ETHER 3:1

“And it came to pass that the brother of Jared, (now the number of the vessels which had been prepared was eight) went forth unto the mount, which they called the mount Shelem, because of its exceeding height, and did molten out of a rock sixteen small stones; and they were white and clear, even as transparent glass; and he did carry them in his hands upon the top of the mount, and cried again unto the Lord, saying:”

Originally, this scripture meant little to me. I merely saw it as background information for the story that was soon to follow but discussing it in class this past week opened my eyes to its profound meaning. As the scripture mentions, the brother of Jared molted out sixteen round rocks that were white, and as clear as transparent glass. He did all he could in order to make them as beautiful as possible. Brother Griffin built on this idea and pointed out a principle that I really loved. He made the comment that our very best effort isn’t going to shine, no matter what we do, our work alone will never be enough.

This principle that this scripture teaches about relying on God is very important and I think often times overlooked. we can do the best we possibly can but in order to make things reach their potential, we need to ask God for help. Similar to the beautifully made stones, our works will never “shine” if we do not ask God to help us.

I can definitely work on this principle in my own life. I become so independent in my actions that I am hesitant to ask God for help. I need to remember that in order for my actions to achieve what they are capable of achieving I need God’s help. God not only wants us to ask him for help, he expects it. He expects all of us to become great so he is willing to help us achieve what we need to achieve.