Understanding Jared

In the book of Ether the brother of Jared was a prophet at the time of the tower of Babel. I've read the book many times and until recently there was one part I never fully understood. Jared obviously believed in and loved God. But whenever there was something important to pray about he would ask his brother to go pray for them. I always wondered why he didn't just pray himself, I mean he obviously had faith that his brothers prayers would be effective.

But through some experiences with my oldest son who is only 7 I have come to realize a few things. I have faith in God, I love Him and am truly grateful for all he has done for me, I trust him to take care of me and my family. But my sons' faith goes deeper and is in a way more pure than mine. He has had many experiences that I have seen and in a way make me want to get him in on the important things I am praying about. He has lost things and prayed, only to have someone be inspired and find it. He has prayed for confidence in certain things and been given it. One time we had a six month old kitten that ran away and was gone a little over a month when one night Kamron knelt down and asked Heavenly Father to bring the cat back tomorrow. He hadn't prayed for a specific time before or quite so directly about the cat. He told Him that he would be very kind and gentle with it, but just please bring him home. We had put up signs weeks earlier and I was pretty much convinced that we would never see the cat again. But Kamron had faith and the next day when he went out to play in the afternoon, there was the cat sitting on our back patio ready to come in. I was amazed and humbled as I was when he was younger and before his Dad left the church. Kamron got very sick and after awhile he asked for a blessing. About an hour later I went in to see how he was doing. When I asked him if he still felt sick, he looked at me with this look on his face that said, 'duh.' And said very seriously, "Mom, when someone gives you a blessing then you are not sick anymore."

That child has faith in a very real God, and while I have faith also, I'm afraid mine is more like Jareds' and my young sons' is like that wonderful, but imperfect brothers'.