Like many of the crossroads of life, there’s a right way and a wrong way. The Tower of Babel story provides a stark contrast to a Book of Mormon event. The Babel (or Babylon) story centers around an attempt to bypass the covenant path. It’s an attempt at re-creation without the aid of the Creator.
We only have the first nine verses of Genesis 11 to work with. “And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar” (verse 3). The phrase “burn them throughly,” would translate to “burn them burnt.” The slime was probably bitumen. This combination would tend to make it floodproof in case God decided to flood the earth again, contrary to His promise in Genesis 9. The idea was to make a city and a tower so high that it would reach heaven.
They wanted to “make a name” for themselves. This could possibly be related to “a new name” or new creation. In temple liturgy, and even in Babylon, there were a series of gates one had to pass through to progress in the journey, and each gate had a name. This creation of their own name could have been an attempt to bypass the “keeper of the gate” (2 Nephi 9:41) according to some scholars.
In essence, this project is an example of self-sufficiency and works without faith. It’s the belief that we can get to heaven on our own merits.
But, there’s another way . . .
In Ether 3, in the Book of Mormon, there is a prototype for coming into the presence of God. The brother of Jared built barges under the direction of the Lord to cross the seas enroute to a promised land, a symbolic representation of heaven. But he had two problems—the lack of air to breathe since they were watertight and lack of light. The Lord solves one of the problems by providing ventilation but then leaves the other unsolved for him to figure out. This entire story is a perfect balance of grace and works, unlike the Tower of Babel.
Perhaps the Lord gives him a clue by saying, “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” (Ether 2:23). Noah’s ark had a “window,” but the Hebrew word for it was tsohar, meaning “bright as noonday.” Some rabbis believed it was a precious stone that shone in the ark, according to the footnote for this verse.
Ether 3:1 reads, “And it came to pass that the brother of Jared, (now the number of the vessels which had been prepared was eight) went forth unto the mount, which they called the mount Shelem, because of its exceeding height, and did molten out of a rock sixteen small stones; and they were white and clear, even as transparent glass; and he did carry them in his hands upon the top of the mount, and cried again unto the Lord . . . “
The number of vessels is eight, which is significant since the number eight symbolizes new beginnings, and they are going to a new promised land. The brother of Jared goes up a mount called Shelem because of its height. It’s probably higher than the Tower of Babel and he didn’t have to build it. The Lord already took care of that, so this is God’s grace. He did molten out of the rock sixteen small white and clear stones—two stones for each barge.
The stones have a parallel with Revelation 2:17: “To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.” This is the correct way to obtain a new name—something the Babylonian worshippers vainly sought after. “And a white stone is given to each of those who come into the celestial kingdom, whereon is a new name written, which no man knoweth save he that receiveth it. The new name is the key word.” (D&C 130:11). These are celestial stones. The brother of Jared can be seen as a type of Jesus Christ, who “carries” us back to the presence of the Father in the celestial kingdom.
The brother of Jared carried these stones in his hands. There two Hebrew words for consecrate are male’ and yad, meaning “to fill the hand.” This is an act of consecration and a symbolic fulfillment of a covenant.
The name of the mount is Shelem, and it’s the Hebrew name of the peace offering. The order for the altar offerings was the sin offering (representing atonement), the burnt offering (representing surrender), and the peace offering (representing communion or fellowship with God). The ordinance of the sacrament is most like the peace offering, since it’s a communal meal shared by the congregation.
After the act of consecration comes the fellowship with the Lord. “The Lord stretched forth his hand and touched the stones one by one with his finger. And the veil was taken from off the eyes of the brother of Jared, and he saw the finger of the Lord” (Ether 3:6). Eventually, the Lord showed Himself to the brother of Jared and said, “Because thou knowest these things ye are redeemed from the fall; therefore ye are brought back into my presence; therefore I show myself unto you.” (Ether 3:13).
The people at the Tower of Babel wanted to make a name for themselves. But as Nephi put it best, “as the Lord God liveth, there is none other name given under heaven save it be this Jesus Christ, of which I have spoken, whereby man can be saved” (2 Nephi 25:20).
Some scholars believe the Tower of Babel was patterned after ancient temples. The scriptural purpose of the temple is to bring us back into the presence of God the Father and Jesus Christ.
