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)
