Enos 1

(Below is a list of questions and quotes that help me think about each verse as I read it. The numbers represent the verses in the chapter.)

As we exercise faith in Jesus Christ, our sins can be forgiven and we can be made whole. As we experience the blessings of Jesus Christ's Atonement, we will seek to help others receive salvation.

1. How did Enos feel about his father? How do you feel about your father? Have you ever blessed the name of God for granting you the father you were given? What impact do the teachings of parents have in the conversion of their children?

"In the divine scheme every soul has been given a father whose responsibility is not only to sire and provide the necessities of life, but also to train for mortality and life eternal... The teachings of the children by the father is basic from the beginning. The Lord ordained it so. Though Enos hed strayed for a time, the teachings of his father prevailed, and he returned to worthiness." – Spencer W Kimball, GC, April 1965

"Twice blessed is the child who, what he or she is so young as perhaps to be unable to comprehend the words, can nevertheless feel the spirit of prayer as a loving mother or a kind father helps with a few words of prayer at bedtime. Fortunate, indeed, are the boys and girls, including those in their teens, in whose homes there is the practice of morning and evening family prayer." – Gordon B Hinckley, Ensign, June 1985

2-10. How was Enos's. prayer different from many prayers? How can you make your own prayers more effective by following Enos's example?

2. Notice that Enos did not wrestle with God but before God in prayer. Such wrestling involves a mental and spiritual struggle to show Heavenly Father the sincerity of your desires and your willingness to repent and make the necessary changes in your life. Have you ever wrestled before God? How can the repentance process feel like a wrestle? What are you wrestling?

"Some prayers are expressions of gratitude. Others are simple request like those asking for a blessing on the food. Still others are heartfelt cries for help. Of these kinds of prayers, Jesus commanded us to pray having a sincere heart with real intent, having faith in Christ. Patricia T Holland observes: 'We are women now, not children, and we are expected to pray with maturity. The words most often used to describe urgent, prayerful labor are wrestle, plead, cry, and hunger. In some sense, prayer may be the hardest work we will ever engage in, and perhaps it should be.' (Ensign, October 1987)" – VisitingTeaching  Message, Ensign, July 1990

3. How have the teachings of your parents affected you? What specific teachings have they taught that have had a great impact upon your heart?

4-13. Why would it be important to pray for your own needs? Is it easy or difficult for you to pray for others? Why? Is it easy or difficult for you to pray for your enemies? Why?

"You cannot lift another soul until you are standing on higher ground then she is… You cannot light a fire in another soul unless it is burning in your own soul." – Harold B Lee, Stand Ye in Holy Places, 187

4. The phrase 'my soul hungered' may involve feelings such as spiritual emptiness or pain or a desire to be filled spiritually. Has your soul ever hungered? How can prayer edify your hungry soul? How would you describe mighty prayer? How often do you offer up mighty prayer to your God and King? How can you show the Lord your sincerity as you pray and seek His spiritual blessings?

5-8. Does everyone have to have an experience like Enos did to be saved?

"We must be careful, as we seek to become more and more Godlike, that we do not become discouraged and lose hope. Becoming Christlike is a lifetime pursuit and very often involves growth and change that is slow, almost in perceptible. The scriptures record remarkable accounts of man whose lives changed dramatically, in an instant, as it were: Alma the Younger, Paul on the road to Damascus, Enos praying far into the night, King Lamoni. Such astonishing examples of the power to change even those steeped in sin give confidence that theAtonement  can reach even those deepest in despair. But we must be cautious as we discuss these remarkable examples. Though they are real and powerful, they are the exception more than the rule. For every Paul, for every Enos, and for every king Lamoni, there are hundreds and thousands of people who find the process of repentance much more subtle, much more imperceptible. Day by day they move closer to the Lord, little realizing they are building a godlike life." – Ezra Taft Benson, &, October 1989

5. How do you think Enos felt when he received the knowledge that his sins had been forgiven? How have you felt when you have repented and have received the Lords forgiveness? Is there anything you have yet need to repent of? When have you felt that the Lord forgave you of your sins? How did you know you were forgiven? Have you felt the Lord's forgiveness recently?

