The scriptures relate many harrowing tales that I digest while sitting comfortably on my couch—stories of trusting God through wars, shipwrecks, lions’ den, fiery furnaces, fiery deaths, betrayals, rejections, apocalypse, death. One harrowing tale, like many others, is actually a story of covenant redemption. I honestly hadn’t considered it a harrowing tale until the Holy Ghost taught me how it related to me.
Following the Lord’s direction and commandment, Jared and his group traveled from the tower of Babel to a distant seashore. They built barges, gathered seeds and bees, and seemed ready to go to the promised land when the brother of Jared approached the Lord with three concerns:
- There is no light
- Whither shall we steer
- We cannot breathe (Ether 2:19)
The Lord told the brother of Jared how to solve the third concern: Make a hole in the top and bottom of the barge. If you unstop the hole and water comes in, stop the hole. (Ether 2:20) They made the holes.
The brother of Jared prayed again, acknowledging that they followed the Lord’s directions and mentioning the light issue again.
The Lord asked the brother of Jared to solve the light issue while mentioning the steerage issue.
And the Lord said unto the brother of Jared: What will ye that I should do that ye may have light in your vessels? For behold, ye cannot have windows, for they will be dashed in pieces . . . .
For behold, ye shall be as a whale in the midst of the sea; for the mountain waves shall dash upon you. Nevertheless, I will bring you up again out of the depths of the sea; for the winds have gone forth out of my mouth, and also the rains and the floods have I sent forth.
And behold, I prepare you against these things; for ye cannot cross this great deep save I prepare you against the waves of the sea, and the winds which have gone forth, and the floods which shall come. Therefore what will ye that I should prepare for you that ye may have light when ye are swallowed up in the depths of the sea? (Ether 2:23-25)
The brother of Jared created 16 stones, transparent glass, and requested the Lord light the stones by touching them.
And it came to pass that when the brother of Jared had said these words, behold, the Lord stretched forth his hand and touched the stones one by one with his finger.
Trusting God Enough to Board the Barge
The stones lit the barges. The people finished preparing and got into the barges. This is the part of the story where I realized the harrowing tale.
…they got aboard of their vessels or barges, and set forth into the sea, commending themselves unto the Lord their God.
They left the beach and got into a divinely steered barge. Commending themselves unto the Lord and allowing Him to steer the barge is amazing to me. But I realized how terrifying it would actually be for me to leave the beach and get into a barge without any steering mechanism heading somewhere I’d never been. I’d have no bearing or landmark in the sky or sea to know if I was going the “right” way. Could I let go of control, even if what I think is control is really only an illusion?
Their complete trust in God is something I seek. I say I trust in God, and I do, but studying this story this time showed me potential holes in my complete trust.
Could I leave the beach? I feel myself clinging to the beach sometimes—the known, the familiar, even an unwanted comfort zone is still a comfort zone—unwilling to launch into the unknown…unwilling to completely “[commend] myself unto the Lord [my] God.”
The language describing this harrowing tale mirrors times in my life. And I didn’t always praise the Lord during those times like the Jaredites did. I’ll highlight the verbiage that really stuck out to me.
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.
And it came to pass that 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; therefore 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.
And it came to pass that the wind did never cease to blow towards the promised land while they were upon the waters; and thus they were driven forth before the wind.
And they did sing praises unto the Lord; yea, the brother of Jared did sing praises unto the Lord, and he did thank and praise the Lord all the day long; and when the night came, they did not cease to praise the Lord.
And thus they were driven forth; and no monster of the sea could break them, neither whale that could mar them [this sounds to me like they encountered whales and sea monsters]; and they did have light continually, whether it was above the water or under the water.
And thus they were driven forth, three hundred and forty and four days [this is an incredibly long time to be in a vessel unsure of your trajectory] upon the water.
The Jaredites reached the promised land … they arrived at a beach again.
And they did land upon the shore of the promised land. And when they had set their feet upon the shores of the promised land they bowed themselves down upon the face of the land, and did humble themselves before the Lord, and did shed tears of joy before the Lord, because of the multitude of his tender mercies over them.
My takeaway includes the realization that sometimes I hold back from completely trusting the Lord’s plan and cling to the beach even though, at the end of an intensely harrowing journey, a promised land awaits.
Despite clinging to life’s beaches, I have experienced the Lord directing my life. Like the Jaredites, I have wandered across life’s metaphorical landscapes, trusting the Lord to guide and direct me. Their overland travel got them to the sea and prepared them to step off the beach, just like my experiences have brought me to the edge of the sea.
The barge is built and lit. Everything is prepared. All that’s left is to get aboard my vessel “and set forth into the sea, commending [myself] unto the Lord [my] God” completely trusting that His winds and waves will drive me towards an unknown land, His promised land.
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