Ether 7

Ether 7

First we learned about the Prodigal Son (see Luke 15:11-32).  Now we have the story of Corihor and his brother, Shule to teach us about forgiving wayward loved ones.  When Shule was born, his brother Corihor was holding captive their father, the king.  When Shule became a man, being mighty in judgment (v. 8), he fought Corihor and obtained the kingdom again for their father.  Daddy gave the kingdom to Shule, who reigned in righteousness and taught repentance to the people (v. 25).  During Shule’s reign “Corihor repented of the many evils which he had done” to the point that king Shule gave Corihor “power in the kingdom” (v. 13).  It appears that Corihor remained faithful to Shule, for when Corihor’s son, Noah, rebelled against king Shule, the record tells us he rebelled against them both (v.15).  Let us, like Shule and like the Prodigal Son’s father, be able to forgive repentant loved ones.

Ether 6

Ether 6

I've always wondered why the first part of the Book of Ether is about the brother of Jared rather than about Jared.  The brother of Jared is clearly the religious leader of the Jaredites, but in this chapter Jared is shown as the legal leader of the people when he determines that the people should have a king, as they desired (see verses 21 – 24).  Among the ancient Israelites, leaders were chosen by God and kings were chosen by the people.  Given the opportunity to choose a king, the Jaredite people turned first to the sons of the brother of Jared, none of which would accept the job (verses 25 – 26).  Then the people turned to the sons of Jared where they finally convinced one of them to be the king.  The ruling of the Jaredites then continued through his progeny, and perhaps that is why we read about the Jaredites instead of about the brother-of-Jaredites.

Ether 5

Ether 5

This chapter shows that no one understood better the purpose for keeping this sacred record than did Moroni.  Apparently it was he who sealed up that portion of the record the Lord intended to continue to be held back for now.  In chapter 3 Moroni was shown the history of the future of the earth, and was forbidden to share that information.  (I think others have seen that same vision, such as Nephi and John the Revelator.)  But he obviously saw in it the publication of the record he was adding to, for this chapter is written to the person who would translate and publish the record.  Moroni is almost obsessed with the publication of this abridged record.  His small contribution (compared to Nephi’s and Mormon’s) is pointedly written to those of us who would 1600 years later be reading it.

Ether 4

Ether 4

Mormon, in abridging the library of records into this smaller record known as the Book of Mormon, indicated that “it is expedient that all people should know the things written” in the Book of Ether (see Mosiah 28:19).  The events in the beginning of the Book of Ether happened at the time of the building of the tower of Babel and the confounding of man’s language.  This was many centuries before Lehi’s vision that begins the Book of Mormon.  I've often wondered why it is that the Book of Mormon doesn't begin with the Book of Ether.  It’s chronologically presented otherwise.  Why wait until the end of the book to tell us about what happened at the beginning of it?  Chapter 4 contains an answer to this question.  In verse 1 we learn that the Lord told the brother of Jared to write what he had learned in the amazing conversation of the previous chapter, but that these things were not to be shared with people until after Jesus had died on the cross.  So it was about 400 years after that terrible and blessed event that, Moroni, being alone, added the Book of Ether to the sacred record that he was keeping.  We have the portion of it that is available to us thanks to Moroni.

Ether 3

Ether 3

How beautiful is the relationship between the brother of Jared and the Savior of the world!  The brother of Jared seemed to understand what the Lord was capable of.  When the barges he had built to cross the ocean toward the Land of Promise needed air and light within them, the Lord answered the brother of Jared’s question with a design to improve the air quality.  As to lack of light inside, the Light of the world didn't give an answer, but asked the brother of Jared to offer a solution himself.  So, the brother of Jared obtained small stones and asked the Lord to touch them with His finger so they would glow in the darkness inside the barges.  Who would think to ask such a thing?  Obviously the brother of Jared knew the Lord very, very well.  Jesus touched each of the stones, and when He did so, the brother of Jared saw the Lord’s finger.  When the brother of Jared fell to the earth in fear, the Lord commended him for his great faith, and asked, “Sawest thou more than this?”  The response that surprises me, but not the Lord, is “Nay, Lord, show thyself unto me” (v. 10).  Before doing so, the Lord asks the brother of Jared “Believest thou the words which I shall speak?”  Notice that the question isn’t “Are you going to believe the words I am going to tell you?”  The question is “Do you already believe the words I am going to tell you?”  It’s easy to believe the words Christ has already spoken, for they have already proven themselves.  To receive greater knowledge from God requires us to believe it.  When we get to a point that we already believe the Savior’s future words, we arrive at a special place in our relationship with Him.

Ether 2

Ether 2

Have you ever found yourself turning to the Lord when you need something from Him, then going along your merry way barely thinking of Him when things are going well?  If so, you’re not alone.  Consider the brother of Jared in this chapter.  He constantly sought the Lord’s direction while travelling in the wilderness in search of a promised land.  But once they stopped in a place they called Moriancumer, they began to put down roots (v. 13).  Four years later, the Lord came to the brother of Jared and spoke to him from a cloud for three hours.  Part, if not all of this conversation consisted in the Lord’s chastising the brother of Jared for failing to call upon Him.  Clearly our Heavenly Father desires our company regularly, like any good friend.  May we remember that, and call upon Him in good times as well as bad ones.

Ether 1

Ether 1

We now take a break in the narrative to go all the way back to the time of the confounding of languages at the time of the Tower of Babel.  We meet Jared, a man of faith, who asked his brother, a man of enormous faith, to pray to the Lord to learn where they should go to find a promised land.  When the brother of Jared prayed about this direction, the Lord told them to go to a certain place.  “And there will I meet thee, and I will go before thee into a land which is choice above all the lands of the earth” (v. 42). 

Similarly, if we want to be led by the Lord we must meet Him in a certain “place,” which is reached by prayer, scripture study, serving our neighbors, and loving as the Lord loves.  From there He will “go before” us into that most promised land of Eternal Life.  For us to get there, He must carry us.  He carries us with His atoning sacrifice.  As these Jaredites, “let us be faithful unto the Lord, that we may receive it for an inheritance” (v. 38).