In addition to the necessity of
prophets and personal revelation in charting our course, the Jaredites teach me
the value of common sense. Their ships were curiously constructed. Since the
top, bottom, and sides were “tight like unto a dish” (Ether 2:17), the Lord
told the Brother of Jared to construct “a hole in the top, and also in the
bottom; and when thou shalt suffer for air thou shalt unstop the hole water
come in upon thee, behold ye shall stop the hole, that ye may not perish in the
flood” (Ether 2:20). If our ships are leaking, is it not just common sense to stop
up the holes?
God often leaves us to our own
skills and intelligence to determine the course of action we should take. The
idea that what we can do ourselves we are expected to do is further illustrated
by the story of the Jaredite’s need for light in their barges. The Brother of
Jared prayed to know from what source this light would come. “There is no
light; whither shall we steer?” (Ether 2:18). The Lord simply returned the
question. Through effort and thought of his own, the Brother of Jared fashioned
16 small stones to light their ships (Ether 3:1). Although the Lord was the
source of light to the stones, this illumination came only after human effort.
I think it is significant that a Jaredite sip was devoid of any light except
that which the Jaredites brought into it themselves. Christ teaches this
principle in the Doctrine and Covenants also. We are agents unto ourselves. The
Savior does not intend to command us in all things. A lack of initiative—being
compelled in all things—makes us guilty of slothfulness (see D&C 58:26). (Sherre
Finicum-H, “Ships and Turnips,” in The Restoration of the Gospel and Applied
Christianity: Student Essays in Honor of President David O. McKay [Provo,
Utah: Brigham Young University, 1988], 19-20)