“Jared and His Family,” Book of Mormon Stories (2023)
Jared and His Family
A journey led by the Lord
Jared and his family lived in Babel thousands of years before Jesus Christ was born. They obeyed the Lord. But most people in Babel did not obey the Lord. Those people started building a tower to try to get to heaven. The Lord changed the people’s language so they could not understand each other.
Jared had a brother. The Lord trusted Jared’s brother. Jared asked his brother to pray to the Lord for help. In his prayer, the brother of Jared asked the Lord not to change the language of his family and friends. That way they could still understand each other.
The Lord was loving and kind. He did not change the language of Jared’s family and friends. Later, the Lord told the brother of Jared that He had prepared a special land for them. The Lord said He would lead them there.
Jared and his brother gathered their families and friends. They also gathered their animals and all kinds of seeds. Then they left their homes and traveled through the wilderness. The Lord guided them by talking with them from a cloud.
After traveling a long way, they came to a sea. They lived on the shore for four years. For a long time, the brother of Jared did not pray to the Lord.
The Lord told the brother of Jared to pray again. The brother of Jared repented and prayed to the Lord. The Lord forgave him.
The Lord taught the brother of Jared to build ships called barges. The families could ride the barges across the sea to the promised land.
The brother of Jared and his family built the barges. He saw that there was no light inside the barges. He asked the Lord if they would have to travel across the sea in darkness. The Lord told the brother of Jared to think of a way for the ships to have light.
The brother of Jared made 16 small, clear stones. He asked the Lord to touch them and make them shine. The Lord reached out His hand and touched the stones one by one with His finger. The brother of Jared was able to see the Lord’s finger. He was surprised that the Lord had a body like he did.
The Lord said the brother of Jared had great faith. Then the Lord appeared and showed His spirit body to the brother of Jared. The Lord said, “I am Jesus Christ.” He said He was chosen to be the Savior. He taught the brother of Jared many other things.
The brother of Jared returned to his family and friends. He wrote down what he had learned while he was with the Lord. He also put the stones in the barges. They now had light for their journey.
The families got into the barges to cross the sea. They trusted the Lord to take care of them. There were many storms and waves. At times, the water covered the barges completely. But they prayed, and the Lord brought them back on top of the water again. They sang many songs of thanks to the Lord.
After almost a year, they reached the land that the Lord promised them. They cried with joy and thanked Him.