As the brother of Jared ascended mount Shelem, he was understandably apprehensive. After escaping from the tower of Babel with family and friends, who had miraculously retained a common language, he was now preparing to cross the sea with them in windowless, rudderless barges. His prayer was quite literally “Let there be light.” Or, as he had phrased it previously, “Wilt thou suffer that we shall cross this great water in darkness?” (Ether 2:22).
He had forged sixteen smooth and transparent stones, two for each barge, and he approached God with a bold request:
Touch these stones, O Lord, with thy finger, and prepare them that they may shine forth in darkness; and they shall shine forth unto us in the vessels which we have prepared, that we may have light while we shall cross the sea.
Ether 3:4
What did he expect to happen next? The words “finger” and “touch” implied a corporeal God, but did he mean that literally? Probably not, because when he actually saw God’s finger, he collapsed in terror. “I knew not that the Lord had flesh and blood,” he explained.
Soon after, with newfound confidence, he made an even more audacious request: “Show thyself unto me.” In response, God appeared, with an explanation of His physical appearance. “Seest thou that ye are created after mine own image?” he asked. “Yea, even all men were created in the beginning after mine own image.” (Ether 3:10, 15).
The God whom the brother of Jared saw was holy and heavenly, but he looked very much like a human being.
Today I will approach God with greater confidence, remembering that I am created in His image and that He has invited me to draw near to Him.