19 And now it came to pass that I, Enos, went
about among the people of Nephi, prophesying of things to come, and testifying
of the things which I had heard and seen.
20 And I bear record that the people of Nephi
did seek diligently to restore the Lamanites unto the true faith in God. But our labors were vain; their hatred was
fixed, and they were led by their evil nature that they became wild, and
ferocious, and a blood-thirsty people, full of idolatry and filthiness; feeding
upon beasts of prey; dwelling in tents, and wandering about in the wilderness
with a short skin girdle about their loins and their heads shaven; and their
skill was in the bow, and in the cimeter, and the ax. And many of them did eat nothing save it was
raw meat; and they were continually seeking to destroy us.
21 And it came to pass that the people of
Nephi did till the land, and raise all manner of grain, and of fruit, and flocks
of herds, and flocks of all manner of cattle of every kind, and goats, and wild
goats, and also many horses.
Enos
1:19-21
After his wrestle with the Lord,
Enos “went among the people of Nephi,
prophesying of things to come and testifying of the things which I had heard
and seen.” The Nephites continued their
missionary efforts to the Lamanites.
These efforts were made during Jacob’s lifetime as well. “And it
came to pass that many means were devised to reclaim and restore the Lamanites
to the knowledge of the truth; but it all was vain, for they delighted in wars
and bloodshed, and they had an eternal hatred against us, their brethren. And they sought by the power of their arms to
destroy us continually” (Jacob 7:24).
Jacob was the religious leader
of the Nephites during his lifetime.
This appears to change with Enos.
Jacob's family eventually passed out of the prophetic line
as well. Only Jacob himself clearly held a position of religious authority
equivalent to that of high priest (see Jacob 1:17-19). His son Enos and
grandson Jarom described themselves as only one among many prophets (see Enos
1:19, 22; Jarom 1:4).[1]
Mormon wrote Moroni, calling on
him to continue to bring the gospel message to the Lamanites. “And
now, my beloved son, notwithstanding their hardness, let us labor diligently;
for if we should cease to labor, we should be brought under condemnation; for
we have a labor to perform whilst in this tabernacle of clay, that we may
conquer the enemy of all righteousness, and rest our souls in the kingdom of
God” (Moroni 9:6).
Zeniff would later describe the
Lamanites. “Now they were a lazy and an idolatrous people; therefore they were
desirous to bring us into bondage, that they might glut themselves with the
labors of our hands; yea, that they might feast themselves upon the flocks of
our fields” (Mosiah 9:12)
We begin to get insight into the
Lamanite culture and beliefs.
However much the founding saga influenced individual
Lamanites, there is no question that it definitively established Lamanite
policy toward the Nephites. "Their hatred was fixed," Enos said (Enos
1:20). Even when circumstances acted to moderate the hatred, it only subsided;
it was never wholly extinguished.[2]
Lindon Robinson describes the condition
of the Lamanites.
[The Lamanite] condition of not caring … not only limited
their means of food production to hunting and stealing, but it also reduced the
quality of their housing and clothing to tents and loincloths made of animal
skins. Meanwhile, their diet consisted of raw meats (Enos 1:20).[3]
Enos tells us that, unlike the
Lamanites, the Nephites tilled the land.
They raise grains and had flocks and herds of animals. They had cattle, goats, and horses. No doubt the grains were from the seeds
brought from the Old World. “And it came to pass that we had gathered
together all manner of seeds of every kind, both of grain of every kind, and
also of the seeds of fruit of every kind” (1 Nephi 8:1).
One of the first things Zeniff’s
people did was to till the ground. “And we began to till the ground, yea, even
with all manner of seeds, with seeds of corn, and of wheat, and of barley, and
with neas, and with sheum, and with seeds of all manner of fruits; and we did
begin to multiply and prosper in the land” (Mosiah 9:9).
We read about flocks elsewhere
in the Book of Mormon. Upon arriving at
the New World, Nephi wrote, “And it came
to pass that we did find upon the land of promise, as we journeyed in the
wilderness, that there were beasts in the forests of every kind, both the cow
and the ox, and the ass and the horse, and the goat and the wild goat, and all
manner of wild animals, which were for the use of men” (1 Nephi 18:25).
We also read about Jaredite
animals. “And they also had horses, and asses, and there were elephants and
cureloms and cumoms; all of which were useful unto man, and more especially the
elephants and cureloms and cumoms” (Ether 9:19).
We know that, in the Old World,
taking care of flocks was not a common practice. If so, where did the Nephites learn about
caring for flocks of animals? John Sorenson
explains:
Since it is certain that "others" passed on
knowledge about and a taste for corn to the Nephites and Lamanites, it becomes
likely that other cultural features also came from them. The keeping of
"flocks," for example (Mosiah 9:14; cf. Enos 1:21), was not a
pattern which Lehi's folks are said to have brought with them; no animals are
mentioned in Nephi's Old World record (it is purely speculation that they
utilized camels or any other animals in their trek from Jerusalem to
Bountiful).[4]
What about the horse? It is claimed by critics of the Book of
Mormon there were no horses in the New World until they were brought here by
the Spanish. How could there have been
horses in Book of Mormon times?
There are a number of reasons. First, there may have been small groups of horses where the Nephites landed. Another possibility is that another animal was called the horse. A tapir has been mentioned as a possibility. We don’t know exactly what was meant by the Nephites use of “horse.”[5]
There are a number of reasons. First, there may have been small groups of horses where the Nephites landed. Another possibility is that another animal was called the horse. A tapir has been mentioned as a possibility. We don’t know exactly what was meant by the Nephites use of “horse.”[5]
[1]
Jacob
and His Descendents as Authors, John S. Tanner, Maxwell Institute, accessed
May 26, 2014.
[2]
The
Lamanite View of Book of Mormon History, Richard L. Bushman, Maxwell Institute,
accessed May 26, 2014.
[3]
Economic
Insights from the Book of Mormon, Lindon J. Robison, Maxwell Institute,
accessed May 26, 2014.
[4]
When
Lehi's Party Arrived in the Land, Did They Find Others There? John L.
Sorenson, Maxwell Institute, accessed May 26, 2014.
[5]
Once
More: The Horse, John L Sorenson, Maxwell Institute, accessed May 26, 2014.
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