Ether 3

Jared’s brother had a crazy thought. He took a trail into the foothills of Mount Shelem, chipped sixteen shards from a big rock, heated them till they were clear, carried them to the mountaintop and said to God: “Don’t be mad. I know this is crazy, but what in all this isn’t? Besides, I’m a simple man and you like that. And you talk a lot about your grace as well as your generosity. So here’s a test. See these? Okay, I know you can do anything. You’re God. And I’m a pitiable creature of yours whom you’ve told will be thrown around by storms in a pitch-black barge. Actually, eight barges total to haul our family and our gear. Anyway, I have this thought that if you touched each of these stones, they would glow and we’d have light round the clock with two of these in each barge.”

So God visibly stuck out his hand and touched each stone with his index finger—a point Jared’s brother noted because he had no idea that God had index fingers as such. He’d meant his request in a vague, non-material way. And now it looked like God was material, had a body, and even the requisite number of fingers. Jared’s brother almost fainted.

God said, “What are you doing on the ground? A simple thanks would have been enough.”

Jared’s brother said, “I saw your finger and thought that was enough to get me executed for invasion of heavenly privacy.”

“Only your faith could have drawn me into your optical nerve. Did you see more than my finger?”

“No. Bring it on.”

“Will you believe what I tell you?”

“Of course. You are de facto Truth, so I wouldn’t suspect you of lying.”

So God showed Jared’s brother a full image of himself as he would eventually appear when he came to earth. As he did, he said:

“Because of your utter conviction you are beyond failure in my opinion—yes, I have opinions—and I can’t withhold this sight from you. Now the hard part: I am the Father, yes, but also the Son. The Father, I, made the Son, Me, to fix the world after Adam’s blunder, bring life back to a half-dead global population, and to adopt everyone who accepts me as Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten son of Me the Father.

“Now you can see that this stuff about being created in God’s image is pretty literal, except for the bi-generational identity-duality. All men were made in this same image as you see right now, though, of course, I have covered some of the naughty parts. All men, that is—women were an afterthought. But a fortunate one, because they look better.

“Of course, what you’re seeing is normally invisible because it’s made of spirit. But this is just how I’ll look when I’m material and visible on a broad scale.”

(Now—interjection from Moroni at this point—I was stymied on this incident and couldn’t go into more detail. But allow me a parallel: Jesus appeared to Jared’s brother just like he did to the Nephites centuries later. So that’s what he’s talking about, the “broad scale” part. Not everyone on earth saw him, you know. Just a small percentage. Hence accounts like this to transmit the testimony to non-spectators. I do think Jared’s brother has some bragging rights, though. He saw something we don’t think was mere hallucination, which is a common syndrome given the herbal seeds we’re always being commanded to bag up and take with us. His faith had hit the trip wire into actual knowledge. When that happens, divine cloaks of invisibility slide off.)

God Jesus continued: “I know you’ll write down what just happened. But please don’t let it go public till after I’ve come to earth, been killed, come alive again, etc. Which basically means you can’t tell anyone what just happened.

“Or, how’s this—since I’m busy screwing up the linguistic system, just make up your own language, something totally unique. Then, when you hide the account you’ve written, put two stones with the plates that I can light up—just like that finger trick that started all this— whenever someone needs to read the language that no one knows but you because you made it up.”

At this, God showed Jared’s brother something even more dazzling in its way: every person that ever was or ever would be in every continent. He knew how to do this, which I, Moroni, don’t. But I take it on faith. A persistent theme with me.

Then God said, “You know what? I not only allow you to write this experience down. In insist you do it. But then make sure no one but you reads it.