I’ve been thinking a lot this week about the faith the brother of Jared had, because this week’s Come, Follow Me scriptures involved those stories.

Also all the mysteries surrounding his story. First of all, why wasn’t his name recorded until Joseph Smith revealed in the latter days that it is “Mahonri Moriancumr”? What’s up with that?

I stumbled upon the above book in my research this week. My local public library has it so I’m eager to pick it up this week and dive in. I’m copying the text below from the publisher’s website for the book:

Premise:There are many mysteries within the story of the brother of Jared including: 

1) Why is his name not recorded?

2) Why did the brother of Jared cease praying during his time of the seashore? 

3) Why did an all-knowing God prepare a plan for barges that had no light and no air? Doesn’t God know how to design barges? 

4) Why did the brother of Jared build all eight boats before asking God about the light and the air? Didn’t he realize this after he built the first boat? 

5) How did the brother of Jared build his faith after his period of lack of prayer so that he could enter into the presence of the Lord? 

These questions are explored and discussed in detail as Baggaley uses his history as a licensed contractor and design engineer to form hypotheses regarding the Brother of Jared and the travels of the Jaredites from the time they left the Tower of Babel. 

Sounds so interesting! Right?! I’m excited to read it!

I loved the Don’t Miss This video that accompanied this week’s lesson as well., below.

This morning in my Sunday School class over zoom someone pointed out the different kinds of answers that happened in Ether 1=5:

-“Here you go, just what you asked for.” (This happened in big ways. First, the Lord did not confounding their language at the Tower of Babel, second, in granting the brother of Jared’s bold request that they could go to the promised land, the land choice above all others.)

-“That does sound like a problem. What do you think you should do?” (When the brother of Jared presented the problem of not having light in the barges.)

-“Wow your faith is the most faith anyone who has ever lived on earth so far has had. I can’t keep myself behind the veil from you, so you are now blessed with the gift of seeing me.” (When the Lord showed himself to the brother of Jared.)

I love pondering the questions the study guide had this week: (coped and pasted below)

Ether 1:33–43 tells of three prayers of the brother of Jared. What do you learn from the Lord’s response to each of these prayers?

Think about a time when you have experienced the Lord’s compassion as you cried unto Him in prayer.

As you study Ether 2; 3:1–6; and 4:7–15, what truths do you find that help you understand how to seek personal revelation?

What impresses you about the way the brother of Jared conversed with the Lord, and what do you learn from this about how to increase the flow of revelation in your life?

To get to the promised land, the Jaredites faced a major obstacle: crossing the “great deep” (Ether 2:25). The phrase “great deep” can be a fitting way to describe what our trials and challenges sometimes feel like. And sometimes, as was the case for the Jaredites, crossing our own “great deep” is the only way to fulfill God’s will for us. Do you see similarities to your life in Ether 2:16–25? How has the Lord prepared you for your challenges? What might He be asking you to do now to prepare for what He needs you to do in the future?

What do you learn from Ether 3 about the spiritual and physical nature of God? How do these truths help you understand your divine identity and potential?

as well as the ones I came up with on my own:

What are some signs that have followed me for believing in the name of Jesus Christ?

What “veil of unbelief” is God wanting me to rend right now?

What does it mean to “treasure up”?

When have I seen figuratively “the finger of the Lord” in my life?

So much to think about!

The video below is also great!