Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Tight Like Unto a Dish

In the opening chapters of Ether, we are introduced to Jared and his brother (aptly referred to as the brother of Jared). The brother of Jared communes with the Lord, and is told to build barges. This brings up many questions: how many? how? how will we breath? how will we see? All valid questions, and all answered by the Lord.
In construction of the ships, the Lord lays out the exact designs, "and they were built after a manner that they were exceedingly tight, even that they would hold water like unto a dish; and the bottom thereof was tight like unto a dish; and the sides thereof were tight like unto a dish; and the ends thereof were peaked; and the top thereof was tight like unto a dish; and the length thereof was the length of a tree; and the door thereof, when it was shut, was tight like unto a dish." (Ether 2:17). In being tight like unto a dish, the barges were sealed against the water, so there was no worry of them filling and everyone sinking, which would be bad. They know it will be tight because these were the designs given to them by the Lord. Now, the issue of them being tight like unto a dish did present one problem, the problem of air supply. If it's airtight, then no more air can come in, and once the air in the barge is gone, they'll all suffocate. This is pretty simply solved, the Lord instructs the brother of Jared to simply put a hole with a stopper to allow air in, then stopper again when water starts coming in.
I'd like to focus on "tight like unto a dish". This is said many times in the verse in description of the barges. Everything, the top, bottom, side, and door are all tight like unto a dish. What does that mean for us? The benefit for the barges was that it would for sure keep out all the water. That was the main danger being presented to them (that and sea monsters), and what they worried most about. We're just going to set off on this grand voyage in these big wooden barges, in the wide open sea, with absolutely no knowledge of where we'll be or where we're going? We'll drown! But, thanks to the Lord's instructions, that didn't happen. We can seal ourselves. We can make ourselves tight like unto a dish the same way the brother of Jared did with his barges. By following the Lord's instructions and doing as He says, we protect ourselves from the dangers that surround us and want to get in and drown us. As we make our lives tight like unto a dish, we are better able to avoid/resist temptations, and keep ourselves afloat, guided by the Lord, towards that promised land. And all the while, the Lord will provide us with air to breath, and light to see. Are you tight like unto a dish?

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