Ether 3:2
1830 Edition
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.
Changes
Simple English
'Lord, you said we must cross the ocean. Please don’t be angry with me because I am weak. We know you are holy. You live in heaven. We are not worthy to be with you. Because of the fall, we always want to do wrong. But you told us to pray to you. You give us what we ask for.'
Paraphrase
'Lord, you’ve told us we have to cross these floodwaters. Please don’t be angry with me for my weakness. I know you’re holy and live in heaven, and we’re not worthy to stand before you. Ever since the fall, our nature has been bent toward evil. But you’ve commanded us to call on you, so we can receive what we need.'
Notes
From an Latter-day Saint perspective, this verse can be seen as supporting the idea that God employs stones as instruments for revealing and guiding His people in miraculous ways. From a critical viewpoint, however, it is one of several passages in the Book of Mormon that appear to echo elements of Joseph Smith’s reported involvement with folk or occult practices. In that light, passages such as Ether 3:1–4, Ether 3:24, and Alma 37:23 may be viewed as paralleling his use of seer stones during the translation of the Book of Mormon. Similarly, the concept of “slipping” or “sinking” treasure due to curses—an idea associated with Joseph Smith’s milieu—is also reflected in Helaman 13:31–35.
The October 2015 issue of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints magazine Ensign includes a photograph of the seer stone and explains, "In fact, historical evidence shows that in addition to the two seer stones known as 'interpreters,' Joseph Smith used at least one other seer stone in translating the Book of Mormon, often placing it into a hat in order to block out light. According to Joseph's contemporaries, he did this in order to better view the words on the stone.... according to Martin Harris, Joseph also used one of his seer stones for convenience during the Book of Mormon translation. Other sources corroborate Joseph's changing translation instruments." —“Joseph the Seer,” Ensign, October 2015, 53.
“There was a company there in that neighborhood, who were digging for money supposed to have been hidden by the ancients… They dug for money in Palmyra, Manchester, also in Pennsylvania, and other places. When Joseph found this stone, there was a company digging in Harmony, PA., and they took Joseph to look in the stone for them, and he did so for a while, and then he told them the enchantment was so strong that he could not see, and they gave it up.” (Joel Tiffany, “Interview with Martin Harris,” Tiffany’s Monthly, August 1859).
“In frontier America, seer stones or “peep stones” were commonly used by lost object finders, people engaged in the widespread practice of lost treasure digging, and sometimes by people seeking to uncover the kind of truths we might call a private or police detective for today. It is unclear how much of this kind of activity Joseph Smith was involved in, except for water divining and treasure digging, which are widely attested.” -Eric A. Eliason, BYU Studies Quarterly, Vol.55, No.1, 2016.