Liberally

When the brother of Jared tried to solve the problem of interior lighting in eight barges, the Lord’s answer had very little to do with the lighting problem (see Ether 1:11). The Lord’s answer redeemed this prophet from the fall (see Ether 1:13), and the Lord ministered unto him (Ether 1:14), which would have included a great deal more than solving lighting issues. This is what liberally means. Revelations from the Lord go well beyond the question asked. Oftentimes, the issue that brings a prophet before God has nothing to do with the Lord’s answer. The highly local question (which church to join, how to light a barge, where to hunt food, why some ancients had plural wives, what repentance is required, etc.) is largely irrelevant to readers of scripture. The liberally-given answers address matters of universal concern: apostasy and restoration; Priesthood restoration to Joseph; the fullness of God’s revelations to mankind, including from the beginning to the end; calling and election; sealing authority; visions of eternity, etc. It is the liberally-given material which shows what the Lord really intends to bestow on mankind.¹