Book of Mormon (Plain English Version)/Ether/Chapter 2

by Timothy B. Wilson

A choice land is promised...
(compare Ether, chapter 2)

Jared, his brother, their families, and their friends' families went into the valley in the north, named Nimrod (named after the mighty hunter), taking all their flocks with them. They set snares to catch live birds, and made containers in which to carry live fish. They also took beehives and all types of seed with them.

Upon arriving in Nimrod, the Lord came down and talked with Jared's brother. The Lord was in a cloud, and Jared's brother did not see Him. The Lord commanded them to go into an area of the wilderness where no man had ever been. Then the Lord went before them and talked with them as He stood in a cloud, and He directed them which way to go.

As they traveled, they came to many bodies of water. They crossed these small seas on barges that they made, and they were directed continually by the Lord's hand.

The Lord told them not to stop after crossing the small seas in the wilderness. He wanted them to continue toward the promised land, which was more choice than all others, and which He had saved for a righteous people.

The Lord vowed in His wrath to Jared's brother that all who possessed this land of promise forevermore would serve Him, the true and only God, or be swept off the land.

Moroni comments: Now we can understand God's decrees over this land, that it is a land of promise, and that any nation who possesses it will serve God or be swept off when the fullness of His wrath comes upon them. This is God's everlasting law--that the people are swept off the land as soon as they are ripe in their sins.

This warning is for you, oh Gentiles, so you will know God's decrees. Repent, and do not continue in your

sinfulness, bringing down the fullness of God's wrath upon you as the people in this land have done before. Whatever nation lives here will be free from the bondage of all other nations under heaven, if they serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ, who has been shown to you through our records.

Now I, Moroni, continue my record.

The Lord brought Jared and his brethren to that great sea which divides the continents. They camped on the seashore in tents for four years, and they named the place Moriancumer.

After four years, the Lord came to Jared's brother again, standing in a cloud, and He talked with him for three hours. He also chastened him because he had forgotten to call upon the Lord.

Note: Note that the Lord did not chastise Jared's brother for three hours.

Jared's brother repented of the evil he had done, and prayed to the Lord for his brethren.

The Lord said to him,

"I will forgive you and your brethren of their sins, but do not sin anymore. Remember that my Spirit will not always be with you if you sin. If you become fully ripe in sin, then you will be cut off from my presence. This is my law upon the choice land that I will give to you for your inheritance. Now, build more barges like the ones you built before."

As before, Jared's brother, along with many of his brethren, built the barges according to the Lord's instructions. They were small and light, and floated like water fowl. They were extremely water-tight. The bottom and the sides were shaped like a dish with peaked ends.

The top was water-tight, too, and was also shaped like a dish. Each barge was as long as a tree, with a water tight door.

Jared's brother prayed, "Oh Lord, we have made the barges according to Thy directions. But Lord, there's no light inside, and how will we steer them? And they're so air-tight, we won't be able to breathe inside."

The Lord replied to Jared's brother,

"Make a hole in the top and also in the bottom. When you need air, unplug the top hole. If the waves come in, then plug up the hole."

Jared's brother did as he was instructed.

Then he prayed again, "Oh Lord, I have made the holes as Thou has told me. But we still have no light inside. Must we cross this great ocean in darkness?"

The Lord replied,

"What would you like me to do to give you light inside your barges? You cannot have windows, for they would break, and you cannot make fires on your barges.

Your barges will be like whales under the mountainous waves. But I will bring you up to the surface again, commanding the wind, rain and ocean to deliver you up.

You cannot cross this great ocean unless I prepare your barges to withstand the waves, wind and floods that will come. Knowing this, how do you want me to make light for you when your barges are underwater?"