Moses 7: Lesson 18

Moses 7:53–69

The King of Zion Will Preserve His People

One of the Savior’s titles is “the King of Zion” (Moses 7:53). He watches over His people, and in the last days He will preserve them from the great tribulations that will occur. This lesson can help students recognize and appreciate what the Lord has done to help them overcome the trials of our time.

Student preparation: Invite students to come prepared to share a passage from the Book of Mormon that has helped them when they have faced trials.

Possible Learning Activities

Great tribulations in the last days

Invite students to imagine a large storm is coming to your city. If useful, you could display an image of a large storm.

• What are some of the great trials or difficulties of the last days? How could these trials and difficulties be compared to a storm?

• What are some ways to seek safety from these storms?

Invite students to ponder their feelings about these storms and their efforts to find safety. The following self-assessment is one way you could do this:

Ponder how true the following statements are of you:

• I know what the Lord has done to help me with the storms (trials and difficulties) that I face.

• I appreciate what the Lord has done and sincerely want His help.

Invite students to seek inspiration from the Holy Ghost as they study. The Holy Ghost can teach about ways the Lord can help the students with the storms they face.

The King of Zion

Enoch and his people built “the City of Holiness, even Zion” (Moses 7:19). The Lord promised they would “dwell in safety forever” (Moses 7:20). Enoch then saw and wept over the destruction that would come during the Flood. Seeking comfort, Enoch asked if the Lord would have mercy on the people who came after the Flood. In response, the Lord taught about and showed Enoch the Savior and His Atonement (see Moses 7:42–57).

Read Moses 7:53, looking for how the Savior described Himself.

• How could the things the Lord shared in this verse comfort Enoch?

Invite students to mark and discuss the various titles and roles of Jesus Christ in verse 53. This lesson will focus on His title “King of Zion.” You might ask follow-up questions about this title such as:

• How is Jesus Christ like a powerful and loving king to us?

• What other phrases from this verse describe blessings you would want from following the King of Zion?

Consider reminding students that Zion is made up of anyone who, like Enoch’s people, are “the pure in heart” (Doctrine and Covenants 97:21)—people who are like the Lord.

The Lord will preserve His people

Enoch asked the Lord if He would come again to the earth. The Lord showed Enoch the last days and the things He would do for the people who strive to follow Him.

Read Moses 7:60–61, looking for what the Lord promised to do.

• What do you think it means for the Lord to “preserve” the people that strive to follow Him?

As students read Moses 7:62 as directed below, you may want to help them see how active God is in preserving His people. One way to do this is to invite students to pay attention to every use of the word I and to the verbs that follow it. You may also invite them to notice when the Lord uses my or mine and what words these are associated with.

Though Enoch had seen in vision the devastating flood in the days of Noah, the Lord then showed Enoch ways He would gather people to Him and preserve them.

Read Moses 7:62, looking for what the Lord will do to preserve His people.

• What are some of the things the Lord will do to preserve His people?

  Write the following phrase on the board: To preserve His people in the last days, the Lord will …

  As students answer, write the following phrases on the board:

  send righteousness out of heaven.

  send truth out of the earth.

  gather His people to Zion (see also Doctrine and Covenants 115:6).

• What are some ways that the Lord is fulfilling this prophecy in our time?

Righteousness out of heaven and truth out of the earth to gather us to Zion

To help students understand the three different aspects of this truth, you might write “Righteousness out of heaven,” “Truth out of the earth,” and “Zion” each on the board in separate columns. The following are sentences and images connected to each aspect. Write each sentence on a separate sheet of paper or display the images. Students could then match the sentence or image to one of the headings on the board.

Righteousness out of heaven

• Joseph Smith received the First Vision.

• John the Baptist gave the Aaronic Priesthood to Joseph Smith.

• Peter, James, and John gave the Melchizedek Priesthood to Joseph Smith.

• The Lord revealed the Doctrine and Covenants.

• The Lord reveals His word through modern-day prophets.

Truth out of the earth

• Joseph Smith obtained and translated the gold plates.

Zion

• We are all part of a ward or branch.

Help students ponder the importance of what the Lord has done. One way you could do this is by inviting students to complete the following in their study journals. If you used the previous activity, students could select something from the list on the board.

Identify two ways the Lord is preserving His people from the tribulations of our time and answer the following questions. If possible, think of a specific example. You might mention an experience with the priesthood, a passage from the Book of Mormon, an experience in your ward or branch, and so on.

• How has this example helped you come to know the Savior better?

• How has it or could it help with the difficulties of the last days?

Invite several students to share their responses.

Look for ways to help students recognize and appreciate all the Lord has done to help them with the trials and difficulties of the last days. One way you can do this is to listen carefully to what students say and state what it can teach us about the character and nature of the Lord. (For additional training on helping students know and feel the Lord’s love, see “Help Learners Strengthen Their Relationship with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ” in Teacher Development Skills.)

