Hosannah to such days to come—
The Savior's second coming,
When all the earth in glorious bloom,
Affords the Saints a holy home,
Like Adam-ondi-Ahman.
CHAPTER IX.
Enoch, his Life and Translation—References to Him by Paul and Jude—Copious Extracts from His Prophecy—The Prophet Joseph Smith on Enoch and the Doctrine of Translation—The Office of Translated Saints—Enoch's Future Work—Translation and Resurrection—Christ the Creator—Summary of the Results of Enoch's Faith in the Saving Blood of Christ.
We next come to Enoch, who presents a very important figure among the antediluvians, and of whom there are some very marvelous things related. The Bible record of him is as follows:
"And Jared lived an hundred, sixty and two years, and he begat Enoch. * * * And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah: and Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters; and all the days of Enoch were three hundred, sixty and five years; and Enoch walked with God, and he was not; for God took him."—Gen., v, 18, 21-24.
This is certainly a very meagre history of so great a personage, and to supply the deficiency we must have recourse to other testimonies: one important fact, however, is here stated, that "he walked with God;" another is, that "God took him." There was evidently a book written by this Patriarch, which is called the Book of Enoch, for Jude says:
"And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousand of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him."—Jude, i, 14, 15.
From the above it would seem that not only had Enoch written a book, but that Jude had access to it; or if not had had a communication or revelation from Enoch, as referred to by Joseph Smith, hereafter, for we discover that he had a knowledge of the Son of God, the Messiah. It is true, the Only Begotten, as He is spoken of elsewhere, is not here mentioned, but only the Lord is referred to; yet the circumstances connected therewith are indicative of it being that personage; for Paul expresses the same sentiment in regard to the second coming of the Messiah, and says:
"And to you, who are troubled, rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day."—2 Thes., i, 7-10.
Moreover, Jesus Himself makes the following remarks concerning the same subject: