“And There Came a Voice Unto Me, Saying: Enos, Thy Sins Are Forgiven Thee, and Thou Shalt Be Blessed.”

Denver C. Snuffer, Jr.

The response contains two separate assurances. First, Enos’ sins are forgiven and second, he shall be blessed. These two different statements require us to understand why Enos has etched them as he has.

The Lord cannot visit with the unclean. Alma 45: 16 teaches “for the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance.” We should not expect to find Him visiting with someone whose sins are unforgiven.

Joseph Smith gave several different accounts of the First Vision. He includes the fact that his sins were forgiven as a part of many of them. In his 1832 account he wrote: “I saw the Lord and he spake unto me saying ’Joseph, my son, thy sins are forgiven thee.’” (Spellings and punctuation normalized.) In his 1835 account he reported: “A personage appeared in the midst of this pillar of flame, which was spread all around and yet nothing consumed. Another personage soon appeared like unto the first; he said unto me ”thy sins are forgiven thee." (Punctuation normalized.)

Orson Pratt‘s account of Joseph’s First Vision included this: “he was enwrapped in a heavenly vision, and saw two glorious personages, who exactly resembled each other in their features or likeness. He was informed that his sins were forgiven.”

Although the reference concerning the remission of Joseph’s sins was omitted from the account contained in the Pearl of Great Price, forgiveness was in fact a part of his first encounter with the Father and His Son. The Lord cannot “look upon sin.” Therefore, He removes it by forgiving those who come into His presence. Joseph commented on the Lord’s willingness to forgive in these words: “Our heavenly Father is more liberal in His views, and boundless in His mercies and blessings, than we are ready to believe or receive[.]” (TPJS

We see a consistency between the Lord’s statement to Enos on the one hand and His statement to Joseph on the other. In other scriptures the Lord forgives those to whom He speaks as part of the necessary rite. For example, in a revelation given to Emma Smith, we find the Lord readily forgiving her: “Behold, thy sins are forgiven thee, and thou art an elect lady, whom I have called.” (D&C 25: 3.) Similarly, when speaking to the Church in a revelation given in late September, 1830, a few days prior to a conference, the Lord forgives those receiving the revelation: “Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, that at this time your sins are forgiven you, therefore ye receive these things; but remember to sin no more, lest perils shall come upon you.” (D&C 29: 3.) It is an almost invariable occurrence when the Lord speaks directly to anyone that He forgives their sins. He follows the same pattern when dealing with any of us. We are unworthy. We need fixing. He repairs us so as to make it possible for us to receive an audience with Him. Enos accurately describes the manner in which the Lord deals with us all as a part of his record of the Lord’s encounter with him.

This was also the pattern when the Lord healed the infirm during His mortal ministry. We read how the Lord forgave sins as He healed bodies. In the case of a palsied man brought to Him for healing, the Lord first made it clear the man’s sins were forgiven him, and thereafter healed him. Matthew records the incident in these words: “And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee. And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth. And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. And he arose, and departed to his house. But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men.” (Matt. 9: 2-8.)

Christ tried in vain to convince the religious leaders of His day about the relationship between inner cleanliness and spiritual power. “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.” (Matt. 23: 25-26.) If these religious teachers wanted to eliminate their own spiritual failings it could never come from ceremonial observance alone. Their sins had to first be forsaken. It was Christ, of course, who was the key to accomplishing it. These blind guides were unable to see who it was speaking to them. Such is the irony frequently apparent when the religious interact with the Lord’s chosen.

James tied healing to forgiveness of sins. He wrote: “Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.” (James 5: 14-15.) Bodily healing reflects a deeper spiritual healing which invariably accompanies the presence of the Spirit. To be “visited” is to be cleaned.

Alma refers to this when performing missionary work among the Lamanites. Just prior to the slaying of the converted people of King Lamoni, they took counsel about how grateful they were at the forgiveness of their sins. Describing how the sins had been forgiven, the king said: “Oh, how merciful is our God! And now behold, since it has been as much as we could do to get our stains taken away from us, and our swords are made bright, let us hide them away that they may be kept bright, as a testimony to our God at the last day, or at the day that we shall be brought to stand before him to be judged, that we have not stained our swords in the blood of our brethren since he imparted his word unto us and has made us clean thereby.” (Alma 24: 15, emphasis added.) By speaking to them He made them clean. Or, more clearly, to make it possible for Him to speak with them, He forgave them because He could not tolerate any degree of sinfulness.

