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INTRODUCTION:
In Alma 45:19 we learn that
the "Lord took Moses [translated him] unto himself; and we suppose that he has
also received Alma." Therefore, anything we can learn about
the translation of Moses to confirm Mormon doctrine about Moses, will apply to Alma.
It seems that it was a very common occurrence for faithful
members of the Church to be translated
into the heavenly realms without tasting death after the Fall of Adam. Enoch and his people and city were translated probably not long after the
Death of Adam (Moses 7:18:21, 30, 63, 69; D&C 38:4, 45:11:14; 84:99-100;
Gen 5:22-24; Heb. 11:5) Methuselah, the son of Enoch, was not translated "that the covenants of the
Lord might be fulfilled, which he made to Enoch; for he truly covenanted with
Enoch that Noah should be of the fruit of his loins." (Moses 8:2) Methuselah (man of a dart, Genesis 5:1), was
the grandfather of Noah, he was one hundred and eighty-seven years old, when
his son Lamech, the father of Noah, was born. He had other sons and daughters.
Methuselah died at the age of nine hundred and sixty-nine, the longest life
span mentioned in the bible. (Mendel p. 354) Of all the descendants of Adam,
other than Egyptus. A descendant of Cain, and wife of Ham, only the descendants
of Methuselah, or those they married, survived the flood, all others perished.
TRANSLATION OF ENOCH
From the time of the translation of Enoch to the flood it
would appear that nearly all faithful
members of the Church were translated
for "the Holy Ghost fell on many, and they were caught up by the powers
of heaven into Zion."
(Moses 7:27, McConkie MD, p. 727) "And Jared (Genesis 5:15) lived an hundred
sixty and two years, and he begat Enoch. (Genesis 5:18, Moses 6:21) Enoch was included in the ‘Book of the
Generations of Adam' (Genesis 5:1) Enoch
(Hanoch), meaning ‘initiated', Genesis 5:18) was sixty-five years old when his
first son, Methuselah, was born. The bible says that Enoch walked with God 300
years after he begat Methuselah. (Gen 5:18, 21-24) The Pearl of Great Price,
however, makes a correction here: "All the days of Zion, in the days of Enoch, were three
hundred and sixty-five years." (Moses 7:68, Gen 5:23, JST 7:76) These years started after Enoch was established as
a prophet of God, (Moses 6:27), which was when he was 65 years old. His earthly
sojourn was a total of 430 years, not less as suggested by some Chronologists. (Shulman
p. 15-19, et al.) He appears to have been born 687 after the departure from the Garden, generally designated
as After Mortality, AM, and to have been translated on the basis of that
chronology 1052 AM [after mortality].
(Anderson 79)
But Adam died at 930 years, and since he was to die on the day he partook of the forbidden fruit, he was in the Garden 70
years. (Hunter) Therefore Enoch was born 757 after the Creation, and was
translated in 1187 from the Beginning. Most students of the bible ignore this
fact, and their chronologies will be in error at least by 70 years. The Pearl
of Great Price provides a key to a more accurate chronology.
JEWISH AND SCRIPTURAL TRADITIONS ABOUT ENOCH
The Jews believe that Enoch shares with the prophet Elijah
the singular distinction of being taken by God ...instead of dying. (Mendel p.
191) "Enoch's supernatural disappearance
led to the belief that he became privy to the divine secrets." (Reader Digest
p. 102) "‘He was no more, because God took him.' From these
words has grown the Enoch legend and its literature the books of Enoch...the
brief reference in Genesis is further elaborated in Jewish Midrashic tradition;
his wife's named was Edni, and he spent hidden years with the angels before he
was taken up to heaven. There are parallels to the latter in Greek and Near
Eastern sources...owing more to Babylonian than to Israelite ideas." (Metzger p.
70) "A commentary on the Jewish Scriptures which aims at finding a meaning
deeper than the literal or superficial meaning [is a Midrash]." (Purvis p.
