FHE Lesson 14 and 15

14

Brother of Jared
(Clear Stone)

Jared and his brother lived a long time before the Nephites. They lived in a place called Babel. Many wicked people lived there. The wicked people built a tower to get to heaven. God was angry. God changed the language of the wicked people. They all used different words. They couldn’t understand each other. The brother of Jared was a righteous man. He asked God not to change the language of his family and friends. They were called the Jaredites. God told the Jaredites he would lead them to the Promised Land. They left their homes and went to the sea. There, Jesus told the brother of Jared to build some boats to go to the Promised Land. The brother of Jared obeyed Jesus. The Jaredites built eight boats. The boats were very tight like a dish, so that water could not get into them. But the Jaredites were worried. The boats were very dark inside because they had no windows. The Jaredites knew that they would need light inside the boats, so they could see as they traveled to the Promised Land. The brother of Jared asked the Lord what they should do to light the inside of the boats. The Lord told them to think of a way to get light. So, the brother of Jared melted 16 small stones from a big rock. The stones were clear and white. Then he took the stones with him to the top of the mountain and prayed to the Lord. He asked Jesus to touch the stones with his finger to make them shine. Because of his great faith, the brother of Jared saw the finger of the Lord as he touched the stones. He was frightened and fell to his knees. He did not know the Lord looked like a man. The brother of Jared asked the Lord to show himself. The Lord appeared to him and he saw that men looked like Jesus Christ. The brother of Jared carried the stones down the mountain. He put two stones in each boat. The Jaredites got into the boats to go to the Promised Land. They thanked God for helping them.

Ether 1:33-6:13
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15

Faith
(Packet of Flower Seeds)

In the Book of Mormon, Alma compared faith to a seed. In order for a seed to grow, we have to plant it in good soil and nourish it by giving it water and sunlight. As the seed starts to grow, we have to continue to take care of it in order for it to keep growing. If we stop giving it water and sunlight, the plant will die. The plant did not die because the seed was bad, but because it was not getting the nourishment and care that it needed to grow. But, if we keep taking care of the seed, it will keep growing and growing until we can pick the delicious fruit and taste it.

Faith in the Gospel is much like a seed. In order for faith to start growing we need to plant it in our hearts by wanting to learn more about the Gospel, and experiment by practicing its teachings. As we do this, we will see the results and have a good feeling inside about what we are doing. This is a sign that our faith, like the seed, is good and is beginning to grow within us. At this point our faith needs to be nourished to keep growing. Some of the ways that we can nourish our faith are by reading the scriptures, praying, keeping the commandments, loving and serving others. If we don’t do these things our faith will start to die. This is not because the Gospel is not true, but because the faith is not being nourished. Throughout our whole life, we need to nourish our faith with diligence and patience and we will feel it grow and grow. If we do this we will taste the fruit of our faith, which is eternal life.

Alma 32:26-43