Additional Resources

Will every righteous person be preserved from all the tribulations in the last days?

The Prophet Joseph Smith (1805–1844) taught:

[I] explained concerning the coming of the Son of Man; also that it is a false idea that the Saints will escape all the judgments, whilst the wicked suffer; for all flesh is subject to suffer, and ‘the righteous shall hardly escape’ [see D&C 63:34]; still many of the Saints will escape, for the just shall live by faith [see Habakkuk 2:4]; yet many of the righteous shall fall a prey to disease, to pestilence, etc., by reason of the weakness of the flesh, and yet be saved in the Kingdom of God. (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith [2007], 253)

How will God send righteousness out of heaven and truth out of the earth?

President Ezra Taft Benson (1899–1994) taught:

The Book of Mormon has come forth out of the earth, filled with truth, serving as the very “keystone of our religion” (see Introduction to the Book of Mormon). God has also sent down righteousness from heaven. The Father Himself appeared with His Son to the Prophet Joseph Smith. The angel Moroni, John the Baptist, Peter, James, and numerous other angels were directed by heaven to restore the necessary powers to the kingdom. Further, the Prophet Joseph Smith received revelation after revelation from the heavens during those first critical years of the Church’s growth. These revelations have been preserved for us in the Doctrine and Covenants.

These two great works of scripture, then, become a major tool in the Lord’s hand for preserving His people in the latter days. (“The Gift of Modern Revelation,” Ensign, Oct. 1986, 79–80)

How will I be blessed for gathering to Zion and her stakes?

President Dallin H. Oaks of the First Presidency taught:

With the creation of stakes and the construction of temples in most nations with sizeable populations of the faithful, the current commandment is not to gather to one place but to gather in stakes in our own homelands. There the faithful can enjoy the full blessings of eternity in a house of the Lord. There, in their own homelands, they can obey the Lord’s command to enlarge the borders of His people and strengthen her stakes (see Doctrine and Covenants 101:21; 133:9, 14). In this way, the stakes of Zion are “for a defense, and for a refuge from the storm, and from wrath when it shall be poured out without mixture upon the whole earth” (Doctrine and Covenants 115:6). (“Preparation for the Second Coming,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2004, 8)

Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles declared:

We must acknowledge that the building up of Zion occurs in tumultuous times—“a day of wrath, a day of burning, a day of desolation, of weeping, of mourning, and of lamentation; and as a whirlwind it shall come upon all the face of the earth, saith the Lord” [Doctrine and Covenants 112:24]. Thus, the gathering into stakes becomes “for a defense, and for a refuge from the storm, and from wrath when it shall be poured out without mixture upon the whole earth” [Doctrine and Covenants 115:6]. …

This great and last dispensation is building steadily to its climax—Zion on earth being joined with Zion from above at the Savior’s glorious return. The Church of Jesus Christ is commissioned to prepare—and is preparing—the world for that day. (“Preparing for the Lord’s Return,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2019, 84)

Moses 7:62. How can we help righteousness and truth “sweep the earth as with a flood”?

Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles invited:

What has been accomplished thus far in this dispensation communicating gospel messages through social media channels is a good beginning—but only a small trickle. I now extend to you the invitation to help transform the trickle into a flood. Beginning this day, I exhort you to sweep the earth with messages filled with righteousness and truth—messages that are authentic, edifying, and praiseworthy—and literally to sweep the earth as with a flood (see Moses 7:59–62). (“Flood the Earth through Social Media,” Liahona, August 2015, 53)

Supplemental Learning Activities

Moses 7:53. “The Rock of Heaven”

If you feel your students would benefit from studying the Savior’s title and role as the Rock of Heaven, consider the following. You could use 2 Nephi 31:17–20 to help students understand the phrase “whoso cometh in at the gate and climbeth up by me shall never fall” (Moses 7:53). Students can discover what the gate is, what the path is, and how it leads to Jesus Christ. You might also use Helaman 5:12 to discuss how we cannot fall when we build our foundation on Jesus Christ.

Share the Savior’s gospel through social media

You could display the statement from Elder David A. Bednar in Additional Resources or show the video “To Sweep the Earth as with a Flood” (2:56). Ask students what evidence they see of gospel messages on social media sweeping the earth as with a flood. Give students time in class to create and share a social media message about the gospel of Jesus Christ. Invite a few students to share the message they created with the class. You might also invite students to follow the social media accounts of the First Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and other Church leaders. Students can see examples of how these leaders share the Savior’s gospel using social media.

Moses 7:62. “For there shall be my tabernacle”

Students may benefit from seeing how the Lord will establish His tabernacle in the New Jerusalem. Discuss the importance of the temple in Zion and the safety we can find in the house of the Lord. You could use the statement from President Dallin H. Oaks in Additional Resources as part of the discussion.