We can sense that as it happens. No one has ever come into the Lord’s presence without a keen awareness of their sins. Isaiah described his own anxiety at meeting the Lord. The encounter, and the ceremonial remedy Isaiah obtained reads: “In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.” (Isa. 6: 1-7, emphasis added.)

Enos‘ account reaffirms one of the continuing truths of Christ’s Gospel. We need to be forgiven to be redeemed from the Fall. Christ intends to accomplish that because it is His great work and glory to do so. When receiving any communication from Him, it is almost invariably accompanied by Him forgiving your sins first.

Next Enos tells us the Lord promises him “thou shalt be blessed.” Words matter and this statement can be read in the future tense. Enos is not promised that he “is” blessed, but that in some future event or events he “shalt” be blessed. The full meaning of this statement requires us to consider why Enos was entreating the Lord at this particular time, under these circumstances, and what he was seeking. Without the earlier context this promise is unanchored in specific meaning.

Previously Enos tells us he was alone seeking the Lord because words had “sunk deep into his heart” about “eternal life and the joy of the saints.” This pilgrimage was not just a whimsy. Words which sink “deep into the heart” require someone to “reflect on it again and again.” As a result of this reflection, Enos has told us he wanted to have some personal assurance he too would have “eternal life” and experience the same “joy of the saints.” He was there seeking a promise about his own eternal life - his hope of personal exaltation.

When the Lord assures Enos “thou shalt be blessed,” he is being told something of eternal significance. It is clear Enos’ calling and election are promised him. He will have the “eternal life” which he seeks. He too will know the “joy of the saints.” He will be “blessed” in the way which is eternal.

The subject of calling and election is mentioned only briefly in all of scripture. Few people have ventured to write about the subject. What has been written has involved speculation and in some cases considerable error. Enos gives us an occasion to at least touch upon the subject. Joseph Smith brought this subject back to life and restored relevant knowledge about it. Before him, all scriptural references were too obscure to allow men to understand it. However, Joseph’s comments were measured and limited. When referring to Peter’s passage, spoken of by Paul in other places.“ (TPJS.) Joseph added: ”When the Lord has thoroughly proved him, and finds that the man is determined to serve Him at all hazards, then the man will find his calling and his election made sure, then it will be his privilege to receive the other Comforter, which the Lord hath promised the Saints, as is recorded in the testimony of St. John, in the 14th chapter, from the 12th to the 27th verses." (TPJS, emphasis added.)

Joseph also taught: “Now, there is some grand secret here, and keys to unlock the subject. Notwithstanding the apostle exhorts them to add to their faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, etc., yet he exhorts them to make their calling and election sure. And though they had heard an audible voice from heaven bearing testimony that Jesus was the Son of God, yet he says we have a more sure word of prophecy, whereunto ye do well that ye take heed as unto a light shining in a dark place. Now, wherein could they have a more sure word of prophecy than to hear the voice of God saying, ’This is my beloved Son.’ Now for the secret and grand key. Though they might hear the voice of God and know that Jesus was the Son of God, this would be no evidence that their election and calling was made sure, that they had part with Christ, and were joint heirs with Him. They then would want that more sure word of prophecy, that they were sealed in the heavens and had the promise of eternal life in the kingdom of God. Then, having this promise sealed unto them, it was an anchor to the soul, sure and steadfast. Though the thunders might roll and lightnings flash, and earthquakes bellow, and war gather thick around, yet this hope and knowledge would support the soul in every hour of trial, trouble and tribulation. Then knowledge through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is the grand key that unlocks the glories and mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.” (TPJS, punctuation normalized, emphasis added.)

