Deep Water

Moroni described the journey of the Jaredites across the ocean this way: “And it came to pass that the Lord God caused that there should be a furious wind blow upon the face of the waters, towards the promised land; and thus they were tossed upon the waves of the sea before the wind. And it came to pass that they were many times buried in the depths of the sea, because of the mountain waves which broke upon them, and also the great and terrible tempests which were caused by the fierceness of the wind.” They faced a furious and fierce wind, terrible tempests, and mountain waves, and they were at times buried in the depths far under the ocean surface. But the Lord had prepared them for these challenges because of their sturdy vessels which carried them: “When they were buried in the deep there was no water that could hurt them, their vessels being tight like unto a dish, and also they were tight like unto the ark of Noah.” But this didn’t mean that they didn’t need faith and trust in the Lord in this journey, for “when they were encompassed about by many waters they did cry unto the Lord, and he did bring them forth again upon the top of the waters” (Ether 6:5-7). Unlike some of those years on the shore, this time they did not forget to pray, and as they cried unto the Lord, He guided them through the storms and waves and deep water to take them in safety to the promised land.

                After describing the persecution he had received, and while he was on the run from his enemies, Joseph wrote, “As for the perils which I am called to pass through, they seem but a small thing to me, as the envy and wrath of man have been my common lot all the days of my life;… But nevertheless, deep water is what I am wont to swim in.” Like those Jaredites, Joseph knew what it was like to be symbolically buried in deep water as the trials of life poured upon him. He did not lose faith, though, and like the Jaredites through his faith and trust in the Lord he did not sink in the deep water: “For to this day has the God of my fathers delivered me out of them all, and will deliver me from henceforth; for behold, and lo, I shall triumph over all my enemies, for the Lord God hath spoken it.” I love the encouragement that he gave to the Saints from this place of hiding  while his enemies pursued, “And again, verily thus saith the Lord: Let the work of my temple, and all the works which I have appointed unto you, be continued on and not cease; and let your diligence, and your perseverance, and patience, and your works be redoubled, and you shall in nowise lose your reward, saith the Lord of Hosts” (Doctrine and Covenants 127:2, 4). Even in the midst of trials, we can redouble our efforts to do what the Lord wants us to do, and whether we have hope of success or not we can show our faith in the Lord through redoubling our diligence, perseverance, patience, and works.

So, when we find ourselves in deep water, these scriptures give us encouragement to do two things. First, we need to “cry unto the Lord” for His help to bring us out of the water. Second, we then can increase our efforts to do whatever work He has appointed unto us. Through our diligence we can show our faith in Him to do what He has commanded, even if we feel we are sinking in deep water. As we do, we trust that this description of the Jaredites will be true for us as well: “And thus they were driven forth; and no monster of the sea could break them, neither whale that could mar them; and they did have light continually, whether it was above the water or under the water.” Whatever monsters we symbolically face, as we commend ourselves unto the Lord our God, praying and working with all diligence, we can trust that we too will symbolically “land upon the shore of the promised land” (Ether 6:10, 12).