My Come Follow Me studies for this week took me to Genesis 5 and Moses 6 in a lesson titled “Teach These Things Freely unto Your Children.” The lesson was introduced by the following information.
Most
of Genesis 5 is a list of the generations between Adam and Eve and
Noah. We read a lot of names, but we don’t learn much about them. Then we read
this intriguing but unexplained line: “And Enoch walked with God: and he was
not; for God took him” (Genesis 5:24). Surely there’s a story behind that
verse! But without further explanation, the list of generations resumes.
Thankfully, Moses
6 reveals the details of Enoch’s story—and it’s quite a story. We learn of
Enoch’s humility, his insecurities, the potential God saw in him, and the great
work he performed as God’s prophet. We also get a clearer picture of the family
of Adam and Eve as it progressed through the generations. We read of Satan’s
“great dominion” but also of parents who taught children “the ways of God” (Moses
6:15, 21). Especially precious is what we learn about the doctrine these
parents taught: faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism, and receiving the
Holy Ghost (see Moses 6:50-52). That doctrine, like the priesthood that
accompanies it, “was in the beginning [and] shall be in the end of the world
also” (Moses 6:7).
This
scripture block and lesson teach the following principles: (1) Sin limits my
ability to see, feel, and hear the things of God (Moses 6:26-36); (2) God calls
me to do His work despite my weaknesses (Moses 6:26-47); (3) The gospel of
Jesus Christ was taught from the beginning (Moses 6:48-68); (4) “Teach these
things freely unto your children” (Moses 6:51-62). This essay will discuss
principle #3 about the gospel of Jesus Christ being taught from the time of
Adam.
Genesis
5 gives us a small bit of information about the early patriarchs. Moses 6 was
revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith and gives much more information,
particularly about Enoch. Though question: Why do you think God wants us to
learn about Enoch?
Enoch
taught the plan of salvation, and he taught so well that he and the Holy Ghost
caused the people to be righteous enough to be taken into heaven. We will look
at the scripture block Moses 6:48-68 and share information about some of the
verses that was taught by latter-day prophets and apostles:
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.
Moses 6:48-50. “By His Fall Came Death”
Because of Adam’s Fall, all mankind suffer physical death (the separation of the immortal spirit from the mortal body) and spiritual death (separation from the presence of God). Furthermore, because people yield to the temptations of Satan, they become “carnal, sensual, and devilish, and are shut out from the presence of God” until they repent (Moses 6:49). The good news of the plan of salvation is that through the Atonement of Jesus Christ all mankind will overcome physical death and can overcome spiritual death (see Romans 3:23; Mosiah 16:3-4; Alma 11:42-43; Helaman 14:14-18; Moses 6:52).
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 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, wherein the sins of the
parents cannot be answered upon the heads of the children, for they are whole from
the foundation of the world.
Moses 6:53-54. What Does “Original Guilt” Mean?
Elder
Neal A. Maxwell (1926–2004)
of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles explained: “We are not haunted with an
overhanging sense of ‘original sin’ about which we can do nothing. (Moses 6:54;
Moroni 8:15-16.) By revelation, we know that the Lord told Adam: ‘Behold I have
forgiven thee thy transgression in the Garden of Eden.’ (Moses 6:53.) Thus, we
are accountable for our ‘own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression’ (Article
of Faith 2.)” (Meek and Lowly [1987], 42–43).
55 And the Lord spake
unto Adam, saying: Inasmuch as thy children are conceived in sin, 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.
Moses 6:55. What Does “Thy Children Are Conceived in
Sin” Mean?
Elder
Bruce R. McConkie (1915–85)
of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles indicated that the phrase “conceived in
sin” means “born into a world of sin” (see A New Witness for the Articles
of Faith [1985], 101).
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.
Moses 6:56. Moral Agency: A Gift of God
God
gave us the great gift of agency in the day He created us (see Moses 7:32).
Moral agency enables us to choose between good and evil and to experience the
consequences of our choices (see 2 Nephi:14-16, 25-29; D&C 101:78).
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.
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;
[Enoch
saw that Adam and Eve were baptized.]
Moses 6:59. Water, Blood, and Spirit
Elder
Bruce R. McConkie explained:
“Two
births are essential to salvation. Man cannot be saved without birth into
mortality, nor can he return to his heavenly home without a birth into the
realm of the Spirit. … The elements present in a mortal birth and in a
spiritual birth are the same. They are water, blood, and spirit. Thus every
mortal birth is a heaven-given reminder to prepare for the second birth. …
“In
every mortal birth the child is immersed in water in the mother’s womb. At the
appointed time the spirit enters the body, and blood always flows in the veins
of the new person. Otherwise, without each of these, there is no life, no
birth, no mortality.
