pgs. 498 and 499...the people desired of them that they should anoint one of their sons to be a king over them.

18 And it came to pass that they began to spread upon the face of the land, and to multiply and to till the earth; and they did wax strong in the land.

19 And the brother of Jared began to be old, and saw that he must soon go down to the grave; wherefore he said unto Jared: Let us gather together our people that we may number them, that we may know of them what they will desire of us before we go down to our graves.

20 And accordingly the people were gathered together. Now the number of the sons and the daughters of the brother of Jared were twenty and two souls; and the number of sons and daughters of Jared were twelve, he having four sons.

21 And it came to pass that they did number their people; and after that they had numbered them, they did desire of them the things which they would that they should do before they went down to their graves.

22 And it came to pass that the people desired of them that they should ^aanoint one of their sons to be a king over them.

23 And now behold, this was grievous unto them. And the brother of Jared said unto them: Surely this thing ^aleadeth into captivity.

24 But Jared said unto his brother: Suffer them that they may have a king. And therefore he said unto them: Choose ye out from among our sons a king, even whom ye will.

25 And it came to pass that they chose even the firstborn of the brother of Jared; and his name was Pagag. And it came to pass that he refused and would not be their ^aking. And the people would that his father should constrain him, but his father would not; and he commanded them that they should constrain no man to be their king.

26 And it came to pass that they chose all the brothers of Pagag, and they would not.

27 And it came to pass that neither would the ^asons of Jared, even all save it were one; and ^bOrihah was anointed to be king over the people.

28 And he began to reign, and the people began to ^aprosper; and they became exceedingly rich.

29 And it came to pass that Jared died, and his brother also.

30 And it came to pass that Orihah did walk humbly before the Lord, and did remember how great things the Lord had done for his father, and also taught his people how great things the Lord had done for their fathers.

THE BOOK OF ETHER

CHAPTER 7

Orihah reigns in righteousness—Amid usurpation and strife the rival kingdoms of Shule and Cohor are set up—Prophets condemn the wickedness and idolatry of the people, who then repent.

1 And it came to pass that Orihah did execute judgment upon the land in righteousness all his days, whose days were exceedingly many.

2 And he begat sons and daughters; yea, he begat thirty and one, among whom were twenty and three sons.

3 And it came to pass that he also begat ^aKib in his ^bold age. And it came to pass that Kib reigned in his stead; and Kib begat Corihor.

4 And when Corihor was thirty and two years old he rebelled against his father, and went over and dwelt in the land of Nehor; and he begat sons and daughters, and they became exceedingly fair; wherefore Corihor drew away many people after him.

5 And when he had gathered together an army he came up unto the land of ^aMoron where the king dwelt, and took him captive, which ^bbrought to pass the saying of the brother of Jared that they would be brought into captivity.

6 Now the ^aland of Moron, where the king dwelt, was near the land which is called Desolation by the Nephites.

7 And it came to pass that Kib dwelt in ^acaptivity, and his people under Corihor his son, until he became exceedingly old; nevertheless Kib begat Shule in his old age, while he was yet in captivity.

8 And it came to pass that Shule was angry with his brother; and Shule waxed strong, and became mighty as to the strength of a man; and he was also mighty in judgment.

9 Wherefore, he came to the hill Ephraim, and he did molten out of the hill, and made swords out of ^asteel for those whom he had drawn away with him; and after he had armed them with swords he returned to the city Nehor, and gave battle unto his brother Corihor, by which means he obtained the kingdom and restored it unto his father Kib.

10 And now because of the thing which Shule had done, his father bestowed upon him the kingdom; therefore he began to reign in the stead of his father.

11 And it came to pass that he did execute judgment in righteousness; and he did spread his kingdom upon all the face of the land, for the people had become exceedingly numerous.

12 And it came to pass that Shule also begat many sons and daughters.

13 And Corihor repented of the many evils which he had done; wherefore Shule gave him power in his kingdom.

14 And it came to pass that Corihor had many sons and daughters. And among the sons of Corihor there was one whose name was Noah.

15 And it came to pass that Noah rebelled against Shule, the king, and also his father Corihor, and drew away Cohor his brother, and also all his brethren and many of the people.

