Week 1: Genesis 4 - 11, Moses 5 - 7

Quick explanation: For my Old Testament class, I will have a weekly assignment of creating a new blog entry regarding things I've studied and principles I've learned for that week. I won't always be posting on the same day of the week, but I'll try to be consistent with this. Please feel free to comment on my blog - I love hearing things that you've learned and your perspective on things!

This week I concentrated my study on the end of Moses chapter 6 and the beginning of Moses chapter 7 - the incredible story of Enoch! In class I learned that the Bible only has 109 words about Enoch and his day, but the book of Moses has 5,240 words on the same topic! We can learn a lot from Enoch's story! Here are some things that stood out to me:

• Enoch walked with God for 300 years on this earth before he was translated! We all have a long way to go, so it's a good thing that God is patient! :)
• The people of Enoch's day were incredibly wicked, but the word of God was powerful enough that they trembled and could not stand in Enoch's presence. Imagine if we had Enoch on the earth today!
• Enoch and Moses have a lot in common! (See if you can pick out some similarities!)

Oh yeah, if you don't have a hard copy of the scriptures, you can find them online here! :)

A neat way to study the scriptures is to read while looking for principles you can apply in your own life. Elder Richard G. Scott said, "Principles are concentrated truth, packaged for application." You should try! :) Now for some of my favorite principles learned. If you learned something different from these passages, please share!

1. The time to decide to serve the Lord is now! (Moses 6:33)
2. God will turn our weaknesses into strengths if we will obey Him! (Moses 6:31, 47)
3. Perfection comes line upon line, not all at once! (Genesis 5:22)
4. God will not force us to choose righteousness, but those who do choose righteousness will be blessed! (Moses 7:20)
5. God asks for our whole self as an offering, holding nothing back. Our actions and thoughts should all be in the name of the Lord! (Moses 5:7-8)
6. Pray always! (Moses 5:16)