Ether 6

The Jaredites Travel to the Promised Land

Jaredite barges tossed in the waves

Imagine what it might have felt like for the Jaredites to enter their barges and cross the great waters as they journeyed to the promised land. Although their journey was long and difficult, the Jaredites recognized that the Lord was helping them along the way. The Lord can also help us during our journey through mortality and back to the presence of Heavenly Father. This lesson can help you liken the scriptures in order to learn truths that can help you during your life’s journey.

The journey of life

Our mortal lives can be compared to a long journey, with the desired destination being eternal life. In your study journal, write “Me” on one side of the page and “Eternal Life” on the other. In the space between these two headings, write down some of the obstacles that can arise during our journey that make it difficult for us to return worthily to Heavenly Father. Then think about how your journey toward eternal life is going and which of the identified obstacles you are currently facing.

Today you will study about the journey the Jaredites made to the promised land after they finished building their barges. As you study, look for truths that can help you overcome the obstacles you face in your journey back to the presence of God.

Likening the scriptures to your life

The following steps can help you compare, or liken, what you will read in the scriptures to your personal circumstances. In your study journal, write the heading “Ways to liken the scriptures to my life.” Record these steps below the heading.

1. Find important details.

2. Make comparisons.

3. Discover valuable lessons.

4. Determine personal application.

Step 1: Find important details

Read Ether 6:1–3, looking for important details. These details could include people, places, objects, or actions that are emphasized.

One important detail you may have noticed is that the Lord caused the stones the brother of Jared had previously brought to Him (see Ether 3:1–6) to shine so the Jaredites would have light in their barges.

Step 2: Make comparisons

Think of how the details you identified in the previous step could be compared to something spiritual or to situations in your life.

• What comparisons can you make with the details you identified in the previous step?

For example, you might have compared the shining stones to the sources of spiritual light Heavenly Father has blessed us with, such as the teachings and example of Jesus Christ, the Holy Ghost, the scriptures, and living prophets. (See Psalm 119:105; John 8:12; and 1 Nephi 17:13. You could cross-reference these verses with Ether 6:3.)

Step 3: Discover valuable lessons

Think about what lessons or truths you learn as you compare these verses to your life or to something spiritual. Also consider what you learn about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

• What are some lessons or truths you learn from these verses? What do you find that could help you in your day-to-day life?

One truth we can learn is that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ provide us with guidance and light to help us during our journey through mortality.

Step 4: Determine personal application

Reflect on how you can apply to your life the lessons you identified in the previous step.

• What can you do to follow or receive more of God’s light in your life?

You may have thought of actions such as improving your scripture study, prayerfully seeking guidance from Heavenly Father in your daily decisions, or more diligently striving to keep the Holy Ghost as your constant companion.

Practice likening other verses from this account

Jaredite barge

Study the rest of the account of the Jaredites’ journey to the promised land by reading Ether 6:4–12. Look for more ways the Jaredites’ journey can relate to your journey through life. As you study, practice using the four-step process for likening the scriptures.

Pay special attention to what these verses teach you about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

1. Answer the following questions:

   • What important details did you identify from what you studied?

   • What are some comparisons you made between those details and aspects of your life?

   • What is one or more lessons you learned about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ from these verses?

   • What is something from these verses you will strive to apply in your life?

Optional: Want to Learn More?

Ether 6:4. What does it mean that the Jaredites commended themselves unto God?

Elder L. Todd Budge of the Seventy taught:

Elder L. Todd Budge

It is recorded that the Jaredites then “got aboard of their … barges, and set forth into the sea, commending themselves unto the Lord their God” [Ether 6:4; emphasis added]. To commend means to entrust or to surrender. The Jaredites did not get into the barges because they knew exactly how things would work on their journey. They got aboard because they had learned to trust in the Lord’s power, goodness, and mercy, and they were therefore willing to surrender themselves and any doubts or fears they may have had to the Lord. (L. Todd Budge, “Consistent and Resilient Trust,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2019, 47)

Ether 6:5–7. How can I be protected during the trials and challenges I face in life?

President James E. Faust (1920–2007) of the First Presidency taught:

President James E. Faust

We all face furious winds of evil and tides of the sordid not unlike the situation faced by the Jaredites as they traveled to the promised land. They were tossed upon the waves of the sea and “many times buried in the depths of the sea, because of the mountain waves which broke upon them, and also the great and terrible tempests which were caused by the fierceness of the wind” (Ether 6:6). But they were protected because “when they were buried in the deep there was no water that could hurt them, their vessels being tight like unto a dish” (Ether 6:7). In our time there are vessels that protect against these terrible spiritual tempests, and they are our temples, homes, quorums, wards, and stakes. (James E. Faust, “We Believe in You!,” New Era, Oct. 2006, 8–9)

Why can it be helpful to think about how my journey through life is going?

Watch the video “The Journey” (3:46). In this video, Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles shares experience and insights that can help us in our journey through mortality.