The Greatest Revelation Ever Given
When the Lord touched the stones the light the
way for the Jaredites, He also revealed Himself to the brother of Jared in a
marvelous vision. The Lord “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” (Ether 3:25). It seems to
have been similar to the visions that would be later given to both Abraham and
Moses, and Moroni commented that “there never were greater things made manifest
than those which were made manifest unto the brother of Jared” (Ether 4:4).
After this grand experience, the Lord told the brother of Jared, “Write these things and seal them up; and I will show them in mine own due time unto the children of men” (Ether 3:27). This he did, and when the people of Limhi found the 24 gold plates that remained among the ruins of the Jaredites, the record contained this sealed account from the brother of Jared. This was passed down among Nephite prophets, and apparently when Savior came among the Nephites, the record was to some degree “made manifest” to the people (Ether 4:2). This account from the brother of Jared continued to be passed down, and it ended up in the hands of Moroni as he was finishing his record on the Book of Mormon. Moroni told us, “Behold, I have written upon these plates the very things which the brother of Jared saw…. Wherefore the Lord hath commanded me to write them; and I have written them. And he commanded me that I should seal them up” (Ether 4:4). Apparently Moroni was privileged to read the words, and he was so moved that he felt completely inadequate in the words that he was writing. He said to the Lord, “Behold, thou hast not made us mighty in writing like unto the brother of Jared, for thou madest him that the things which he wrote were mighty even as thou art, unto the overpowering of man to read them” (Ether 12:24). Moroni sealed up the words of the brother of Jared in the plates that he deposited in the ground for Joseph Smith to receive many centuries later. Nephi (and Isaiah) apparently knew something about this sealed part of the Book of Mormon, and he recorded what appears to be directions to the Prophet Joseph: “Wherefore, when thou hast read the words which I have commanded thee… then shalt thou seal up the book again, and hide it up unto me, that I may preserve the words which thou hast not read, until I shall see fit in mine own wisdom to reveal all things unto the children of men” (2 Nephi 27:22). So Joseph did not translate this sealed portion from the brother of Jared, and he gave the plates back to the angel Moroni when he was done with them (JSH 1:60). Nephi also told us a little more about what was in the sealed portion. It apparently contains “a revelation from God, from the beginning of the world to the ending thereof” (2 Nephi 27:7). He emphasized that it will “reveal all things from the foundation of the world unto the end thereof" (2 Nephi 27:10). So when will we receive the words of the brother of Jared that have been passed down for thousands of years? It will come “in the own due time of the Lord,” when men “shall exercise faith in me, saith the Lord, even as the brother of Jared did, that they may become sanctified in me, then will I manifest unto them the things which the brother of Jared saw, even to the unfolding unto them all my revelations” (2 Nephi 27:10, Ether 4:7). If there ever was a book in all of history that we should desire to read, surely this is it. Of course, it will probably take us more than a lifetime of preparation to develop and exercise the kind of faith that the brother of Jared had in order to receive this supernal revelation.
After this grand experience, the Lord told the brother of Jared, “Write these things and seal them up; and I will show them in mine own due time unto the children of men” (Ether 3:27). This he did, and when the people of Limhi found the 24 gold plates that remained among the ruins of the Jaredites, the record contained this sealed account from the brother of Jared. This was passed down among Nephite prophets, and apparently when Savior came among the Nephites, the record was to some degree “made manifest” to the people (Ether 4:2). This account from the brother of Jared continued to be passed down, and it ended up in the hands of Moroni as he was finishing his record on the Book of Mormon. Moroni told us, “Behold, I have written upon these plates the very things which the brother of Jared saw…. Wherefore the Lord hath commanded me to write them; and I have written them. And he commanded me that I should seal them up” (Ether 4:4). Apparently Moroni was privileged to read the words, and he was so moved that he felt completely inadequate in the words that he was writing. He said to the Lord, “Behold, thou hast not made us mighty in writing like unto the brother of Jared, for thou madest him that the things which he wrote were mighty even as thou art, unto the overpowering of man to read them” (Ether 12:24). Moroni sealed up the words of the brother of Jared in the plates that he deposited in the ground for Joseph Smith to receive many centuries later. Nephi (and Isaiah) apparently knew something about this sealed part of the Book of Mormon, and he recorded what appears to be directions to the Prophet Joseph: “Wherefore, when thou hast read the words which I have commanded thee… then shalt thou seal up the book again, and hide it up unto me, that I may preserve the words which thou hast not read, until I shall see fit in mine own wisdom to reveal all things unto the children of men” (2 Nephi 27:22). So Joseph did not translate this sealed portion from the brother of Jared, and he gave the plates back to the angel Moroni when he was done with them (JSH 1:60). Nephi also told us a little more about what was in the sealed portion. It apparently contains “a revelation from God, from the beginning of the world to the ending thereof” (2 Nephi 27:7). He emphasized that it will “reveal all things from the foundation of the world unto the end thereof" (2 Nephi 27:10). So when will we receive the words of the brother of Jared that have been passed down for thousands of years? It will come “in the own due time of the Lord,” when men “shall exercise faith in me, saith the Lord, even as the brother of Jared did, that they may become sanctified in me, then will I manifest unto them the things which the brother of Jared saw, even to the unfolding unto them all my revelations” (2 Nephi 27:10, Ether 4:7). If there ever was a book in all of history that we should desire to read, surely this is it. Of course, it will probably take us more than a lifetime of preparation to develop and exercise the kind of faith that the brother of Jared had in order to receive this supernal revelation.
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