After reading the book of Ether in the Book of Mormon the other night I was touched by the story of the Brother of Jared. Here was a man who had been commanded to do something he had never tried, something that was most certainly dangerous and laden with discomfort. Crossing an ocean in a "prototype" vessel without knowing the duration of the trip must have been daunting in and of itself, add to that the thought of doing so in darkness, I can't imagine what fears he and his people had.
In the scripture, he comes to the Lord with great humility and presents "sixteen stones" that were "transparent, like unto glass" which he had made. The whole idea behind the stones was that if he gave the Lord something to work with, the Lord would make something better out of them. Not knowing how this would be accomplished, the Brother of Jared asks God to light the stones to allow he and his family to cross the ocean with light.
While reading this story I was struck with the idea that I had the opportunity to present "stones" of my own to the Lord. I realized that it was up to me to study out a solution to a problem I was facing, do the work to prepare a path and then ask the Lord to help make it possible by lighting my way. My solution was simple, in fact it wasn't so much an idea as it was the realization of an opportunity and I felt that it would be acceptable to Him. After prayer and a visit to the temple I presented my plan to the Lord, asking that he help me by "smoothing out the edges" and lighting my way. It has been an enlightening experience to know that because I am His child, I have the opportunity to ask for His help, no matter how simple or unexplainable it may be and expect that He will hear my prayer.
1 comment:
One of my favorite stories. It's a powerful thing to offer the Lord all that we think that we can and then watch Him make so much more of it. It really is the most powerful analogy, turning ourselves over to God to let Him make of us what we can be.
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