# Ether 3

*Simple English*

### The Brother of Jared Makes Stones

The brother of Jared had prepared eight boats. He went up to a mountain they called Shelem because it was very high. He melted rock and made sixteen small stones. They were white and clear like glass. He carried them in his hands to the top of the mountain. He cried out to the Lord and said: “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. You punished us because we did wrong. You made us leave. We have been traveling for many years. But you have been kind to us. Lord, please feel sorry for me. Don’t be angry at your people anymore. Don’t let them cross this big ocean in darkness. Look at these things I made from the rock. I know you have all power. You can do anything to help people. Please touch these stones with your finger. Make them ready to shine in the dark. They will give us light in our boats when we cross the sea. Lord, you can do this. We know you can show great power. What seems small to people is great to you.”

### The Lord Touches the Stones

When the brother of Jared finished speaking, the Lord reached out his hand. He touched the stones one by one with his finger. The brother of Jared could see things he couldn’t see before. He saw the Lord’s finger. It looked like a man’s finger with flesh and blood. The brother of Jared fell down because he was scared.

The Lord saw that the brother of Jared had fallen to the ground. The Lord said to him: “Get up. Why did you fall?” He said to the Lord: “I saw your finger. I was afraid you might hurt me. I didn’t know you had flesh and blood.” The Lord said to him: “Because you believed, you saw that I will have flesh and blood. No one has ever believed in me as much as you have. If they hadn’t believed this much, they couldn’t have seen my finger. Did you see more than this?” He answered: “No, Lord. Please show yourself to me.” The Lord said to him: “Do you believe the words I will speak?” He answered: “Yes, Lord. I know you speak the truth. You are a God of truth. You cannot lie.”

### Jesus Shows Himself

When he said this, the Lord showed himself to him. The Lord said: “Because you know these things, you are saved from the fall. You are brought back to be with me. That’s why I show myself to you. I am the one who was prepared from the beginning 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. This is for everyone who believes in my name. They will become my sons and daughters. I have never shown myself to anyone I created. No one has ever believed in me like you have. Do you see that you were created to look like me? Yes, all people were created in the beginning to look like me. This body you see now is my spirit body. I created people to look like my spirit body. I appear to you in the spirit now. Later I will appear to my people in the flesh.”

### Moroni Explains What Happened

I, Moroni, cannot write everything about these things. So I will just say this: Jesus showed himself to this man in the spirit. He looked the same way he looked when he showed himself to the Nephites. Jesus taught him just like he taught the Nephites. The Lord did many great things for this man. This is how the man knew he was God. Because the man knew so much, he could see things that were hidden. He saw the finger of Jesus. When he saw it, he fell down because he was scared. He knew it was the Lord’s finger. He didn’t just believe anymore. He knew for sure. Because he knew God perfectly, he could see things that were hidden. So he saw Jesus. Jesus taught him.

### The Lord Tells Him to Keep It Secret

The Lord said to the brother of Jared: “Don’t let these things you have seen and heard go out to the world yet. Wait until the time comes when I will show my glory in the flesh. Keep these things you have seen and heard. Don’t show them to anyone. When you come to me, write these things down. Seal them up so no one can read them. You will write them in a language that people cannot read. I will give you these two stones. Seal them up too with the things you write. I have mixed up the language you will write in. When it’s the right time, I will make these stones make things bigger to people’s eyes. Then they can read what you write.”

### The Lord Shows Him All Things

After the Lord said this, he showed the brother of Jared everyone who had lived on earth. He also showed him everyone who would live. The Lord didn’t hide anything from him. He showed him everything to the ends of the earth. The Lord had told him before: “If you believe in me, I can show you all things.” So the Lord couldn’t hide anything from him. The brother of Jared knew the Lord could show him everything. The Lord said to him: “Write these things and seal them up. I will show them to people when the time is right.” The Lord told him to seal up the two stones he had received. He should not show them until the Lord showed them to people.

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