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Moses 7 Part 1 • Bro. Danny Ricks • Feb. 2-8 • Come, Follow Me

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Wed Jan 28 2026

Summary

followHIM Podcast Summary

Episode: Moses 7 Part 1 • Bro. Danny Ricks • Feb. 2–8 • Come, Follow Me
Date: January 28, 2026
Hosts: Hank Smith & John Bytheway
Guest: Bro. Danny Ricks (Professor of Religion, BYU-Idaho)

Overview

This episode dives deep into Moses Chapter 7, focusing on Enoch, the building of Zion, and the revealing, weeping nature of God. Hosts Hank and John, joined by Bro. Danny Ricks, explore how Enoch and his people became “Zion”—of one heart and one mind—and what that means for modern discipleship. The episode is infused with personal stories, scriptural insights, and encouragement about the process of becoming Zion through covenants and Christlike love.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Nature of Zion and Becoming "Sons of God"

Zion Is Not Just a Place—It’s a Condition of Heart and Spirit
- The discussion emphasizes that building Zion is “starting in our own hearts and homes” (07:40).
Transformation through Covenants
- Bro. Ricks explains, “You become the sons of God. So we’re actually talking a title…Child of God, of course—transformative truth, but equal to is child of the covenant.” (10:15)
- The process is active: God doesn’t just “poof” Zion on us. We choose to become Zion by making and keeping covenants. (12:24)
Understanding the Fall is Crucial
- “No one adequately and properly knows why…he needs Christ until that person understands and accepts the doctrine of the Fall…” (16:10, quoting President Benson)
- The depth of love for Christ increases with understanding of the Fall. (17:01)

2. The Doctrine of the Fall and Redemption

We Must Be Redeemed from the Fall
- “Jesus Christ's atonement redeems me from the Fall.” (14:45)
- “The scriptural emphasis is on this covenant making…Covenants with God can change me and transform me if I want to be Zion.” (15:45)
Becoming Children of Christ
- Using Mosiah 5:7, Bro. Ricks explains that through covenant, “you shall be called the children of Christ. You are a child of Jesus.” (19:16)
- Baptism and temple covenants mark this transformation.

3. Building Zion: Practical Realities and Misunderstandings

Agency: The Responsibility is Ours
- Hank: “I wonder sometimes if we’re waiting for the Lord to come and He’s waiting for us right here.” (12:24)
- Bro. Ricks: “The impetus is upon us.” (12:53)
No Secret Gospel; It’s Simple but Not Easy
- Faith, repentance, and covenant-keeping is the formula—"Keep it super simple." (23:45)
- “These people didn’t have something that you don’t have.” (23:58)

4. God’s Emotional Nature—A Weeping God

Enoch Marvels That God Weeps
- Enoch’s surprise at God’s tears (28:09) is discussed at length, highlighting God’s extreme empathy.
The Choice & Consequence: Love or Misery
- “He’s crying because he knows that they’ll be miserable. He knows the result of choosing not his path is misery.” (29:24)
- This is not God punishing, but respecting agency. “If I don’t choose God, I chose misery.” (29:34)

5. The Law of Love as the Foundation of Zion

Two Great Commandments
- “I asked them to love one another and choose me. Is that not the two great commandments right there?” (31:34)
- Commandments aren’t arbitrary—they’re designed to help us find real joy through embodying Christ’s character. (32:44)
Models of Love
- Bro. Ricks shares heartfelt tributes to his parents, siblings, and wife as examples of Christlike, unconditional love. (32:44–36:08)
- “When I say, ‘I found Jesus,’ that's because I finally started breathing the air that was around me…” (35:07)

6. Overcoming Division and Contention

“If there’s any type of contention, animosity, hatred, we can’t be Zion with it.” (39:04)
President Faust: “When there is contention, the Spirit of the Lord will depart, regardless of who is at fault.” (39:36)
President Monson: “Anger doesn’t solve anything. It builds nothing, but it can destroy everything.” (40:17)
President Oaks: “The primary reason for the commandment to avoid criticism is to protect the spiritual well-being of the criticizer.” (40:17)
All agree: Discipleship means rooting out all isms and prejudice.

