This is an excellent introduction to Enoch. It is 11 minutes.
Come, Follow Me (Genesis 5; Moses 6 | Jan 17 - 23) Week 4, Part 2/7
Enoch is mentioned in 6 vs in the OT, 3 vs in the NT, 11 vs in the D&C and 122 vs in the Book of Moses (69 vs in Moses 7)
READ An Age of Contrasts: From Adam to Abraham in Add’l Res
READ The account of Enoch’s life and ministry..in Add’l Res
Consider the faith of Enoch and the people.
READ Moses 7:13
-What were Enoch and his people able to do in battle?
READ Elder Bruce R. McConkie
DISCUSS HOW CAN WE DEVELOP THIS KIND OF FAITH?
Brigham Young: "Were your faith concentrated upon the proper object, your confidence unshaken, your lives pure and holy, every one fulfilling the duties of his or her calling according to the Priesthood and capacity bestowed upon you, you would be filled with the Holy Ghost, and it would be as impossible for any man to deceive and lead you to destruction as for a feather to remain unconsumed in the midst of intense heat." (DBY, p132)
-What are the elements of faith we need to have?
READ John Taylor:
-Faith is made perfect by what? According to Pres Taylor
-How do we develop “perfect faith?”
READ Elder Jeffrey R. Holland…in Add’l Resources
Moses 7:13 "And so great was the faith of Enoch that he led the people of God, and their enemies came to battle against them; and he spake the word of the Lord, and the earth trembled, and the mountains fled, even according to his command; and the rivers of water were turned out of their course; and the roar of the lions was heard out of the wilderness; and all nations feared greatly, so powerful was the word of Enoch, and so great was the power of the language which God had given him."
Elder Bruce R. McConkie: "Faith is power; by faith the worlds were made; nothing is impossible to those who have faith. If the earth itself came rolling into existence by faith, surely a mere mountain can be removed by that same power. 'Let Mount Hermon be cast into the Great Sea.' Such would not be one whit different than the brother of Jared saying 'unto the mountain Zerin, Remove—and it was removed.' (Ether 12:30)." (Mortal Messiah, 3:73)
John Taylor: "How does the faith required as the first principle in the plan of salvation or gospel come? Let Paul answer: 'So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.' (Romans 10:17.) It is not the letter then that bringeth faith, but hearing the word of God dispensed by a living oracle or minister of God, clothed upon with power from on high. It is not a recorded gospel, but the preached word which emanates with power from a man of God inspired by the Holy Ghost. . . . "Faith without works being dead, it is evident that living faith and that which is acceptable to God, is that which not only believes in God, but acts upon that belief. It is not only the cause of action, but includes both cause and action. Or in other words it is belief or faith made perfect by works." (Gospel Kingdom, p332)
OT5 SS Lesson Jan 24-30 Moses 7: “The Lord Called His People Zion”
As a result of the Faith of Enoch and his people they were able to build a city called Zion.
Read Moses 7:19
SUMMARY Moses 7:1–20: Enoch Led the People of God
-The Lord referred to His people as “Zion” v18
-Why?
-What does it mean to be of one heart and one mind?
- Does it mean that we all vote the same way and shop at the same stores?
-Can you imagine being part of such a society?
-Do we have this situation within the church, our ward, our family?
-How did the people of Enoch become of one heart and mind?
ASK What must we do to build Zion in our day?
-Where and/or with whom does our building begin?
READ President Kimball
-What can we do?
Moses 7:19 And Enoch continued his preaching in righteousness unto the people of God. And it came to pass in his days, that he built a city that was called the City of Holiness, even Zion.
President Kimball suggested three things we should do to assist in the bringing forth of a modern day Zion :
1. "We must eliminate the individual tendency to selfishness that snares the soul, shrinks the heart, and darkens the mind.
2. "We must cooperate completely and work in harmony one with the other. There must be unanimity in our decisions and unity in our actions.
3. "We must lay on the altar and sacrifice whatever is required by the Lord. We begin by offering a 'broken heart and a contrite spirit.' We follow this by giving our best effort in our assigned fields of labor and callings. We learn our duty and execute it fully. Finally we consecrate our time, talents, and means as called upon by our file leaders and as prompted by the whisperings of the Spirit." (Teachings of SWK, pp 363-364)
ASK How would you define what Zion is?
“Zion” can refer to a place, a kind of people, or a way of life.
READ Zion in Context…in Add’l Resources
Because of their righteousness, Enoch, the people of his city, and other righteous people after Enoch’s day were taken into heaven (“translated”) without suffering physical death.