16 And he gave battle unto Shule, the king, in which he did obtain the land of their ^afirst inheritance; and he became a king over that part of the land.

17 And it came to pass that he gave battle again unto Shule, the king; and he took Shule, the king, and carried him away captive into Moron.

18 And it came to pass as he was about to put him to death, the sons of Shule crept into the house of Noah by night and slew him, and broke down the door of the prison and brought out their father, and placed him upon his throne in his own kingdom.

19 Wherefore, the son of Noah did build up his kingdom in his stead; nevertheless they did not gain power any more over Shule the king, and the people who were under the reign of Shule the king did prosper exceedingly and wax great.

20 And the country was ^adivided; and there were two kingdoms, the kingdom of Shule, and the kingdom of Cohor, the son of Noah.

21 And Cohor, the son of Noah, caused that his people should give battle unto Shule, in which Shule did beat them and did slay Cohor.

22 And now Cohor had a son who was called Nimrod; and Nimrod gave up the kingdom of Cohor unto Shule, and he did gain favor in the eyes of Shule; wherefore Shule did bestow great favors upon him, and he did do in the kingdom of Shule according to his desires.

23 And also in the reign of Shule there came ^aprophets among the people, who were sent from the Lord, prophesying that the wickedness and ^bidolatry of the people was bringing a curse upon the land, and they should be destroyed if they did not repent.

This simple explanation and chart about chapter 7 from the Institute Manual is very helpful. It makes me very thankful that we do not have a King in the USA.

The brother of Jared said that having a king would lead to captivity, and he was right. Kib, and later his son Shule, were taken captive by rivals. The following genealogical chart illustrates this part of the early Jaredite history. Notice how short the time was between the brother of Jared’s prophecy and its fulfillment.

Much Jaredite history is covered rapidly in this part of the book of Ether. In abridging the history, Moroni told only the highlights of hundreds of years of events. He emphasized the parallels with his own people and the lessons that would be most valuable for our time.

pgs. 496 and 497...they did sing praises unto the Lord...and did thank and praise the Lord all the day long...and when the night came...

16 And then shall my ^arevelations which I have caused to be written by my servant John be unfolded in the eyes of all the people. Remember, when ye see these things, ye shall know that the time is at hand that they shall be made manifest in very deed.

17 Therefore, ^awhen ye shall receive this record ye may know that the work of the Father has commenced upon all the face of the land.

18 Therefore, ^arepent all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me, and believe in my gospel, and be ^bbaptized in my name; for he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned; and ^csigns shall follow them that believe in my name.

19 And blessed is he that is found ^afaithful unto my name at the last day, for he shall be ^blifted up to dwell in the kingdom prepared for him ^cfrom the foundation of the world. And behold it is I that hath spoken it. Amen.

THE BOOK OF ETHER

CHAPTER 5

Three witnesses and the work itself shall stand as a testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon.

1 And now I, Moroni, have written the words which were commanded me, according to my memory; and I have told you the things which I have ^asealed up; therefore touch them not in order that ye may translate; for that thing is forbidden you, except by and by it shall be wisdom in God.

2 And behold, ye may be privileged that ye may show the plates unto ^athose who shall assist to bring forth this work;

3 And unto ^athree shall they be shown by the power of God; wherefore they shall ^bknow of a surety that these things are ^ctrue.

4 And in the mouth of three ^awitnesses shall these things be established; and the ^btestimony of three, and this work, in the which shall be shown forth the power of God and also his word, of which the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost bear record—and all this shall stand as a testimony against the world at the last day.

5 And if it so be that they repent and ^acome unto the Father in the name of Jesus, they shall be received into the kingdom of God.

6 And now, if I have no authority for these things, judge ye; for ye shall know that I have authority when ye shall see me, and we shall stand before God at the last day. Amen.

THE BOOK OF ETHER

CHAPTER 6

The Jaredite barges are driven by the winds to the promised land—The people praise the Lord for his goodness—Orihah is appointed king over them—Jared and his brother pass away in death.

1 And now I, Moroni, proceed to give the record of ^aJared and his brother.

2 For it came to pass after the Lord had prepared the ^astones which the brother of Jared had carried up into the mount, the brother of Jared came down out of the mount, and he did put forth the stones into the vessels which were prepared, one in each end thereof; and behold, they did give light unto the vessels.

