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Moses 7

Enoch continued preaching repentance. The Lord protected His people from their enemies. Enoch established the city of Zion on the principles of righteousness. He saw a vision of the earth’s history from his own day to the Millennium. He saw the influence of the adversary and watched God weep for the suffering of His children. Enoch also foresaw the coming of the Savior, the eventual Restoration of the gospel, the gathering of Israel, and the return of the city of Zion upon the earth. Enoch and his city were translated.

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• Background and Context

• Learn More

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Background and Context

Moses 7:5–8

What do we know about the children of Canaan and their curse?

Little is known about the people of Canaan who lived before the Flood. Despite the similarity in name, there is no scriptural evidence to suggest that these people are related to Cain. Nor is there evidence that they are connected to the righteous people of the “land of Cainan,” named after Enoch’s great-grandfather. They are also distinct from Noah’s grandson Canaan and from the Canaanites mentioned frequently in the Old Testament, who came later.

Enoch prophesied that the children of Canaan would be cursed with barren and unfruitful land, seemingly because they destroyed the people of Shum. The record then states that “blackness came upon the children of Canaan” and they were “despised among all people.” What “blackness” means in this verse is unclear. Some have assumed that “blackness” is referring to dark skin color, but there is nothing in the text to justify this interpretation.

Moses 7:15

What might it mean that there were giants in the land?

Giants are mentioned in the accounts of both Enoch and Noah. Both accounts indicate that the giants were enemies to God and His prophets. While the word giant generally refers to someone large in stature, the Hebrew word translated as “giants” in Genesis 6:4, nephilim, can also mean “fallen ones.” It is not clear if these people were large in stature, and the term may simply have been a description of their fallen spiritual state.

Moses 7:16–19

What is Zion?

Latter-day revelation defines Zion as “the pure in heart.” It can also refer to a place where the pure in heart live. Enoch’s city was called “Zion” and the “City of Holiness.” The Lord dwelt with Enoch and his people because of their unity, righteousness, and care for the poor. Eventually, Enoch’s city of Zion was taken into heaven, where “God received it up into his own bosom.”

Other scriptural references to Zion identify it as the ancient city of Jerusalem and the latter-day New Jerusalem that will be built in Jackson County, Missouri. Today, Latter-day Saints are counseled to build up Zion wherever they live. They can do this by preaching the Savior’s gospel and living the principles of unity, godliness, and charity that were exemplified by Enoch and his people. The Prophet Joseph Smith taught, “We ought to have the building up of Zion as our greatest object.”

Moses 7:21

What does it mean that the city of Zion was “taken up into heaven”?

Enoch and the righteous followers of God were translated, or taken into heaven without experiencing death. Translated beings are people “who are changed so that they do not experience pain or death until their resurrection to immortality.” Translated beings will still experience death when they are changed to a resurrected state, but this change will happen in an instant.

City of Zion Translated, by Del Parson

Moses 7:22

What does it mean that “the seed of Cain were black?”

Similar to the description of “blackness” that came upon the people of Canaan in Moses 7:8, the meaning of the word “black” in verse 22 is unclear. A description of Cain’s posterity found earlier in the book of Moses mentions that God did not minister unto them because “their works were in the dark” and “they kept not the commandments of God.”

After Cain entered into an unholy covenant with Satan and slew his brother Abel, the Lord pronounced a curse upon Cain. Cain’s curse was that the ground would not grow crops for him, he would wander as a fugitive, and he would be separated from the presence of God. The Lord also placed an unspecified mark upon Cain to prevent others from seeking revenge upon him.

There is no indication in the scriptures that Cain’s mark was passed on to his posterity. We should avoid speculating about the nature or appearance of the mark placed on Cain or that the curse applied to anyone other than him.

See also “Genesis 4:7–15; Moses 5:23–40. What do we know about the curse and mark placed upon Cain?”

Moses 7:38–39

What is the prison prepared for the wicked?

God wept as He looked upon His children who refused to follow Him and would soon perish in the Flood. He spoke of a prison that He had prepared for them, which was a reference to the postmortal spirit prison. God taught Enoch that through Jesus Christ’s Atonement, those in spirit prison would have the opportunity to repent.

