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Ether 7-11

Home > The Book of Mormon > Ether > Chapters 7-11
Previous page: Chapter 6                      Next page: Chapters 12-15


This page would ideally always be under construction. You are invited to contribute.


Summary[edit]

This section should be very brief. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Relationship to Ether. The relationship of Chapters 7-11 to the rest of Ether is discussed at Ether.

Story. Chapters 7-11 cover all of Jaredite history between the founding generation of Jared and his brother, and the final generation of Coriantumr and Ether. This middle portion of Ether consists of four major sections. In the first, destruction is averted by repentance. In the other three, secret combinations cause society to be destroyed:

  • Chapter 7 / 7:3b-27: Shule, destruction averted. Shule's brother takes the kingdom from their father. Shule eventually restores the kingdom to his father and then succeeds him as king. King Shule is likewise brought into captivity and is likewise rescued by his sons. In the days of Shule the people revile against the prophets. King Shule protects the prophets, which brings the people to repentance and spares them from destruction.
  • Chapter 8-9a / 8:1-9:15a: Omer and Jared II, first destruction. Jared brings his father King Omer into captivity, but his brothers restore Omer as king. Akish, in order to marry Jared's daughter, employs a secret combination to again overthrow King Omer. The Lord warns Omer to flee. Competing secret combinations cause the destruction of the Jaredites. Moroni strongly warns the Gentiles to put down secret combinations in order to avoid similar destruction.
  • Chapter 9b-10 / 9:15b-10:29: Twelve kings, second destruction. This chapter moves quickly through the reigns of twelve kings. The Jaredites enjoy periods of great righteousness and prosperity. But when King Heth embraces secret combinations and persecutes the prophets, the Jaredites are destroyed — for the second time — by famine and fiery serpents until Heth dies and the people repent. His successor Riplakish oppresses the people until they rise up against him.
  • Chapter 11 / 10:30-11:23: Twelve more kings and captives, third destruction. This chapter moves quickly through the reigns of another twelve kings (or their captive descendants). Eight of the twelve generations listed in this chapter die in captivity. This period is described in terms of increasing wickedness, secret combinations, and rejection of the prophets. Com II protects the prophets but is unable to overcome the secret combinations. Soon after his reign secret combinations lead to ignoring and killing the prophets. The Jaredites are destroyed — for the third time — by war and famine until the people repent.

Message. Themes, symbols, and doctrinal points emphasized in Chapters 7-11 include:

  • Captivity. As the brother of Jared warned, monarchy leads to captivity.
  • Secret Combinations. As Moroni warns, secret combinations lead to destruction unless put down.

Discussion[edit]

This section is for detailed discussion such as the meaning of a symbol, how a doctrinal point is developed throughout a passage, or insights that can be further developed in the future. Contributions may range from polished paragraphs down to a single bullet point. The focus, however, should always be on understanding the scriptural text consistent with LDS doctrine. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Ether 7-11: Organization of the text[edit]

  • Identifying constituent sections. The opening third of Ether (Chapters 1-6 — 5,304 words) centers on just two main characters, Jared and his prophet brother. The final third of Ether (Chapters 12-15 — 5,738 words) likewise centers on just two main characters, the king Coriantumr and the prophet Ether. All the intervening centuries of Jaredite history are covered here in the middle third (Chapters 7-11 — 5,201 words).
This middle third divides into four sections. The first section (Chapter 7) revolves around Jared's great grandson Shule. The second section revolves around the reign of Shule's son Omer, including Omer's son Jared and Jared's daughter and son in law Akish (Chapters 8-9a). This leaves only two and a half chapters (chapters 9b-11) for an extremely compressed account of more than a thousand years of history. That history is recounted in two sections that can be recognized by their use of inclusions, or repeated elements at the beginning and end of each section. The third section begins and ends with detailed accounts of Jaredite prosperity in a choice and of the poisonous serpents being introduced and eradicated. The fourth section begins and ends with multiple generations of the royal line dwelling in captivity.
  • Relationship of constituent sections. In the first section (Chapter 7) there is substantial contention for the throne, fulfilling the Brother of Jared's statement that the institution of monarchy would lead to captivity. But contention for the throne among aspiring elites does not lead to general destruction among the population.
In the second section (Chapters 8-9a) secret combinations first appear as an additional tool in competition for the throne. Within a generation or so those secret combinations leads to the almost complete destruction of the entire population.
In the third section (Chapters 9b-10) the people become ripe and begin to be destroyed because they cast out the prophets. But Moroni expressly states that this was done according to the commandments of a king who obtained the throne through the same secret plans (9:26-29).
In the fourth section (Chapter 11) the people again begin to be destroyed when the prophets are ordered killed by a contender for the throne and are ignored by the general population, again because of the secret combinations among them.
So while contention for the throne leads to the captivity of unsuccessful elites, secret combinations lead to the destruction of the general population.
It is also significant that only once in all of Ether, in the third section (Chapters 9b-10), Moroni provides the only account of the general population rising up against an oppressive king and exercising any influence over the kingship to hold it accountable to them.
  • Outline.
● Shule: Is protected and in turn protects the prophets, destruction averted (Chapter 7)
• Shule (follows Orihah and Kib) restores kingdom to his father Kib (7:3b-13)
• other half of kingdom restored to Shule (7:14-22)
• Shule protects prophets from the people (7:23-27)
● Omer: Secret combinations introduced, destruction #1 (Chapter 8-9a)
A. secret combinations introduced (8:1-19)
• Omer brougt into captivity and restored to throne, Jared repents (8:1-6)
• daughter of Jared suggests a secret combination (8:7-12)
• Akish's oath initiates the secret combination (8:13-19)
B. Moroni commanded to warn against: secret combinations (8:20-26)
A. secret combinations result in destruction (9:1-15a)
• Omer warned to flee (9:1-3)
• Akish kills his father in law Jared (9:4-6)
• Akish kills his son, another son flees (9:7-9)
• other sons rebel, secret combinations kill all but thirty, Omer rules over a remnant (9:10-15a)
● Twelve kings: Prosperity in a choice land, oppression, destruction #2 (Chapter 9b-10)
a. Emer: prosperity in a choice land (9:15b-22)
b. Coriantum and Com: minimal detail (9:23-25)
c. Heth: embraces secret combinations and persecutes prophets, destruction by famine and serpents until people repent (9:26-35)
d. Shez: descendant remembers the destruction of his fathers and builds up a righteous kingdom (10:1-4)
c. Riplakish: oppresses the people with taxation and servitude until they rise up against him (10:5-8)
d. Morianton: descendant eases the people's burden but is personally wicked (10:9-13a)
b. Kim, Levi, Corom, and Kish: minimal detail (10:13b-18)
a. Lib: serpents destroyed, prosperity in a choice land (10:19-29)
● Twelve kings and captives: Captivity, prophets withdraw, destruction #3 (Chapter 11)
a. Hearthom and four descendants in captivity (10:30-31)
• Com: protects prophets but cannot overcome secret combinations (10:32-11:3)
• Shiblom and Seth: prophets killed by usurper and ignored because of secret combinations, destruction by war and famine until people repent (11:4-9)
• Ahah and Ethem: prophets ignored and withdraw (10-14a)
a. Moron and Coriantor in captivity (11:14b-23)

Ether 7-11: Themes[edit]

  • Treatment of prophets. In verses 7:23-27, king Shule protects the prophets, and the people are spared. In verses 9:28-29 king Heth commands that the prophets be persecuted, and the people are destroyed. But in verses 11:1-3 king Com II protects the prophets, but the people reject the prophets and are destroyed once the new king ascends the throne.
  • Treatment of kings. In verses 8:20-26, the middle of Chapter 8-9a, Moroni warns us to actively oppose secret combinations. In verses 10:5-8, near the middle of another large section, the people rise up and oppose (smite down?) an oppressive king. This is the only time in Ether that the people, as opposed to a power hungry usurper, are described as taking any action to control their own political destiny.
  • Effect of kings. It is so interesting to see the effect that a king has upon his people. We see this over an over again in this book. When a king is good and remembers the Lord than the people in the kingdom usually do the same but when he is bad he usually ignites wickedness throughout the kingdom. It makes me grateful for freedom of religion.

