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Friday, January 28, 2022

Searching the scriptures -- Moses 7:59-69

I've had an incredible experience studying Moses 7:59-69 for the past week.  This is a truly remarkable passage of scriptures.

I've had people ask me what system I use to study the scriptures. I have developed a few patterns over the years and I was amazed to listen to a devotional given by Elder David A. Bednar in 2007 in which he underscores the importance of several principles related to scripture study, including the importance of studying connections between various concepts and stories. By the time I found this talk, I had already learned for myself how important this principle is. I wrote about that talk in this post if you'd like to learn more. Here is a one minute clip where he describes what connections are and why they are a source of spiritual truth:





Today's post will be unlike any of my previous posts.  My focus is on attempting to demonstrate how interconnected the scriptures are. I'll do this by creating hyperlinks in the Moses 7 passage below. Each link will take you to a section at the bottom with additional scriptural references connected to that word or phrase. This is not comprehensive, nor is it intended to detail all of the learning that can take place by studying the references listed.  Rather, I just want to show how 11 verses in one book of scripture can take us on a journey through many other passages of scriptures if we take the time to study using Elder Bednar's principles.

Long post warning -- typically, a post of mine represents an hour or two of dedicated study.  This post will contain notes and references from about ten hours of study over a week.  The reason I'm not breaking it up into many posts is so that all of the references stay in one place for future reference, rather than spread out over many posts. However, I will circle back to these lists in future posts to discuss some of the insights I've gained as a result of this study, which I consider vital to understanding Moses 7.



Moses 7:59-69




59 And Enoch beheld the Son of Man ascend up unto the Father; and he called unto the Lord, saying: Wilt thou not come again upon the earth? Forasmuch as thou art God, and I know thee, and thou hast sworn unto me, and commanded me that I should ask in the name of thine Only Begotten; thou hast made me, and given unto me a right to thy throne, and not of myself, but through thine own grace; wherefore, I ask thee if thou wilt not come again on the earth.

60 And the Lord said unto Enoch: As I live, even so will I come in the last days, in the days of wickedness and vengeance, to fulfil the oath which I have made unto you concerning the children of Noah;

61 And the day shall come that the earth shall rest, but before that day the heavens shall be darkened, and a veil of darkness shall cover the earth; and the heavens shall shake, and also the earth; and great tribulations shall be among the children of men, but my people will I preserve;

62 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.

63 And the Lord said unto Enoch: Then shalt thou and all thy city meet them there, and we will receive them into our bosom, and they shall see us; and we will fall upon their necks, and they shall fall upon our necks, and we will kiss each other;

64 And there shall be mine abode, and it shall be Zion, which shall come forth out of all the creations which I have made; and for the space of a thousand years the earth shall rest.

65 And it came to pass that Enoch saw the day of the coming of the Son of Man, in the last days, to dwell on the earth in righteousness for the space of a thousand years;

66 But before that day he saw great tribulations among the wicked; and he also saw the sea, that it was troubled, and men’s hearts failing them, looking forth with fear for the judgments of the Almighty God, which should come upon the wicked.

67 And the Lord showed Enoch all things, even unto the end of the world; and he saw the day of the righteous, the hour of their redemption, and received a fulness of joy;

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. (Moses 7)


Each of the links in the passage above will take you to the corresponding section of references related to that word or phrase below.  In future posts, I'll look at the references in each list and discuss what I believe each of these concepts adds to the whole picture. In some cases, it is clear that multiple concepts tend to cluster together (I've indicated this by listing these in parentheses next to references where it applies).  

Taking the process of studying these references as groups and taking the time to develop a deeper sense of what the term is referring to is the essence of this pattern of scripture study.  I have learned so much, often completely unexpectedly, as I've taken this approach.  