In a revelation recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 138, President Joseph F. Smith learned that the spirits in prison—including those who perished in the Flood—were given the opportunity to be taught the gospel of Jesus Christ by righteous spirits from paradise and vicariously receive the ordinances of the gospel. President Smith testified, “The dead who repent will be redeemed, through obedience to the ordinances of the house of God, and after they have paid the penalty of their transgressions, and are washed clean, shall receive a reward according to their works, for they are heirs of salvation.”

Moses 7:47

What does it mean that “the Lamb is slain from the foundation of the world”?

Enoch’s description of Jesus Christ as “the Lamb … slain from the foundation of the world” provides a powerful reminder of the “infinite and eternal” nature of the Savior’s atoning sacrifice. In the premortal Council, Jehovah was chosen to perform the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world. President Harold B. Lee taught: “The Son of God … had the power to make worlds, to direct them. He came here as the Only Begotten Son to fulfill a mission, to be as a Lamb slain before the foundation of the world, to bring about salvation to all mankind. By giving His life He opened the door to resurrection and taught the way by which we could gain eternal life, which means to go back into the presence of the Father and the Son. That was who Jesus was in all His grandeur.”

In the Book of Mormon, King Benjamin taught his people—who lived before the Savior’s earthly ministry—to “believe that Christ should come” so that they “might receive remission of their sins, and rejoice with exceedingly great joy, even as though he had already come among them.” Because the Savior’s atoning sacrifice is infinite and eternal, those who lived before His earthly ministry could still be blessed by His redeeming power.

Moses 7:50–52

How does the Joseph Smith Translation enhance our understanding of God’s covenant with Enoch and Noah?

The account of the Flood recorded in Genesis describes the covenant God made with Noah that He would never flood the earth again. In Genesis 9:12–17, the Lord taught Noah that the rainbow was a token, or a reminder, of that covenant.

The Prophet Joseph Smith’s inspired translation of the Bible provides additional details about this covenant that are not recorded in Genesis. From Moses 7 we learn that God first made this covenant with Enoch. Additionally, the Joseph Smith Translation of Genesis 9 explains that the return of Enoch and his people to the earth in the last days was also part of the Lord’s covenant.

The token of the rainbow provides meaningful symbolism when considering this additional aspect of the covenant. For example, one scholar suggested that the trajectory of a rainbow can remind us of the ascension of Zion from earth to heaven and of its future descent back to earth. The rainbow can also remind us of the connection between heaven and earth that will take place when the city of Enoch is reunited with the Saints of God on earth.

Moses 7:53

What can we learn about Jesus Christ from His titles in this verse?

Jesus Christ is the Messiah, “the Anointed One,” who was chosen from the beginning to be our Savior. As the King of Zion, He will rule over His righteous Saints in Zion for 1,000 years in the Millennium. He is “the Rock of Heaven” and the sure foundation upon which we can build our lives and obtain eternal life. He is the only way by which we can return to the Father. The gate He has provided for us to enter the path to eternal life is “repentance and baptism by water.”

Christ’s Image, by Heinrich Hofmann

Moses 7:60–63

What was Enoch shown about the last days?

At the conclusion of Enoch’s vision, the Lord explained that the last days would be a time of great wickedness and tribulation. The Lord also promised, “But my people will I preserve.” The Lord then described in verse 62 significant ways He would preserve His people in the last days:

“Righteousness will I send down from heaven; and truth will I send forth out of the earth”

Regarding this prophecy, President Ezra Taft Benson taught: “We have seen the marvelous fulfillment of that prophecy in our generation. 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.”

“Gather out mine elect from the four quarters of the earth”

The Lord promised that truth and righteousness would “sweep the earth as with a flood, to gather out mine elect from the four quarters of the earth.”