118) It started about the time of Ezra, [who
arrived in Jerusalem a little before Nehemiah,
for the reestablishment of the Temple
about 458 BC. (RD. p. 112)], "and was divided into Midrash Halacha, [law or
legal] and Midrash Haggadah, [non legal] parts of Scripture. The Jewish Midrash
therefore "throws great light on Jewish beliefs and practices, especially as
noticed in the New Testament." (Purvis p. 119)
"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 l: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 he had knowledge
of the Son of God, the Messiah." (Taylor
p. 71) This is confirmed by Paul, in his
epistle to the Hebrews: "By faith Enoch was translated, that he should not see death; and was not found,
because God had translated him; for
before his translation he had his
testimony, that he pleased God." (Heb., 11:5)
The phrase "he had his testimony, that he pleased God" is a declaration
that Enoch had his second anointing.
By this we know Enoch had his calling and election made sure. An episode
related to this achievement is found in Enoch's OWN account: "I beheld the
heavens open, and I was clothed upon with glory, and I saw the Lord; and he
stood before my face, and he talked with me, even as a man talketh one with
another, face to face; and he said unto me, Look, and I will show unto thee the
world for the space of many generations." (Moses 7:4; 30)
"Now this Enoch God reserved unto Himself, that he should
not die at that time, and appointed unto him a ministry unto terrestrial bodies, of whom there has been but little revealed. He is reserved
also unto the Presidency of a dispensation, and more shall be said of him and
terrestrial bodies in another treatise. His is a ministering angel to minister
to those who shall be heirs of salvation, and appeared unto Jude, as Able did
unto Paul; therefore Jude spoke of him."
(Jude 1: 14-15, (Taylor p. 74 quoting Joseph Smith) "Jesus had been given all power in heaven and
earth...He evidently had power which He used to commission the citizens of the
Zion of Enoch to go to other worlds on missions...he would send or commission
members of the translated priesthood of Enoch's Zion amongst terrestrial worlds
whithersoever it pleased him in the interest of the peoples thus situated." (Taylor p. 77) "... Enoch was clothed with glory and saw the
Lord, who talked with Him as one man talks with another, even face to face."
(Taylor 79, Odeberg p. 166) "And I took
him (that is) Enoch, the son of
Jared from among the children of men and made him a Throne over against my
throne." (Odeberg p. 166) "And I lifted
him up with the sound of a trumpet and with a teru'a (shout) to the high heavens, to be my witness ...in the world
to come ...and I committed into his hands the keys...the secrets of above and the secrets of below (heavenly and
earthly secrets)...and all the mysteries declared I unto him in uprightness...and a
royal crown ...and his garment honour
and majesty." (Odeberg pp.166-169) "And I made his glory great as the majesty of my glory." (Odeberg p. 169) Enoch and his people received the Fullness of
the Father. Enoch and his people "were with Christ at his resurrection."
(D&C 133:53-55) They are now glorified and exalted
RECORDS AND BOOKS OF ENOCH
Today, there is extensive recovered literature about and by Enoch,
which includes: lst Enoch, the Ethiopic Book of Enoch recovered in 1776, the 2nd
Book of Enoch, the Slavonic Enoch recovered in 1863, the 3rd Book of
Enoch or Hebrew Book of Enoch, recovered about 1893 from Russia, published in
1928, then revised in 1973, and the Books of Enoch recovered from the many
Aramaic documents of the Dead Sea Scrolls published in 1974. (See Tapes Nos:
111, 220, 221, or their present equivalent) It is absolutely correct that these ancient
books contain many of the ‘Secrets of God', (and especially parallels to Mormon
Doctrine); there are more parallels to Mormon Doctrine in 3rd Enoch
than in any other published materials of ancient documents. These sources also
indicate that there are many other records of Enoch still to be recovered. The
ancient sources indicate that there were some 67 Books of Enoch. (Milik p. 124) Satan imitated most of them. We
have about a third of the genuine books so far. But what we do have are of
tremendous importance. Most Mormons are unaware of existence of these books and
their content. (Nibley Vol. 2, pp. 91-301) The content of these ancient sources
lend a tremendous support to a testimony that the Gospel Restoration is true
and Joseph was a prophet of God. (Genesis 5:21-25)
In a fragment known as the BOOK OF NOAH, (Charles p. 278), which
is really about Enoch, an unusual event is recorded when Noah was born, his
father Lamech was afraid of him because he opened his moth and conversed with
the Lord of righteousness, so Lamech approached his father Methuselah and
implored him to go to Enoch and ask him about this strange son whose
countenance was glorious and it seemed a great wonder would occur during his
lifetime. He did this because his [Enoch's] dwelling place is amongst the
angels. (Charles p. 278) Methuselah did
seek out Enoch at the ends of the earth and made an inquiry about Noah. Enoch
then recounts for Methuselah a great vision of events to come including the
cleansing of the earth by a deluge and great destruction. Enoch also wrote a
book of visions for his son Methuselah and tells of the insights he had
concerning the earth to the end time. (Charles pp. 280-281) This is an amazing parallel to Mormon doctrine
about Enoch's visions. "A Hebrew
fragment containing part of a similar description was discovered in Qumran 1, p. 85, (Avigad p. 17), though in the Scroll the
narrator is Lamech, and the dialogue is between Lamech and his wife. (Avigad p.
