Seeing Ether 3 with New Eyes

Some scriptures feel familiar every time we read them — until one morning when they suddenly meet us in a new place. Ether 3 did that for me again today.

“Evil Continually”? Really?

Ether 3:2 includes the phrase:
“…we are unworthy before thee; because of the fall our natures have become evil continually.”

I paused.
Even after repentance? I’m still evil continually?

It made me think of why prophets remind us to pray always. Not because we’re hopeless, but because our fallen nature constantly tugs us off course, and staying connected to heaven keeps pulling us back.

 

Fearful… or Filled With Joy?

In verse 6, the brother of Jared sees the finger of the Lord and is struck with fear. That reaction surprised me a little. Would I be afraid?

I remembered the first time I felt the Spirit so powerfully that I couldn’t stop smiling. My steps were light, my whole soul lifted, and I literally hugged myself because the joy was overflowing. In a moment like that, fear would feel far away. I imagine that if I had seen the Lord’s finger during that stage of my life, I’d be more thrilled than terrified.

 

The Gift of Knowing Their Character

We are blessed in a way earlier peoples weren’t. We have the Book of Mormon — a whole record that teaches us the true nature of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. We know They don’t appear simply to condemn or punish. If we are sincerely trying, They guide, lift, and forgive.

Our faith is nourished by stories of prophets who walked their paths without the benefit of our scriptures. What a gift we have in their experiences.

 

Growing Confidence Before the Lord

In verse 10, once the brother of Jared realizes the Lord isn’t going to smite him, he finds the courage to ask for more. His confidence grows not from pride but from trust.

Then verse 13 says:
“Because thou knowest these things ye are redeemed from the fall… therefore I show myself unto you.”

What did he “know”?

• He knew God and Christ were real beings with bodies like his.
• He knew They cared enough to help him, but also expected him to think, plan, and act.
• He knew They honored sincere effort even in imperfection.

A lot of this came gradually, not all at once. Weren't their language being preserved and the promise of a new land faith-building experiences along the way?

 

The Weight of Sacred Silence

Verse 21 fascinates me every time. The brother of Jared is commanded not to tell anyone he had seen the Lord. Can you imagine carrying something so sacred — and so astonishing — in absolute silence? What a heavy, holy responsibility.

But verse 22 brings peace: the promise that what he writes will one day matter.

 

A Small Insight from My Journal

I scribbled a note to myself as I studied:
I see this differently today. Write them.

I write a great deal in my journal, and much of it won’t be read until after I’m gone. Some writing is meant for the future — and some is meant for the soul right now.

Maybe that was true for the brother of Jared too. His writing served two purposes:

1. To create a sacred record of an unbelievable, intimate encounter with the Lord.
2. To give him a way to process the experience — to hold it, honor it, and heal through it.

That thought made the whole chapter unfold in a new way for me.

 

Closing Thought

Ether 3 isn’t just a story about a remarkable man seeing the Lord. It’s a story about how faith develops, how heavenly confidence grows, and how writing — quietly, privately — can become a bridge between earth and heaven.

And oh, how blessed we are that his record, written in obedience and silence, eventually found its way into our hands.