Justin's Comment

Sisters and brothers in Jesus Christ, I was inspired to write this sharing or this sermon unto you all today as I was thus reading and pondering on the Books of Enos, Jarom, Omni, and the Words or Mormon, concerning that of the first Gospel principle of faith. For those who remembered, I wrote a post about faith some time back, but for my sharing today, I would love to write about faith through the life of Enos.

Enos' faith was ignited when he recognized that he was a sinner as he pondered upon the words his father, Jacob, who had spoken regarding eternal life and the joy of the saints. We see this through Enos' fervent prayers unto the Lord, that they are not mere prayers, for he described his prayers unto the Lord as crying unto Him. One must be in a lot agony, in much sorrow, feeling extremely vulnerable and helpless in order to cry out, even that of crying out for help. This explains why Enos' soul hungered to receive eternal life and the joy of the saints, because his eyes must have been opened, mind expanded, to realize of his own unworthiness, that he deserved to be damned to hell because of the filthiness that is in him, and remembering the words of his father, knows that only the Lord is capable of saving him from the depths of hell, where any and every of those whose hearts are uncircumcised is in and will go. For just as Alma the Younger, who said "that there could be nothing so exquisite and so bitter as were my pains. Yea, and again I say unto you, my son, that on the other hand, there can be nothing so exquisite and sweet as was my joy" (Alma 36:21), Enos must have felt that exquisite sorrow and disgust about his current spiritual state, so as to yearn and hunger for the exquisite joy that only the Lord can give. I imagine Enos to be like Alma the Younger, being "harrowed up by the memory of [his] many sins" (Alma 36:17).

Sisters and brothers in Jesus Christ, being members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it is a fallacy to think that just because we are worthy to hold a valid current temple recommend or we are called as a high priest, that that somehow equates to us being free from sin, so much so that we view ourselves as better than others. Brothers and sisters, if it were that easy to be freed from sin, the condescension of the Lord Jesus Christ would not have taken place, and if we can free ourselves from sin just by keeping the commandments and performing the necessary ordinances of the Gospel, the Savior Jesus Christ would not have to suffer and die for our sins. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, it is not until we have endured to the very end, can we be perfected in Christ, and it is only then, can we truly be freed from sin and all of it's effects.

An interesting point to note is that it was Enos' soul that hungered, which tells you that it must have been a spiritual craving, an unsatisfied spiritual hunger. And in order to satisfy that which is spiritually lacking in him, which is the gift of eternal life, he has been hit with the reality that he is nothing but a sinner, a nobody, doomed and destined to suffer in the depths of hell, which reality caused him to fear, even to tremble, that thus resulted in his cry unto the Lord from day to night. Enos is in dire need of a Savior in his life, to rescue him from the depths of hell, and I presume, just like Alma the Younger again, he "remembered also to have heard [his] father prophesy unto the people concerning the coming of one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to atone for the sins of the world" (Alma 36:17).

I believe Enos' faith as displayed in his fervent prayers to the Lord that enabled the Lord to forgive him of his sins. In fact, I see a lot of Enos in all of us in these latter days, for just like us, he has not seen the Lord, but he believed. He relied at first on the testimony and words of his father, and after receiving his own personal spiritual experiences and revelations, he relied on his own testimony of the divinity of the Savior Jesus Christ. It was because of his faith that his sins were forgiven him, my brothers and sisters, and not by his works. All the works, the deeds we perform and effort put in in our pursuit of personal worthiness, is merely but us showing our Father in Heaven that we truly mean it when we repent of our sins, that we would try our very best to forsake our bad habits and favorite sins, and live a life that is Christ-centered, consecrated to God, so much so as to "come unto him, and offer your whole souls as an offering unto him, and continue in fasting and praying, and endure to the end; and as the Lord liveth ye will be saved" (Omni 1:26). Wherefore, it is "thy faith [that][will] made thee whole" (Enos 1:8), and not thy works, for thy works are but testimonies of thy faith, testifying unto the Father of the extent and the quantity of thy faith.

Now, once our sins have been forgiven, it is not for us to, again, indulge in worldly living and immersing ourselves in the pleasures, the desires, and the grand ambitions of the world, but it is so that we can live a higher, holier life, a life that is dedicated to the Savior Jesus Christ, for that is the meaning of baptism, for when we are buried in the water, it is symbolic of us dying to our sins, and when we arise out of the water, it is symbolic of us being spiritually born again, a rebirth of oneself spiritually, and therefore, living our lives as that which is written in Galatians 2:20, which says, "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me".

Now consider the following passage in the Bible that captures the meaning of baptism:

    "Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:3-11).