READ Moses 7:21,27
-What is translation?
-Can it be temporary as well as permanent?
-Who has been translated?
-What happens when someone is translated?
-What is their state?
-The term taken up into Heaven might not be entirely correct.
READ Translation in Add’l Resources.
Moses 7:28–44 God weeps for His children.
Many people consider the God of the Old Testament as a stern, vengeful God. Yet Enoch’s experience was different.
READ Moses 7:29-31
-Why was Enoch puzzled when he saw that God wept?
-What did he ask God?
READ vs 41
-What was Enoch’s reaction?
-What do these verses teach us about the Lord?
Moses 7:21 And it came to pass that the Lord showed unto Enoch all the inhabitants of the earth; and he beheld, and lo, Zion, in process of time, was taken up into heaven. And the Lord said unto Enoch: Behold mine abode forever.
27 And Enoch beheld angels descending out of heaven, bearing testimony of the Father and Son; and the Holy Ghost fell on many, and they were caught up by the powers of heaven into Zion.
Moses 7:29 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 bosom 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?
41 And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto Enoch, and told Enoch all the doings of the children of men; wherefore Enoch knew, and looked upon their wickedness, and their misery, and wept and stretched forth his arms, and his heart swelled wide as eternity; and his bowels yearned; and all eternity shook.
SUMMARY Moses 7:58–69: Enoch Saw the Day When the Earth Would Rest
READ Enoch’s Amazing Vision
SEE Events before the Earth can rest
-When will the Lord come? Vs 60
-What will the wicked experience? Vs 61, 66
-What about the righteous? Vv 61
-Where will God’s elect gather? Vs 62
-Who will join them? (from above and below?)
-What had the earth asked?
READ Moses 7:48
Moses 7:64 The earth will rest for a period of 1000 years
READ Moses 7:68-69 Zion is Fled
CONCLUSION: While Enoch and the Saints succeeded in establishing a community of peace on the principles of faith and righteousness, most of the people of the world continued in their wickedness and reaped a harvest of sorrow and destruction. The history of mankind between the days of Adam and Abraham demonstrates the results of obedience to Satan—warfare and tragedy—and obedience to God—peace and happiness.
For us today, the circumstances have changed, but the issues of obedience and disobedience remain the same. After all, we, too, live in an age of contrasts. Kent P. Jackson https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1986/02/an-age-of-contrasts-from-adam-to-abraham?lang=eng
READ An Age of Contrasts: From Adam…in Add’l Resources
Events before the Earth can rest from Moses 7:58–69:
-Wickedness and vengeance
-Heavens darken
-Veil of darkness covers the earth
-The Lord’s people preserved in the midst of great tribulations
-Righteousness sent out of heaven
-Truth sent forth out of the earth
-Righteousness and truth sweep the earth
-The elect are gathered
-Enoch and his people meet and receive the elect
-The Lord comes to dwell with His people
-Great tribulations among the wicked
-Men’s hearts fail them
Moses 7:48 And it came to pass that Enoch looked upon the earth; and he heard a voice from the bowels thereof, saying: Wo, wo is me, the mother of men; I am pained, I am weary, because of the wickedness of my children. When shall I rest, and be cleansed from the filthiness which is gone forth out of me? When will my Creator sanctify me, that I may rest, and righteousness for a season abide upon my face?
Moses 7:68 And all the days of Zion, in the days of Enoch, were three hundred and sixty-five years.
69 And Enoch and all his people walked with God, and he dwelt in the midst of Zion; and it came to pass that Zion was not, for God received it up into his own bosom; and from thence went forth the saying, Zion is Fled.
My Thoughts: Enoch and his people had opposition from those the scriptures say “loved Satan more than the Lord.” These evil antidiluvians were not ignorant, but had learned much of what the Lord had taught Adam and the Patriarchs. They could read and write, had intellectual skills, a knowledge of the science of their time (which was considerable) and had postulated their own laws, which were not the laws of God. They were lustful, greedy, evil and willing to murder to gain wealth and power.They worshipped Satan and, perhaps, other false gods.
Isaiah 55:8-9 reads “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” The Lord could say the same about His laws.
God gave these people many chances to repent. Each of the Patriarchs was tasked with teaching repentance. They were not successful with the majority of those who followed Satan. These unrepentant souls gained in wealth, power and sophistication(earthly) to the point that they formed and followed their own laws. Moses 6:15 reads “And in those days Satan had great dominion among men, and raged in their hearts; and from thenceforth came wars and bloodshed; and a man’s hand was against his own brother, in administering death, because of secret works, seeking for power.” They became increasingly opposed to God and His will.
