"Oh Lord, Look Upon Me in Pity..." Ether, 3:3, by Ann Y.

When I read the following verse in Ether, the words jumped right off the page at me:

"Behold, O Lord, thou hast smitten us because of our iniquity, and has driven us forth, and for these many years we have been in the wilderness; nevertheless, thou hast been merciful unto us, O Lord, look upon me in pity, and turn away thine anger from this thy people, and suffer no that they shall go forth across the raging deep in darkness..."

The brother of Jared was begging the Lord for help in crossing the literal waters of the ocean. He was pleading forgiveness of his God for having sinned while in the literal wilderness in the old world. He acknowledges that he and his people have wandered for years without calling upon God for help. He is begging for God's divine assistance to light the waters of the deep ocean to comfort them as they travel to the new world.

How similar is my journey in this life. My Father has smitten me when I have sinned, to remind me to turn to him for my needs. When I lived without the gospel in my life, I was driven forth, wandering in the wilderness of this material and shallow world. I begged for light to help me cross the deep waters of mortality on my journey (hopefully back to him) and he answered with the miracle of the scriptures. They are the light, literally touched by the hand of God, and given to us to ease our suffering and guide us as we travel to a New World--a world created for his people, and inhabited only by those who honor Him.