"Taken unto himself"

As mentioned in a recent post, I looked at Alma 46, in which Moroni quotes a prophecy of the patriarch Jacob/Israel comparing the preservation of a remnant of the coat of Joseph to a righteous remnant of his seed. In making this comparison, he uses a unique phrase, highlighted in red below:

24 Yea, let us preserve our liberty as a remnant of Joseph; yea, let us remember the words of Jacob, before his death, for behold, he saw that a part of the remnant of the coat of Joseph was preserved and had not decayed. And he said—Even as this remnant of garment of my son hath been preserved, so shall a remnant of the seed of my son be preserved by the hand of God, and be taken unto himself, while the remainder of the seed of Joseph shall perish, even as the remnant of his garment.

25 Now behold, this giveth my soul sorrow; nevertheless, my soul hath joy in my son, because of that part of his seed which shall be taken unto God.

26 Now behold, this was the language of Jacob. (Alma 46)

This post will explore this phrase along with a few similar phrases in an effort to link this "preserved remnant" to Enoch's Zion.

 

Moses-Alma Metalepsis

The phrase "taken unto himself" is rare in the Book of Mormon.  It only occurs twice, once in Alma 46, which is quoted above, and once in the preceding chapter, in reference to how the end of Alma's days resembled Moses:

19 Behold, this we know, that he was a righteous man; and the saying went abroad in the church that he was taken up by the Spirit, or buried by the hand of the Lord, even as Moses. But behold, the scriptures saith the Lord took Moses unto himself; and we suppose that he has also received Alma in the spirit, unto himself; therefore, for this cause we know nothing concerning his death and burial. (Alma 45)

Connection to Enoch?

It is here that I begin to see a connection to Enoch's Zion: those who are "taken" by the Lord "unto Himself" are preserved for a righteous purpose -- therefore nothing is known "concerning [their] death and burial." Something similar is said of Enoch's Zion:

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)

I'll have more to say about this part of Moses 7 in future posts. The final verses of Moses 7 tie in with many latter-day prophecies and promises related to New Jerusalem. For now, let's focus on the words in blue. Not identical to the wording in Alma 45 and Alma 46 -- "taken unto himself" -- but very similar. And the similar sequence of gradually increasing righteousness of Alma-2, Moses, and Enoch is also readily apparent.  Notice this statement from God to Moses:

4 And, behold, thou art my son; wherefore look, and I will show thee the workmanship of mine hands; but not all, for my works are without end, and also my words, for they never cease.

5 Wherefore, no man can behold all my works, except he behold all my glory; and no man can behold all my glory, and afterwards remain in the flesh on the earth.

6 And I have a work for thee, Moses, my son; (Moses 1)

I find this so interesting.  Here is the logical chain revealed in these verses as I see it:

• God's works are endless.
• Man's work on the earth is finite.
• If a person beholds all of God's work, he would also behold all of God's glory, and could not afterwards remain on the earth.
• God still had a work for Moses to perform, therefore Moses only beheld a portion of God's work.
• It follows logically from all of this that once God's work for a given person is complete, they enter His rest, or perhaps another way to say this is that they behold all His glory.

Moses eventually completed the work God had for him, at which point he entered His rest.  Alma 45 suggests the same process happened with Alma-2. 

Enoch is the archetype of this process.

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; (Moses 7)

Enoch beheld "all things" and received a "fulness of joy" and entered into the rest of the Lord.

Other examples of similar wording

As I said, this wording is pretty unique in scripture.  Here are some additional examples of related wording:

In Alma 14:11 the phrase "receive them up unto himself" appears, in reference to the innocent believers killed in Ammonihah:

11 But Alma said unto him: The Spirit constraineth me that I must not stretch forth mine hand; for behold the Lord receiveth them up unto himself, in glory; and he doth suffer that they may do this thing, or that the people may do this thing unto them, according to the hardness of their hearts, that the judgments which he shall exercise upon them in his wrath may be just; and the blood of the innocent shall stand as a witness against them, yea, and cry mightily against them at the last day. (Alma 14)

In Jacob 5 the phrase "preserve ... unto myself" appears many, many times in reference to the the fruits (see verse 8, 19, 20, 23, 29, 31, 33, 46), the roots (see verse 11, 53, 54), the branches (see verse 13).  (Thanks to Stisa for bringing this to my attention). Verse 74 combines branch, root, and fruit into a metaphor that is very interesting with Enoch in mind:

74 And thus they labored, with all diligence, according to the commandments of the Lord of the vineyard, even until the bad had been cast away out of the vineyard, and the Lord had preserved unto himself that the trees had become again the natural fruit; and they became like unto one body; and the fruits were equal; and the Lord of the vineyard had preserved unto himself the natural fruit, which was most precious unto him from the beginning. (Jacob 5)

Finally, notice this crafty wording that describes the state of one who pursues unrighteous dominion:

38 Behold, ere he is aware, he is left unto himself, to kick against the pricks, to persecute the saints, and to fight against God. (Doctrine & Covenants 121)

Conclusion

The phrase "taken unto himself" tells a really important story in only three words.  It is meant to evoke Enoch's blessings and remind us of what God has in store for those who, like Enoch, receive of His fullness.

In a future post, I'll discuss the word "bosom" which appears in Moses 7:69 in the context of God receiving Enoch's city. This word has a very interesting set of meanings which fit nicely into the Enoch/New Jerusalem/Temple context.