Monday, December 3, 2012
December 3 - The City of Enoch - Becoming Holy
Enoch and the people who listened to his cry of repentance became so righteous that the Lord dwelt with them, and they were later translated. We need to change our hearts and make our home like Zion as we prepare for Christ’s second coming.
This is a brand new lesson this year. I gave it, in fact, on December 4th before the Noah lesson because, after teaching my original lesson on “Witnesses of Christ in the Old World,” where I only touched briefly on Enoch, and listening to the kids’ questions about Enoch, I researched him that night and was blown away by how amazing he is. I figured that this lesson fits beautifully here and encourages us to prepare our hearts for Christ like the City of Enoch did. I plan to use the Bible ornament in a later lesson.
Complete Devotionals HERE.
Note: I haven’t yet updated the PDF of my lessons with this one yet. I will soon.
Timeline: c. 3000 B.C.
Opening Song: Christmas Bells, Children’s Songbook 54
Have the children ring bells while singing.
D&C 107:48-49 “Enoch was twenty-five years old when he was ordained under the hand of Adam… And he saw the Lord, and he walked with him, and was before his face continually….”
The Lord commanded Enoch to go up into a mountain. As Enoch stood upon the mountain, he had a vision and said, “And I saw the Lord; and he stood before my face, and he talked with me, even as a man talketh one with another, face to face”.
Moses 6:26-27, 33-34 “And it came to pass that Enoch journeyed in the land, among the people; and as he journeyed, the Spirit of God descended out of heaven, and abode upon him. And he heard a voice from heaven, saying: Enoch, my son, prophesy unto this people, and say unto them—Repent… Choose ye this day, to serve the Lord God who made you. Behold my Spirit is upon you, [Enoch], wherefore all thy words will I justify; and the mountains shall flee before you, and the rivers shall turn from their course; and thou shalt abide in me, and I in you; therefore walk with me.”
Enoch obeyed the Lord and preached repentance throughout the land. Moses 6:48-50, 52, 62 “And he said unto them: Because that Adam fell, we are; and by his fall came death; and we are made partakers of misery and woe. Behold Satan hath come among the children of men, and tempteth them to worship him; and men have become carnal, sensual, and devilish, and are shut out from the presence of God. But God hath made known unto our fathers that all men must repent. …And he also said unto [Adam]: If thou wilt turn unto me, and hearken unto my voice, and believe, and repent of all thy transgressions, and be baptized, even in water, in the name of mine Only Begotten Son, who is full of grace and truth, which is Jesus Christ, the only name which shall be given under heaven, whereby salvation shall come unto the children of men, ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost…. [Older families read also Moses 6:58-60.] And now, behold, I say unto you: This is the plan of salvation unto all men, through the blood of mine Only Begotten, who shall come in the meridian of time.”
When he was 65 years old, Heavenly Father called Enoch to be a spokesman. Enoch had such great faith that he moved mountains and rivers. The book of Moses in the Pearl of Great Price says that when armies approached his peaceful city, “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 all nations feared greatly, so powerful was the word of Enoch” (Moses 7:13).
On a gold ornament, I painted a city in the clouds and wrote the word Zion above it using gold glitter glue
As Adam and Eve’s family grew and grew, some of them continued to be faithful to Jesus Christ while others grew increasingly wicked. Heavenly Father continually sent prophets to the earth to teach His children about the plan of redemption through Christ. Enoch was one of those prophets.
Genealogy of Enoch:
Adam – Seth – Enos – Cainan – Mahalaleel – Jared – Enoch
Note: The text here is a little beefier. I read, summarized, and discussed it with the kids.
Moses 7:16, 18-19, 23 And the Lord came and dwelt with his people, and they dwelt in righteousness. …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. 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. …And after that Zion was taken up into heaven….
God showed Enoch what was still happening on the earth with Noah and the wicked people. The Lord wept, and Enoch asked why. Moses 7:32-33 “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; 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”.
Enoch and the people in the city of Zion became so righteous, that they were taken up into heaven. Later on, the people on earth (apart from Noah and his family) became so wicked that the Lord destroyed them with a flood. As Elder Maxwell said, “The citizens of the city of Enoch chose Jesus and a way of life…. So much depends on whom and what we seek first.”1
How do you think it felt to live in the City of Enoch? What do you think it was like? How can we make our home more like Zion? (Zion was built on principles of unity, godliness, and charity.) We can begin to turn ourselves into Zion-like people, which were Christ-like people. Elder Maxwell said, “Like Jesus, we can decide, daily or instantly, to give no heed to temptation (see D&C 20:22). We can respond to irritation with a smile instead of scowl, or by giving warm praise instead of icy indifference. By our being understanding instead of abrupt, others, in turn, may decide to hold on a little longer rather than to give way. Love, patience, and meekness can be just as contagious as rudeness and crudeness. …Moments are the molecules that make up eternity! Years ago, President Hinckley counseled: ‘It is not so much the major events as the small day-to-day decisions that map the course of our living. … Our lives are, in reality, the sum total of our seemingly unimportant decisions and of our capacity to live by those decisions.’” 2
As we prepare for Christ’s second coming, we need to change our hearts and make our home a Zion. We can also remember the words of Jesus, “What manner of men [and women] ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am.”3
Challenge: Work on becoming more Christ-like. Make specific commitments. Help to make our home more like Zion.
Closing Song: “It Came upon the Midnight Clear” Hymns, 207 (verses 1 and 3)
1“Enoch: What Modern Scripture Teaches” by Richard D. Draper, Ensign Jan. 1998.
2Neal A. Maxwell, “The Tugs and Pulls of the World” January 2001 Ensign.
33 Nephi 27:27; Matthew 5:48; 3 Nephi 12:48
Extras: D. Todd Christofferson “Come to Zion” October 2008 Ensign.
Watch “Enoch” (3:08) from the Old Testament Stories Videos on lds.org
Enoch was Adam’s great-great-great-great grandson. His name means “teacher.”1 His father Jared “taught Enoch in all the ways of God” (Moses 6:21).
Ornament: City of Enoch
I super-glued odds and ends (beads, metal pieces, etc.) together and onto half of an old yo-yo and spray painted it gold. I strung it using gold wire.
