A Flood and a Fresh Start

/ Autumn Dickson
What does the flood teach us about our own new beginning?

February 9-15

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This week we read about a couple of classic bible stories, one of which is Noah and the ark. Let’s read a couple of verses.

Noah was led to build and ark, and then he went into the ark with his sons. God shut them up in the ark, and then this happened.

Genesis 7:19-20, 23

19 And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered.

20 Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered.

23 And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark. 

The earth was completely covered with water, and everything was destroyed except for Noah, his family, and the animals who went with them.

The Guide to the Scriptures teaches us that, “During Noah’s time the earth was completely covered with water. This was the baptism of the earth and symbolized a cleansing.”

There is so much symbolism here, but I want to talk about one of the most important aspects of this symbolism. When we are baptized or take the sacrament, our sins are washed away and we start over. 

The earth was filled with violence and corruption. Every imagination and thought of the people was evil continually. 

That is a lot of cleansing. I have a feeling that you have not yet reached this point in your life. I have a feeling that if you’re reading Come Follow Me posts, your imaginations and thoughts aren’t evil continually. Maybe you’ve got some flaws that you can’t kick, but I’m guessing that if you’re inviting good into your life, you can’t possibly be thinking about evil continually.

And if God can wash away all of that evil at the time of Noah, He can wash away your sins too. He can make the baptism as “big” as it needs to be. He can “flood the earth” so to speak if that’s what it takes to wash away the sins that you do have. And that little tiny piece of you that is trying to do well and good will be preserved and provided with an opportunity to start over. 

Every Sunday when you take up that little piece of bread and that little cup of water, you are remembering how the Lord paid for your sins. There was a tremendous amount of suffering, both in the flood and in the Garden of Gethsemane. Honestly, it’s crazy to think that there was more pain in that one night in the Garden of Gethsemane than there was during the flood. 

But it is done. The suffering already happened. The price was already paid. It was a gift. 

The gift offered is not automatic salvation. When Noah and his family were preserved, it wasn’t automatic salvation. They weren’t going to immediately experience joy just because all of that evil was all swept away. They still needed to build something after the water was gone. What would they build in the blank slate that the Lord gave them?

The gift is that the Lord is going to provide you an opportunity to build your life again without being weighed down by past sins. And you get to use that gift all the time, every time you repent. 

We go to church on Sunday, we take the sacrament, we wash away all of the evil, and the Lord leaves the good. He doesn’t wipe away all of our flaws. Noah and his family weren’t perfect. He just wipes away all of the residue of sin, and from there, we begin to build again. 

What are we going to bring into our new world? What will we bring into our new selves? As you look at the landscape of your life, it has been washed clean again. What will you create? What will you turn your life into?

Because it is about building. This is a story of grace, and it is a story of what we create with what we were given. Hopefully, we take the blank slate and choose to build up incredible things that bless us and bless those around us. We are given frameworks and blueprints that we can use to build our lives. It is not enough to want something beautiful built; the Lord gives us the beautiful opportunity to do the work alongside Him.

And as time moves on, hopefully we don’t need an entire flood every time we choose to take the sacrament. Hopefully the cleansings get smaller and smaller as we become more and more Christlike.

You may still grieve. I don’t think Noah and his family walked away from this experience lightly. I think they walked away with a lot of sorrow for what happened alongside the gratitude for being saved. Like Noah, washing away your sins won’t erase the memory of it. Even though it may bring grief, it’s a gift. It’s a gift because it can prevent you from walking down the path towards an earthwide flood again. It will bring depth to your gratitude. We don’t want to forget what happened, not really, despite the pain it may bring. 

I testify that the Lord can wash away what you have. I testify that there are so many parallels with the flood and our own lives that can teach us about what the Lord did and what He offers. I testify that He did not automatically give us salvation; He gave us a blank slate so that we could build something worth having, so that we could enjoy eternity like He does. I testify that He will keep washing as long as it takes, as long as we need to build what He has in mind for us.

