Ether 1-5: The Brother of Jared Prayed - What we can learn about sincerely praying, listening, and heeding the Lord's guidance

Update: I did not include the timelines and maps I made about the Book of Ether in this post but you can find it in a follow-up post here.

I am teaching virtual adult Sunday School this Sunday. It has been many months since I taught. We have several Adult Sunday School teachers, and we didn't start having virtual Sunday School for a long time so it just hasn't come around to me yet. 

I read all of the verses that are part of this week's lesson by Monday, then spent the rest of the week re-reading some scriptures, reading the Come Follow Me manuals, and reading General Conference talks that came to my mind as I studied. I consider those thoughts to be promptings that should be investigated. Why am I sharing all of this?

This afternoon (Saturday), I prayed to my Heavenly Father, and asked for his guidance in focusing on the things that the class would need to hear. I asked that I might have his Spirit with me, the way I have felt so many times this year as I have spoken to Him in prayer and listened for a response through feelings and through my scripture study. As I said these words aloud, I felt overwhelmed by his love for me. I know Heavenly Father listens and that if we are obedient, he will answer our prayers in his own time and his own way. He loves us. He loves us so much.

As I reflected on this powerful affirmation that my Heavenly Father is listening to me, I recalled how many times I have felt flooded with love this year. I think I have Heard Him more times this year than at any other point in my life. I have also sought him more deeply than at any other point in my life, and I don't think it's a coincidence that as I have sought to Hear Him, he has responded with love and kindness, and in some cases, he has responded with comfort. I shared one experience with feeling the Lord comfort me when I gave a pre-recorded talk in May, which I called "Turn to the Lord for Peace - the Importance of Remembering."

One of the big focuses of the Book of Ether is prayer, and how the Brother of Jared prayed, so this experience this afternoon was particularly meaningful. 

Brother of Jared Sees the Finger of God

by Robert T. Barrett

The Brother of Jared Prayed
One of the overwhelming lessons we learn from Ether is the power of prayer. The Come Follow Me Manual for Sunday School summarizes it by saying, "As we continually call upon the Lord, He will reveal his will."

Let's look at how the Brother of Jared Prayed. Click to enlarge the images below.

Some of the things to point out is:

1. The brother of Jared goes to the Lord with a specific problem but also a specific solution for the problem. "Please don't confound the language of my family." Followed by, "Please don't confound the language of my friends."

2. The brother of Jared goes to the Lord many times. 

3. The brother of Jared listens to the Lord. When his fears about the vessel being too dark are too broad of a request for the Lord, and the Lord asks him to come up with a solution, Jared comes up with a miraculous idea that takes great faith.

4. The Lord answers the Brother of Jared's prayers because of their great faith and "because this long time ye have cried unto me:"

I am reminded of Elder Uchtdorf's talk  that we're fine, because of our God that can do miraculous things and is always there for us, but that things might worse before they get better.

Again, I spoke about this in this video talk: "Turn to the Lord for Peace - the Importance of Remembering.", but when Alma fled evil King Noah with his followers, then were discovered by the wicked Lamanites and the priest of Noah, things worse better ... but they were faithful and they turned to the Lord, their fears were hushed, and things worse, but then they got better.

We just need "calm and clear-headed trust," as Elder Uchtdorf advises. "You muster your faith. And you listen for the guiding word of the Lord and His prophet to lead you to safety."

To be successful in turning to the Lord, we need to humble ourselves, and we need to remember how to recognize answers to prayer.

It's important to remember that we ALL have opportunities to be chastened and improve. The brother of Jared was "a man highly favored of the Lord" yet the Lord chastened him for three hours because he remembered not to call upon the name of the Lord." This was in Ether 2:14, after the families had reached the seashore and camped there for four years. The Lord wanted them to cross the great sea and go to the Promised Land, as they had requested, but I think when they arrived at the shore, they had been traveling for some time and felt pretty comfortable resting there. I imagine the Lord patiently waited and after four years, he had to have a talk with the Brother of Jared. 

Our church leaders and the scriptures have reminded us that the Lord rebukes whom he loves. **Update: In my lesson today, P.W. from my ward gave an example of a high school coach that was really tough on him. This coach was maybe a little hard on a group of young sixteen-year-olds. However, the coach one day said that they would know that the coach had given up on them if he stopped rebuking them and stopped showing interest in how to improve them." When we liken this to our Father in Heaven, he famously rebuked the Brother of Jared and the Latter-day prophet Joseph Smith. Obviously, these are great men that we look to for guidance on how to better follow in Jesus' footsteps. A rebuke doesn't mean less love. It means an opportunity to revaluate ourselves, repent, and improve.

 

While it's tempting to rest by the seashore like the Brother of Jared's family did for four years, as the trials in our lives ebb and flow, we need to always look to the Lord for gratitude, guidance, and needed course corrections. I'm so grateful for my Father in Heaven and the care he took to protect these records so that we can learn from these great men.