Ether 3

There are a number of important principles taught in this chapter. Here are two, First, this a chapter that teaches what the nature of man is as a mortal and what the nature of man is as a spirit. First Moriancumr says "we are unworthy before thee; because... our natures have become evil continually; nevertheless, O Lord, thou has given us a commandment that we must call upon thee, that from thee we may receive according to our desires. If there is one thing we should understand more than any other, it is the fall, and the nature of our existence because of it. If we do not understand the fall, we do not understand the atonement. If we do not understand how we have been separated from God, we do not feel the need for an atonement and rather than being the redeemer on whom we must rely, the Lord becomes only a great teacher, a guide, an example. When he says we have become evil continually, he is saying that our mortal natures are prone to sin. The very fact that we are separated from God places us in a position of jeopardy. We must be changed, reborn from a fallen nature, or in other words, redeemed. The word nevertheless is important here. Nevertheless, we must call upon the Lord for he is the one to redeem us from our fallen state.

When the brother of Jared sees the finger of the Lord, because of his faith, the Lord is compelled to show himself completely. I think there are two interesting things about this. First, we learn that our spirits look exactly like a physical body. The brother of Jared thought he was seeing a physical Christ and the Lord had to explain that the two were identical in appearance and he was seeing the Savior as he will look in the flesh. The second thing is, the Lord was compelled to show himself to Moriancumr, he had to, because of Moriancumr's faith. Think what possibilities that opens up for us. If we have sufficient faith, the Lord isn't just rewarding us, he is compelled to bless us. This makes sense if every blessing is predicated upon a commandment, then it is in accordance with divine laws that blessings are given when a commandment is kept. Simply said, for every action, there is a reaction or consequence.

The Lord touches the stones Moriancumr has prepared so they will give light in the boats. There is an old rabbinical teaching that says Noah had stones from the Lord that gave him light in the ark.