A Memorial Unto the Children

In a recent podcast, Sister Camille Fronk Olson spoke about the miraculous crossing of the Israelites over the Jordan River. She said, “Sometime along the way, there was a community named Bethabara along that river. Bethabara in Hebrew means literally house of the fording. We might more easily call it the place of the crossing. I can’t imagine any other crossing but this one that would warrant naming a community that. We know, especially from restored gospel scripture in the Book of Mormon and also Joseph Smith translation of Matthew that Jesus Christ was baptized in the River Jordan next to the community called Bethabara, the place of the fording.” Indeed, Nephi wrote about the teachings of his father concerning John the Baptist who would come: “And my father said he should baptize in Bethabara, beyond Jordan; and he also said he should baptize with water; even that he should baptize the Messiah with water” (1 Nephi 10:9). The account in John reads this way in the King James version: “These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing. The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:28-29). Most of the Biblical translations of this verse render the location as Bethany instead of Bethabara, but the Joseph Smith Translation keeps it as Bethabara. I love the idea that at approximately the same location where the Israelites crossed the Jordan River through the power of Jehovah is where, hundreds of years later, the Savior was baptized by John the Baptist.  

                After the miracle of the crossing of the Jordan River, the Lord commanded Joshua to make a memorial of what had happened. He said, “Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man, And command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where the priests’ feet stood firm, twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night.” Joshua explained to them what this was for: “That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones? Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever” (Joshua 4:2-7). The Lord wanted the Israelites of future generations to remember what He had done for them, similar to what Moroni said in the title page of the Book of Mormon: “Which is to show unto the remnant of the house of Israel what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers; and that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off forever.” One of the whole purposes of the Book of Mormon, and perhaps scriptures in general, is to help us see what the Lord has done for our fathers.

This reminds me of what President Eyring recounted in one of his most well-known talks many years ago. He related how after he had been served by his father-in-law one night, “I took a few steps toward the house, thinking of what he was doing for us, and just as I got to the door, I heard in my mind—not in my own voice—these words: ‘I’m not giving you these experiences for yourself. Write them down.’” He continued, “I went inside. I didn’t go to bed. Although I was tired, I took out some paper and began to write. And as I did, I understood the message I had heard in my mind. I was supposed to record for my children to read, someday in the future, how I had seen the hand of God blessing our family. Grandpa didn’t have to do what he was doing for us. He could have had someone else do it or not have done it at all. But he was serving us, his family, in the way covenant disciples of Jesus Christ always do. I knew that was true. And so I wrote it down, so that my children could have the memory someday when they would need it.” Just as the stones were to help future Israelites to remember what the Lord had done for their fathers, so too was President Eyring’s journal intended to help his children and posterity remember how the Lord had blessed his family. He encouraged us all in these words, “My point is to urge you to find ways to recognize and remember God’s kindness. It will build our testimonies. You may not keep a journal. You may not share whatever record you keep with those you love and serve. But you and they will be blessed as you remember what the Lord has done.” The Lord wants us to remember what He has done for us to inspire us and future generations to stay faithful to Him. And it just may be that the Savior Himself was remembering the Israelites’ miraculous crossing of the Jordan River as He Himself chose to be baptized there, witnessing that He Himself would be faithful to His Father.