"Once we have truly repented, Christ will take away the burden of guilt for our sins. We can't know for ourselves that we have been forgiven and made clean. The Holy Ghost will verify this to us; He is the Sanctifier. No other testimony of forgiveness can be greater… The Lord declared, 'Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more.' (D&C 58:42) Satan will try to make us believe that our sins are not forgiven because we can remember them. Satan is a liar; he tries to blur our vision and lead us away from the path of repentance and forgiveness. God did not promise that we would not remember our sins. Remembering will help us avoid making the same mistakes again. But if we stay true and faithful, the memory of our sins will be softened over time. This will be part of the needed healing and sanctification process." - Dieter F Uchtdorf, GC, April 2007

6. Why was Enos' guilt swept away? How did his knowledge of God assist in this process?

7. What emotions does this one question convey? Have you ever felt to marvel at the wonder of the Lord's ways? When?

8. How had Enos' faith in the Savior, Jesus Christ, enabled him to repent and receive the Lords forgiveness? How strong is your faith? Is there anything you need to do to strengthen it further?

9. How does receiving forgiveness from God for your own sins, stir within you a desire for your family and friends to also feel and partake of this great blessing? What do you do in response to this feeling?

"Any time we experience the blessings of the atonement in our lives, we cannot help but have a concern for the welfare of our brother and… A great indicator of one's personal conversion is the desire to share the gospel with others." – Howard W Hunter, The Teachings of Howard W Hunter, [1997], 248-49

10. How did the Lord respond to Enos desire for the welfare of his brethren? How does this promise stand today and include you?

11. Who was Enos deeply concerned for? How did the Lord's answer and assurance affect his faith? How do the answers you receive to your prayers affect your faith?

12. How was Enos faith blessed? When have you placed absolute faith and trust in the Lord? What blessings came as a result?

13. What did Enos desire should his people fall into transgression and be destroyed? How was the preservation of a record a way to reach the Lamanite people of which he was so deeply concerned? What record do we have today that is specifically for the Lamanite descendants - that they may know of the doings of their fathers? What records do you have of your fathers? What records do you leave for your children? How can these records be a blessing to you and your posterity?

14. What prevented the Nephites from working with the Lamanite people at that time? Have you ever had a desire to work with someone who was presently past feeling? What did you do? How did the Lord bless and inspire you in this challenge?

15. How did Enos feel about the scriptures and the records of his people? How do you feel about the scriptures and the records of God's dealings with men?

16-17. Why was Enos able to rest his soul from the anxiety he felt for his Lamanite brethren? How do the Lord's promises to you help to rest your soul in times of worry and uncertainty? What part does faith have in prayer? What could you do to pray with greater face? What a blessing came to Enos through his faith? Why was Enos able to go from believing to knowing? How would an answer from God help you while facing your difficult challenges?

19. How did Enos experience in prayer, the answers to his prayers and his unshakeable faith, empower him in his teaching and testifying to his people? How have the answers to your prayers empowered you to stand for truth and righteousness and share your convictions with others?

20. What kind of people had the Lamanites become? Why didn't the Nephites just give up on them? Have you ever been tempted to give up on a loved one or other individual? How does the Lord bless you when you seek diligently to restore happiness and joy through the gospel of Love to the people who struggle?

21. What kind of people were the Nephites? How do you feel about working? What blessings have you received through your labors?

22. Why were there so many prophets among the Nephites? Were they beginning to struggle spiritually?

23. In what manner did the prophets teach the people? Why did they have to preach of the destructions that await the wicked so continually? How converted would you say the Nephite people were at this time? How converted to the gospel of Christ are you? What can you do to become more converted? How do you know that you are truly converted?

26. How had preaching and prophesying and declaring the word of God to the people caused Enos to rejoice in it above anything in the world? What joy do you receive from the gospel of Jesus Christ? What can you do to feel an even greater joy in His glorious gospel?

27. How did Enos feel about death?