I have been listening to the Book of Mormon on my iPod and I really enjoy the new way of getting through the scriptures. By hearing them read to me it gives it a little more life especially when the person reading it gives their dramatic take on the way it was written. I recently was listening to the Book of Enos while on my way to work at it really affected me that day. The following pic is from the classic Book of Mormon like I had when I was little. Before this experience My only memories of Enos consisted of being bored in Church flipping through the Book of Mormon to look at the pictures like this and getting in trouble when in Primary for calling him Enos but with a P on the beginning. The teacher gently laughed a little but quickly scolded me for using that language in church. But now he has taken a different role in my life and his writings are now one of my favorites in the Book of Mormon.
The parts I like best are:
3 Behold, I went to hunt beasts in the forests; and the words which I had often heard my father speak concerning eternal life, and the joy of the saints, sunk deep into my heart.
4 And my soul hungered; and I kneeled down before my Maker, and I cried unto him in mighty prayer and supplication for mine own soul; 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.
5 And there came a voice unto me, saying: Enos, thy sins are forgiven thee, and thou shalt be blessed.
6 And I, Enos, knew that God could not lie; wherefore, my guilt was swept away.
There are so many things in this set of scriptures. I think it is awesome that as he was pondering joy and eternal life, he realized he must lack a portion of that joy and wanted it so much he stopped hunting for food and spent the day night asking god to cleanse him in order to obtain the joy only purity in God can bring. And because of the faith he had in God and Jesus he knew he was forgiven by the atonement and felt no more guilt. Part of the reason I also like this section is because it shows that as a father, teaching my children the right ways and about the atonement they will ponder on my words and hopefully have a desire to build their own spiritual experiences and come unto the Lord.
9 Now, it came to pass that when I had heard these words I began to feel a desire for the welfare of my brethren, the Nephites; wherefore, I did pour out my whole soul unto God for them.
11 And after I, Enos, had heard these words, my faith began to be unshaken in the Lord; and I prayed unto him with many long strugglings for my brethren, the Lamanites.
After receiving a remission of his sins the very next thing he did was pray for others including the people that would take his life given the chance. That to me is what true love is. The pure love is loving everyone regardless of what they do or who they are while having a desire for them to be truly happy and close to the Savior. Pretty amazing because I know it would be very hard for me to sincerely ask God to make certain people that I dislike to be truly happy.
12 And it came to pass that after I had prayed and labored with all diligence, the Lord said unto me: I will grant unto thee according to thy desires, because of thy faith.
This verse shows me that answers to prayers don't just happen because you ask or want them to. Enos "prayed and labored with all diligence" and only after that did he get an answer. I think one of the key parts of that is when the Lord says "because of thy faith." It is important because Enos had faith he would receive his answer even though he had to work and pray a lot. I feel that it means Enos knew the answer would come it was just a question of when not if with him.
27 And I soon go to the place of my rest, which is with my Redeemer; for I know that in him I shall rest. And I rejoice in the day when my mortal shall put on immortality, and shall stand before him; then shall I see his face with pleasure, and he will say unto me: Come unto me, ye blessed, there is a place prepared for you in the mansions of my Father. Amen.
This is the best part of the whole book. His amazing testimony. As I was listening to his testimony at the end of his writings I realized how much I like this prophet. He truly loves his Savior. I could feel his love for Him. I loved his testimony so much I listened to that book 2 more times before I got to work. He was an amazing guy. There is so much in that very small portion of the Book of Mormon. I think Enos is now my favorite Book of Mormon person.
The parts I like best are:
3 Behold, I went to hunt beasts in the forests; and the words which I had often heard my father speak concerning eternal life, and the joy of the saints, sunk deep into my heart.
4 And my soul hungered; and I kneeled down before my Maker, and I cried unto him in mighty prayer and supplication for mine own soul; 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.
5 And there came a voice unto me, saying: Enos, thy sins are forgiven thee, and thou shalt be blessed.
6 And I, Enos, knew that God could not lie; wherefore, my guilt was swept away.
There are so many things in this set of scriptures. I think it is awesome that as he was pondering joy and eternal life, he realized he must lack a portion of that joy and wanted it so much he stopped hunting for food and spent the day night asking god to cleanse him in order to obtain the joy only purity in God can bring. And because of the faith he had in God and Jesus he knew he was forgiven by the atonement and felt no more guilt. Part of the reason I also like this section is because it shows that as a father, teaching my children the right ways and about the atonement they will ponder on my words and hopefully have a desire to build their own spiritual experiences and come unto the Lord.
9 Now, it came to pass that when I had heard these words I began to feel a desire for the welfare of my brethren, the Nephites; wherefore, I did pour out my whole soul unto God for them.
11 And after I, Enos, had heard these words, my faith began to be unshaken in the Lord; and I prayed unto him with many long strugglings for my brethren, the Lamanites.
After receiving a remission of his sins the very next thing he did was pray for others including the people that would take his life given the chance. That to me is what true love is. The pure love is loving everyone regardless of what they do or who they are while having a desire for them to be truly happy and close to the Savior. Pretty amazing because I know it would be very hard for me to sincerely ask God to make certain people that I dislike to be truly happy.
12 And it came to pass that after I had prayed and labored with all diligence, the Lord said unto me: I will grant unto thee according to thy desires, because of thy faith.
This verse shows me that answers to prayers don't just happen because you ask or want them to. Enos "prayed and labored with all diligence" and only after that did he get an answer. I think one of the key parts of that is when the Lord says "because of thy faith." It is important because Enos had faith he would receive his answer even though he had to work and pray a lot. I feel that it means Enos knew the answer would come it was just a question of when not if with him.
27 And I soon go to the place of my rest, which is with my Redeemer; for I know that in him I shall rest. And I rejoice in the day when my mortal shall put on immortality, and shall stand before him; then shall I see his face with pleasure, and he will say unto me: Come unto me, ye blessed, there is a place prepared for you in the mansions of my Father. Amen.
This is the best part of the whole book. His amazing testimony. As I was listening to his testimony at the end of his writings I realized how much I like this prophet. He truly loves his Savior. I could feel his love for Him. I loved his testimony so much I listened to that book 2 more times before I got to work. He was an amazing guy. There is so much in that very small portion of the Book of Mormon. I think Enos is now my favorite Book of Mormon person.
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