“I Desired That the Lord God Would”

Alan C. Miner

Enos prayed that God would preserve the Nephite records (Enos 1:13, 15-16), and they were eventually buried in the ground in a stone box by Moroni, who delivered them to the Prophet Joseph Smith. According to John Tvedtnes and Matthew Roper, Enos' use of the term preserve may reflect the words of the ancient patriarch Jacob following his nightlong wrestling, in which he said, "I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved" (Genesis 32:30). [John A. Tvedtnes and Matthew Roper, "Jacob and Enos: Wrestling before God" in FARMS Update, No. 146, in Insights, FARMS, Vol. 21, 2001, pp. 2-3]

Step by Step Through the Book of Mormon: A Cultural Commentary

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