The story of Noah fascinates me.
Noah (and his wife) did hard things!
It could not have been easy for Noah to declare repentance unto a people so wicked that they desired “only evil continually” (Moses 8:22).
It could not have been easy for Noah to prophesy of a forthcoming flood to a people that “hearkened not” (Moses 8:24).
It could not have been easy for Noah that many of those who had “sold themselves” to the world were his own granddaughters, his own posterity (Moses 8:15).
It could not have been pleasant for Noah to become so unpopular that those then known as “giants” sought to “take away his life” (Moses 8:18).
It could not have been easy when, in these wrenching circumstances, the Lord commanded Noah to “Make thee an ark” (Genesis 6:14).
It certainly was not easy for Noah to construct this ark–an engineering marvel that Bible scholars calculate to have measured “450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high” (Verse by Verse The Old Testament, Ogden & Skinner p 75).
Consider the magnitude of Noah’s mission: the Lord commanded him to build an ark that was 450 feet long, and then subsequently gather “Every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort” to “bring into the ark” (Genesis 6:19).
Yet, despite what must have felt staggering, Noah did “all that God commanded him” (Genesis 6:22).
How did Noah do it?
And more importantly, why did Noah do it?
“Noah did according to all that the Lord commanded him” (Genesis 7:5) because he knew the Lord.
Noah did not walk alone, or without power and authority; he had been ordained and commissioned by the Lord (Moses 8:19).
Noah went forth in the power of the Priesthood. It was this Priesthood power that strengthened and protected him from his enemies: “The Lord was with Noah, and the power of the Lord was upon him.” (Moses 8:18).
With his sons, Noah “walked with God” (Moses 8:27).
It was this power that enabled Noah to accomplish what President Nelson likes to call “the impossible”.
It was this power that sustained Noah in the long process of building an ark, preparing vast amounts of food, water, and supplies, and organizing and caring for animals of all kinds.
It was this power that comforted Noah’s grief at the loss of his posterity and the wickedness of the world.
It was this power that gave Noah and his family the strength to persist despite torrential rains and devastating floods.
Noah did not walk alone; Noah walked with God and His power.
In return, “God remembered Noah” (Genesis 8:1), and God covenanted with Noah.
Noah found strength in covenants. From JST Genesis 9:9 and 9:15, we learn that the Lord established the same covenant with Noah that he had made with Enoch and Adam before him.
Noah knew God.
Noah walked with the power of the Priesthood.
Noah made and kept sacred covenants with the Lord.
Though he lived in ancient times-thousands of years ago, Noah’s story is strikingly relevant to each of us today.
We too are called to do hard things in our day, and we too need the power of the Priesthood to accomplish our own seemingly impossible missions.
Just like Noah, we can access Priesthood power through ordinances and covenants.
Such is the direct call of our Prophet today, who has powerfully taught:
“Every woman and every man who makes covenants with God and keeps those covenants, and who participates worthily in priesthood ordinances, has direct access to the power of God. Those who are endowed in the house of the Lord receive a gift of God’s priesthood power by virtue of their covenant, along with a gift of knowledge to know how to draw upon that power…
“I entreat you to study prayerfully all the truths you can find about priesthood power. … As your understanding increases and as you exercise faith in the Lord and His priesthood power, your ability to draw upon this spiritual treasure that the Lord has made available will increase.” (Russell M. Nelson Spiritual Treasures, September 2019).
As we act upon our Prophet’s invitation and call to seek Priesthood power in our lives, we will blessed, even as Noah of old.
Noah did hard things-with God’s power. And so can we!