Ether 7 / Verses 7:4-27[edit]

  • Ether 7:4-27. This passage follows on verses 6:12b-7:3a by showing the fulfillment of the Brother of Jared's statement that having a king would lead into captivity. This passage also, like the rest of chapters 7-11, races quickly through multiple generations with much less detail than the opening and closing narratives. But two things distinguish this passage from the remainder of chapters 7-11: (1) there are no secret combinations, and (2) while there is captivity, there is no widespread destruction.

Ether 8-9a / Verses 8:1-9:15a[edit]

Ether 9b-10 / Verses 9:15b-10:29[edit]

  • Verse 10:3-8: Intervention in the selection of kings. In verse 10:3 Shez II, a son seeking to take the throne from his righteous father Shez I, is smitten by a robber. In verses 10:5-8, the people rise up and oppose (smite down?) the next king, who is oppressive. This parallel is suggestive.
  • Verse 9:19: Elephants. Hugh Nibley saw the mention of "elephants" in this verse as evidence for the historicity of the Book of Mormon. See his book Lehi in the Desert and The World of Jaredites (ISBN 0884940225).
  • Verse 10:28: Hyperbole Moroni's phrase here "never could be a people more blessed than were they" seems like hyperbole in light of the blessings other communities have received (e.g. the City of Enoch).

Ether 11 / Verses 10:30-11:23[edit]

Unanswered questions[edit]

This section is for questions along the lines of "I still don't understand ..." Please do not be shy. The point of these questions is to identify things that still need to be addressed on this page. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Prompts for life application[edit]

This section is for prompts that suggest ways in which a passage can influence a person's life. Prompts may be appropriate either for private self reflection or for a class discussion. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Prompts for further study[edit]

This section is for prompts that invite us to think about a passage more deeply or in a new way. These are not necessarily questions that beg for answers, but rather prompts along the lines of "Have you ever thought about ..." Prompts are most helpful when they are developed individually, thoughtfully, and with enough background information to clearly indicate a particular direction for further study or thought. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

  • Verse 8:9:: Use of history. How are we to understand the daughter's use of history for unrighteous purposes? Compare with Shule's remembering "the great things that the Lord had done for his fathers in bringing them across the great deep into the promised land; wherefore he did execute judgment in righteousness all his days" (Ether 7:27).
  • Verse 8:10-11:: Akish's character. What do we learn of Akish's character, given that the daughter of Jared chose him to seduce? What does Omer's friendship with Akish tell us about Omer? If the daughter of Jared knew Akish to be capable of treachery, did Omer?
  • Verse 8:13-14:: Uninformed consent. Akish administers the oath before revealing his plan. What kind of people would Akish's relations have needed to be to swear such an oath? Were they blindly loyal to Akish? Were they enticed by greed? Did they suspect his plan?
  • Verse 8:15:: Oaths from Cain. Cain seems not to have had any accomplices. What does Cain's murder have to do with the oaths Akish administered?
  • Verse 8:23:: The work, yea, even the work of destruction. Was their language structure such that the describer “of destruction” came before the noun, so that when he first wrote “the work” he couldn't just add “of destruction” after it, but had to go back and re-write it completely to add the modifier “of destruction?” Otherwise why repeat what looks like a not too important item “the work”?
  • Verse 9:22:: The Son of Righteousness. It states that Emer saw the Son of Righteousness. Why are no more details given of this vision? What is the significance of referring to Christ here as the "Son of Righteousness"?
  • Verses 9:31-33:: Animals in America. This explains why Lehi's family found the cow and ox, etc. already present when they arrived in America. (1 Ne 18:25)
  • Verse 10:5:: Borrowed phrase? When this verse says the king did not "that which was right in the sight of the Lord," is it borrowing a formulaic phrase from the Old Testament?
  • Verse 10:30:: Hearthom. After such an elaborate description of the wealth and prosperity of the people, why does Moroni neglect to explain how and why Hearthom lost his kingdom?
  • Verse 11:22:: Social institutions. How did the social and political institutions and relationships they built make them unresponsive to revelation?

