Verses 10 and 11 provide an interesting contrast. The events in verse 10 cause those in verse 11. That is, Enos’s faith which begins “to be unshaken” comes as a result of the “voice of the Lord” in Enos’s mind. Presented this simply, there is no question but that hearing Yahweh’s voice might increase one’s faith. In this case, however, it appears that it really was hearing the voice rather than the message of the voice that had this effect.
Yahweh speaks to Enos, responding to his query about the Nephites. We might expect the Lord to give him some promise about the future of his people or about their current needs. Instead, Yahweh responds with the promise of the land, not the people.
The land’s promise is that it is chosen, a holy place. The people benefit from it to the degree of their righteousness. This was the covenant with Lehi (2 Ne. 1:9), and it becomes Yahweh’s covenant with Enos. The only promise for the Nephites is contingent upon their righteousness. Indeed, Yahweh’s final promise is that he will visit the Nephites’ wickedness upon their own heads. When Yahweh says that he “will visit thy brethren according as I have said,” he appears to be making a conceptual division between Enos and his brethren. I suspect that this is due to the continued separation of the believers in the true Nephite religion from those who are in power and who appear to be espousing an apostate religion (likely similar to the one Sherem preached). Enos seems to have no trouble understanding this fairly bleak picture of the future (v. 13).