Ether 1:33-43
1:33 - After that extensive genealogical history Moroni launches into the of Jared (with his brother and their families, with some others and their families, from the great tower, at the time the Lord confounded the language of the people.” This has always been a really interesting concept to me because I’ve always thought, “ok well if the Lord changed up everyone’s language, then wouldn’t the families just find a nonverbal form of communication, I couldn’t imagine leaving my family just because the language was somehow randomly changed. Then I have questions about how exactly that happened, like was it over time, was it overnight, was it by family, did all those who’s language changed go into the groups of whoever else spoke the same language, like when you have a group and count off by fives, then all the ones get together, then all the twos and so on. Did everyone just get up and switch families and social circles based on who else spoke their language? And then, if so, the Lord must have decided before hand who was going to speak what language suddenly. I’m kind of a “love conquers all type of person,” so it’s hard for me to see breaking up the family just because verbal communication is altered all of a sudden. I don’t know, I don’t understand it. HN suggests that the people moved around the world because of a shift in the weather patterns and so the language change was a result of the moving, not the cause of it, which I guess looking at it that way, that probably makes more sense, kind of like the statement that Lot’s wife looked back and turned into a pillar of salt. HN quotes Theophilus of Antioch as saying, “But when the threats of the great God were fulfilled, of which he had warned mortal men at the time, they built a tower in the Assyrian land. They all at once spoke the same language and wanted to mount up to the starry heavens. But forthwith the Immortal One laid great stress upon the blasts, so that the wind overthrew the mighty tower, and drove mortals to strive with one another. And when the tower had fallen, the languages of men were divided up into many dialects, so that the earth became filled with different kingdoms of men.” It’s interesting that God’s solution to the increasing wickedness of the people was to split them up and spread them out over the whole earth, similar to the scattering of Israel to save them because the people just couldn’t be righteous together, it’s a pattern that’s repeating. What HN is saying, that the language change was a result rather than a cause is of course not doctrine, but it was another point of view that I found interesting. Referring to the language of Jared, the IM taught, “Ether 1:34-38 records that the Lord did not confound the language of Jared’s family, his brother, and their friends at the time of the Tower of Babel. President Joseph Fielding Smith taught that the Jaredites likely spoke in the language of Adam: ‘It is stated in the Book of Ether that Jared and his brother made the request of the Lord that their language be not changed at the time of the confusion of tongues at the Tower of Babel. Their request was granted, and they carried with them the speech of their fathers, the Adamic language, which was powerful even in its written form, so that the things Mahonri wrote ‘were mighty even… unto the overpowering of man to read them.’ That was the kind of language Adam had and this was the language with which Enoch was able to accomplish his mighty work.’” Now we come back to the concept of difference in language and the power that comes with them. Maybe it’s because I only speak English but I don’t understand how one language is more powerful than another. I was under the impression that all languages were meant to convey thoughts and directions, I thought that all languages served the same purposes and I really don’t understand this concept. Now with Moroni also saying that any imperfections in the Book of Mormon record was because they were written in Reformed Egyptian, but if it had been in Hebrew there would have been no imperfections, I just don’t understand that. One thing that I’ve heard before is that, if you speak more than one language, read the scriptures in all the languages that you can because the translated words might give you more insight to the meaning. For instance, when we use the word love in English, there are SO many different meanings, brotherly love, the love of friends, the love of family, etc. But other languages have many many words for love so they use one word for brotherly love and another for the love of friends and another for the love of family, etc. So different word usage in different languages can give different insight and provide more clarity sometimes. And I guess if we think about it, one of the most powerful tools that HN gives me is when he breaks down the origin of a word, it’s meaning in the original and subsequent languages, etc. So I guess if we look at it that way, it makes more sense that some languages have more ability to convey thought and meaning in a powerful way, but it’s still a really abstract concept for me and I’m going to have to think about this some more. We are then introduced to not only Jared but also the brother of Jared, which a very interesting introduction, makes him kind of a mysterious character. The IM comments on the name of the brother of Jared by quoting Elder George Reynolds as relating, “While residing in Kirtland Elder Reynolds Cahoon had a son born to him. One day when President Joseph Smith was passing his door he called the Prophet in and asked him to bless and name the baby. Joseph did so and gave the boy the name of Mahonri Moriancumer. When he had finished the blessing he laid the child on the bed, and turning to Elder Cahoon he said, the name I have given your son is the name of the brother of Jared; the Lord has just shown (or revealed) it to me. Elder William F. Cahoon, who was standing near heard the Prophet make this statement to his father; and this was the first time the name of the brother of Jared was known in the Church in this dispensation.” Really interesting account there, it brought a lot of history and personality to the name. I wonder why Ether wrote the “brother of Jared” instead of his full name, I wonder if it goes back to the language thing, maybe the marks to make the “brother of Jared” is significantly shorter than to make “Mahonri Moriancumer.” Just for future reference, I will be referring to the “brother of Jared” as “MM” from now on.
