The Joy of His Son

Throughout the Book of Mormon we have several references to the otherwise unknown prophet Zenos. The first allusion to him is in Nephi’s words in which he said that Zenos predicted Christ would “be buried in a sepulchre” and that there would be “three days of darkness” in conjunction with the rocks that would rend and the earth that would grown at that time (1 Nephi 19:10-12). Mormon mentioned as well when he described that destruction and darkness among the Nephites that “Zenos did testify of these things” (3 Nephi 10:16). Amulek also referenced Zenos’s testimony of the Savior when he said, “My brother has called upon the words of Zenos, that redemption cometh through the Son of God” (Alma 34:7). He was referring to Alma’s teachings where he quoted Zenos’s words to the Zoramites. The longest passage of course from Zenos is the allegory of the olive tree which Jacob quoted, but after that it is this testimony quoted by Alma on prayer and the Savior. It is in this passage that we gain the most insight into the life of Zenos and the trials he faced as a prophet.

               Alma quoted Zenos in Alma 33:3-11 in order to give evidence to the Zoramites that they could worship God even without being in the synagogues. In addition to learning that, in this passage we also get a sense of the struggles that Zenos faced as a prophet and how he was helped and strengthened by the Lord. He started with this, “Thou art merciful, O God, for thou hast heard my prayer, even when I was in the wilderness; yea, thou wast merciful when I prayed concerning those who were mine enemies, and thou didst turn them to me.” He was both in the wilderness and he was in danger from his enemies, and the Lord helped to preserve him. He went on to mention how the Lord helped him in the field and in his house and in his closet and among congregations, for the Lord did hear his prayer in all of those places. He testified in prayer to the Lord: “Yea, thou art merciful unto thy children when they cry unto thee, to be heard of thee and not of men, and thou wilt hear them.” The Lord will hear our cry when that prayer is sincere, to be heard of Him and not of man like the Zoramites on the Rameumptom. Zenos then again mentioned his enemies, saying, “Yea, and thou hast also heard me when I have been cast out and have been despised by mine enemies; yea, thou didst hear my cries, and wast angry with mine enemies, and thou didst visit them in thine anger with speedy destruction.” He was “cast out” and “despised” by enemies, and the next verse speaks twice of his “afflictions” and how God was merciful to him because of the Son. The passage as a whole suggests a great need from Zenos to have help from the Lord in his very serious challenges. Despite these afflictions and difficulties with his enemies, he found joy in the Lord who turned away His judgments “because of the Son.” Clearly Zenos had a challenging life as a prophet amidst his enemies who rejected him.

That Zenos had his share of trials as a prophet is evidenced by the fact that he ultimately gave his life for his testimony of the Lord. Nephi, the son of Helaman, testified of the Savior and His coming and remarked, “Since the days of Abraham there have been many prophets that have testified these things; yea, behold, the prophet Zenos did testify boldly; for the which he was slain” (Helaman 8:19). As I thought about this and pondered Zenos’s words quoted by Alma, I was led to wonder why the Lord would in those earlier instances deliver Zenos from the hands of his enemies and hear his many prayers for help only to eventually let him be slain by those enemies. Why didn’t the Lord help him in that moment too and deliver him again from his enemies? Why didn’t the Lord show mercy then and visit them in His anger as they sought to slay His servant? Of course we can’t know all of the reasons, but perhaps the life of the Prophet Joseph provides some insight and a parallel. He was delivered by the Lord time and time again from his enemies only to be killed at Carthage. The Lord said this about his death: “[He] was faithful; and I took him to myself. Many have marveled because of his death; but it was needful that he should seal his testimony with his blood, that he might be honored and the wicked might be condemned” (Doctrine and Covenants 138:38-39). In one sense Joseph was indeed delivered from his enemies again at Carthage—this time it was because his mortal life ended and he was given rest from them for good. He was taken unto the Lord and freed from the great trials he endured in mortality. Perhaps then for Zenos too his death was a deliverance and he found rest in the Lord after he had born sufficient testimony of the coming of the Messiah to a wicked people. Perhaps the lesson from his life is that no matter what our afflictions are, as we turn to the Lord in prayer with sincerity of heart, He always hears us and our “burdens may be light, through the joy of his Son” (Alma 33:23).