3 And thus the Lord caused stones to shine in darkness, to give light unto men, women, and children, that they might not cross the great waters in darkness.

4 And it came to pass that when they had prepared all manner of ^afood, that thereby they might subsist upon the water, and also food for their flocks and herds, and ^bwhatsoever beast or animal or fowl that they should carry with them—and it came to pass that when they had done all these things they got aboard of their vessels or barges, and set forth into the sea, commending themselves unto the Lord their God.

5 And it came to pass that the Lord God caused that there should be a ^afurious wind blow upon the face of the waters, ^btowards the promised land; and thus they were tossed upon the waves of the sea before the wind.

6 And it came to pass that they were many times buried in the depths of the sea, because of the mountain waves which broke upon them, and also the great and terrible tempests which were caused by the fierceness of the wind.

7 And it came to pass that when they were buried in the deep there was no water that could hurt them, their vessels being ^atight like unto a dish, and also they were tight like unto the ^bark of Noah; therefore when they were encompassed about by many waters they did cry unto the Lord, and he did bring them forth again upon the top of the waters.

8 And it came to pass that the wind did never cease to blow towards the promised land while they were upon the waters; and thus they were ^adriven forth before the wind.

9 And they did ^asing praises unto the Lord; yea, the brother of Jared did sing praises unto the Lord, and he did ^bthank and praise the Lord all the day long; and when the night came, they did not cease to praise the Lord.

10 And thus they were driven forth; and no monster of the sea could break them, neither ^awhale that could mar them; and they did have light continually, whether it was above the water or under the water.

11 And thus they were driven forth, ^athree hundred and forty and four days upon the water.

12 And they did ^aland upon the shore of the ^bpromised land. And when they had set their feet upon the shores of the promised land they bowed themselves down upon the face of the land, and did humble themselves before the Lord, and did shed tears of joy before the Lord, because of the multitude of his ^ctender mercies over them.

13 And it came to pass that they went forth upon the face of the land, and began to till the earth.

14 And Jared had four ^asons; and they were called Jacom, and Gilgah, and Mahah, and Orihah.

15 And the brother of Jared also begat sons and daughters.

16 And the ^afriends of Jared and his brother were in number about twenty and two souls; and they also begat sons and daughters before they came to the promised land; and therefore they began to be many.

17 And they were taught to ^awalk humbly before the Lord; and they were also ^btaught from on high.

I can't even imagine what it would be like to be tossed around at the mercies of the ocean for 344 days. Last month when we went on a cruise to Alaska several people were complaining of sea sickness and that was on a huge ship that hardly rocked. Plus we got off the ship almost all day every day. The brother of Jared and his his people endured "mountain waves and great and terrible tempests which were caused by the fierceness of the wind (verse 6.)" Don't you wonder how they got any sleep or what they ate those many months? What amazes me the most is that while they were enduring this they still thanked and praised the Lord all the day long and sang praises unto him. Wow. I am so humbled by their example!

pgs. 494 and 495...And in that day that they shall exercise faith in me...that they many become sanctified in me, then will I manifest unto them...

22 And behold, when ye shall come unto me, ye shall write them and shall seal them up, that no one can interpret them; for ye shall write them in a ^alanguage that they cannot be read.

23 And behold, these ^atwo stones will I give unto thee, and ye shall seal them up also with the things which ye shall write.

24 For behold, the ^alanguage which ye shall write I have confounded; wherefore I will cause in my own due time that these stones shall magnify to the eyes of men these things which ye shall write.

25 And when the Lord had said these words, he ^ashowed unto the brother of Jared ^ball the inhabitants of the earth which had been, and also all that would be; and he ^cwithheld them not from his sight, even unto the ends of the earth.

26 For he had said unto him in times before, that ^aif he would ^bbelieve in him that he could show unto him ^call things—it should be shown unto him; therefore the Lord could not withhold anything from him, for he knew that the Lord could show him all things.

27 And the Lord said unto him: Write these things and ^aseal them up; and I will show them in mine own due time unto the children of men.

