6 And I, Enos, knew
that God could not lie; wherefore, my guilt was swept away.
7 And I said: Lord,
how is it done?
8 And he said unto me:
Because of thy faith in Christ, whom thou hast never before heard nor
seen. And many years pass away before he
shall manifest himself in the flesh; wherefore, go to, thy faith hath made thee
whole.
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.
10 And while I was
thus struggling in the spirit, behold, the voice of the Lord came into my mind
again, saying: I will visit thy brethren according to their diligence in
keeping my commandments. I have given
unto them this land, and it is a holy land; and I curse it not save it be for
the cause of iniquity; wherefore, I will visit thy brethren according as I have
said; and their transgressions will I bring down with sorrow upon their own
heads.
Enos 1:6-11
Enos, having heard a voice telling him his sins were
forgiven, knew it had to be true.
Why? “I … knew the God could not lie.”
His guilt was swept away.
Enos than asked the Lord, “how is it done?” Enos was forgiven through his faith in Christ, “whom [he] hast never before heard no
seen.” Enos was a man of deep
faith. In some ways, he resembled the
brother of Jared. When the brother of
Jared asked the Lord to touch the stones, he saw the finger of the Lord. His faith was so strong, the Lord could not
prevent him from seeing His finger.
After the brother of Jared asked the Lord to show Himself to him, the
Lord asked if he believed His words. The
brother of Jared replied:
12
And [the brother of Jared] answered: Yea, Lord, I know that thou speakest the
truth, for thou art a God of truth, and canst not lie.
13
And when he had said these words, behold, the Lord showed himself unto him, and
said: Because thou knowest these things ye are redeemed from the fall;
therefore ye are brought back into my presence; therefore I show myself unto
you.
Ether 3:12-13
Through Enos’s faith, he had been made whole. During the Lord’s ministry, a woman with
serious health problems believed that if she touched the Savior’s robe, she
would be healed. She touched His robe
and was healed. The Savior knew what had
occurred, and used this to teach the woman why she was healed. “But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw
her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee
whole. And the woman was made whole from
that hour” (Matthew 9:22). He wanted her
to understand it was her faith in Christ, not the touching of His robe, made
her whole.
Susan Easton Black wrote about the importance of faith. (This is a great article. It is well worth
the time to read the whole thing.)
From the scriptures I have learned
that "the Lord is able to do all things according to his will, for the
children of men, if it so be that they exercise faith in him" (1 Nephi
7:12). We must "ask in faith, nothing wavering" (James 1:6) because
"it is by faith that miracles are wrought" (Moroni 7:37). "Jesus
[is] the author and finisher of our faith" (Hebrews 12:2); "your
hearts are changed through faith on his name; therefore, ye are born of him and
have become his sons and his daughters" (Mosiah 5:7). We all yearn to
hear, "Thy faith hath made thee whole" (Enos 1:8).[1]
Having received forgiveness of his sins, Enos began to think
about his people the Nephites. “I began to feel a desire for the welfare of
my brethren.” Lehi desired his
family partake of the fruit of the tree.
“And as I partook of the fruit
thereof it filled my soul with exceedingly great joy; wherefore, I began to be desirous
that my family should partake of it also; for I knew that it was desirable
above all other fruit” (1 Nephi 8:12). Alma2, talking to
Helaman, told him, “Yea, and from [the
time of his miraculous conversion] even until now, I have labored without
ceasing, that I might bring souls unto repentance; that I might bring them to taste
of the exceeding joy of which I did taste; that they might also be born of God,
and be filled with the Holy Ghost” (Alma 36:24)
The wife of king Lamoni, awaking from the miraculous
conversion, worried about the welfare of her people. “And it came to pass that [Abish] went and took the queen by the hand,
that perhaps she might raise her from the ground; and as soon as she touched
her hand she arose and stood upon her feet, and cried with a loud voice,
saying: O blessed Jesus, who has saved me from an awful hell! O blessed God, have mercy on this people!”
(Alma 19:29).
Enos continued his prayer, [pouring] out my whole soul unto God for them.” Nephi prayed for the welfare of his
people until the end of his life. “But I, Nephi, have written what I have
written, and I esteem it as of great worth, and especially unto my people. For I pray continually for them by day, and
mine eyes water my pillow by night, because of them; and I cry unto my God in
faith, and I know that he will hear my cry” (2 Nephi 33:3).
Amulek taught the poor Zoramites the importance of pouring
out you soul to God.
26
But this is not all; ye must pour out your souls in your closets, and your secret
places, and in your wilderness.
27
Yea, and when you do not cry unto the Lord, let your hearts be full, drawn out
in prayer unto him continually for your welfare, and also for the welfare of those
who are around you.
Alma 34:26-27
While Enos continued his struggle with the Lord, the voice
of the Lord came to him. “I will visit thy brethren according to
their diligence in keeping my commandments.”
Once again, we see that the Nephites keeping the land of promise is based
on whether they are wicked or righteous.
The Nephites had been given the land and it will be cursed only if the
people are wicked. The brother of Jared
received a similar promise.
7
And the Lord would not suffer that they should stop beyond the sea in the
wilderness, but he would that they should come forth even unto the land of
promise, which was choice above all other lands, which the Lord God had preserved
for a righteous people.
8
And he had sworn in his wrath unto the brother of Jared, that whoso should
possess this land of promise, from that time henceforth and forever, should serve
him, the true and only God, or they should be swept off when the fulness of his
wrath should come upon them.
9
And now, we can behold the decrees of God concerning this land, that it is a
land of promise; and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall serve God, or
they shall be swept off when the fulness of his wrath shall come upon
them. And the fulness of his wrath
cometh upon them when they are ripened in iniquity.
10
For behold, this is a land which is choice above all other lands; wherefore he
that doth possess it shall serve God or shall be swept off; for it is the
everlasting decree of God. And it is not
until the fulness of iniquity among the children of the land, that they are swept
off.
11
And this cometh unto you, O ye Gentiles, that ye may know the decrees of
God—that ye may repent, and not continue in your iniquities until the fulness
come, that ye may not bring down the fulness of the wrath of God upon you as
the inhabitants of the land have hitherto done.
12
Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free
from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if
they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ, who hath been
manifested by the things which we have written.
Ether 2:7-12
The Lord told Enos if the Nephites transgress the law, “I will bring down with sorrow upon their
heads.”
The same land is
both blessed and cursed, and the inhabitants likewise are blessed or cursed not
by virtue of their family connection, but according to their behavior: "It
is a holy land; and I curse it not save it be for the cause of iniquity" (Enos
1:10). The old Hasidic curse on the land of Canaan is virtually identical with
that which is pronounced on this promised land in the Book of Mormon…[2]
[1]
A
Legacy of Faith, Susan Easton Black, Maxwell Institute, accessed May 19,
2014.
[2]
The
Trouble with Ham, Maxwell Institute, accessed May 20, 2014.
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