7. Hope in the Process: Zion Takes Time

“Zion in process of time.” (41:11)
“All the days of Zion…and the days of Enoch were 365 years.” (41:25)
“It’s tough…Finding Zion—the location was the easy part. Putting a building up, that’s the easy part.” (41:43)
“Am I a better person this year than last? I don’t know. But that’s the process.” (42:22)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

Bro. Danny Ricks [00:03]:

"We can't stress this enough. It has less to do with how bad you are at this and more to do with how great he is. Jesus Christ is mighty to save. He's good at saving. It isn't about me. It's about me yoking to Jesus. That's why it's going to be okay."
On Personal Struggle and God’s Saving Power [47:09]:

"I can't do it by myself. It's impossible. We can't stress this enough. Impossible. But it's him. It has less to do with how bad you are at this and more to do with how great he is. Jesus Christ is mighty to save."
On the Relational Nature of Prayer [53:07]:

"I saw the Lord, and he stood before my face, and he talked with me even as a man talketh one with another. The relationship that Enoch has with God…is natural and instinctive."
- President Faust (quoted):
  
  "No earthly authority can separate us from the direct access to our Creator…There can never be a mechanical or electronic failure when we pray." (52:37)
On God’s Empathy [28:09]:

"In this chapter, everyone's crying. In this chapter, everyone's crying. Jesus is crying. Enoch's crying. The world is crying. I'm crying. Your readers and listeners are crying. Everyone cries."
On God’s Cosmic Perspective [58:40]:

"This language…is so beyond 1830 Joseph Smith…Shed forth their tears as rain upon the mountains…talking about millions of earths…Joseph's understanding certainly put him at odds with the experts of his day."
— John Bytheway and Bro. Ricks discuss the astronomical insights in Moses 7.

Timestamps for Important Segments

Opening Theme - The Power of Christ to Save: [00:03–00:27]
Context of Moses 7 and Revelation Through Joseph Smith: [08:05–10:01]
Discussion of Covenant Titles (Child of God/Child of the Covenant): [10:10–12:24]
Misconceptions About Zion, the Fall, and Redemption: [14:45–18:45]
Importance of Teaching the Fall (missionary work, personal change): [20:25–21:34]
How Agency & Covenants Create Zion, Not Magic: [23:45–25:00]
God Gives Us the Power to Become Zion Through Love: [29:34–32:44]
Personal Stories: Bro. Ricks’s upbringing, parents, and community examples: [32:44–36:08]
Why Contention Destroys Zion: [39:04–40:17]
Zion Takes Time – “In Process of Time”: [41:10–41:25]
On Prayer: Natural, Instinctive Conversation with God: [53:07–54:14]
Enoch’s Honest Wrestling with God & Divine Compassion: [55:50–58:40]
Moses 7's Advanced Doctrinal Insights and Historicity: [58:40–61:02]

Final Thoughts and Tone

The episode is marked by contagious enthusiasm, vulnerability, and reverence—mirroring the emotionally rich narrative of Moses 7. Bro. Ricks is energetic, personal, and relatable, emphasizing the long, sometimes messy process of becoming Zion, and the gospel’s insistence on agency, love, and transformation through Christ. The conversation challenges listeners to self-examination (“where do I need to root out hate?”) while offering abundant hope (“Zion is built in process of time.”).

Throughout, the hosts and guest maintain a warm, humble, and earnest tone, aiming for practical application just as much as doctrinal clarity—a reflection of their motto: "fresh, faithful, and fun" LDS gospel study.

For further detail, listeners are encouraged to revisit specific timestamps, especially Bro. Ricks’s personal stories and the scriptural “drill-downs” on covenant, the Fall, and Christ’s role as Redeemer found throughout the discussion.

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Transcript

A (0:00)

Coming up in this episode on Follow Him.

B (0:03)

I can't do it by myself. It's impossible. We can't stress this enough. It has less to do with how bad you are at this and more to do with how great he is. Jesus Christ is mighty to save. He's good at saving. It isn't about me. It's about me yoking to Jesus. That's why it's going to be okay.