28 And it came to pass that the Lord commanded him that he should seal up the two ^astones which he had received, and show them not, until the Lord should show them unto the children of ^bmen.

THE BOOK OF ETHER

CHAPTER 4

Moroni is commanded to seal up the writings of the brother of Jared—They shall not be revealed until men have faith even as the brother of Jared—Christ commands men to believe his words and those of his disciples—Men are commanded to repent and believe the gospel and be saved.

1 And the Lord commanded the brother of Jared to go down out of the ^amount from the presence of the Lord, and ^bwrite the things which he had seen; and they were forbidden to come unto the children of men ^cuntil after that he should be lifted up upon the cross; and for this cause did king Mosiah keep them, that they should not come unto the world until after Christ should show himself unto his people.

2 And after Christ truly had showed himself unto his people he commanded that they should be made manifest.

3 And now, after that, they have all dwindled in unbelief; and there is ^anone save it be the Lamanites, and they have rejected the gospel of Christ; therefore I am commanded that I should ^bhide them up again in the earth.

4 Behold, I have written upon these plates the ^avery things which the brother of Jared saw; and there never were ^bgreater things made manifest than those which were made manifest unto the brother of Jared.

5 Wherefore the Lord hath commanded me to write them; and I have written them. And he commanded me that I should ^aseal them up; and he also hath commanded that I should seal up the interpretation thereof; wherefore I have sealed up the ^binterpreters, according to the commandment of the Lord.

6 For the Lord said unto me: They shall not go forth unto the Gentiles until the day that they shall repent of their iniquity, and become clean before the Lord.

7 And in that day that they shall exercise ^afaith in me, saith the Lord, even as the brother of Jared did, that they may become ^bsanctified in me, then will I ^cmanifest unto them the things which the brother of Jared saw, even to the unfolding unto them all my ^drevelations, saith Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the ^eFather of the heavens and of the earth, and all things that in them are.

8 And he that will ^acontend against the word of the Lord, let him be accursed; and he that shall ^bdeny these things, let him be accursed; for unto them will I show ^cno greater things, saith Jesus Christ; for I am he who speaketh.

9 And at my command the heavens are opened and are ^ashut; and at my word the ^bearth shall shake; and at my command the inhabitants thereof shall pass away, even so as by fire.

10 And he that believeth not my words believeth not my disciples; and if it so be that I do not speak, judge ye; for ye shall know that it is I that speaketh, at the ^alast day.

11 But he that ^abelieveth these things which I have spoken, him will I visit with the manifestations of my Spirit, and he shall ^bknow and bear record. For because of my Spirit he shall ^cknow that these things are ^dtrue; for it persuadeth men to do good.

12 And whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do good is of me; for ^agood cometh of none save it be of me. I am the same that leadeth men to all good; he that will ^bnot believe my words will not believe me—that I am; and he that will not believe me will not believe the Father who sent me. For behold, I am the Father, I am the ^clight, and the ^dlife, and the ^etruth of the world.

13 ^aCome unto me, O ye Gentiles, and I will show unto you the greater things, the knowledge which is hid up because of unbelief.

14 Come unto me, O ye house of Israel, and it shall be made ^amanifest unto you how great things the Father hath laid up for you, from the foundation of the world; and it hath not come unto you, because of unbelief.

15 Behold, when ye shall rend that veil of unbelief which doth cause you to remain in your awful state of wickedness, and hardness of heart, and blindness of mind, then shall the great and marvelous things which have been ^ahid up from the foundation of the world from you—yea, when ye shall ^bcall upon the Father in my name, with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, then shall ye know that the Father hath remembered the covenant which he made unto your fathers, O house of Israel.


Since today is the anniversary of September 11th I am going to skip my commentary in hopes that you will watch this touching video from lds.org.

pgs. 492 and 493...Seest thou that ye are created after mine own image?

THE BOOK OF ETHER

CHAPTER 3

The brother of Jared sees the finger of the Lord as he touches the sixteen stones—Christ shows his spirit body to the brother of Jared—Those who have a perfect knowledge cannot be kept from within the veil—Interpreters are provided to bring the Jaredite record to light.