18)
TRANSLATION
Those who ‘sought
after Zion and found it' were considered to have been translated. "Now the doctrine of
translation is a power which belongs to this Priesthood. There are many things
which belong to the powers of the Priesthood and the keys thereof, that have
been kept hid from before the foundation of the world; they are hid from the
wise and prudent, to be revealed in the last times. Many may have supposed that
the doctrine of translation as a doctrine whereby men were taken immediately into
the presence of God, and into an eternal fullness, but it is a mistaken idea.
Their place of habitation is that of the terrestrial
order, and a place prepared for such
characters. He held in reserve to be ministering angels unto many planets, [such
as those that were translated before Christ was resurrected, Moses 7:31), and
who as yet have not entered into so a great a fullness as those who are
resurrected from the dead." (Taylor
p. 74, Dahl p. 674) Here there is a
cryptic statement. Were there planets in
a state of translation not having been resurrected from the dead! Planets that may have been translated long
before Christ was resurrected on this world? Those planets and their
inhabitants would be those who were in a terrestrial
translated order awaiting the resurrection of Christ. Further instructions for
them were provided by beings that had been translated from this earth, such as
Enoch and others. Let's look into this in more detail.
"And worlds without number have I created, but only an
account of this earth, and the inhabitants thereof, give I unto to you. For
behold, there are many worlds that have
passed away by the word of my power, and there are many that now stand, and
innumerable are they unto man." (Moses 1:33)
This is being said by the Lord unto Moses some 1300 years before Christ
even came to the earth, and before Christ was resurrected. So what happened to
these worlds? How had they passed away? Was their condition that of a terrestrial order? Enoch seems to
indicate this is so. "And it came to pass that the Lord showed Enoch all the
inhabitants of the earth; and he beheld, and lo, Zion,
in process of time, was taken up into heaven. And the Lord said unto Enoch:
Behold mine abode forever." (Moses 7:21) In this verse Zion
is taken up to heaven, meaning they, of Zion,
the City of Enoch,
was translated. "And thou has taken Zion to thine own bosom, from all thy creations, from all eternity to all
eternity." (Moses 7:31) "And thou has taken Zion
to thine own bosom" is an expression related to translation, found in the earlier verse. All of the worlds spoken
of by the Lord in Moses l:33, that ‘have
passed away" [but not exalted or celestialized] with all of their inhabitants,
would have been translated. This tells a great deal about the nature of
those worlds, the perfection of those who lived on them before the resurrection
of Christ, for those worlds, there would have been no spirit prison or a
paradise as there is for this world and other worlds that had not passed away.
What would the geography of the spirit world have been like for those worlds?
There was no spirit condition or detention as disembodied spirits for them,
they were translated. (Moses 7:31)
Resurrection for them would have been postponed until the resurrection of
Christ, because Christ is the Saviour of all worlds. (Joseph Smith, McConkie
MD, p. 63) That they were "taken [to] Zion to thine own bosom," seems to indicate the doctrine of translation for them, that
while mentioned in scripture has been little commented upon, except in vague references,
though found in the teachings of Joseph Smith. The publication of recent
commentaries on the Pearl of Great Price do not make mention of this singular information
(Draper, pp. 33, 126,129), nor does any of the many commentaries reaching back
to 1948 when Hunter published his commentary (Hunter p189-190).