Hugh Nibley, from his extensive research, describes this era as a “time of great intellectual as well as material sophistication.” Nibley continues: “The leaders of the people devoted most of their wealth to all kinds of engineering projects for controlling and tempering nature. But the Lord altered the order of creation, making the sun rise in the west and set in the east, so that all their plans came to naught.”
This did not bring repentance. The result, Zion was translated and the flood came. The apps were erased, the system reset.
There are lessons to be learned. In our days, I believe we are experiencing similar situations. The power of evil is evident and growing. The righteous are gathering. God’s laws are still higher than man’s. What God has given us to protect us includes His gospel and His atoning sacrifice, our Prophets and leaders, the scriptures in all their forms, the constitution, temples, and individual revelation. He has given us His laws. We must be careful that we are making the correct choices, that we are following His laws and not the laws of man. As Nibley wrote, the people in ancient times developed projects for controlling and tempering nature. This was not done for the glory of God, but to further their own hunger for power. We must avoid falling for these efforts. God’s laws, which we receive through His sources, will always trump man’s ways. Man is not the single arbiter of truth. The unrepentant of Enoch’s time took the position that God was irrelevant, they did not need a God. In our time there is an increasing portion of the population that feel God is irrelevant, that He does not speak to us, nor is He concerned with our actions. They are wrong, however they enshrine their laws as necessary to meet the changing times and needs. Regardless of the times, or our needs, we cannot supplant the laws of God and be spiritually safe.
It is my testimony that the thoughts, ways and laws of God are superior to anything we can devise on our own. They should define our lives.
If we strive to “be of one heart and one mind,” and live righteously the Lord will guide and preserve us. Who knows, if we do it well enough we might even be translated. After all, we must be “saints” first. It is my prayer this is the path we pursue. That we will remember His love for us and hearken to His word and to the His servants who represent Him. May you have a good week, stay healthy, and keep warm.
Greg
An Age of Contrasts: From Adam to Abraham By Kent P. Jackson
The world has not seen another time like it. It was an amazing age—an age of wonders, an age of power. But perhaps more than anything else it was an age of contrasts, in which the conflicting kingdoms of God and Satan were clearly present, and the power of each highly visible.
The period of time between the Fall of Adam and the ministry of Abraham is, from our present-day perspective, the most mysterious time in the earth’s history. Although it lasted more than two thousand years, during which many tremendous things occurred, our scriptures say less about it than about any other era. The Bible devotes only eight chapters to this period (approximately ten pages in modern translations), and three of those chapters are lists of genealogies, containing the familiar “begats.”
The following chronological outline draws from available scriptural sources:
1. The rise and spread of the works of Satan (Gen. 4; Moses 5) 2. The lineage of the priesthood (Gen. 5; Moses 6; D&C 84:14–17; 107:40–55) 3. Enoch and his Zion (Moses 6–7)
4. The wickedness of men before the Flood (Gen. 6; Moses 8) 5. The Flood (Gen. 7–8)
6. Noah and his sons (Gen. 9–10) 7. The Tower of Babel (Gen. 11:1–9)
8. The Jaredites (Ether 1–6) 9. The genealogy of Abraham (Gen. 11:10–28)
In each dispensation of time in which the Lord has established his kingdom, the adversary’s kingdom is present as well. Satan’s counterfeit kingdom has been successful in creating sorrow and suffering, while the Lord’s has led faithful individuals into happiness and eternal glory. It has been so from the beginning of human history.
Perhaps not long after the children of Adam and Eve grew to maturity, the adversary began to sow the seeds of sin and disbelief among them. The scriptures record that after Adam and Eve taught their children the gospel, Satan came among them and “commanded them, saying: Believe it not; and they believed it not, and they loved Satan more than God. And men began from that time forth to be carnal, sensual, and devilish.” (Moses 5:13.) The sacred records give one example of Satan’s influence: For the lust of his brother’s property and at the command of his satanic master, Cain introduced murder into the world.
While it is clear from the scriptures that many people in those ancient days were extremely evil, the sacred records also tell us that at the same time there were people who were extremely righteous. The same generations that produced humanity at its lowest also produced men and women whose disposition to obey and serve God is unparalleled in human history. It was between the days of Adam and Abraham that two entire societies, those of Enoch and Melchizedek, were found worthy as groups to be taken from the earth to escape its corruptions and enjoy the blessings of a more sublime sphere.
