This week I studied the Book of Ether. It is a short book in the Book of Mormon that tells the history of a group of people called the Jaredites at the time of the Tower of Babel. As I studied I thought a lot about prayer.
The brother of Jared was a prophet and he often offered prayers on behalf of his people. His prayers were heartfelt, and were heard and answered by our loving Heavenly Father. In Ether 1:33-43, we read:
33 Which Jared came forth with his brother and their families, with some others and their families, from the great tower, at the time the Lord confounded the language of the people, and swore in his wrath that they should be scattered upon all the face of the earth; and according to the word of the Lord the people were scattered.
34 And the brother of Jared being a large and mighty man, and a man highly favored of the Lord, Jared, his brother, said unto him: Cry unto the Lord, that he will not confound us that we may not understand our words.
35 And it came to pass that the brother of Jared did cry unto the Lord, and the Lord had compassion upon Jared; therefore he did not confound the language of Jared; and Jared and his brother were not confounded.
36 Then Jared said unto his brother: Cry again unto the Lord, and it may be that he will turn away his anger from them who are our friends, that he confound not their language.
37 And it came to pass that the brother of Jared did cry unto the Lord, and the Lord had compassion upon their friends and their families also, that they were not confounded.
38 And it came to pass that Jared spake again unto his brother, saying: Go and inquire of the Lord whether he will drive us out of the land, and if he will drive us out of the land, cry unto him whither we shall go. And who knoweth but the Lord will carry us forth into a land which is choice above all the earth? And if it so be, let us be faithful unto the Lord, that we may receive it for our inheritance.
39 And it came to pass that the brother of Jared did cry unto the Lord according to that which had been spoken by the mouth of Jared.
40 And it came to pass that the Lord did hear the brother of Jared, and had compassion upon him, and said unto him:
41 Go to and gather together thy flocks, both male and female, of every kind; and also of the seed of the earth of every kind; and thy families; and also Jared thy brother and his family; and also thy friends and their families, and the friends of Jared and their families.
42 And when thou hast done this thou shalt go at the head of them down into the valley which is northward. And there will I meet thee, and I will go before thee into a land which is choice above all the lands of the earth.
43 And there will I bless thee and thy seed, and raise up unto me of thy seed, and of the seed of thy brother, and they who shall go with thee, a great nation. And there shall be none greater than the nation which I will raise up unto me of thy seed, upon all the face of the earth. And thus I will do unto thee because this long time ye have cried unto me.
I love the last sentence in verse 43. The brother of Jared and his people were blessed specifically because of their prayers. I am currently serving in my ward's Relief Society presidency and we had a ward split 2 weeks ago. Due to all the changes we didn't have any teachers for our Sunday lesson, so I was to teach. I had a very busy week-many of my school assignments were due, my 6 children were on spring break, and I had responsibilities and tasks to complete in my home, work and church
duties. I thought it would be a great idea to read the lesson I was to teach on Monday and then think about it all week in preparation to teach on the following Sunday. I did that, and pondered the subject matter all week. The lesson I prepared was on Adversity.
On Saturday evening, I hosted a dinner for the RS sisters and then we all went to together to watch the Women's Broadcast. I took notes as I watched so I would have new quotes for the sisters in my class the next day on adversity. I was prepared to teach the lesson, had finished all my schoolwork and planned to go home to make our pies for Easter dinner. As I watched the broadcast, a strange feeling took hold of my heart and prompted me to double check the scheduled lesson for Sunday. My heart sank as I realized the lesson I had been preparing all week was the wrong one! I was supposed to teach a lesson on prayer.
Humbled, nervous, upset and panicked were my first reactions. I didn't think there was any way I could plan a lesson at 11:00 p.m. for 9 a.m. church that would be spiritual or teach anyone anything. Then all my studies from this week came to my mind, and I realized I could do something that would help-I could pray. I had a good, long prayer and got to work on a new lesson plan for the next day. The Spirit guided me to quickly highlight the right parts of the lesson I needed to teach. I had several prayers on Sunday morning about my lesson and focused on the Lord's Atonement during Sacrament meeting and Sunday School. I prayed before I stood to teach my dear Relief Society sisters, and then I gave the lesson I was guided to give. We discussed the things which I was prompted to share and others shared their personal stories of tender mercies they received as answers to prayers. We all had a wonderful lesson and my testimony of prayer was strengthened by this wonderful opportunity.
I testify that the power of prayer is real. The Lord is always there waiting for us to come to Him, to turn our hearts to Him, tell Him our silent pleadings, our worries, our joys and our needs. He is there to protect us and guide us along His path if we will obey, It doesn't mean our earthly journey will always be easy, but He won't ever leave us alone if we pray. One of my dear sisters shared her motto, "Come what may and love it", and I believe that is true. I know on my darkest hour, I can call out in prayer and He will be there for me.
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