I've always been intrigued by the story of the brother of Jared. I think it's probably because there's just a little bit of mystery surrounding it since we don't learn the actual name of this very important scriptural figure. The only other reference that I can recall in which the author of a book of scripture withholds someone's name in this manner is when Alma repeatedly refers to "the father of Lamoni" in chapters 18-20. But even then, Lamoni's father did not play a central role in the record as the brother of Jared does. I learned through a little bit of research today why this may be the case. Hugh Nibley says, in his book Lehi in the Desert and the World of the Jaredites, that "it is, of course, because 'he that wrote this' is a direct descendant of Jared, and not of Jared's brother, and is giving the history of his line only". It does make some sense.
As interesting as I've always found that part of the story, as I was reading this morning, I became very interested in another mystery.
And the brother of Jared being a large and mighty man, and a man highly favored of the Lord, Jared, his brother, said unto him: Cry unto the Lord, that he will not confound us that we may not understand our words. (Ether 1:34)
Why did Jared ask his brother to pray? Could he not have done it himself? I have spent hours searching and praying for the answer to this question. I have quite a few reference books, along with access to unlimited resources on the internet. Surely someone, somewhere has had this same question. But I found nothing. This left me to come to some of my own conclusions. Maybe the use of the words "large and mighty" in describing the brother of Jared had less to do with his physical stature and more to do with his spirituality. Perhaps he was some sort of spiritual or religious leader. It was not uncommon during ancient times for people to go to their Elders or Chief Judges with requests for the Lord.
I know in my heart that Jared didn't ask his brother to pray because he himself was lacking in faith. He had to have had faith that the Lord would answer his brother's prayer. I also don't believe that just because Jared asked someone else to pray, he wasn't also praying. I just don't think that he handed the full responsibility for the deliverance of his family and friends to his brother and then went on his way.
As I was pondering this subject, a friend updated her status on one of the popular social networking sites. She asked for all of our prayers as her husband went into surgery for his back. This made me start thinking about the reasons that we ask people to pray for us. I know that my friend will be praying for her husband, so why did she feel it necessary to ask for additional prayers? I had a few ideas of my own, but I did an informal survey of some of my family members to see if they had any thoughts. I wanted to know what makes them personally ask others to pray in their behalf. My sister told me that she finds it comforting to know that there are other people out there thinking of her and praying for her. My brother talked about strength in numbers. They both had the thought that we're sometimes too busy to be in constant, fervent prayer, and so knowing that there are people praying for us during those times that we can't is also a comfort.
All of those things could have been the reason that Jared asked his brother to pray. There's really no way of knowing what was in his heart. I had another thought, though. Humility. I think it shows humility to ask someone to pray for us - to ask for help. Our prayers, just like Jared's, are very often answered through the efforts of those around us.
Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. (James 5:16)
Asking someone to pray for us is not a sign of faithlessness or inadequacy. Contrarily, it is a demonstration of our humble willingness to be the recipient of the greatest form of service imaginable - the unselfish petition to God on behalf of another of his children. I believe that both the person asking for the prayers and those who perform the act of praying will be greatly blessed.
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