Enos - Words of Mormon

The books between Jacob and Mosiah are very short. In order, they are the books of Enos, Jarom, Omni, and the Words of Mormon. The first three are very small-abbreviated histories of the Nephites, mostly keeping track of who has the records and showing that they were continuously cared for. That being said, there are still some great lessons to be learned within their verses. The Words of Mormon is a short chapter that Mormon wrote in approximately 385 AD to say that the previous books were the actual words of their authors – that we are transitioning from the Small Plates of Nephi, which he did not abridge, to the Large Plates of Nephi, which he did abridge.

The Book of Enos

Enos is the son of Jacob, and was given the plates when his father passed away. He wants to know if the things that his father taught are true, so while hunting in the woods, he decides to kneel down and pray.

His prayer gives us a good model for how we should sincerely pray to our Father in Heaven. Here is (basically) what happened:

1.      He went somewhere

a.       Enos went into the woods to pray – somewhere secluded and away from distractions. If you really want to get an answer to a prayer, make sure you do it in a place where you can be alone and where the Holy Ghost can be. Some of the best places include the woods, like Enos, or the temple. Christ said that we should pray in our “closets,” and although I don’t know if I could naturally fit into my closet, I know that the meaning behind this literal phrase is to pray wherever is private enough to offer up your heart to God.

2.      The words of his father suck deep down into his heart.

a.       Although my father is not the prophet, I know that I should listen to him and do the things that he asks because I know that he loves me, and that he has gone through many of the experiences that I will go through in life. This verse also shows that we should listen to the modern day prophets, who are inspired and instructed to share the gospel and lead the Church out of love for is.

3.      He felt a deep need

a.       Verse 3 says that his “soul hungered…” for the truth and a remission of his sins. We should feel a deep need for the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. As 2 Nephi 32:3 says, “feast upon the words of Christ, for behold the words of Christ will tell you all things what you should do.” Enos truly hungers for knowledge, and he comes prepared to feast upon the things that he will be told. Whenever we read the scriptures or say a prayer, we should be ready and open to receive whatever the Lord gives us.

4.      He knelt down

a.       While prayers do not necessarily need to be said while kneeling, to kneel can bring us closer to God. We show our humility, and can focus more on what we are saying and thinking.

5.      He prayed fervently (and probably vocally)

a.       Enos says, “I cried unto him in mighty prayer and supplication”. When I looked up “cried” in the scriptures, it lead me to Psalms 138:3 – “In the day when I cried thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul.”

                                                                                      i.      I am so glad to know that when I pray to the Lord, he will answer me and give me the strength that I need.

                                                                                    ii.      At the same time that the Lord gives me strength, it may not necessarily be physical strength. The verse in Psalms mentions strength for the soul, but in the majority of cases, I think that internal strength is what matters most.

b.      We figure that Enos prayed vocally because when you pray vocally, it focuses your thoughts and allows you to keep your thoughts from wandering.

6.      There was a high level of intensity in his prayer

a.       Enos prayed all day and all night to receive an answer to his prayer. While this is obviously not going to happen with most people, we can do specific things to make our prayers more intense and personally powerful. By doing some of the things mentioned above such as kneeling and saying the prayer out loud, we can show the Lord that we really care about our communication with Him, and that we really want to know His will for us.

7.      He received an answer

a.       When we pray, the Lord will answer us. We may not get the answer on our personal time schedule, or in the way that we expect, but we will receive an answer some time.

So for what did Enos pray? Well, at first he prayed to be forgiven of his sins. When the Lord said that his sins had been forgiven, he asked, “Lord, how is it done?” The response was, “Because of thy faith in Christ, whom thou hast never before heard nor seen… wherefore, go to, thy faith hath made thee whole.” I have not seen Christ while I have been on this earth, but I know that He is real. I know that He died for my sins. I am so grateful that He was willing to make that sacrifice for me, one thing that I know for certain that I could not do by myself. Christ was, and is, the greatest person to ever walk on this earth, of which earth He is the Creator, Savior, and Redeemer.

            Once Enos finished praying for himself, he “began to feel a desire for the welfare of… the Nephites,” so he prayed for them. The Lord said that as long as the Nephites were diligent in keeping the commandments, they would be blessed. It would take a lot of love for Enos to pray for the welfare of his whole nation, but what is even more astounding is that he next prayed for the Lamanites, his enemies. The Lord promised that the Lamanites would be brought to the knowledge of the gospel, and be able to receive “a record of… the Nephites,” or the Book of Mormon. I am not sure if I have enough to love to pray for blessings to come upon those who actively seek for my destruction, but Enos is obviously a better man than I am. However, to “bless them that curse you” is a commandment from Christ, and one that I need to work on.

The Book of Jarom

Before Enos dies, he gives charge of the plates to his son Jarom. Jarom tells us a little about what has been going on in the two hundred years since the descendents of Lehi landed in the Promised Land. One verse that I really liked talked about how the leaders of the Church had to admonish the people often so they would remember the Lord. “And it came to pass that by so doing they kept them from being destroyed upon the face of the land; for they did prick their hearts with the word, continually stirring them up unto repentence.”

The Book of Omni

This Section of the Book of Mormon contains the shortest writings of any of the Book of Mormon authors. Basically, the book keeps a record of the various people who were in charge of the plates through the ages.

Jarom gave the plates to his son, Omni, who gives them to his son, Amaron.

Amaron gives them to his brother, Chemish, who writes the fewest verses of any of the people who wrote passages in the Book of Mormon – 1 verse.

Chemish’s son Abinadom is the next record keeper, and he gives the plates to his son Amaleki.

Amaleki tells of an exodus made by many of the Nephites. One of their leaders, Mosiah, is warned by the Lord to flee from the land of Nephi where his people have been living for a very long time. After being led through the wilderness by the Lord, they discover a people with whom they have not had any contact. These people are descendents of a man named Mulek, and are led by a man named Zarahemla. Mulek was the son of Zedekiah, the king of Jerusalem at the time that Lehi was told to escape, and he was lead with his people across the ocean to the Promised Land. Unfortunately, they did not have the brass plates from which to learn their history (as now contained in the Old Testament), and gradually lost and corrupted their language. Mosiah commands that they be taught in the learning of the Nephites, and the Mulekites join the Nephites for the rest of Nephite history.

The Words of Mormon

At this time, Mormon inserts a small section to clarify that the previous chapters were the Small Plates of Nephi, which he inserted on top of the records that he had already compiled. The record was pleasing to him “because of the prophecies of the coming of Christ,” but he was not sure why he was directed by the Lord to include the entire plates without abridging them. From various events that happened in the early history of the Church, we know exactly why he was told to put the unabridged sections into the plates for his son to hide.