Enos

Who wrote it? Enos, a son of Jacob

Summary: Enos prays for his own forgiveness and wrestles with himself before the Lord.  Then he is forgiven and prays that the record of his people many be preserved, and he prays for his people.  He describes the stiffneckedness of the Nephites, and how constantly the prophets have to be on them (and very bluntly) to keep them in the right way, and he details the wickedness of the Lamanites.  Then he says he is going to die, and testifies of how purely he knows of eternal life and how peaceful it will be that he gets to go and meet the redeemer.

Time Period: 544 B.C-421 B.C.

What Was Going On in the World:



Main Characters: Enos (A son of Jacob, Grandson of Lehi)

Purpose: The book shoes us the power of repentance and how we can be cleaned.  It can teach us about prayer, repentance, love and revelation. In verse 13 Enos also prays that the records of his people will be preserved even when the Nephites are destroyed, so that his brethren one day could receive them and be brought forth into the light.  

This book introduces a pattern that we see everywhere in the book of mormon that I was reading about, and the steps are as follows:

1.  Enos learned about the gospel and was taught the righteous things.  
2.  Enos realized he needed the Savior so that he would be able to repent, and he prayed for forgiveness.  
3.  After he was forgiven, he started working hard to bring others to the same salvation.   

Other Interesting Facts:

• The wrestle Enos had before God was with himself (see Enos 1:2). Sometimes the greatest effort is put forth when a person contends with himself before the Lord. Such wrestling is the struggle to find and express one’s real desires which are sometimes hidden behind sin, evasion, and cover-up. Wrestling with oneself involves deep thought, meditation, and concentration. It means going beyond the cliche level of prayer to the point that one truly pours his soul into words and offers them to God. Repetitions cease to be vain, trite, or unfelt. Instead, each phrase is an expression of a yearning desire to do God’s will. Such prayers are assisted and guided by the Holy Spirit, “for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered” (Romans 8:26).

  Enos’s choice of words in Enos 1:3–4 (“sunk deep,” “hungered,” “cried,” “mighty prayer and supplication,” “raise my voice high”) effectively shows his efforts to truly communicate with the Lord.
  Book of Mormon Student Manual (1996 Edition)
  
  
  
  
  Forgiveness Sometimes Requires a “Wrestle Before God.” The story of Enos teaches us that there is a price to pay both in effort and attitude before we can receive forgiveness of our sins. Enos said: “I will tell you of the wrestle I had before God, before I received a remission of my sins” (Enos 1:2). Enos’ wrestle before God was a spiritual struggle which contains lessons that can apply to all people who seek forgiveness through the Atonement. In many cases, this wrestle contains the following four elements:

  (a) A wrestle with sorrow. Repentant persons experience deep disappointment in knowing that their sinful lives have offended God. This sorrow is intensified as they confront the great disparity between their sins and the standards which God has set.

  (b) A wrestle with guilt. As these persons accept the fact that they have sinned and humble themselves, they will wrestle for a restoration of peace to their souls and the return of the Holy Ghost, which has withdrawn. President Spencer W. Kimball related: “There must be a consciousness of guilt. It cannot be brushed aside. It must be acknowledged and not rationalized away . . . . There must be a pricking of conscience, perhaps sleepless hours, eyes that are wet, for as Alma says: ‘None but the truly penitent are saved’ “ (Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball 87).

  (c) A wrestle with time. Often the Lord requires a period of time to elapse before lifting the burden of sin. This waiting period compels sinners to reevaluate their commitment and live the promises they have made. When this upward struggle is completed, it can then serve as an anchor to hold on to after the remission of sin is granted. During this period of struggle they school their appetites and desires so that their only focus is upon pleasing God and keeping his commandments.

  Although Enos wrote that he “went to hunt beasts in the forests” (Enos 1:3), President Kimball said, “But no animal did he shoot nor capture. He was traveling a path he had never walked before. He was reaching, knocking, asking, pleading; he was being born again. He was seeing the pleasant valleys across the barren wastes. He was searching his soul. He might have lived all his life in a weed patch, but now he envisioned a watered garden” (Faith 210).

  (d) A wrestle in prayer. If we are to receive forgiveness, we must ask for it. Enos wrote, “And all the day long did I cry unto him; yea, and when the night came I did still raise my voice high that it reached the heavens” (1:4). Of this President Kimball has taught:

  Here is no casual prayer; no worn phrases; no momentary appeal by silent lips. All the day long, with seconds turning into minutes, and minutes into hours and hours. But when the sun had set, relief had still not come, for repentance is not a single act nor forgiveness an unearned gift. So precious to him was communication with and approval of his Redeemer that his determined soul pressed on without ceasing {Faith 211).

  Prayer is a significant key in many conversion stories recorded in the Book of Mormon. For example, king Benjamin’s people all prayed “with one voice” for forgiveness of their sins (Mosiah 4:2). At the mrning point in his spiritual life, Alma “cried within my heart: O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me, who am in the gall of bitterness, and am encircled about by the everlasting chains of death” (Alma 36:18). And king Lamoni’s father prostrated himself upon the earth and cried mightily, saying, “O God, Aaron hath told me that there is a God; and if there is a God, and if thou art God, wilt thou make thyself known unto me, and I will give away all my sins to know thee” (Alma 22:18). Jesus said, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me” (Rev 3:20). The story of Enos teaches us that sometimes it takes a wrestle just to open the door. This struggling is a tutorial period which becomes a hedge against closing that door in the future, for we learn through experience that God cannot be mocked and that mercy cannot rob justice.

  
  

  From the BYU Archives