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CHAPTER 8(February 1831) Methuselah prophesis—Noah and his sons preach the gospel—Great wickedness prevails—The call to repentance unheeded—God decrees destruction of all flesh by the flood. |
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1 AND all the days of
aEnoch were four hundred and thirty years.
MOS 8:2 And it came to pass that Methuselah, the son of Enoch, was anot 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. MOS 8:3 And it came to pass that Methuselah aprophesied that from his loins should spring all the kingdoms of the earth (through Noah), and he took glory unto himself. |
1a
Alma 12:30;
Moses 1:42 b Ex. 19:3; Ezek. 40:2 Rev. 21:10; Moses 1:42 2a |
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MOS 8:4 And there came forth a great afamine into the land,
and the Lord bcursed the earth with a sore curse, and many
of the inhabitants thereof died.
MOS 8:5 And it came to pass that Methuselah lived one hundred and eighty-seven years, and begat Lamech; MOS 8:6 And Methuselah lived, after he begat Lamech, seven hundred and eighty-two years, and begat sons and daughters; MOS 8:7 And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred and sixty-nine years, and he died. |
1a
Alma 12:30;
Moses 1:42 b Ex. 19:3; Ezek. 40:2 Rev. 21:10; Moses 1:42 2a |
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MOS 8:8 And Lamech lived one hundred and eighty-two years, and begat a son,
MOS 8:9 And he called his name Noah, saying: This son shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the Lord hath acursed. MOS 8:10 And Lamech lived, after he begat Noah, five hundred and ninety-five years, and begat sons and daughters; MOS 8:11 And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred and seventy-seven years, and he died. |
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MOS 8:12 And Noah was four hundred and fifty years old, and
abegat Japheth; and forty-two years afterward he begat
bShem of her who was the mother of Japheth, and when he was
five hundred years old he begat cHam.
MOS 8:13 And aNoah and his sons hearkened unto the Lord, and gave heed, and they were called the bsons of God. |
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MOS 8:14 And when these men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and
daughters were born unto them, the asons of men saw that
those daughters were fair, and they took them bwives, even
as they chose.
MOS 8:15 And the Lord said unto Noah: The daughters of thy sons have sold themselves; for behold mine anger is kindled against the sons of men, for they will not ahearken to my voice. |
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MOS 8:16 And it came to pass that Noah aprophesied, and
taught the things of God, even as it was in the beginning.
MOS 8:17 And the Lord said unto Noah: My Spirit shall not always astrive with man, for he shall know that all bflesh shall die; yet his days shall be an chundred and twenty years; and if men do not repent, I will send in the dfloods upon them. |
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MOS 8:18 And in those days there were agiants on the earth,
and they sought Noah to take away his blife; but the Lord
was with Noah, and the cpower of the Lord was upon him.
MOS 8:19 And the Lord aordained bNoah after his own cordera, and commanded him that he should go forth and ddeclare his Gospel unto the children of men, even as it was given unto Enoch. |
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 MOS 8:21 And also, after that they had heard him, they came up before him, saying: Behold, we are the sons of God; have we not taken unto ourselves the daughters of mena? And are we not aeating and drinking, and marrying and giving in marriage? And our wives bear unto us childrena, and the same are mighty men, which are like unto men of old, men of great renown. And they hearkened not unto the words of Noah. MOS 8:22 And God saw that the awickedness of men had become great in the earth; and every man was lifted up in the bimagination of the thoughts of his heart, being only evil continually. |
21awe are the sons of God; have we not taken unto ourselves the daughters of men ... marrying and giving in marriage? And our wives bear unto us children Of the two commandments of God given in the Garden of Eden, that of 'multiplying and filling the earth' was the greater commandment, it being greater than the restriction 'not to eat of the tree of knowledge'. And certainly the basic unit in heaven is that of the family unit, it is a patriarchal society. And here the people in Noah's day seem to have summarized their feeling of security and righteousness in the fact that they up hold the institution of marriage between a man and a woman with the intent of having children according to that commandment of God given in Eden. And even in the Book of Mormon the Lamanites were blessed because of their adherence to this principle of family and marriage between a man and a woman and the family rearing of children. But the gospel of Christ has never been nor never will be so myopically centered in but one principle and condition, even such as family, to the exclusion of the rest of the gospel. Yes they were fulfilling the 'great' commandment of God in marrying and producing children, but to do so and then raise those children up unto wickedness is not the proper end to which the family unit is founded in God. It must be founded solidly in all the commandments of righteousness unto God and not isolated as a single principle unto itself as those of the days of Noah seem to so present it in their own self justification. | |
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MOS 8:23 And it came to pass that Noah continued his
apreaching unto the people, saying: Hearken, and give heed
unto my words;
MOS 8:24 aBelieve and repent of your sins and be bbaptized in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, even as our fathersa, and ye shall receive the Holy Ghost, that ye may have all things made cmanifestb; and if ye do not this, the floods will come in upon you; nevertheless they hearkened not. |
24a Believe and repent of your sins and
be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, even as our
fathers Noah knew and preached the gospel of Jesus Christ and that
man must be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.
This is the same gospel as preached by Jesus at the time of his mortal
ministry. It is the same gospel which is preached and practiced today. And
Noah knew the name of Jesus Christ and preached it unto the people, but the
people rejected the name of Jesus Christ, the God of their land. And it is
Jesus Christ who is still the God of our land. If we accept him and live his
gospel we will do well. If we do not then the fate of destruction awaits us
as it did those in the days of Noah.
24b ye shall receive the Holy Ghost, that ye may have all things made manifest The first four principles of the gospel are but the gate by which men enter. After entering the gate one must be schooled by the 'spirit of revelation' in all things whatsoever they must do along the narrow path, the straight and strait way which leads to Eternal Life. They who reject the principle of continuous revelation and the corresponding fact of living administering Apostles and Prophets do but turn their back upon the fulness of the Everlasting Gospel, for it is by the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of Truth, that we are taught and do learn all things whatsoever the Lord would have us do. Without that continued revelation men soon dwindle into corruption and loose the true way, priesthood and the associated higher ordinances which eventuate into Eternal Life for the faithful who do believe and endure to the end in the Lord. Without the living word of continued revelation of the prophets, additional scripture and of the Holy Ghost, men have closed their cannon, denied the power of God and turned their backs upon the path which leads to the Kingdom of God. |
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MOS 8:25 And it arepented Noah, and his heart was pained
that the Lord had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at the heart.
MOS 8:26 And the Lord said: I will adestroy man whom I have created, from the face of the earth, both man and beast, and the creeping things, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth Noah that I have created them, and that I have made them; and he hath called upon me; for they have sought his blife. |
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MOS 8:27 And thus Noah found agrace in the eyes of the
Lord; for Noah was a just man, and bperfect in his
generation; and he cwalked with God, as did also his three
sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
MOS 8:28 The aearth was bcorrupt before God, and it was filled with violence. |
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MOS 8:29 And God looked upon the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all
flesh had corrupted its away upon the earth.
MOS 8:30 And God said unto Noah: The end of all flesh is come before me, for all the earth is filled with violence, and behold I will adestroy all flesh from off the earth. |