Ether 1: 38-43; 2: 23

 

How have you been blessed recently as the Lord listened to your thoughts and feelings and gave His confirmation or counseled you otherwise?

"38 And it came to pass that Jared spake again unto his brother, saying: Go and inquire of the Lord whether he will drive us out of the land, and if he will drive us out of the land, cry unto him whither we shall go. And who knoweth but the Lord will carry us forth into a land which is choice above all the earth? And if it so be, let us be faithful unto the Lord, that we may receive it for our inheritance.

39 And it came to pass that the brother of Jared did cry unto the Lord according to that which had been spoken by the mouth of Jared.

40 And it came to pass that the Lord did hear the brother of Jared, and had compassion upon him, and said unto him:

41 Go to and gather together thy flocks, both male and female, of every kind; and also of the seed of the earth of every kind; and thy families; and also Jared thy brother and his family; and also thy friends and their families, and the friends of Jared and their families.

42 And when thou hast done this thou shalt go at the head of them down into the valley which is northward. And there will I meet thee, and I will go before thee into a land which is choice above all the lands of the earth.

43 And there will I bless thee and thy seed, and raise up unto me of thy seed, and of the seed of thy brother, and they who shall go with thee, a great nation. And there shall be none greater than the nation which I will raise up unto me of thy seed, upon all the face of the earth. And thus I will do unto thee because this long time ye have cried unto me." (Ether 1: 38-43)

"23 And the Lord said unto the brother of Jared: What will ye that I should do that ye may have light in your vessels? For behold, ye cannot have windows, for they will be dashed in pieces; neither shall ye take fire with you, for ye shall not go by the light of fire." (Ether 2: 23)

And here's the introductory commentary to this week's reading assignment: "November 11–17: “Rend That Veil of Unbelief” Ether 1–5 : 

"While it is true that God’s ways are higher than ours and we should always submit to His will, He also encourages us to think and act for ourselves. That’s one lesson Jared and his brother learned. For example, the idea of traveling to a new land that was “choice above all the earth” seemed to start with Jared, and the Lord granted the request, saying to the brother of Jared, “Thus I will do unto thee because this long time ye have cried unto me” (see Ether 1:38–43). And when the brother of Jared needed light inside the barges that would carry them to their promised land, the Lord asked a question that we usually ask Him: “What will ye that I should do?” (Ether 2:23). He wants to hear our thoughts and ideas, and He will listen and give His confirmation or counsel us otherwise. Sometimes the only thing separating us from the blessings we seek is our own “veil of unbelief,” and if we can “rend that veil” (Ether 4:15), we may be surprised by what the Lord is willing to do for us.

See also “The Lord Appears to the Brother of Jared” (video), Gospel Library."

"What will ye that I should do?" It's so comforting to hear this question from the Lord. He does honor our free agency. He wants us to figure out what to do ourselves using our own capacity. He wants us to do what we can first and come up with a solution to our problem. He wants us to exercise our own freedom of choice. He is willing to help us. He wants us to let Him know what we want Him to do for us first before He does it for us because He does honor our free agency.