Besides that, I would like to write somewhat concerning the covenant we make when we are baptized. We covenanted with God that we are to be willing to take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ and to obey His commandments that He has given us. In that sense, we are to live a resurrected life, a life of spiritual conversion, because we are essentially called to be Christ's representatives wherever we go. This is the first covenant that we make with God, and often times, I believe we might have forgotten about these promises that we have made with God after making several other covenants with God as we progress on the covenant path. I feel the need to say this, that we must never forget the purpose of our baptism, and why we chose to be and remain a true disciple of Jesus Christ. Progressing on the covenant path should never be seen as rising above the ranks in the hierarchy of the Church, neither is it designed to give us the illusion that it is so, but it was designed and crafted by the hand of the Lord in an line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little, there a little kind of progression as our faith and our testimony in the Lord Jesus Christ, as well as our devotion towards serving God and our neighbors grow. Often times, members just go to the temple and make these sacred covenants without preparing for it neither did they discern and have consultations with the Lord on whether they should do it then and there, and they just do it because they think that by so doing, they can earn themselves into exaltation, for they lust at the idea of becoming gods. Quite frankly, I don't believe such members will make it to exaltation because by having that kind of mentality, they denied the work that was already finished by Jesus Christ when He suffered, bled, and died for our sins at the Cross for our sakes so that we may receive the gift of resurrection, salvation, and exaltation. They have got the Plan of Salvation all wrong, especially when the truth is put forth so plainly before them but they are too blind or too ignorant to see it. So, my brothers and sisters, the next time you think about making sacred covenants with the Lord in His holy house, be it for yourselves or for your beloved deceased, please remember to know that you need to be spiritually prepared to make such covenants with the Lord, and go with a desire to faithfully obey the laws that is required for you to observe and live them out in your life, and not blindly obey them, for if you blindly obey, your obedience to the Lord will be counted as naught in the eyes of a just and faithful God.

I would like to pause here for a moment and consider something, a truth about how our sins are forgiven. As you all know and as I've talked about, we receive a remission of our sins based on our faith in the Savior Jesus Christ, and I want you to pay attention to how the Lord describes the faith of Enos in Him, that led Him to forgive Enos of his sins. Read carefully Enos 1:8 as below:

    "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."

The Lord Jehovah describes Enos' faith as believing and trusting in Christ whom he has never before heard nor seen, and that it is not until hundreds of years after, that Christ will manifest Himself in the flesh. But what did Enos believe and trust in Christ about? He believes and trust that Christ has the power and is able to grant "eternal life, and the joy of the saints" to Enos, for Enos knew by himself that he could not be saved and would be doomed to hell, but out of all the idolatry and practices that he could choose to subscribe to, he chose to have faith in the Messiah whose name is Jesus Christ. Remember, my dear friends, it is with this faith that the Lord forgave Enos of his sins. How amazing is that? The Lord does not require the kind of faith that can move mountains in order to forgive us of our sins. We don't have to earn our way to be in good standing with the Lord in order for us to receive a remission of our sins. We only need to exercise all the faith that we have in Jesus Christ that we can presently muster, even if it is as small as a particle, for "faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true" (Alma 32:21).

Now, after Enos received a remission of his sins because of his faith in Jesus Christ, he immediately "began to feel a desire for the welfare of [his] brethren, the Nephites; wherefore, [he] did pour out [his] whole soul unto God for them" (Enos 1:9). I feel that Enos' concern for the spiritual welfare of his brethren stems from the fact that his own "guilt was swept away" and the joy that he must have felt, by the grace of God, when his sins were blotted out from the memory of God. This is one of the many fruits of those who have been born again, to desire to minister and proclaim the Word of God unto those who live their lives aimlessly, or in pursuit of worldly riches and ambitions, or who are not living their lives fully as true and faithful disciples of Jesus Christ. Another fruit that is closely tied to it is that of having the desire to provide physical and spiritual substance to those who need it, especially the spiritually malnourished. The Savior Jesus Christ asked Simon Peter three times, "Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?" (John 21:15-17). I believe our Savior is asking us the same question, "My child, lovest thou me?" If just like Peter, our response, is yes, Jesus' response to us as it is to the Apostle Peter is, "Feed my sheep".

