Ether 1

Moroni gives us a genealogy of the brother of Jared, but it is very brief, perhaps simply to show how many generations were involved. The only reasons I can think of why the brother of Jared is never identified by name are he is either modest and doesn't want to refer to himself. John does this in the gospel of John. Or, the name was too difficult, too long, and too difficult to engrave on the plates. Maybe it was both.

The 24 plates of the brother of Jared that were sealed and give the history of the world from beginning to end will be translated at some point. We are promised that we will have more and more scripture, but it will only come when we have, as Elder Maxwell said, feasted worthily on what we have.

The brother of Jared is obviously a strong spiritual leader and the Lord tells him that he will answer his prayers because "this long time ye have cried unto me." One of the hard lessons I am continuously having to learn is praying involves more than just asking. It involves faith, pondering, living righteously. President Kimball offered these words about getting answers to prayers and it shows to me that, too often, I do not put enough sincere effort into mine:

"The Lord has provided a way for these answers... Too often, like Oliver Cowdery, we want our answers without effort."

"The Lord does answer our prayers, but sometimes we are not responsive enough to know when and how they are answered. We want the 'writing on the wall' or an angel to speak or a heavenly voice."

"Do you get answers to prayers? If not, perhaps you did not pay the price. Do you offer a few trite words and worn-out phrases, or do you talk intimately to the Lord?" Do you pray occasionally when you should be praying regularly, often, constantly?"

"Your Savior said, 'Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come into him... " The Lord stands knocking. He never retreats. But he will never force himself upon us. If we ever move apart, it is we who move and not the Lord. And should we ever fail to get an answer to our prayers, we must look into our lives for a reason."

Of course, the Lord answers prayers on his own timetable. If we are consistently and sincerely praying, the answer will come and we need to have faith that it will come. I lived long enough to know that the Lord has answered every one of my prayers, sometimes immediately, sometimes the next day, sometimes the next year or more. I'm sure he has answered many of my prayers and I did not hear. But this I'm sure of, he will always answer a prayer. He never will not answer a prayer.