Ether 3
Ether 3:1
1 And it came to pass that the brother of Jared, (now the number of the vessels which had been prepared was eight) went forth unto the mount, which they called the mount Shelem, because of its exceeding height, and did molten out of a rock sixteen small stones; and they were white and clear, even as transparent glass; and he did carry them in his hands upon the top of the mount, and cried again unto the Lord, saying:
Comments
Due to the modern chapter divisions, this verse has become disconnected from the situational context which caused the brother of Jared to approach the Lord with stones. In Ether 2:23, the Lord asked the brother of Jared what he thought should be done to light the vessels, since they could not have fire. The Lord did not provide the solution, but outlined the problem and allowed the brother of Jared to come up with a way to provide the light.
What the brother of Jared came up with was sixteen small stones that somehow had been “molten out of a rock.” The brother of Jared had created stones that would not have occurred in nature, and then asked God to further alter their nature. There are legends of miraculous lights associated with Noah’s ark, and perhaps that inspired the brother of Jared’s solution.
Ether 3:2–5
2 O Lord, thou hast said that we must be encompassed about by the floods. Now behold, O Lord, and do not be angry with thy servant because of his weakness before thee; for we know that thou art holy and dwellest in the heavens, and that we are unworthy before thee; because of the fall our natures have become evil continually; nevertheless, O Lord, thou hast given us a commandment that we must call upon thee, that from thee we may receive according to our desires.
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.
Comments
The brother of Jared restates the problem that is to be solved. The Lord had said that they might be “encompassed about by the floods,” and in the earlier verse the Lord had declared that this was the reason they could not use fire as a light.
As the brother of Jared brings his petition to the Lord, he declares that he understands that “because of the fall our natures have become evil continually.” This sentence recalls the similar statement that “the brother of Jared repented of the evil which he had done” in Ether 2:15. The brother of Jared approaches the Lord to request assistance; assistance he understands that he does not merit.
In verse 3 he also recalls that the Lord had to chastise him, and all the people, for remaining too long on the coast without obeying the command to depart for the promised land. Nevertheless, he asks the Lord to touch the stones, to change their nature from inert stone to miraculous instruments of light. In spite of the brother of Jared’s declaration that he has no right to request anything of God, he nevertheless has faith that God can, and will, do it.
The Brother of Jared Sees the Lord through the Veil
Ether 3:6–8
6 And it came to pass that when the brother of Jared had said these words, behold, the Lord stretched forth his hand and touched the stones one by one with his finger. And the veil was taken from off the eyes of the brother of Jared, and he saw the finger of the Lord; and it was as the finger of a man, like unto flesh and blood; and the brother of Jared fell down before the Lord, for he was struck with fear.
7 And the Lord saw that the brother of Jared had fallen to the earth; and the Lord said unto him: Arise, why hast thou fallen?
8 And he saith unto the Lord: I saw the finger of the Lord, and I feared lest he should smite me; for I knew not that the Lord had flesh and blood.
Comments
In verse 4 of this chapter, the brother of Jared asks God to touch the stones with his finger. God does. The brother of Jared sees the finger as a finger of flesh and blood and falls down from fear. The brother of Jared had specifically asked that God touch the stones with his finger, but he would not have expected to actually witness the act. God had previously appeared in a cloud. While the brother of Jared, and indeed many prophets, had used anthropomorphic terms to describe God, they may not have presumed that it would be as real as what the brother of Jared saw.
This story is told as a conversation to highlight the miracle. We note that the brother of Jared clearly did not feel that a conversation with the Lord was unexpected, it was only the vision of the finger. The story has Yahweh ask why the brother of Jared had fallen, even though it is sure that God would have known the reason.
The reason was the presence of God in a recognizable form. God was not in a cloud, he was visible in a finger, a finger that suggested that there was truly a being that was recognizable as being similar to mortal humanity.
Ether 3:9–13
9 And the Lord said unto him: Because of thy faith thou hast seen that I shall take upon me flesh and blood; and never has man come before me with such exceeding faith as thou hast; for were it not so ye could not have seen my finger. Sawest thou more than this?
