I started thinking about this in terms of a business. When you hire an employee and pay him a salary, you are expecting to make a profit as a result. If you didn’t expect a profit from the employee, why would you add the expense of paying his salary?

This scripture is saying that God has paid us infinitely through the Atonement of Jesus Christ – and none of our finite efforts can make us profitable.

This doesn’t mean it’s not worth it to the Lord to pay us all this spiritual wealth. It just means that if it were not for His Sacrifice, we would all be poor – none would return to live with God.

This is the first thing Mormon mentions. You might ask, “Why?” I asked. I think it has to do with what Mormon was going through.

If you had just seen a bloody war (think the bloodiest street gangs in the inner-city multiplied by 1,000) which killed tens of millions of people – and you were making an entry into an account that would be read by future generations – would you mention it?

I think it’s interesting to notice some of these small details because it points to the truth of the book. Its authors were real men, and many times wrote what we would have written had we lived. The book is true.

I thought of those people in my life who always seem to be bright. They always seem to be alive and excited and hopeful – and just like that heavenly body that brightens up the world, they warm up and give life to everybody they see. President Hinckley comes to mind. Others come to mind. All these have helped to energize and excite me.

I believe this is why Nephi used the word “brightness” in connection with “hope.” They should fit together perfectly.

Enos went on a little weekend getaway to hunt for food. As he was out – alone in nature – he began thinking about his the conversations he had enjoyed with his dad (who was Nephi’s brother Jacob) over the years. He remembered hearing about “eternal life, and the joy of the saints.” The words of his father “sunk deep into his heart.”

I know from experience how strong those feelings can be – when words sink deep into your heart. It’s like you can’t stop thinking about it – or better said – you can’t stop feeling it.

Enos prayed for many hours. Joseph Smith comes to mind. He wasn’t sure exactly how long he prayed before Moroni visited him in 1823, but he told Oliver Cowdery “maybe 12 or 13 hours.”

My guess is that Enos prayed for a similar period of time, “All the day long did I cry unto him, in mighty prayer and supplication for mine own soul; … and when the night came I did still raise my voice high that it reached the heavens.”

Both Joseph and Enos were praying to find out their standing before the Lord. Both were answered.

Enos must have been thrilled to hear, “Thy sins are forgiven thee, and thou shalt be blessed.”

He says of that moment, “My guilt was swept away.”

I believe that we all must have experiences like this – feeling the peace of knowing that the Lord has forgiven us.

These were the sons of Mosiah and Alma the younger.

How did they receive this power?

This power came, as the record shows, after they “waxed strong in the knowledge of the truth… [gave] themselves to much prayer, and fasting; therefore, they had the spirit of prophecy, and the spirit of revelation, and when they taught, they taught with power and authority of God.” Alma 17:2-3

This principle is so simple that it is sometimes forgotten.