Brother of Jared
by Melanie Day

For this FHE you'll need:

1.  Some small clean stones, or cut circles out of heavy paper to represent stones.
2.  Optional - You could use a copy of these flannel board figures while telling the story of the brother of Jared: click here.

Song: Faith, pg. 96 in Children's Hymnbook

I'm going to make a tent in the living room with a blanket over the furniture and turn off all the lights.  I'm only going to have a single flashlight. 
 

Explain that Jesus Christ told the Jaredites to gather together all their families and their possessions, including their flocks of animals and seeds of every kind. He told them that after they had gathered everything together, he would lead them to a choice land.  The Jaredites were faithful and obeyed Jesus.

We too want to obey Jesus.  We're going to pretend that we were there at that time.  (Give each child a backpack or small container...you could use their school backpacks or pillowcase from their bed.)   Ask them to pack only a FEW of their most prized possessions.  Everything else will be left behind. 

Enter the tent.  We'll talk about how Jesus Christ instructed the brother of Jared to build eight barges, like boats or ships, to carry the Jaredites across the ocean to the promised land. The Jaredites followed his directions and built the barges.  There was only one problem.  There wasn't any light.  We'll turn off the flashlight so the kids could see just how uncomfortable it would be to travel in the darkness. 

Explain that the brother of Jared went to a mountain and melted sixteen small, clear stones out of a rock.  I will then show the kids my 16 stones. (Show them your stones, real or paper).  The brother of Jared carried the stones to the top of a mountain and prayed. In his prayer he said that he knew that if the Lord touched the stones, they would give off light. In this way they could have light inside their ships as they sailed across the sea. After he had finished his prayer, a wonderful thing happened.

Read Ether 3:6 together.  Then ask everyone, "What did Jesus Christ do to the stones?"  He touched them with his finger.  Remind the children that the brother of Jared was blessed because he had great faith. He showed his faith by asking Heavenly Father to help his people and then by doing what Heavenly Father commanded.

GAME - (From November 1988 Friend).  I'm going to write each sentence on a piece of paper and include the blank line.  Then I'll lay all the pictures out on the floor.  Next, I'll read each sentence and have the children match the picture with the appropriate blank as I read the scriptures in parenthesis.  Click here to download a pdf file of the pictures for this game:
 

1. In their journey to the promised land, the Jaredites took their flocks, ___________ of the waters, and swarms of ___________. (Ether 2:1–3.)
 

2. The Lord came down in a ___________ to talk to the brother of Jared. (Ether 2:4.)
 

3. The Lord told the brother of Jared to build ___________ that would be as watertight as a ___________. (Ether 2:16–17.)
 

4. The brother of Jared saw the ___________ of the Lord when He touched the sixteen stones. (Ether 3:5–8.)
 

5. When the people were righteous, the promised land was rich with ___________, grain, fine cloth, precious metals, and many animals, including ___________. (Ether 9:16–19.)
 

6. When the people became unrighteous and would not repent, the Lord caused a famine and poisonous ___________ to be on the land. (Ether 9:30–33.)
 

7. Ether was cast out by the people, and he hid in the cavity of a ___________ and wrote the Jaredite history. (Ether 13:13–14.)
 

8. The army of Coriantumr pitched their ___________ by the ___________ Ramah, where Mormon hid the ___________. (Ether 15:11.)

TREAT - "What ever floats your boat!"  Make egg boats.  Make a hard boiled egg (or two) for each person.  Make them into deviled eggs.  Then use toothpicks and paper to create a fancy sail for each boat.  Place decorated flags into each egg.

OPTIONAL CRAFT IDEA - You could make blessing barges similar to this one, writing on each stick one thing they can do to increase their faith, like the brother of Jared.