Adult Lesson Plan: Moses 7

OPENING (2–3 minutes)

Have you ever noticed that Moses 7 doesn’t begin by describing an impressive city plan, a flawless economy, or a perfectly engineered society? It begins with a person whose heart is being changed by what he sees in God. That’s a little unsettling, because most of us would rather start Zion with better systems than with better souls. Yet the Come, Follow Me introduction quietly presses on the real question: “Zion is not just a city—it is a condition of the heart and spirit.” It even gives the Lord’s definition: Zion is “the pure in heart” (Doctrine and Covenants 97:21). That raises a paradox worth sitting with for a moment: if Zion is “the pure in heart,” then the fastest way to build it might not be to “fix the world” first, but to let the Lord fix what’s happening inside us—and then watch how that changes what happens between us.

So here’s the opening question to let the class lean forward: If Zion is a society, why does the Lord define it as a kind of heart? What does God know about human transformation that we tend to forget?

SCRIPTURE EXPLORATION (15–20 minutes)

Let’s tour Moses 7 the way it presents itself: not as a civic manual, but as a spiritual unveiling.

Begin with the shockingly simple description of Zion in Moses 7:18: “And the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them” (Moses 7:18). Notice how the verse moves in a deliberate sequence. It starts inside (“one heart and one mind”), then describes the moral atmosphere (“dwelt in righteousness”), and only then describes the social outcome (“no poor among them”). That order matters. It suggests that covenant unity is not the reward for solving poverty; it is the source of the kind of community where poverty is not tolerated.

Now read Moses 7:19 and listen for what Zion is not trying to do: “And Enoch continued his preaching in righteousness unto the people of God. And it came to pass in his days, that he built a city that was called the City of Holiness, even Zion” (Moses 7:19). Enoch “built a city,” yes—but the text insists it was built through “preaching in righteousness.” Zion is not merely constructed; it is converted into existence.

Then, Moses 7:20 adds a phrase that can slip past us because it sounds like a story detail: “And it came to pass that the Lord blessed the land, and they were blessed upon the mountains, and upon the high places, and did flourish” (Moses 7:20). The Lord’s blessing is not portrayed as accidental prosperity; it is covenant flourishing tied to holiness. A good class question here is: What do you think it means that Zion “did flourish” in a chapter that will also show us a world collapsing into violence and grief? What kind of flourishing can exist even when the surrounding culture is unraveling?

Moses 7:21 gives the contrast: “And the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them” (Moses 7:18), and then the narrative around Zion is full of “contention” (Come, Follow Me introduction). The manual invites us to ask, “How did they become ‘of one heart and one mind’ (Moses 7:18) despite the contention around them?” That is the scriptural tension: Zion doesn’t arise because the world is peaceful; Zion arises as a different way of being in an unpeaceful world.

Now shift to the most theologically arresting portion of the chapter: God weeps. The manual highlights Moses 7:28–40 and asks why Enoch was surprised. Even without quoting every verse in that block today, we can let the class feel the weight of what the manual is teaching: “Some people see God as a distant being who isn’t emotionally affected by what happens to us. Enoch gained a different view of God in the vision recorded in Moses 7” (Come, Follow Me—For Home and Church: Old Testament 2026, “February 2–8. ‘The Lord Called His People Zion’: Moses 7”). A careful question to ask the room is: What does it do to your prayers, your repentance, or your patience with others to know God is not distant?

Then let the chapter widen into the last days. The manual calls Moses 7:59–67 “one of history’s first prophecies of the Savior’s Second Coming” and specifically points us to verse 62. Even if we don’t chase every symbol, we can ask: What does it tell you about God’s work that He showed Enoch not only Zion’s rise, but also the long arc of history leading to Christ’s return?

DOCTRINAL DISCUSSION (10–15 minutes)

Moses 7 teaches that Zion is simultaneously a people, a place, and a purity. That’s why the Come, Follow Me introduction refuses to let us reduce Zion to aesthetics or nostalgia. It says, “Zion is not just a city—it is a condition of the heart and spirit” and then anchors that in revealed definition: Zion is “the pure in heart” (Doctrine and Covenants 97:21). That doctrinal move matters because it rescues Zion from being an impossible political fantasy and places it where the Atonement can actually reach it: in the human heart.

