Ether 2:1-5

Chapter 2

The Jaredites prepare for their journey to a promised land—It is a choice land whereon men must serve Christ or be swept off—The Lord talks to the brother of Jared for three hours—The Jaredites build barges—The Lord asks the brother of Jared to propose how the barges will be lighted.

The group who would become the Jaredites followed the command of the Lord and went to the valley in the north, as directed. The valley was called Nimrod.

“And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth.

“He was a mighty hunter before the Lord: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord” (Genesis 10:8-9).

They also brought their flocks with them. As they traveled, they caught fowls and prepared a vessel. In the vessel, they carried fish with them.

We learn the Jaredites are beekeepers. Moroni informs us, in the Jaredite language, bees are called “deseret.” They brought swarms of bees.

This is similar to the preparations Lehi’s party took.

“And we did come to the land which we called Bountiful, because of its much fruit and also wild honey; and all these things were prepared of the Lord that we might not perish. And we beheld the sea, which we called Irreantum, which, being interpreted, is many waters” (1 Nephi 17:5).

“And it came to pass that on the morrow, after we had prepared all things, much fruits and meat from the wilderness, and honey in abundance, and provisions according to that which the Lord had commanded us, we did go down into the ship, with all our loading and our seeds, and whatsoever thing we had brought with us…” (1 Nephi 18:6).

“Ether 2:3 states that the word deseret means ‘honey bee,’ and Hugh Nibley documents the importance of bee cultivation in ancient societies. Nibley’s book Abraham in Egypt contains a whole chapter on the word deseret (ed. Gary Gillum, 2nd ed. [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book and FARMS, 2000], 608–31). The Egyptian word d_r refers to the Red Crown of the Red Land of Lower Egypt and may be a sacred taboo term for royal bee symbols that represent deities (632–34).”[1]

In addition, they took an assortment of seeds with them.  Once again, this is similar to the preparations Lehi’s party took.

“And it came to pass that we did gather together whatsoever things we should carry into the wilderness, and all the remainder of our provisions which the Lord had given unto us; and we did take seed of every kind that we might carry into the wilderness” (1 Nephi 16:11).

When they arrived at Nimrod, the Lord came down and talked to the brother of Jared. Jared did not see the Lord as he came down in a cloud.

During the Exodus, the Lord appeared in a cloud. “And the Lord came down in a cloud, and spake unto [Moses], and took of the spirit that was upon him, and gave it unto the seventy elders: and it came to pass, that, when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease” (Numbers 11:25).

In a revelation given to Joseph Smith, the Lord told him He would appear in a cloud.

“For behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, the time is soon at hand that I shall come in a cloud with power and great glory.

“And it shall be a great day at the time of my coming, for all nations shall tremble.

“But before that great day shall come, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon be turned into blood; and the stars shall refuse their shining, and some shall fall, and great destructions await the wicked” (D&C 34:7-9).

When John the Baptist appeared and ordained Joseph and Oliver, it is recorded he came down in a cloud.

“We still continued the work of translation, when, in the ensuing month (May, 1829), we on a certain day went into the woods to pray and inquire of the Lord respecting baptism for the remission of sins, that we found mentioned in the translation of the plates. While we were thus employed, praying and calling upon the Lord, a messenger from heaven descended in a cloud of light, and having laid his hands upon us, he ordained us…” (Joseph Smith-History 1:68).

They were commanded to go into the wilderness. They went to a place “where there never had been man before” (Ether 2:5).  As they travelled they were guided by the Lord in his cloud.

“And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night” (Exodus 13:21).

The Lord will always direct us when we turn to Him in faith. “Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day” (Psalm 25:5).

“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

“In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth [GR reproaches, censures] not; and it shall be given him” (James 1:5).

“And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did go forth up into the top of the mountain, according to the directions which were given upon the ball” (1 Nephi 16:30).

“When our source describes a particular region as “that quarter where there never had man been” (Ether 2:5), the implication is that men had certainly been in other quarters. Moreover, Jared’s people were reluctant to leave their homes, and when they were finally “driven out of the land,” they took with them flocks, herds, and seeds of every kind, together with the knowledge and skills (they even took books with them) necessary to establish a great civilization—all these things being the necessary products of a long-established and widespread economy. Civilization meets us full-blown, nay, decadent, in the pages of Ether.”[2]

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[1] What’s in a Word?, Cynthia L. Hallen, Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 10/2 (2001): 65.

[2] Lehi in the Desert; The World of the Jaredites; There Were Jaredites –  A Twilight World, Hugh Nibley, Maxwell Institute website.