1:34-43 - With the people being scattered, whatever way the Lord accomplished that, MM was “a large and mighty man, and a man highly favored of the Lord, Jared, his brother, said unto him: Cry unto the Lord, that he will not confound us that we may not understand our words.” HN had an interesting point about this, when he summarized verse 34 as “Our words will only be confounded if we’re confounded. Confound means ‘to mix together.’ If we get mixed together with other people(of course they’re speaking different dialects and languages,) we’ll have an awful time trying to understand each other. It’s very much like the ward in Cairo where we have a dozen African languages there, and some of them speak nothing else. We have services in Arabic, and we’re confounded and mixed up. We have an awful time understanding each other. That’s what they’re talking about here- what happened at the tower when people were forced to move.” One thought that I had when I was listening to this was the metaphorical confounding of the languages, like, the ability to communicate is impeded but also perhaps the ability to understand gospel doctrine. Confounded language is the inability to communicate verbally, but maybe confounded ourselves, as Jared says, “that he will not confound us” might be where we have a more difficult time understanding simple principles, like when the Lord says that he will add to those who seek Him, but he will take away from those who don’t, any way just an idea. As MM cries unto the Lord, “the Lord had compassion upon their friends and their families also, that they were not confounded.” I like this example of compassion and prayer answering, for me it is a good way to show that the Lord hears our prayers and that they have effect on our outcomes. I’ve always just assumed that the Lord will do whatever he’s going to do no matter what, so I never really understood the purpose of prayer, but as I’ve learned, it’s become more personal for me, especially since I started praying on the way home from work. I have about 45 minutes in the car where I can just think and talk and pray and it’s been good, even though I can zone out and stare off into space just as easily there, but at least I don’t feel tons of pressure to hurry up because I’m falling asleep. Jared asks his brother again, “Go and inquire of the Lord whether he will drive us out of the land, and if he will drive us out of the land, cry unto him whither we shall go. And who knoweth but the Lord will carry us forth into a land which is choice above all the earth? And if it so be, let us be faithful unto the Lord, that we may receive it for our inheritance.” This is kind of good way to look at it, and one that we can adopt, “I don’t want to go, but if we have to I hope that the Lord blesses us with something even better.” “I don’t want to lose my job or move or get divorced, but if I have to I hope that the Lord blesses me with something even better.” Jared is hoping that the place that the Lord will lead them will be the “promised land.” The IM teaches, “Just as members of the house of Israel are called a chose people- chose to do the Lord’s work- the Book of Mormon refers to the Americas as a chosen land- chose to be the place for the Restoration of the gospel and, eventually, the New Jerusalem. Both the members of the house of Israel and the Americas have been chose to assist Heavenly Father in spreading the gospel throughout the world. President Joseph Fielding Smith explained that all of North and South America is a choice land: ‘The Book of Mormon informs us that the whole of America, both North and South, is a choice land above all other lands, in other words- Zion. The Lord told the Jaredites that he would lead them to a land ‘which is choice above all the lands of the earth.’ President Ezra Taft Benson also spoke of the Americas being chosen lands: ‘In 1844, the Prophet Joseph Smith made this solemn proclamation: ‘The whole of American is Zion itself from north to south.’ The Lord Himself decreed: ‘This is a land which is choice above all other lands.’ This nation is part of the land of Zion. This is a land dedicated by God’s servants. When a Book of Mormon prophet referred to the nations of the world, this hemisphere was designated as ‘good.’” I’ve always been kind of perplexed by the concept of a chosen land, the promised land because looking at the whole world over, it’s incredible, there are so many amazing places that are clearly favored of God, and the whole world is his creation, so there can’t be his “most favorite of all time” place, because it all is. Similar to a chosen people, he says over and over again that he is no respecter of persons, that he loves everyone the same, but then he says that there is a chose people. In the case of the people, it’s the house of Israel, which we can elect to join if we want to, so we can choose to become part of the chosen people or to excuse ourselves from the group. The American continent is incredibly beautiful and rich in resources, but other places are also beautiful and rich in resources, so we should conclude that the “chosen” part of the statement doesn’t refer to majesty or merit, it must refer to something else, something more subjective. I can see the Americas being a “chosen” land