A (0:27)

Hello, my friends. Welcome to another episode of Follow Him. My name's Hank Smith. I'm your host. Host. I'm here with my weepy co host, John. By the way, John, I was reading Moses, chapter seven. It talks about how the Lord weeps. And I thought of you because, John, I've known you for a long time, and as you're getting a little older, you're not old, but you're older than you were when I met you. You cry more easily.

C (0:53)

That's the only thing I can ascribe it to is my advanced years. I used to really guard against that because I didn't want kids to think whoever cries is the most spiritual.

B (1:03)

Right.

C (1:04)

This is not true. And you'll notice that some, even in general conference, some of our church leaders get weepy. Some never have.

A (1:12)

John, even when you talk about the Andy Griffith Show, I've seen you tear.

C (1:15)

Up something about Barney Fife, Right? All right, everybody clear out.

B (1:20)

There's going to be trouble, right?

A (1:22)

Yeah. Barney would be weeping, right?

B (1:25)

He'd be like, oh, yeah. Oh, don't you go at me. If you do, I'm a goner.

C (1:29)

Yeah. Because he was weepy on the show, he would say, if Thelma Lou or ain't be started to cry, he would say, don't you start. I'm a goner.

A (1:37)

John, you and I are both so excited today to have brother Danny Ricks back with us. He joined us last year for the first time. We loved it. Danny, welcome back to follow him.

B (1:48)

So good to be with you boys.

A (1:50)

I need to thank my friend Julie Lewis for introducing me to Danny Ricks. It has been a blessing to my life, to John's life, and to all of our listeners.

B (10:10)

Verse 1. It came to pass that Enoch continued his speech continued from Moses 6. So we're continuing on. Next part. Behold our Father Adam taught these things and many have believed. This is interesting because we love him 301 so much. We're like, oh, yeah, I'm a child of God. I'm a child of God. And we think this is a child of God reference, when it's actually not. He says, and many have believed and become the sons of God. They've become the sons of God. So we're actually talking a title. Remember President Nelson teaching us those three titles to really anchor into Child of God? Of course, Transformative truth, but equal to is child of the Covenant. I'm a fallen being. Because of the Fall, I am separated from God. To quote the Book of Mormon, right? It's as if I am dead, cannot inherit. Then something has to change. How do I do this? I need to come into the family of God. I've got to get into the family of God, that child of the covenant. And then the third one, of course, disciple of Christ. When Enoch starts talking and preaching here, like the wild man that he is from chapter six, he goes, no, they're accepting it. People are accepting Jehovah. They're accepting the gospel of Jesus and have become once again, sons and daughters of God. There's a number of things and hurdles that get in the way of us becoming quote, unquote, Zion. One of them is that we think that it's something that God does to us. God swishes a wand. There's no wand. He's not going to make me Zion. I become Zion. I become Zion by becoming a son or daughter of God. In fact, you. You read it. The. The heading was quoting verse 18. In fact, I'll jump there and then we'll jump back to verse one. If you look at verse 18. And the Lord called his people Zion because they were of one heart and one mind and dwelt in righteousness, and there were no poor among them. That word because is super important. He didn't call him Zion because he made them that. He called them Zion because they were. They use their agency to become Zion. So God calls them Zion. We get to use our agency to make and then keep covenants.

B (21:39)

