the talent which I have given unto them, because of the fear of man” (Doctrine and Covenants 60:2).

[73] Elder John A. Widtsoe explained, “A seer is one who sees with spiritual eyes. He perceives the meaning of that which seems obscure to others; therefore he is an interpreter and a clarifier of eternal truth. He foresees the future from the past and the present. This he does by the power of the Lord operating through him directly, or indirectly with the aid of divine instruments such as the Urim and Thummim. In short, he is one who sees, who walks in the Lord’s light with open eyes.” Evidences and Reconciliations, 1:205–6.

[74] In terms of chronology, Moses 6:17’s mention of a type of “land of promise” constitutes the first of such mentions in the scriptures. See Draper, Brown, and Rhodes, Pearl of Great Price, 89. Moreover, it establishes the concept of lands of promise or covenant lands that we subsequently encounter later in the patriarchal narratives from Abraham and beyond, a concept crucial to the Deuteronomistic history’s account (Joshua–2 Kings) of ancient Israel’s and Judah’s conquests of, establishment in, and subsequent losses of their lands of promise. See Nancy Persons, “Promised Land,” in Barry et al., Lexham Bible Dictionary. This concept of lands of promise is also crucial to the prophecies of Isaiah, Amos, and others. Enoch’s origin story may reflect the land of his fathers and their covenant practices within it.

[75] The public response to Enoch reminds us of the Nephites’ response to Nephi, the son of Nephi, as Mormon records it in 3 Nephi 7:18: “And it came to pass that they were angry with him, even because he had greater power than they, for it were not possible that they could disbelieve his words, for so great was his faith on the Lord Jesus Christ that angels did minister unto him daily.”

[76] The importance of hearkening to the counsel of the Lord, rather than seeking to give him counsel, is stressed in a number of later scriptural passages. Jacob 4:10: “Wherefore, brethren, seek not to counsel the Lord, but to take counsel from his hand. For behold, ye yourselves know that he counseleth in wisdom, and in justice, and in great mercy, over all his works.” Compare Jacob 5:22; Alma 29:8; Doctrine and Covenants 78:2. Alma 37:37: “Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day.” Compare Proverbs 1:25; 3:5; Helaman 12:5–6; Doctrine and Covenants 56:14; 63:55. Contrast hearkening to the counsel of God with “walk[ing] in the light of [our] fire” (Isaiah 50:11; 2 Nephi 7:11).

[77] “Footstool—connected with a throne (2 Chr. 9:18). Jehovah symbolically dwelt in the holy place between the cherubim above the ark of the covenant. The ark was his footstool (1 Chr. 28:2; Ps. 99:5; 132:7). And as heaven is God’s throne, so the earth is his footstool (Ps 110:1; Isa. 66:1; Matt. 5:35).” Easton’s Bible Dictionary, s.v. “Footstool.” Footstool is “used mostly symbolically to refer to God’s supreme authority over his creation. It is used especially to refer to his final victory over all those who oppose him.” Manser et al., Dictionary of Bible Themes, s.v. “Footstool.” Footstools can be depicted in the ancient Near East with subjugated peoples at the feet. This image highlights the king’s power to overcome enemies and triumphantly conquer. The footstool can act as a rest for the feet (see 2 Chronicles 9:18; James 2:3); it can be used symbolically as God’s footstool for the ark and the temple (see Psalm 132:7; see also 1 Chronicles 28:2; Psalm 99:5; Lamentations 2:1) and as a symbol for the earth (see Isaiah 66:1); and defeated enemies can be regarded as a footstool (see Joshua 10:24–25; 1 Kings 5:3; Psalm 66:12; Isaiah 51:23; Micah 7:10). Jesus will make his enemies his footstool (see Hebrews 1:13). The footstool may also be seen as a way for the king to ascend his throne. For God, the footstool of the earth may evoke images of his work and glory performed here, resulting in his ascent to his throne and a majestic display of his salvation of the people as he subdues enemies and places them underfoot. The image could evoke spiritual and physical realities.

