# Ether 2

*Simple English*

### The Journey Begins

Jared and his brother and their families went down into a valley to the north. The valley was called Nimrod, named after a great hunter. Jared’s friends and their families also went with them. They brought all their animals with them, both male and female. They set traps to catch birds. They also made a container to carry fish from the waters. They also carried deseret with them. Deseret means honey bee. So they brought swarms of bees and all kinds of seeds from the land.

When they came down into the valley of Nimrod, the Lord came down and talked with Jared’s brother. The Lord was in a cloud. Jared’s brother could not see him. The Lord told them to go into the wilderness. They were to go to a place where no one had ever been. The Lord went before them. He stood in a cloud and talked with them. He told them which way to travel. They traveled in the wilderness. They built boats. They crossed many waters in these boats. The Lord kept leading them the whole time.

### The Promised Land

The Lord would not let them stop in the wilderness beyond the sea. He wanted them to reach the promised land. This land was the best of all lands. The Lord God had saved it for good people. The Lord made a promise to Jared’s brother when he was angry. He said whoever lives in this promised land must serve him, the one true God. If they don’t, they will be destroyed when God’s full anger comes. Now we can see God’s rules about this land. It is a promised land. Any nation that lives here must serve God. If they don’t, they will be destroyed when God’s full anger comes. God’s full anger comes when they are really bad. This is a land that is the best of all lands. So whoever lives here must serve God or be destroyed. This is God’s rule forever. People are only destroyed when they have become really bad. This message comes to you who are not God’s people. It comes so you may know God’s rules. You should stop doing wrong things. Don’t keep sinning until you become really bad. Then you won’t bring God’s full anger on yourselves like the people who lived here before. This is a special land. Any nation that lives here will be free from slavery and control by other nations. They just have to serve the God of the land. The God of this land is Jesus Christ. This has been shown by the things we have written.

### By the Great Sea

Now I continue with my story. The Lord brought Jared and his brothers to the great sea that divides the lands. When they came to the sea, they set up their tents. They called the place Moriancumer. They lived in tents by the sea for four years.

At the end of four years, the Lord came again to Jared’s brother. He stood in a cloud and talked with him. The Lord talked with Jared’s brother for three hours. He corrected him because he had not prayed to the Lord. Jared’s brother felt sorry for the wrong he had done. He prayed to the Lord for his brothers who were with him. The Lord said to him: “I will forgive you and your brothers for your sins. But don’t sin anymore. Remember that my Spirit will not always work with people. So if you keep sinning until you are really bad, you will be cut off from me. These are my thoughts about the land I will give you. It will be a land that is better than all other lands.”

### Building the Boats

The Lord said: “Go to work and build boats like the ones you built before.” So Jared’s brother went to work. His brothers did too. They built boats the way they had built them before, following the Lord’s instructions. The boats were small and light on the water. They were as light as a bird on the water. They were built so they were very tight. They would hold water like a dish. The bottom was tight like a dish. The sides were tight like a dish. The ends were pointed. The top was tight like a dish. They were as long as a tree. When the door was shut, it was tight like a dish.

Jared’s brother cried out to the Lord. He said: “O Lord, I have done the work you told me to do. I have made the boats the way you told me. Lord, there is no light in them. How will we steer? We will die because we can’t breathe. The only air in them is what’s already there. So we will die.”

The Lord said to Jared’s brother: “Make a hole in the top and in the bottom. When you need air, open the hole and get air. If water comes in, close the hole so you don’t die in the flood.”

Jared’s brother did what the Lord told him.

### The Problem of Light

He cried out to the Lord again. He said: “O Lord, I have done what you told me. I have made the boats ready for my people. But there is no light in them. Lord, will you let us cross this great water in darkness?”

The Lord said to Jared’s brother: “What do you want me to do to give you light in your boats? You can’t have windows. They will break into pieces. You can’t take fire with you. You won’t travel by the light of fire. You will be like a whale in the middle of the sea. Giant waves will crash on you. But I will bring you up again from the deep sea. The winds have come from my mouth. I have also sent the rains and the floods. I am getting you ready for these things. You can’t cross this great deep ocean unless I get you ready for the waves of the sea and the winds and the floods that will come. So what do you want me to get ready for you? How will you have light when you are deep in the sea?”

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*Source: [The Book of Mormon](https://bookofmormon.com/simple/ether/2)*
