The story of the Jaredites would have to be one of the
most interesting in the Book of Mormon.
Imagine the confusion and fear that would have ensued as
the only language you have ever known became confounded and you saw people
scattering (Ether 1:33).
I presume this process was gradual and so the fear would
have been so much greater. You would wonder if one day you would wake up and not
be able to communicate with your family.
Ether, who was a descendant of Jared recorded that his
brother cried unto the Lord a ‘long time’ before the Lord answered his petition
to not confound the language in their family (Ether 1:6-32; 43). In fact,
chapter 1 mentions the word ‘cry’ seven times suggesting the brother of Jared
‘pleaded’ with the Lord. But there is something else that piqued my interest.
I have never before noticed the hand that Jared had in
his people’s possession of the land of promise. He must have been an optimist.
He not only asked his brother to plead with the Lord so their language would
not be confounded but he expressed a hope that the Lord might bless them beyond
what they expect: “And who knoweth but the Lord will carry us forth into a land
which is choice above all the earth?” This was the beginning of trust.
Then he went a step further. Jared did not only hope
for the blessing but he ensured that his family and friends were worthy of the
choicest land the Lord could give them by exhorting them to be faithful (Ether 1:38).
He was no doubt the patriarch of his family and respected as a leader by his
friends.
The Lord answered their petition and promised them He
would deliver them to the land choice above all other lands (Ether 1:42,43). So
intent was He that they would arrive to America that He personally led them in
their travels and gave them directions where they should go ‘as he stood in a
cloud’ in their midst (Ether 2:5).
The trust that the Jaredites had in the Lord during their
experience is astounding.
I don’t know if this company of people ever travelled
anywhere by sea. The fact that the Lord personally led them to it suggests, not
(Ether 2:13). Now imagine you get into barges you had never seen or been in
before to travel to another land. They were small and light and tight and the
length of a tree (v 16,17).
All you know is that they were built according to the
Lord’s instructions (v 16). And then a frightening warning: ‘you will be as a
whale in the midst of the sea, for the mountain waves shall dash upon you’ (v
24).
If you were claustrophobic, would you get in? And once
you are in, you see no rudder or anyone at the helm. All you are going on is
the word of a friend who said that God told him He will blow you by the breath
of His mouth to a ‘choice land’ you have never been to (Ether 2:24).
How would you feel if you were in there listening to the
deafening sounds of crashing waves against the barge you were in? On top of
that, you are constantly listening to a ‘furious wind which tossed you upon the
waves of the sea continually’ (Ether 6:5). Add to that being ‘buried in the
depths of the sea because of the terrible tempests which were caused by the
fierceness of the wind’ (v 6).
You have no idea if the other barges are safe, if the
other half of your family is alive or not. No mobile phones, no reception, no communication.
Only trust.
The worst is this: you do not know how long you have
to endure this journey. Three hundred and forty and four days, to be exact (Ether
6:11). That’s 21 days short of a year.
But something marvelous happened in those barges. The
trust never died….. for one reason. They sang praises to the Lord unceasingly (Ether
6:9). And 344 days of praises later, when they arrived, they shed tears of joy
‘because of the multitude of the Lord’s tender mercies over them’ (v 12).
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
(Art: God of Wonders by Yongsung Kim)
No comments:
Post a Comment