BOOK OF MORMON - Enos Critique
Enos
prays mightily and gains a remission of his sins—The voice of the Lord
comes into his mind, promising salvation for the Lamanites in a future
day—The Nephites sought to reclaim the Lamanites—Enos rejoices in his
Redeemer. About 420 B.C.
Setting: Enos the Jew supposedly lived from 544 BCE to about 421 BCE in America. This would have been during the time of the captivity of the Jews under the Babylonians and Persians, their return from captivity, and the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. The fictional account of Enos would have been during the time period of the Biblical books of Daniel, Ezra, Esther, Nehemiah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.
Verses 1-2: Behold, it came to pass that I, Enos, knowing my father that he was a just man--for he taught me in his language, and also in the nurture and admonition of the Lord--and blessed be the name of my God for it-- And I will tell you of the wrestle which I had before God, before I received a remission of my sins.
Note: Enos the Jew was never taught animal sacrifice for remission of sins.
Leviticus 4:2-3 "Speak to the children of Israel, saying: 'If a person sins unintentionally against any of the commandments of the LORD in anything which ought not to be done, and does any of them, if the anointed priest sins, bringing guilt on the people, then let him offer to the LORD for his sin which he has sinned a young bull without blemish as a sin offering.'"
Verses 3-4: Behold, I went to hunt beasts in the forests; and the words which I had often heard my father speak concerning eternal life, and the joy of the saints, sunk deep into my heart. And my soul hungered; and I kneeled down before my Maker, and I cried unto him in mighty prayer and supplication for mine own soul; and all the day long did I cry unto him; yea, and when the night came I did still raise my voice high that it reached the heavens.
Note: Enos the Jew was never taught animal sacrifice for remission of sins.
Leviticus 4:13-14 "Now if the whole congregation of Israel sins unintentionally, and the thing is hidden from the eyes of the assembly, and they have done something against any of the commandments of the LORD in anything which should not be done, and are guilty; when the sin which they have committed becomes known, then the assembly shall offer a young bull for the sin, and bring it before the tabernacle of meeting."
Verses 5-6: And there came a voice unto me, saying: Enos, thy sins are forgiven thee, and thou shalt be blessed. And I, Enos, knew that God could not lie; wherefore, my guilt was swept away.
Note: Enos the Jew was never taught animal sacrifice for remission of sins.
Numbers 15:27-28 "And if a person sins unintentionally, then he shall bring a female goat in its first year as a sin offering. So the priest shall make atonement for the person who sins unintentionally, when he sins unintentionally before the LORD, to make atonement for him; and it shall be forgiven him."
Verses 7-8: And I said: Lord, how is it done? And he said unto me: Because of thy faith in Christ, whom thou hast never before heard nor seen. And many years pass away before he shall manifest himself in the flesh; wherefore, go to, thy faith hath made thee whole.
Note: Enos never had faith symbolized as the Lamb of God through animal sacrifice.
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Verse 9: Now, it came to pass that when I had heard these words I began to feel a desire for the welfare of my brethren, the Nephites; wherefore, I did pour out my whole soul unto God for them.
Note: True prophets of God prophesied against the people for their sins.
Jeremiah 26:12-13 Then Jeremiah spoke to all the princes and all the people, saying: "The LORD sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city with all the words that you have heard. Now therefore, amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the LORD your God; then the LORD will relent concerning the doom that He has pronounced against you."
Verse 10: And while I was thus struggling in the spirit, behold, the voice of the Lord came into my mind again, saying: I will visit thy brethren according to their diligence in keeping my commandments. I have given unto them this land, and it is a holy land; and I curse it not save it be for the cause of iniquity; wherefore, I will visit thy brethren according as I have said; and their transgressions will I bring down with sorrow upon their own heads.
Note: The "Holy Land" has always been in the Middle East not America.
Zechariah 2:12 "And the LORD will take possession of Judah as His inheritance in the Holy Land, and will again choose Jerusalem."
Verse 11: And after I, Enos, had heard these words, my faith began to be unshaken in the Lord; and I prayed unto him with many long strugglings for my brethren, the Lamanites.
Note: The fictional Lamanites were never Jews or the brethren of Jews.
Psalm 105:11-12 Saying, "To you I will give the land of Canaan as the allotment of your inheritance, when they were few in number, indeed very few, and strangers in it."
Verses 12-13: And it came to pass that after I had prayed and labored with all diligence, the Lord said unto me: I will grant unto thee according to thy desires, because of thy faith. And now behold, this was the desire which I desired of him--that if it should so be, that my people, the Nephites, should fall into transgression, and by any means be destroyed, and the Lamanites should not be destroyed, that the Lord God would preserve a record of my people, the Nephites; even if it so be by the power of his holy arm, that it might be brought forth at some future day unto the Lamanites, that, perhaps, they might be brought unto salvation--
Note: God never completely destroyed His people.
Romans 9:27-28 Isaiah also cries out concerning Israel: "Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, The remnant will be saved. For He will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness, Because the LORD will make a short work upon the earth."