Here’s a question that tends to open real conversation: If Zion is “the pure in heart,” what kinds of “impurities” most sabotage unity—pride, suspicion, comparison, resentment, indifference—and why do those particular sins fracture “one heart and one mind” so quickly?

Second, Moses 7 insists that unity and consecration are inseparable. The verse doesn’t say they were of one heart and one mind and therefore they enjoyed each other’s company. It says they were one, they dwelt in righteousness, and “there was no poor among them” (Moses 7:18). That is doctrine, not just sociology: a Zion heart produces Zion economics. The manual even broadens our definition of building Zion: it includes “caring for people in need and promoting peace—making covenants, dwelling together in righteousness, and becoming one with each other and with Jesus Christ, ‘the King of Zion’ (Moses 7:53)” (Come, Follow Me introduction). Ask the class: Why do you think the Lord ties “no poor among them” to “one heart and one mind”? What does the presence of poverty reveal about the condition of a people’s heart?

Third, Moses 7 teaches that God’s holiness includes real feeling. The manual states it plainly: “God weeps—and rejoices—for His children” (Come, Follow Me lesson section heading). That doctrine changes the emotional temperature of discipleship. If God can weep and still be God, then grief is not faithlessness. If God can rejoice while still acknowledging bitterness, then joy is not denial. The manual even points to a phrase from Moses 7:44 about learning to “lift up your heart, and be glad,” despite “bitterness” (Moses 7:44). A question worth wrestling with: What does it mean to “lift up your heart” without pretending life isn’t bitter? What kind of gladness is compatible with tears?

Finally, Moses 7 refuses to let Zion be separated from Christ. The manual highlights Moses 7:53: “Jesus Christ is ‘the King of Zion’” (Come, Follow Me, Moses 7:53 section). That means Zion is not simply a community of nice people; it is a covenant people gathered around a King. A searching question to ask is: What changes in a ward, a family, or a marriage when we stop treating Christ as a shared symbol and start treating Him as our actual King?

PRACTICAL APPLICATION (5–7 minutes)

The Come, Follow Me introduction gives a wonderfully practical starting point: “So perhaps the best way to build Zion is to start in our own hearts and homes.” That is not a retreat from big problems; it’s the Lord’s chosen entry point. Adults often feel stuck between wanting to heal the world and barely having energy to make dinner. Moses 7 offers hope: Zion begins wherever a heart yields to God and then refuses to let another child of God be unseen.

So try this in class as a realistic invitation for the week: choose one relationship where “one heart and one mind” feels hard right now, and ask what righteousness would look like there. Not perfection, not winning, not a dramatic confrontation—just righteousness. Would it look like listening without preparing your rebuttal? Would it look like apologizing without qualifying it? Would it look like refusing to speak contemptuously about someone made in God’s image? Moses 7:18 doesn’t describe Zion as people who agree on everything; it describes people whose hearts have been gathered into the same covenant loyalty.

Then connect consecration to everyday awareness. “There was no poor among them” (Moses 7:18) can begin with noticing who is lonely, overwhelmed, quietly embarrassed, or spiritually exhausted. Poverty is not only financial. In a ward class, you can ask gently: Where do you see “poverty” in the broad sense around you—time, belonging, hope, confidence—and what would it mean to respond as Zion responds?

CLOSING TESTIMONY & INVITATION (2–3 minutes)

Moses 7 leaves me grateful that the Lord does not ask us to manufacture Zion out of sheer willpower. He reveals Zion, defines it as “the pure in heart” (Doctrine and Covenants 97:21), and shows us a people who became “of one heart and one mind” and therefore could not tolerate a world where “there was no poor among them” (Moses 7:18). He also shows us a God who is not distant from our suffering, and a future where His work continues toward the day when Christ, the “King of Zion” (Moses 7:53), reigns over a gathered, healed people.

Invite the class to carry one question into the week: What would it look like today—just today—to let the Lord make my heart a little more Zion-like? I trust that as we seek that purity of heart, the Lord will teach us how to become one in Him, and He will do more with our small offerings than we can see at first.