Resources[edit]

This section is for listing links and print resources, including those that are also cited elsewhere on this page. A short comment about the particular strengths of a resource can be helpful. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Notes[edit]

Footnotes are not required but are encouraged for factual assertions that average readers cannot easily evaluate for themselves (such as the date of King Solomon’s death or the nuanced definition of a Greek word). In contrast, insights rarely benefit from footnoting, and the focus of this page should always remain on the scriptures themselves rather than what someone has said about them. Links are actively encouraged on all sections of this page, and links to authoritative sources (such as Strong's Bible Concordance or the Joseph Smith Papers) are preferable to footnotes.



Previous page: Chapter 6                      Next page: Chapters 12-15

Ether 7:4-27

Home > The Book of Mormon > Ether > Chapters 7-11
Previous page: Chapter 6                      Next page: Chapters 12-15


This page would ideally always be under construction. You are invited to contribute.


Summary[edit]

This section should be very brief. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Relationship to Ether. The relationship of Chapters 7-11 to the rest of Ether is discussed at Ether.

Story. Chapters 7-11 cover all of Jaredite history between the founding generation of Jared and his brother, and the final generation of Coriantumr and Ether. This middle portion of Ether consists of four major sections. In the first, destruction is averted by repentance. In the other three, secret combinations cause society to be destroyed:

  • Chapter 7 / 7:3b-27: Shule, destruction averted. Shule's brother takes the kingdom from their father. Shule eventually restores the kingdom to his father and then succeeds him as king. King Shule is likewise brought into captivity and is likewise rescued by his sons. In the days of Shule the people revile against the prophets. King Shule protects the prophets, which brings the people to repentance and spares them from destruction.
  • Chapter 8-9a / 8:1-9:15a: Omer and Jared II, first destruction. Jared brings his father King Omer into captivity, but his brothers restore Omer as king. Akish, in order to marry Jared's daughter, employs a secret combination to again overthrow King Omer. The Lord warns Omer to flee. Competing secret combinations cause the destruction of the Jaredites. Moroni strongly warns the Gentiles to put down secret combinations in order to avoid similar destruction.
  • Chapter 9b-10 / 9:15b-10:29: Twelve kings, second destruction. This chapter moves quickly through the reigns of twelve kings. The Jaredites enjoy periods of great righteousness and prosperity. But when King Heth embraces secret combinations and persecutes the prophets, the Jaredites are destroyed — for the second time — by famine and fiery serpents until Heth dies and the people repent. His successor Riplakish oppresses the people until they rise up against him.
  • Chapter 11 / 10:30-11:23: Twelve more kings and captives, third destruction. This chapter moves quickly through the reigns of another twelve kings (or their captive descendants). Eight of the twelve generations listed in this chapter die in captivity. This period is described in terms of increasing wickedness, secret combinations, and rejection of the prophets. Com II protects the prophets but is unable to overcome the secret combinations. Soon after his reign secret combinations lead to ignoring and killing the prophets. The Jaredites are destroyed — for the third time — by war and famine until the people repent.

Message. Themes, symbols, and doctrinal points emphasized in Chapters 7-11 include:

  • Captivity. As the brother of Jared warned, monarchy leads to captivity.
  • Secret Combinations. As Moroni warns, secret combinations lead to destruction unless put down.

