For This Cause

The book of Moses records the calling of Enoch as a prophet as he was journeying in the land.  The Spirit came upon him, “And he heard a voice from heaven, saying: Enoch, my son, prophesy unto this people, and say unto them—Repent, for thus saith the Lord: I am angry with this people, and my fierce anger is kindled against them.”  After explaining to Enoch the dire consequences facing the people if they did not repent, Enoch “bowed himself to the earth, before the Lord, and spake before the Lord, saying: Why is it that I have found favor in thy sight, and am but a lad, and all the people hate me; for I am slow of speech; wherefore am I thy servant?”  In other words, Enoch did not feel up to this monumental task of calling the people to repentance, feeling that he was already hated among them and slow of speech.  He asked the Lord why he should be chosen to do this, but the Lord did not answer his question directly: “And the Lord said unto Enoch: Go forth and do as I have commanded thee, and no man shall pierce thee. Open thy mouth, and it shall be filled, and I will give thee utterance” (Moses 6:26-32).  Though Enoch was not told why he was the one chosen, the Lord proceeded to give him great assurances of the power he would have as well as a marvelous vision before he was left to go and do what the Lord had required of him.   

Though he did not know all the reasons for having been chosen, Enoch went forth among the people as directed and “cried with a loud voice, testifying against their works.”  He was given great power by God, and one named Mahijah came to him questioning, “Tell us plainly who thou art, and from whence thou comest?”  In his reply Enoch gave this reason for preaching to them: “I journeyed from the land of Cainan, by the sea east, I beheld a vision; and lo, the heavens I saw, and the Lord spake with me, and gave me commandment; wherefore, for this cause, to keep the commandment, I speak forth these words” (Moses 6:37-42).  In other words, he wasn’t there preaching to them because that was his idea of a good time or because he wanted prestige among them or because he would in some other way benefit from it; rather, he was simply doing what the Lord had commanded.  Though he knew not all the reasons the Lord had chosen him, he knew that was what he was supposed to be doing and so he obeyed.  He had learned from his 4^th great grandfather Adam who when asked by the angel why he was offering sacrifices to the Lord, responded, “I know not, save the Lord commanded me” (Moses 5:6).  Ultimately the angel helped Adam understand what he was doing and why he was doing it, but he was first obedient before he gained a full understanding. 

Sometimes we must follow the direction of the Lord without knowing all the reasons why and, like Enoch, we may not even want to do the thing we are led to do in order to be obedient to the Lord.  We cannot usually see the future, but the Lord does as Mormon explained in his description of why he was including the small plates in his record: “And I do this for a wise purpose; for thus it whispereth me, according to the workings of the Spirit of the Lord which is in me. And now, I do not know all things; but the Lord knoweth all things which are to come; wherefore, he worketh in me to do according to his will” (Words of Mormon 1:7).  Enoch, Adam, Mormon, and many other prophets showed that they were willing to obey the Lord’s commands even when they knew did not know “all things” or all the reasons.  Their examples invite us to similarly trust in the Lord’s commands, even if our reason for obeying is simply, “I know not, save the Lord commanded me.”