By Eric Johnson

This is one in a series of reviews of the weekly lessons found in the Come, Follow Me for Individuals and Families published by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. To link to all of the 2022 teachings, click here. Bold face type in this article comes from the Church’s curriculum. (Note: Not every sentence written in the curriculum is being reviewed.)

January 31-February 6, 2022 (Genesis 6-11; Moses 8)

Generations of Bible readers have been inspired by the story of Noah and the Flood. But we who live in the latter days have special reason to pay attention to it. When Jesus Christ taught how we should watch for His Second Coming, He said, “As it was in the days of Noah, so it shall be also at the coming of the Son of Man” (Joseph Smith—Matthew 1:41). In addition, phrases that describe Noah’s day, like “corrupt” and “filled with violence,” could just as easily be describing our time (Genesis 6:12–13; Moses 8:28). The story of the Tower of Babel also feels applicable to our day, with its description of pride followed by confusion and division among God’s children.

Corruption was certainly rampant during the days of Noah, just as it is today. The problem is that every single human is “sinful” according to the Bible. Romans 3:10 says that “there is no one righteous, not even one.” Romans 3:23 adds that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

These ancient accounts are valuable not just because they show us that wickedness repeats itself throughout history. More important, they teach us what to do about it. Noah “found grace in the eyes of the Lord” (Moses 8:27) despite the wickedness around him. And the families of Jared and his brother turned to the Lord and were led away from the wickedness in Babel (see Ether 1:33–43). If we wonder how to keep ourselves and our families safe during our own time of corruption and violence, the familiar stories in these chapters have much to teach us.

Honor and praise be unto [the President of the Church,] that
instrument in the hands of God of establishing order in the midst
of uncertainty, and certain rules by which we know our bearings
(Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith,
1998, p. 222. Brackets in original).

Tenth President Joseph Fielding Smith wrote,

The Latter-day Saints should put their trust in their leaders, and follow the teachings of the authorities of the Church, for they speak unto them with the voice of prophecy and inspiration (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Fielding Smith, 2013, p. 145. Brackets in original).

Seventy L. Aldin Porter promised, “As we look to the prophets for guidance, we can be confident that they will not lead us astray” (“Search the Prophets,” Ensign, April 2002, p. 31). A church manual confidently reports, “You can always trust the living prophets” (True to the Faith: A Gospel Reference, 2004, p. 129).

Let me ask the LDS reader, “How are you so sure you ‘can always trust’ the original Mormon prophet?” If Joseph Smith is allowed to make claims about having a “First Vision” of God the Father and Jesus; if he is able to say that he had the ability to “translate” ancient writings such as the Book of Mormon (there is no manuscript or archaeological support) and the Book of Abraham (what is written down is not even close to what is found in the papyri); and he is able to author a “translation” of the Bible, with no documented evidence that the things he “translates” (in either the Bible or the Book of Moses) is true, then I suppose this man has been given carte blanche authority to do or say anything he wants.  Latter-day Saints are required to believe that not only was Smith an inspired prophet of God but that the current leader(s) of the church are to be believed, even if what they teach contradicts the Bible or, for that matter, reason.

Putting so much trust in Smith and the LDS leaders requires an incredible amount of faith, much more than I have. While Christians trust God’s Word, the Bible says believers should beware of those who say “trust me” because I am the prophet of God. This is why the Bible teaches those who want to be wise to “test all things” (1 Thess. 5:21) as “many false prophets are gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1).

Thirteenth President Ezra Taft Benson said keeping the covenants is how a person “merits” God’s mercy:

We go to our chapels each week to worship the Lord and renew our covenants by partaking of the sacrament. We thereby promise to take His name upon us, to always remember Him, and keep all His commandments. Our agreement to keep all the commandments is our covenant with God. Only as we do this may we deserve His blessings and merit His mercy” (The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, p. 442).

Mercy, according to the teaching of LDS leaders, must be earned. For Noah, the rainbow was a symbol of God’s covenant that He would no longer flood the earth and did not require anything from all people. Yet the covenant promised by Latter-day Saints is much different, as this puts the entire onus on the back of the individuals. My question to the Latter-day Saint is, are you “keep(ing) all His commandments”? If not, when will you start?

Genesis 6–8.

How might you use the story of Noah’s ark to teach your family how following the prophet can keep us spiritually safe? (see “Noah and His Family” in Old Testament Stories). Maybe your family could work together to build a simple toy boat out of paper or blocks. As you read Genesis 6–7, you could compare the safety provided by the boat to the safety we find in following the prophet. You may want to discuss recent counsel from the prophet and write his words of counsel on your boat.

The story of Noah’s ark has absolutely nothing to do with following God’s prophet, but because this concept is so crucial in LDS theology, the author(s) decided to give an assignment related to this concept. How is what Noah did (getting into the ark) akin to the Latter-day following the prophet? Somehow, I am missing this analogy.

Conclusion

The Book of Genesis has great material for study, so it continues to frustrate me how extrabiblical sources are primarily used and given authenticity in these lessons. To rely on the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible, the Book of Moses, and the Book of Mormon to support Genesis 6-11 is totally unnecessary. If the author(s) would merely stick to the biblical text and just accurately explain what God’s Word has to say, this would be a worthwhile study. So far, however, this curriculum is lacking in many ways. My suggestion is to put down the Come, Follow Me curriculum along with the unique standard works and pick up God’s Word (the Bible), by itself, and study its words of life.