Being Left in the Dark?

 There are many times in our lives when we may feel as the Brother of Jared did as he was so specifically told how he should build the barges and told that he would be taken to the place that the Lord wanted him to be.

In our lives sometimes we may feel like we are following the exact instructions that the Lord has given us; such as being worthy temple recommend holders, serving faithfully in our homes, callings, work, and communities to be His servants in our actions; yet we sometimes may feel as if He isn't directing us on one particular question that we may have; and it can seem as if we are getting in a boat in the dark; although we trust He can get us there; we wonder what else we can do to be comforted, directed, or taught in one area or another?

we can learn a great lesson about these feelings that all of us are prone to have as we read these verses in Ether 2

22 And he cried again unto the Lord saying: O Lord, behold I have done even as thou hast commanded me; and I have prepared the vessels for my people, and behold there is no light in them. Behold, O Lord, wilt thou suffer that we shall cross this great water in darkness?

23 And the Lord said unto the brother of Jared: What will ye that I should do that ye may have light in your vessels? For behold, ye cannot have windows, for they will be dashed in pieces; neither shall ye take fire with you, for ye shall not go by the light of fire.

 24 For behold, ye shall be as a whale in the midst of the sea; for the mountain waves shall dash upon you. Nevertheless, I will bring you up again out of the depths of the sea; for the winds have gone forth out of my mouth, and also the rains and the floods have I sent forth.

25 And behold, I prepare you against these things; for ye cannot cross this great deep save I prepare you against the waves of the sea, and the winds which have gone forth, and the floods which shall come. Therefore what will ye that I should prepare for you that ye may have light when ye are swallowed up in the depths of the sea?

In these scriptures we learn that the Lord although He does give very direct instructions on many things in our lives that pertain particularity to us through personal revelation; there will be some areas that He may not need to give us specific instruction on; or there may be some questions that we may need to wait to gain the answer to them. Sometimes He wants us to figure things out on our own in order for us to grow and gain faith in the abilities that He has given us; and sometimes He desires for us to come to Him with our own plan showing forth faith in prayer that we can be diligent in seeking after His council. Yet, in some circumstances it may not matter at all what we are worried about in the grand scheme of things. All of these things can be revealed to us through recognizing how the spirit speaks to us, 

I love the example that we have here of the Brother of Jared being moving forward in faith when he felt worried that he was going to be left in the dark. I love the example that he brought his own idea to the Lord and the Lord blessed him because of his faith. The Lord wants and needs us to gain faith in our own ability to choose for ourselves; and that is one of the reasons that we came here to this earth, and yet He has not left us alone even at the same time that He does want us to choose for ourselves. The entire process is beautiful to me. 

D&C 58:26

26 For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward.

As we become more like Him, we naturally begin to conduct our daily actions and activities the way that He would, thus we likely will need to be commanded less by direction of the spirit, and instead we then begin to feel the spirit not to be led but with us as we are doing His work that comes so naturally to us. 

I say this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.