Lesson Five

Gospel Doctrine Lesson 5: Moses 5-7

CAIN

• We have every reason to believe that he had the privilege of standing in the presence of messengers from heaven. In fact the scriptures infer that he was blessed by communication with the Father and was instructed by messengers from his presence. No doubt he held the Priesthood; otherwise his sin could not make of him Perdition. He sinned against the light. And this he did, so we are told, because he loved Satan more than he loved God.
• Abel offered to God a sacrifice that was accepted, which was the firstlings of the flock. Cain offered of the fruit of the ground, and was not accepted, because he could not do it in faith.
• As it was said of Cain, so it will be said of us; ‘If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door’
• Cain will rule over Satan. The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that “all beings who have bodies have power over those who have not” ( Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 181).
• Cain and Satan Covenanted with Each Other. Cain was the first man on earth to enter into a covenant with Satan and to use covenants to prevent others from disclosing sinful acts. However, he was not the last. In the scriptures this kind of covenant relationship is called a secret combination.
• Cain Slew Abel. And Cain gloried in that which he had done, saying: I am free; surely the flocks of my brother falleth into my hands. (Moses 5:33) Cain’s rejoicing is both ironic and tragic, manifesting how complete his rebellion against God had become.
• “Are we our brothers’ keepers? In other words, are we responsible to look after the well-being of our neighbors as we seek to earn our daily bread? The Savior’s Golden Rule says we are. Satan says we are not. “Tempted of Satan, some have followed the example of Cain. They covet property and then sin to obtain it. The sin may be murder, robbery, or theft. It may be fraud or deception. It may even be some clever but legal manipulation of facts or influence to take unfair advantage of another. Always the excuse is the same: ‘Am I my brother’s keeper?’” (Dallin H. Oaks in Ensign, Nov. 1986, 20 ).
• Cain Was Cursed. Part of the curse Cain received for killing Abel was that the ground would no longer “yield unto [Cain] her strength,” and that he would be a “fugitive and a vagabond” ( Moses 5:37 ). A fugitive is a person who is running from the law, and a vagabond is someone who has no home. Cain was also driven out “from the face of the Lord” ( Moses 5:39 ).
• A Mark Was Placed upon Cain. It must be noted that the mark that was set upon Cain was not the same thing as the curse that he received. The mark was to distinguish him as the one who had been cursed by the Lord. It was placed upon Cain so that no one finding him would kill him.

ENOCH

• Enoch was 25 years old when Adam ordained him to the priesthood, and he was 65 when Adam again blessed him (see D&C 107:48).
• By his own voice, the Lord called Enoch, apparently at age 65, to be a prophet and seer (see Moses 6:25–27). At that time the Lord showed him the first of three visions of the future recorded in Moses (see Moses 6:36).
• He began a long ministry of testimony, but he was rejected by many (see Moses 6:37). Enoch taught gospel principles as they had been revealed by God and angels to Adam (see Moses 6:47–68).

· He defeated the enemies of the people of the Lord through priesthood miracles, moving mountains and turning rivers from their courses. As a result, his people gained security and peace (see Moses 7:13–17).

• Under Enoch’s leadership, his people became so righteous that the Savior was often in their midst (seeMoses 7:16). The seer’s people flourished and established a city of holiness called Zion (see Moses 7:17–19).
• Three years before Adam’s death, Enoch, with other righteous leaders, attended a great convocation called by Adam at Adam-ondi-Ahman. There Adam bestowed his last blessing upon his children and related, by the power of prophecy, what should happen to his posterity to the end of time (see D&C 107:53–56). The prophecy was recorded in the book of Enoch (see D&C 107:57).
• Not only did Enoch write the prophesied story of the earth as revealed by Adam, but the Savior also opened to Enoch the third vision of the future recorded in Moses (seeHistory of the Church, 2:261, where the Prophet Joseph Smith, after quoting Revelation 21:3 states, “I discover by this quotation, that John upon the isle of Patmos, saw the same thing concerning the last days, which Enoch saw”). In this vision Enoch saw the events of the earth until the Millennium (see Moses 7:67).
• Enoch foresaw the first coming of the Savior, his crucifixion and death, and the great destructions of the earth associated therewith (see Moses 7:45–47, 55–56).
• He foresaw the Second Coming of the Lord, the building up of Zion in the last days, and the return of his city to the earth (see Moses 7:60–67).
• The Lord personally met with Enoch on many occasions over the 365 years of his ministry (see D&C 107:49).
• Enoch was actually 430 years old when he was translated. At that time, Zion had been in existence for 365 years (see Moses 7:68; Moses 8:1).
• When the world in general had rejected the law of God, the Lord translated Enoch and his people, taking them and the “government of heaven” off the earth (see History of the Church, 5:64; D&C 38:4). Before the Flood, the righteous upon whom the Holy Ghost fell were subsequently taken up into the city of Enoch (see Moses 7:27).
• The Savior himself spoke of the future glory of both Enoch’s Zion and the Zion of the last days, testifying that they would eventually be reunited and that he would personally abide there. Then the earth would rest for a thousand years (see 3 Ne. 21:1; Moses 7:62–64; History of the Church, 3:34).