13 thoughts on “A Flood and a Fresh Start”

  2. You are doing so well with your presentations. Your message is now very warm and sensitive with the sincerity that comes with eye contact so we can feel your message instead of just hear it ?? I really like your little “quotes” you share with your email messages. I share them with others and put them up to review each day. I am so grateful that you cover life and its experiences in your presentations. There are an overwhelming number of videos on Come Follow Me but yours is the only one that makes me think of things in a way I hadn’t before. I don’t know how you do all you do but I appreciate your willingness to share your insights with us. ________________________________

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    • Wow. Your words are so kind and meaningful. Thank you so much for taking the time to share them. Hah I am likewise grateful that the Lord shares the messages with me. They are most certainly not my own! We can learn from them together.

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  3. Greetings again dear friend,

    I loved your thoughts on Noah, being baptized, the sacrament and washing evil away!

    I had what I think was an inspirational insight this morning. Moses 8 begins with the tail end of the story of Enoch and begins the story of Noah. Would you consider the Ark a mini city of Enoch? I brought it up in our Teachers Council meeting this morning and got very positive feedback. While both were open to whoever wanted to ender the wall of each, many refused the invitations. It isn’t a perfect correlation though. The City of Enoch was taken, and evil remained on the earth, while the Ark remained on the earth while evil was taken away. In both stories, the Lord takes care and preserves His righteous followers.

    Last summer, while I was in Nauvoo, I found the Flood Museum (which I highly recommend everyone visit). On the way out, I bought a book written by the owner of the Museum called What Happened to Hope. He points out that like the Jaredite barges, the Ark had no rudder, the Lord did the steering. There are way too many fascinating insights in the book to mention them all, but here are a couple more.

    Take a look at the footnote for window in Genesis 6:16 HEB: tsohar – it might provide some insight into how the brother of Jared got the idea to provide light in the barges he built to travel to the promised land? Also, once the flood receded, where was Noah and his sons going to find wood to build all the houses and shelters that a growing civilization would need? An Ark that size built a LOT of structures!! The Lord prepares for our needs WAY in advance

    Speaking of advance, I feel I need to share, yet another story that gives me hope in dark times. In May 1848, hordes of crickets began devouring the crops planted by the Saints in the Salt Lake Valley.

    The first war involved pits, dug by the men while women and children surrounded the pits and drove the crickets into them for burial. Next ditches were plowed around the fields and filled with water from nearby streams, hoping to wash the pests away. Both battles were lost because of the millions and millions of crickets. When the time was right, the Lord sent the seagulls. Because of the nearby ditches, the seagulls with bellies full of crickets didn’t have to leave the fields to empty them. Our of failures today can be used by the Lord to provide victory in the future!! (Best Loved Stories of the LDS People p117-119)

    No, partaking of the Sacrament does not wash away all of the evil or flaws. We get to participate in the process of success after repeated failures.

    Thank you for another instant classic. Keep up the good work!!

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    • I love the concept of the mini-city of Enoch. The Lord has these unchanging eternal characteristics (taking care of the righteous), but how He chooses to do so looks differently from time to time. I likewise love the insight on the ark building a lot of structures. You told me about the flood museum, and I’ll have to check it out when I’m able to venture back to Nauvoo someday.

      I have always loved that cricket story 💜

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      • Even with my Autumn Dickson journals, it is tough to remember what stories I have already told and when. I probable repeat them more often than I should?

        We have the opportunity to create mini-cities of Enoch right in our own homes which can lead to Zion extended families, communities and actual cities. Following the Lord’s plan is the only way to do that.

        Have you watched President Oaks address at BYU last Tuesday? It was the talk of several Ordinance workers a few days ago. I watched it tonight and really felt the Spirit. He is a living prophet of God.

        Have an excellent week.

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      • I haven’t watched it. We’re right in the middle of packing so I’ve barely been able to work on my blog either. My study right now just consists of a bit of Book of Mormon reading and then pleading with the Lord all day to help me somehow accomplish everything hahah. I’ve got a long drive ahead of me though so I’ll have time then!

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      • Sounds like another trip across the country? I remember some of the stories you told about moving from Utah to Virginia? and back again, including that dream house you prayed for and found. What is next? I’m just being curious, you don’t need to answer if you’d rather not.

        Best wishes in your studies and your prayers to the Lord. Safe travels for you and your family are in mine too.

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