Regarding the gathering of Israel, or God’s elect, President Russell M. Nelson taught: “These surely are the latter days, and the Lord is hastening His work to gather Israel. That gathering is the most important thing taking place on earth today. Nothing else compares in magnitude, nothing else compares in importance, nothing else compares in majesty. And if you choose to, if you want to, you can be a big part of it. You can be a big part of something big, something grand, something majestic!

“When we speak of the gathering, we are simply saying this fundamental truth: every one of our Heavenly Father’s children, on both sides of the veil, deserves to hear the message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. They decide for themselves if they want to know more. …

“The Lord told the Prophet Joseph Smith that now, meaning our day, is the eleventh hour and the last time that He will call laborers into His vineyard for the express purpose of gathering the elect from the four quarters of the earth.”

“Zion, a New Jerusalem”

The Lord promised that in the last days He would establish “an Holy City, … and it shall be called Zion, a New Jerusalem.” From latter-day revelation, we learn that this holy city will be built upon the American continent and be a place to which the lost tribes of Israel will gather.

The scriptures describe the New Jerusalem as “a land of peace, a city of refuge, a place of safety for the saints of the Most High God.” People from every nation will gather there. The Lord taught Enoch that his city of Zion would return to the earth and join with those in the New Jerusalem prior to the Savior’s Second Coming and millennial reign.

Learn More

Establishing Zion

• D. Todd Christofferson, “Come to Zion,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2008, 37–40

• Gerrit W. Gong, “Bring Forth Zion,” Liahona, Sept. 2021, 6–9

God’s love

• Jeffrey R. Holland, “The Grandeur of God,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2003, 70–73

The work of the last days

• D. Todd Christofferson, “Preparing for the Lord’s Return,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2019, 81–84

• Russell M. Nelson, “The Future of the Church: Preparing the World for the Second Coming,” Ensign or Liahona, Apr. 2020, 12–17

Media

Images

Illustration by Ben Simonsen

Cumorah’s Hill, by Jon McNaughton

Notes

1. Although the names sound similar in English, they do not share the same Hebrew root. See Tremper Longman III and Mark L. Strauss, eds, The Baker Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words (2023), entry 7014, page 1014 (for Cain); and entry 3667, page 971 (for Canaan).

2. See Moses 6:41–42.

3. See Genesis 9:24–27.

4. See Judges 1:1; see also Kent P. Jackson, “Canaan, people of,” in Pearl of Great Price Reference Companion, ed. Dennis L. Largey (2017), 85.

5. Moses 7:8. This “blackness” was not part of the Lord’s curse, which was directed at the land itself.

6. In the Prophet Joseph Smith’s time, definitions of the words black and blackness included “darkness,” “destitute of light,” and “atrociously wicked” (Noah Webster, An American Dictionary of the English Language [1828], “Black,” “Blackness”). Elsewhere in the book of Moses, the word blackness was associated with a lack of spiritual light. When Joseph Smith first recorded the revelations in the book of Moses, the word blackness was used to describe Moses’s encounter with Satan in Moses 1:15. Moses asked Satan, “Where is thy glory, for it is blackness unto me? And I can judge between thee and God” (Visions of Moses, June 1830 [Moses 1], 1, josephsmithpapers.org; spelling and punctuation modernized). The word blackness was changed to darkness in later editions (see Moses 1:15). The words black and blackness may have different meanings in other scripture passages. For example, “the Book of Mormon states that ‘a skin of blackness’ [2 Nephi 5:21] came upon the Lamanites after the Nephites separated from them. The nature and appearance of this mark are not fully understood. The mark initially distinguished the Lamanites from the Nephites. Later, as both the Nephites and Lamanites went through periods of wickedness and righteousness, the mark became irrelevant” (Topics and Questions, “Race and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” Gospel Library).

7. See Moses 7:13–16; 8:18.

8. See Longman and Strauss, Baker Expository Dictionary, 283.

9. See Richard D. Draper and others, The Pearl of Great Price: A Verse-by-Verse Commentary (2005), 119, note 15.

10. Doctrine and Covenants 97:21. See also Topics and Questions, “Zion,” Gospel Library.

11. See Guide to the Scriptures, “Zion,” Gospel Library.

12. Moses 7:19.

13. See Moses 7:16–18.

14. Moses 7:69. See also Moses 7:21.

15. See Topics and Questions, “Zion,” Gospel Library.

16. See Guide to the Scriptures, “Zion,” Gospel Library. See also Doctrine and Covenants 39:13.

17. See D. Todd Christofferson, “Come to Zion,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2008, 37–38; “Preparing for the Lord’s Return,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2019, 82–83.

18. Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith (2007), 186.

19. Guide to the Scriptures, “Translated Beings,” Gospel Library.

20. See 3 Nephi 28:8, 40; Doctrine and Covenants 101:31.

21. Although the names Canaan and Cain sound similar in English, there is no known relationship between Cain’s posterity and the people of Canaan (See “Moses 7:5–8. What do we know about the children of Canaan and their curse?”).

22. Moses 5:51.

23. Moses 5:52. See also Moses 5:42–56.

24. See Moses 5:29–37.

25. See Genesis 4:11–14; Moses 5:36–39.

26. See Genesis 4:15; Moses 5:40.

27. See Topics and Questions, “Race and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” Gospel Library.

28. See Moses 7:28–38.

29. See Moses 7:38–39.

30. See 1 Peter 3:18–20.

31. See Moses 7:39.

32. See Doctrine and Covenants 138:28–34. President Smith had been pondering Peter’s teachings that the Savior had “preached to the spirits in prison,” which included those who perished “in the days of Noah” (1 Peter 3:18–20).

33. Doctrine and Covenants 138:58–59. See also Dallin H. Oaks, “Trust in the Lord,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2019, 26–29.

34. Moses 7:47.

35. Alma 34:10.

36. See Moses 4:2; Abraham 3:27; 1 Peter 1:19–20.

37. Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee (2011), 18.

38. Mosiah 3:13.

39. For examples, see Mosiah 4:1–3; Moses 6:53–54.

40. See Genesis 9:11.

41. See Moses 7:50–52. Joseph Smith Translation, Genesis 9:15, Gospel Library also clarifies that the covenant was first made with Enoch.

42. See Joseph Smith Translation, Genesis 9:21–24, Gospel Library.

43. See Aaron P. Schade, “The Rainbow as a Token in Genesis: Covenants and Promises in the Flood Story,” in From Creation to Sinai: The Old Testament through the Lens of the Restoration, ed. Daniel L. Belnap and Aaron P. Schade (2021), 147–53.

44. See Joseph Smith Translation, Genesis 22–23; Schade, “Rainbow as a Token,” 147–53.

45. Guide to the Scriptures, “Anointed One,” Gospel Library.

46. See Moses 4:2; Abraham 3:27.

47. See Moses 7:62–64; Revelation 20:4; Articles of Faith 1:10.

48. “Rock of Heaven” is a unique title of Jesus Christ found only in Moses 7. Other unique titles of the Savior in Moses 7 are “the Righteous” (Moses 7:45, 47) and “King of Zion” (Moses 7:53).

49. See Matthew 7:24–25; Helaman 5:12. See also David A. Bednar, “Be Still, and Know That I Am God,” Liahona, May 2024, 28–30.

50. See John 14:6.

51. 2 Nephi 31:17.

52. See Moses 7:60–61.

53. Moses 7:61.

54. Ezra Taft Benson, “The Gift of Modern Revelation,” Ensign, Nov. 1986, 79–80. See also Quentin L. Cook, “The Blessing of Continuing Revelation to Prophets and Personal Revelation to Guide Our Lives,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2020, 97–98.

55. Moses 7:62.

56. See Doctrine and Covenants 29:7–8.

57. Russell M. Nelson, “Hope of Israel” (worldwide youth devotional, June 3, 2018), Gospel Library.

58. Moses 7:62.

59. See Guide to the Scriptures, “Zion,” Gospel Library. See also Doctrine and Covenants 103:11–22; 133:18; Articles of Faith 1:10.

60. Doctrine and Covenants 45:66.

61. See Doctrine and Covenants 45:69.

62. See Moses 7:62–64.