Discussion[edit]

This section is for detailed discussion such as the meaning of a symbol, how a doctrinal point is developed throughout a passage, or insights that can be further developed in the future. Contributions may range from polished paragraphs down to a single bullet point. The focus, however, should always be on understanding the scriptural text consistent with LDS doctrine. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Ether 7-11: Organization of the text[edit]

  • Identifying constituent sections. The opening third of Ether (Chapters 1-6 — 5,304 words) centers on just two main characters, Jared and his prophet brother. The final third of Ether (Chapters 12-15 — 5,738 words) likewise centers on just two main characters, the king Coriantumr and the prophet Ether. All the intervening centuries of Jaredite history are covered here in the middle third (Chapters 7-11 — 5,201 words).
This middle third divides into four sections. The first section (Chapter 7) revolves around Jared's great grandson Shule. The second section revolves around the reign of Shule's son Omer, including Omer's son Jared and Jared's daughter and son in law Akish (Chapters 8-9a). This leaves only two and a half chapters (chapters 9b-11) for an extremely compressed account of more than a thousand years of history. That history is recounted in two sections that can be recognized by their use of inclusions, or repeated elements at the beginning and end of each section. The third section begins and ends with detailed accounts of Jaredite prosperity in a choice and of the poisonous serpents being introduced and eradicated. The fourth section begins and ends with multiple generations of the royal line dwelling in captivity.
  • Relationship of constituent sections. In the first section (Chapter 7) there is substantial contention for the throne, fulfilling the Brother of Jared's statement that the institution of monarchy would lead to captivity. But contention for the throne among aspiring elites does not lead to general destruction among the population.
In the second section (Chapters 8-9a) secret combinations first appear as an additional tool in competition for the throne. Within a generation or so those secret combinations leads to the almost complete destruction of the entire population.
In the third section (Chapters 9b-10) the people become ripe and begin to be destroyed because they cast out the prophets. But Moroni expressly states that this was done according to the commandments of a king who obtained the throne through the same secret plans (9:26-29).
In the fourth section (Chapter 11) the people again begin to be destroyed when the prophets are ordered killed by a contender for the throne and are ignored by the general population, again because of the secret combinations among them.
So while contention for the throne leads to the captivity of unsuccessful elites, secret combinations lead to the destruction of the general population.
It is also significant that only once in all of Ether, in the third section (Chapters 9b-10), Moroni provides the only account of the general population rising up against an oppressive king and exercising any influence over the kingship to hold it accountable to them.
  • Outline.
● Shule: Is protected and in turn protects the prophets, destruction averted (Chapter 7)
• Shule (follows Orihah and Kib) restores kingdom to his father Kib (7:3b-13)
• other half of kingdom restored to Shule (7:14-22)
• Shule protects prophets from the people (7:23-27)
● Omer: Secret combinations introduced, destruction #1 (Chapter 8-9a)
A. secret combinations introduced (8:1-19)
• Omer brougt into captivity and restored to throne, Jared repents (8:1-6)
• daughter of Jared suggests a secret combination (8:7-12)
• Akish's oath initiates the secret combination (8:13-19)
B. Moroni commanded to warn against: secret combinations (8:20-26)
A. secret combinations result in destruction (9:1-15a)
• Omer warned to flee (9:1-3)
• Akish kills his father in law Jared (9:4-6)
• Akish kills his son, another son flees (9:7-9)
• other sons rebel, secret combinations kill all but thirty, Omer rules over a remnant (9:10-15a)
● Twelve kings: Prosperity in a choice land, oppression, destruction #2 (Chapter 9b-10)
a. Emer: prosperity in a choice land (9:15b-22)
b. Coriantum and Com: minimal detail (9:23-25)
c. Heth: embraces secret combinations and persecutes prophets, destruction by famine and serpents until people repent (9:26-35)
d. Shez: descendant remembers the destruction of his fathers and builds up a righteous kingdom (10:1-4)
c. Riplakish: oppresses the people with taxation and servitude until they rise up against him (10:5-8)
d. Morianton: descendant eases the people's burden but is personally wicked (10:9-13a)
b. Kim, Levi, Corom, and Kish: minimal detail (10:13b-18)
a. Lib: serpents destroyed, prosperity in a choice land (10:19-29)
● Twelve kings and captives: Captivity, prophets withdraw, destruction #3 (Chapter 11)
a. Hearthom and four descendants in captivity (10:30-31)
• Com: protects prophets but cannot overcome secret combinations (10:32-11:3)
• Shiblom and Seth: prophets killed by usurper and ignored because of secret combinations, destruction by war and famine until people repent (11:4-9)
• Ahah and Ethem: prophets ignored and withdraw (10-14a)
a. Moron and Coriantor in captivity (11:14b-23)

