The Importance of Work
At Institute this week, we discussed the first few chapters of Ether - the whole bit about the tower of Babel, the languages being changed, and Jared and his brother and their families and friends leaving and traveling to a promised land. It's a fun bit. One thing that was brought out in class that I hadn't really contemplated before was the importance of working and doing our part.
First of all, you have the tower, and God changing the languages of the people and scattering them all over the earth. Jared and his brother didn't just sit around and wait to see what was going to happen to them. In other words, they didn't wait to be acted upon, they took action themselves. First of all, they decided they didn't want to have their language changed so they went to the Lord in prayer to ask to be able to keep their language. They didn't just settle for that, either. They thought about who else they would like to be able to communicate with, and then prayed to the Lord that their language wouldn't change either, so they could still talk to their families and friends. Then they looked around and realized that other groups were being scattered to other lands, and they went back to the Lord to ask if He might have a special land for them to go to as well. Because Jared and his brother took the initiative and asked the Lord, probably repeatedly over a long period of time, for the blessings that they wanted , (and because they were righteous desires) the Lord had compassion on them and blessed them with what they asked for. He promised to lead them to a choice land. (see Ether 1:33-43)
After they received the Lord's promise, they didn't just sit back and relax, figuring the Lord would take care of them. They got to work. They collected flocks and birds and fish and bees and seeds (I wonder if they felt a bit like Noah) and then built barges and crossed waters and then traveled over land until they came to the edge of the great waters. (Ether 2:1-6,13)
After this great journey, the people relaxed for a while. For four years they lived in their tents on the sea shore. They had reached a plateau, and they were comfortable there, and perhaps they forgot that they hadn't yet reached their destination. Maybe they thought that this was the promised land the Lord had promised to give them. At any rate, they forgot to pray, to ask what the Lord wanted them to do. And apparently the Lord didn't like that very much because he came to the brother of Jared and chastised him for three hours for not praying! (I'm sure the Lord was very loving about it, but three hours seems like a terribly long time for a chastisement!) (Ether 2:14-15)
After receiving his chastisement and repenting, the brother of Jared got to work again, building more barges. (Perhaps the barges they had built before were in preparation for these?) Apparently, he some problems this time that he hadn't had before: there was no light, and no air in the barges. In response, the Lord gave him one answer as a freebie: cut a hole in the top and the bottom to let in air when it gets stuffy. If the water starts pouring in, shut it up again! (Ether 2:16-21)
The second problem required a little more effort to solve. Perhaps the Lord knew that there was no easy and familiar way for Jared and his people to have light. Fires would suffocate them and probably burn, if not the ship, all their stuff, as they tossed in the waves. Windows would be broken in pieces. The solution would require a lot of work, and even more faith. What they needed was a miracle. Luckily, the brother of Jared was a man of tremendous faith, who was willing to work. He melted and shaped rock until he formed sixteen transparent stones. (I wonder what kind of rock that was that would melt and become transparent?) Having done all the work that he could, he then went to the Lord and asked for a miracle: that He would touch the stones and make them shine. Because of the brother of Jared's great faith, he not only received the miracle he asked for, but he also saw the Lord's finger and was shown many other great things. (Ether 2:23-3:18)
With both light and air in their barges, the people were ready to cross the ocean, and as they traveled in those barges for almost an entire year, they didn't make merry and dance and sing as some of Lehi's sons did when making a similar journey, but they sang praises and gave thanks to the Lord day and night. They didn't forget in who's hand they were cradled. They didn't forget who was guiding them to the land of promise.
At the close of the lesson, our instructor showed us a General Conference talk that was given by Elder Neil A Maxwell in April 1988 entitled, "Put Your Shoulder to the Wheel." I highly recommend that you read or listen to it. It was a great talk. A couple things he said that I particularly liked: "Knowing how to work will give you an edge in life, and experience with excellence—a special edge!" and "Work is always a spiritual necessity even if, for some, work is not an economic necessity."
