I, the Lord, am bound...

Today I read Ether chapter 2. It is easy to skim past the first half of the chapter and focus on the Brother of Jared's dilemma and how he approached Christ for help. Although I love that part of this chapter, I was struck this morning with the first half of the chapter.

If you remember correctly, in Ether 1, the Lord commands the Brother of Jared, Jared, their families, and their friends to travel "into the valley that is northward." (Ether 1: 42) After that commandment, the Lord promises the Brother of Jared two things: that the Lord will meet them there and that the lord will go before them into a land which is choice above all other lands. (Ether 1:42) When reading those promises, it is amazing to see the blessings that Christ promises if obedient.

At the start of chapter 2, the Brother of Jared and the rest of the group keep Christ's commandment and travel to the valley northward. In verse 4, we see that as soon as they fulfilled the commandment Christ had given them, "the Lord came down and talked with the brother of Jared." Christ literally fulfilled his promise to the brother of Jared and "met" him in the valley northward. In our lives we are promised many things through the scriptures, the prophets, patriarchal blessings, and direct inspiration that seem impossible. We have to take the promises that we are given at face value, because that is how they are intended to be received. If Heavenly Father meant something else, He would have said something else. If I were in the brother of Jared's shoes and the Lord promised me that He would meet me somewhere, I would have faith that he would fulfill His promises, but I wouldn't have thought that in all actuality Christ would meet me there, but that is exactly what He did. He literally met the brother of Jared in the valley like he promised.

Furthermore, the Lord commanded the brother of Jared to "go forth into the wilderness." (v. 5) In other words, the Lord gave them another commandment, and He then fulfilled the next promise He made to the brother of Jared in chapter 1. It was on their travels further into the wilderness that the lord "continually" directed them. (v. 6) We can't think that just because we "met" the Lord in the valley that we are through. The Lord will then give more commandments to see if we are willing to follow. If we are willing, the Lord will "continually" direct us. It is interesting that the Lord didn't continually direct this group on their journey to the valley northward, but once they fulfilled that commandment, they were worthy of his guidance the rest of the way (granted, as long as they stay faithful). The only thing they had to rely on were the promises that the Lord gave them before they started their journey. In this life, how often are we left at the start of a journey with just the promises that everything will be okay? It happens all the time. Very rarely do we know exactly what is going to happen. I think Heavenly Father likes it that way. He wants to know if we are willing to follow Him, "not knowing before hand the things which [we] should do." (1 Ne. 4:6) As soon as we start on the journey, Heavenly Father will give us signs that we are on the right path (e.g., the Lord placing Labon in Nephi's path or "meeting" the brother of Jared in the valley). In some people's minds those might be "coincidences" but to the believer in Christ, those are signs that we are doing what is right. Our job is to start on the path, fully relying on the promises that we have been given. We will then receive the promised blessings and the needed guidance to help us fulfill all that is asked of us. It is my prayer that we, starting today, will have the faith to take the first step and rely on the Lord.