Enos’s Prayer

Adapted from Scripture Stories (PBIC0358)

(Enos 1)

One day while hunting in the forest, Enos remembered what he had often heard his father, Jacob, say about eternal life and the joy of the Saints. He realized that he wanted to find something far more important than the animals he had been hunting. Kneeling in humble prayer, Enos confessed his sins. All day Enos lifted his voice unto the Lord, praying for forgiveness. When night came, he continued to plead with the Lord. More than anything else, Enos wanted to be forgiven of his sins.

As he continued to cry unto the Lord in prayer, he heard a voice say to him, “Enos, thy sins are forgiven thee, and thou shalt be blessed.”

After having pleaded with the Lord for many hours, Enos must have been very tired. And yet he did not think about resting. Instead, he thought of his people, the Nephites, and once more he poured out his heart to the Lord. This time he prayed for the Nephites. After much praying, the voice of the Lord came into his mind again, explaining that the Nephites would be blessed according to their righteousness.

Enos then prayed for his enemies, the Lamanites, who had become very wicked. Even though they were continually trying to destroy Enos’s people, his heart was filled with love and concern for them.

The Lord knew that the wishes of Enos’s heart were righteous, so he told Enos, “Whatsoever thing ye shall ask in faith, believing that ye shall receive in the name of Christ, ye shall receive it.”

Enos was also concerned about the sacred records of the Nephites. He knew that the Lamanites wanted to destroy them. With great faith he prayed that the records would be kept safe. The Lord covenanted with Enos that the records would be preserved and brought forth to the Lamanites at a later time.

Knowing that all that the Lord had told him was true, Enos at last felt peaceful, and from then on he did his best to do the Lord’s work. He spent the rest of his life teaching the gospel and bearing his testimony. Prayer and the teachings of his father had brought him close to the Lord, and Enos wanted to share that mighty blessing with others.