Learning from Prophets- The Red Headed Hostess

Do you know….

Which man answered his call to be a prophet with the following reasons why he thought he wasn’t qualified?

1-  I am young

2-  Everyone hates me

3-  I am slow of speech

What is your guess?

If you guessed Enoch – good job!

When I taught seminary, this is one of my favorite stories to tell.  I really relate to Enoch as a man, and I look up to Enoch the Prophet.

I would get a cup of dirt and set it out and ask, “what do you think this cup of dirt has to do with Prophets?” – and just let the kids answer away.  They can get pretty creative – and think of things you haven’t!

Then I would show them what I thought it had to with Prophets.

“Turn to Moses 6, verse 31”, I would say, “And let’s see if you ever feel like Enoch.”  (By the way, these scriptures are part of the suggested Come Follow Me lesson outline)

The Lord has just called Enoch to be a prophet to a people who have gone astray, denied the Lord, and sought their own counsels in the dark.  Is that the kind of people you think about when you hear “Enoch”?  Or do you think of Zion, and the city that was translated?  No, here, we are in the before and Enoch does not yet know who he is.

Verse 27:  “And he heard a voice from heaven, saying: Enoch, my son,prophesy unto this people, and say unto them—Repent…”

Verse 31:   “And when Enoch had heard these words, he bowed himself to the earth, before the Lord, and spake before the Lord, saying: 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?”

Ok… note Enoch’s initial respons.  “Why me?” he asks.  And he gives three really great excuses, or at least they were probably big to him.  I am so young, he says first!  But he won’t be the last who is called to be a prophet in his youth.  He will have great company there.

“All the people hate me” is another heart-wrenching reply.  It is unclear why he felt this way, but surely this was a weight upon him.  Was it because he was from a righteous lineage and the world had singled them out and hated them for what they stood for?  But certainly we can all relate to feeling like this, no matter the reason – and trust me, the youth deal with this daily at school.

“For I am slow of speech” is his third excuse.  So he has given a reason that he can’t control (his age), a social reason and now a personal weakness that he feels would stop him from doing the job well.

Take a moment and consider: what would your three excuses be?

What are the top things that may stop us from being as great as we possibly can?

Elder Maxwell commented on this and said, ” Suppose Enoch had demurred [objected] when called by the Lord?  He would have gone on being a good person, serving the Lord part-time, living in a city which was a slum compared to the glorious city of Enoch.”  (Ensign, May 1985, 72) – One of my favorite quotes – such a good wake up call!

Imagine that!  We know about Enoch because of the great thing he helped bring to pass – ZION!  But I totally relate to him, and can see that he has been on the same journey of mortality as the rest of us.

When prophets say “have faith”, they KNOW because they have learned in their own lives.  When they say, “pray”, it is because they pray and they know.  AND it is doubled up because not only have they been through the journey too, but they are also SEERS!  So they know more than just by experience.

Remember that cup of dirt?  Well.. here is what it has to do with prophets:

Moses 6:35   “And the Lord spake unto Enoch, and said unto him: Anoint thine eyes with clay, and wash them, and thou shalt see. And he did so.”

Now that can sound pretty weird unless you understand the symbolism.  Typically we would think of an anointing to be done with oil – but here it is done with clay (or dirt, or earth).  What could this symbolize?

Clay = Earth = the World

The Lord had Enoch put the clay on his eyes – how can you ever be a Prophet if you look at life through the eyes of the world?  No, “wash them, and thou shalt see.”

So Enoch does, and then he has a great vision.  Now he can be a Prophet.

Moses  6:36  “…and from thenceforth came the saying abroad in the land: A seer hath the Lord raised up unto his people.”

Our prophets are 1- great men who have been worthy of the call (though imperfect and with weaknesses), and 2- they are SEERS.  They see through spiritual eyes – and they will guide us to safety.  On LDS.ORG, under the topic Prophet, it says this:  “Our greatest safety lies in strictly following the word of the Lord given through His prophets.”

I love that, and I think one of the best latter-day examples of that is the For the Strength of Youth pamphlet.  Those standards will truly keep us all “strong” like the title suggests, and truly safe.

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We have just put up a brand new study template for PROPHETS on the download store.

This template is a 14 page PDF which includes the following:

4 pages of  Scripture Boxes.   Each page has 12 boxes with one scripture in each box.  As you study you can write what each scripture teaches you about PROPHETS, so you can compare and make connections easily.  There is also a 5th page of boxes that are blank so you can add more scriptures to your studies.  You can also use this blank page with your family and class and fill it in with the scriptures you decide to use in your lesson.

Part of these scripture boxes include the Calling of 7 different prophets (including Enoch).  We can learn so much about the role of prophets as well as relate to them individually by studying this.

Classic  Talk Template:  There is also a template to study the classic talk  “Profile of a Prophet” by Hugh B. Brown.  This is a classic talk given in 1955 (I used to always have my students read it).  You can easily find this talk by searching online.  In this talk, Elder Brown lays out how you can recognize a prophet, or rather what his “profile” should be.   He gives 11 great characteristics.  This 3 page template will help you study and record the important messages found in this talk.

4 Titles of a Prophet Study Page:  As you study scriptures, talks, and quotes, you will run across these 4 important titles of every Prophet:  President, Prophet, Seer, and Revelator.  On this page you can take notes about each title as you learn about them.

Quotes about Prophets:  This is a page specifically for quotes that you find about Prophets.  Since this is a PDF, you can print this off as many times as you need (as you find more and more quotes).