Day 84: Ether 2-5

Hello Friends!

I hope you have all had a fantastic week!!  I want you all to know that I have still been reading but haven't had a moment to do my posts.  I am so thankful for you all and also for reading the Book of Mormon with me.  I hope and pray that you have felt the Spirit touch your heart as you have read from the pages.  I know that this book is the word of God and was written just for us in these last days to help us learn how to come unto Him.

I have to start by showing some pictures from our annual Trunk or Treat Chili Cook Off in our ward.  We open this up to any and all who would like to come.  We had quite a crowd this year.  I have been one of "those" adults who dress up but this year decided that I didn't feel like it.  (Bah Humbug!)  About three hours before the party I remembered what one of my children had said to me the day before... "But Mom, you have to dress up!!  You do it every year!"  So, I went to the store, bought some jammies and went as a 3 year old Diva toddler!!  I had fun playing the part for sure AND we all had a blast!

I had to share this one because the "old lady" on the right is my 13 year old daughter!  LOL!  She stayed in character ALL night and even won the big costume award at the end of the night.  She makes a great old lady except when she said to me that she was my mom!!  Sorry little miss, but not even my Grandma looks like that!!  LOL!

Today we are reading in chapters 2-5 of Ether.  Some of these are the most powerful in the entire Book of Mormon.  The brother of Jared has an amazing experience with the Savior himself.  He was a great man of faith.  I ponder about the brother of Jared a lot.  I also ponder about Jared a lot and how he also had to have great faith himself to go to his brother with questions he wanted him to bring to the Lord.

The Lord wants us to grow and learn as we make our own decisions. He also wants us to take our conclusions to Him frequently for His confirmation. When the brother of Jared asked the Lord about the matter of light for the vessels, the Lord answered with a question of His own: “What will ye that I should do that ye may have light in your vessels?” (Ether 2:23). According to President Harold B. Lee (1899–1973), the Lord’s question was similar to saying the following:

“‘Well, have you any good ideas? What would you suggest that we should do in order to have light?’ …

“Then the Lord went away and left him alone. It was as though the Lord were saying to him, ‘Look, I gave you a mind to think with, and I gave you agency to use it. Now you do all you can to help yourself with this problem; and then, after you’ve done all you can, I’ll step in to help you.’”

After considering the possibilities, the brother of Jared demonstrated his great faith by asking the Lord to touch 16 stones and supply light. The Lord answered this plea and not only provided light for the vessels but gave this faithful man a vision unlike any other.

President Lee concluded: “This is the principle in action. If you want the blessing, don’t just kneel down and pray about it. Prepare yourselves in every conceivable way you can in order to make yourselves worthy to receive the blessing you seek”

In Ether 2:11-12 Moroni stops his account and gives all of us counsel.
"And this cometh unto you, O ye Gentiles, that ye may know the decrees of God --  that ye may repent, and not continue in your iniquities until the fulness come, that ye may not bring down the fulness of the wrath of God upon you as the inhabitants of the land have hitherto done.

"Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ, who hath been manifested by the things which we have written.

Ether 2:7–12. “A Land of Promise”

• •
  Ether 2:8–11 states what Moroni called “the everlasting decree of God” (verse 10) concerning this land of promise. Stated three or four times, this decree is that “whatsoever nation shall possess [this land] shall serve God, or they shall be swept off” (verse 9).
  President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910–2008) taught that obedience is essential if the promised land is to keep its promised blessings: “Great are the promises concerning this land of America. We are told unequivocally that it ‘is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ’ (Ether 2:12). This is the crux of the entire matter—obedience to the commandments of God”.

I want to close today with a beautiful song sung by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.  This is such a touching song and has great meaning to me.  I know that the Lord is with us in our most lowest times in our lives.  We all have times where it feels like we are abandoned and alone but I want you all to know that at that time it is when He is with us the most.  I love you all and cannot believe we are almost done reading!  I pray that you have felt the spirit of truth ring within your hearts.

Hugs,
Robyn