Scriptural Giants:
Enoch—Mover of Mountains

By Jane McBride Choate

(See Moses 6, 7.)

Enoch, the great-great-great-great-grandson of Adam, was a very righteous man. So righteous was he that God descended from heaven to walk and talk with him. Though Enoch and some of the other descendants of Adam were obedient to the Lord’s commandments, many more were wicked.

The Lord commanded Enoch that he should preach to these evildoers and persuade them to turn away from their sinful practices. But Enoch was frightened of the wicked people and reminded the Lord that he was “but a lad, and all the people hate me; for I am slow of speech.”

Enoch received a promise from the Lord that no one would hurt him, that he would become a powerful speaker, and that the Lord’s Spirit would be with him so that he would even be able to move mountains and turn rivers from their courses.

Then the Lord instructed Enoch to wash his eyes with clay. Upon doing so, Enoch beheld all the spirits that God had created and other things that were not visible to the natural eye. From then on, the people called Enoch a seer.

The promise to Enoch was fulfilled, and he became a forceful speaker. Unafraid, he climbed upon hills and other high places to preach the word of God. At first the people were angry when he told them to repent, and many called him a wild man.

Gradually, though, some of them realized that they must change their lives and obey the commandments if they were to be happy. As more and more people joined the congregation of believers, they banded together to form a city. When their enemies fought against them, Enoch used the power the Lord had given him: He moved mountains, made the earth tremble, changed the course of rivers, and caused the roar of lions to be heard from the wilderness.

A new land appeared out of the sea, and the enemies of Enoch’s people were so frightened that they fled. Even the giants who lived in the land were afraid. A curse was placed upon all those who fought against God and His people.

Enoch and his people prospered. The Lord called their city Zion, meaning “City of Holiness.” He also called the people Zion “because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them,” and He lived there with them.

The people surrounding Zion, however, were so wicked that the Lord told Enoch that he and his city would be taken to heaven and that a flood would be sent to destroy the remaining people. Enoch asked that Noah, his great-grandson, and Noah’s wife and children be left on earth to make a new start. The Lord agreed, and when the flood came, Noah and his family obeyed the Lord’s commandment to build an ark and were spared.

As Enoch continued to talk with God, he was shown the coming of Christ and His resurrection. God also showed Enoch the restoration of the gospel and the Second Coming. Through faith and obedience, Enoch changed from a boy who trembled when he spoke, to a prophet who preached with power and conviction and founded a whole city that was taken up to God.

Illustrated by Del Parson