How beautiful it is, that the Lord beckons us to feed his sheep! I love that very much, even to the very core of my soul. For a very long time I have had a strong desire to feed His sheep, this led me to form this Come Follow Me Quora Space, it led me to give a sacrament meeting talk on the need to unite in the ministering of physical, emotional, and spiritual substance to one another, and it has led me to accept the calling as a ward missionary, to use every opportunity I am provided with to serve and minister to His sheep. Jesus' ministry on this Earth was precisely to feed His sheep and to fulfill the law and the prophets, and we are called to continue in the work of the Lord, which foundation was laid by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Speaking about prophets, may I enlighten your minds on a precious truth? As you read in the Old Testament and in the Book of Mormon, you notice that there were prophets, by which what they proclaimed and taught are all pointing towards and preparing men for the First Coming of Christ, and if this is so, why would there not be prophets, by which what they proclaimed and taught are all pointing towards and preparing souls for the Second Coming of Christ? This is therefore the truth that I wished to make known unto you, that the restoration of the calling of prophets is, as it was in the beginning as it is now, to prepare the hearts of men for the Coming of Christ. The Great Apostasy was allowed to happened to show unto the world just how divided mankind is on it's own, where the scriptures were interpreted by mankind without the constant companionship, guidance, and inspiration of the Holy Ghost, in a world where "the Spirit of the Lord will not always strive with man" (2 Nephi 26:11), letting the world to rot on it's own, in an effort to show mankind that without God, division and devastation will happen, even in churches, where people who supposedly wield the holy priesthood of God exerciseth unrighteous dominion over those under their spheres of influence. However, it is through the divine influence and manifestations of the Holy Ghost, that the Lord communicates and showeth mankind the way, His way. Though many plain and precious truths were lost during the Great Apostasy, truth was still brought to mankind through righteous, faithful, and God-fearing leaders in the form of the early church fathers, and through pioneers of subsequent reformations that took place. Some even say that John Wesley paved the way for the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, and prepared the hearts of men to receive it.

They say that nothing good is produced during that time or age of the Great Apostasy, well, I beg to differ. If you read the writings of perhaps, John Wesley, Martin Luther, Thomas Aquinas, and Padre Pio, and look at how their faith and their love for God are exemplified in their writings and the way they lived their lives, you would be amazed at how much they have devoted their entire lives to Christ and serving in His ministry, living out Jesus' call for them to feed His sheep. However, no matter how pious or faithful these men were, without the holy priesthood of God and without the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost, they would be numbered as the "few, who are the humble followers of Christ; nevertheless, they are led, that in many instances they do err because they are taught by the precepts of men" (2 Nephi 28:14), just as faithful believers then were.

Now, as I was saying, having a concern for your fellow brethren is natural for those whose hearts have been circumcized. President Marion G. Romney, in his talk titled, "Repentance", given in the 1980 October General Conference, observed the following:

    "Love and concern for the welfare of one’s fellows always fills the heart of the redeemed, and peace comes into his heart".

My brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, I would like to touch on one last thing, and that is the importance of fervent prayers. As you can see, prayer is heavily emphasized and frequently mentioned. Have you seen Enos' prioritization on prayers? Whenever he is in need of something, he seeks the Lord's counsel and act accordingly. Notice how answers to prayers come when we persevere in our prayers to our Father in Heaven? Enos did not receive any answer when he first prayed, but it is through consistent heartfelt prayers that are prayed with such pure faith that moves the Lord to answer his prayers. Notice how Enos' prayers align so well with the will of the Lord? This tells us that we need to first understand the will of God and pray according to His will for us, knowing that when we pray and request for something outside of God's will, His answer would always be a no. Wherefore, my brothers and sisters, make your every prayer meaningful. Pray with purpose and faith. Pray consistently. Improve your prayer life by studying carefully and faithfully on the Lord's Prayer as found in Matthew 6:9-13. D&C 20:33 teaches us why is it important to pray:

    "Therefore let the church take heed and pray always, lest they fall into temptation".

Also have a look at the following verses in 3 Nephi 18:

    15 Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye must watch and pray always, lest ye be tempted by the devil, and ye be led away captive by him.

    18 Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, ye must watch and pray always lest ye enter into temptation; for Satan desireth to have you, that he may sift you as wheat.

I would encourage you to prayerfully study 3 Nephi 18 as it is mostly about prayers. Prayers are meant to be joyful, even a refuge in times of trouble and despair. Oh what unspeakable joy and peace do purposeful and fervent prayers unto our Father in Heaven bring to the hearts and souls of all men!

I testify that the Book of Mormon is true, and together with the Bible, they make a formidable duo. I testify that God loves you and wants to connect with you, but it will have to take two hands to clap. I testify that to those wanting to have a deep and intimate relationship with your Heavenly Father, with your Savior Jesus Christ, and with your constant companion, the Holy Ghost, you need to understand, make, and keep covenants with the Lord and have a covenantal relationship with Him, not a transactional one. I testify to you that God lives, He loves you, and He wants to see you achieve your fullest potential in your discipleship journey in Jesus Christ. I testify that prayers are powerful when prayed with faith and when it's from the heart. And finally, I testify to the truth of these things, in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.