"This distinction between resurrection and translation: translation obtains deliverance from
the tortures and sufferings of the body, but their existence will prolong as to
the labors and toils of the ministry, before they can enter into so great a
rest and glory [provided by resurrection]." (Dahl p. 674) The Three Nephites who were translated, as well as John, desired this condition and to render the
service it required. (3 Nephi 28:5-6)
"He [Joseph Smith]
explained the difference between an angel and a ministering spirit; the one a
resurrected or translated body, with
its spirit, ministering to embodied spirits; the other a disembodied spirit, visiting
or ministering to disembodied spirits....Jesus Christ became a ministering spirit
(while his body was lying in the sepulcher) to the spirits in prison, to
fulfill an important part of his mission, without which he could not have
perfected his work, nor entered into his rest. After his resurrection he
appeared as an angel to his disciples, etc. Translated bodies cannot enter into rest until they have undergone
a change equivalent to death. Translated
bodies are designed for future missions...The angel that appeared to John on the
Isle of Patmos was a translated or
resurrected body. Jesus Christ went in body after his resurrection to minister
to translated and resurrected
bodies." (Joseph Smith quoted in Taylor pp. 75-76) Translated beings cannot be killed nor
can they procreate. (McConkie Vol. IV, p. 189)
Those who were translated after the resurrection of Christ will serve in
that state until the Second Coming. (McConkie
Vo. IV, p. 190)
TRANSLATION OF MELCHIZEDEK AND HIS PEOPLE
"All men having this faith, coming up unto this order of
God, were translated and taken up into heaven. And now, Melchizedek was a
priest of this order; therefore he obtained peace in Salem, and was called the
prince of peace, and his people wrought righteousness, and obtained heaven, and
sought for the city of Enoch which ‘had
before taken'; separating it from the end of the world, and hath said, and sworn
with an oath, that the heavens and the earth should come together; and the sons
of God should be tried so as by fire. And this Melchizedek, having thus
established righteousness, was called the king of heaven by his people, or in
other words, the King of Peace." (Inspired Translation, Genesis 14:32-34) "From the above it would seem that this people
possessed the power of Translation
and that they ‘obtained heaven, and sought for the city of Enoch which
God had before taken.' Or which was before translated." (Taylor p. 85, Heb 11:5-10)
THE TRANSLATION OF ELIJAH AND MOSES
The translation of Elijah, "the account of his being taken
in ‘a chariot of fire...by a whirlwind into heaven' is majestically set out in
the Old Testament. (2 Kings 2, McConkie,
MD p. 728) A fully developed account including the
Doctrine of Translation can be found in Merrill, and the succinct pamphlet on
ELIJAH by Joseph Fielding Smith, and need not be repeated here. (Merrill pp
87-89)
"The Old Testament account that Moses died and was buried by
the hand of the Lord in an unknown grave, (Deut. 34:5-7), is an error. It is
true that he may have been ‘buried by the hand of the Lord,' if that expression
is a figure of speech which means that he was translated. But the Book of
Mormon account, in recording that Alma ‘was
taken up by the Spirit,' says, ‘the Scriptures saith the Lord took Moses unto
himself; and we suppose that he has also received Alma in the spirit, unto himself." (Alma
45:18-19, McConkie, MD p. 728) The scriptures referred to here were no doubt
those in the Brass Plates, a more perfect transmittal of ancient history and
doctrine than in the available bibles today, and to the actual account of the translation of Moses, of him being taken
by way of translation would have
been recorded there. This may also mean,
however, that the actual record of the translation
of Moses may have been originally in the Jewish
Scriptures and Rabbinic commentaries, and have been deleted by nefarious
men. Either way, there should be, then,
in recovered records some mention or an account of the translation of Moses and the nature of translated beings agreeable to what is found in the Book of Mormon.
In order to confirm the Translation
of Alma and the 3 Nephites, we should expect to find statements that confirm
most of what is contained in the accounts above about translated beings. Is that too much to ask? We do find exactly
that.
"The bodies of Moses and Elijah were translated so that they could come with bodies of flesh and bones
to confer keys upon Peter, James, and John on the mount of Transfiguration, and
even destined to occur prior to the beginning of the resurrection." (Matt.