“In
every birth into the kingdom of heaven, the newborn babe in Christ is immersed
in water, he receives the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands, and the blood
of Christ cleanses him from all sin. Otherwise, without each of these, there is
no Spirit-birth, no newness of life, no hope of eternal life. …
“… These
elements were again present in [Christ’s] death. He sweat great drops of blood
in Gethsemane as he took upon himself the sins of all men on conditions of
repentance. This same agony and suffering recurred on the cross. It was then
that he permitted his spirit to leave his body, and it was then that blood and
water gushed from his riven side” (A New Witness, 288–89).
60 For by the water ye
keep the commandment; by the Spirit ye are justified, and by the blood ye
are sanctified;
“Baptism is not optional if one wishes the fullness of salvation. Jesus
said a person must be born of water and of the Spirit (John 3:3-5). When he
sent the twelve apostles forth to teach the gospel he told them that whosoever
believed and was baptized would be saved; and whosoever did not believe would
be damned (Mark 16:16). …
“Baptism in water has several purposes. It is for the remission of sins, for membership in the Church, and for entrance into the celestial kingdom; it is also the doorway to personal sanctification when followed by the reception of the Holy Ghost” (Bible Dictionary, “Baptism”; see also D&C 76:51-52).
To be justified is to be made just, or free from guilt and sin. The Holy Ghost is the member of the Godhead whose power acts as a cleansing agent that removes guilt and sin from our lives (see 2 Nephi 31:17). President Joseph Fielding Smith (1876–1972) said: “Through the shedding of the blood of Christ, we are cleansed and sanctified; and we are justified, through the Spirit of God” (Doctrines of Salvation, comp. Bruce R. McConkie [1955], 2:324–25).
To be sanctified is to be holy and worthy of eternal life and immortal
glory (see Moroni 10:32-33). Through His perfect Atonement, Jesus Christ
shed His blood and made it possible for all who have faith and repent to be
sanctified (see Mosiah 3:11, 18; Alma 34:10-16). Thus, we are ransomed and
made holy by the blood of Christ. President Joseph Fielding Smith taught:
“The atonement by which men are redeemed, was made by one without blemish
and without spot. He had to be one who had life in himself, and therefore all
power over death. No mortal man could make the atonement. Moreover, the
atonement had to be made by the shedding of blood, for blood is the vitalizing
force of the mortal body. …
“The Scriptures are replete with passages teaching us that there could be no remission of sins without the shedding of the blood of Jesus Christ” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1956, 127).
61 Therefore it is given
to abide in you; the record of heaven; the Comforter; the
peaceable things of immortal glory; the truth of all things; that which
quickeneth all things, which maketh alive all things; that which knoweth all
things, and hath all power according to wisdom, mercy, truth,
justice, and judgment.
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.
Moses 6:62. “This Is the Plan of Salvation”
President Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles explained that the plan of
salvation “is also called the plan of happiness, … the plan of redemption,
the plan of restoration, the plan of mercy, the plan of deliverance, and the
everlasting gospel. Prophets have used these terms interchangeably.
“Regardless of designation, the enabling essence of the plan is the atonement of Jesus Christ” (“Constancy and Change,” Ensign, Nov. 1993, 33).
63 And behold, all
things have their likeness, and all things are created and made to bear
record of me, both things which are temporal, and things which are
spiritual; things which are in the heavens above, and things which are on the
earth, and things which are in the earth, and things which are under the earth,
both above and beneath: all things bear record of me.
Moses 6:63. All Things Are Made to Bear Record
of Christ
In the creation of the heavens and the earth, the Lord used physical
symbols to teach us doctrines and principles of Jesus Christ and His gospel
(see also 2 Nephi 11:4)). Understanding gospel symbols requires the
uniting of an earthly or concrete dimension with a transcendent, spiritual
dimension. The prophet Alma taught that “all things denote there is a God; yea,
even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its
motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do
witness that there is a Supreme Creator” (Alma 30:44). These things not only
testify of the existence of a Supreme Being, but also that He is Jesus Christ,
the Creator of all.
The Lord taught His disciples to look upon the contents of the scriptures and see things concerning Himself (see Luke 24:44-45). To search for and discover symbols of Christ in the scriptures is to open a wellspring of new thoughts and emotions relative to the Atonement of Jesus Christ. For example, the earthly ordinance of baptism by immersion is symbolic of the death, burial, and Resurrection of Christ (see Romans 6:3-5; D&C 76:51-52).
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.
Moses 6:67. Adam held the Melchizedek Priesthood.
68 Behold, thou art one in
me, a son of God; and thus may all become my sons. Amen.
Moses 6:64-68. Adam, an Eternal Son of God
Enoch
showed how Adam set the example for all of us by exercising his faith in Christ
through baptism by water and the Spirit. Therefore, by his obedience, Adam
became “one in [Christ], a son of God” (Moses 6:68). In like manner, all may
become sons and daughters of God (see Mosiah 5:7; 27:24-27; D&C 25:1;
39:4).
As we
can see from these verses in Moses 6 and the words of latter-day prophets and
apostles, Adam and Eve were taught the gospel of Jesus Christ. This means that
God has been teaching His children how to find redemption from the beginning.
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