And we appropriately focus on the positive view that we have, especially compared to our Christian cousins, right? We understand the Fall drastically different. Drastically different than our Christian friends. We do because we see the benefit. We see that it's a fall forward just because it's a fall forward. Sometimes we then romanticize it and we're like, oh, no, it's just. It's just good. No, I'm damned. You're damned. We're all like, we are in bad shape. We're in bad shape. I have to be redeemed. One of my favorite parables from our Savior. I call it the parable the Strong Man. I don't know what anybody else calls it, but Matthew 12, and it's interesting. I'll read this at times with students and they don't know who's who in this Matthew, chapter 12, verse 29. And he says, quote or else. How can one enter into a strong man's house and spoil his goods? Except he first bind the strong man, and then he will spoil his house and you ask him, okay, who's the strong man? Anything good we naturally like, oh, it must be Jesus. No, no, Jesus is the thief, Satan's the strongman. Jesus kicks down the door, binds the strong man and then spoils it gets cause we're in such bad shape in Moses 7 that we're gonna get to. It says, no, Satan will become your father if we don't get redeemed through our Savior. If we don't get redeemed through our Savior, Jesus Christ. We are in such bad shape and it shouldn't surprise us again. This Zion isn't something that gets poofed upon us or done to us this way. On a side note, in verse one, some people don't follow. That's par for the course. If you look at verses 10 through 13, you're going to see every aspect of the doctrine of Christ. Verse 10. And the Lord said to me, go to this people, saying to them, repent. Verse 11. And he gave unto me a commandment that I should be baptized. Look down at verse 13. And so great was the faith of Enoch that he led all the people of God. There is no secret gospel. If anyone's proclaiming or trying to articulate that they have some secret gospel, they're probably an apostate and run away. There is one way and it is faith in Jesus Christ, repenting with Jesus Christ and then covenanting with God. That's how we do it. There's no shortcuts. This is the only true way. John 14:6. I am the way, the truth and the life. No man cometh unto the Father, but by me. How do you come unto Jesus Christ? Faith in him, repent with him, and make covenants with him. Keep it super simple. It's super simple. That's how you become Zion. These people didn't have something that you don't have. They exercised faith in Jesus. They repented of their sins and they made and then they kept the covenants that they made with God.

B (32:45)

This newspaper person came to our farm and said, when you walk in her home, you feel loved. I grew up with the, in different ways. Two greatest examples of Christians that you possibly could have. My mom who loved, and she was 4 foot 10. All 4 foot 10 of her. She was just powerful. My dad had challenges. He had challenges. He had some mental health challenges. My mom died when she was 52. I was 21. My dad actually took his life seven, eight years ago. Mental health challenges. Then you throw in mental health challenges with Vietnam. So my dad was tough. To his credit, though, showed love, like, differently. Like, people would come to our house. They loved everyone. Like, it did not matter who you were, what you looked like. I remember going with my parents to bail people out of jail. I remember, like, we'd have hitchhikers live at our house for weeks. This guy named Dave was living with us. All of a sudden, Dave's wearing my brother's sweater. My brother goes up to my dad, is like, dad, Dave's got into my clothes. Dave is wearing my clothes. Dad, he's wearing my sweater. And my dad's comment to him was, it looks good on him. I wasn't spiritually inclined. It wasn't that there were opportunities around me. In fact, they were modeled. The people in my home ward, they are the best human beings. I was joking with a friend once about just some of the stories that we used to have. There weren't a multitude of returned missionaries, though. It was just people that were farmers and they were just trying their best. In fact, I remember the only thing my mom would ever say is, you're lucky anyone would be willing to even take you guys. Because we were feral. And if any of them are listening right now, they're nodding their heads yes. It was wild. I don't know people with high callings. I don't. I'm sure they're wonderful, but I don't need to because I. I know them. I know Bruce Arnold. I know he loved me. And I should not have been loved by anyone because of my weaknesses. I. They should have been annoyed. They should have been frustrated yet. Bruce Arnold, Gary Robeson, Keith Harris, all of these great souls. Tom Richards. I could go forever with these people that just love me. When I say, I found Jesus, that's because I finally started breathing the air that was around me more than it being introduced to me. The scales that Paul says Fell from his eyes. Whether that be literally or figuratively or both. I was surrounded by incredible human beings that modeled how to live like Jesus, to love like Jesus. My siblings, Mercy, they're good. They're so good. My wife, are you kidding me? My wife is the greatest human being that I will ever meet on this, on this earth. She is in how she serves and loves and strives. She has this laser like focus on trying to follow Jesus. It's easy to be married to somebody like that. Zion becomes Zion. Because everybody in Zion loves God and loves their neighbor. It's natural for them. It's what has become a part of them.