Verse 14: For at the present our strugglings were vain in restoring them to the true faith. And they swore in their wrath that, if it were possible, they would destroy our records and us, and also all the traditions of our fathers.
Note: The word of God endures forever by statement of fact.
1 Peter 1:25 "But the word of the LORD endures forever." Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.
Verse 15: Wherefore, I knowing that the Lord God was able to preserve our records, I cried unto him continually, for he had said unto me: Whatsoever thing ye shall ask in faith, believing that ye shall receive in the name of Christ, ye shall receive it.
Note: Sidney Rigdon copied the old King James version of the Holy Bible.
Matthew 21:22 "And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive."
Verses 16-19: And I had faith, and I did cry unto God that he would preserve the records; and he covenanted with me that he would bring them forth unto the Lamanites in his own due time. And I, Enos, knew it would be according to the covenant which he had made; wherefore my soul did rest. And the Lord said unto me: Thy fathers have also required of me this thing; and it shall be done unto them according to their faith; for their faith was like unto thine. And now it came to pass that I, Enos, went about among the people of Nephi, prophesying of things to come, and testifying of the things which I had heard and seen.
Note: The word of God endures forever by statement of fact.
Isaiah 55:11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
Verse 20: And I bear record that the people of Nephi did seek diligently to restore the Lamanites unto the true faith in God. But our labors were vain; their hatred was fixed, and they were led by their evil nature that they became wild, and ferocious, and a blood-thirsty people, full of idolatry and filthiness; feeding upon beasts of prey; dwelling in tents, and wandering about in the wilderness with a short skin girdle about their loins and their heads shaven; and their skill was in the bow, and in the cimeter, and the ax. And many of them did eat nothing save it was raw meat; and they were continually seeking to destroy us.
Note: The cimeter or scimitar was a Muslim weapon of war.
Definition: a sword with a short, curved, one-edged blade used by Arabs. Webster's Dictionary
Note: Sidney Rigdon described the Lamanites as the Indians of his time.
Verse 21: And it came to pass that the people of Nephi did till the land, and raise all manner of grain, and of fruit, and flocks of herds, and flocks of all manner of cattle of every kind, and goats, and wild goats, and also many horses.
Note: Sidney Rigdon was not a student of history.
Before the arrival of the Europeans, the Indians lacked horses, oxen, and most other beasts of burden used in other parts of the world. World Book Encyclopedia 2002.
Note: Sidney Rigdon described the Nephites as the white settlers of his time.
Verses 22-24: And there were exceedingly many prophets among us. And the people were a stiffnecked people, hard to understand. And there was nothing save it was exceeding harshness, preaching and prophesying of wars, and contentions, and destructions, and continually reminding them of death, and the duration of eternity, and the judgments and the power of God, and all these things--stirring them up continually to keep them in the fear of the Lord. I say there was nothing short of these things, and exceedingly great plainness of speech, would keep them from going down speedily to destruction. And after this manner do I write concerning them. And I saw wars between the Nephites and Lamanites in the course of my days.
Note: Cults generally show no mercy.
Psalm 136:1-2 Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. Oh, give thanks to the God of gods! For His mercy endures forever.
Verse 25: And it came to pass that I began to be old, and an hundred and seventy and nine years had passed away from the time that our father Lehi left Jerusalem.
Note: No Jews escaped from Jerusalem to America at the time of Jeremiah.
Jeremiah 15:2 "And it shall be, if they say to you, 'Where should we go?' then you shall tell them, 'Thus says the LORD: "Such as are for death, to death; And such as are for the sword, to the sword; And such as are for the famine, to the famine; And such as are for the captivity, to the captivity."'"
Verse 26: And I saw that I must soon go down to my grave, having been wrought upon by the power of God that I must preach and prophesy unto this people, and declare the word according to the truth which is in Christ. And I have declared it in all my days, and have rejoiced in it above that of the world.
Note: Prophets of God prophesied according to the the word of God.
Haggai 2:5 "According to the word that I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt, so My Spirit remains among you; do not fear!"
Verse 27: And I soon go to the place of my rest, which is with my Redeemer; for I know that in him I shall rest. And I rejoice in the day when my mortal shall put on immortality, and shall stand before him; then shall I see his face with pleasure, and he will say unto me: Come unto me, ye blessed, there is a place prepared for you in the mansions of my Father. Amen.
Note: Old Testament saints rested with their fathers in Hades.
1 Kings 11:43 Then Solomon rested with his fathers, and was buried in the City of David his father. And Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.
Note: Heaven was not available for saints until after the death of the Lamb of God.
John 3:13 "No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven."
Note: Sidney Rigdon plagiarized the old King James version of the Holy Bible.
1 Corinthians 15:53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
Note: A place in heaven was not prepared until after the death of the Lamb of God.
John 14:2-3 "In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also."
Note: Sidney Rigdon had a poor understanding of the word of God when he wrote the BOM.