THE POWER OF ENOCH

 

In my last post about Enoch, I expounded on the power he was endowed with to overcome the enemies who sought the destruction of the Church of God he established in his day. To recap:

"And so great was the faith of Enoch that he led the people of God, and their enemies came to battle against them, and he spake the word of the Lord, and the earth trembled, and the mountains fled, even according to his command, and the rivers of water were turned out of their course; and the roar of the lions was heard out of the wilderness; and all nations feared greatly, so powerful was the word of Enoch, and so great was the power of the language which God had given him". (Moses 7:13)

 

After I wrote that post, I was reminded of the early pioneers in our dispensation and the persecution and destruction they endured and then I also remembered Nephi’s vision of us in the last days wherein he saw the enemy that will ‘gather together multitudes upon the face of all the earth to fight against the Lamb of God and the saints of the church of the Lamb’ (1 Nephi 14:12-14)…… and I wondered what is yet awaiting us.

 

Now for the good news. There is something very interesting about the power the Lord gave to Enoch. It would seem this power was not only for him but was also to be had by his every  descendant.  The interesting thing being is that every mortal is a descendant of Enoch.  

 

Enoch was the Father of Methuselah who was not translated with his father’s city but who died the year of the flood (Moses 8:3-7). Methuselah was the father of Lamech, who was the father of Noah.  Everybody that has been born on this earth after Noah is Noah's descendant and therefore a descendant of Enoch.  The Lord made an oath with Enoch regarding his power which is found in Joseph Smith Translation:

 

"For God having sworn unto Enoch and unto his seed with an oath by himself, that every one being ordained after this order and calling should have power, by faith, to break mountains, to divide the seas, to dry up waters, to turn them out of their course; to put at defiance the armies of nations, to divide the earth, to break every band, to stand in the presence of God, to do all things according to his will, according to his command, subdue principalities and powers, and this by the will of the Son of God which was before the foundation of the world". (JST Appendix in Genesis 14:30, 31)

 

Have you ever read of a power so great? It’s a power which greatness must equal the greatness of the enemy of all righteousness we have to fight in the war we are all engaged in.  And what is this power? It is the power of the priesthood.

 

The scriptures are clear that the saints of God are endowed with this power in the temple (D&C 95:8; 109:22). This is where we make covenants which in turn endow us with the power of the saving ordinances of the priesthood. We cannot stand in the presence of God without the mantle of the priesthood upon us.

 

The oath sworn by God to Enoch and his seed is a promise made to us.  All mortals who embrace the power of the priesthood have been promised that by their faith they can do the very works of Enoch. These works lead us to only one place……Zion.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Restoration by Liz Lemon Swindle)

THE ARMOUR

 

In Section 27 of the Doctrine and Covenants, we are told to ‘lift up our hearts and rejoice’ because there is a way to withstand the evils of our day, if we put on the armour of God (D&C 27:15-18). This is good news indeed when you consider the evils of our day which have the power to extinguish any happiness and down-right destroy us.

Our enemy knows us well. He knows us both from our pre-mortal life and from observing us in our mortal state.  He knows what buttons to push when and he knows how to get into our cracks and inflict wounds that might never heal therefore it is of utmost importance to put on the 'whole armour' of God upon us to prevent these wounds.  A section or two is not enough.  Almost all the armour will not do.  It needs to be a complete armour for complete protection.

When Ahab, the king of Israel led his army against the forces of Syria, he took every precaution to avoid being injured, even disguising himself so that the Syrians would not recognise him and focus on his destruction.  The only thing he did not do was wear enough armour and ‘someone drew his bow at random and hit the king of Israel BETWEEN the sections of his armour’ (2K22:34, NIV). By the evening, he had bled to death.

The degree of protection we have from the adversary is proportional to the diligence and heed we give to the Lord's commandments.  How obedient we are here is an indication of how much we are willing to stand for the conviction that was ours in our pre-existence.  The extent of our armour is a good indication of how valiant in our testimony of Jesus we are being here and now. 

Our testimony of Christ is the key. When writing to the Ephesians, Paul took the concept of the armour to a new level when he admonished the Romans to put on ‘the armour of light’ meaning ‘the Lord Jesus Christ’ (Romans 13:14). The armour of God truly does protect us from spiritual darkness because each section of the armour deals with a gospel principle that counteracts sin. This is the greatest protection we can have. The ‘armour of light’ however suggests something more. It means bringing the light of Christ to the world to counteract the darkness.

The adversary is having enormous success but He can never win against ‘the light of the world’. His power is no match for Him who has conquered the power of sin and death.

Now more than ever, we need to wear the armour of God and the armour of light and bring it to the world.  The more righteous we are, the more light we are endowed with until we come to that day when we become as glorious as the one who is the source of all light.

In the words of Terri Savelle Foy: Satan has no power on his best day to take you out on your worst day……

Is this not cause enough to rejoice???

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Put On the Armour of God by Celestial Heritage)

THE PATH TO PERFECTION

 

“Whoever said that sin was not fun? Whoever claimed that Lucifer was not handsome, persuasive, easy, friendly? Sin is attractive and desirable…..Sin is easy and has a big company of pleasant companions. It promises immunity from restrictions and offers temporary freedoms. It can momentarily satisfy hunger, thirst, desire, urges, passions, wants, without immediately paying the price. But, it begins and grows to monumental proportions – drop by drop, inch by inch.” (Spencer W. Kimball, Faith Precedes the Miracle, p 229)

I recently saw a superb video by a Christian man that supports this statement perfectly. He claimed that Satan always offers us something good to distract us from something great that God can give us. It is only after our acceptance of the good that in time we come to see what we have chosen is bad, because nothing good comes of the adversary. Satan is the master of counterfeit blessings which only discernment and wisdom of good choices can counteract. He is the king of deception. He is a thief, here to kill, steal and destroy, therefore, whatever he offers cannot possibly have a good ending (John 10:10). He does not only want your life but your soul.

This life is not for the faint hearted. Resisting short term happiness and the ease of this life and choosing the refining fire of God that will in the end cast us in His image shows the integrity of heart some of us have brought with us. Those who have this integrity have long ago chosen Christ’s path to everlasting greatness of immortality. What Christ offers is perfection as opposed to Satan’s destruction. Consider Apostle Paul’s take on this (1 Corinthians 15:42-44):

We were born into:         We are raised to:             Immortality makes us:

Corruption                       Incorruption                    Indestructible

Dishonour                       Glory                               Glorified

Weakness                         Power                              Powerful

The Atonement and Resurrection of Christ brings about perfection of the righteous which is ‘the great gift’ that outstrips ‘the good gift’ that comes from the enemy of all righteousness. To this the Saviour testified when He said that He came so that we might have life, and have it more abundantly (John 10:10). I bow before His sacrifice that makes my path to perfection and eternal life possible. His is the honour and glory and eternal flame of righteousness that burns forever…..

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Artist Unknown)