When God gives instructions that can kill you
I Will Bring You Up Again out of the Depths, by Jonathan Arthur Clarke, churchofjesuschrist.org/media
One of the striking lessons from the brother of Jared in the Book of Mormon is this: God instructed him to build boats that would kill him. I can picture the brother of Jared following the instructions to the letter, as it slowly dawns on him that they were all going to suffocate in there.
“Oh Lord, I have performed the work which thou has commanded me, and I have made the barges according as thou hast directed me,” he said in Ether 2:18; i.e. “I followed Your directions exactly!” He continued, “We shall perish, for in them we cannot breathe, save it is the air which is in them; therefore we shall perish.”
Did God forget something? Unlikely. Is God trying to kill them? Of course not. “The Father’s design, His plan, His purpose, His intent, His wish, and His hope are all to heal you, all to give you peace, all to bring you, and those you love, home,” said Elder Patrick Kearon in April 2024.
So what’s up with giving the brother of Jared instructions that would kill him? I think God wanted the brother of Jared to do exactly what he did: come back and check in with him after he got that far. Then he had to come back a third time as he “cried again unto the Lord,” this time about the pitch darkness inside (2:22).
So if God gives you instructions that look like they’re going to kill you, quit the death march already. Check in again with Him and be ready to modify the design of your life, just like the brother of Jared’s boats. God may tell you to punch a hole in the design revealed earlier, so you can breathe (whatever that metaphor means to you). You and God — you’ve got this.
-Marci
P.S. Remember that the brother of Jared asked God three questions about breathing, seeing, and steering, which God answered in three different ways. God directly revealed the answer to the first question. For the second question, God told him to figure it out and come back with a “bright idea” (I couldn’t resist). The third question — how to steer? No answer, because you won’t. Instead, “God caused that there should be a furious wind blow . . . towards the promised land” (6:5).
So if you’re looking for the steering wheel, give it up. Like I said, you and God — you’ve got this.
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