Ether 7-11: Themes[edit]

  • Treatment of prophets. In verses 7:23-27, king Shule protects the prophets, and the people are spared. In verses 9:28-29 king Heth commands that the prophets be persecuted, and the people are destroyed. But in verses 11:1-3 king Com II protects the prophets, but the people reject the prophets and are destroyed once the new king ascends the throne.
  • Treatment of kings. In verses 8:20-26, the middle of Chapter 8-9a, Moroni warns us to actively oppose secret combinations. In verses 10:5-8, near the middle of another large section, the people rise up and oppose (smite down?) an oppressive king. This is the only time in Ether that the people, as opposed to a power hungry usurper, are described as taking any action to control their own political destiny.
  • Effect of kings. It is so interesting to see the effect that a king has upon his people. We see this over an over again in this book. When a king is good and remembers the Lord than the people in the kingdom usually do the same but when he is bad he usually ignites wickedness throughout the kingdom. It makes me grateful for freedom of religion.

Ether 7 / Verses 7:4-27[edit]

  • Ether 7:4-27. This passage follows on verses 6:12b-7:3a by showing the fulfillment of the Brother of Jared's statement that having a king would lead into captivity. This passage also, like the rest of chapters 7-11, races quickly through multiple generations with much less detail than the opening and closing narratives. But two things distinguish this passage from the remainder of chapters 7-11: (1) there are no secret combinations, and (2) while there is captivity, there is no widespread destruction.

Ether 8-9a / Verses 8:1-9:15a[edit]

Ether 9b-10 / Verses 9:15b-10:29[edit]

  • Verse 10:3-8: Intervention in the selection of kings. In verse 10:3 Shez II, a son seeking to take the throne from his righteous father Shez I, is smitten by a robber. In verses 10:5-8, the people rise up and oppose (smite down?) the next king, who is oppressive. This parallel is suggestive.
  • Verse 9:19: Elephants. Hugh Nibley saw the mention of "elephants" in this verse as evidence for the historicity of the Book of Mormon. See his book Lehi in the Desert and The World of Jaredites (ISBN 0884940225).
  • Verse 10:28: Hyperbole Moroni's phrase here "never could be a people more blessed than were they" seems like hyperbole in light of the blessings other communities have received (e.g. the City of Enoch).

Ether 11 / Verses 10:30-11:23[edit]

Unanswered questions[edit]

This section is for questions along the lines of "I still don't understand ..." Please do not be shy. The point of these questions is to identify things that still need to be addressed on this page. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Prompts for life application[edit]

This section is for prompts that suggest ways in which a passage can influence a person's life. Prompts may be appropriate either for private self reflection or for a class discussion. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Prompts for further study[edit]

This section is for prompts that invite us to think about a passage more deeply or in a new way. These are not necessarily questions that beg for answers, but rather prompts along the lines of "Have you ever thought about ..." Prompts are most helpful when they are developed individually, thoughtfully, and with enough background information to clearly indicate a particular direction for further study or thought. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

