- 1I Enos respected my father because he taught me to read and understand his language, and that allowed me to be guided and corrected by the Lord. May the name of God be blessed for it. 2I’ll tell you about the struggle I had with God before receiving forgiveness of my sins. 3I went to hunt animals in the forest, and the lessons I had often heard from my father about eternal life and the joy of the holy ones sank deep into my heart, 4and I wanted that to my very soul. Therefore I knelt down before my Maker and cried out to Him in powerful prayer in an appeal for my own soul. I prayed to Him all day long. When the night came, I continued to pray out loud to get the attention of heaven. 5Then a voice came to me, saying: Enos, your sins are forgiven, and you will be Blessed. 6And because I knew God couldn’t lie, I felt no more guilt. 7Then I asked: Lord, how did it happen? 8And He replied: Because of your faith in Christ, whom you haven’t heard or seen before this. Many years from now He’ll reveal Himself as a man. Press on, your faith has made you whole.
- 9When I heard this, I began to be concerned about the well-being of my Nephite brothers and sisters; so I prayed from my whole heart to God for them. 10While I was laboring like this in the spirit, the Lord’s voice came into my mind again, saying: I’ll bless or punish them according to their diligence in keeping My commandments. I’ve given them this land, and it’s a holy land; and I’ll only curse it because of iniquity. Therefore I’ll bless or punish your people just as I’ve said, and bring their transgressions down with sorrow on their own heads. 11And after I had heard these words, my faith became unshaken in the Lord. And I prayed to Him with greater intensity for my Lamanite brothers and sisters.
- 12After I prayed and diligently stated my concerns, the Lord told me: I’ll grant your request because of your faith. 13Now this was what I requested of Him: that if it turned out my people the Nephites fell into transgression and were destroyed, but the Lamanites weren’t destroyed, that the Lord God would keep a record of my people the Nephites safe, even if it’s done by His own power, so it could be brought to light at some time in the future for the Lamanites. Then they might be able to learn and be saved. 14Because at present our struggles to restore them to the true faith were hopeless. They swore an oath in anger that if possible, they would destroy our records and us and all the traditions passed down to us by our forefathers.
- 15Since I knew the Lord God was able to preserve our records, I prayed to Him continually, because He had told me: Anything you ask in faith, in the name of Christ, believing you will receive, you will receive it. 16And I had faith and prayed to God that He would keep the records safe. He covenanted with me that He would provide them for the Lamanites when He decided it was the right time. 17I knew it would happen according to the covenant He had made; so my soul was at peace. 18Then the Lord told me: Your fathers have also asked Me to do this. And it will be done for them according to their faith, because their faith was like yours.
- 19Now I returned to the Nephites, prophesying of things to come and testifying of what I had heard and seen. 20I tell you the Nephites sincerely tried to restore the Lamanites to the true faith in God, but our efforts were pointless. Their hatred was fixed, and they couldn’t change their corrupt outlook, therefore they became an uncivilized and savage people, who were eager to kill and preoccupied by idolatry and moral filth, who ate predator animals, lived in tents, and camped in the wilderness with a short skin strapped around their waists and their heads shaven. Their skill was in the bow, blade, and ax, and many of them ate nothing but raw meat. They were always trying to kill us.
- 21The Nephites tilled the ground and raised all kinds of grain and fruit, and large herds — cattle of every kind, goats, wild goats, and many horses. 22And we had a great many prophets, but the people were stubborn and hard to persuade. 23Nothing kept them from destruction except for blunt and unequivocal language preaching and prophesying about wars, conflicts, and destruction, and constantly reminding them of death and the length of eternity and God’s judgments and power — all this continually threatening them to keep them in the fear of the Lord — I say there was nothing except for unmistakable blunt language that could keep them from quickly being destroyed. This is how I would describe them. 24I personally experienced wars between the Nephites and Lamanites during my life.
- 25Then I got old. And 179 years had passed since our father Lehi left Jerusalem. 26I realized I would soon die. God’s power influenced me to preach and prophesy to this people and declare the word according to the truth that is in Christ — and I’ve testified my whole life. This mattered more to me than worldly things. 27I soon go to the place of my rest, to join my Redeemer — and I know I’ll rest in Him. I rejoice in the day when my mortal body will become immortal and stand before Him. Then I’ll see His face with pleasure, and He’ll say: Come to Me, Blessed one; there are places prepared for you in My Father’s realms. Amen.
The Book of Enos