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TODAY'S THEME
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| Enos Prayed All Day -by Al R. Young |
Enos 1: 1 BEHOLD, it came to pass that I, Enos, knowing my father that he was a just man—for he taught me in his language, and also in the nurture and admonition of the Lord—and blessed be the name of my God for it—
2 And I will tell you of the wrestle which I had before God, before I received a remission of my sins.
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.
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. (emphasis added)
Have you or anyone you have ever known or heard of, ever offered a prayer that lasted all day long? Whatever answer you just gave, you can now say, at least that: "I have read in the Book of Enos, one of the books within the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ, that Enos, the son or grandson of the prophet Jacob, son of Father Lehi, did that very thing. Enos' prayer lasted all day long! ALL - DAY - LONG!
You have read the eight verses above so you should know that the end result of Enos' prayer more than justified the time and effort that went into it, isn't that so? To help each of you, and me too, to learn to pray as devotedly as our ancient Brother Enos, I suggest that we come to understand better the various elements of his prayer.
With your patience, I'm going to ask you a number of specific questions in order to assist you to really learn some very important things about praying from the very helpful Book of Mormon passages which make up TODAY'S THEME. You can obtain each answer to my questions listed below by re-reading the scripture used in that Theme above as I guide you through it.
Please find a pen or pencil and a 8 1/2 by 11 inch piece of paper to use, and something nearby to lay it on. It won't take long and may really help you. The specific instructions I give you will ease your answering. Please do it!
The memory of whose words? (in verse 3) caused that Enos' "soul hungered" so much so that he knelt down before his maker (God) thus giving up the hunting he obviously had planned for at least part of the day, to pray all day long? Just write your answer to this question down on your piece of paper. (Your notes will be just for your own use.)
What was the subject of the words Enos had heard his father speak; words so powerful that they "sunk deep into my heart?" Please write on your note paper the exact eight words Enos mentioned. The answer is found in verse 3 of the scripture. They follow the word, concerning.
Please also read verse 5 of the scripture above to learn what the outcome of Enos' day-long prayer was. Please write that down on your note paper you have been using. There are eleven words, the first of which is: Enos,
In the Lord's words to Enos, what was it that brought about the answer He gave to Enos' prayer? A clue: this answer can be found at the beginning of verse 8. There are four words, with the first of them being: thy. Again, please write those four words down on your piece of paper.
You have just learned about the result of Enos' faith. Look at your answer you wrote on your paper to the question in paragraph#4 to review that. What two reasons did the Lord give Enos for that belief being a challenging act of faith? There are 21 words in verse 8 telling us that, beginning with the word, whom and ending with the word flesh; Please write out on your paper the very important answer to that question.
What action word does Enos use to describe his prayer? This action noun starts with a,"w". It is the eighth word in verse 2. Again, please write down your answer on your paper!
What is your opinion as to why Enos used that word that began with a "w" to describe his prayer? First, think that question through. Please then, write down your answer!
Have you ever prayed in a way so that word that begins with a "w" would apply to your prayer? It should be easy for you to answer this question because you know how you pray. Please write your answer on your paper.
One final question for you to answer on your piece of paper. Consider listing, for your own use only, the changes you now plan to make in your personal style of praying. I wouldn't expect you to list - "Day-long" or even - "long" prayers." I think that the length of Enos's prayer came from the intensity of the deep-set feelings he was experiencing.
The remaining eighteen verses of this account written by the Prophet, Enos, are very significant and so I will comment briefly on each of the points that he makes in that portion of his book. You will see strong evidence that Enos was functioning under the influence of the Spirit Prophecy and Revelation. I quote from the Book of Mormon, Chapter 4: 6 -8 for a working definition of that term. It was interesting to me and may be to each of you also, while reading this very workable definition of the above term I've highlighted to realize that it was either Enos' father or grandfather, Jacob, son of Lehi who provides us with that definition! You will most likely want to meditate and pray some as you try to catch the full working meaning of what the Prophet Jacob teaches us here as we seek to apply more fully that spirit to our lives on a regular basis:
It is my opinion that it was only after the forgiveness of Enos' sins that he possessed the Spirit of God sufficiently to possess and use the Gift of Prophecy and Revelation as do all prophets and worthy members of Jesus' Church who have the necessary confidence and faith.
Before I help you analyze the last 18 verses of the Book of Enos, please right now if you have the time read all 27 verses of this very short book all together in one reading.
Book of Enos Chapter 1. In so doing remember you can have that book read to you if you click on the word, Listen on the page that comes onto your screen.
Now, please read through my following outline of what you just listened to in the final 18 verses of this short book.
Book of Mormon, Jacob 6 Wherefore, we search the prophets, and we have many revelations and the spirit of prophecy; and having all these witnesses we obtain a hope, and our faith becometh unshaken, insomuch that we truly can command in the name of Jesus and the very trees obey us, or the mountains, or the waves of the sea.
7 Nevertheless, the Lord God showeth us our weakness that we may know that it is by his grace, and his great condescensions unto the children of men, that we have power to do these things.