  • Verse 8:9:: Use of history. How are we to understand the daughter's use of history for unrighteous purposes? Compare with Shule's remembering "the great things that the Lord had done for his fathers in bringing them across the great deep into the promised land; wherefore he did execute judgment in righteousness all his days" (Ether 7:27).
  • Verse 8:10-11:: Akish's character. What do we learn of Akish's character, given that the daughter of Jared chose him to seduce? What does Omer's friendship with Akish tell us about Omer? If the daughter of Jared knew Akish to be capable of treachery, did Omer?
  • Verse 8:13-14:: Uninformed consent. Akish administers the oath before revealing his plan. What kind of people would Akish's relations have needed to be to swear such an oath? Were they blindly loyal to Akish? Were they enticed by greed? Did they suspect his plan?
  • Verse 8:15:: Oaths from Cain. Cain seems not to have had any accomplices. What does Cain's murder have to do with the oaths Akish administered?
  • Verse 8:23:: The work, yea, even the work of destruction. Was their language structure such that the describer “of destruction” came before the noun, so that when he first wrote “the work” he couldn't just add “of destruction” after it, but had to go back and re-write it completely to add the modifier “of destruction?” Otherwise why repeat what looks like a not too important item “the work”?
  • Verse 9:22:: The Son of Righteousness. It states that Emer saw the Son of Righteousness. Why are no more details given of this vision? What is the significance of referring to Christ here as the "Son of Righteousness"?
  • Verses 9:31-33:: Animals in America. This explains why Lehi's family found the cow and ox, etc. already present when they arrived in America. (1 Ne 18:25)
  • Verse 10:5:: Borrowed phrase? When this verse says the king did not "that which was right in the sight of the Lord," is it borrowing a formulaic phrase from the Old Testament?
  • Verse 10:30:: Hearthom. After such an elaborate description of the wealth and prosperity of the people, why does Moroni neglect to explain how and why Hearthom lost his kingdom?
  • Verse 11:22:: Social institutions. How did the social and political institutions and relationships they built make them unresponsive to revelation?

Resources[edit]

This section is for listing links and print resources, including those that are also cited elsewhere on this page. A short comment about the particular strengths of a resource can be helpful. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Notes[edit]

Footnotes are not required but are encouraged for factual assertions that average readers cannot easily evaluate for themselves (such as the date of King Solomon’s death or the nuanced definition of a Greek word). In contrast, insights rarely benefit from footnoting, and the focus of this page should always remain on the scriptures themselves rather than what someone has said about them. Links are actively encouraged on all sections of this page, and links to authoritative sources (such as Strong's Bible Concordance or the Joseph Smith Papers) are preferable to footnotes.



Previous page: Chapter 6                      Next page: Chapters 12-15

Ether 8

Home > The Book of Mormon > Ether > Chapters 7-11
Previous page: Chapter 6                      Next page: Chapters 12-15


This page would ideally always be under construction. You are invited to contribute.


Summary[edit]

This section should be very brief. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Relationship to Ether. The relationship of Chapters 7-11 to the rest of Ether is discussed at Ether.

Story. Chapters 7-11 cover all of Jaredite history between the founding generation of Jared and his brother, and the final generation of Coriantumr and Ether. This middle portion of Ether consists of four major sections. In the first, destruction is averted by repentance. In the other three, secret combinations cause society to be destroyed:

  • Chapter 7 / 7:3b-27: Shule, destruction averted. Shule's brother takes the kingdom from their father. Shule eventually restores the kingdom to his father and then succeeds him as king. King Shule is likewise brought into captivity and is likewise rescued by his sons. In the days of Shule the people revile against the prophets. King Shule protects the prophets, which brings the people to repentance and spares them from destruction.
  • Chapter 8-9a / 8:1-9:15a: Omer and Jared II, first destruction. Jared brings his father King Omer into captivity, but his brothers restore Omer as king. Akish, in order to marry Jared's daughter, employs a secret combination to again overthrow King Omer. The Lord warns Omer to flee. Competing secret combinations cause the destruction of the Jaredites. Moroni strongly warns the Gentiles to put down secret combinations in order to avoid similar destruction.
  • Chapter 9b-10 / 9:15b-10:29: Twelve kings, second destruction. This chapter moves quickly through the reigns of twelve kings. The Jaredites enjoy periods of great righteousness and prosperity. But when King Heth embraces secret combinations and persecutes the prophets, the Jaredites are destroyed — for the second time — by famine and fiery serpents until Heth dies and the people repent. His successor Riplakish oppresses the people until they rise up against him.
  • Chapter 11 / 10:30-11:23: Twelve more kings and captives, third destruction. This chapter moves quickly through the reigns of another twelve kings (or their captive descendants). Eight of the twelve generations listed in this chapter die in captivity. This period is described in terms of increasing wickedness, secret combinations, and rejection of the prophets. Com II protects the prophets but is unable to overcome the secret combinations. Soon after his reign secret combinations lead to ignoring and killing the prophets. The Jaredites are destroyed — for the third time — by war and famine until the people repent.

