Chapter 6
The Jaredite barges
are driven by the winds to the promised land—The people praise the Lord for His
goodness—Orihah is appointed king over them—Jared and his brother die.
Having wrote his words to Joseph Smith about translating the
book of Ether, he continues his account of the Jaredites.
Having finished conversing with the Lord, the brother of
Jared returned and placed the stones in each of the vessels. The stones would
provide light during their voyage.
The Jaredites began to make final preparations for the
voyage. They had food for them and the animals. “And it came to pass that Jared
and his brother, and their families, and also the friends of Jared and his
brother and their families, went down into the valley which was northward, (and
the name of the valley was Nimrod, being called after the mighty hunter) with
their flocks which they had gathered together, male and female, of every kind”
(Ether 2:1).
Having finished their preparations, they set off on their
voyage across the sea. They entrusted themselves to the Lord’s care.
“After his experience with the Lord, the brother of Jared
continued to diligently prepare himself for the journey ahead. So too must we
hearken to the teachings of our prophets. The living prophets have counseled us
time and again to put our lives in order—to eliminate debt, to store food and
other essential items, to pay our tithing, to obtain appropriate education, and
to live the commandments. Have we obeyed these essential instructions?”[1]
As they departed, the Lord caused a “furious wind” to blow
across the waters. This wind blew them towards the promised land.
“For behold, ye shall be as a whale 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 winds have gone forth out of my
mouth, and also the rains 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” (Ether
2:24-25).
We know the Lord also caused a wind to blow Lehi’s party
across the sea. “And it came to pass after we had all gone down into the ship,
and had taken with us our provisions and things which had been commanded us, we
did put forth into the sea and were driven forth before the wind towards the
promised land” (1 Nephi 18:8).
It was a rough voyage. The winds caused waves to crash over
the barges. They were tossed to-and-fro. The storms were a consequence of the
winds the Lord provide for them.
The barges were water-tight. When they sunk beneath the
ocean’s surface, no water leaked into the barges. When they spent an excessive amount
of time under the sea, they prayed and asked the Lord to bring them back to the
surface, which He did.
“Hugh
Nibley has called attention to accounts from Jewish tradition of similar
arrangements that were made for the ark of Noah, to which the Jaredite
vessels are compared in Ether 6:7. Several early Jewish sources indicate that
God told Noah to suspend precious stones or pearls inside the ark to lighten
it; in some traditions, it is a jewel-encrusted heavenly book. The gem would glow during the night
and grow dim during the day so Noah, shut up in the ark, could tell the time of
day and how many days had passed. This
was the explanation given by the rabbis for the sôhar[2] that the Lord told Noah to construct
in the ark. The word is rendered ‘window’ in the King James Version of Genesis
6:16, but ‘light’ in some other translations.”[3]
Throughout their voyage, the wind continued to blow the
towards the promised land.
As they traveled, they sang praises to the Lord. “The light
that facilitated the Jaredites’ miraculous voyage to the New World is an
effective symbol of faith. In part, travels of the Jaredites represented the
journey of life, and in crossing the turbulent ocean, the Jaredites faithfully ‘did
thank and praise the Lord all the day long’ while having continual light that
came miraculously from the finger of God.”[4]
The brother of Jared also gave thanks and sang praises to
the Lord.
“I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually
be in my mouth.
“My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall
hear thereof, and be glad.
“O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name
together” (Psalms 34:1-3).
“Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct
thee for good; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that
he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let
thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be
lifted up at the last day” (Alma 37:37).
“And ye must give thanks unto God in the Spirit for
whatsoever blessing ye are blessed with” (D&C 46:32).
“And thus they were driven forth, three hundred and forty
and four days upon the water” (Ether 6:11).
[1] Faith
through Tribulation Brings Peace and Joy, Robert D. Hales, April 2003
General Conference.
[2] “The Zohar (‘Splendor’ or ‘Radiance’) is the
foundational work in the literature of Jewish mystical thought known as
Kabbalah. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects
of the Torah (the five books of Moses) and scriptural interpretations as well
as material on mysticism, mythical cosmogony, and mystical psychology.” (Wikipedia)
[3] Glowing
Stones in Ancient and Medieval Lore, John A. Tvedtnes, Maxwell Institute
website.
[4] Light:
A Masterful Symbol, Richard Dilworth Rust, Maxwell Institute website.
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