8 Behold, great and marvelous are the works of the Lord. How unsearchable are the depths of the mysteries of him; and it is impossible that man should find out all his ways. And no man knoweth of his ways save it be revealed unto him; wherefore, brethren, despise not the revelations of God.Later, if you are interested in learning more about that, you can access my Blog Index and do some research in some of my posts listed in my index under the Term: Prophecy and Revelation which cover that subject.
It is my opinion that it was only after the forgiveness of Enos' sins that he possessed the Spirit of God sufficiently to possess and use the Gift of Prophecy and Revelation as do all prophets and worthy members of Jesus' Church who have the necessary confidence and faith.
Before I help you analyze the last 18 verses of the Book of Enos, please right now if you have the time read all 27 verses of this very short book all together in one reading.
Book of Enos Chapter 1. In so doing remember you can have that book read to you if you click on the word, Listen on the page that comes onto your screen.
Now, please read through my following outline of what you just listened to in the final 18 verses of this short book.
After Enos' sins had been forgiven and he felt an incomparable love for his (and our) Savior Jesus Christ, he plead to Him for the welfare of his brethren, the Nephites. (in verse 9)
Then, beginning in verse 11 he plead for the welfare of the Lamanites, his unbelieving relatives.
In verse 13 Enos makes an inspired special request of the Lord: "if it should so be, that my people, the Nephites, should fall into transgression, and by any means be destroyed, and the Lamanites should not be destroyed, that the Lord God would would preserve a record of my people, (The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ These highlighted words are my words of clarification.) which would perhaps bring the Lamanites unto salvation." Please note Enos' word, perhaps. You blog readers who are already members of His church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, may have had, already, along with me, opportunities to reach out to the Lamanites of our day. I suggest that the word, perhaps, would be the best word to use. After all, it is a matter of free-agency for someone to believe in and accept the Lord's truth when it is presented to them. However, here is a very favorite quote of mine from the Doctrine and Covenants.
- In verse 18 the Lord tells Enos that his request (regarding the Book of Mormon being brought to the Lamanites in the Latter-days) was something Enos' fathers "also have required of me." Prophetic inspiration for sure on Enos' part!D and C 49:24 But before the great day of the Lord shall come, Jacob shall flourish in the wilderness, and the Lamanites shall blossom as the rose.
Enos summarized all of the difficulties he and his people experienced for the rest of his life with their relatives, the Lamanites.
In the last verse of his book, Enos rejoices "in the day when my mortal shall put on immortality," (through the resurrection brought about for all of us by Jesus Christ)
". . .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."
Painting: Heinrich Hoffman
Jesus Christ, The Son of God
Now, after having studied all of this wonderful scripture from the Book of Enos, I feel the strong impulse to allow you to read once again the "cockeyed (twisted)" opinion of Professor Alex Caldiero of Utah Valley University regarding the source of the Book of Mormon. I use the words, "cockeyed (twisted) opinion" because that is what it is to claim that which he claims in the quote below.
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| Alex Caldiero, Professor at Utah Valley State University, Orem, Utah (U.S.A.) |
"I hear Joseph Smith's voice every time I read it (The Book of Mormon). He was a farmer. He was young. He was unlettered and he put this all together. So you have this rough hewn kind of text ..." Alex Caldiero, poet and scholar, Utah Valley University. (clarification added)As I have written before, I derived the title of this blog (Have You Really Read the Book of Mormon?) from that incorrect opinion of that poet and scholar from right here in Utah. It is quoted from a PBS Video, "The Mormons" shown in May of 2007 on prime-time television. I have quoted it a number of times in this blog, the previous time being in my post 35f.
The Book of Enos is an example of a spiritual historic account of a true experience of an ancient Hebrew transplant in Ancient America, who truly testified of Jesus Christ!
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Mormon Messages Please click on the following link. You may have been working your way through this blog post for quite a while, but please, do not skip viewing this video!!
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Mormon Messages Please click on the following link. You may have been working your way through this blog post for quite a while, but please, do not skip viewing this video!!
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DISCLAIMER
This website is not owned by or affiliated with the Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (sometimes called the Mormon or LDS Church). The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the position of the Church.
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TO ACCESS NEIL BIRCH'S BLOG INDEX: To Either Read the Full Index Item Which Refers To This Blog Post, (Or To Search The Index For Any Other Post You Decide To Open) After Reading All of this Paragraph, Please Click on the Following: Enos, A son or Grandson of Father Lehi's Fifth Son, Jacob - Post 40v. After Having Clicked on that link, a Picture of Our Savior, Jesus Christ Sitting Next to a Little Boy Will Appear On Your Screen. Please Scroll Down From There Into the Main Body of The Index To Your Target Item. (You Can Use the Alphabetical Scrolling Device When It Has Been Installed.)
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"Have You Really Read the Book of Mormon?" Legal /Statement. Thank you for visiting. The author retains intellectual property and creative licensing rights. Permission to use or reprint must be given in writing. © Est.2008 Neil Birch Legal /Statement.
_____________ I deeply appreciate your readership and hope you found very beneficial, that which was presented to you in this blog post.
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Neil Birch
