Faith

This week, I have been studying Ether in The Book of Mormon. This is one of my favorite books in The Book of Mormon because I like the simpleness of the way the Lord helps and speaks to the bother of Jared when they are building the barges to cross the seas to the promised land. This time as I was reading and studying this book, I realized that the theme of the book of Ether is faith (or at least it seemed that way to me).
In chapter 1, Jared and his brother are in the midst of wickedness and the Lord is confounding the language of the people due to this wickedness. Jared goes to his brother and says, "Cry unto the Lord that he will not confound us..." (verse 34). When this is granted, Jared says, "Cry unto the Lord and it may be that he will turn away his anger from them who are our friends, that he confound not there language." (verse 36) Once again the Lord helped them. Then in verse 38 it says, "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 the 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." At this point they were directed to gather everything and go down to the valley.
Now, I want to skip to chapter 3. At this point, barges have been built to help the people cross the seas. The brother of Jared is looking for a way to light the barges. They can't use windows,and the barges have to be kept tight to keep the water our. Under the direction of the Lord they have done what I picture in my head as some kind of cork system on the top and bottom to allow air in as needed. The brother of Jared has been directed to come up with a solution to light the boats. He goes up the mountain and makes some clear stones. He then goes to the Lord and says, "...O lord, look upon me in pity, an turn away thine anger from this they people, and suffer not that they shall go forth across this raging deep in darkness; but behold these things with I have molten out of the rock. And I know, O lord, that thou hast all power, and can do whatsoever thou wilt for the benefit of man; therefore touch these stones, O Lord, with thy finger, and prepare them that they may shine forth in the darkness; and they shall shine forth unto us int he vessels which we have prepared, that we may have light while we shall cross the sea." (verses 3-4) Because of his faith, he received a miracle in verse 6. "And it came to pass that when the brother of Jared had said these words, behold, the Lord stretched forth his hand and touched the stones one by one with his finger. And the veil was taken from off the eyes of the brother of Jared, and he say the finger of the Lord; and it was the finger of a man, like unto flesh and blood; and the brother of Jared fell down before the Lord, for he was struck with fear."
Let's skip to chapter 12. There have been wars and many secret combinations and great destruction. The prophet Ether is preaching to the people. "For he did cry from the morning, even until the going down of the sund, exhorting the people to believe in God unto repentance lest they should be destroyed, saying unto them that by faith all things are fulfilled-Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope fro a better world, yea even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God." (verses 3-4) Later he testifies in verse 12, "For if there be no faith among the children of men God can do no miracle among them..."
In "Mountains to Climb-Gaining Power to Overcome Challenges of Life," we are told that a particle of faith is precious and should be protected. If the foundation of faith is not in our hearts, our faith will crumble. We are promised that with faith, the hardest and easiest of times can be a blessing, and we can feel the love of God.
The Mormon Message titled "Testimony of The Book of Mormon." In this video, Jeffrey R. Holland testifies of the truthfulness of The Book of Mormon. He points out that his this was a made up church and book, they would not have died testifying of its divinity. He points out that we should treasure up the word of the Lord. By doing this our heart and faith will not fail us.
I have learned a lot about faith this week. If we pray for help, the Lord will bless us. If we hold our faith close and make it our foundation, we will not fail.