Lift Up Your Heart

One well-known phrase from President Monson was this (spoken to Elder Carl B. Cook when he was feeling down): “It is better to look up!” President Monson of course was encouraging Elder Cook—and all of us—to look up to the Lord, especially when we are bogged down by the challenges of mortality. I thought of this as I looked through one of the most incredible chapters in all of scripture, Moses 7. In this chapter we have the vision of Enoch when He saw the Lord weeping, and there are multiple references to the righteous going up. We read that Enoch “turned and went up on the mount” in order to commune with the Lord (v3). His people became so righteous that their city, Zion, “was taken up into heaven” (v21, 23). Enoch beheld “angels descending out of heaven, bearing testimony of the Father and Son; and the Holy Ghost fell on many, and they were caught up by the powers of heaven into Zion” (v27). When Enoch beheld the horrors of the flood at the time of Noah, he was bitter and declared, “I will refuse to be comforted.” But the Lord replied to him, “Lift up your heart, and be glad; and look” (v44). The Savior also said to Enoch, “I am Messiah, the King of Zion, the Rock of Heaven, which is broad as eternity; whoso cometh in at the gate and climbeth up by me shall never fall; wherefore, blessed are they of whom I have spoken, for they shall come forth with songs of everlasting joy” (v53). He beheld the Savior’s mortal ministry, seeing “the Son of Man lifted up on the cross, after the manner of men” (v55). He wasn’t just lifted up on the cross, though, for He was also lifted up in the resurrection: “And Enoch beheld the Son of Man ascend up unto the Father” (v59). The final verse of the chapter summarizes what happened to Enoch and his people this way, “And Enoch and all his people walked with God, and he dwelt in the midst of Zion; and it came to pass that Zion was not, for God received it up into his own bosom; and from thence went forth the saying, Zion is Fled” (Moses 7:69). Enoch’s vision and experience encourages us to likewise look up to the Savior who was lifted up on the cross. No matter the difficulty we face, we should lift up our hearts and look to Him who has broken the bands of death and ascended up to the Father.

               Many of our mortal experiences remind us that we are weak, sinful, and limited in our capacities. We may get discouraged in our failures and difficulties as we realize that on our own there are so many things that we simply cannot do. We may look at others’ abilities and feel that we do not measure up. When Enoch was called to do the work of the Lord he expressed those kinds of feelings this way, “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?” He knew he was weak and struggled to see how he could do the work that God called him to do. But the Lord replied with this powerful promise, “Behold my Spirit is upon you, wherefore all thy words will I justify; and the mountains shall flee before you, and the rivers shall turn from their course; and thou shalt abide in me, and I in you; therefore walk with me” (Moses 6:31, 34). In our lives as we feel that we are too inexperienced or disliked or too slow, the Lord invites us to figuratively walk with Him and He will magnify us to do His work. As we look up to Him instead of others, we shall “never fall” because He will be with us.