1 And it came to pass that the brother of Jared, (now the number of the vessels which had been prepared was eight) went forth unto the ^amount, which they called the mount ^bShelem, because of its exceeding height, and did ^cmolten out of a rock sixteen small stones; and they were white and clear, even as transparent ^dglass; and he did carry them in his hands upon the top of the mount, and cried again unto the Lord, saying:

2 O Lord, thou hast said that we must be encompassed about by the floods. Now behold, O Lord, and do not be ^aangry with thy servant because of his weakness before thee; for we know that thou art holy and dwellest in the heavens, and that we are ^bunworthy before thee; because of the ^cfall our ^dnatures have become evil continually; nevertheless, O Lord, thou hast given us a commandment that we must call upon thee, that from thee we may receive according to our desires.

3 Behold, O Lord, thou hast smitten us because of our iniquity, and hast driven us forth, and for these many years we have been in the wilderness; nevertheless, thou hast been ^amerciful unto us. O Lord, look upon me in pity, and turn away thine anger from this thy people, and suffer not that they shall go forth across this raging deep in darkness; but behold these ^bthings which I have molten out of the rock.

4 And I know, O Lord, that thou hast all ^apower, and can do whatsoever thou wilt for the benefit of man; therefore touch these stones, O Lord, with thy ^bfinger, and prepare them that they may shine forth in darkness; and they shall shine forth unto us in the vessels which we have prepared, that we may have ^clight while we shall cross the sea.

5 Behold, O Lord, thou canst do this. We know that thou art able to show forth great power, which ^alooks small unto the understanding of men.

6 And it came to pass that when the brother of Jared had said these words, behold, the ^aLord stretched forth his hand and touched the stones one by one with his ^bfinger. And the ^cveil was taken from off the eyes of the brother of Jared, and he saw the finger of the Lord; and it was as the finger of a man, like unto flesh and blood; and the brother of Jared ^dfell down before the Lord, for he was struck with ^efear.

7 And the Lord saw that the brother of Jared had fallen to the earth; and the Lord said unto him: Arise, why hast thou fallen?

8 And he saith unto the Lord: I saw the finger of the Lord, and I feared lest he should ^asmite me; for I knew not that the Lord had flesh and blood.

9 And the Lord said unto him: Because of thy faith thou hast seen that I shall take upon me ^aflesh and blood; and never has man come before me with ^bsuch exceeding faith as thou hast; for were it not so ye could not have seen my finger. Sawest thou more than this?

10 And he answered: Nay; Lord, ^ashow thyself unto me.

11 And the Lord said unto him: ^aBelievest thou the words which I shall speak?

12 And he answered: Yea, Lord, I know that thou speakest the truth, for thou art a God of truth, and ^acanst not lie.

13 And when he had said these words, behold, the Lord ^ashowed himself unto him, and said: ^bBecause thou knowest these things ye are redeemed from the fall; therefore ye are brought back into my ^cpresence; therefore I ^dshow myself unto you.

14 Behold, I am he who was ^aprepared from the foundation of the world to ^bredeem my people. Behold, I am Jesus Christ. I am the ^cFather and the Son. In me shall all mankind have ^dlife, and that eternally, even they who shall believe on my name; and they shall become my ^esons and my daughters.

15 And never have I ^ashowed myself unto man whom I have created, for never has man ^bbelieved in me as thou hast. Seest thou that ye are created after mine own ^cimage? Yea, even all men were created in the beginning after mine own image.

16 Behold, this ^abody, which ye now ^bbehold, is the ^cbody of my ^dspirit; and man have I created after the body of my spirit; and even as I appear unto thee to be in the spirit will I appear unto my people in the flesh.

17 And now, as I, Moroni, said I could ^anot make a full account of these things which are written, therefore it sufficeth me to say that Jesus showed himself unto this man in the spirit, even after the manner and in the likeness of the same body even as he ^bshowed himself unto the Nephites.

18 And he ministered unto him even as he ministered unto the Nephites; and all this, that this man might know that he was God, because of the many great works which the Lord had showed unto him.

19 And because of the ^aknowledge of this man he could not be kept from beholding within the ^bveil; and he saw the finger of Jesus, which, when he saw, he fell with fear; for he knew that it was the finger of the Lord; and he had ^cfaith no longer, for he knew, nothing ^ddoubting.