B (43:56)

Elder Maxwell, So quick story, and this is embarrassing. I have the distinction of giving one of the worst priesthood blessings in this dispensation. It'll be in the next volume of Saints when they bring it out. And it happened in Greensboro, North Carolina. Now, a little context. I want to be fair. Maybe I'd received a blessing, but I couldn't ever remember. We, we weren't in one of those back to school blessing families. I don't know if that was as much of a thing as it is now. Which is wonderful that I think that we're, we're using God's priesthood power more. But I didn't have a lot of experience with that. And the first time I really remember seeing a priesthood blessing was in the MTC and a missionary was sick. I remember just standing in the circle and being touched by the Spirit on how wonderful this was. A member of our ward reaches out and says, elders, I'm sick. Will you please come and give me a blessing? And we rush to him. And as you guys know, some missionaries have more faith than they have sense. I lay my hands on the head of this wonderful, faithful soul, just going for it. I start. And I realize I don't know how to do this. So I start thinking of words that I'm supposed to be saying. And I legitimately think I said anoint, sustain, called to ordain, consecrate. We consecrate. I'm sure that word came. And I think I even repeated some a couple times. And I'm starting to feel embarrassed. You know, when your neck gets hot, it just gets worse and worse. And I finally, you know, your eyes are getting hot too, because I'm, I'm about to cry, and I'm not a cry, but I'm so embarrassed. And I'm like, I just need to stop this. And I finally close. It was like I collapsed almost. I was like, this was so bad. I remember I had my hands on his shoulders and I like, looked at my companion. My companion's jaw dropped, his eyes were open, staring like, like, what just happened? Like he'd never seen the type of train wreck that had just happened. And he said this. He quote, well, and he paused. Should we do it again.

B (47:09)

Yeah, yeah, just President Hinckley. I can't do it by myself. It's impossible. We can't stress this enough, right? We can't stress it enough. Impossible. But it's him. It has less to do with how bad you are at this and more to do with how great he is. Jesus Christ is mighty to save. He's mighty to save. He's good at saving. It isn't about me. It's about me yoking to him. It's about me yoking to Jesus. That's why it's going to be okay. That's one primary one. Hank, in a sense, you just enoched. There was a little bit of cry in there. You were like, man, I'm lost. I am lost. I'm looking this. We're lost. Jesus walks him through and puts a sweet little bow on this for Enoch. It'll be for us, too. But Moses, chapter seven. Look at verse four. I think that we would be doing a disservice if we didn't take a moment and make sure we understood how this came about. Look how Enoch talks with God, verse four. And I saw the Lord, and he stood before my face, and he talked with me even as a man talketh one with another. The relationship that Enoch has with God, to quote the Bible dictionary, is natural and instinctive. It's natural and instinctive. They're talking. Exodus 33, verse 11, right? And I speak unto God as one man speaketh unto another. It's this relationship now. And don't get me wrong, this is doesn't mean irreverence. If anything, the more I understand my relationship with God. The increase of reverence. And reverence doesn't just mean quiet. I revere him. The more I understand God, the more I understand Jesus Christ, the more I revere them. And I naturally am filled with reverence. Then the result might be a quiet and still soul. But not even always. Elder Kieran did a great job of blowing that up recently. Are your prayers natural? And instinctive. We have to have that relationship if we're going to have Zion, if we're going to be what he needs. And yes, he needs us to be that, but really, we need to be it. I think this is my second President Faust. Quote today. There are statements in this quote that I am confident. In fact, I'll ask our listeners while I read this quote, I want you to think about which aspects of the quote your actions show you don't understand. How about that? Because some of them, you're gonna be nodding your head, be like, yeah, yeah. Then he might say something. You're like, actually, I don't know if my actions align with me actually living that anymore. Here we go. This is from a May 2002 enzyme, the lifeline of prayer. He says, quote, no earthly authority can separate us from the direct access to our Creator. There can never be a mechanical or electronic failure when we pray. There is no limit on the number of times or how long we can pray each day. There is no quota of how many needs we wish to pray for in each prayer. We do not need to go through secretaries or make an appointment to reach the throne of grace. He is reachable at any time and at any place. I've had issues at different times in my life with probably all of them. I think I leave voicemail prayers all the time. He's busy. He's got stuff going. When you have a second, I'm down here in Rexburg having problems. That's not how he is. Part of being omnipotent and omniscient is that he's not like you and I. He is listening to me. He is listening to you. I love this. Any of you guys ever not prayed for something because you're like, oh, I don't want to be greedy. I don't want to be greedy. He's omniscient. He already knows what's in your heart. So just talk with him about it. The ridiculousness of this. Be like, oh, I'm not going to bring it up, because I don't want to. He's like, I know what's in your heart. Let's talk. He's not a boss that you're asking for time off from where? You're like, hey, remember how I worked Christmas and remember when I did X, Y, and Z? Maybe I can have A, B and C. It's natural and instinctive, this line. Look at this. There is no quota of how many needs we wish to pray for. He already knows what's in your heart. We don't want to give him a list of groceries. Please deliver. You know, I want a double size burger and, and this and this. And I want it quick. No, you're having a conversation with someone who adores you, who's someone that you're related to. It's okay to just talk and be like, you know what? I do want this. My prayers oftentimes will be like, I do want this. I don't. It's probably not a good thing to want, but you already know that I want it, so let's talk about it. The whole objective of prayers, often for me, is to be different at the end of them than I am at the beginning. Heavenly Father, I desire this. I want this. Help me temper my wants, change. What am I not understanding? Or can I have this? Is there anything wrong with that? Is, you know my heart better than I do. You're having this counsel, this counsel with God. There's power in that. Jesus is the exemplar. If anyone wanted to pray and you're like, oh, that wasn't a very good prayer. Because I asked Jesus in Gethsemane says, father, if there's a way, can this cup pass by me now? Note the answer. If the original intent of my prayer isn't given to me, that doesn't mean that God didn't answer me. Sometimes I think we're like, oh, God didn't answer me. No, he answered you. You just didn't get the answer you wanted. I know the Father loves the Son. He said, you have to do this. Jesus was okay with that. That's the beauty of prayer. That's why he said, father, if there's any way can this cup pass nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done. He's modeling for us in the perfect way. This relationship prayer. Enoch has relationship communication with Heavenly Father. It's different. It's natural and instinctive, and it's real. It's reverent. It's acknowledging, right? When we know who God is, when we know who Jesus is, we are different. And this is a critical part. I think it's absolutely critical to me, changing. I need to have these kind of prayers with him.

