In Moses chapter 7, Enoch has had his eyes washed and anointed (Moses 6:35), and now he is “clothed upon with glory” (Moses 7:3). In a temple-like experience on Mount Simeon, he has the heavens opened unto him and is able to have a dialogue with the Lord “face to face.” The name Simeon means to hear and obey, so we get the oft-repeated message from President Russell M. Nelson to “hear Him.”
Enoch establishes a city called Zion or “city of Holiness.” These are actually the only two correct names for this righteous city, which is sometimes mistakenly called the “city of Enoch,” which was a different city established by Cain, named after his son, also named Enoch, and is a symbol of mankind’s attempts to establish security apart from God. The city of Enoch was similar to urban cities of the world today. In Sumerian, it was known as ‘Nun-ki’ meaning ‘the mighty city’ (a name later transferred to the ‘mighty city’ of Babylon). There is evidence that this was a very successful city monetarily and economically. But our Enoch is a different person and is the son of Jared.
The focus of this post will be on one word repeated six times in Moses 7—and that word is bosom. Whenever I come across this word in my scripture study, I get the feeling from the Spirit that there is something more there that I don’t yet understand. I feel like I will get more answers from the Spirit regarding the word bosom. I can’t fully wrap my mind around this, but I am going to try anyway.
Let’s look at the context of this word in Moses 7:
“and Enoch was high and lifted up, even in the bosom of the Father, and of the Son of Man” (v. 24).
“And were it possible that man could number the particles of the earth, yea, millions of earths like this, it would not be a beginning to the number of thy creations; and thy curtains are stretched out still; and yet thou art there, and thy bosom is there; and also thou art just; thou art merciful and kind forever” (v. 30).
“And thou hast taken Zion to thine own bosom, from all thy creations, from all eternity to all eternity; and naught but peace, justice, and truth is the habitation of thy throne; and mercy shall go before thy face and have no end; how is it thou canst weep?” (v. 31).
“And behold, Enoch saw the day of the coming of the Son of Man, even in the flesh; and his soul rejoiced, saying: The Righteous is lifted up, and the Lamb is slain from the foundation of the world; and through faith I am in the bosom of the Father, and behold, Zion is with me” (v. 47).
“And the Lord said unto Enoch: Then shalt thou and all thy city meet them there, and we will receive them into our bosom, and they shall see us; and we will fall upon their necks, and they shall fall upon our necks, and we will kiss each other” (v. 63).
“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.” (v. 69).
Since the curiosity was killing me, I took the opportunity to look up the Hebrew word for bosom. I have pasted the entry below for the Hebrew word cheyq (bosom).
The Hebrew root of this word means “to enclose.” The bosom includes the arms as well as the breast. The Gesenius Lexicon gives the idea of “embracing.” This is a hug from the Lord! My wife and I just finished reading the Book of Mormon (and I’m referring to the little book with nine chapters, not the whole Book of Mormon). My personal study is currently in Second Samuel. I had to read the two saddest chapters (in my opinion) of all of scripture in the same week. We read about the entire destruction of the Nephite nation in Mormon 6, and I read about David’s fall from grace in 2 Samuel 11.
Mormon laments the destruction of his people who “might have been clasped in the arms of Jesus” (Mormon 5:11). After viewing the total loss, he said, “O ye fair ones, how could ye have departed from the ways of the Lord! O ye fair ones, how could ye have rejected that Jesus, who stood with open arms to receive you!” (Mormon 6:17). But on the opposite end, Lehi rejoices, “I am encircled about eternally in the arms of his love” (2 Nephi 1:15).
Let’s look again at the context of the six occurrences of bosom in Moses 7 while considering our relationship with the Lord.
- Enoch was high and lifted up in the presence of the Father and the Son.
- God is just, merciful, and kind forever and is always there for you.
- The Lord weeps with you, but He also rejoices with you in all the good times.
- Because of the Savior’s atonement, you can live forever in the presence of God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.
- In that grand reunion there will be a lot of hugging and kissing.
- You can walk with Him.