in that it’s chosen to be the place of the restoration, the land of the record of the Nephites and Jaredites, the land of the Book of Mormon, as being a more accurate description. As MM prays fervently to the Lord, he’s answered with instructions to leave where they are and prepare to be taken “into a land which is choice above all the lands of the earth.” There’s a heavy theme of prayer and answers here. The IM has some pretty good insights when it taught, “The Lord explained to the brother of Jared that blessings had come to his people as a result of prayers offered over a long period of time. Enduring obedience coupled with frequent and persistent prayers is powerful. In an 1839 discourse in Commerce, Illinois, the Prophet Joseph Smith taught: ‘God is not a respecter of persons, we all have the same privilege. Come to God weary him until he blesses you and we are entitled to the same blessings.’ President Spencer W. Kimball similarly taught that we must put great effort into our prayers and that we must pray frequently: ‘Do you get answers to your prayers? If not, perhaps you did not pay the price. Do you offer a few trite words and worn-out phrases, or do you talk intimately to the Lord? Do you pray occasionally when you should be praying regularly, often, constantly? Do you offer pennies to pay heavy debts when you should give dollars to erase that obligation? When you pray, do you just speak, or do you also listen? Your Savior said, ‘Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come into him, and will sup with him, and he with me…’ Should we ever fail to get an answer to our prayers, we must look into our lives for a reason.’” Like the saying, “If you don’t feel as close to God as you did yesterday, who moved?” It’s always us that moves. I heard something about Jesus knocking on our door the other day, I don’t know where but it said essentially that the Lord it’s standing there waiting for us to randomly open the door, he’s not peaking in through the windows, he’s actively and loudly knocking, trying to get our attention, he’s begging for us to let him in, all we have to do is open the door. How do we open the door? First, we rid ourselves of everything that’s not in line with the commandments, alcohol, drugs, bad media, extramarital sex, then as we make that effort, we are blessed and taught and guided and comforted. I know that this is how it’s worked for me, you put forth even the smallest amount of effort and the lessons and blessings rain down like a hurricane. It’s been incredible and I’m so very grateful for the opportunity to be under the Lord’s tutelage.
1:34-43 - With the people being scattered, whatever way the Lord accomplished that, MM was “a large and mighty man, and a man highly favored of the Lord, Jared, his brother, said unto him: Cry unto the Lord, that he will not confound us that we may not understand our words.” HN had an interesting point about this, when he summarized verse 34 as “Our words will only be confounded if we’re confounded. Confound means ‘to mix together.’ If we get mixed together with other people(of course they’re speaking different dialects and languages,) we’ll have an awful time trying to understand each other. It’s very much like the ward in Cairo where we have a dozen African languages there, and some of them speak nothing else. We have services in Arabic, and we’re confounded and mixed up. We have an awful time understanding each other. That’s what they’re talking about here- what happened at the tower when people were forced to move.” One thought that I had when I was listening to this was the metaphorical confounding of the languages, like, the ability to communicate is impeded but also perhaps the ability to understand gospel doctrine. Confounded language is the inability to communicate verbally, but maybe confounded ourselves, as Jared says, “that he will not confound us” might be where we have a more difficult time understanding simple principles, like when the Lord says that he will add to those who seek Him, but he will take away from those who don’t, any way just an idea. As MM cries unto the Lord, “the Lord had compassion upon their friends and their families also, that they were not confounded.” I like this example of compassion and prayer answering, for me it is a good way to show that the Lord hears our prayers and that they have effect on our outcomes. I’ve always just assumed that the Lord will do whatever he’s going to do no matter what, so I never really understood the purpose of prayer, but as I’ve learned, it’s become more personal for me, especially since I started praying on the way home from work. I have about 45 minutes in the car where I can just think and talk and pray and it’s been good, even though I can zone out and stare off into space just as easily there, but at least I don’t feel tons of pressure to hurry up because I’m falling asleep. Jared asks his brother again, “Go and inquire of the Lord whether he will drive us out of the land, and if he will drive us out of the land, cry unto him whither we shall go. And who knoweth but the Lord will carry us forth into a land which is choice above all the earth? And if it so be, let us be faithful unto the Lord, that we may receive it for our inheritance.” This is kind of