And for these many generations, ever since the day that I created them, have they gone astray, and have denied me, and have sought their own counsels in the dark; and in their own abominations have they devised murder, and have not kept the commandments, which I gave unto their father, Adam.
Moses 6:28-29
Wherefore, they have foresworn themselves, and, by their oaths, they have brought upon themselves death; and a hell I have prepared for them, if they repent not;
In a recent Sunday School lesson comparing the missions of Enoch and Noah, I had the class read the scripture above. It is the Lord speaking to Enoch about the people Enoch has been called to preach to.
I asked the class, “What does it mean that the people had “foresworn” themselves? I then had someone read the following definition of “forswear.”
- to reject or renounce under oath.
- to deny vehemently or under oath.
- to perjure (oneself).
Dictionary.com
The Lord was telling Enoch that the people had taken oaths to reject the commandments and support the secret works of darkness (including murder) that Satan had taught to Cain. These were the same oaths later used among the Gadianton robbers and other secret combinations in the Book of Mormon.
Similar oaths of loyalty, secrecy, and non-disclosure are used in the corporate world today.
Taking offense
And it came to pass that Enoch went forth in the land, among the people, standing upon the hills and the high places, and cried with a loud voice, testifying against their works; and all men were offended because of him.
Moses 6:37
Enoch was called to cry repentance to a wicked people and the people took great offense at his words. Why? What exactly was Enoch doing that was so offensive to the public?
He was shining a light on THEIR actions. He was saying out loud what THEY were doing. He was calling out any behavior that was clearly wrong, unethical, and/or immoral, and saying it was sinful.
This raises an interesting question. Do evil people know their actions are evil?
Do they know?
I believe Mitch McConnell knows he is evil. He deliberately and consciously lies and cheats and gaslights and stonewalls for the purpose of power and gain. He appears to be smugly proud of his accomplishments. He probably justifies his immoral, manipulative, selfishness as being “for the good of the party.”
Tucker Carlson is reportedly a smart guy. He probably knew he was choosing the dark side initially when he decided to pursue a career at Faux News. I believe, however, that he has now become so entrenched in his own inflated self-image that he is no longer able to tell truth from lies, or right from wrong.
Donald Trump probably does not recognize his own evil. His intellectual capacity is severely limited and his skill at constructive self-reflection is zero. He is a toxic narcissist who survives by being a gaslighting bully. For a person that has irrevocably sold their soul, it is no longer possible to recognize their own errors and repent.
The inherent weakness of evil
Integrity is a state of undivided consistency. A person of integrity is honest and actually lives by the moral principles he or she espouses. A person of integrity is whole, upright, and strong.
Perversity is the opposite of integrity. It means to deliberately behave in an unreasonable, unacceptable, or contrary way. Perversity means to turn away from what is right or good.
Wicked people can take a certain morbid delight in their devilish plans and behaviors, but, at the same time, they prefer to see themselves as good, noble, upright (and important) citizens of society. They carefully groom and monitor their public image.
Enoch was doing what every prophet does. He was unmasking their charade. Enoch really only gave people two choices: repent or deny the truth. Those who chose the latter, tried to shift the blame unto Enoch, the messenger.
The reason evil people react so strongly and defensively when their sins are pointed out publicly is because no matter what public persona they may have adopted, wicked people are inherently insecure. They know, consciously or unconsciously, that they have built their house on sand.
When caught, the guilty have an overwhelming need to defend and justify their wicked behavior in order to protect their self image and their public reputation. Evil people live in constant fear that their true nature will be exposed.
Interesting. In Healing the Shame that Binds Us, John Bradshaw distinguishes between toxic shame and healthy shame, toxic shame being a conviction that “I am defective, I am a mistake, and if people knew they would reject me.” Healthy shame, in contrast, says “I am a human, and make mistakes, and therefore need boundaries.” Shame, he says, is what humans feel when they are exposed to unwanted scrutiny. Shamelessness, he says is when a person recognizes no boundaries, and they don’t care who knows. Shamelessness is a recurrent pattern in the lives of people like Trump, McConnell, and Carlsen. Whereas “pure knowledge enlarges the soul, without hypocrisy, and without guile,” these sorts constantly demonstrate hypocrisy, guile, and contraction of the soul. Repentance begins with self-reflection, confessing and forsaking sin. It’s terribly sad to see people who have no interest in repentance.
Insightful comments about shame, Kevin Christensen.