10 And he answered: Nay; Lord, show thyself unto me.
11 And the Lord said unto him: Believest thou the words which I shall speak?
12 And he answered: Yea, Lord, I know that thou speakest the truth, for thou art a God of truth, and canst not lie.
13 And when he had said these words, behold, the Lord showed himself unto him, and said: Because thou knowest these things ye are redeemed from the fall; therefore ye are brought back into my presence; therefore I show myself unto you.
Comments
What the brother of Jared saw was a premortal Yahweh, prior to the time that he took upon himself “flesh and blood.” The conversation continues with the Lord asking the brother of Jared: “Sawest thou more than this?” This question was at least interpreted as an invitation to have a wider vision of the premortal body of Yahweh.
Because of his faith, the brother of Jared is able to see what had previously only been assumed to have been in the cloud. Verse 13 is fascinating because it assumes information that is not given in the conversation. Yahweh declares that because of the brother of Jared’s faith, he is redeemed from the fall, and could be brought into God’s presence. This is an important statement even though we do not know how much of the atoning mission of the Messiah the brother of Jared knew. What he did know is the most important thing, i.e., through the redemption from the fall, the brother of Jared could be in God’s presence. That theological doctrine became a dramatic reality as he was literally in the presence of his God.
Ether 3:14–15
14 Behold, I am he who was prepared from the foundation of the world to redeem my people. Behold, I am Jesus Christ. I am the Father and the Son. In me shall all mankind have life, and that eternally, even they who shall believe on my name; and they shall become my sons and my daughters.
15 And never have I showed myself unto man whom I have created, for never has man believed in me as thou hast. Seest thou that ye are created after mine own image? Yea, even all men were created in the beginning after mine own image.
Comments
To be certain that the brother of Jared understands who it is standing before him, Yahweh declares that he is the very God “who was prepared from the foundation of the world to redeem my people.” That is, the God who stated that the brother of Jared was redeemed from the fall was the very one, and the only one, who could make that declaration.
Verse 15 has an interesting statement that God had not shown himself to any man prior to this time. Nevertheless, Exodus 33:11 says that Moses spoke with God “face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend.” In 1 Kings 11:9 we are told “And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the Lord God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice.” Even Isaiah says: “Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts” (Isaiah 6:5).
The difference between the brother of Jared’s experience and these experiences of other prophets is that all of them understood that they were in the presence of God but knowing that they were in his presence did not mean that they viewed the form of God.
Moses spoke with God face to face, but so did the brother of Jared in his conversations prior to the vision of the finger. The Isaiah passage comes in a poetic description that shows the majesty of God filling a temple. It was a statement of presence, not a vision of the premortal form.
Thus, while others had similarly been in God’s presence, and had similarly conversed with God, it was the revelation of the premortal body that was unusual. However, that raises the second question. In the New Testament we find: “No man hath seen God at any time” (1 John 4:12). Joseph Smith provided the clarification that explains that seeming contradiction: “For no man has seen God at any time in the flesh, except quickened by the Spirit of God” (Doctrine and Covenants 67:11).
Ether 3:16–20
16 Behold, this body, which ye now behold, is the body of my spirit; and man have I created after the body of my spirit; and even as I appear unto thee to be in the spirit will I appear unto my people in the flesh.
17 And now, as I, Moroni, said I could not make a full account of these things which are written, therefore it sufficeth me to say that Jesus showed himself unto this man in the spirit, even after the manner and in the likeness of the same body even as he showed himself unto the Nephites.
18 And he ministered unto him even as he ministered unto the Nephites; and all this, that this man might know that he was God, because of the many great works which the Lord had showed unto him.
19 And because of the knowledge of this man he could not be kept from beholding within the veil; and he saw the finger of Jesus, which, when he saw, he fell with fear; for he knew that it was the finger of the Lord; and he had faith no longer, for he knew, nothing doubting.
20 Wherefore, having this perfect knowledge of God, he could not be kept from within the veil; therefore he saw Jesus; and he did minister unto him.