It is our Choice:
Cain chose to follow Satan and teach his evil practices to his children and followers.
The consequences: Cain and his descendants grew in wickedness and were cursed by God for their unrighteousness.
Enoch chose to follow the Lord and preach repentance.
The consequences: An entire city became so righteous that they were removed from the earth to dwell with God.
How will we choose?
Our happiness and eternal destiny depends on righteous choices. Throughout the history of the restored Church there have been those who have been proud and refused to give up their pride and humble themselves (Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, Sidney Rigdon, William Smith, and others).
-How much did they lose?
-We may not always like what we hear from the prophet (as the listeners of Enoch), but if we continue to listen and obey, our blessings can be as great as theirs. We can be tools in the hand of God in building a modern day Zion.
Enoch’s Amazing Vision
An amazing vision showing all the nations of the earth passed before the eyes of Enoch. He saw the wickedness of the people and the eventual destruction that awaited them. He beheld the Crucifixion of the Son of Man, even Jesus Christ, “and the earth groaned; and the rocks were rent” (Moses 7:56). And Enoch wept! But despair and sorrow vanished, for the Lord said, “And righteousness will I send down out of heaven; and truth will I send forth out of the earth, to bear testimony of mine Only Begotten; his resurrection from the dead; yea, and also the resurrection of all men; and righteousness and truth will I cause to sweep the earth as with a flood, to gather out mine elect from the four quarters of the earth, unto a place which I shall prepare, an Holy City, that my people may gird up their loins, and be looking forth for the time of my coming; for there shall be my tabernacle, and it shall be called Zion, a New Jerusalem” (Moses 7:62).
This prophetic vision was shown thousands of years before the coming of Jesus Christ to the earth. Enoch saw the truth that would come out of the earth—the Book of Mormon—and the Restoration of the fulness of the gospel, which would gather the elect into a Holy City—Zion, the New Jerusalem.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Zion in Context Clearly the concept of Zion refers to a lifestyle, a social structure (4 Nephi; Moses 7:18; D&C 105:5), and a state of mind (D&C 97:21; Moses 7:18). Whether in the time of Enoch, among the Nephites after the Savior’s visit, or in this dispensation, a Zion people are “pure in heart” (D&C 97:21). They are “of one heart and one mind, and [dwell] in righteousness,” and among them are found “no poor” (Moses 7:18). Neither is there any manner of sin “nor any manner of -ites; but they [are] in one the children of Christ, and heirs to the kingdom of God” (4 Nephi 1:15–17). These blessings came to Zion people because they built Zion in the only way possible—“by the principles of the law of the celestial kingdom” (D&C 105:5).
In this dispensation, “Zion” also refers to various geographic locations. For example, many revelations refer to Zion in Jackson County, Missouri (D&C 57:2–3). Specifically, “Independence is the center place” of Zion, and therein is the designated site, already dedicated, for the temple-complex of Zion (v. 3; see also History of the Church 1:196–99; hereafter HC). The Prophet Joseph Smith provided a detailed plat of the city and, using that plat as a pattern, instructed the Saints, “When this square is thus laid off and supplied, lay off another in the same way, and so fill up the world in these last days; and let every man live in the city, for this is the city of Zion” (HC 1:358). This is consistent with the Lord’s counsel found in a subsequent revelation concerning Zion:
There is none other place appointed than that which I have appointed; neither shall there be any other place appointed than that which I have appointed, for the work of the gathering of my saints—until the day cometh when there is found no more room for them; and then I have other places which I will appoint unto them, and they shall be called stakes, for the curtains or the strength of Zion. (D&C 101:20–21)
When we consider such instruction, we can more easily understand the Prophet’s declaration that “the whole of America is Zion itself from north to south. . . . It is the Zion where the mountain of the Lord should be” (HC 6:318). Brigham Young notes that “Zion will extend eventually, all over this earth. There will be no nook or corner upon the earth but what will be in Zion. It will all be Zion” (Journal of Discourses 9:138; hereafter JD). Elder Matthew Cowley further explained, “In your homes where the priesthood of God exists, there is Zion. And to you whose lives are committed to righteousness, I say unto you, You are Zion” (441).The incumbency under which the Saints labor is, as President Brigham Young said, to “begin and make Zion in our own hearts, and then extend it to our neighborhoods, and so continue until the Lord shall reign upon the earth” (JD 1:245). Note the Lord’s declaration, “This is Zion—the pure in heart” (D&C 97:21).
