EXEMPLARY FAITH

 

Whenever I read the story of the brother of Jared, I ask myself: what kind of faith does it take for the veil to become so thin that the Lord was compelled to fully show himself to this man?

Undoubtedly, this faith began the moment the solution to the problem of light entered into this man’s mind. The solution he came up with may not have been so unusual since some rabbis and scholars claim that Noah’s ark had the same illumination and the brother of Jared might have been familiar with that fact (New Era Dec 2020).

Certainly, the carving out of the stones would have contributed greatly to his faith in this solution for why would you go to such trouble if you were not a hundred percent sure that it would work?

Bringing the stones before the Lord and acknowledging his personal conviction in the Lord’s power to do all things would have added another decibel to his faith (Ether 3:4). Being specific about the finger would have taken that faith up another notch.

What amazes me further is this. Once his faith rendered the veil, everything beyond it was fair game. He was shown not only the Lord but ‘greater things that never have been manifest before’ (v 18,19,20; 4:4). These greater things are contained in the sealed portion of the Book of Mormon (Ether 4:4,5).

Much can be written about the brother of Jared’s experience but my intent here is to show that we need to take note of the principle of faith that unfolded the whole story. There are two things I find are of great interest.

Firstly, Moroni indicates that the brother of Jared was told ‘in times before’ that if he believed in the Lord, He could show him ‘all things’ (Ether 3:26). We can conclude from this that the brother of Jared had a long-standing relationship with Christ, he had a desire to know the mysteries of the kingdom and he worked on developing his faith to come to the point where ‘the Lord could not withhold anything from him’ (Ether 3:26).

We should take note of this, especially in relation to the promise that the saints of this dispensation have been given as contained in D&C 76:5-10.

The second point of interest involves us. I have friends, who like me, are eager to read the sealed portion of the Book of Mormon. I have always thought the ‘yet unrevealed scriptures’ will one day just appear and we will get to read them, probably in the Millenium. There is a catch however.

This is what Moroni was told by the Lord himself referring to the ‘greater things’, when he was commanded to seal up the portion of the plates:

“They shall not go forth unto the Gentiles until the day that they shall repent of their iniquity, and become clean before the Lord. And in that day that they shall EXERCISE FAITH IN ME….EVEN AS THE BROTHER OF JARED DID…..” (Ether 4:7)

The Saviour went further to say that we will need to be sanctified in Him before He will unfold to us all His revelations (v 7). This is a sobering thought that tells us we will not get to read these scriptures without any effort on our part…a serious effort, one that leads to the principle of repentance and the manifesting faith like we have never known before…..the manifesting faith of the brother of Jared.  Are we up to it????

 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Brother of Jared by Emily Pugmire)