April 15-21: Enos - Words of Mormon

"He Worketh in Me to Do According to His Will" 

Brent Wilson (American, born 1934)

Representing One’s Ancestors (page six of journal # 73, December 2005-July 2006) ink and acrylic paint on paper, 10 5/8 x 11 inches

Collection: Penn State Library Special Collections, Brent Wilson Papers

Used with permission of the artist

The authors of the Book of Mormon are diarists, in many respects. The record of their people is also the record of individuals and families. Each of us can document our lives through journal keeping, too. Artists sometimes take it one step further. The artist Brent Wilson has been using his journal as a companion for creating art for decades. These volumes capture images, ideas, and texts. Furthermore, the artist has exhibited the journals as artworks, themselves.

In Journal 73 (shown above), the artist was planning a folio about his great grandmother Lerona Abigail Martin Wilson (1862-1944). He describes it, “In 1916, she saw a vision that she titled ‘The French People Neglected.’ In the vision her deceased father, my great great grandfather and Mexican American War veteran Marcellus Monroe Martin, takes Lerona to the Spirit World and to a large coliseum where the spirits of their French ancestors were gathered in pie-wedge sections. Her father introduced Lerona to the heads of the families, indicated how they were related, and explained that virtually no temple saving ordinances had been performed for their family or for the French people. Lerona’s father admonished her to study French history, to begin searching for the names of her ancestors, and then—this is the most fascinating part of the vision—she was instructed: ‘To go to the First Presidency of the Church and ask permission to take up a labor among those of that blood and encourage them to do ordinance work in the temples without waiting to establish relationship, for the reason that so many families have no descendants in the Church. She did go to the First Presidency and apparently permission was granted to perform ordinances for French people who were not Lerona’s ancestors. Was this the beginning of the extraction program—decades before the actual program began?”

Discussion Questions

1. Give everyone in your family or discussion group a paper and pencil before your discussion. As you talk about this week's reading, "doodle" the words, images and thoughts that come to your mind. At the end of the discussion, share what you have drawn and written on your paper. How can these sorts of doodles help you to unravel and apply the scriptures into your life?

2. The story of Enos is a demonstration of earnest and thoughtful prayer. He records his experience of "mighty prayer and supplication for mine own soul" (Enos 1:4). What specific things can you learn from Enos about how to make your conversations with God more meaningful?

3. Sometimes, like Mormon, we feel prompted by the whisperings of the Spirit to do something "for a wise purpose," but we do not know what that purpose may be (Words of Mormon 1:7). Have you ever followed a prompting without understanding of the purpose only later to see a blessing come from your action either in your own life or in the life of another?

For Children and Youth:

1.  When Enos was hunting, the words of his father played over in his heart (Enos 1:3).  What truths have you heard from a parent or other leader that have replayed in your head and heart?  How do these words impact your choices and actions?

2.  Jarom describes personal revelation as "there are many among us who have many revelations ... and as many as are not stiffnecked and have faith, have communion with the Holy Spirit, which maketh manifest unto the children of men, according to their faith" (Jarom 1:4; emphasis added).  When was the last time that you felt a revelation come into your heart and how did it make you feel?  Write down the experience and the feelings in your heart at the time that the promptings came to you.

3.  In Omni, we read about the passing of important records from father to son and brother to brother.  What is an important something that you have that you could share with a family member to help them make good choices?