Enos 1:3-8

[mikbone]

Nephi’s nephew here gains a testimony, is forgiven of his sins, and learns of Jesus Christ.

I think his question, “How is it done?” is genius.

Here is my question:  Don’t you think that Enos’s father Jacob had given him all this information in detail previously?

There comes a moment in our lives when we must leave the nest, fly on our own and feed ourselves.  

[mikbone]

 

Edited March 14 by mikbone

[laronius]

21 hours ago, mikbone said:

Nephi’s nephew here gains a testimony, is forgiven of his sins, and learns of Jesus Christ.

I think his question, “How is it done?” is genius.

Here is my question:  Don’t you think that Enos’s father Jacob had given him all this information in detail previously?

There comes a moment in our lives when we must leave the nest, fly on our own and feed ourselves.  

I imagine Jacob did teach him all that but we know what Enos remembered:

"the words which I had often heard my father speak concerning eternal life, and the joy of the saints, sunk deep into my heart."

I think he came to a realization of the great chasm between his lost and fallen state and where he wanted to be. Despite his father's teaching it had to seem insurmountable. 

I came across something yesterday that I think is applicable.

Ether 12:4 Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God...

I always figured that this word surety was just an older way of saying sure, like confident or certain. And it can be. But it also has an enhanced meaning.

Surety: a person who takes responsibility for another's performance of an undertaking, for example their appearing in court or the payment of a debt.

The gospel application here is pretty obvious. Christ has become surety for us, to pay a debt that is impossible for us to pay on our own. I think it was this feeling of impossibleness that weighed heavily upon Enos' mind, despite what he had been taught. But he learned that with God all things are possible, especially the most important stuff.

Edited March 15 by laronius

[Vort]

21 hours ago, mikbone said:

Nephi’s nephew here gains a testimony, is forgiven of his sins, and learns of Jesus Christ.

I think his question, “How is it done?” is genius.

Here is my question:  Don’t you think that Enos’s father Jacob had given him all this information in detail previously?

There comes a moment in our lives when we must leave the nest, fly on our own and feed ourselves.  

Notice that the answer to "How is it done?" is not a lesson in the details of divine spiritual mechanics. Nothing like "if one who is innocent willingly accepts the natural consequence of blah blah blah" here, just an immediate reference to the blood of Christ—literally, HOW one accesses forgiveness. Like someone asking, "How do I get to the 104th floor of this skyscraper?", and the respondent not launching into a lecture about stairs and incremental rises against gravity or counterweights and electric motors, but rather just pointing the guy toward the elevator door.

[Traveler]

22 hours ago, mikbone said:

Nephi’s nephew here gains a testimony, is forgiven of his sins, and learns of Jesus Christ.

I think his question, “How is it done?” is genius.

Here is my question:  Don’t you think that Enos’s father Jacob had given him all this information in detail previously?

There comes a moment in our lives when we must leave the nest, fly on our own and feed ourselves.  

I relate to Enos and his struggle.  Growing up in a righteous home well rooted in the gospel of Christ – I believed my parents, attended church, sought understanding and received conformations.  As I grew towards adulthood and became aware of this universe of uncertainty and my own inability to reconcile seeming contradictions, I began to wonder what it was I seemed to be missing.  Not so much doubts that what I believed was wrong – just that like the rich young man that came to Jesus – I wondered what it was that I was missing.

I had spent time in the army during the Vietnam conflict and lost friends in that war.  I had also served a mission but felt that I had been sent home at the end of my allotted time leaving critical things undone.  There was a young lady that had waited faithfully for me to complete my mission, writing to me almost every week.  I went out with her once on a date and could not connect taking her home early.  I had a major conflict with a professor (that within a year was fired) and decided to drop out of college.  I felt that the girls I met and attempted to date were seriously spiritually flawed.

I had a companion from my mission that was a native American.  I discussed with him my spiritual disconnect.  He knew me from our experiences together and knew I was raised hunting for part of the food I ate and convinced me to take time off and go on a spiritual quest similar to Enos, Moses and Christ.   I took a blanket, rope, knife, a coat, Book of Mormon and the clothes on my back and walked away from civilization into the desert of central Utah – living on the land as a 40 day fast.

Just over 20 days into my experience I came across a fellow on a prison release program that had become lost and was in serious trouble.  He had not eaten for a few days and has blisters, bleeding and was unable to walk without assistance and was more than twice my size.  It took over two days to get him out and to safety and there was a time I did not think we would make it but were saved by a miracle.  I thought that my spiritual efforts had been ruined.  My personal Enos wilderness experience failed – or so I thought.  After a few more weeks I left my wilderness without the spiritual manifestation I expected.  I had a spiritual experience in my youth, somewhat similar to young Joseph Smith and believed that I could reconnect.  But it did not happen as I expected.  I came to realize that spiritual experience come through personalizing one’s covenants.  The meaning and purpose of spiritual experiences is to galvanize one’s covenants.

As we keep our covenants through faith and dedication the spirit strengthens that faith and opens greater spiritual possibilities.  My time in the wilderness has become one of my greatest strengths leading me through life – reminding me of many things I was given during my quest and reminding me to remain faithful to covenants.  It is my understanding that Enos’s life was not fixed through his wilderness experience but rather he came to a understanding of how his purpose in life is fixed through divine covenant that he had already made but not completed.

 

The Traveler

[askandanswer]

On 3/15/2024 at 3:08 AM, mikbone said:

 

Here is my question:  Don’t you think that Enos’s father Jacob had given him all this information in detail previously? 

I believe that few, if anybody, and more likely, nobody, knows the details of the atonement. What we know is how to make it effective in our lives Knowing that is the most important thing to know, but only a tiny fraction of all there is to know, about the atonement. 

Edited March 15 by askandanswer

[Anddenex]

On 3/14/2024 at 11:38 AM, mikbone said:

Nephi’s nephew here gains a testimony, is forgiven of his sins, and learns of Jesus Christ.

I think his question, “How is it done?” is genius.

Here is my question:  Don’t you think that Enos’s father Jacob had given him all this information in detail previously?

There comes a moment in our lives when we must leave the nest, fly on our own and feed ourselves.  

I really like this thought, and I'm reminded of mine own experience with this type of change myself. My parents taught me who I was as a son of God, and made it very clear I was a child (son) of God. Despite the very clear teaching it wasn't until my mission when I received personal witness/revelation that I was a "son of God." It to this day, is the most important revelation I have received outside of receiving witness of who Christ is and what he accomplished.

Enos's father was a prophet. He didn't neglect teaching his children about who Christ was, the law of Moses, and many other things, and despite all these teachings Enos still required his own personal revelation/witness.

This also reminds me of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Abraham received covenant, taught his son, and Isaac sought after the same blessing to receive it for himself. Jacob did also, they both didn't rely on the witness from their father, but they let the teachings of their father to have full sway in their hearts to seek after the blessing themselves.

[mikbone]

Word change

The song (I am a child of God) was first performed at a stake Primary conference in 1957. Several years later, apostle Spencer W. Kimball asked the Primary general board if the phrase "Teach me all that I must know / To live with him someday" could be changed to "Teach me all that I must do / To live with him someday". As Kimball later explained, "To know isn't enough. The devils know and tremble; the devils know everything. We have to do something." The Primary general board accepted the change.