Our journey across the raging deep, of whales and floods and waves and the light Jesus provides to comfort and save us as we make a successful journey to the promised land
Dear Glo,
The other day I was running 8 miles and I was listening to Ether. I already wrote about Ether 12 but some of the other parts of the story in Ether meant a lot to me.
The Lord guides them to the ocean and he tells them to build boats to get across the ocean. He tells them to gather everything up they will need to take with them. The boats they build are tight like unto a dish. Then, the brother of Jared asks what they shall do for air and the Lord tells him to make two holes in the top and bottom and to open them as they need to to get air. Then, the brother of Jared asks what they shall do for light? Can you imagine what they are in for. Being locked up in submarine like boats for almost a year, with animals and bees and fish and their boats are "tight like unto a dish". They were and had a hard trip. Then they need light and the Lord asks the brother of Jared what he(the brother of Jared) wants Him to do about the problem of light.
The Lord says in Ether 2:
24 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.
25 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. Therefore what will ye that I should prepare for you that ye may have light when ye are swallowed up in the depths of the sea?
As I read these last two verses of Ether 2 I am struck by how the Lord says: "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."
I love how the Lord is saying he will bring us up out of the depths of the sea and help us triumph over the floods and the winds, but they are all from him. The winds come from his mouth and the floods has he sent. I take great comfort in knowing that while we face trials and in our journey will be tossed about like a whale in the sea, he will bring us out and take care of us and he sends us into all of this so he can prepare us against the "waves of the sea, and the winds which have gone forth and the floods which shall come." All these trials come to prepare us for what is to come.
Then in Chapter 3 the brother of Jared molten out of the rock the clear stones which he wants to use to give them light in their boats and he says to the Lord:
3 Behold, O Lord, thou hast smitten us because of our iniquity, and hast driven us forth, and for these many years we have been in the wilderness; nevertheless, thou hast been merciful unto us. O Lord, look upon me in pity, and turn away thine anger from this thy people, and suffer not that they shall go forth across this raging deep in darkness; but behold these things which I have molten out of the rock.
4 And I know, O Lord, that thou hast all power, and can do whatsoever thou wilt for the benefit of man; therefore touch these stones, O Lord, with thy finger, and prepare them that they may shine forth in darkness; and they shall shine forth unto us in the vessels which we have prepared, that we may have light while we shall cross the sea.
5 Behold, O Lord, thou canst do this. We know that thou art able to show forth great power, which looks small unto the understanding of men.
I feel like the brother of Jared in my current circumstance. I am suffering and have been driven forth. Mommy and I are both on this really rough journey right now and we can only depend upon Jesus and Heavenly Father. And so, we ask as the brother of Jared did: "O Lord, look upon me in pity and turn away thine anger from this thy people, and suffer not that they shall go forth across this raging deep in darkness...I know O Lord that thou hast all power, and can do whatsoever thou wilt for the benefit of man...Behold, O Lord, thou canst do this. We know that thou art able to show forth great power, which looks small unto the understanding of men." I do not know what he can do to help me, we are doing everything we can: putting the house up for sale, trying to find a new job, working with my lawyer, giving him every thought I have about how to defend myself, getting blessings, reading my scriptures, going to the temple, going to the storehouse; but ultimately I cannot control the raging deep and I am completely dependent upon the Lord.
Moroni goes on to talk about the doings of the Lord with the children of men and then in chapter 5 of Ether he says in verse 2:
3 And thus the Lord caused stones to shine in darkness, to give light unto men, women, and children, that they might not cross the great waters in darkness.
The Lord saves the people from the darkness and he gives them light and the stones shine forth in the darkness of their journey. They still have to go through the journey, but it is successful and they have his Light with them throughout the journey.
Once again, I know the Lord can help us. I don't know how and when I think of it from a human worldly perspective, it seems impossible. But as I feel the truth in the temple, so I feel when I am thinking with godly faith that this will all be ok. I wish I could tell my lawyer sometimes with more conviction we are going to be ok. I have tried but he is a man of the legal world and he has to be ultimately practical but I know that just like Jesus led the Jaredites to the promised land in boats with light that came from the stones he touched, Mommy and I will make it through our journey and be successful and have the light of Jesus with us during the journey. I am thankful for Jesus and his light and the fact that he gives it to us to survive and be comforted in our journey.
I love you Glo,
Con amor,
Papá
The other day I was running 8 miles and I was listening to Ether. I already wrote about Ether 12 but some of the other parts of the story in Ether meant a lot to me.
