FAIR Study Aids/Gospel Doctrine/Book of Mormon/Lesson Fourteen

Lesson 10: He Inviteth All to Come unto Him

Lesson #14- Sunday School Manual: “For a Wise Purpose”

1. Enos prays for himself, the Nephites, and the Lamanites.(Enos)

Helpful Insights

• Enos's "Wrestle..before God": When Enos tells about his "wrestle...before God" (Enos 1:2) is may be making allusion to the patriarch Jacob's "wrestle" with an angel. The are several parallel's in the two stories, suggesting that Enos patterned his narrative after that of Jacob's.
  • John A. Tvedtnes and Matthew Roper, "Jacob and Enos: Wrestling before God," Insights 21/5 (2001)
• Lamanite Threats to Destroy Records and Traditions: Enos says that efforts to convert the Lamanites were unsuccessful and that the Lamanites were determined to destroy the Nephites records and traditions (Enos 1:14). The "traditions" that the Lamanites sought to destroy were probably the traditions that Nephi's leadership was legitmate and Laman's was not. In Mesoamerican society, it was records that documented the lineages right to land and leadership, so these traditions and records are probably both related to claims of leadership. Lamanites wanted to discredit the Nephite claims to legitimacy.
  • Brant A. Gardner, Second Witness: Analytical and Contextual Commentary on the Book of Mormon, Vol. 3, pg. 13

Potential Criticisms

• Tents in Mesoamerica: If Mesoamerica is the setting of the Book of Mormon, some critics claim that "tents" (Enos 1:20) are an anachronism. However there were various types of temporary living structures employed by the Natives that the Spanish termed "tents." Temporary dwelling places ("tents") of one form or another are known in every culture, so it is a wonder that critics would think that they didn't exist in Mesoamerica.
  • John L. Sorenson, "Evidence for Tents in the Book of Mormon," in Pressing Forward with the Book of Mormon:The FARMS Updates of the 1990s, John W. Welch and Melvin J. Thorne, eds. (Provo, UT: FARMS, 1999), 135-138
• Alleged Anachronisms: A number of alleged anachronisms, most of which have been previously mentioned, come up again in Enos, such as horses, as well as cimeters and other weapons. Although these have been mentioned before, the recurrence of these items in the text may prompt questions from class members, so we again provide resources for review.
  • Horses: http://en.fairmormon.org/Book_of_Mormon/Anachronisms/Animals/Horses
  • Cimetes: Matthew Roper, "Swords and "Cimeters" in the Book of Mormon," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 8/1 (1998): 34-43; Paul Y. Hoskisson, "Scimitars, Cimeters! We Have Scimitars! Do We Need Another Cimeter?" and William J. Hamblin and A. Brent Merrill, "Notes on the Cimeter (Scimitar) in the Book of Mormon," in Warfare in the the Book of Mormon, William J. Hamblin and Stephen D. Ricks, eds. (Provo, UT: FARMS, 1990) 352-359, and 360-364
  • Bow and Arrow: William J. Hamblin, "The Bow and Arrow in the Book of Mormon," in Warfare in the Book of Mormon, 365-399
• Chronology Problems: Enos is generally assumed to be the son of Jacob, though he never identifies his father by name. Jacob does say he gave the plates to his "son Enos" (Jacob 7:27). Enos, however, indicates that it had been 179 years since the time Lehi had left Jerusalem, which seems far too long for just one generation after original settlers (remember, Jacob was born in the Old World), so this presents a potential problem. John W. Welch has proposed a chronology that potentially reconciles this problem, while others have suggested that Enos may not be the direct son of Jacob. In the latter scenario, it is possible that the Enos of who wrote the book of Enos is the son of the first Enos, who was Jacob's son, or that the "son" is simply meant as "descendant", an interpretation consistent with Hebrew usage.

Faith Affirmations

• Enos's Name and Introduction: The opening verses of Enos appear to be patterned after the colophon in 1 Nephi 1, but this isn't just Joseph Smith lacking creativity and thus repeating this pattern. The name "Enos" is a poetic Hebrew term for "man, mankind" which indicates that Enos is probably using a Hebrew style wordplay when he says "I, Enos, knowing my father that he was a just man" (Enos 1:1), much like the wordplay on the name "Nephi" and "goodly." It is doubtful that Joseph Smith could have embedded these wordplays intentionally, thus this serves as evidence of the books genuine antiquity.
  • Matthew L. Bowen, "Wordplay on the Name 'Enos'," Insights 26/3 (2006).