So go to work. Ask the Lord what he wants you to be doing. Remember that "faith, if it hath not works, is dead." (see James 2:17)
First of all, you have the tower, and God changing the languages of the people and scattering them all over the earth. Jared and his brother didn't just sit around and wait to see what was going to happen to them. In other words, they didn't wait to be acted upon, they took action themselves. First of all, they decided they didn't want to have their language changed so they went to the Lord in prayer to ask to be able to keep their language. They didn't just settle for that, either. They thought about who else they would like to be able to communicate with, and then prayed to the Lord that their language wouldn't change either, so they could still talk to their families and friends. Then they looked around and realized that other groups were being scattered to other lands, and they went back to the Lord to ask if He might have a special land for them to go to as well. Because Jared and his brother took the initiative and asked the Lord, probably repeatedly over a long period of time, for the blessings that they wanted , (and because they were righteous desires) the Lord had compassion on them and blessed them with what they asked for. He promised to lead them to a choice land. (see Ether 1:33-43)
After they received the Lord's promise, they didn't just sit back and relax, figuring the Lord would take care of them. They got to work. They collected flocks and birds and fish and bees and seeds (I wonder if they felt a bit like Noah) and then built barges and crossed waters and then traveled over land until they came to the edge of the great waters. (Ether 2:1-6,13)
After this great journey, the people relaxed for a while. For four years they lived in their tents on the sea shore. They had reached a plateau, and they were comfortable there, and perhaps they forgot that they hadn't yet reached their destination. Maybe they thought that this was the promised land the Lord had promised to give them. At any rate, they forgot to pray, to ask what the Lord wanted them to do. And apparently the Lord didn't like that very much because he came to the brother of Jared and chastised him for three hours for not praying! (I'm sure the Lord was very loving about it, but three hours seems like a terribly long time for a chastisement!) (Ether 2:14-15)
After receiving his chastisement and repenting, the brother of Jared got to work again, building more barges. (Perhaps the barges they had built before were in preparation for these?) Apparently, he some problems this time that he hadn't had before: there was no light, and no air in the barges. In response, the Lord gave him one answer as a freebie: cut a hole in the top and the bottom to let in air when it gets stuffy. If the water starts pouring in, shut it up again! (Ether 2:16-21)
The second problem required a little more effort to solve. Perhaps the Lord knew that there was no easy and familiar way for Jared and his people to have light. Fires would suffocate them and probably burn, if not the ship, all their stuff, as they tossed in the waves. Windows would be broken in pieces. The solution would require a lot of work, and even more faith. What they needed was a miracle. Luckily, the brother of Jared was a man of tremendous faith, who was willing to work. He melted and shaped rock until he formed sixteen transparent stones. (I wonder what kind of rock that was that would melt and become transparent?) Having done all the work that he could, he then went to the Lord and asked for a miracle: that He would touch the stones and make them shine. Because of the brother of Jared's great faith, he not only received the miracle he asked for, but he also saw the Lord's finger and was shown many other great things. (Ether 2:23-3:18)With both light and air in their barges, the people were ready to cross the ocean, and as they traveled in those barges for almost an entire year, they didn't make merry and dance and sing as some of Lehi's sons did when making a similar journey, but they sang praises and gave thanks to the Lord day and night. They didn't forget in who's hand they were cradled. They didn't forget who was guiding them to the land of promise.
At the close of the lesson, our instructor showed us a General Conference talk that was given by Elder Neil A Maxwell in April 1988 entitled, "Put Your Shoulder to the Wheel." I highly recommend that you read or listen to it. It was a great talk. A couple things he said that I particularly liked: "Knowing how to work will give you an edge in life, and experience with excellence—a special edge!" and "Work is always a spiritual necessity even if, for some, work is not an economic necessity."
So go to work. Ask the Lord what he wants you to be doing. Remember that "faith, if it hath not works, is dead." (see James 2:17)
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