20 Wherefore, having this perfect knowledge of God, he could ^anot be kept from within the veil; therefore he ^bsaw Jesus; and he did minister unto him.

21 And it came to pass that the Lord said unto the brother of Jared: Behold, thou shalt not suffer these things which ye have seen and heard to go forth unto the world, until the ^atime cometh that I shall glorify my name in the flesh; wherefore, ye shall ^btreasure up the things which ye have seen and heard, and show it to no man.

For those of us who have grown up in the church it is easy to take for granted the knowledge that we have about our being created after our Savior's image. When I was a missionary in Japan people were always shocked to hear our description of the Savior and our Heavenly Father because they never imagined that They would be similar to us. We owe a great debt of gratitude to the brother of Jared for the incredible faith he manifested by seeing the Savior and for recording his experience for all of us to learn from. It is one of the most incredibe experiences in all of the Book of Mormon.

pgs. 490 and 491...I prepare you against the waves of the sea, and the winds which have gone forth, and the floods which shall come.

6 And it came to pass that they did travel in the wilderness, and did ^abuild ^bbarges, in which they did cross many waters, being directed continually by the hand of the Lord.

7 And the Lord would not suffer that they should stop beyond the sea in the wilderness, but he would that they should come forth even unto the ^aland of promise, which was choice above all other lands, which the Lord God had ^bpreserved for a righteous people.

8 And he had sworn in his wrath unto the brother of Jared, that whoso should possess this land of promise, from that time henceforth and forever, should ^aserve him, the true and only God, or they should be ^bswept off when the fulness of his wrath should come upon them.

9 And now, we can behold the decrees of God concerning this land, that it is a land of promise; and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall serve God, or they shall be ^aswept off when the fulness of his ^bwrath shall come upon them. And the fulness of his wrath cometh upon them when they are ^cripened in iniquity.

10 For behold, this is a land which is choice above all other lands; wherefore he that doth possess it shall serve God or shall be ^aswept off; for it is the everlasting decree of God. And it is not until the ^bfulness of iniquity among the children of the land, that they are ^cswept off.

11 And this cometh unto you, O ye ^aGentiles, that ye may know the decrees of God—that ye may repent, and not continue in your iniquities until the fulness come, that ye may not bring down the fulness of the ^bwrath of God upon you as the inhabitants of the land have hitherto done.

12 Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be ^afree from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but ^bserve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ, who hath been manifested by the things which we have written.

13 And now I proceed with my record; for behold, it came to pass that the Lord did bring Jared and his brethren forth even to that great sea which divideth the lands. And as they came to the sea they pitched their tents; and they called the name of the place ^aMoriancumer; and they dwelt in ^btents, and dwelt in tents upon the seashore for the space of four years.

14 And it came to pass at the end of four years that the Lord came again unto the brother of Jared, and stood in a cloud and ^atalked with him. And for the space of three hours did the Lord talk with the brother of Jared, and ^bchastened him because he remembered not to ^ccall upon the name of the Lord.

15 And the brother of Jared repented of the evil which he had done, and did call upon the name of the Lord for his brethren who were with him. And the Lord said unto him: I will forgive thee and thy brethren of their sins; but thou shalt not sin any more, for ye shall remember that my ^aSpirit will not always ^bstrive with man; wherefore, if ye will sin until ye are fully ripe ye shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord. And these are my ^cthoughts upon the land which I shall give you for your inheritance; for it shall be a land ^dchoice above all other lands.

16 And the Lord said: Go to work and build, after the manner of ^abarges which ye have hitherto built. And it came to pass that the brother of Jared did go to work, and also his brethren, and built barges after the manner which they had built, according to the ^binstructions of the Lord. And they were small, and they were light upon the water, even like unto the lightness of a fowl upon the water.

17 And they were built after a manner that they were exceedingly ^atight, even that they would hold water like unto a dish; and the bottom thereof was tight like unto a dish; and the sides thereof were tight like unto a dish; and the ends thereof were peaked; and the top thereof was tight like unto a dish; and the length thereof was the length of a tree; and the door thereof, when it was shut, was tight like unto a dish.

