Episode 62: From the Tower of Babel to the greatest nation on earth

Ether 1-2

1¹ The book of Ether is about ancient inhabitants of the "north country" (North America) who were killed by God. ² In the book of Alma (37:21), 24 mysterious plates were discovered that told of the secret and dark works of a wicked and abominable people. Those plates were the book of Ether.

^2-5> Moroni is not going to tell us the whole story that is recorded on the 24 plates. The first part is about the creation of the world, and the story from Adam to the Tower of Babel. That part is "had among the Jews" so Moroni's going to skip it. (See the first eleven chapters of Genesis for the missing part of the book of Ether.)

^6-32 But Moroni isn't going to skip the genealogy. This is, after all, the Book of Mormon. And Mormons love their genealogies. (Unlike the authors of 1 Timothy and Titus, who told us to avoid them.)

³³ The Jaredites were Israelites who lived at the time of the Tower of Babel. (Genesis 11:1-9)

^34-37 The brother of Jared was a large, mighty (but apparently nameless) man who was "highly favored of the Lord." He cried to the Lord (two times) and the Lord spared the Jaredites from having their language confounded. (Although "the brother of Jared" was nameless in the Book of Mormon, he was later given the name Mahonri Moriancumer by Joseph Smith. With a name like that I can see why he was called "the brother of Jared"!)

³⁸ Jared asked his brother to ask God what God will do with them. Who knows, Jared said, "maybe God will carry us to a land that better than any other land in the whole world."

³⁹ So Jared's brother asked God, and God said, ^40-43 “Go get a male and female from each of your flocks and every kind of plant seed that exists on earth. Then gather all your friends and families. Then meet me in the valley to the north. I'll lead you to a land that is better than any other land on earth. I'll bless you and your seed and your brother's seed and make a great nation out of all that seed, the greatest nation on earth. I'll raise your seed up to me on the face of the earth. I'm doing all this because you cried to me for a long time.”

The Lord helps the brother of Jared makes some barges

2¹ So the Jaredites headed for the valley northward (the Valley of Nimrod, named after the mighty hunter) with a male and female of each of their flocks. ² There, in the valley of Nimrod, they built a boat to carry whatever birds they could catch, a pair from each of their flocks, and fish(?). ³ They also brought deseret (honey bees) and seeds of every kind.

^4-6 When they arrived in the Valley of Nimrod, the Lord came to talk to the brother of Jared, while hidden in a cloud, so no one could see him. The Lord told them to go where no human had gone before. Then, while still hiding in the cloud, the Lord showed them how to build barges, helped them cross many waters, and gave them directions along the way.

^7-10 The Lord promised to lead the Jaredites to a land of promise, a land that is better than any other, one that he has preserved for a righteous people. But the promised land comes with strings attached -- whoever lives there must serve him or suffer the fullness of his wrath.

^11-12 And he told the Gentiles that would come later to the promised land that they must repent of their sins and serve the God of the land (Jesus Christ).

¹³ The Lord brought the Jaredites to the edge of a great sea (the Atlantic Ocean), where they camped for four years.

^14-15 One day the Lord stopped (in his cloud) to talk to the brother of Jared. During their three-hour conversation, the Lord chastised Jared's brother for not calling on his name. So Jared’s brother repented for not calling out the Lord's name, and called on the Lord's name, saying, "Jesus H. Christ!" The Lord said he'd forgive him this time, but don't do it again, or try to do it more often, or something. The Lord reminded the brother of Jared that his Spirit won't be fighting with him forever, so enjoy it while it lasts. And don't let your sin get fully ripe or the Lord will cut you off. The Lord ended by reminding him that the promised land is the best land ever.

^16-17 Then the Lord told the Jaredites to build some barges, like the ones they'd built before (see v.6). So they built barges that were as light as duck and as tight as a dish. (The phrase “tight like unto a dish” is used five times in verse 17.)

²⁰ When they finished making the barges, the brother of Jared cried unto the Lord, saying, "Behold, O Lord, there's no light or air in there." So the Lord told him to make two holes: one in the top for air, and one in the bottom that can be plugged to stop water from coming in.

^21-22 So the brother of Jared made the two holes as the Lord commanded. But it was still too dark, so he cried to the Lord saying, "Lord, there's no light in there. How are we going to cross the great waters in darkness?"

^23-24 The Lord said, "What do you expect me to do about it? If you put in windows, they'll be broken by waves. But I guess it doesn't matter that much. You'll be like a whale--when you sink, I'll bring you back up. I make wind, rains, and floods with my mouth. You'll be alright."

²⁵ Then Lord asked the brother of Jared if he should make a light for them.