Enos-Words of Mormon

The Book of Enos

Enos wrote about an experience he had,

Thanks to the nurturing and teachings of his dad.

One day he went hunting and thought about the words

His dad spoke of Jesus that he had often heard.

He felt his soul hunger and so he knelt to pray

And he asked the Lord to forgive him all that day.

Even when the night had come, Enos still prayed on.

God said, “You’re forgiven,” and all his guilt was gone.

Then he wanted others to feel the way he felt.

He thought of the Nephites and, yet again, he knelt.

He prayed for their welfare and so God promised him

That they would not be cursed unless they chose to sin.

Last, he prayed with long strugglings for the Lamanites.

God promised they’d get the truth when the time was right.

Afterward, Enos went about and prophesied.

But the Lamanites wouldn’t listen when he tried. 

Their hatred and their wildness had become complete;

They were so ferocious they even ate raw meat!

The Nephites continued to farm and raise their herds

And they often tried to ignore the prophets’ words.

But Enos saw that if his speech was plain or bold, 

They would listen.  So he preached until he was old.

He believed that God would say when He was in view,

“Come unto me…there is a place prepared for you.

The Book of Jarom

Enos handed the plates down to his son, Jarom.

Since the plates were small, he would not write much in them.

Though he, too, had revelations and prophesied,

He felt that his fathers’ writings more than sufficed.

He lamented that many Nephites’ hearts were hard.

God had not yet swept them off for their disregard,

Since there were still Nephites who kept the laws of God.

They observed the Sabbath day and they profaned not.

Both the Lamanites and the Nephites multiplied.

Whenever they fought, God was on the Nephites’ side.

They prospered and spread out on the face of the land

Just as God had promised if they kept His command.

But if they sinned these blessings wouldn’t be enjoyed.

If they fell into transgression, they’d be destroyed.

Jarom spent his days teaching that Jesus would come,

Then he delivered the plates to Omni, his son.

The Book of Omni

Omni was wicked and did not have much to write.

He spent much of his time fighting the Lamanites.

He saw wars and bloodshed before his time was done.

Then he gave the records to Amaron, his son.

Three hundred years had passed since Nephi’s boat landed.

By this time, few did as the Lord had commanded

And so many of the wicked Nephites had perished.

Next, the plates were given to his brother Chemish.

Chemish wrote the least.  His record’s only one verse.

He could not say much since his entry was so terse!

His words were followed by Abinadom, his son.

He’d seen many wars and had fought for his brethren. 

Then his son, Amaleki, wrote about a king. 

He was named Mosiah and followed God’s warning.

He was told to flee from the land of Nephi and

Let any who wanted to join his little band.

They would discover a land called Zarahemla.

Its inhabitants rejoiced and welcomed them all.

Their ancestors, were from Jerusalem, as well.

They left soon after Lehi, when the city fell.

Without scriptures, the people’s fall had been abrupt.

They’d forgotten God and their language was corrupt!

So Mosiah caused that they all should learn his tongue

And, with him as king, their two peoples became one.

Some would try to return to the land of Nephi

With their leader Zeniff, a very zealous guy.

But Amaleki stayed and exhorted all men,

“Come to Christ and offer your whole souls unto him!”

He had no seed, so, when he saw his life was done,

He gave the plates to Benjamin, Mosiah’s son.

The Words of Mormon

Then the book’s compiler, Mormon, added his words.

He knew God would make sure the plates would be preserved.

What we have in this record is only a start.

There was so much he couldn’t use a hundredth part. 

Pay attention to the next five books, everyone;

Mormon felt they were choice to him and his brethren.

He had felt the Spirit of God whisper to him

That, for a wise purpose, he’d need to include them.

Since the Savior’s visit, 400 years had passed.

The Nephites, as a people, were disappearing fast.

He felt certain that his own life would soon be done,

So he’d pass the plates on to Moroni his son.

But before he did so, he wrote a little more

About how King Benjamin led his men in war.

He fought with his own arm against the Lamanites

And worked to restore peace with all his body’s might.

They defeated thousands under his brave command

And, thanks to his labors, they had peace in the land.

© 2020 by N. Noelle Maes