18 And it came to pass that the brother of Jared cried unto the Lord, saying: O Lord, I have performed the work which thou hast commanded me, and I have made the barges according as thou hast directed me.

19 And behold, O Lord, in them there is no light; whither shall we steer? And also we shall perish, for in them we cannot breathe, save it is the air which is in them; therefore we shall perish.

20 And the Lord said unto the brother of Jared: Behold, thou shalt make a hole in the top, and also in the bottom; and when thou shalt suffer for air thou shalt unstop the hole and receive air. And if it be so that the water come in upon thee, behold, ye shall stop the hole, that ye may not perish in the flood.

21 And it came to pass that the brother of Jared did so, according as the Lord had commanded.

22 And he cried again unto the Lord saying: O Lord, behold I have done even as thou hast commanded me; and I have prepared the vessels for my people, and behold there is no light in them. Behold, O Lord, wilt thou suffer that we shall cross this great water in darkness?

23 And the Lord said unto the brother of Jared: What will ye that I should do that ye may have light in your vessels? For behold, ye cannot have ^awindows, for they will be dashed in pieces; neither shall ye take fire with you, for ye shall not go by the light of fire.

24 For behold, ye shall be as a ^awhale in the midst of the sea; for the mountain waves shall dash upon you. Nevertheless, I will bring you up again out of the depths of the sea; for the ^bwinds have gone forth ^cout of my mouth, and also the ^drains and the floods have I sent forth.

25 And behold, I prepare you against these things; for ye cannot cross this great deep save I prepare you against the waves of the sea, and the winds which have gone forth, and the floods which shall come. Therefore what will ye that I should prepare for you that ye may have light when ye are swallowed up in the depths of the sea?

It is interesting how the Lord phrases verse 25. On the one hand he is telling the brother of Jared that he should expect waves, winds and floods on his journey. On the other hand he is letting him know that he will prepare him to handle all of them. Isn't this the way the Lord is with all of us? He knows that we will have difficult things to endure on our journey through life but He promises to help us handle them if we will rely on Him.

pgs. 488 and 489...the brother of Jared did cry unto the Lord, and the Lord had compassion upon Jared; therefore he did not confound the language...

THE BOOK OF ETHER

The record of the Jaredites, taken from the twenty-four plates found by the people of Limhi in the days of king Mosiah.

CHAPTER 1

Moroni abridges the writings of Ether—Ether’s genealogy set forth—The language of the Jaredites is not confounded at the Tower of Babel—The Lord promises to lead them to a choice land and make them a great nation.

1 And now I, Moroni, proceed to give an ^aaccount of those ancient inhabitants who were destroyed by the ^bhand of the Lord upon the face of this north country.

2 And I take mine account from the ^atwenty and four plates which were found by the people of Limhi, which is called the Book of Ether.

3 And as I suppose that the ^afirst part of this record, which speaks concerning the creation of the world, and also of Adam, and an account from that time even to the great ^btower, and whatsoever things transpired among the children of men until that time, is had among the Jews—

4 Therefore I do not write those things which transpired from the days of ^aAdam until that time; but they are had upon the plates; and whoso findeth them, the same will have power that he may get the full account.

5 But behold, I give not the full account, but a ^apart of the account I give, from the tower down until they were destroyed.

6 And on this wise do I give the account. He that wrote this record was ^aEther, and he was a descendant of Coriantor.

7 Coriantor was the son of Moron.

8 And Moron was the son of Ethem.

9 And Ethem was the son of Ahah.

10 And Ahah was the son of Seth.

11 And Seth was the son of Shiblon.

12 And Shiblon was the son of Com.

13 And Com was the son of Coriantum.

14 And Coriantum was the son of Amnigaddah.

15 And Amnigaddah was the son of Aaron.

16 And Aaron was a descendant of Heth, who was the son of Hearthom.

17 And Hearthom was the son of Lib.

18 And Lib was the son of Kish.

19 And Kish was the son of Corom.

20 And Corom was the son of Levi.

21 And Levi was the son of Kim.

22 And Kim was the son of Morianton.

23 And Morianton was a descendant of Riplakish.

24 And Riplakish was the son of Shez.

25 And Shez was the son of Heth.

26 And Heth was the son of Com.

27 And Com was the son of Coriantum.

28 And Coriantum was the son of Emer.

29 And Emer was the son of Omer.

30 And Omer was the son of Shule.

31 And Shule was the son of Kib.

32 And ^aKib was the son of ^bOrihah, who was the son of Jared;

33 Which ^aJared came forth with his brother and their families, with some others and their families, from the great tower, at the time the Lord ^bconfounded the language of the people, and swore in his wrath that they should be scattered upon all the ^cface of the earth; and according to the word of the Lord the people were scattered.

