From Feast upon the Word (http://feastupontheword.org). Copyright, Feast upon the Word.
The Book of Mormon > Enos > Chapter 1
Questions
- Could it be that the coming forth of the Book of Mormon itself is the result of this prayer and the covenant God made with Enos here?
- This covenant seems essentially different than other covenants. What is that difference?
- V. 20 - Is Enos merely pointing out cultural differences here? Certainly some of these descriptions are bad, such as "blood-thirsty", "idolatry", "seeking to destroy us" etc. But some of these other things - "dwelling in tents", "wandering about in the wilderness", eating raw meat - recall Lehi's path through the wilderness. Furthermore, dwelling in tents is usually seen as a good thing in the Old Testament. What do we make of this description by Enos? What's his point?
Lexical notes
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Exegesis
Verse 20 describes the Lamanites as "wild, and ferocious, and a blood-thirsty people, full of idolatry and filthiness." It seems that Enos makes these disparaging remarks about the character of the Lamanites in order to explain the Nephite's lack of success in preaching to them. Enos also tells us that the Lamanites dwelled in tents, wandered around in the wilderness, and that many of them ate only raw meat. It sounds like the Lamanites were hunters and the Nephites farmers (see verse 21). Enos's comments on the Lamanite culture probably suggest differences with the Lamanite culture. (If the Nephites also had slept in tents, it seems that Enos would be less likely to mention this as a trait of the Lamanites.) Enos also comments on the Lamanite clothing. Again, this probably suggests that the Nephites didn't wear the same type of clothing. It is interesting that Enos makes note of these cultural differences in the same verse that he explains the Nephite's lack of success in preaching to the Lamanites. It may be that the cultural divide between the Nephites (as farmers) and the Lamanites (as hunters) was a contributing factor in the lack of success the Nephite's had in preaching to the Lamanites.
Related links
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