Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Week 4: Learning of a few of the first Patriarchs

In the fourth spoke of the first great patriarchs of mortality. Lisa did speak of many people including the following: Cain, Abel, Enoch, and Noah.
The story of Cain and Abel is a basic one. Lisa printed out a Glue-in that sets everything straight from the world's misunderstanding of the Gospel.


The Pearl of Great Price supplies many answers. (See Moses 5:1-41, especially verses 16-38, along with the notes and commentary provided in this study guide.) For example, Adam and Eve taught the gospel of Jesus Christ to their family, including Cain and Abel. Cain held the Melchizedek Priesthood and had been taught proper sacrifice, which was the blood sacrifice of a firstling of the flock. Cain had a bad and arrogant attitude to begin with. Satan is the one who commanded Cain to offer sacrifice and encouraged him to mock God by offering a sacrifice of produce from his farm. Cain received repeated warnings from God, inviting him to do things right and receive the promised blessings. Cain rebelled against Adam and Eve and kept his evil doings from them. He surrounded himself with wicked peers, including a wicked wife. Satan taught Cain how to murder Abel. Cain gloried in his wickedness and murdered Abel in order to get his material possessions; thus, Cain was fully accountable for rebelling against God and making covenants with Satan. His punishment was completely fair according to the law of justice.


Enoch


In the lesson Lisa reviewed the writing of Moses as he saw Enoch in vision, when he was translated, meaning to be changed to an immortal being without dying. His glorious Zion people lived 365 years in the Gospel; so well so, the entire community was taken up to live with God. Moses' words can be read concerning the scope of Satan’s triumph and the resultant sorrows of God in chapter 7:29-40.





29 And Enoch said unto the Lord: How is it that thou canst weep, seeing thou art holy, and from all eternity to all eternity?
30 And were it possible that man could number the particles of the earth, yea, millions of earths like this, it would not be a beginning to the number of thy creations; and thy curtains are stretched out still; and yet thou art there, and thy b

osom is there; and also thou art just; thou art merciful and kind forever;
31 And thou hast taken Zion to thine own bosom, from all thy creations, from all eternity to all eternity; and naught but peace, justice, and truth is the habitation of thy throne; and mercy shall go before thy face and have no end; how is it thou canst weep?
32 The Lord said unto Enoch: Behold these thy brethren; they are the workmanship of mine own hands, and I gave unto them their knowledge, in the day I created them; and in the Garden of Eden, gave I unto man his agency;
33 And unto thy brethren have I said, and also given commandment, that they should love one another, and that they should choose me, their Father; but behold, they are without affection, and they hate their own blood;
34 And the afire of mine indignation is kindled against them; and in my hot displeasure will I send in the floods upon them, for my fierce anger is kindled against them.
35 Behold, I am God; Man of Holiness is my name; Man of Counsel is my name; and Endless and Eternal is my name, also.
36 Wherefore, I can stretch forth mine hands and hold all the creations which I have made; and mine eye can pierce them also, and among all the workmanship of mine hands there has not been so great wickedness as among thy brethren.
37 But behold, their sins shall be upon the heads of their fathers; Satan shall be their father, and misery shall be their doom; and the whole heavens shall weep over them, even all the workmanship of mine hands; wherefore should not the heavens weep, seeing these shall suffer?
38 But behold, these which thine eyes are upon shall perish in the floods; and behold, I will shut them up; a prison have I prepared for them.
39 And that which I have chosen hath pled before my face. Wherefore, he suffereth for their sins; inasmuch as they will repent in the day that my Chosen shall return unto me, and until that day they shall be in torment;
40 Wherefore, for this shall the heavens weep, yea, and all the workmanship of mine hands.

Noah

Methuselah was the prophet left after Enoch's Zion people of God were taken up, and Noah was his son. They taught the gospel to the world for many decades, mainly being the only people that would receive it. Noah was a "perfect man," and I am humble to see how his sons, Ham, Shem, and Japheth did not fall into the ways of the world. Noah must must have been a great father.

A glue-in, quoting from the book The Old Testament Made Easier by David J. Ridges, says on page 198.

"One of the important messages we learn form the account of Noah and the ark is the value of faith obedience. For example, securing a year's supply of emergency food storage, as commanded by the Lord through our modern prophets, may be difficult during times of plenty because the need is not constantly pressed upon our minds by current circumstances. Therefore, it requires faith obedience to gather food storage. Elder Spencer W. Kimball spoke of Noah and this principle. He taught:

"Paul, speaking to the Hebrews, said:

By faith Noah being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house...
(Hebrews 11:7).

"As yet there was no evidence of rain and flood. His people mocked and called him a fool. His preaching fell on deaf ears. His warnings were considered irrational. There was no precedent; never had it been known that a deluge could cover the earth. How foolish to build an ark on dry ground with the sun shining and life moving forward as usual! But time ran out. The ark was finished. The floods came. The disobedient and rebellious were drowned. The miracle of the ark followed the faith manifested in its building" (Faith Precedes the Miracle, 5)"

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