The Wilderness of Mount Sinai
Where Science Meets the Book of Mormon: Come Follow Me Lesson: November 25-December 1; Ether 12-15
We are told in Matthew 17: 20, “…verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.” Again, we read in Mark 11:23, “For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.” Then in 1 Corinthians 13:2, Paul wrote, “And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.”
We tend to think of all these statements as being metaphorical, which I certainly do not understand. In Matthew 17:20, Christ seems to be saying, if you have even the smallest amount of faith, you can move mountains. If mountain-moving can be accomplished by the amount of faith compared to a mustard seed, to what may I compare my faith — a grain of sand, a molecule, or a sub-atomic particle? And what would a lot of faith look like — and olive pit, a peach stone? And if one had that much faith, what could he or she do — create universes?
We often invoke the metaphor of mountain-moving when faced with a seemingly impossible task, but we, none-the-less still use the phrase metaphorically. However, in our modern society, construction crews building, say a freeway, can actually move mountains. The ancient Mesopotamians were able to build mountainous ziggurats and the ancient Egyptians built pyramids. But there is no record in the Old or New Testament of anyone actually moving a mountain by faith.
Yet, in Ether 12:30, Moroni makes the following statement: “For the brother of Jared said unto the mountain Zerin, Remove — and it was removed. And if he had not had faith it would not have moved; wherefore thou workest after men have faith.” Mount Zerin is never mentioned anywhere else in all of scripture. This is the only place where this incredible story is even mentioned — yet there is no story here — we have no idea what the brother of Jared actually did — or, more importantly, why.
I have pondered this scripture my entire life. I envision some mountain being picked up by some invisible force, flown through the air, and landing, with a gigantic thud, at some yonder place, or with a gigantic splash, into the sea. But why? Why would someone want to move a perfectly good mountain to some other location? Maybe the mountain was blocking the route of the Jaredite’s travel into the valley of Nimrod or, more likely, out of the valley of Nimrod into a quarter of wilderness “where there never had man been,” (Ether 2:1-5). I can’t imagine the brother of Jared just moving some random mountain on a dare. Moroni apparently knew the story, but he never gave us even the slightest detail — like writing the perfect teaser at the beginning of a novel and then never finishing the novel.
I have often imagined what happened to all the plant and animal life that just happened to be living in the “yonder place” where the mountain plopped down. They would have been just minding their own business when they were suddenly squashed, much like an ant, on its way to or from finding food for its colony, when someone just walking along, steps on it. If the mountain was blocking the exit into a quarter of wilderness where there never had man been, then, apparently, there would have been no human life endangered. Furthermore, if the wilderness into which the Jaredites traveled was like the Wilderness of Mount Sinai, no one would have noticed, or even cared, if one of the mountains out there had been moved — and no plant or animal would have been squashed, except, perhaps for some random ant that happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Trent Dee Stephens, PhD
Interesting reflections. Similar thoughts arise when thinking about physical miracles, the power of the priesthood, and animism- obedience by the elements. I’m anxious to learn someday what is what. For now I press forward, trusting.