Week 41- Three Lessons from Lighting the Barges   

Scriptures:

Ether 2-3

General Conference Address:  

“The Spirit of Revelation” Elder Bednar CR 4/2011

Thought:

In Ether 2, we encounter 3 instances of revelation. In this story, there are 3 problems to be solved. The people in the vessels would need air, steering, and light. The design of the vessels was inspired, given by“ instructions of the Lord” (Ether 2:16), but not all of the answers were given. Why not? Let’s find out. 

Air- One concern was not being able to breathe. The brother of Jared asked, and the Lord told him to cut holes in the top and bottom of the vessels and open one or the other accordingly to let air in. The brother of Jared obeyed, and the problem was solved. 

Steering- The barges didn’t have a sail or other means of steering or power. They were totally at the mercy of the Lord. Here again, the Lord said in vs 24 of chapter 2 that he would take care of it. “I will bring you up again out of the depths of the sea; for the winds have gone forth out of my mouth.”  In other words, “you get on the water, and I’ll take care of the steering.” And that’s exactly what they did. 

Light- This challenge was handled in a unique manner. The Lord said in vs 23 of chapter 2, “What will ye that I should do that ye may have light in your vessels?” He turned the question back to the brother of Jared. Why? I believe it was because doing so helped him exercise faith. You’ll notice that it was only after exercising faith that the brother of Jared was able to see the Lord.  

Misc:

President Kimball often taught of scripture study. “I ask us all to honestly evaluate our performance in scripture study. It is a common thing to have a few passages of scripture at our disposal, floating in our minds, as it were, and thus to have the illusion that we know a great deal about the gospel. In this sense, having a little knowledge can be a problem indeed. I am convinced that each of us, at some time in our lives, must discover the scriptures for ourselves—and not just discover them once, but rediscover them again and again.”

“I find that when I get casual in my relationships with divinity and when it seems that no divine ear is listening and no divine voice is speaking, that I am far, far away. If I immerse myself in the scriptures the distance narrows and the spirituality returns. I find myself loving more intensely those whom I must love with all my heart and mind and strength, and loving them more, I find it easier to abide their counsel.”  Teachings of Presidents of the Church, 62, 67.

Invitation: 

When seeking answers from the Lord, don’t forget to exercise your faith. That is where we grow, become more converted, and see miracles (Ether 12:12). This week, find a challenge in your world and start exercising faith. Come up with answers and ask the Lord to help you make it work. Then do it. You can’t exercise faith passively. Record what you learn in that process, what action you decided to take, and how it went, and then make a note of how you grew closer to the Lord and/or became more converted, and then write a few points about what you learned in the process.