The Flood Came

Though some may question whether the flood in the days of Noah was a real event, the scriptures of the Restoration affirm the reality of the flood and the existence of the ark of Noah. In the Book of Mormon, Amulek warned the people of Ammonihah, “Yea, and I say unto you that if it were not for the prayers of the righteous, who are now in the land, that ye would even now be visited with utter destruction; yet it would not be by flood, as were the people in the days of Noah, but it would be by famine, and by pestilence, and the sword” (Alma 10:22). He warned them that like in the days of Noah when so many were destroyed by the flood, they too would be destroyed for their wickedness if they did not repent. In describing the barges of the Jaredites, Moroni wrote, “And it came to pass that when they were buried in the deep there was no water that could hurt them, their vessels being tight like unto a dish, and also they were tight like unto the ark of Noah” (Ether 6:7). The quality of the Jaredite barges were comparable to the ark that Noah built. The Savior also quoted these words of Isaiah to the Nephites: “For this, the waters of Noah unto me, for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee” (3 Nephi 22:9). This confirms that water covering the earth at the time of Noah was a real event, and the Lord has promised not to do so again.

               Both the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price likewise speak of the flood in Noah’s time and the ark he built. Joseph F. Smith quoted these words from Peter: “‘Which sometime were disobedient, when once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.’ (1 Peter 3:18—20.)” He then shared some of those he saw in vision, and this included Noah: “Noah, who gave warning of the flood; Shem, the great high priest; Abraham, the father of the faithful; Isaac, Jacob, and Moses, the great law-giver of Israel” (Doctrine and Covenants 138:41). In the book of Moses, Enoch received a vision of Noah and the flood: “And Enoch also saw Noah, and his family; that the posterity of all the sons of Noah should be saved with a temporal salvation; Wherefore Enoch saw that Noah built an ark; and that the Lord smiled upon it, and held it in his own hand; but upon the residue of the wicked the floods came and swallowed them up” (Moses 7:42-43). Seeing the wicked who were swallowed up in the floods, Enoch was upset: “And it came to pass that Enoch continued his cry unto the Lord, saying: I ask thee, O Lord, 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. And the Lord could not withhold; and he covenanted with Enoch, and sware unto him with an oath, that he would stay the floods; that he would call upon the children of Noah” (Moses 7:50-51). This again affirms the reality of the flood that covered the earth. In the next chapter, the Lord said to Noah: “My Spirit shall not always strive with man, for he shall know that all flesh shall die; yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years; and if men do not repent, I will send in the floods upon them.” Noah warned the people in his day: “Believe and repent of your sins and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, even as our fathers, and ye shall receive the Holy Ghost, that ye may have all things made manifest; and if ye do not this, the floods will come in upon you; nevertheless they hearkened not.” Because they repented not, the Lord said to Noah: “The end of all flesh is come before me, for the earth is filled with violence, and behold I will destroy all flesh from off the earth” (Moses 8:17, 24, 30). This again  confirms that the flood was an actual event that took place in the days of Noah. The Savior also referred to it in his discourse on the Mount of Olives that is recorded in the Pearl of Great Price: “For it shall be with them, as it was in the days which were before the flood; for until the day that Noah entered into the ark they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage; And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be” (JSM 1:42-43). Here he suggested that there will be some similarities between life right before the flood and what happens on earth before the Savior comes again. The Second Coming is a real event that will take place at some future day, and these passages likewise affirm that the flood actually happened and there really was an ark that Noah built.