34 And the ^abrother of Jared being a large and mighty man, and a man highly favored of the Lord, Jared, his brother, said unto him: Cry unto the Lord, that he will not confound us that we may not ^bunderstand our words.

35 And it came to pass that the brother of Jared did cry unto the Lord, and the Lord had compassion upon Jared; therefore he did not confound the ^alanguage of Jared; and Jared and his brother were not confounded.

36 Then Jared said unto his brother: Cry again unto the Lord, and it may be that he will turn away his anger from them who are our ^afriends, that he confound not their language.

37 And it came to pass that the brother of Jared did cry unto the Lord, and the Lord had compassion upon their friends and their families also, that they were not confounded.

38 And it came to pass that Jared spake again unto his brother, saying: Go and ^ainquire of the Lord whether he will drive us out of the land, and if he will drive us out of the land, cry unto him whither we shall go. And who knoweth but the Lord will carry us forth into a land which is ^bchoice above all the earth? And if it so be, let us be faithful unto the Lord, that we may receive it for our inheritance.

39 And it came to pass that the brother of Jared did cry unto the Lord according to that which had been spoken by the mouth of Jared.

40 And it came to pass that the Lord did hear the brother of Jared, and ^ahad compassion upon him, and said unto him:

41 Go to and gather together thy ^aflocks, both male and female, of every kind; and also of the ^bseed of the earth of every kind; and ^cthy ^dfamilies; and also Jared thy brother and his family; and also thy ^efriends and their families, and the friends of Jared and their families.

42 And when thou hast done this thou shalt ^ago at the head of them down into the valley which is northward. And there will I meet thee, and I will go ^bbefore thee into a land which is ^cchoice above all the lands of the earth.

43 And there will I bless thee and thy seed, and raise up unto me of thy seed, and of the seed of thy brother, and they who shall go with thee, a great nation. And ^athere shall be none ^bgreater than the nation which I will raise up unto me of thy seed, upon all the face of the earth. And thus I will do unto thee because this long time ye have cried unto me.

THE BOOK OF ETHER

CHAPTER 2

The Jaredites prepare for their journey to a promised land—It is a choice land whereon men must serve Christ or be swept off—The Lord talks to the brother of Jared for three hours—They build barges—The Lord asks the brother of Jared to propose how the barges shall be lighted.

1 And it came to pass that Jared and his brother, and their families, and also the ^afriends of Jared and his brother and their families, went down into the valley which was northward, (and the name of the valley was ^bNimrod, being called after the mighty hunter) with their ^cflocks which they had gathered together, male and female, of every kind.

2 And they did also lay snares and catch ^afowls of the air; and they did also prepare a vessel, in which they did carry with them the fish of the waters.

3 And they did also carry with them deseret, which, by interpretation, is a honey bee; and thus they did carry with them ^aswarms of bees, and all manner of that which was upon the face of the land, ^bseeds of every kind.

4 And it came to pass that when they had come down into the valley of Nimrod the Lord came down and talked with the brother of Jared; and he was in a ^acloud, and the brother of Jared saw him not.

5 And it came to pass that the Lord commanded them that they should ^ago forth into the wilderness, yea, into that quarter where there never had man been. And it came to pass that the Lord did go before them, and did talk with them as he stood in a ^bcloud, and gave ^cdirections whither they should travel.

The fact that the Lord answered the brother of Jared's prayer is a testament to all of us that sometimes all we need to do is ask. The Lord wants to answer our righteous prayers and he wants us to show faith in Him by offering prayers. Those whose language was confounded didn't have enough faith to even believe in God or acknowledge that He had the power to take their language away from them. He was actually blessing them by making it so that they could not collaborate so easily to bring about wickedness.