(Jeff O’Driscoll, “Zion, Zion, Zion: Keys to Understanding Ether 13,” in Fourth Nephi, From Zion to Destruction, ed. Monte S. Nyman and Charles D. Tate Jr. (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, BYU, 1995)
Translation:
Moses 7:21. Translation Those people who were taken up into heaven without tasting death were translated. President Joseph Fielding Smith (1876–1972) explained: “Translated beings are still mortal and will have to pass through the experience of death, or the separation of the spirit and the body, although this will be instantaneous, for the people of the City of Enoch, Elijah, and others who received this great blessing in ancient times, before the coming of our Lord, could not have received the resurrection, or the change from mortality to immortality, because our Lord had not [yet] paid the debt which frees us from mortality and grants to us the resurrection” (Answers to Gospel Questions, comp. Joseph Fielding Smith Jr. [1957], 1:165).
The Prophet Joseph Smith (1805–44) said: “Many may have supposed that the doctrine of translation was a doctrine whereby men were taken immediately into the presence of God and into an eternal fulness, but this is a mistaken idea. Their place of habitation is that of the terrestrial order, and a place prepared for such characters He held in reserve to be ministering angels unto many planets, and who as yet have not entered into so great a fulness as those who are resurrected from the dead” (“Instruction on Priesthood, 5 October 1840,” 6–7, josephsmithpapers.org;
(from The Pearl of Great Price Student Manual)
The account of Enoch’s life and ministry stands in stark contrast to the record of most of his contemporaries. Enoch and his people established Zion; they created a society which was so in harmony with the Lord’s will that it was called “the City of Holiness, even ZION.” (Moses 7:19.)
“And the Lord blessed the land, and they were blessed upon the mountains, and upon the high places, and did flourish.
“And the Lord called his people ZION, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them.” (Moses 7:17–18.)
We read further: “And Enoch and all his people walked with God, and he dwelt in the midst of Zion; and it came to pass that Zion was not, for God received it up into his own bosom; and from thence went forth the saying, ZION IS FLED.” (Moses 7:69.)
Jeffery R. Holland: ‘Why me?’ The meaning of faith
In moments of suffering and pain, the temptation may be to call out, “Why me? Why us? Why again?” or, “Does God really care about me?”
The Prophet Joseph Smith asked, “O God, where art Thou?” and even the Savior, while atoning for the sins of the world, wondered if He had been forsaken.
The divine answer to these questions, Elder Holland said, is always the same: “Be still and know that I am God.”
“So, when you are being hammered on the anvil of adversity, when your soul is being refined with severe lessons that perhaps can be learned no other way, don’t cut and run,” he told BYU students. “Don’t jump ship. Don’t shake your fist at your bishop or your mission president or God. Please stay with the only help and strength that can aid you in that painful time.
“When you stumble in the race of life, don’t crawl away from the very Physician who is unfailingly there to treat your injuries, lift you to your feet and help you finish the course.”
No one knows why sometimes someone is spared a tragedy and other times not, “but that is where faith must truly mean something, or it is not faith at all,” Elder Holland said.
“What we need from all of us together, you and I, from those of you solidly in the Church as well as those struggling to hold on, is powerful faith, faith that sustains us here and now, not just on the day of judgment or somewhere in celestial glory.”
Elder Holland concluded by testifying of life’s process of refinement, of becoming “a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord,” and the childlike faith and humility required.
“I testify that when life brings you disappointment or sorrow — and on occasion it will — the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Church that espouses the fullness of it are true and strong, they are what the Psalmist called ‘a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.’”
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles addressing BYU students in the BYU Marriott Center on Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022 Devotional. (Sydney Walker, Church News,18 JAN 2022)
THIS WEEKS NUGGET:
Zion in America--Our Governmental Responsibility
Heber C. Kimball taught that “the spot chosen for the garden of Eden [the first Zion Community] was Jackson County, in the State of Missouri, where Independence now stands” (JD 10:235). So shall it be again. Regarding Zion in America, there is much to consider. We now live in the time for “which our forefathers have awaited with anxious expectation,” a time “which their minds were pointed to by the angels” (D&C 121:27). That “time to come in the which nothing shall be withheld” (D&C 121:28) has come upon us [7] and as this greater light is being shed upon the Latter-day Saints, so is their responsibility increasing (D&C 82:3). Never, to our knowledge, since the days of Enoch have the Saints had such an abundant compilation of promises regarding their role in actively participating in the building of Zion, not in a future, but in the present dispensation. This participation may take several forms.
