Martha’s comment the other day reminded me of the rich symbolism in the story of the Jaredites as they make their way to the Promised Land. I’ll write more about that tomorrow, but wanted to share this quote with you from Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen’s book My Grandfather’s Blessings. In the Epilogue of the book she says:"In the Book of Mormon, there is another version of the Exodus story. In it, the Jaredites, forced from their homes by conditions that stifle their freedom, set out across great uncharted waters to reach the land of promise in boats sealed up tightly against the sea. Jared speaks to God about the difficulty in steering these boats in total darkness. He is told that if he brings stones with him, God will touch them and they will shine forth light.
The voyage is long and difficult in the extreme; there are mighty storms, and the boats are plunged deep beneath the water over and over again. But their seal holds, and the stones, touched by God, continue to shine. According to Jung, the stone is one of the two archetypal symbols for the soul. This image of a people sailing through heavy seas in search of freedom, steering only by the light that the touch of God kindles in their souls, is a particularly beautiful one for me."[My Grandfather's Blessings, P. 375]
This symbolism is especially beautiful for me also. And there is so much more!
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6 comments:
I have that book, but haven't read it yet. Is she a member of the Church? Thanks for sharing--I think I'll start reading it sometime soon.
Thank you for that...I didn't know that about the stone being one of two archetypal symbols four the soul (now I'm curious what the other one is).
Can't wait to read more of your thoughts about the Brother of Jared.
Wendi, No she is not. She is a Jewish medical doctor. I love her books. Later editions of her book don't have this page in it. Does yours?
Martha, Rachel gave me a hug from you! Thank you! I love hugs.I'm not sure what the other symbol is. I'd also like to know!
That is really interesting that she included that from The Book of Mormon. Yes, mine is one that has that part included. Yay! :)
I've been working on anchoring my self in the now. Thanks for this entry. Everything helps.
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