The Lord guides them to the ocean and he tells them to build boats to get across the ocean. He tells them to gather everything up they will need to take with them. The boats they build are tight like unto a dish. Then, the brother of Jared asks what they shall do for air and the Lord tells him to make two holes in the top and bottom and to open them as they need to to get air. Then, the brother of Jared asks what they shall do for light? Can you imagine what they are in for. Being locked up in submarine like boats for almost a year, with animals and bees and fish and their boats are "tight like unto a dish". They were and had a hard trip. Then they need light and the Lord asks the brother of Jared what he(the brother of Jared) wants Him to do about the problem of light.
The Lord says in Ether 2:
24 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.
25 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. Therefore what will ye that I should prepare for you that ye may have light when ye are swallowed up in the depths of the sea?
As I read these last two verses of Ether 2 I am struck by how the Lord says: "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."
I love how the Lord is saying he will bring us up out of the depths of the sea and help us triumph over the floods and the winds, but they are all from him. The winds come from his mouth and the floods has he sent. I take great comfort in knowing that while we face trials and in our journey will be tossed about like a whale in the sea, he will bring us out and take care of us and he sends us into all of this so he can prepare us against the "waves of the sea, and the winds which have gone forth and the floods which shall come." All these trials come to prepare us for what is to come.
Then in Chapter 3 the brother of Jared molten out of the rock the clear stones which he wants to use to give them light in their boats and he says to the Lord:
3 Behold, O Lord, thou hast smitten us because of our iniquity, and hast driven us forth, and for these many years we have been in the wilderness; nevertheless, thou hast been merciful unto us. O Lord, look upon me in pity, and turn away thine anger from this thy people, and suffer not that they shall go forth across this raging deep in darkness; but behold these things which I have molten out of the rock.
4 And I know, O Lord, that thou hast all power, and can do whatsoever thou wilt for the benefit of man; therefore touch these stones, O Lord, with thy finger, and prepare them that they may shine forth in darkness; and they shall shine forth unto us in the vessels which we have prepared, that we may have light while we shall cross the sea.
5 Behold, O Lord, thou canst do this. We know that thou art able to show forth great power, which looks small unto the understanding of men.
I feel like the brother of Jared in my current circumstance. I am suffering and have been driven forth. Mommy and I are both on this really rough journey right now and we can only depend upon Jesus and Heavenly Father. And so, we ask as the brother of Jared did: "O Lord, look upon me in pity and turn away thine anger from this thy people, and suffer not that they shall go forth across this raging deep in darkness...I know O Lord that thou hast all power, and can do whatsoever thou wilt for the benefit of man...Behold, O Lord, thou canst do this. We know that thou art able to show forth great power, which looks small unto the understanding of men." I do not know what he can do to help me, we are doing everything we can: putting the house up for sale, trying to find a new job, working with my lawyer, giving him every thought I have about how to defend myself, getting blessings, reading my scriptures, going to the temple, going to the storehouse; but ultimately I cannot control the raging deep and I am completely dependent upon the Lord.
Moroni goes on to talk about the doings of the Lord with the children of men and then in chapter 5 of Ether he says in verse 2:
3 And thus the Lord caused stones to shine in darkness, to give light unto men, women, and children, that they might not cross the great waters in darkness.
The Lord saves the people from the darkness and he gives them light and the stones shine forth in the darkness of their journey. They still have to go through the journey, but it is successful and they have his Light with them throughout the journey.
Once again, I know the Lord can help us. I don't know how and when I think of it from a human worldly perspective, it seems impossible. But as I feel the truth in the temple, so I feel when I am thinking with godly faith that this will all be ok. I wish I could tell my lawyer sometimes with more conviction we are going to be ok. I have tried but he is a man of the legal world and he has to be ultimately practical but I know that just like Jesus led the Jaredites to the promised land in boats with light that came from the stones he touched, Mommy and I will make it through our journey and be successful and have the light of Jesus with us during the journey. I am thankful for Jesus and his light and the fact that he gives it to us to survive and be comforted in our journey.
I love you Glo,
Con amor,
Papá
I'm reading the same chapters in the Book of Mormon right now. I haven't always enjoyed Ether because the downfall of the Jaredites is so very sad. But I did notice this time something that I haven't before. Our lives are like the ships the Jaredites traveled in. Our light in this dark world comes from Jesus Christ and our trials and troubles, or the furious winds of life, are not moving us backward but propelling us forward to where the Lord wants us to be - to our own spiritual promised land. It's up to us to determine if those winds, or life's troubles, move us forward where God wants us to be or if they'll hinder us in our progress. I love you guys and I can't wait to see where Heavenly Father is taking you through this troubling time!
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