God Called Upon Cainan

In Doctrine and Covenants 107 the Lord spoke about some of the early patriarchs. One of those was Cainan, the son of Enos and great-grandson of Adam. The account in Genesis tells us this about him: “And Enos lived ninety years, and begat Cainan: And Enos lived after he begat Cainan eight hundred and fifteen years, and begat sons and daughters: And all the days of Enos were nine hundred and five years: and he died. And Cainan lived seventy years, and begat Mahalaleel: And Cainan lived after he begat Mahalaleel eight hundred and forty years, and begat sons and daughters: And all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years: and he died” (Genesis 5:11-14). He was mentioned again in Luke’s gospel in a long genealogical list: “Which was the son of Maleleel, which was the son of Cainan, Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God” (Luke 3:37-38). The account in the book of Moses gives us similar information about him: “And Enos lived ninety years, and begat Cainan. And Enos and the residue of the people of God came out from the land, which was called Shulon, and dwelt in a land of promise, which he called after his own son, whom he had named Cainan. And Enos lived, after he begat Cainan, eight hundred and fifteen years, and begat many sons and daughters. And all the days of Enos were nine hundred and five years, and he died. And Cainan lived seventy years, and begat Mahalaleel; and Cainan lived after he begat Mahalaleel eight hundred and forty years, and begat sons and daughters. And all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years, and he died” (Moses 6:17-19). So, we learn from this that Enos, Cainan’s father, named the promised land Cainan where he dwelt with the people of God.

                The most interesting passage about Cainan is found in a discussion about priesthood in Doctrine and Covenants 107:45: “God called upon Cainan in the wilderness in the fortieth year of his age; and he met Adam in journeying to the place Shedolamak. He was eighty-seven years old when he received his ordination” (Doctrine and Covenants 107:45). This mention of God calling upon Cainan in the wilderness when he was 40 is not found any other scriptural passage, and neither is this meeting between him and his great-grandfather Adam at a place called Shedolamak. I can’t find any other reference to this place anywhere on the Church’s website outside of this verse. Something special must have happened there, but we are left only to wonder what that could have been. We do know of another meeting with Adam that occurred much later: “Three years previous to the death of Adam, he called Seth, Enos, Cainan, Mahalaleel, Jared, Enoch, and Methuselah, who were all high priests, with the residue of his posterity who were righteous, into the valley of Adam-ondi-Ahman, and there bestowed upon them his last blessing. And the Lord appeared unto them, and they rose up and blessed Adam, and called him Michael, the prince, the archangel” (Doctrine and Covenants 107:53-54). This occurred when Cainan was 602 years old, and from this description we learn that he was a righteous high priest who saw the Lord at this great meeting of patriarchs.

                From these various references to Cainan—whose is then mentioned in every book of scripture except the Book of Mormon—we can piece together the major events of his life. If year 0 is when Adam was created, then this is the timeline for Cainan: 

·         Birth: 325

·         Called on by God in the wilderness: 365

·         Met Adam in Shedolamak: 365

·         Begat Mahalaleel: 395

·         Ordination to the priesthood: 412

·         Saw God at Adam-ondi-Ahman: 927

·         Death: 1235 

Also, during his lifetime these descendants in addition to Mahalaleel were born: Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, Noah. The flood came in about 1656 so that was well after his lifetime, but he would have presumably known Noah who was born long before Cainan’s death in 1056.

                Perhaps these details are not very important, but I think it is instructive to see what kind of information we are given as we read about these early patriarchs about whom we know relatively little. For Cainan we learn of his birth, death, children, ordination to the priesthood, and when he communed with God. We do not know what he did to provide the necessities of life for his family, but we do know he was a righteous high priest who saw the Lord. For me his life invites us to seek to hear God’s voice for us in our own wilderness. Perhaps I noticed that verse only because I too am 40 now, but surely the Lord wants each of us listen when He calls on us from heaven to do His work.