Faith as the Brother of Jared

When I read Ether 6:5, I am amazed with the amount of faith that the Jaredites had. They were willing to submit to his will and enter these boats that were seal like a dish. These boats had no light and no air. I can't think of any time in the scriptures that a people put more trust in the Lord than the people of Jared did. “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.” These people had so much faith in the Lord that they placed all their trust in him. They had no way to steer and they could not see where they were going and they didn’t know if they could come up from the depths for air. This reminds me of how we are as spirit children of our Heavenly Father. We come to this earth blind to what awaits us here. We are tossed upon the waves of life before the trials that await us. We must rely upon the Lord for our light and our air. Our faith drives us to keep moving forward.   

Many times they were buried in the depths of the sea. (Ether 6:7) “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.” When I feel encompassed by the trials of this world, and the emotional darkness seems to encompass me like the depths of a dark ocean. Do I cry unto my Lord in prayer that he might bring me out of the darkness to the surface to breath?  Do I have the faith that the brother of Jared had to call upon the Lord for the things that I need. He prayed to the Lord to touch the stones that they may have light. We can pray to our Lord to give us light. The light of the gospel can bring light to the darkest of days. Am I grateful for all the light that he brings to my life? Do I sing praises all the day long. 

They were in these barges for three hundred and forty and four days. Wow that is a long time. I can’t imagine being tossed about for that long. “No monster of the sea could break them, neither whale that could mar them.”(Ether 6:10). What monsters of life are you facing? Do you have the faith to let the Lord deliver you from them?

Do we thank the Lord for blessing us in a time of need. We need to acknowledge his hand in our lives. This is how we come closer to our Lord and Savior, we see his hand reaching out to help us. “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.” (Ether 6:12). I hope that I can always be humble enough to see the Lords tender mercies in my life.