askandanswer Posted December 23, 2023 Report Share Posted December 23, 2023 This almost looks like an example of the Lord concealing or taking away His word which seems to me to be a puzzling thing to do, especially when you consider what was involved in delivering that word. A deliberate decision by God to cut off His children from His word. It may be that an effect of the removal of His word is to reduce the accountability of the people as there may be some issues about justice if they were held accountable to a standard to which they did not have access. I could probably do with some reduced accountability at times. Ether 4 Moroni is commanded to seal up the writings of the brother of Jared So we get Moroni's abridgement of the writings of the brother of Jared Jared but not the actual writings. The wording is imprecise. In the non-scriptural heading to chapter 1 we get a sentence saying that Moroni abridges the writings of Ether. In the chapter heading for chapter 4 there is a reference to the writings of the brother of Jared. In the scriptural heading for the Book of Ether we get :The record of the Jaredites, taken from the twenty-four plates." We can probably conclude that there were 24 plates which contained a record of the Jaredites. Whether or not these plates included, or were different from, the writings of the Brother of Jared, or the writings of Ether, is not clear. It's also not clear whether the 24 plates and the record of the Jaredites are synonymous with each other or whether the 24 plates is sombody's abridgement of the Jaredite record. Or maybe I'm just getting tired and losing my focus. Ether 4 Moroni is commanded to seal up the writings of the brother of Jared Moses in Mount Sinai. The Sermon on the Mount. The Brother of Jared meeting with the Lord in the mountain. The Hill Cumorah. Enoch meeting with the Lord on Mount Simeon. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints headquartered in the Rocky Mountains. The Mount of Transfiguration. This may be enough evidence to come to a tentative conclusion about how God feels about mountains. And then I remember Enoch displacing some mountains and commanding them to flee. Ether 4:1 And the Lord commanded the brother of Jared to go down out of the mount from the presence of the Lord Surely the Lord God shall do nothing save He revealeth His secrets unto His servants, the prophets, but it seems that He sometimes commands His prophets not to tell the people what He has revealed to them. I guess some things are revealed primarily for the prophet's benefit rather than the benefit of the people. Ether 4:1 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; and they were forbidden to come unto the children of men until after that he should be lifted up upon the cross; and for this cause did king Mosiah keep them, So we hear that the writings of the brother of Jared were made manifest to the people at the time of Christ but this was not mentioned in any way by anybody at the time of Christ and we have no hint of what these writings contain. Ether 4:2 And after Christ truly had showed himself unto his people he commanded that they should be made manifest. With the taking away of the word of the Lord being here linked to rejection of the gospel of Christ, can we conclude from the fact that the word of the Lord was taken out of the earth in 1820, that the gospel was again starting to be accepted even before the gold plates came out of the earth? Ether 4:3 And now, after that, they have all dwindled in unbelief; and there is none save it be the Lamanites, and they have rejected the gospel of Christ; therefore I am commanded that I should hide them up again in the earth. So does the sealed section of the plates contain both the direct account of the Brother of Jared and Moroni's account of what the Brother of Jared saw? A complete version and an edited version? Ether 4:4 4 Behold, I have written upon these plates the very things which the brother of Jared saw; It would be an interesting exercise to, using the scriptures, list all the variables that might be taken into account when God is deciding how much to reveal, who to reveal it to, and the conditions on which things will be revealed. From there, the next step would be to try and rank in importance each of those variables, and finally, to make an estimate of the decision making process by seeing the interaction/inter-relationship between these variables. An exercise like that, guided by the Spirit, might help to give some understanding of the mind of God. Sometimes I think that its only when you can understand how something thinks and there decision-making process that you can have some basis for making a claim that you know someone. I think Joseph Smith taught that knowing God is the most important thing we need to do. Ether 4:4 and there never were greater things made manifest than those which were made manifest unto the brother of Jared. I guess that Moroni used the interpreters to translate the writings of the Jaredites, and then Joseph Smith used those same interpreters to translate the writings of Moroni. Ether 4:5 and he also hath commanded that I should seal up the interpretation thereof; zil2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zil2 Posted December 23, 2023 Author Report Share Posted December 23, 2023 Ether 3 v1: It has been suggested that the brother of Jared knew the account of the "window" in Noah's ark and that it was similar to these stones and that was where it got the idea (learned from an institute teacher, also heard elsewhere, but I forget the details). v2+: IMO, this is nothing like the sort of prayers we hear in the Church, but it ought to be. There are a lot of lessons in this prayer, but I'm not sure I have the energy this (late) morning to explore them (my head is killing me). At a high level: humility, confession, testimony, the attributes of God, our need of Him, why pray, the virtue of working and thinking... v5: "thou canst do this" It's as if the brother of Jared is giving the Lord a pep talk. Or just expressing confidence in the Lord. Either way, it's an intimate and endearing exchange, for some reason. v6+: The mixture of complete faith, knowledge, and revelation here is interesting. As