The Lord's Question to the Brother of Jared
Book of Mormon Notes - Tuesday, April 30, 2024, Ether 2, Part 3
The brother of Jared had a very close, intimate, and special relationship with the Lord. But remember, this is Moroni’s abridgment of Ether’s record. Like the Nephites after them, the Jaredites must have preserved the writings of the brother of Jared and handed them down from generation to generation until Ether received them. Ether then recorded the words of the brother of Jared on twenty-four plates of gold. Does this mean that a first hand, first person account authored or dictated by the brother of Jared was inscribed upon other plates to which Ether also had access? Perhaps. If so, were these original plates lost, or did they somehow find their way into Mormon’s and Moroni’s treasure trove of records? I don’t know.
What we do know is that Moroni abridged Ether’s record of the brother of Jared’s experiences. But Moroni’s abridgment, like his father’s abridgment of the large plates of Nephi, seems to contain a lot of direct quotations. Moroni abridges Ether’s account of a significant conversation between the Lord and His servant, the brother of Jared. Just as the Lord directed Noah, and later Nephi, in the design and construction of the ark and the ship, the Lord directed the brother of Jared. In fact, the Lord directed the brother of Jared and his people in the construction of their barges along the way to the seashore. When they reached the seashore, they lived in tents for four years.
After the Lord chastened the brother of Jared for his failure to pray, and after the brother of Jared repented, the Lord and the brother of Jared engaged in a serious conversation about how to transport their people across the ocean to the promised land. The Lord instructed the brother of Jared to go to work and build barges like the barges that they had already built. Why did the brother of Jared, then Ether, and then Moroni provide so many details about the design and construction of the barges? Any one of the three prophet-authors could have easily edited out these details, but they didn’t. Why not? It’s something to think about.
The brother of Jared and his brethren built small barges that were light upon the water like water fowl. The barges were exceedingly tight, like dishes that hold water. I don’t think that these detailed descriptions of the barges are accidental. In fact, in addition to the literal meaning of the design and function of the barges, the allegorical or symbolic meaning of the barges should not escape the careful reader. The same is true of Noah’s ark and Nephi’s ship. These vessels were not constructed “after the manner of men,” as Nephi puts it:
And it came to pass that they did aworship the Lord, and did go forth with me; and we did work timbers of curious bworkmanship. And the Lord did show me from time to time after what manner I should work the timbers of the cship.
Now I, Nephi, did not work the timbers after the manner which was learned by men, neither did I build the ship after the manner of men; but I did build it after the manner which the Lord had shown unto me; wherefore, it was not after the manner of men. (1 Nephi 18:1-2)
Furthermore, like Nephi, the brother of Jared also communed with the Lord in a mountain before embarking on his voyage. Nephi wrote:
And I, Nephi, did go into the mount oft, and I did apray oft unto the Lord; wherefore the Lord bshowed unto me cgreat things. (1 Nephi 18:3)
What is the symbolic or allegorical meaning of the ark, the ship, and the brother of Jared’s vessels? What do you think?
After the brother of Jared completed the construction of the barges, he had two particular concerns: light and air. The Lord quickly resolved the air problem by commanding the brother of Jared to make a hole in the top and a hole in the bottom of the barges. The hole in the top makes sense to me, but I admit that I need the help of my engineering friends to understand the purpose of a hole in the bottom of the barges. I’m sure that someone has drawn these barges to help us understand what they might have looked like. Furthermore, if these ancient barges were somehow preserved, then the detailed descriptions of them will have served another purpose.
The brother of Jared quickly obeyed and made the holes with the stoppers. But the Lord didn’t immediately resolve the light problem for the brother of Jared. The Lord turned the question back to the brother of Jared:
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?
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.
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.
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? (Ether 2:22-25)
The Lord gave the brother of Jared an opportunity to further exercise his faith in Him. The Lord set a few parameters for the light, ruling out windows and fire. The Lord prepared the brother of Jared and his people for a great journey, and He was eager to provide light for them during their journey, just as He is eager to provide light and truth for us during our mortal journey. The brother of Jared’s response to the Lord’s question is one of my favorite stories in all of scripture.