In this Essay, we compare the symbolism in the Apocalypse of Abraham (ApAb) description of the ascent of Abraham to the Book of Moses and other accounts in Latter-day Saint scripture....
read moreThough most readers will be much more familiar with the well-known masterpiece of Michelangelo showing Adam’s creation being effected by the fleetingly light touch of the index fingers of God and the reclining Adam, the version of the scene executed by Lorenzo Ghiberti, which includes a firm handclasp whereby the Lord can raise Adam up on his feet, is more faithful to ancient Jewish and Christian tradition. ...
read moreIn this Insight, we will describe how the heavenly ascent of Moses 1 provides a compelling prologue to the covenant-related themes of ritual ascent that can be found in the remaining chapters of the Book of Moses. Intriguingly, Moses 1 also provides a fitting introduction to the Book of Genesis. By calling this prologue “missing,” however, we are not claiming that it was ever an actual part of any early equivalent to Genesis....
read moreBefore delving directly into the text of Moses 1, we need to know more about what kind of a text we are dealing with. To set this chapter—as well as the remaining chapters in the Book of Moses—in their proper ancient and modern context, this Insight and the two that follow will treat these three topics: • Heavenly Ascent and Ritual Ascent • The Two-Part Pattern of Heavenly and Ritual Ascent • Moses 1 as a “Missing” Prologue to Genesis ...
read moreHaving witnessed the abrupt end of the long-awaited coming of the Son of Man in His unexpected crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension; and having now understood that His presence on earth would not halt the wickedness of the world, Enoch again “wept and cried unto the Lord, saying? … Wilt thou not come again upon the earth?” In this Insight, we will see Enoch’s anguished hope fulfilled at last when the righteous would be gathered to a Holy City and God would make Zion His abode. As we will see, this prophetic expectation appears elsewhere in the ancient Enoch literature and Jewish tradition. ...
read moreDescribing the literal and figurative weeping of the heavens at the time of Enoch, Hugh Nibley writes: “One of nature’s ironies is that not enough water usually leads to too much. Enoch’s world was plagued by flood as well as drought; we are regaled by the picture of lowering heavens ceaselessly dumping dismal avalanches of rain and snow upon the earth. The constant weeping of Enoch and all the saints is matched in the powerful imagery of the weeping heavens and the earth veiled in darkness under the blackest of skies: In the book of Enoch the same imagery is applied to the meridian and the fulness of times as well as the Adamic age.”...
read moreWithin the Book of Moses, the stories of rescue and exaltation in the accounts of Noah and Enoch share a common motif of water. On one hand, Noah’s waters are the waters of destruction, the floods of an all-consuming deluge that cleanses the earth as a prelude to a new creation. On the other hand, Enoch’s waters are the waters of sorrow, the bitter tears that precede the terrible annihilating storm. ...
read moreHaving concluded his teachings on the plan of salvation, “from that time forth Enoch began to prophesy … unto the people.” Already, in Moses 6, we are provided with subtle linguistic evidence that Enoch was acting as a prophet when he “spake forth the words of God.” ...
read moreSignificantly, the last verse of Moses 6 includes the words “and thus may all become my sons.” This statement relating to the exaltation of Adam and Eve and all their posterity provides the doctrinal foundation for the account in the Book of Moses of Enoch’s adoption as a son of God, with a right to God’s throne....
read moreRevised: September 17, 2020Download a PDF of this bibliography A Abegg, Martin, Jr., Peter Flint, and Eugene Ulrich, eds. The Dead Sea Scrolls Bible. New York City, NY: Harper, 1999. Administration. 2020. Did Joseph Smith Rely on Adam Clarke’s Bible...
read moreIn Moses 1:21 we read the dramatic culmination of Moses’ confrontation with Satan: “And Moses received strength, and called upon God, saying: In the name of the Only Begotten, depart hence, Satan.” ...
read moreIn this Essay, we will describe the first part of the heavenly ascent of Moses 1 which, like the Apocalypse of Abraham 9:8, opens on “an exceedingly high mountain.”...
read moreIn a previous Insight, we discussed similarities and differences between heavenly ascent, an actual encounter with Deity within the heavenly temple, and ritual ascent, a figurative journey into the presence of God such as the one experienced in earthly temples. In this Insight, we will introduce the general two-part narrative pattern of departure and return used in ancient and modern literature. We then illustrate how narratives of heavenly and ritual ascent often conform to a similar two-part structure of descent and ascent—a down-road followed by an up-road. Recognizing this pattern can help us better identify the intended narrative structure of the Book of Moses. ...
read moreEnoch succeeded in bringing a whole people to be sufficiently “pure in heart” to fully live the final celestial law of consecration. In Zion, the “City of Holiness,” the people “were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them.” In contrast to Genesis 5:24 where Enoch is said to have been translated by himself, we are told in the Book of Moses that Enoch’s “people walked with God” and that they were eventually taken into heaven with him....
read moreThe tradition of a weeping prophet is perhaps best exemplified by Jeremiah who cried out in sorrow: “Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!”...
read moreIn a previous Essay, we observed that three distinct parties weep for the wickedness of mankind: God, the heavens, and Enoch himself. In addition, a fourth party, the earth, complains and mourns—though she doesn’t specifically “weep”—for her children. In the present article, we discuss affinities in the ancient Enoch literature and in the laments of Jeremiah to the complaint of the earth in Moses 7:48–49....
read moreThis Essay relates the end of the end for the wicked, and the beginning of the beginning for the people of God who start to lay the foundation of Zion. Similar events are well-attested in the ancient Enoch literature....
read moreIn the Bible, we are told simply that “Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.” However, in Moses 7, we are given a detailed account of how and why this happened—not only to Enoch but also, eventually, to a city of his followers. ...
read moreRevised: September 17, 2020Download a PDF of this bibliography Basic Resources Overviews and Student Manuals Church Educational System. Religion 327: The Pearl of Great Price Student Manual. Salt Lake City, UT: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day...
read moreBecause blood is a symbol of death and life, it was used in Israelite temples for “the altar [of sacrifice] to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul” — thus symbolizing the process of repentance that culminates in justification....
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