THE BOOK OF ENOS
CHAPTER 1
Enos prays mightily and gains a remission of his sins—The voice of the Lord comes into his mind, promising salvation for the Lamanites in a future day—The Nephites sought to reclaim the Lamanites—Enos rejoices in his Redeemer. About 420 B.C.
1 I, Enos, know that my father was a good man, because he taught me in his language and about the nurture and instruction of the Lord, and blessed be the name of my God for it.
2 I will tell you about the struggle I had with God before I received a remission of my sins.
3 I went to hunt beasts in the forests, and the words I had often heard my father speak sunk deep into my heart, about eternal life and the joy of the saints.
4 My soul hungered, and I kneeled down before my Maker and cried to him in mighty prayer and earnest requests for my own soul. All the day long I cried to him, and when night came I still raised my voice high so it reached the heavens.
5 A voice came to me, saying, Enos, your sins are forgiven, and you will be blessed.
6 And I knew that God could not lie, so my guilt was swept away.
7 I said, Lord, how is it done?
8 He said to me, Because of your faith in Christ, whom you have never before heard or seen. After many years he will show himself in the flesh, so go, your faith has made you whole.
9 After I heard these words I began to feel a desire for the welfare of my brethren, the Nephites, so I poured out my whole soul to God for them.
10 While I was struggling in the spirit, the voice of the Lord came into my mind again, saying, I will visit your brethren according to their diligence in keeping my commandments. I have given them this holy land, and I will not curse it except for their iniquity. So I will visit your brethren as I have said: I will bring their transgressions down on their own heads with sorrow.
11 After I had heard these words, my faith began to be unshaken in the Lord, and with many long struggles I prayed to him for my brethren, the Lamanites.
12 After I had prayed and labored with all diligence, the Lord said to me, Because of your faith, I will give to you according to your desires.
13 This is what I desired of him: if my people, the Nephites, would fall into transgression and be destroyed, and if the Lamanites would not be destroyed, that the Lord God would preserve a record of my people, the Nephites, by the power of his holy arm, so it might be brought at some future day to the Lamanites so that perhaps they could be brought to salvation;
14 Because at present our struggles to restore them to the true faith were fruitless. And in their anger they swore that they would destroy our records and us, if possible, and also all the traditions of our fathers.
15 I knew that the Lord God was able to preserve our records, so I cried to him continually because he had said to me, Whatever thing you ask in faith, believing you will receive, in the name of Christ, you will receive it.
16 I had faith, and I cried to God that he would preserve the records, and he covenanted with me that he would give them to the Lamanites in his chosen time.
17 And I knew it would happen according to the covenant he had made, so my soul rested.
18 The Lord said, Your fathers have also required this thing from me, and it will be done for them according to their faith, because their faith was like yours.
19 I went among the people of Nephi, prophesying of things to come and testifying of the things I had heard and seen.
20 I testify that the Nephites diligently tried to restore the Lamanites to the true faith in God. But our labors were fruitless. Their hatred was determined, and they were led by their evil nature to become a wild, ferocious, and blood-thirsty people, full of idolatry and filthiness, feeding on beasts of prey, dwelling in tents, and wandering around in the wilderness with a short belt of skins around their waists, with shaved heads. Their skill was with the bow, sword, and ax. Many of them ate nothing but raw meat, and they were continually trying to destroy us.
21 The Nephites tilled the land and raised all kinds of grain, fruit, flocks, goats, wild goats, many horses, and herds of cattle.
22 And there were exceedingly many prophets among us, while the people were stubbornly proud, slow to listen and understand.
23 Nothing would stir them up to continue fearing the Lord except harshness, and preaching and prophesying of wars, contentions, destructions, and continually reminding them of death, the duration of eternity, and the judgments and the power of God. Nothing short of these things and exceedingly great plainness of speech would keep them from going speedily to destruction.
24 All my days I saw wars between the Nephites and Lamanites.
25 I grew old, and one hundred and seventy-nine years had passed from the time that our father Lehi left Jerusalem.
26 I saw that I would die soon, having had the power of God work on me to preach and prophesy to this people, and to declare the word according to the truth that is in Christ. I have declared it all my life and rejoiced in it above the things of the world.
27 Soon I go to the place of my rest, which is with my Redeemer, because I know that in him I will rest. And I rejoice in the day when my mortal will take on immortality, and will stand in front of him. Then I will see his face with pleasure, and he will say to me, Come to me, you blessed, there is a place prepared for you in the mansions of my Father. Amen.