Prepare your mind and heart to learn. Ponder the truths you identify. Praying and thinking deeply about spiritual truths will allow the Holy Ghost to teach you how to become more like Jesus Christ.
Begin your study with prayer.
Knowing right from wrong is often easier than doing what is right. We can sometimes justify sin because we do not see the immediate consequences of our actions or because we assume that we will not face the same consequences that others have experienced.
Listen to this account from Elder Patrick Kearon of the Quorum of the Seventy. What did he learn about sin from the sting of a scorpion?
Think about a situation in which a person might be directed to change or correct his or her actions. Some examples might include violating a driving law or a sports game rule or performing a mathematical equation incorrectly.
In these situations, what could happen if a person chose not to change as directed?
In this lesson you will learn about a group of people who were directed to change and how they responded. As you study, consider how you personally respond to invitations to change.
Scan Moses 8:1–11, looking for names of Enoch’s descendants. Do you recognize any names?
The Lord made a covenant with Enoch that Noah would be his descendant (see Moses 8:2). Because of this covenant, Methuselah (the grandfather of Noah) was not taken with the city of Enoch when it was translated.
Read Moses 8:12–15, looking for two titles the Lord used to distinguish between sons who hearkened to His voice and those who did not.
Rebellious People
The sons of God were those who kept their covenants with God and listened attentively to Him and obeyed His commandments. The sons of men were those who broke their covenants with God and didn’t listen to or obey Him. Noah’s granddaughters decided to marry the sons of men, and so they gave up the opportunity to receive the blessings of the priesthood covenant of eternal marriage.
President Joseph Fielding Smith (1876–1972) taught:
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President Joseph Fielding Smith
“The daughters who had been born, evidently under the covenant, and were the daughters of the sons of God, that is to say of those who held the priesthood, were transgressing the commandment of the Lord and were marrying out of the Church. Thus they were cutting themselves off from the blessings of the priesthood contrary to the teachings of Noah and the will of God” (Joseph Fielding Smith, Answers to Gospel Questions, comp. Joseph Fielding Smith Jr. [1957], 1:136–37).
Read Moses 8:16–26, looking for some of the actions of the rebellious people in Noah’s day.
Quiz 1
Match the actions on the left with the verses that describe them on the right.
The people were filled with pride and evil continually.
The people refused to listen to Noah.
Wicked individuals tried to kill Noah.
Noah continued to preach the gospel.
The Lord determined to destroy the wicked with the Flood.
According to Moses 8:17, how long did the Lord give the people to repent? How does this demonstrate God’s mercy?
Noah explained to the people that if they would not repent, the earth would be flooded. This was a consequence of sin. The Lord has always warned that negative consequences will follow sin.
What principle can we learn from the people’s refusal to hearken to the Lord’s invitations to repent?
From Moses 8:16–26, we can learn that if we do not hearken to the Lord’s invitations to repent, then we will suffer the consequences of continuing in our sins.
2. Answer one of the following questions:
How does the Lord communicate to us His invitations to repent?
What are some of the ways in which people try to justify their sins?
What are some of the consequences we might face for choosing not to repent?
The word just in Moses 8:27 means righteous. The phrase “perfect in his generation” does not mean that Noah lived a sinless life, but it means that Noah continually repented and diligently sought to keep the covenants he made with the Lord throughout his life.
Think about whether you are currently hearkening to the Lord’s invitations to repent. As you choose to repent, you can enjoy the blessings the Lord reserves for those who are faithful.
Read Moses 8:29–30, looking for what the Lord resolved to do because of the corruption of the people, the violence that filled the earth, and the people’s refusal to repent.
Some people wonder why a loving God would destroy almost all of the people on earth through the Flood.
Read 2 Nephi 26:24, looking for the reason behind everything God does. You may want to write this reference near Moses 8:30 in your scriptures.
Why does God do everything He does?
The Flood—for the Benefit of His Children
The scripture verse 2 Nephi 26:24 helps us understand that all that God does is for the benefit of His children.
How could the Flood benefit God’s children? Consider the following two statements:
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Neal A. Maxwell
Elder Neal A. Maxwell (1926–2004) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles explained that God intervened “when corruption had reached an agency-destroying point that spirits could not, in justice, be sent here” (We Will Prove Them Herewith [1982], 58).
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President John Taylor
President John Taylor (1808–87) clarified that “by taking away their earthly existence [God] prevented them from entailing their sins upon their posterity and degenerating [or corrupting] them, and also prevented them from committing further acts of wickedness” (“Discourse Delivered by Prest. John Taylor,” Deseret News, Jan. 16, 1878, 787).
The following truths were identified in this lesson:
If we do not hearken to the Lord’s invitations to repent, then we will suffer the consequences of continuing in our sins.
All that God does is for the benefit of His children.
Remember that the Lord’s invitation to repent is evidence of His love. By choosing to repent when necessary, we can feel the Lord’s love in greater abundance in our lives.
