A new perspective on Enos

Near the beginning of the book of Mormon we have the book of Enos. At a single chapter it's short sweet and to the point. Focusing around Enos who when out hunting alone felt to seek forgiveness from God prayed for multiple days before being forgiven. Then Enos prays for his people and his enemies and gets similar answers and reassurance. 

For many years Enos has been used as a to-do list for prayer and getting answers. And it often leaves me with the guilt of not being able to measure up the potentially imagined expectations. With this past read through I raced through it in hopes of moving on to something the left me feeling better. 

Come Sunday and once again Enos and his "pattern" (to-do list) was the focus of the discussion. After some silence and guilt I spoke up. Sharing that Enos is great but his experience was his and creating a to-do list in order to have good prayer and get powerful answers isn't fair to us. Becuase we're not Enos- what works for him may not work for us. And if the to-do list just leaves us feeling lesser than does it have any benefit at all? Then I shared my belief that God accepts whatever we can offer Him, weather a two day prayer or a two second one. If we are doing it from a place of love and devotion it is enough. 

I felt satisfied enough with those thoughts. Even if those around me didn't quite seem to get my point. The teacher focusing on how I do measure up and need to be more accepting of myself. But then I walked away from that class wondering why Enos. Why do we study him and his story? If all it does it create unrealistic expectations and guilt why would Heavenly Father want it in there? Honestly I'm not sure and maybe it's becuase each person can have their own experience and for some it just doesn't bring on the guilt. 

But while discussing this with a friend I had a compeltely new thought. A thought that gives me a reason to study and even love Enos. It came first from President Nelson's remarks to learn how to Hear Him and then from the events in 3rd Nephi 11 when Christ first appeared to the Nephites. 

Enos prayed for two days while seeking for forgiveness, when the Lord answered him His answer was a reassurance that he was forgiven. Then in answer to his worried for those he loves (his people) the answer was the same: trust me, I love you, I LOVE all my children and I will take care of ALL my children. To Enos concern for his "enemies" the answer was, you guessed it, the same. So what can we learn from this? 

1. The Lord has been trying to tell us the same this from the beginning. He loves us. He wants us. He wants to forgive us if we repent. He doesn't want us to feel guilt or shame or pain. He wants us to come to Him and feel His peace. This is a primary message from literally every prophet and teacher in the scriptures (ancient and modern). 

2. Maybe the focus of the two days has less to do with what Enos was doing (praying non-stop) and more with what he was struggling to do. Stopping and listen to the message that Heavenly Father has been trying to help us understand! This lesson is for me the point of the whole book of Enos. God is trying to tell us the same thing, the thing He's been trying to get through our head and into our heart from the beginning of all time. And our lesson is listen to Him. Trust His love for me, for those I love and for those I'm not so sure about. Trust His ability to save, trust Him. 

So Enos, I'm sorry I've been so hard on you. Thank you for recording your experience for what it can teach us about prayer and about listening. Next time I get to reread Enos or participate in a lesson about Him or teach it I'm excited to share this new perspective. If it helped me hopefully it'll help someone else too!