Enoch's Emotional Roller Coaster - Moses 7:42-53

7:42-46 - Upon being shown human existence both past and future, Enoch reacted the way I imagine most of us would, with “bitterness of soul.” I don’t think the “bitterness” here means what I take it to be, like anger and jealousy and hatred, but instead devastation in sadness for everyone else’s suffering. Enoch saw Noah and his family and the ark and the floods, and the death of all the other people on the earth at the time and declared “I refuse to be comforted.” What this statement would mean to me is “I refuse to believe that anything good could ever come out of this,” and I’ve felt this way many times myself, I look at the horror of this world and genuinely cannot comprehend how any of this can ever be made ok. Jesus sees his distress and says, “Lift up your heart, and be glad; and look,” and shows Enoch the future of Noah and his family and all the families on the earth that follows. Enoch appears to not be impressed, which I understand, and asks “when shall the day of the Lord come? When shall the blood of the Righteous be shed, that all they that mourn may be sanctified and have eternal life?” These are questions that I have asked before as well, and honestly my only true reaction to contemplating this life is to ask “when are you going to stop all this madness?” The IM quotes Elder Neal A. Maxwell as noting, “If Enoch had not looked and been spiritually informed, he would have seen the human condition in isolation from the grand reality. If God were not there, Enoch’s ‘Why?’ would have become an unanswered scream of despair!... Finally, he say God’s plan, the later coming of the Messiah in the meridian of time, and the eventual triumph of God’s purposes.” It’s so easy to get caught up in the negativity of this life and forget that we are here to serve a purpose, we are here to fulfill our own portion of the plan of salvation, we are here to be saved. I sure get bogged down in feeling overwhelmed and sad and ultimately that is part of who I am for various reasons, but sometimes I’m better at pulling myself out of it than others. 7:47-53 - Jesus answers that he will come “in the meridian of time,” and shows Enoch “the day of the coming of the Son of Man, even in the flesh; and his soul rejoiced.” But then something interesting happens that interrupts Enoch’s joy, “the earth” bemoans, “I am pained, I am weary, because of the wickedness of my children. When shall I rest, and be cleansed from the filthiness which is gone forth out of me? When will my Creator sanctify me, that I may rest, and righteousness for a season abide upon my face?” There’s a really interesting explanatory quote by Joseph Smith in the IM which says, “The Lord here informs us that the earth on which we dwell is a living thing, and that the time must come when it will be sanctified from all unrighteousness… It is not the fault of the earth that the wickedness prevails upon her face, for she has been true to the law which she received and that law is the celestial law. Therefore the Lord says that the earth shall be sanctified from all unrighteousness.” This statement really made me stop and consider the effect humanity has had on the earth. Of course now we have climate change and over fishing and everything is dead and burning and animals are slaughtered wholesale, there’s all that, but it’s relatively new in the course of human history. Then I think, if everything is spiritual even plants and animals, then I think about the innocence of dogs for example. If we consider that a dog has a spirit, then if that spirit were aware enough of what’s going on to see the world around them, then imagine how the innocence of that creature would handle all that mayhem. Similarly, the earth as a spiritual being would be equally as innocent, I think, then imagine all the blood that has soaked her ground from people killing each other. Think of all the screaming of children and women as they are attacked by invaders, tortured, enslaved, and murdered. Think of all the mortar pits from bombs, all these horrible things, and if a being with a spirit as innocent as a dogs had to endure being involved in all that, it would be horrific for them. Enoch is sympathetic towards the earth and prays in the name of “thine only Begotten, even Jesus Christ, that thou wilt have mercy upon Noah and his seed, that the earth might never more be covered by the floods.” I’ve never understood this promise to not flood the whole earth ever again because there are still horrible floods all over the place even now, and just because it doesn’t destroy everyone, that doesn’t mean that the damage isn’t as injurious to the victims. And I can think of things a lot worse than a worldwide flood that kills everyone, such as famine that kills everyone, drought, disease, war, fire, nuclear fallout, nuclear winter, meteor, etc. There are plenty of bad things with the potential to kill every living thing on earth, that taking floods off the table, really not that big of a deal for me. Even though it’s not a big deal for me, the Lord was moved by Noah’s plea and promised to never flood the whole earth again and that “his seed should always be found among all nations, while the earth should stand.” Now did the “he” here refer to Noah or to Enoch? Verse 52 is cross-referenced with Moses 8:2 which says, “And it came to pass that Methuselah, the son of Enoch, was not taken, that the covenants of the Lord might be fulfilled, which he made to Enoch; for he truly covenanted with Enoch that Noah should be of the fruit of his loins.” So the answer to the question isn’t “Enoch or Noah?” but instead “Enoch AND Noah.” Knowing that Noah is a descendent of Enoch makes God’s next statement so important saying, “Blessed is he through whose seed Messiah shall come.” This must have been a special moment for Enoch, to realize that the Savior of the world would be one of his descendants. Jesus adds a special emphasis on why Him being a descendent of Enoch is such a big deal saying, “I am Messiah, the King of Zion, the Rock of Heaven, which is broad as eternity; whoso cometh in at the gate and climbeth up by me shall never fall; wherefore, blessed are they of whom I have spoken, for them shall come forth with sons of everlasting joy.”