# Ether 3

*Paraphrase*

### Sixteen Stones on the Mountain

The brother of Jared climbed the mountain they called Shelem—named for how high it stood. He’d prepared eight vessels for the journey, and now he carried sixteen small stones up with him. He’d melted them from rock until they were white and clear as glass. At the top of the mountain, he cried out to the Lord:

“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. You struck us down because of our sins and drove us out. We’ve been wandering in the wilderness for years now. But you’ve been merciful to us. Lord, look at me with compassion. Turn your anger away from your people. Don’t make them cross this raging ocean in darkness. Look at these stones I’ve melted from the rock. I know you have all power. You can do whatever you want for our good. So touch these stones with your finger and prepare them to shine in the darkness. Let them give us light in the vessels we’ve made, so we can see as we cross the sea. You can do this. We know you’re able to show great power—power that seems small to us because we don’t understand.”

### The Lord’s Finger

When the brother of Jared finished speaking, the Lord reached out his hand and touched the stones, one by one, with his finger. In that moment, the veil was pulled back from the brother of Jared’s eyes. He saw the Lord’s finger—and it looked like a human finger, with flesh and blood. He fell to the ground, overcome with fear.

The Lord saw him lying there and said, “Get up. Why have you fallen?”

He answered, “I saw your finger, and I was afraid you might strike me down. I didn’t know you had flesh and blood.”

The Lord said, “Because of your faith, you’ve seen that I will take on flesh and blood. No one has ever come before me with faith as great as yours. If they had, they would have seen my finger too. Did you see more than this?”

He answered, “No, Lord. Show yourself to me.”

The Lord said, “Will you believe the words I’m about to speak?”

He answered, “Yes, Lord. I know you speak the truth. You’re a God of truth—you can’t lie.”

### Jesus Reveals Himself

Then the Lord revealed himself and said, “Because you know these things, you’re redeemed from the fall. You’re brought back into my presence. That’s why I’m showing myself to you.”

“I’m the one who was prepared from the foundation of the world to save my people. I am Jesus Christ. I am the Father and the Son. In me, all people will have light forever—everyone who believes in my name. They’ll become my sons and daughters.”

“I’ve never shown myself to anyone I’ve created, because no one has believed in me the way you have. Do you see that you’re created in my image? All people were created in my image from the beginning.”

“This body you’re looking at now is my spiritual body. I created people to look like my spiritual body. Just as I’m appearing to you in the spirit, I will appear to my people in the flesh.”

### Moroni’s Commentary

Now I, Moroni, can’t give a full account of everything written here, so I’ll just say this: Jesus showed himself to this man in the spirit—in the same form and likeness he would later show himself to the Nephites.

He ministered to him just as he ministered to the Nephites. Through all the great works the Lord showed him, this man came to know he was God.

Because of what he knew, he couldn’t be kept from seeing beyond the veil. When he saw the finger of Jesus, he fell down in fear—because he knew it was the Lord’s finger. His faith turned into something more—he knew, without any doubt.

With this perfect knowledge of God, nothing could keep him from seeing beyond the veil. So he saw Jesus, and Jesus ministered to him.

### Sealed Until the Proper Time

Then the Lord said to the brother of Jared, “Don’t let what you’ve seen and heard go out into the world until the time comes when I glorify my name in the flesh. Keep these things to yourself. Don’t show them to anyone.”

“When you come to me, write these things down and seal them up so no one can interpret them. Write them in a language that can’t be read.”

“I’m giving you these two stones. Seal them up along with the things you write.”

“I’ve made the language you’ll write in impossible to understand. But in my own time, I’ll make these stones work like magnifying glasses, so people can read what you’ve written.”

### A Vision of All Things

After the Lord said this, he showed the brother of Jared all the people who had ever lived on earth, and all who would live. The Lord held nothing back from his sight—not even to the ends of the earth.

The Lord had told him before: if he would believe, the Lord could show him everything. And so the Lord couldn’t hold anything back from him, because this man knew the Lord could show him all things.

The Lord said, “Write these things down and seal them up. In my own time, I’ll reveal them to the world.”

Then the Lord commanded him to seal up the two stones he’d received and not show them to anyone until the Lord would reveal them to the world.

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*Source: [The Book of Mormon](https://bookofmormon.com/paraphrase/ether/3)*
