You've done an awesome job, Enos!

Episode 13: You've done an awesome job, Enos!

The Book of Enos

¹ I, Enos, know that my father was a just man, who taught me in his language. ³ One day, I was hunting beasts in the forest, when I heard the words that my father often spoke. ⁴ My soul was hungry, and I knelt down in front of God and cried to him all day long, and I kept on crying when it became night. ⁵ Then a voice said “Enos, your sins are forgiven.”

⁷ I said, “How is that done?” ⁸ “By your faith in Christ,“ God said “whom you’ve never seen and who won’t be seen for many years.”

^9-13 When I heard these words, I wanted to help the Nephites. So I prayed for them. ¹⁴ But the Nephites wanted to destroy us and our records.

¹⁵ I asked God to preserve our records, and God said he’d give me whatever I asked for. ¹⁶ He said he’d preserve the records and show them to the Lamanites someday. ¹⁷ So my soul rested.

²⁰ Meanwhile, the Lamanites, led by their evil nature, became a wild, ferocious, and a bloodthirsty people, full of idolatry and filthiness, wandering around with short skin girdles on their loins, with their heads shaven. Many of them only ate raw meat, and they were always trying to destroy us.

²¹ The Nephites tilled the soil and grew grain and fruit, and raised cattle, goats, and horses. ²² There were exceedingly many prophets among us. But the people were stiff-necked and hard to understand. ²³ Only exceedingly great plainness of speech could save them from destruction.

²⁴ There were many wars between the Nephites and Lamanites.

²⁵ It was the year 420 BCE, and I was getting old. I look forward to the day that I die when God will say to me, “You’ve done an awesome job, Enos!”

A few more words about this episode

I, Enos, know that my father was a just man, who taught me in his language. (1)

So now we know that the little book of Enos was written by Enos ("I, Enos") in the language of his father, Jacob.

As I'm sure you'll recall, at the end of the last book (the Book of Jacob) Jacob "began to be old" and gave his plates to his son Enos, before bidding us all "adieu."

Now you might get the impression from Jacob's use of the word "adieu" that Jacob spoke French, but he didn't. He spoke good, old-fashioned Reformed Egyptian like all other native Americans in 500 BCE. He just threw in the word "adieu" (which originated in late 14th century Europe) to impress you.

But back to the story (translated by Joseph Smith into 17th century English from the Reformed Egyptian).

Then a voice said “Enos, your sins are forgiven.” (5)

One day Enos went out to hunt beasts in the forest when a voice in his head started talking to him.

Enos has a long conversation with the voice, which tells him that he is forgiven through his faith in Jesus, who wouldn't be born for another 500 years or so. And whatever he asks "in the name of Christ," he will receive. God also "covenanted" with Enos, saying he'd preserve his plates with the Lamanites.

The Lamanites, led by their evil nature, became a wild, ferocious, and a bloodthirsty people. (20)

After the voice in his head quieted down, Enos prophesied to the Nephites about the evil, wild, ferocious, bloodthirsty, and filthy Lamanites (Native Americans).

The Nephites tilled the soil and grew grain and fruit, and raised cattle, goats, and horses. (21)

The Nephites, on the other hand, were civilized people. They cooked their food and grew "all manner of grain" and had "all manner of cattle ... and also many horses." (Cattle, horses, and European grains were absent in pre-Columbian North America.)

There were exceedingly many prophets among us. (22)

Luckily he had read his dad's book so he knew how to talk with "exceedingly great plainness of speech," as you've no doubt already noticed.

It was the year 420 BCE, and I was getting old. (25)

As you may have noticed, the dates for the last few chapters have been imprecise. That's because there's been no clear date given since Jacob 1:1 which said, " fifty and five years had passed away from the time that Lehi left Jerusalem" (which according to 1 Nephi 10:4 was approximately 600 BCE).

But now we have another date: 421 BCE (179 years after Lehi left Jerusalem).

I look forward to the day that I die when God will say to me, “You’ve done an awesome job, Enos!” (27)

This reminds me of this verse from "You and me (but mostly me)" from my all-time favorite musical. (The Book of Mormon).

I've always had the hope,
That on the day I go to heaven.
Heavenly Father will shake my hand and say,
"You've done an awesome job, Kevin!

Episode 13: You've done an awesome job, Enos!

The Book of Enos

A few more words about this episode

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