"through thine own grace"





"fulfill the oath"


  • Moses 7:50-51



"darkness"


  • JS-Matthew 1:33
  • Doctrine & Covenants 29:14
  • Exodus 10:21-23



"tribulation"


  • Doctrine & Covenants 29:8 (prepare, gather)
  • Doctrine & Covenants 58:2-4


"preserve"


  • 1 Nephi 22:17
  • Mosiah 2:20-21
  • Alma 46:24
  • Psalm 37:28



"sweep"


  • Jacob 5:66
  • Doctrine & Covenants 109:30



"gather"


  • 1 Nephi 22:25
  • 3 Nephi 16:5
  • Doctrine & Covenants 29:7-8 (elect, prepare, tribulation) 



"elect"


  • JS-Matthew 1:27-29, 37-39
  • Doctrine & Covenants 29:7-8 (gather, prepare, tribulation) 
  • Doctrine & Covenants 33:6 (gather)
  • Doctrine & Covenants 84:34
  • Isaiah 65:9, 22


"prepare"


  • 1 Nephi 10:18
  • 1 Nephi 22:20
  • 2 Nephi 9:10
  • Jacob 5:61
  • Mosiah 4:6-7
  • Alma 13:3, 5
  • Alma 16:16
  • Alma 42:10, 13
  • 3 Nephi 21:27
  • Ether 3:14
  • Ether 9:28
  • Ether 12:11
  • Moroni 7:31-32
  • Doctrine & Covenants 29:7-8 (elect, gather, tribulation)
  • Doctrine & Covenants 38:9 (gird up loins)
  • Doctrine & Covenants 38:30
  • Doctrine & Covenants 42:9 (gather)
  • Doctrine & Covenants 78:20-21
  • Doctrine & Covenants 88:88-93 (quake -- see Moses 7:61 "shake")
  • Doctrine & Covenants 133:57-59

"bosom"


  • Doctrine & Covenants 38:4
  • Doctrine & Covenants 88:13
  • Doctrine & Covenants 109:4
  • Moses 7:24, 27, 63, 69



"gird up loins"


  • Doctrine & Covenants 27:15-16
  • Doctrine & Covenants 36:8
  • Doctrine & Covenants 38:9
  • Doctrine & Covenants 43:19
  • Doctrine & Covenants 61:38
  • Doctrine & Covenants 73:6
  • Doctrine & Covenants 78:22
  • Doctrine & Covenants 106:5
  • Doctrine & Covenants 112:7, 14




"abode"


  • Moses 7:21
  • Numbers 9:17-22



"rest"


  • Jacob 1:7
  • Alma 12:34-37
  • Alma 13:6, 12, 13, 16, 29
  • Alma 16:7
  • Alma 40:12
  • Alma 60:13
  • 3 Nephi 27:19
  • 3 Nephi 28:3
  • Moroni 7:3
  • Moroni 9:6, 25
  • Doctrine & Covenants 15:6 (16:6)
  • Doctrine & Covenants 19:9
  • Doctrine & Covenants 54:10
  • Doctrine & Covenants 59:2
  • Doctrine & Covenants 84:24
  • Doctrine & Covenants 101:31
  • Doctrine & Covenants 121:32
  • Doctrine & Covenants 124:86



"all things"


  • 1 Nephi 9:6
  • 1 Nephi 14:26
  • 1 Nephi 19:21
  • 1 Nephi 22:2, 20
  • 2 Nephi 2:24
  • 2 Nephi 6:3
  • 2 Nephi 9:20
  • 2 Nephi 27:10-11, 22
  • 2 Nephi 30:16-18
  • 2 Nephi 32:3, 5
  • Mosiah 5:3
  • Moroni 10:5, 13, 23
  • Moses 1:4-6



"day of the righteous"


  • 2 Nephi 9:46


"fulness of joy"



  • 3 Nephi 27:31
  • 3 Nephi 28:10



"walked with God"


  • Genesis 6:9
  • Doctrine & Covenants 107:49



Conclusion


The Book of Moses astounds me.  I see this passage of scripture in a new light as dozens of connections to other verses have become apparent to me.  There is a lot to say about it.  I'll highlight the significance I've found in these lists of references in upcoming posts.  I hope you'll take the time to look them up and make lists of your own.

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