The prophet Enos in the Book of Mormon tells an amazing story about his conversion to the Lord. Enos’s book is comprised of just one chapter and was written about 420 B.C. His words are very brief, but they contain what he believed were the most valuable lessons from his life. In his writing, he shares his personal experience with prayer, repentance, and conversion to the gospel, all of which are valuable lessons that we need today.
Enos was the son of the famous Nephite prophet named Jacob. Because of this, Enos had likely heard about the gospel his entire life. Like many people that grow up in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Enos was probably taught the gospel from a very young age. In the context of this chapter, Enos goes hunting alone when he begins to ponder about the words of his father. In verse 3 he says, “the words which I had often heard my father speak concerning eternal life, and the joy of the saints, sunk deep into my heart.” (Enos 1:3). In the scholarly article, ‘How Important Was It to Moroni That We Pray about the Book of Mormon?’ the authors explain what the word “ponder” really meant back then. They write, “Anciently, to ponder meant “to weigh,” which suggests that to ponder something was to weigh or decide its value.” (Book of Mormon Central). Enos was finally at a point in his life when he was really considering the value of the gospel. His pondering led him to consider making a change.
As stated before, many people grow up hearing all about the gospel but do not fully understand its importance. Enos’s experience teaches us that we cannot rely only upon the testimonies of other people, and there comes a time when we all have to find out for ourselves. Even though his own father was a prophet, there came a point when Enos had to find out for himself if the things that he spoke were true. In the Doctrine and Covenants the Lord says, “If thou shalt ask, thou shalt receive revelation upon revelation, knowledge upon knowledge, that thou mayest know the mysteries and peaceable things- that which bringeth joy, that which bringeth life eternal” (D&C 42:6). There is no way for us to really know that gospel principles are true unless we ask for ourselves. It is so important that each and every member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints follows the example of Enos and seeks their own testimony.
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Enos hungered to know the truth and began by praying for faith. He calls his effort to pray a “wrestle before God” (Enos 1:2). I believe that God wanted Enos to write these exact words because it shows that developing faith does not always come easy. Concerning this “wrestle before God” Elder Robert D. Hales said, “We cannot find Enos-like faith without our own wrestle before God in prayer” (Hales). This wrestle before God does not mean that we are physically moving around on the ground. It has to do with the desires of our hearts and our intent to pray sincerely by the Holy Spirit. If we want to achieve anything from prayer, we have to put real effort into it. In Moroni 10:4 it says, “if we shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you” (Moroni 10:4). If we want to gain faith, these three requirements of sincere heart, real intent, and faith in the Lord are required. Enos’s experience is a perfect example of praying effectively because he genuinely wanted faith and forgiveness and showed great faith by praying throughout the entire day.
Because Enos “wrestled before God” in prayer, something amazing happened. The voice of the Lord came to him saying that his sins were “swept away” because of his great faith. After this experience, he said, “And I, Enos, knew that God could not lie, wherefore, my guilt was swept away” (Enos 1:6). Every time a person receives forgiveness from their sins, there is a peace that comes afterward. Elder Richard G. Scott in the October 200 general conference said, “Peace is the precious fruit of a righteous life. It is possible because of the atonement of the Savior. It is earned through full repentance, for that leads to refreshing forgiveness.” (Scott). Even Alma the younger experienced this same peace when he repented. After his repentance process, he said, “I was three days and three nights in the most bitter pain and anguish of soul, and never, until I did cry unto the Lord Jesus Christ for mercy, did I receive a remission of my sins. But behold I did cry unto him and did find peace to my soul” (Alma 38:8). It is important to understand this principle because it means that anybody can have peace of mind. All we have to do is turn to do is sincerely repent and we can have joy.
After Enos experienced such a miraculous manifestation of God’s love, he immediately looked outward. Directly after his forgiveness, he says, “I began to feel a sincere desire for the welfare of my brethren, the Nephites, wherefore I did pour out my whole soul unto God for them” (Enos 1:9). President Howard W. Hunter once said, “a great indicator of one’s personal conversion is the desire to share the gospel with others” (Hunter). For the rest of his life, the main goal for Enos was to help people repent and live righteously. One way that we show our conversion is by spreading the gospel to the people that we love the most. Because Enos showed faith, repented, and felt the joy that came from the Savior’s love, he immediately wanted other people to feel the same love.
I believe that God put this chapter in the Book of Mormon because he expects all of his children to go through a similar process in life. Whether we grew up in the church or not, everyone needs to be converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ. This chapter teaches us that we need to exercise faith and repent. Once we have repented, we will see the joy that the gospel brings into our lives and how much happier it makes us. If we are truly converted, we will act on these things and share our message with the rest of the world.
