Search the Prophets

After fervently praying and receiving a remission of his sins, Enos recorded that his “guilt was swept away.” He then asked this question in prayer: “Lord, how is it done?” The Lord responded with this answer: “Because of thy faith in Christ, whom thou hast never before heard nor seen…. Go to, thy faith hath made thee whole” (Enos 1:7-8). I thought this morning as I read this that perhaps that question and answer exchange is applicable to far more than just receiving a remission of our sins. As we seek for help, as we strive to overcome challenges and weaknesses, as we yearn for miracles in our lives, we are likely led to ask, “How is it done?” or “How can it be done?” or “How can I do this?” And no matter what the obstacle leading us to ask this question, the answer is always the same: “Because of thy faith in Christ” or “Through thy faith in Christ.” The first step to overcoming all of our difficulties is to come unto the Savior with faith, just as Enos did. He had remembered the words of his father, which surely included Jacob’s prophesying of the Savior, and that led him to pray in faith that the Lord would indeed answer. No matter what the struggle is that we are dealing with, our best approach is to show the Lord our faith in Christ. We must, as Moroni recorded, “first believe in the Son of God” if we seek any blessing or miracle from the Lord. We may indeed “have hope, and be partakers of the gift, if [we] will but have faith” (Ether 12:9, 18).

               Enos’s father taught us one important way that we develop this kind of faith. He wrote,  “Wherefore, we search the prophets, and we have many revelations and the spirit of prophecy; and having all these witnesses we obtain a hope, and our faith becometh unshaken, insomuch that we truly can command in the name of Jesus and the very trees obey us, or the mountains, or the waves of the sea” (Jacob 4:6). The start of our faith is to “search the prophets,” an action which leads to revelation and the spirit of prophecy. Surely Enos’s searching involved just that as  “the words which [he] had often heard [his] father speak concerning eternal life, and the joy of the saints, sunk deep into [his] heart” (Enos 1:3). That led him to soul searching that helped him have enough faith to keep praying, hour after hour, and into the night. As the words of the prophets sank deep into his heart, his faith in the Son of God grew to the point that the Lord could visit him with His spirit and forgive his sins.

               This story of Enos and his father invite us to search more diligently the prophets, both ancient and modern, to increase our faith and power. As I consider the messages of this general conference, this invitation from President Nelson stands out as a powerful summary for all of the speakers: “It is now time that we each implement extraordinary measures — perhaps measures we have never taken before — to strengthen our personal spiritual foundations. Unprecedented times call for unprecedented measures.” He continued, “So, I ask each of you: ‘How firm is your foundation? And what reinforcement to your testimony and understanding of the gospel are needed?’” Surely an important way for us to respond to his invitation and strengthen our foundation is to “search the prophets” more diligently, helping us to be prepared more fully for these unprecedented times. Jacob’s own searching and spiritual preparation enabled him to face the anti-Christ Sherem in such a way that the prophet “could not be shaken” (Jacob 7:5). As we search the scriptures and the words of this conference in unprecedented ways, the Lord will strengthen our foundation and we will have the faith to overcome all the challenges that might lie ahead.