17:1-6, Joseph Smith, p. 158. J.F. Smith pp. 107-111) "Moses held the keys of the gathering of Israel and the
leading of the ten tribes from the land of the north. Elijah the Tishbite, a prophet of so great
fame that his name had come to typify and symbolize the collective wisdom and
insight of all the prophets. Elijah held the keys of sealing power. The Keys held by Moses and Elijah were
conferred and sealed upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in the Kirtland Temple [D&C 110] nearly two thousand
years after the events of the Mount of Transfiguration where Christ, Peter,
James and John, and John the Baptist, received exceptionally important keys and
endowments." (McConkie DNC p. 402) When
these two formerly translated beings
appeared in this dispensation to restore again their keys and powers, they came
as resurrected personages. (D&C
133:55) "The reason for the translation
of Alma has not
been revealed." (McConkie, MD, p. 728) But he was translated.
OTHERS TRANSLATED AT DIFFERENT TIMES
A few persons who lived in the Christian Era have been translated, Christ said: "There be some
standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming
in his kingdom" (Matt 16:28, Mark 9:1, Luke 9:27) John, who also was translated, no doubt was one of those standing. (John 21:20-23;
Rev. 10: D&C 7; 77:14) "Then the saying went abroad among the brethren,
that that disciple should not die." John says, "Yet Jesus said not unto him, He
shall not die; but, if I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?"
(John 21:20-23) "Many of the righteous saints were translated and thus given other ministries to perform pending the
day of their final redemption. The Prophet says that translated beings are
‘held in reserve to be ministering angels unto many planets'" (Smith p. 170,
McConkie, MD p. 728) In March 1831 the
Lord also said: "All are under sin, except those which I have reserved unto
myself, holy men that ye know not of." (D&C 49:8)
During the Millennial era, men will live in a state
comparable in many respects to the state of translated
beings. (D&C 101:23-31; Isa. 11:1-9; 65:17-25, McConkie, MD p. 728-729)
It is from the account of the translation of the Three Nephites
that we gain most of ‘our knowledge of the present ministry among men of translated beings, it is very evident that
such persons never taste of death;
...never endure the pain of death',
they undergo a change in their
bodies ‘that they might not suffer
pain nor sorrow save it were for the sins of the world', they have a fullness
of joy, they are holy men, ‘sanctified in the flesh'; the powers
of earth could not hold them' ‘they are as the angels of God' ministering
to whosoever they will, they shall do
a great and marvelous work, among
the scattered tribes, among the Jews, in the Eastern and Western Hemisphere;
Satan has no power over them, not bound by the laws of this earth, they are they
that ‘shall be changed in the twinkling of an eye from mortality to immortality
at the second coming' which is in effect their death, for all die, even those who are alive when Christ comes, and those
who live during the millennium. (3 Nephi 28:7-40)
"Children shall grow [up
without sin] until they become old," Old men shall die; but they shall not
sleep in the dust, but they shall be changed in the twinkling of an eye
(D&C 63:49-52, 101:23-31) and that they shall then inherit exaltation in
the kingdom of God. (3 Nephi . 28:7-40) "Jesus
came...he took them [the three Nephites] into the heavens and endowed them with
the power of translation, probably
in one of Enoch's temples, and brought them back to the earth." (McConkie Vol.
lV, p. 191) Three hundred years after
the translation of the 3 Nephites they assisted Mormon and Moroni, and then ceased to service the
Nephites for a long period. (Peterson p. 15) They then served the Jews and the
members of the scattered tribes, and other nations. (3 Nephi 28:27-29) Then when the Americas were settled they returned
to serve in this hemisphere. They will be resurrected in the twinkling of an
eye at the Day of Judgment by Christ. (3 Nephi 28:39-40)
"All translated
being accordingly receive what amounts to an instantaneous death and
resurrection. Those who were translated
before the resurrection of our Lord "were with Christ in his resurrection."
