Enos<\/a>, offers one of the most popular brief stories in the Book of Mormon, a story\u00a0that is often cited to illustrate points about prayer, forgiveness, and many other topics. \u00a0And\u00a0rightly\u00a0so.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
I\u2019ll pick up a couple of aspects of it.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
First, any parent, and perhaps any missionary, should take heart from this story. \u00a0Enos\u2019s father may sometimes have felt that his teachings were sailing right past the young man. \u00a0And maybe they were. \u00a0But, eventually, they sank in. \u00a0They become important to him, urgent, and he needed to know whether they were true.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
The fact is that people who aren\u2019t ready to hear the message of the Gospel at one point may, with changes in their lives and circumstances, be far more open at some later time. \u00a0I\u2019ve seen spectacular instances of this, and perhaps you have, as well.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Second, I\u2019m struck by the way in which Enos\u2019s circle of concern expands. \u00a0He moves, successively, from praying for himself to praying for his fellow Nephites to praying for the hostile Lamanites, whose unattractive traits during his period are memorably outlined in verse 20.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLove is one of the chief characteristics of Deity,\u201d said Joseph Smith, \u201cand ought to be manifested by those who aspire to be the sons of God. \u00a0A man filled with the love of God, is not content with blessing his family alone, but ranges through the whole world, anxious to bless the whole human race\u201d (<\/span>Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith,<\/i>\u00a0174).<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 \u00a0 Today\u2019s reading, the single-chapter book of\u00a0Enos, offers one of the most popular brief stories in the Book of Mormon, a story\u00a0that is often cited to illustrate points about prayer, forgiveness, and many other topics. \u00a0And\u00a0rightly\u00a0so. \u00a0 I\u2019ll pick up a couple of aspects of it. \u00a0 First, any parent, and perhaps any missionary, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31408","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
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<\/a>