good way to look at it, and one that we can adopt, “I don’t want to go, but if we have to I hope that the Lord blesses us with something even better.” “I don’t want to lose my job or move or get divorced, but if I have to I hope that the Lord blesses me with something even better.” Jared is hoping that the place that the Lord will lead them will be the “promised land.” The IM teaches, “Just as members of the house of Israel are called a chose people- chose to do the Lord’s work- the Book of Mormon refers to the Americas as a chosen land- chose to be the place for the Restoration of the gospel and, eventually, the New Jerusalem. Both the members of the house of Israel and the Americas have been chose to assist Heavenly Father in spreading the gospel throughout the world. President Joseph Fielding Smith explained that all of North and South America is a choice land: ‘The Book of Mormon informs us that the whole of America, both North and South, is a choice land above all other lands, in other words- Zion. The Lord told the Jaredites that he would lead them to a land ‘which is choice above all the lands of the earth.’ President Ezra Taft Benson also spoke of the Americas being chosen lands: ‘In 1844, the Prophet Joseph Smith made this solemn proclamation: ‘The whole of American is Zion itself from north to south.’ The Lord Himself decreed: ‘This is a land which is choice above all other lands.’ This nation is part of the land of Zion. This is a land dedicated by God’s servants. When a Book of Mormon prophet referred to the nations of the world, this hemisphere was designated as ‘good.’” I’ve always been kind of perplexed by the concept of a chosen land, the promised land because looking at the whole world over, it’s incredible, there are so many amazing places that are clearly favored of God, and the whole world is his creation, so there can’t be his “most favorite of all time” place, because it all is. Similar to a chosen people, he says over and over again that he is no respecter of persons, that he loves everyone the same, but then he says that there is a chose people. In the case of the people, it’s the house of Israel, which we can elect to join if we want to, so we can choose to become part of the chosen people or to excuse ourselves from the group. The American continent is incredibly beautiful and rich in resources, but other places are also beautiful and rich in resources, so we should conclude that the “chosen” part of the statement doesn’t refer to majesty or merit, it must refer to something else, something more subjective. I can see the Americas being a “chosen” land in that it’s chosen to be the place of the restoration, the land of the record of the Nephites and Jaredites, the land of the Book of Mormon, as being a more accurate description. As MM prays fervently to the Lord, he’s answered with instructions to leave where they are and prepare to be taken “into a land which is choice above all the lands of the earth.” There’s a heavy theme of prayer and answers here. The IM has some pretty good insights when it taught, “The Lord explained to the brother of Jared that blessings had come to his people as a result of prayers offered over a long period of time. Enduring obedience coupled with frequent and persistent prayers is powerful. In an 1839 discourse in Commerce, Illinois, the Prophet Joseph Smith taught: ‘God is not a respecter of persons, we all have the same privilege. Come to God weary him until he blesses you and we are entitled to the same blessings.’ President Spencer W. Kimball similarly taught that we must put great effort into our prayers and that we must pray frequently: ‘Do you get answers to your prayers? If not, perhaps you did not pay the price. Do you offer a few trite words and worn-out phrases, or do you talk intimately to the Lord? Do you pray occasionally when you should be praying regularly, often, constantly? Do you offer pennies to pay heavy debts when you should give dollars to erase that obligation? When you pray, do you just speak, or do you also listen? Your Savior said, ‘Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come into him, and will sup with him, and he with me…’ Should we ever fail to get an answer to our prayers, we must look into our lives for a reason.’” Like the saying, “If you don’t feel as close to God as you did yesterday, who moved?” It’s always us that moves. I heard something about Jesus knocking on our door the other day, I don’t know where but it said essentially that the Lord it’s standing there waiting for us to randomly open the door, he’s not peaking in through the windows, he’s actively and loudly knocking, trying to get our attention, he’s begging for us to let him in, all we have to do is open the door. How do we open the door? First, we rid ourselves of everything that’s not in line with the commandments, alcohol, drugs, bad media, extramarital sex, then as we make that effort, we are blessed and taught and guided and comforted. I know that this is how it’s worked for me, you put forth even the smallest amount of effort and the lessons and blessings rain down like a hurricane. It’s been incredible and I’m so very grateful for the opportunity to be under the Lord’s tutelage.
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