Enos 1:1 - 1:5

Enos 1:1 Behold, it came to pass that I, Enos, knowing my father that he was a just man—for he taught me in his language, and also in the nurture and admonition of the Lord—and blessed be the name of my God for it—

Enos starts his record by praising his upbringing by his father Jacob. He was taught to read and write. And most important Enos was taught the Gospel and how one should live their life in righteousness. He thanks God for being brought up in these circumstances.
[Wonder how many of use thank God for our situation. I could have been born in a place where no education was available or I could have had to struggle just to have food to eat. Or I could have been in a culture like the Lamanites where I lived like a wild man without a knowledge of the goodness of God. There are a lot of places I could have found myself at birth, but I thank Him to be where I am today with the Gospel and a knowledge of my potential for the future beyond the grave.]

Enos 1:2 And I will tell you of the wrestle which I had before God, before I received a remission of my sins.

Enos wants to recount the spiritual struggle he had to get a confirmation that he was forgiven of his sins.

Enos 1:3 Behold, I went to hunt beasts in the forests; and the words which I had often heard my father speak concerning eternal life, and the joy of the saints, sunk deep into my heart.

Enos had been hunting but his mind was not on acquiring meat. His mind was on his spiritual condition. By personal assessment, he knew he had not been very committed to the Gospel. Revaluating his condition in light of what his father Jacob had been preaching to the people and, I’m sure, in his family, Enos knew he did not measure up to what a righteous man should be.
[I’m wondering if this event did not take place soon after Jacob’s death. Enos, who was given all the records and knowing that he needed to be righteous to be able to keep the records, must have come to this crises point in morning for his father. His father’s dedication and complete faithfulness must now have sank deep into this heart causing him to evaluation his own condition. Death of loved ones can do that to a person. Just as a side note. Whenever I taught this chapter in any class, I would say that it happened in the later part of October. I would then be asked how I knew that and I would say: “Isn’t that when deer hunting season begins?” A little joke.]

Enos 1:4 And my soul hungered; and I kneeled down before my Maker, and I cried unto him in mighty prayer and supplication for mine own soul; and all the day long did I cry unto him; yea, and when the night came I did still raise my voice high that it reached the heavens.

Anyway Enos was so anxious about his standing before God, that he prayed all day long and into the night. He was so concern about his spiritual condition that he resolved that he would not stop praying until he got an answer of some kind from the Lord.
[I’ve wonder, like many others, if Enos was really on his knees for the entire day and into the evening? That is a long time to pray. I know I could not come up with enough words to keep talking for that length of time. I have been distraught over things in the past and have found myself pacing trying to make sense of situations I found myself in and trying to decide the next source of action. That maybe what Enos was just so distraught that he could not get the thoughts out of his mind on his condition that he literally could not stop thinking about what he was concerned about. I’ve had that experience as well. I could not keep myself from thinking about a particular situation and trying to figure out what to do next. It was my desire to do what was right but I was just not sure what to do next. Prayer and fasting was all I could do. Eventually answers came and I knew what to do next. I think this was Enos’ experiences here.]

Enos 1:5 And there came a voice unto me, saying: Enos, thy sins are forgiven thee, and thou shalt be blessed.

After struggling for a considerable length of time, Enos hears a voice saying his sins are forgiven and he would receive the blessings he thought he needed to carry out his assignment given to him by his father.