This was part of
a scripture that my friend Rachel shared in a blog post today—it touched me so I thought I'd share:
"And it came to pass that the God of heaven looked upon the residue of the people, and he wept; and Enoch bore record of it, saying: How is it that the heavens weep, and shed forth their tears as the rain upon the mountains?… How is it that thou canst weep, seeing thou art holy, and from all eternity to all eternity? … and also thou art just; thou art merciful and kind forever; And thou hast taken Zion to thine own bosom, from all thy creations; 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?
The Lord said unto Enoch: Behold these they brethren; they are the workmanship of mine own hands, and I gave unto them their knowledge, in the day I created them; and in the Garden of Eden, gave I unto man his agency; And unto thy brethren have I said, and also given commandment, that they should love one another, and that they should choose me, their Father; but behold, they are without affection, and they hate their own blood…the whole heavens shall weep over them, even all the workmanship of mine hands; wherefore should not the heavens weep, seeing these shall suffer?
…And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto Enoch, and told Enoch all the doings of the children of men; wherefore Enoch knew, and looked upon their wickedness, and their misery, and wept and stretched forth his arms, and his heart swelled wide as eternity; and his bowels yearned; and all eternity shook…And as Enoch saw this, he had bitterness of soul, and wept over his brethren, and said unto the heavens: I will refuse to be comforted; but the Lord said unto Enoch: Lift up your heart, and be glad; and look… and behold, Enoch saw the day of the coming of the Son of Man, even in the flesh; and his soul rejoiced."
I don't really know what else to add to that. My thoughts and prayers are with the families and citizens of Newtown, Connecticut. I believe in the power of the
Atonement and I hope that those families hurting so badly will be healed, and that the rest of us can find peace and hope in this crazy world.
I found out about this in the car on my way home from work today. When the newscaster announced the death toll I sobbed out loud. I cried the whole way home and couldn't wait to pick up Theo. I have never been so intensely affected by a news story. My reaction was also to ask "Why?!?" out loud. Almost immediately this story of Enoch popped into my head. It didn't particularly help my own anguish, except to know that the vast majority of people feel the same anguish at such crimes done to little children. The world is still good. Mostly.
ReplyDeleteI too was overwhelmed with sadness at the news. I had a sub-day and walked into the teacher's lounge to use the copier - someone had the news on. I have so many thoughts about this - but mostly now we should focus our energies on the healing of those so violated by this horrific event.
ReplyDeleteAnd then we need to focus on solving the problem!
Thanks for this. I needed to hear it.
ReplyDeleteThank you. That is the most comforting response to that awful, awful event that I've read. I cried -- hard -- through most of the weekend. But even after seeing all of this, and so much more, Enoch "saw the day of the coming of the Son of Man, even in the flesh, and his soul rejoiced." I don't think my understanding of the Atonement's depth and breadth amounts to more than a grain of sand, but I do know it is real and perfect.
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