I used to love the story of the City of Enoch found in Joseph Smith’s Book of Moses. It was a city so righteous that the whole city was translated into heaven. Another favorite story of mine was the society depicted in the Book of Mormon book of 4 Nephi which enjoyed generations of peace and harmony after Jesus came.

These stories are both extremely optimistic about the perfectibility of humankind. They suggest that humans can become righteous and pure and spotless through their faith and devotion and that they can build a society that honors God unceasingly.

But the Bible does not offer this kind of optimism about humanity and its perfectibility, not even close. 

The Bible paints a consistently bleak picture of any efforts to build utopian societies. It consistently shows that human beings are incapable of achieving such a state of harmony and peace in this life. God put us into paradise, but Adam and Eve chose to elevate themselves above God and to rebel. And since then human history has been filled with wickedness and misery. When mankind unites in Genesis, It is not to build Zion, but to build Babel, a society that is dedicated to usurping the power and prerogative of God.

Even when God works through Israel and seeks to build a holy nation, mankind’s fallen nature gets in the way. Joshua’s upbeat ending is immediately followed by Judges which shows all of Israel doing as they see fit and descending into anarchy and chaos. Another memorable example is early in the Book of Acts. The disciples of Christ in Jerusalem have all things in common. But even then Ananias and Sephira lie and rob God and are killed.

The Bible is anti-Utopian because it consistently depicts human beings as being incapable of creating a utopian society through their efforts and initiative.

Relatedly, in Mormon theology, there are several individuals who were so righteous that they were translated into heaven including Enoch, Moses, Elijah, John the Beloved, and the three Nephites. These men therefore become examples of individuals who achieved Mortal perfection.  

But the Bible expressly notes that Moses died and John the Beloved expressly refutes the rumor that he would not die. And it isn’t clear that the translation of Enoch or Elijah are rewards for their exceeding righteousness and faithfulness. To the contrary, shortly before Elijah is taken up to heaven he goes through a dark period of depression where he appears to display significant doubts about God’s plan and purpose for him.

In the Bible, salvation comes not on the back of a human champion exalted on a throne, but through the death of Christ, the incarnate God, on the cross. The kingdom of God comes not through perfect human being achieving a perfectly just society, but through the son of man coming with angels in the clouds.

Joseph Smith’s revelations paint a rosy image of mankind that leads us to rely on our own capacities and merits. By contrast, the Bible consistently overwhelmingly supports Paul’s claims regarding the depravity of mankind outside of Christ expressed in Romans 3:

“There is no one righteous, not even one;

There is no one who understands;
    there is no one who seeks God.All have turned away,
    they have together become worthless;
There is no one who does good,
    not even one.”
Their throats are open graves;
    their tongues practice deceit.”
“The poison of vipers is on their lips.”
  “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.
“Their feet are swift to shed blood;   ruin and misery mark their ways,
and the way of peace they do not know.” There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

This difference in perspective matters immensely. If we think that mankind is fundamentally good and perfectible, then we are going to misdiagnose our need for a Savior. We are going to see Christ primarily as an example and his atonement as something that enables us to live up to our divine potential.

By contrast if we understand the true Biblical condition of our hearts, then we are going to grasp our need for salvation. We will recognize that we are rebellious sinners in desperate need of God’s grace. And we will rely full on him and not on our own strength.  

May we see the true depths of our sin so that we may fully recognize and appreciate the extent of the goodness of our savior.