3 For he [Ether] did cry from the morning, even until the going down of
the sun, exhorting the people to believe in God unto repentance lest they
should be destroyed, saying unto them that by faith all things are fulfilled—
4 Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety
hope for 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.
5 And it came to pass that Ether did prophesy great
and marvelous things unto the people, which they did not believe, because they
saw them not. (Ether 12:3-5)
2 For
behold, they rejected all the words of Ether; for he truly told them of all
things, from the beginning of man; and that after the waters had receded from
off the face of this land it became a choice land above all other lands, a
chosen land of the Lord; wherefore the Lord would have that all men should
serve him who dwell upon the face thereof;
3 And
that it was the place of the New Jerusalem, which should come down out of
heaven, and the holy sanctuary of the Lord.
4 Behold,
Ether saw the days of Christ, and he spake concerning a New Jerusalem upon this
land.
5 And
he spake also concerning the house of Israel, and the Jerusalem from whence
Lehi should come—after it should be destroyed it should be built up again, a
holy city unto the Lord; wherefore, it could not be a new Jerusalem for it had
been in a time of old; but it should be built up again, and become a holy city
of the Lord; and it should be built unto the house of Israel—
6 And
that a New Jerusalem should be built up upon this land, unto the remnant of the
seed of Joseph, for which things there has been a type.
7 For
as Joseph brought his father down into the land of Egypt, even so he died
there; wherefore, the Lord brought a remnant of the seed of Joseph out of the
land of Jerusalem, that he might be merciful unto the seed of Joseph that they
should perish not, even as he was merciful unto the father of Joseph that he
should perish not.
8 Wherefore,
the remnant of the house of Joseph shall be built upon this land; and it shall
be a land of their inheritance; and they shall build up a holy city unto the
Lord, like unto the Jerusalem of old; and they shall no more be confounded,
until the end come when the earth shall pass away.
9 And
there shall be a new heaven and a new earth; and they shall be like unto the
old save the old have passed away, and all things have become new.
10 And
then cometh the New Jerusalem; and blessed are they who dwell therein, for it
is they whose garments are white through the blood of the Lamb; and they are
they who are numbered among the remnant of the seed of Joseph, who were of the
house of Israel.
11 And
then also cometh the Jerusalem of old; and the inhabitants thereof, blessed are
they, for they have been washed in the blood of the Lamb; and they are they who
were scattered and gathered in from the four quarters of the earth, and from
the north countries, and are partakers of the fulfilling of the covenant which
God made with their father, Abraham.
12 And
when these things come, bringeth to pass the scripture which saith, there are
they who were first, who shall be last; and there are they who were last, who
shall be first. (Ether 13:2-13)
In these verses we find out
several interesting things. We
find out that Ether prophesied to the Jaredites to believe in God unto
repentance and that their land was a choice land given for the purpose of serving
God and it would someday be the place of the New Jerusalem that would come down
out of heaven and the new Jerusalem that would be built up by the remnant of
Joseph.
It seems Ether told the
Jaredites all about the house of Israel, about Joseph in Egypt and about
Jerusalem. Moroni gives us a very
basic summary of the things Ether prophesied and it is with satisfaction that
we can see that those parts were verified. But a significant part of it is still in the future for us
too.
From a strictly existential point
of view, Ether’s prophecies were incomprehensible to the Jaredites, since most
of it concerned people they didn’t know in a land they would never see during
their lives, in times far past and far to come. To them, it would seem like Ether’s prophecies had no bearing
on practical living. His words
would seem unverifiable.
However, if we look closely,
we can see that those prophecies did
have a practical purpose The words
Ether shared about the building up of the holy city and the coming of the New
Jerusalem from heaven upon the Jaredite lands was set before them as the
promise of a better world for which they could prepare themselves.
Wherefore,
whoso believeth in God might with surety
hope for 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. (Ether 12:4, emphasis added)
It
was sad that the Jaredites did not believe these things because they did not
see them (Ether 12:5), and the sad irony is that if they had seen them, they
would not have been prepared for them.
Even
if the New Jerusalem was not something they would see during the Jaredite time
in mortality, the time would come when all the righteous would be resurrected
and live together with God, and in order to be part of that, they would have to
prepare now.
How
does this apply to us today? In
the same way as it did to the Jaredites.
We have to prepare now to be part of that better world.
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