There are two different ways in which one’s calling and election can become sure. One is through use of the sealing power restored to the Church, held in the fullness by the President of the High Priesthood, or President of the Church. Those keys are sufficient to allow for sealing people up to eternal life. In this way the Church and its ordinances are involved. This is alluded to in scripture, has been the subject of some commentary by Latter-day Saint writers, and has been mentioned but seldom in any official publications.

The other way is set out in scripture and does not directly involve the Church. The same Lord who delegated keys to men still holds those keys and does, from time to time, exercise them directly. Christ can and does make men’s callings and election sure. It is this second method to which Enos alludes in his writing.

Joseph’s early teachings on this subject do not suggest this is an ordinance performed by the Church. It is clear he originally expected Latter-day Saints would receive this promise of eternal life directly from the heavens. As Richard L. Bushman describes the original teaching:

He did cite the scriptural phrases about making “your calling and election sure,” and being “sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,” along with John’s reference to “another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever.” The Second Comforter, he explained, came to those who hungered and thirsted after righteousness and lived by every word of God. Receiving that Second Comforter made one’s calling and election sure. When believers had shown themselves “determined to serve him at all hazard,” then they would receive the other Comforter, “no more or less than the Lord Jesus Christ himself…When any man obtains this last Comforter will have the personage of Jesus Christ to attend him or appear unto him from time to time.” Joseph’s long quest to prepare his people to see the face of God appears here again in the form of Christ dwelling with the believer. “He will manifest the Father unto him & they will take up their abode with him, & the visions of the heavens will be opened unto him &the Lord will teach him face to face & he may have a perfect knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of God.”

That emphasis on intelligence—a perfect knowledge of the mysteries coupled with the promise that hungry souls would see Christ-was classic Joseph Smith. “The day must come when no man need say to his neighbor know ye the Lord for all shall know him…from the least to the greatest.” (Bushman, Richard Lyman, Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005.)

Brother Bushman takes notice of a later alteration by Joseph in the plan. According to his analysis the modification consisted of this:

In early revelations, the word “endowment” referred to seeing God, a bequest of Pentecostal spiritual light. The use of the word “endowment” in Nauvoo implied that the goal of coming into God’s presence would be realized now through ritual rather than transcendent vision. This transition gave Mormonism’s search for direct access to God an enduring form. David Hume, the eighteenthcentury empiricist and critic of “enthusiastic” religion, had observed that outbursts of visions and revelations soon sputtered out. They lacked form to keep them alive. They could not endure because they had “no rites, no ceremonies, no holy observances, which may enter into the common train of life, and preserve the sacred principles from oblivion.” To remain in force, “enthusiasm” had to be embodied in holy practice. Ann Taves, a modern scholar of religion, has added that “direct inspiration survives only when it is supported by sacred mythos embedded in sacred practices.” The Mormon temple’s sacred story stabilized and perpetuated the original enthusiastic endowment. (Id

In this analysis Brother Bushman goes too far. Joseph never abandoned the idea of God’s authority to visit with man, nor ever taught the Temple rites were a complete replacement of the possibility for faithful followers receiving an audience with God. Nor did Joseph claim the Church’s rites involving the calling and election of a person precluded such promises from coming directly from the Lord. It would be more correct to say the Temple rites were added to the restored faith precisely because they were intended to teach the process by ritual, so as to enable the real event involving God to occur. The Temple is not the stopping place. It is a revelation of the process by which one may pass through the veil to God’s actual presence. We will revisit this later in Enos’ writing.

On May 21, 1843, Joseph taught: “1st key: Knowledge is the power of salvation. 2nd key: Make your calling and election sure. 3rd key: It is one thing to be on the mount and hear the excellent voice, etc., and another to hear the voice declare to you, You have a part and lot in that kingdom.” (TPJS.) Enos heard that voice. Enos was told his sins were forgiven and the eternal life which he sought was his. He shall be blessed with eternal life and to share in the coveted joy of the saints. He did not need to rely upon the words of a book, or the sacred experiences recorded by others. He no longer needed to rely on the words taught by his father; those that he let sink deep into his heart. He was allowed to join into the sacred narrative himself, recording once again the voice of God speaking directly to man, promising him eternal life.

Beloved Enos

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