[78] Before his translation of what is now Moses 6:54, Joseph Smith had already received intimations that the curse of Adam had been taken away by Jesus Christ’s atonement. In translating the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith encountered several statements that taught this doctrine. King Benjamin taught the words of an angel who declared, “Even if it were possible that little children could sin they could not be saved; but I say unto you they are blessed; for behold, as in Adam, or by nature, they fall, even so the blood of Christ atoneth for their sins” (Mosiah 3:16). Abinadi similarly declared to the priests of King Noah, “Little children also have eternal life” (Mosiah 15:25). Moroni had also included Mormon’s lengthy letter opposing the practice of baptizing little children (see Moroni 8), which was also based on the Lord’s personal affirmation of this doctrine. The Lord reaffirmed that little children are “whole from the foundation of the world” (Moses 6:54), and Joseph Smith learned this through revelation: “I also beheld that all children who die before they arive to the years of accountability, are saved in the celestial kingdom of heaven.” Journal, 1835–1836, p. 137, The Joseph Smith Papers.

[79] Elder George Q. Morris, commenting on this phrase, stated: “This being ‘conceived in sin’ [Moses 6:55], as I understand it, is only that they are in the midst of sin. They come into the world where sin is prevalent, and it will enter into their hearts, but it will lead them ‘to taste the bitter, that they may know to prize the good.’” In Conference Report, 38. See Ivins, “Utility of Opposition,” 986. The latter concept is essential to the existence of moral agency: “And they taste the bitter, that they 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). In a revelation received at a time contemporaneous with Joseph Smith’s reception of the beginning of Moses 6, the Lord declared to him, “It must needs be that the devil should tempt the children of men, or they could not be agents unto themselves; for if they never should have bitter they could not know the sweet” (Doctrine and Covenants 29:39). See History, circa 1841, fair copy, p. 96, The Joseph Smith Papers.

[80] Rebirth is a doctrine Jesus would later teach Nicodemus (see John 3:3–12), that Peter would teach the early Saints (see 1 Peter 1:23), that John would often teach (see 1 John 3:9; 4:7; 5:1, 4, 18; compare JST 1 John 3:9 [in 1 John 3:9, footnote b]; 5:18 [in 5:18, footnote b]), that King Benjamin would teach his people (see Mosiah 5:6–15), and that Alma the Younger would teach following his own divine rebirth (see Mosiah 27:24–31; Alma 5:15, 49; 7:14; 36:5–23; 38:6–8; compare Alma 22:15–18).

[81] The Latter-day Saint Guide to the Scriptures explains justification as being “pardoned from punishment for sin and declared guiltless. A person is justified by the Savior’s grace through faith in him. This faith is shown by repentance and obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel. Jesus Christ’s Atonement enables [hu]mankind to repent and be justified or pardoned from punishment they otherwise would receive.” S.v. “Justification, Justify.”

[82] McConkie, Promised Messiah, 344.

[83] On sanctification as described in Moses 6:60, see Bradshaw and Bowen, “‘By the Blood Ye Are Sanctified,’” in Sacred Time, Sacred Space, and Sacred Meaning, 84–99.

[84] McConkie, Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 3:188.

[85] Christofferson, “Justification and Sanctification,” 18, 25.

[86] Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 2:324–25. Regarding the symbolism of water as it relates to divine rebirth and baptism, Samuel M. Brown, a physician by profession, has noted the following: “Water carries within it the specter of death. On the other hand, life in the desert makes clear how fragile life is without water. Just a day or so without access to water, and we begin to die a miserable death. Water, like baptism, contains opposites. Water also mediates between the worlds of the living and the dead as we transition from life within our mothers to independent life in the outside world. We float in amniotic fluid, nourished through our navels by our mothers’ blood, and with a rush of water and maternal pain, we draw breath into our lungs, changing ourselves from something like fish to something like human beings. Water marks transitions and changes in status. Immersion in water carries with it these ancient images and associations with life and death, with birth and passage, drowning and the quenching of thirst. Baptism by immersion fruitfully engages the cloud of meaning surrounding water and other sacred liquids.” Brown, First Principles and Ordinances, 99–100.