(D&C 133:55). Those translated since the resurrection of Christ
shall continue to live as [translated] mortals until the Second Coming when
they shall receive their immortal glory. It will be resurrected, not translated
beings who shall return with the city of Enoch." ( McConkie MD, p. 739)
MOSES
Recent writers mention the many lost traditions that were of
great importance to the earliest Christians. "Until we can make some attempt to
reconstruct what is lost, our picture of early Christianity may be sadly
astray." (Barker p. 9, 21) The knowledge
of the early centuries of Christianity did go astray; the restoration returned
many of the doctrines back into a new dispensation. Now, one returns to these
ancient documents as they are being found, restored and translated by
non-Mormons, for confirmation that Joseph Got it all right.
"A further step in the honoring of Moses as a great hero was
the rise of the belief that he had ascended to heaven. The Old Testament story
of Elijah's being carried up alive into heaven and the statement in Genesis
5:24, that God took Enoch away is probably
the cause of a conviction that certain other biblical heroes
must have shared this honor." (Teeple p. 41) [In the Apocrypha and
Pseudepigrapha: (Charles p. v, Charlesworth, pp. vi-vii referred to below], there are traditions in these non-canonical
books inspired after the time of Nehemiah but before the time of Christ, "that
Moses, Jeremiah, Baruch, and Ezra have each ‘entered Paradise during their
lifetime' or ‘were taken up to heaven without tasting death." (Teeple
p. 41) The growing esteem in which Moses was held made it inevitable that he
would be among those to receive this distinction.
"In IV Ezra 14:9 God tells Moses, ‘thou shalt be taken up from (among) men, and
henceforth that shalt remain with my Son, and with such as are like thee, until
the times be ended.' Similarly, in II
Baruch 59:4 occurs the statement: But also the heavens at that time were shaken
from their place, and those who were under the throne of the Mighty One were
perturbed, when He was taken Moses unto Himself.'" (Teeple p. 41) "It is
believed that II Baruch used the Assumption of Moses as a source and that the
original Assumption of Moses was constructed upon the framework of Moses'
ascension. Some fragments of a document, ‘Sayings of Moses', were found at Qumran in Cave lQ. In it Moses, at the close of his
career, delivers a speech to the sons of Israel." Teeple p. 42) It is more
probable....that this early document concludes, with the ascension of Moses.
(Barthelemy pp. 91-96) "The ancient
belief in Moses' ascension is
preserved in the thirteenth century Zohar, which states that ‘Moses did not die'. (Zohar l:28a, 2:174a)."
(Teeple p. 42) This is one of the
criteria for a translated being. "The
late Midrash, [commentary on Jewish Scriptures] Gedullat Mosheh (Greatness of
Moses), is devoted to this theme." (Teeple p. 42) "In any examination of the tales of Moses' ascension
in the Midrash, it is necessary to distinguish between the very temporary
ascensions from which Moses quickly returned to earth before his ‘death', and the assumption of the type listed above in
which Moses ascends instead of meeting death." (Teeple p. 42) The
Armenian Version of 1V Ezra contain similar statements about Moses: "For you
will be raised up from among men and henceforth you andwhoever is like you
[implying others likewise translated] will be with me until the consumatioin of
the times." (Stone p. 203) This makes Moses' status that of a translated being,
until he came forth as a resurrected being at the time of Christ. (D&C
133:55)
"The legend of Moses' ascension in place of his death was a
contradiction of the specific statement in Deuteronomy 34:5-6 that Moses died
and was buried in the land
of Moab. Consequently, the two beliefs existed side by
side in Judaism. The majority of the Jewish writers followed the Biblical
account and believed that Moses had died, but others accepted the belief in his
bodily translation to heaven
to remain there until his return to earth when the times were fulfilled. Philo
believed that Moses was translated
to stand beside God himself." (Teeple p. 42)
"In BT, Sotah 13b, there is expressed the belief that Moses
died; however, this passage admits that ‘others [rabbis] declare that Moses
never died.' (Sifre on Deuteronomy 357 (c. 300. AD) and the Midrash Tannaim, [No.]