is the degree of confidence the brother of Jared has with the Lord. I have to believe this comes from a combination of humility, constant repentance, striving hard to keep the commandments, and rock-solid faith. v9: Surely the Lord knew full well what the brother of Jared saw, yet he asks. The Lord's way of teaching is to ask questions - to get us thinking! v11: I believe this is an eternal principle. The Lord asks the brother of Jared if he (bofJ) believes (already, present tense) the words which the Lord shall (future tense) speak - before the Lord has spoken them, before the brother of Jared has heard them - does he believe something he doesn't even know yet! I believe this is how the Lord works, it is a principle of receiving revelation. If you would receive guidance from the Lord, you must believe it (or really, believe Him) first and receive it second. This is what the scriptures mean by "sincere intent". The Lord will only reveal things to you if you already believe and fully intend to act in harmony with those things. This is also what "faith in Jesus Christ" means - like Enos, we must know that God cannot lie (and the brother of Jared, v12). This is yet another way in which the Lord's ways are reverse of the world's: the world says "prove it and then I'll believe", the Lord says, "believe and then I will reveal it". v12: It can be faith promoting to ponder these truths for a time - that God speaks truth and cannot lie. v13: "Because thou knowest these things ..." What things? The Lord has yet to speak whatever words he was referring to in v11, so far as we have here. It appears that verse 12 contains "these things". All the more reason to ponder on them! (Perhaps, too, "these things" include v9 - that Christ will take upon himself flesh and blood.) v14: Possibly the clearest explanation of the gospel or doctrine of Jesus Christ. v15: Lots of speculation about this "never have I showed myself...", since other prophets before this had seen the Lord. Most seem to think it's the manner in which the Lord showed himself - as he would look when mortal. v24: Ah, disregard yesterday - Jared perceived it as the people being confounded, but here the Lord says it's the language he confounded (probably the same thing from different perspective, but still). v25: This seems to be what happens with all prophets who are allowed into the Lord's presence, though it's not always been recorded. v26: This is faith - have sufficient faith in the Lord and all the Lord's word to you will be fulfilled. Some things are not (yet) for public consumption. Learn to keep sacred things sacred. Trust the Lord's timing. Ether 4 v6+: The need for faithfulness in what you already have - if you hope for more, master what you already have. Believe the Lord! Believe in the Lord! v12: How to know if it's from God. v15+: Reason to believe. v18-19: The message is always the same: Repent, come unto Christ and follow him. Ether 5 (getting ahead) Personal instruction to Joseph Smith! Jamie123 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zil2 Posted December 24, 2023 Author Report Share Posted December 24, 2023 Ether 6 v3: All light comes from God. We do not have to go through life or trials in darkness, thanks to Christ. v4: Prepare for trials. You may know know the form they'll take, but there are things we always need (temporal, emotional, spiritual) and we can prepare "extra" - food, clothing, etc. for temporal needs; good habits, friends, family, and connection with God for emotional and spiritual needs; etc. "...commending themselves unto the Lord their God." We don't have to be setting off on a scary voyage across the great waters to do this. We can do it every day. v5-8: Just because it's windy and we're getting tossed about and "buried in the depths" doesn't mean the Lord isn't guiding us toward a better place - turn to and trust him. v7: Make your faith "tight like a dish" so that the trials and waves and winds can't hurt you. Pray always. v9: Praise and give thanks to God, even and especially when things are scary. v11: Sometimes the journey is long. v12: Praise and give thanks to God when the hard times end. Recognize his mercies. Be humble. v13: And get to work! v17: Teach of and be taught by God. v19-21: "number" your people (aka, do family history, keep track of your family). v24: Sometimes, that person who came up with really good ideas years ago, comes up with bad ideas too. v25-27: You don't have to go along with it when people decide to do something stupid or wrong. v30: Remember what the Lord has done for you, stay humble and grateful. Ether 7 v2: Reasonably sure Orihah had multiple wives, whether concurrently or sequentially. Otherwise, that was one hardy woman! v3: Interesting to note that among the Jaredites, it's common (if I remember right) for the youngest or at least a younger son to inherit rather than the eldest. The special birthright of the eldest son wasn't a thing with these folks. v5: According to Nibley, this bit of holding the defeated king captive rather than killing him was very consistent with some Asian cultures. v9: They clearly had a different definition of "captivity". v15: Apparently, there can only be one good person named Noah, all the rest have to be sinners. (Be suspicious of people named Noah. Or maybe just kings and princes named Noah?) v25: Apparently, if the gospel is allowed to be preached, people will repent; but people will initially fight against that preaching if allowed to. Another reason to support religious freedom. v27: Again, remember what the Lord has done for you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zil2 Posted January 1 Author Report Share Posted January 1 On 12/20/2023 at 1:03 PM, Carborendum said: I use Cascade liquid. I switched to this. It's taken a while to be sure, but switching dishwasher soap has definitely helped. I think any remaining reluctance to eat from specific bowls (I have four varieties) may just be association. Anyway, he's eating more and eating from his bowls now, so Meowmy is happy. Now, what to do with the old stuff? Sigh. Maybe someone in the ward needs it. Carborendum 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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