Communication and the Brother of Jared

One of the themes that we see in the life of the brother of Jared is that of communication. This is evident from the very first chapter of Ether. We first read of him in the context of the Tower of Babel “at the time the Lord confounded the language of the people.” Jared implored his brother to pray to ask the Lord to preserve their ability to communicate: “Jared, his brother, said unto him: Cry unto the Lord, that he will not confound us that we may not understand our words.” He did that, and three times in succession we read that “the brother of Jared did cry unto the Lord.” The Lord “did hear the brother of Jared” and He preserved their language and provided a way for them to travel to a promised land (Ether 1:33-40). Clearly the brother of Jared knew how to communicate with the Lord, both in asking and receiving answers.  

               Much of the rest of the story of the brother of Jared involved communication both with the Lord and in writing. As they traveled “the Lord did go before them, and did talk with them as he stood in a cloud” (Ether 2:5). After their arrival at the seashore the brother of Jared failed to communicate properly with the Lord and was chastened “because he remembered not to call upon the name of the Lord” (Ether 2:14). He did repent and again was able to ask and receive, learning from the Lord how the barges were to operate and how to have air in them. And one of the greatest experiences recorded in all of holy writ is the brief account we have of his communication with the Lord on the Mount Shelem in Ether 3 as he sought help in providing light for their journey. The Lord spoke to the brother of Jared face to face, and the prophet expressed his faith in the those words of the Lord. We read of this exchange: “And the Lord said unto him: Believest thou the words which I shall speak? And he answered: Yea, Lord, I know that thou speakest the truth, for thou art a God of truth, and canst not lie” (Ether 3:11-12). Perhaps part of the reason he was so able to communicate with the Lord so effectively was because he had perfect faith in the truth of the words the Lord would speak to him.

               Though it is not as prominent in the account, the brother of Jared also communicated in a powerful way through writing. After the marvelous experience speaking to the Lord face to face, the prophet received this instruction: “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…. Write these things and seal them up; and I will show them in mine own due time unto the children of men” (Ether 3:22,27). Moroni then recorded, “And the Lord commanded the brother of Jared to go down out of the mount from the presence of the Lord, and write the things which he had seen” (Ether 4:1). So the brother of Jared wrote the incredible vision that he had and sealed it up to be read later. This is the record that we are promised to have some day, and Moroni gave us a glimpse of what it will be like to read when he prayed these words 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). The written word of the brother of Jared that Moroni felt acutely his own weakness in writing in comparison and described the experience of reading those words as “overpowering.” I look forward to that day when his record will be revealed and we can experience what Moroni did as he read the record. Perhaps a first step for us in preparation is to learn to communicate with the Lord in faith-filled prayer even as he did.