scripture power

I love that Primary song.

Are you a scripture reader? I am. And I have a testimony of the power of the scriptures. When I am consistently reading, even unasked questions are answered for me in the scriptures.

(I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Some know us as Mormons. We are Christians. We read the Bible. We also read The Book of Mormon.)

Last night I was reading in The Book of Mormon, the first chapter of Ether. My current set of scriptures is old and worn. I've marked so many verses, yet the verses that popped out for me this time were some that I had just skimmed over in the past. Not marked, not previously meaningful for me. This first chapter of Ether is where Moroni is summarizing - he tells us that Jared and his family were around when the languages were confounded because of the Tower of Babel.

(li.wikipedia.org)

I got to thinking about life at that time. It had to be really scary - not being able to understand or express - no communication. Jared asked his brother to go to the Lord and plead that their language would not be confounded. It was granted. Then this: "... 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?" (Ether 1:38)

As I was reading this last night, I imagined their situation. I thought about life for us, here and now. Languages are not being confounded, but everything else seems to be. Jobs are being lost, homes foreclosed, confusion everywhere. People, so many that we know and love, are being "driven out" ... and for those who "cry unto him whither we shall go", many are being directed to, what for them is a choice land. For those who know the book of Ether, this was just the beginning for Jared, his brother, and their families. Yes - they were driven out, and yes they were carried forth into a land which was choice above all the earth. But it wasn't an easy journey. I love this part of the scriptures because it's a model for how life can be for me. These people built barges and were in the ocean for about a year before they reached land where they settled.

(nothingwavering.org)

A little further on in the book of Ether we read about the being tossed in the waves and buried in the depths of the sea; but that they "did sing praises unto the Lord ... and he did thank and praise the Lord all the day long; and when the night came, they did not cease to praise the Lord" (Ether 5:9) all the while being bounced around in the ocean.

I want to be like them.

I want to have that kind of gratitude and that kind of faith.