He Remembered What the Lord Had Done

One of the themes of the book of Ether is remembering. After the brother of Jared had led his family and friends to the ocean, they stalled in their progress because they did not remember the Lord as they should have. Moroni recorded, “And for the space of three hours did the Lord talk with the brother of Jared, and chastened him because he remembered not to call upon the name of the Lord” (Ether 2:14). We must not forget to continue to call on the Lord—we must always remember to pray as the brother of Jared learned that day. Afterwards the brother of Jared had an incredible vision of the Lord, and in discussing this Moroni invited us in our day to likewise have faith and come unto the Lord: “When ye shall call upon the Father in my name, with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, then shall ye know that the Father hath remembered the covenant which he made unto your fathers, O house of Israel. And then shall my revelations which I have caused to be written by my servant John be unfolded in the eyes of all the people. Remember, when ye see these things, ye shall know that the time is at hand that they shall be made manifest in very deed” (Ether 4:15-16). We learn that the Father remembers us and the covenant He has made with us. And we are encouraged to remember the scriptures and their fulfillment.

After this incredible experience of the brother of Jared, the Jaredites were able to miraculously cross the vast ocean. Subsequent generations were blessed when they remembered this great things the Lord had done for them. Moroni gave us this description of the first king: “And it came to pass that Orihah did walk humbly before the Lord, and did remember how great things the Lord had done for his father, and also taught his people how great things the Lord had done for their fathers” (Ether 6:30). He remembered what the Lord had done for his father and encouraged his people to do the same. We read the same of his grandson Shule: “And there were no more wars in the days of Shule; and he remembered the great things that the Lord had done for his fathers in bringing them across the great deep into the promised land” (Ether 7:27). He remembered the blessings the Lord had given their people, and he was greatly blessed for it. Many generations later we see that the righteous still remembered the miracle of the crossing of the ocean: “Shez did remember the destruction of his fathers, and he did build up a righteous kingdom; for he remembered what the Lord had done in bringing Jared and his brother across the deep; and he did walk in the ways of the Lord” (Ether 10:2). Shez remembered both the wickedness of some of his fathers and the blessings of the Lord to his righteous fathers Jared and his brother. This helped him to build up a righteous people. Unfortunately, the subsequent kings did not always remember these things, and eventually they ended in self-destruction. Interestingly, the last king Coriantumr eventually did remember the Lord and the words of His prophet, but it was too late: “And it came to pass when Coriantumr had recovered of his wounds, he began to remember the words which Ether had spoken unto him…. He began to repent of the evil which he had done; he began to remember the words which had been spoken by the mouth of all the prophets, and he saw them that they were fulfilled thus far, every whit; and his soul mourned and refused to be comforted” (Ether 15:1, 3). It was too late because millions of people had already been destroyed and the cycle of destruction was unstoppable even though he tried. We must not wait to remember the words and commandments of the Lord so we can act before it is too late.

Moroni, in abridging the record of the Jaredites, felt His weakness before the Lord. One of things that helped him through that moment of self-doubt and frustration was remembering the Savior. He prayed to the Lord, “And I also remember that thou hast said that thou hast prepared a house for man, yea, even among the mansions of thy Father, in which man might have a more excellent hope; wherefore man must hope, or he cannot receive an inheritance in the place which thou hast prepared. And again, I remember that thou hast said that thou hast loved the world, even unto the laying down of thy life for the world, that thou mightest take it again to prepare a place for the children of men” (Ether 12:32-33). He remembered the love of Jesus Christ and the sacrifice He made for all the world. He remembered the blessings that the Savior had promised and the hope we should have in the eternal future that the Father and Son have prepared for us. The book of Ether encourages us to remember the Lord through prayer, to remember the miracles He has done for us and our ancestors, to remember the words of the prophets, and to remember His Son and His great atoning sacrifice. On this day of Thanksgiving, we remember all the great things the Lord has done for us, and most importantly the “laying down of [His] life for the world.”