One interesting responsibility we may not often consider is our governmental responsibility. President George Albert Smith, in the dedicatory prayer of the Idaho Falls Temple, said, “We thank thee that thou hast revealed to us that those who gave us our constitutional form of government were men wise in thy sight and that thou didst raise them up for the very purpose of putting forth that sacred document” (see also D&C 101:79–80). He then spoke of the three branches of government and asked “that all may function fully and courageously in their respective branches completely independent of each other to the preservation of our constitutional form of government forever.” He also asked that “kings and rulers and the peoples of all nations under heaven” might look and be persuaded “to adopt similar governmental systems, thus to fulfill the ancient prophecy of Isaiah that ‘out of Zion shall go forth the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem’” (564).
Similarly, George Washington, in his presidential farewell address, expressed gratitude for the support of the people and said,
Profoundly penetrated with this idea, I shall carry it with me to my grave as a strong incitement to unceasing vows that Heaven may continue to you the choicest tokens of its beneficence; that your union and brotherly affection may be perpetual; that the free Constitution which is the work of your hands may be sacredly maintained; that its administration in every department may be stamped with wisdom and virtue; that, in fine, the happiness of the people of these States, under the auspices of liberty, may be made complete by so careful a preservation and so prudent a use of this blessing as will acquire to them the glory of recommending it to the applause, the affection, and adoption of every nation which is yet a stranger to it. (1:206; emphasis added)
If the influence of this constitutional form of government is to lead to the adoption of similar forms of government throughout the world, [8] we are uniquely responsible for participation in the same. If this is to be one of the means by which Isaiah’s prophecy is to be fulfilled, we should be involved. We need also to support the independent administration of each branch of government as mentioned by these great men of God, a prophet and a statesman.
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When the cities of Zion are united, the earth shall again see a theocracy. We are now commanded to “be subject to the powers that be, until he reigns whose right it is to reign” (D&C 58:22); but of that future time the Lord said, “Ye shall have no king nor ruler, for I will be your king and watch over you . . . and ye shall have no laws but my laws when I come, for I am your lawgiver” (D&C 38:21–22). Elder McConkie said that such is a “government by the immediate direction of God through his ministers and representatives. . . . This type of government apparently continued among the righteous portion of mankind from the days of Adam to Enoch . . . [and] when Christ comes to reign personally on earth during the millennial era, a perfect theocratic government will prevail”. Jeff O’Driscoll, “Zion, Zion, Zion: Keys to Understanding Ether 13,” in Fourth Nephi, From Zion to Destruction, ed. Monte S. Nyman and Charles D. Tate Jr. (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1995),
Vaclav Havel, who served as the last president of Czechoslovakia from 1989 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1992 and then as the first president of the Czech Republic from 1993 to 2003. A poet turned dissident, the mild-mannered writer and intellect had been a marked man by the communist police. He was jailed many times. He also became known for his political philosophy and traveled the globe giving speeches and participating in seminars. These few comments on political responsibilities come from his 1992 essay “Politics, Morality & Civility”: “Genuine politics…is simply a matter of serving those around us: serving the community, and serving those who will come after us. Its deepest roots are moral because it is a responsibility, expressed through action, to and for the whole, a responsibility that is what it is--a “higher” responsibility…it grows out of a conscious or subconscious certainty that our death ends nothing, because everything is forever being recorded and evaluated somewhere else, somewhere “above us,” in what I have called “the memory of Being”...which believers call God and to whose judgement everything is subject…If there is any chance at all for success, there is only one way to strive for decency, reason responsibility, sincerity, civility and tolerance, and that is decently, reasonably, sincerely, civilly, and tolerantly. I’m aware that…this is not seen as the practical way of going about it. But I have one advantage: among my many bad qualities there is one that happens to be missing--a longing or a love for power. Not being bound by that, I am essentially freer than those who cling to their power or positions…I see the only way forward in that old, familiar injunction: “live in truth.” Politics, Morality, & Civility, The Trinity Forum Reading, 1991
I find this credible advice for us as we seek to fulfill our political responsibility.. This renowned former Czech President, who ably led his country during its first years of freedom, provides advice on how we can proceed along gospel principles without his knowing the gospel, at least in a formal sense. The Lord can use anybody to provide us with knowledge about how we can fulfill our tasks. We can do this without partisan animosity, or intolerance. For us, the best way to teach this by individual example. Again we are saints first, before we are anything else. We are participating in the building of Zion,