224 recognize the two views and say that some hold that Moses did not die and
‘continues to administer above.'" (Teeple p. 42)
"The Testament of Moses (Assumption of Moses 1:15) and
Biblical Antiquities 19, 20d (AD 110-130), stress the idea that Moses was
buried in public: that is, many saw his burial; Ginzberg remarks that this ‘has
a very likely aim to combat the view that he did not die at all, but was translated
to heaven." (Teeple p. 43) "Moses disappeared in a cloud as he was about
to embrace Eleazar and Joshua." (Teeple p. 43) Of interest here, is the fact that Lucifer,
the Devil, knowing what Moses would accomplish as a translated being, wanted him
dead, and thus exerted a tremendous effort to keep Moses from being
translated. Michael had to intervene in
contention over the status of the body of Moses. (Jude 9, Metzger p. 203) Michael won. Moses was translated.
"The editor's of the Assumption of Moses and the Testament
of Moses, and such authors as Origen and Clement of Alexandra tried to resolve
the dilemma and harmonize the two contradictory traditions." (Teeple p.
43) In the Midrash, Deut. R. 3 end (on
Deut. 10:1), God swears to Moses, ‘as you devoted your life to their service in
this world, so too in the time to come when I bring Elijah, the prophet, unto
them, the two of you come together." (Teeple p. 445) Certainly a Jewish text would not be
referring to the Mount of Transfiguration event. Is this prophetic of the Kirtland Temple visit? When else had they come
together except at the Mount of Transfiguration? The reference is to a ‘time to
come', a future event. "Elijah and Moses are associated together in other
respects in the Babylonian Talmud in Megillah 19b and Sukkah 5a; in the latter
R. Jose (ca. 130-160 AD) seems to be conducting a polemic against the belief
that Elijah and Moses ascended to heaven, only reaffirming that they had."
(Teeple p. 45) Yet this same Rabbi, R.
Jose, said: "Had Moses not preceded him, Ezra would have been worthy of
receiving the Torah for Israel.
Of Moses it is written, And Moses
went up unto God." (Teeple p. 50)
THE RETURN OF MOSES AND ELIJAH
"The belief in Moses' return evidently was not as prevalent as
the belief in Elijah's return....the belief in Moses' coming in the Jewish source
in Rev. 11, shows that the belief is pre-Christian (the source is earlier than
AD 70), but apparently it was not as popular as the expectation of the coming
of Elijah or of a prophet [Joseph Smith?] like Moses...we may note in passing
that the Qumran sect may have believed in two
Messiahs, a priestly Messiah...and a kingly Messiah...and later Judaism in some
quarters anticipated two Messiahs, a son of David [Christ] and a son of Ephraim
or Joseph [Joseph Smith?]." (Teeple p. 47)
See the Book His Name Would Be
Joseph by Joseph McConkie.
"The Biblical story of Elijah's ascension resulted in the
belief that Elijah would return as the messianic Prophet....this, in turn led to
the belief that others, especially those translated
to heaven, would also return. Among the prophets so honored, it was natural,
almost inevitable, that Moses, the greatest of them all, should be included.
The belief that Moses had ascended to heaven, like Elijah, easily led to the
belief that he would return, like Elijah." (Teeple p. 48) And, "the belief in
the eschatological Prophet, namely, the belief that the Prophet [to come] would
be one like Moses rather than Moses himself." (Teeple p. 49, Deut 18:15,
18) The Samaritans believe that this
prophet to come would be "called the Taheb, or Shabehb, meaning ‘restorer."
(Teeple p. 63) Clearly implying
something about Joseph Smith and the restoration, because this prophet would be
the forerunner of the Messiah in the Last Days.
According to Philo "this prophet would explain the will
of God to men...the prophet would have foreknowledge and reveal the future." (Teeple 67)
He would be "a Messianic forerunner
of the real Messiah...the picture of a forerunner-Messiah whose essential
characteristic was described by the words of the Baraitha (TB Sukka 52 a) will
be to be killed, " (Odeberg p. 145) by lawless men, and his blood would cry for
vengeance from the ground. (Schonfield p. 79) "he cannot be taken from any other tribe than
Joseph." (Odeberg p. 144) He would be
Joseph, son of Joseph. (D&C 113, Schonfield p. 76, 82) This theme has been developed in depth on the
tapes (old No. 80) that are available
about the Prophet Joseph.