[87] Appendix: Orson Pratt, A[n] Interesting Account of Several Remarkable Visions, 1840, p. 28, The Joseph Smith Papers.

[88] Appendix: Pratt, Account of Several Remarkable Visions, p. 28.

[89] Pratt, Remarkable Visions, 28,

[90] The Church of the Firstborn describes “those who receive the fullness and glory of God the Father in the afterlife. According to an 1832 revelation, those who belong to the church of the firstborn dwell in the Father’s presence, become like him, and receive ‘all things’ from him. They are those who ‘received the testimony of Jesus, and believed on his name, and were baptized’ and ‘are just men made perfect through Jesus the mediator of the new covenant’ (Vision, 16 Feb. 1832 [D&C 76:51, 69]). At the time of Christ’s second coming, members of the church of the firstborn will ‘have part in the first resurrection’ and will reign with Christ in the millennium (Vision, 16 Feb. 1832 [D&C 76:64–65]). Another 1832 revelation specified that ‘the glory of the celestial kingdom . . . is that of the church of the first born’ (Revelation, 27–28 Dec. 1832 [D&C 88:4–5]). Other revelations and writings described those individuals who were residents of Zion in the days of the biblical figure Enoch as belonging to the church of the firstborn.” “Church of the Firstborn,” The Joseph Smith Papers.

The Encyclopedia of Mormonism gives the following description of the Church of the Firstborn:

The church of the Firstborn is Christ’s heavenly church, and its members are exalted beings who gain an inheritance in the highest heaven of the celestial world and for whom the family continues in eternity.

. . . Even as the first principles and ordinances, including baptism in water and the reception of the Holy Ghost, constitute the gate into the earthly Church of Jesus Christ, so higher ordinances of the priesthood constitute the gate into the church of the Firstborn. To secure the blessings that pertain to the church of the Firstborn, one must obey the gospel from the heart, receive all of the ordinances that pertain to the house of the Lord, and be sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise in the celestial kingdom of God (D&C 76:67, 71, 94; 77:11; 78:21; 88:1–5; TPJS, p. 237).

. . . The church of the Firstborn is the divine patriarchal order in its eternal form. Building the priesthood family order on this earth by receiving sealings in the temple is a preparation and foundation for this blessing in eternity. . . .

When persons have proved themselves faithful in all things required by the Lord, it is their privilege to receive covenants and obligations that will enable them to be heirs of God as members of the church of the Firstborn. They are “sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise” and are those “into whose hands the Father has given all things” (D&C 76:51–55). They will be priests and priestesses, kings and queens, receiving the Father’s glory, having the fulness of knowledge, wisdom, power, and dominion (D&C 76:56–62; cf. 107:19). At the second coming of Jesus Christ, the “general assembly of the church of the firstborn” will descend with him (Heb. 12:22–23; JST Gen. 9:23; D&C 76:54, 63). Ivan J. Barrett, “Church of the Firstborn,” in Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 1:276.

[91] The mysteries of the kingdom may be succinctly defined (and linked to ordinances) in an 1835 revelation given to the Prophet Joseph Smith on the priesthood: “The power and authority of the higher or Melchizedek priesthood, is to hold the keys of all the spiritual blessings of the church—to have the privilege of receiving the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven—to have the heavens opened unto them—to commune with the general assembly and church of the first born, and to enjoy the communion and presence of God the Father, and Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant.” Instruction on Priesthood, between circa 1 March and circa 4 May 1835 [D&C 107], p. 83, The Joseph Smith Papers. See Vision, 16 February 1832 [D&C 76], p. 1, The Joseph Smith Papers; and Revelation, 22–23 September 1832 [D&C 84], p. [1], The Joseph Smith Papers (see also Doctrine and Covenants 84:19–23).

[92] Old Testament Revision 1, p. 14, The Joseph Smith Papers. The words in boldface were later stricken from the dictation copy of OT1. They are preserved in John Whitmer’s copy. See Old Testament Revision, John Whitmer First Copy, pp. 11–12, The Joseph Smith Papers.

[93] McConkie, Mortal Messiah, 228–29.