Tuesday, September 8, 2020

Charles Swift on Ether 2:14-15 and the meaning of "call upon the name of the Lord"

Commenting on Ether 2:14-15 and the brother of Jared’s failure to “call upon the name of the Lord,” Charles Swift argued that it does not refer to prayer merely but a specific type of prayer:

 

In the book of Ether, the phrase “call upon the name of the Lord” (2:14) is first used by the Lord when he chastises the brother of Jared for neglecting the same. The second time we see this phrase is in the very next verse when Moroni tells us that the brother of Jared “did call upon the name of the Lord for his brethren who were with him.” Since the brother of Jared appears to perform the act of calling upon the name of the Lord in the middle of speaking with the Lord, it would seem that calling upon the name of the Lord cannot refer here to praying in general, since if praying is fundamentally speaking with the Lord, then that is exactly what the brother of Jared has been doing for the past three hours. One cannot be praying to the Lord and, in the middle of praying, start praying.

 

The verse begins with repentance (“the brother of Jared repented of the evil which he had done”), the Lord’s forgiveness (“I will forgive thee and thy brethren of their sins”), and his admonition (“but thou shalt not sin any more”). This suggests that when the Lord forgives the people and admonishes the brother of Jared, these are the Lord’s responses to the brother of Jared’s repentance (and quite understandable responses in keeping with the Lord’s promises) (For example, “Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more” [Doctrine and Covenants 58:42]), not to the Lord’s name being called upon. Instead, the Lord’s response to the calling upon his name being called upon. Instead, the Lord’s response to the calling upon of his name comes in the following line, when he speaks to the brother of Jared about the land of their inheritance: “These are my thoughts upon the land which I shall give you for your inheritance; for it shall be a land choice above all other lands” (Ether 2:15). The sequence of these events appears to indicate a relationship between calling upon the name of the Lord and receiving something from him—in this instance, the land of inheritance. Next, the Lord begins telling the brother of Jared what needs to be done to actually receive that land of inheritance, namely, building the barges (see vv. 16-25). In other words, we can read the Lords’ response to the brother of Jared in terms of what the latter originally said. He spoke in two phases: he repented, then he called upon the name of the Lord. And the Lord responded in two phases: he addressed the repentance by forgiving and admonishing, then turned to his name being called upon by speaking of giving the choice land as an inheritance.

 

It is also useful to investigate other occurrences in the narrative in which the phrase “call upon the name of the Lord” is used. While it is not used during the dialogue about the building of the barges, we will see that the Lord may be using the end of that dialogue to invite the brother of Jared to call upon his name. And the phrase does reoccur in the liminal phase before the Lord blesses the brother of Jared with the vision. As the brother of Jared is about to speak to the Lord about touching the stones, he reminds the Lord of the protended dangers of their journey (“Thou hast said that we must be encompassed about by the floods”) and then talks about his weakness (“O Lord, and do not be angry with thy servant because of his wickedness before thee,” Ether 3:2). Though it is possible that the brother of Jared here is referencing a generic kind of human frailty, as indicated by mention of the Fall, it seems more likely that he is specifically speaking of his one weakness we have witnessed in the story: he did not remember to call upon the name of the Lord. Indeed, the very next statement in that verse shows how much that particular weakness remains on his mind: “O Lord, though hast given us a commandment that we must call upon thee, that from thee we may receive according to our desires.” In other words, the brother of Jared pleads with the Lord to not be angry with him because of his weakness before him, then reminds him of the commandment he has given them to call upon him so that they will receive from him what they desire. He is about to tell the Lord his desire to have the stones give light. As we will see, the Lord grants that desire. And later, when the brother of Jared lets the Lord know another one of his desires—to see the Lord—the Lord fulfils that desire as well.

 

The brother of Jared appears to be reminding the Lord of a particular commandment he has given them that they must specifically “call upon the name of the Lord” so they can receive from him according to their desires. Perhaps “call upon the name of the Lord” and “call upon the Lord” in the narrative means to pray to the Lord in such a way as to receive from the Lord according to one’s desires.

 

In addition to these direct verbal instances of the phrase, Moroni provides us with several other narrative examples of the brother of Jared appearing to call upon the Lord in such a way that the people will receive according to their desires. Because of the prayers of the brother of Jared, Jared and his brother’s desires were granted: (1) they were not confounded (see Ether 1:35), (2) their friend and their families were not confounded (see v. 37), (3) they, their friends, and their families would be led to a choice land (see vv. 39-43). Once the journey actually begins, the Lord comes down in a cloud and offers the brother of Jared continual direction, all with the intent to guide the people to the Lord that Jared first desired (see v. 38)

 

Thus calling upon the name of the Lord—understood as a particular kind of prayer the Lord had commanded the Jaredites to offer that would result in their being blessed according to their desires—becomes a crucial part of the development of the brother of Jared during his preliminal stage. (Charles Swift, “Upon Mount Shelem: The Liminal Experiences of the Brother of Jared,” in Daniel L. Belnap, ed. Illuminating the Jaredite Records [Provo, Utah: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2020], 85-128, here, pp. 94-96)