"In the post-exilic period Moses was exalted by Jewish
writers...particularly after the belief in Elijah's ascension had produced the
legend that Moses also had ascended instead of dying." (Teeple pp. 37-39) "The
belief that Moses had ascended to heaven, like Elijah, easily led to the belief
that he would return, like Elijah." (Teeple p. 48) "In the Midrash, Deut. R. 3
end (on Deut. 10:1) ...God Swear to Moses...so in the time to come when I bring
Elijah, the prophet, unto them, the two of you shall come together." (Teeple p.
45) Which they did on April 3, 1836, in the Kirtland Temple.
(D&C 110:10-13) Philo, in his book On
the Sacrifces of Abel and Cain, states "Moses is one of the few whom God
has stationed beside Himself, for he told him to ‘stand here with me.' ( Deut. 5:31) and translated him to heaven by the Word because he was perfect."
(Teeple p. 38) And all that was true of
Moses was True of Alma!
THE TRANSLATION OF MOSES ON MT. NEBO
"The author of the Testament of Moses believed that Moses'
intercessory role did not end with his natural life." (Tiede p. 89) "And the
special qualifications of a prophet like Moses which are to have known God face
to face the performance of signs and wonders and mighty powers and great and
terrible deeds." (Tiede p. 91) The Samaritan Arabic Book of Joshua begins with
an "account of the investiture of Joshua: Joshua is commissioned to be Moses'
successor and to lead the people in the conquest of Canaan;
Moses imparts to Joshua knowledge of hidden things to enable him to fulfill his
role of leadership; and a covenant is made whereby this position is firmly
established. All or this is performed in the presence of Eleazar the priest." [by
the laying on of hands]. (Purvis p. 105)
"Moses then ascends Mt.
Nebo with Joshua,
Eleazar, and the elders, but with much less pomp and ceremony than in Marqah's
account. It is at this pint that according
to this tradition, night began to fall and the pillar of fire separated Moses
from the view of the people, after which no one knew what happened to him. It
is stated that after that time Moses' dealings were directly with the Lord and
his angels; it is not specifically stated that he died. In the song of Joshua
which follows, it is noted that Moses' departure was unique; from the time of
Adam, everyone's death had been witnesses, and the grave is known, but no one
knows Moses' grave [because there is none]." Purvis p. 106) Moses is glorified
on the summit of Nebo by representatives of the heavenly order, who obstruct
(either by Cloud of Fire) his view by the people, after which his activities
are unknown to them." (Purvis p. 110)
Book V of the
Samaritan Traditions on the ‘Death' of Moses, Section 3, "contains the account
of Moses' ascent on Mt. Nebo, his
glorification....It would not be accurate to call this the ‘assumption of Moses',
if by this it were implied that the Prophet was taken up into heaven. It would
be more accurate to say that ‘heaven' (represented by the Angelic Powers, the
Cloud, the Fire, the Glory, etc.,) came down to the top of Mt. Nebo
to glorify Moses. It is not said of him that he ascended spiritually or bodily
into the seventh heaven, or any of the sphere of heaven (as in the Jewish
Gedulat Mose) nor did he have visions of Paradise (as in Pseudo-Philo,
Antiquities XIX. 10). ...when he reached the summit he saw the rows of angels
there to meet him and the Cloud [Father's presence], into which he entered."
(Purvis p. 97) " The wailing crowd of people who saw him disappear into the
Cloud offered up a poem of fourteen lines, each beginning with the words ‘Far
be it [for]... you (i.e. to die).'" (Purvis p. 98) "While the Divine Powers were supporting him,
the Glory came, to greet him and the Great Lord descended in the Cloud to stand
with him. There then follow further allusions to Sinai, suggesting that for one
who had experienced such wonders, and passed from the status of the human to
that of the angels, death would be inappropriate." (Purvis p. 98) "Moses final testament consists of a
prognostication of what would occur in the course of 3,204 years. This may be
said to be an eschatological address, in that it understands a duration of
world history of 6,000 years, followed by an ideal age." (Purvis p. 100)
The prophesied 6000 years duration of the earth after the
fall is about to be concluded. The ideal age will be the Millennium event yet
to be. Clearly, if Alma was translated
in his day and Moses was still a translated being, then Moses and Elijah, who
were with Christ in his resurrection, (D&C 133:55) Alma was most certainly included
with them.
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