Comments
As Moroni worked with his source material, he was understandably impressed with the brother of Jared’s experience. It was something that he felt he needed to explain. First, he clarifies that Yahweh appeared “unto this man in the spirit, even after the manner and likeness of the same body even as he showed himself unto the Nephites.” That statement both clarifies that the premortal spirit body reflects the mortal form, but also that the experience of the brother of Jared was confirmed in that Yahweh also appeared to the Nephites, albeit at a different phase of his mission.
Verse 18 continues the comparison. Moroni sees kinship between what the brother of Jared experienced and the visitation of the resurrected Christ. They were the same God, saving his children both before and after the act that performed the atonement.
Verses 17 through 20 are in Moroni’s direct voice. Nevertheless, we see him as the editor of the text in verse 14 (of this chapter) when Yahweh declares: “I am Jesus Christ.” That is a name by which Moroni knew the Savior, and a declaration that “I am the Messiah” would have been logical, the mortal name of Jesus would not have been given, nor would it have been useful. Since we do not know the language spoken by the Jaredites, they may not have understood the Hebrew behind the mortal name: “Yahweh saves.”
Ether 3:21–24
21 And it came to pass that the Lord said unto the brother of Jared: Behold, thou shalt not suffer these things which ye have seen and heard to go forth unto the world, until the time cometh that I shall glorify my name in the flesh; wherefore, ye shall treasure up the things which ye have seen and heard, and show it to no man.
22 And behold, when ye shall come unto me, ye shall write them and shall seal them up, that no one can interpret them; for ye shall write them in a language that they cannot be read.
23 And behold, these two stones will I give unto thee, and ye shall seal them up also with the things which ye shall write.
24 For behold, the language which ye shall write I have confounded; wherefore I will cause in my own due time that these stones shall magnify to the eyes of men these things which ye shall write.
Comments
Mormon had been told that there were things that he should not write. The brother of Jared was told that his was a sacred experience, but only a personal one. He was not to tell of the experience. Nevertheless, he was to write it. His record would eventually be available, but only to one who had the tools required to interpret the writing that had been confounded. These tools were two stones, which were kept throughout Jaredite history and kept with the plates of Ether.
These two stones, known as the interpreters, appear to be the ones Moroni buried with the plates for Joseph Smith to find, and therefore, to have the tools to translate. Nevertheless, they were not the only such tools. When Limhi asks Ammon if there is someone who could translate the plates of Ether that Limhi’s people had found, Ammon tells him: “I can assuredly tell thee, O king, of a man that can translate the records; for he has wherewith that he can look, and translate all records that are of ancient date; and it is a gift from God. And the things are called interpreters, and no man can look in them except he be commanded, lest he should look for that he ought not and he should perish. And whosoever is commanded to look in them, the same is called seer” (Mosiah 8:13).
Prior to Mosiah2 having the plates of Ether, and presumably the two stones that accompanied them, he already had interpreters, and had used them. There is no reason to believe that the two stones were the only interpreters, though certainly their sacred provenance would make them preeminent among such tools. The fact that Joseph Smith also had other stones that were used as translating tools confirms that the two stones were not unique, and not uniquely essential to the process of divine translation.
The Vision Is Sealed Up
Ether 3:25–28
25 And when the Lord had said these words, he showed unto the brother of Jared all the inhabitants of the earth which had been, and also all that would be; and he withheld them not from his sight, even unto the ends of the earth.
26 For he had said unto him in times before, that if he would believe in him that he could show unto him all things—it should be shown unto him; therefore the Lord could not withhold anything from him, for he knew that the Lord could show him all things.
27 And the Lord said unto him: Write these things and seal them up; and I will show them in mine own due time unto the children of men.
28 And it came to pass that the Lord commanded him that he should seal up the two stones which he had received, and show them not, until the Lord should show them unto the children of men.
Comments
After being told that there were things that were to be written, but unavailable to the world, Yahweh gave the brother of Jared a vision of the spiritual history of the world. It would have covered much of the same information that we have from Nephi1’s vision of the tree of life.
The brother of Jared was also to write them, but the writing was to be sealed up. The experience ends with the admonition to seal up the two stones, to be kept separate from the wider world. They were not physically sealed, for they were available to accompany the plates of Ether. They would have been sacred objects passed through righteous lines until they came to Ether.
This is not the end of the chapter in the 1830 edition.
