After the stones had been prepared, “the Lord caused stones to shine in darkness, to give light unto men, women, and children.” This passage refers to the real, physical stones he prepared for providing light in the barges for the Jaredite colony, but we also note the symbolic message here. The Savior is the Stone of Israel, the Rock of our salvation, and he gives light to the world. Stone and rock represent in the scriptures something firm, solid, immovable (see commentary at 3 Nephi 14:24–27). All who follow the Savior also become, in a sense, “stones” for Israel and all the earth and “rocks” of salvation to earth’s inhabitants.
On the historicity of the “ark of Noah” and the Flood, see also commentary at 3 Nephi 22:8–10. Genesis 6:16 mentions a “window” in the ark, but read the curious footnote 16a. Some translations have an alternate rendering of the Hebrew tsohar, meaning “light.” According to one Jewish source, this “window” could refer to “a precious stone, which illuminated the whole interior of the Ark.”27 Compare Ether 3:1–5.
Like Noah’s ark, the Jaredite vessels contained food and animals and plenty of faith. Some of these kinds of animals were likely found later by Lehi’s family (1 Nephi 18:25). Moroni’s abridgment gives us some small idea of the truly miraculous and spectacular nature of the Jaredite adventure, wherein the eight barges were propelled toward their destination by a furious wind, created by the Lord, which “did never cease to blow towards the promised land” (Ether 6:8). While some may question the veracity of such a story, it should be remembered that God is Lord over all the elements of the earth. As he himself told Moroni, “At my command the heavens are opened and are shut; and at my word the earth shall shake” (Ether 4:9).
Even those modern-day skeptics who most disbelieve maritime theories concerning the ancient peopling of the Americas from the Near and Middle East admit that some early transoceanic voyages are probable, due to the oceanic currents and prevailing winds. In fact, historical sources attest to such transoceanic crossings as experienced by the Jaredites. In the 18th century a.d., about twenty Japanese craft in the north Pacific were caught in currents and carried against their will across the ocean to the west coast of America.28
For additional information on transoceanic crossings, see Skinner, “Promises Fulfilled,” in Jackson, Alma 30 to Moroni, 264; and Sorenson, Ancient American Setting, 111.