Brief Biography
The Brother of Jared was a prophet-leader of the Jaredites during their departure from ancient Mesopotamia at the time of the great tower, when languages were confounded (Ether 1:33-40). Under divine guidance, he helped lead a group through the wilderness (Ether 1:41-42; 2:1-13) and eventually across the ocean to a land of promise in the New World (Ether 6:1-12). He was a man of great faith (Ether 12:29-30). In preparation for their ocean journey, he received a marvelous vision of the Lord’s premortal spirit body and was blessed with a vision of the future, which he was commanded to record and hide up to be revealed to a future generation (Ether 3:6-28). We only have a small selection of his actual words in the book of Ether; they come primarily from his petitions to God in preparation for his journey (Ether 2:18-22; 3:2-12).
Insights into the Words and Phrases
The Brother of Jared
Did you know that the Brother of Jared viewed himself as being like Noah?
Although the sample we have of his words is brief (only 460 words), he talks about the "Lord" almost six to seven times more frequently than other Book of Mormon speakers, on average. The Brother of Jared is the only speaker in the Book of Mormon to use the words "natures" and "raging."
Some of his words and phrases point to influences from the Genesis account. The Brother of Jared is severely chastened by God for not remembering to call upon Him, but then repents. In his humble prayer, he acknowledges that "because of the fall our natures have become evil continually" (Ether 3:2).
He asks the Lord to touch the stones that he has prepared to give them light as they cross the "floods" (of the great waters (Ether 2:25)). This recalls the description of mankind before the Flood, when "every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually" (Genesis 6:5). The Book of Mormon prophet also observes that the Lord had "driven us forth" (Ether 3:3; see also "drive us forth" in Ether 1:38). Following his transgression, God "drove forth the man" out of the Garden (Genesis 3:24).
After the Flood, Noah offered a burnt offering to the Lord, which was accepted. The Lord noted concerning man that, although "the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth," He would no longer curse the ground; "neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done" (Genesis 8:21). Notably, immediately after his petition, the Brother of Jared saw the finger of the Lord and fell to the ground in fear. When the Lord asked why he fell, he responded, "I saw the finger of the Lord, and I feared lest he should smite me" (Ether 3:8).
Key Insights
The acknowledgment of man’s fallen nature and the fear that the Lord might smite him after his previous transgression recalls the description of the Flood, where man, being evil, was smitten by God with destruction. Instead of smiting His prophet, however, the Lord not only provided light but revealed Himself to him in great mercy! Moroni’s account shows that, by viewing ourselves like Noah, and following the pattern shown by the Brother of Jared, we can find redemption through Jesus Christ.