Finger of the Lord
FINGER OF THE LORD:
With the Nephite nation destroyed, I'm happy to move to a more joyful subject.
After he watch his father killed and while living in hiding, a refugee and last remaining Nephite, Moroni abridged the record of the people who inhabited the land before Lehi and his family arrived. They were called the Jaredites, named after the first king of the people (the son of Jared). The brother of Jared (referred only in scripture by this title, but later shared through revelation from Joseph Smith to be Mahonri Moriancumer) was the prophet who led this people to this same promised land, back when the Lord mixed up the languages at the Tower of Babel.
At one point in their journey, the brother of Jared had a sacred experience. He saw the finger of the Lord as he was attempting to follow God's will for him and his people. Following this, the Lord showed himself in the spirit to Mahonri and much more from the beginning of time to the end of the world. This song is about the events that lead up to and including this event, found in Ether 2-3.
Mahonri and Jared were alive during the time of the Tower of Babel, when the Lord confused the language of the people. Per Amos, "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets," the people were warned before their languages were confused. Jared approached his brother and asked him to pray that they and their families would not have their language confused. And when the languages were broken up Mahonri and Jared and their families and friends were preserved from this fate. After this miracle, Jared asked Mahonri if he would pray that the Lord would guide them to a promised land. That's how this journey began.
Just like Nephi, the brother of Jared was commanded to build ships. These were described as being tight like unto a dish. Mahonri approached the Lord (Ether 2:17) with some concerns. The first problem was that the barges were so tight, he was worried they would run out of air. The Lord gave him instructions to fix the air issue. The second problem was that there was no light. Instead of telling him what to do, the Lord replied (Ether 2:23), "What will ye that I should do that ye may have light in your vessels?"
In response to the Lord's question, Mahonri made glass stones and returned to speak with Him. He asked that God would touch the stones, suggesting that if He were to touch the stones, they might glow in the darkness. The Lord complied and the brother of Jared saw the finger of the Lord.
Once the finger appeared before him, the brother of Jared fell to the earth in fear. Instead of chastening him, Jehovah praised him saying (Ether 3:9), "Because of thy faith thou hast seen that I shall take upon me flesh and blood; and never has man come before me with such exceeding faith as thou hast; for were it not so ye could not have seen my finger. Sawest thou more than this?" Mahonri took this as an invitation and asked Jehovah to show himself and he did.
