Primary
Lesson 7: Enoch and a Zion People

“Lesson 7: Enoch and a Zion People,” Primary 6: Old Testament (1996), 27–30

“Lesson 7,” Primary 6: Old Testament, 27–30

Lesson 7

Enoch and a Zion People

Purpose

To help the children want to become pure in heart as was Enoch.

Preparation

  1. Prayerfully study:

  2. Additional reading:

  3. Study the lesson and decide how you want to teach the children the scripture account (see “Preparing Your Lessons,” p. vi, and “Teaching from the Scriptures,” p. vii). Select the discussion questions and enrichment activities that will best help the children achieve the purpose of the lesson.

  4. Materials needed:

    1. A Pearl of Great Price for each child.

    2. A Book of Mormon and a Doctrine and Covenants.

    3. A small, clear container of clean water that will fit into a larger container of dirty or muddy water (see the attention activity).

    4. Picture 6-6, The City of Enoch.

Suggested Lesson Development

Invite a child to give the opening prayer.

Attention Activity

Display a small, clear container of clean water inside a larger container of dirty water. Point out that it is possible for the water in the small container to remain pure even when it is surrounded by filthy water. Liken the clean water to people who are trying to live clean lives in an evil world. It is possible for us to remain pure and righteous if we do not allow any impurity or unrighteousness into our lives. Tell the children that in this lesson they will learn about Enoch, an Old Testament prophet, who was pure in heart.

Scripture Account

Teach the children the account of Enoch from the scriptures listed in the “Preparation” section. (For suggested ways to teach the scripture account, see “Teaching from the Scriptures,” p. vii.) Emphasize the following points about Enoch’s life:

  • When Enoch was first called to be a prophet, he felt inadequate. He was young and “slow of speech” (Moses 6:31), but he exercised faith and obeyed the Lord’s will.

  • Enoch talked with the Lord face to face and saw many visions. He prophesied of the Restoration of the gospel and the coming forth of the Book of Mormon (“truth will I send forth out of the earth” [Moses 7:62]), the preaching of the gospel to all the world, the building of the New Jerusalem, and the ushering in of the Millennium.

  • Enoch taught, helped convert, and baptized many people, who became so righteous that they lived in a “City of Holiness, even Zion” (Moses 7:19).

  • This holy city was “taken up into heaven” and will return at the time of the Millennium. When it returns it will join with the earthly Zion, which is the New Jerusalem.

Discussion and Application Questions

Study the following questions and the scripture references as you prepare your lesson. Use the questions you feel will best help the children understand the scriptures and apply the principles in their lives. Reading and discussing the scriptures with the children in class will help them gain personal insights.

  • How did Enoch receive his calling? (Moses 6:26–27, 42.) What was Enoch called to do?

  • How were most of the people living at the time Enoch received his call? (Moses 6:27–29.)

  • Why did Enoch feel his calling was too difficult for him? (Moses 6:31.) What specifically did the Lord tell Enoch to do before he would be blessed? (Moses 6:32.) What did the Lord tell Enoch to say? (Moses 6:33.) How were the Lord’s promises in Moses 6:34 fulfilled? (Moses 7:13.)

  • Think of a time when you struggled or had a problem that was difficult. What can you learn from Enoch’s example in dealing with challenges? (See enrichment activity 1.)

  • What can we learn about the Lord from Enoch’s visions? (Moses 7:4.) What did Enoch learn about the people of the world? (Moses 7:41.)

  • Display the picture The City of Enoch. How were the people who heard and obeyed Enoch’s words blessed? (Moses 7:16–17.) Why was their city called Zion? (Moses 7:18–19.) What do you think it means to be “of one heart and one mind”? How can you help your family be more like the people who lived in Zion? (See enrichment activity 4.)

  • What happened to Enoch and all the people in the city of Enoch? (Moses 7:21, 69; D&C 107:49.) What does it mean to be “taken up into heaven,” or translated? Help the children understand that when people are translated, their bodies are changed so they will not experience pain and will “never taste of death” (3 Nephi 28:7). At the time of the Second Coming they will “be changed in the twinkling of an eye from mortality to immortality” (3 Nephi 28:8).

