Enos 1:8 Textual Variants

In his editing for the 1837 edition, Joseph Smith changed the original not here in Enos 1:8 to never before, perhaps because Enos had already heard the voice of the Lord—that is, just a moment before. Of course, such a clarification in the reading relies upon a very fine distinction in timing. Perhaps Joseph Smith wanted to eliminate any hint of contradiction.

This emendation also seems to rely on identifying the speaker as God the Son rather than God the Father. Yet one can readily interpret this conversation as being between God the Father and Enos, which would eliminate any need to edit the text here. In this conversation (up through verse 18 of the book of Enos), the Lord continually refers to Christ as a distinct person, not only here in verse 8 but also in verse 15: “whatsoever thing ye shall ask in faith believing that ye shall receive in the name of Christ ye shall receive it”. If the Son had been talking with Enos, we might expect him to have used the phraseology “in my name” in verse 15, as he does when he speaks to Alma near the end of the book of Mosiah:

• Mosiah 26:14–15, 18, 20, 22, 24
  • and it came to pass that after he had poured out his whole soul to God the voice of the Lord came to him saying blessed art thou Alma and blessed are they which were baptized in the waters of Mormon … yea blessed is this people which is willing to bear my name for in my name shall they be called … and thou shalt serve me and go forth in my name ... and whosoever ye receive shall believe in my name ... for behold in my name are they called

In other places in the Book of Mormon text, when Christ is clearly identified as the speaker, the phraseology is always “in my name” rather than “in the name of Christ”:

• 3 Nephi 11 – 3 Nephi 30 30 times
• Mormon 9:24–25 2 times
• Ether 4:15–18 3 times
• Moroni 2:2 2 times
• Moroni 7:26, 34 2 times

In a single passage in 2 Nephi 31, Nephi separately quotes the Father and the Son; the Father uses the phrase “in the name of my Beloved Son” while the Son uses “in my name”:

• 2 Nephi 31:11–12
  • and the Father saith repent ye repent ye and be baptized in the name of my Beloved Son and also the voice of the Son came unto me saying he that is baptized in my name to him will the Father give the Holy Ghost

This difference in usage thus argues that in the book of Enos, the Lord is God the Father rather than God the Son.

Ultimately, however, such a distinction between personages is not crucial to understanding the original reading in Enos 1:8. Even if the Son is the one speaking to Enos, we can readily interpret “not heard nor seen” as meaning ‘not heard nor seen until now’. The critical text will restore the earliest reading, especially since it appears to be intended.