Hey everybody!
This has been a really fast week, so sorry if this email is a short one. It's just gone by really fast, I just realized that I haven't even taken any pictures this week... Holy Cow.
Well, I will talk about some stuff that I've been studying. So I'm almost finished with the Book of Mormon in Dutch. It is a goal I've had my whole mission, and I've started, stopped, started, stopped.. yep you get the idea. Well THIS time I was determined to finish it before my last transfer, and I will. I just read through the Book of Ether this week.
As I was reading in the Book of Ether in Chapter 3, something stuck out to me that I hadn't noticed before.
1 And it came to pass that the brother of Jared, (now the number of the vessels which had been prepared was eight) went forth unto the mount, which they called the mount Shelem, because of its exceeding height, and did molten out of a rock sixteen small stones; and they were white and clear, even as transparent glass; and he did carry them in his hands upon the top of the mount, and cried again unto the Lord, saying:
2 O Lord, thou hast said that we must be encompassed about by the floods. Now behold, O Lord, and do not be angry with thy servant because of his weakness before thee; for we know that thou art holy and dwellest in the heavens, and that we are unworthy before thee; because of the fall our natures have become evil continually; nevertheless, O Lord, thou hast given us a commandment that we must call upon thee, that from thee we may receive according to our desires.
3 Behold, O Lord, thou hast smitten us because of our iniquity, and hast driven us forth, and for these many years we have been in the wilderness; nevertheless, thou hast been merciful unto us. O Lord, look upon me in pity, and turn away thine anger from this thy people, and suffer not that they shall go forth across this raging deep in darkness; but behold these things which I have molten out of the rock.
4 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 darkness; and they shall shine forth unto us in the vessels which we have prepared, that we may have light while we shall cross the sea.
5 Behold, O Lord, thou canst do this. We know that thou art able to show forth great power, which looks small unto the understanding of men.
What I had never noticed before is the fact that the brother of Jared goes to the exceedingly high mountain BEFORE he melts out the stones. I had always pictured in my head that he melts out the stones and then takes them to the mountain. Of course the mountain symbolizes the temple, so I think it's a very powerful lesson, that not only can we go to the temple to come closer to the Lord, but also, we can work on our problems there and receive that extra help.
Of course we can't always bring all of our problems to the temple, but I think it also shows the importance of keeping the Lord close in our lives, especially when we are facing challenges. The brother of Jared didn't receive the task of solving the problem of light and then leave and try to figure it out on his own. He knew that on the mountain he was "closer" to the Lord. He kept him close. I think this is a good pattern we can follow in our own lives. Keep the Lord close.
I love you guys! Sorry there weren't any pictures. I believe that there was one taken at a dinner appointment, so I'll throw that one on here.
E. M.
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