B (55:50)

I think it's interesting because we often talk about God's love, but I still think we underestimate it. We underestimate his love. We underestimate his patience. Moses 7 is a messy conversation with God. Enoch is ugly, crying the entire time. He's asking questions that probably should already know the answers to, or does know the answer to, but is having a hard time applying them. Enoch is startled. And yet look at how God treats him. He's not like, you should have known. No, he's like, no, look at how tender he is with this. In fact, let's. Let's highlight some of the messiness of Enoch through this verse 28. And it came to pass that The God of heaven looked upon the residue of the people, and he wept. And Enoch, more record of it, saying, how is it that the heavens weep and shed forth? He's astounded. He's astounded. 29. And Enoch said in lord, how is it? I still don't get it. He's saying it multiple times. How are you crying? How is he crying? Like, I can't even fathom this. Enoch should know God is a God of passions. Enoch knows that God's a God of love. Yet until he sees it, he doesn't know. This is a messy conversation. Yet sometimes we'll beat ourselves up, like, oh, I need to pray. Right? Right is just from my heart. He already knows. He already knows. So let it work. Let it be different at the end. He asks again in verse 31, how can you weep? And we talked about some of these verses. Then he shows him beautiful things. He goes, let me give you some answers. He brings up Noah like, it's gonna be okay because look at what I'm gonna do. You see how wicked everybody is? It's okay because I've got a prophet named Noah. Look at 44. And as Enoch saw this, he had bitterness of song. He's in a worse spot, possibly than he was at the beginning. This is not a quick answer like, oh, you'll be fine, Enoch. And he goes, oh, I was fine. Enoch is wrestling with God in prayer. I'm still bitter. He doesn't take a quick answer. He's like, no, this is messed up. Look at this fallen world. Look at their sickness. There's anger, there's hatred, there's death, there's destruction. There's a flood. Are you kidding me? He is being transparent in his feelings to God. Then look how Jesus responds to him, though, because he's in bitterness of soul in verse 44. And look at what he even says. And I said unto the heavens, I will refuse to be comforted. This is the kind of conversation, this is a real prayer. And how does God respond? Lift up your heart and be glad. And look. And he's going to keep showing them more. He has zero problem walking hand in hand with Enoch.