Vessels Built for Crossing Great Sea

Event 193

Reference: Ether 2:14-25; 3:1-5

And it came to pass at the end of four years that the Lordcame again unto the brother of Jared, and stood in a cloudand talked with him. And for the space of three hours didthe Lord talk with the brother of Jared, and chastened himbecause he remembered not to call upon the name of theLord. 15 And the brother of Jared repented of the evil whichhe had done, and did call upon the name of the Lord for hisbrethren who were with him. And the Lord said unto him:MoroniMoriancumer atseashore of greatseaI will forgive thee and thy brethren of their sins; but thou shalt notsin any more, for ye shall remember that my Spirit will not alwaysstrive with man; wherefore, if ye will sin until ye are fully ripe yeshall be cut off from the presence of the Lord. And these are mythoughts upon the land which I shall give you for your inheritance;for it shall be a land choice above all other lands.The Lord16 And the Lord said:MoroniGo to work and build, after the manner of barges which ye havehitherto built.The LordAnd it came to pass that the brother of Jared did go to work,and also his brethren, and built barges after the mannerwhich they had built, according to the instructions of theLord. And they were small, and they were light upon thewater, even like unto the lightness of a fowl upon the water.17 And they were built after a manner that they wereexceedingly tight, even that they would hold water like untoa dish; and the bottom thereof was tight like unto a dish;and the sides thereof were tight like unto a dish; and theends thereof were peaked; and the top thereof was tight likeunto a dish; and the length thereof was the length of a tree;and the door thereof, when it was shut, was tight like unto adish.Moroni18 And it came to pass that the brother of Jared cried untothe Lord, saying:O Lord, I have performed the work which thou hast commandedme, and I have made the barges according as thou hast directedme. 19 And behold, O Lord, in them there is no light; whither shallwe steer? And also we shall perish, for in them we cannot breathe,save it is the air which is in them; therefore we shall perish.Brother of Jared20 And the Lord said unto the brother of Jared:Moroni Behold, thou shalt make a hole in the top, and also in the bottom;and when thou shalt suffer for air thou shalt unstop the hole andreceive air. And if it be so that the water come in upon thee,behold, ye shall stop the hole, that ye may not perish in the flood.The LordMoriancumer atseashore of greatsea21 And it came to pass that the brother of Jared did so,according as the Lord had commanded. 22 And he criedagain unto the Lord saying:MoroniO Lord, behold I have done even as thou hast commanded me; andI have prepared the vessels for my people, and behold there is nolight in them. Behold, O Lord, wilt thou suffer that we shall crossthis great water in darkness?Brother of Jared23 And the Lord said unto the brother of Jared:MoroniWhat will ye that I should do that ye may have light in yourvessels? For behold, ye cannot have windows, for they will bedashed in pieces; neither shall ye take fire with you, for ye shallnot go by the light of fire. 24 For behold, ye shall be as a whale inthe midst of the sea; for the mountain waves shall dash upon you.Nevertheless, I will bring you up again out of the depths of thesea; for the winds have gone forth out of my mouth, and also therains and the floods have I sent forth. 25 And behold, I prepare youagainst these things; for ye cannot cross this great deep save Iprepare you against the waves of the sea, and the winds whichhave gone forth, and the floods which shall come. Therefore whatwill ye that I should prepare for you that ye may have light whenye are swallowed up in the depths of the sea?The Lord1 AND it came to pass that the brother of Jared, (now thenumber of the vessels which had been prepared was eight)went forth unto the mount, which they called the mountShelem, because of its exceeding height, and did molten outof a rock sixteen small stones; and they were white andclear, even as transparent glass; and he did carry them in hishands upon the top of the mount, and cried again unto theLord, saying:MoroniMount Shelemnear the great sea2 O Lord, thou hast said that we must be encompassed about bythe floods. Now behold, O Lord, and do not be angry with thyservant because of his weakness before thee; for we know thatthou art holy and dwellest in the heavens, and that we areunworthy before thee; because of the fall our natures have becomeevil continually; nevertheless, O Lord, thou hast given us acommandment that we must call upon thee, that from thee we mayreceive according to our desires.Brother of Jared3 Behold, O Lord, thou hast smitten us because of our iniquity, andhast driven us forth, and for these many years we have been in thewilderness; nevertheless, thou hast been merciful unto us. O Lord,look upon me in pity, and turn away thine anger from this thy people, and suffer not that they shall go forth across this ragingdeep in darkness; but behold these things which I have molten outof the rock.Brother of JaredMount Shelemnear the great sea4 And I know, O Lord, that thou hast all power, and can dowhatsoever thou wilt for the benefit of man; therefore touch thesestones, O Lord, with thy finger, and prepare them that they mayshine forth in darkness; and they shall shine forth unto us in thevessels which we have prepared, that we may have light while weshall cross the sea. 5 Behold, O Lord, thou canst do this. We knowthat thou art able to show forth great power, which looks smallunto the understanding of men.