  • Why did the Lord weep? (Moses 7:28, 32–33.) How do you want your parents and the Lord to feel when they see your actions? How do we know that each individual is important to the Lord?

  • When Enoch wept, how did the Lord comfort him? (Moses 7:44–45, 47.) How can thinking about Jesus Christ and his love and sacrifice for us comfort us even though there is great wickedness in the world?

  • When will Zion, or a city of the pure in heart, again be established? (Moses 7:62.) What is the “truth” that must “sweep the earth” to prepare for the establishment of Zion? (President Ezra Taft Benson defined this truth as the Book of Mormon [in Conference Report, Oct. 1986, p. 102; or Ensign, Nov. 1986, p. 79.) How can we help fulfill this prophecy about the Book of Mormon?

  • Where will Zion, the New Jerusalem be located? (Articles of Faith 1:10.)

  • How long will Jesus Christ dwell on the earth with the righteous in Zion? (Moses 7:64–65.) Point out that this period of one thousand years is called the Millennium.

  • How can you take part in preparing for this joyous time when Zion will be established? (See enrichment activity 3.)

Enrichment Activities

You may use one or more of the following activities any time during the lesson or as a review, summary, or challenge.

  1. Compare the story of Enoch’s call with the account in Ether 12:27 of God’s promises to those who feel inadequate to accept callings. Invite the children to mark in their own copies of the Pearl of Great Price any of the following verses that could strengthen and help them when they feel inadequate:

  2. Discuss the following statement from President Spencer W. Kimball:

    “For many years we have been taught that one important end result of our labors, hopes, and aspirations in this work is the building of a Latter-day Zion, a Zion characterized by love, harmony, and peace—a Zion in which the Lord’s children are as one. …

    “This day will come; it is our destiny to help bring it about! …

    “… That can only be done through consistent and concerted daily effort by every single member of the Church. … May I suggest three fundamental things we must do if we are to ‘bring again Zion.’ …

    “First, we must eliminate … selfishness. …

    “Second, we must cooperate completely and work in harmony one with the other. …

    “Third, we must … sacrifice whatever is required by the Lord” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1978, pp. 121–23; or Ensign, May 1978, pp. 80–81).

    On the chalkboard list the three things President Kimball said we must do to “bring again Zion.” Let the children think of specific ways to do each one.

  3. Help the children memorize Articles of Faith 1:10. Explain that the time when the earth will be renewed and Jesus Christ will come to reign personally on the earth will be the Millennium.

  4. Tie a bundle of slender sticks together with a string. Ask one of the children to try to break the sticks while they are tied together. Explain that it is too difficult for one person. Untie the string and give each child a stick to break. Discuss the importance of each person doing his or her part in establishing a Zion-like society in his home and circle of friends. You might suggest to the children that they could try this activity at home and then discuss with their families ways they can each do their part to make their home more like the city of Enoch.

  5. Have the children name things they can do each day that will help them become more pure in heart. Have them name things that will take away that purity. (Help them think of more positive than negative things.) Write their ideas on slips of paper and put them in a container. Designate the front of the classroom as “Zion,” and have the children stand side by side in a row facing “Zion.” Pull a slip of paper out of the container, read what is written on it, and have the children move forward one step if the idea will help them become pure or move back one step if the idea would influence them to become unrighteous. Keep reading ideas until the children reach “Zion.”

  6. Sing or read the words to “Follow the Prophet” (Children’s Songbook, p. 110), “I’m Trying to Be like Jesus” (Children’s Songbook, p. 78), or “When He Comes Again” (Children’s Songbook, p. 82).

Conclusion

Testimony

You may want to bear testimony that being pure in heart as Enoch and his people were brings happiness. Encourage the children to decide on one or two specific things they can do during the coming week to become more pure and thus help others around them become better also.

Suggested Family Sharing

Encourage the children to share with their families a specific part of the lesson, such as a story, question, or activity, or to read with their families the “Suggested Home Reading.”

Suggested Home Reading

Suggest that the children study Moses 7:18–21 at home as a review of this lesson.

Invite a child to give the closing prayer.