In the Book of Ether, idolatry kept recurring. It was appealing to the ancients to have an idol—especially a very large, prominent, beautifully-carved stone image of something. This made belief and worship easy—the image could be seen and the idol could be touched. Not only could they see and touch an idol, but there was a pleasant smell associated with idol worship since incense was often burned as part of the ceremonies. The visual, tangible, olfactory sensory experience of idols was what was appealing. All of this gave a feeling of permanence. Idols seemed to have a bigger-than-life presence and, in fact, many of them were larger than life. Large stone idols were intimidating and put the worshipper in a secondary or lowly state. That appealed to the kings and rulers, who generally wanted the ordinary people to feel lowly. The humbler the people were, the easier it was to maintain control in the land.
During his ministry on the earth in the Meridian of Time, Jesus Christ could be seen, touched, and heard. He has appeared and spoken to prophets in every dispensation of the gospel. The reality of these events is recorded in scripture for the benefit of all of us. However, most of us live by faith in Jesus Christ. Both Moroni and the Apostle Paul emphasized that we must have faith in Jesus Christ, even though we do not see. Paul stated that “we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7). Hebrews 11:1 explains that “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Moroni stated that “faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith” (Ether 12:6). These scriptures help us to avoid the lure of idolatry.