Message. Themes, symbols, and doctrinal points emphasized in Chapters 7-11 include:

  • Captivity. As the brother of Jared warned, monarchy leads to captivity.
  • Secret Combinations. As Moroni warns, secret combinations lead to destruction unless put down.

Discussion[edit]

This section is for detailed discussion such as the meaning of a symbol, how a doctrinal point is developed throughout a passage, or insights that can be further developed in the future. Contributions may range from polished paragraphs down to a single bullet point. The focus, however, should always be on understanding the scriptural text consistent with LDS doctrine. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Ether 7-11: Organization of the text[edit]

  • Identifying constituent sections. The opening third of Ether (Chapters 1-6 — 5,304 words) centers on just two main characters, Jared and his prophet brother. The final third of Ether (Chapters 12-15 — 5,738 words) likewise centers on just two main characters, the king Coriantumr and the prophet Ether. All the intervening centuries of Jaredite history are covered here in the middle third (Chapters 7-11 — 5,201 words).
This middle third divides into four sections. The first section (Chapter 7) revolves around Jared's great grandson Shule. The second section revolves around the reign of Shule's son Omer, including Omer's son Jared and Jared's daughter and son in law Akish (Chapters 8-9a). This leaves only two and a half chapters (chapters 9b-11) for an extremely compressed account of more than a thousand years of history. That history is recounted in two sections that can be recognized by their use of inclusions, or repeated elements at the beginning and end of each section. The third section begins and ends with detailed accounts of Jaredite prosperity in a choice and of the poisonous serpents being introduced and eradicated. The fourth section begins and ends with multiple generations of the royal line dwelling in captivity.
  • Relationship of constituent sections. In the first section (Chapter 7) there is substantial contention for the throne, fulfilling the Brother of Jared's statement that the institution of monarchy would lead to captivity. But contention for the throne among aspiring elites does not lead to general destruction among the population.
In the second section (Chapters 8-9a) secret combinations first appear as an additional tool in competition for the throne. Within a generation or so those secret combinations leads to the almost complete destruction of the entire population.
In the third section (Chapters 9b-10) the people become ripe and begin to be destroyed because they cast out the prophets. But Moroni expressly states that this was done according to the commandments of a king who obtained the throne through the same secret plans (9:26-29).
In the fourth section (Chapter 11) the people again begin to be destroyed when the prophets are ordered killed by a contender for the throne and are ignored by the general population, again because of the secret combinations among them.
So while contention for the throne leads to the captivity of unsuccessful elites, secret combinations lead to the destruction of the general population.
It is also significant that only once in all of Ether, in the third section (Chapters 9b-10), Moroni provides the only account of the general population rising up against an oppressive king and exercising any influence over the kingship to hold it accountable to them.
  • Outline.
● Shule: Is protected and in turn protects the prophets, destruction averted (Chapter 7)
• Shule (follows Orihah and Kib) restores kingdom to his father Kib (7:3b-13)
• other half of kingdom restored to Shule (7:14-22)
• Shule protects prophets from the people (7:23-27)
● Omer: Secret combinations introduced, destruction #1 (Chapter 8-9a)
A. secret combinations introduced (8:1-19)
• Omer brougt into captivity and restored to throne, Jared repents (8:1-6)
• daughter of Jared suggests a secret combination (8:7-12)
• Akish's oath initiates the secret combination (8:13-19)
B. Moroni commanded to warn against: secret combinations (8:20-26)
A. secret combinations result in destruction (9:1-15a)
• Omer warned to flee (9:1-3)
• Akish kills his father in law Jared (9:4-6)
• Akish kills his son, another son flees (9:7-9)
• other sons rebel, secret combinations kill all but thirty, Omer rules over a remnant (9:10-15a)
● Twelve kings: Prosperity in a choice land, oppression, destruction #2 (Chapter 9b-10)
a. Emer: prosperity in a choice land (9:15b-22)
b. Coriantum and Com: minimal detail (9:23-25)
c. Heth: embraces secret combinations and persecutes prophets, destruction by famine and serpents until people repent (9:26-35)
d. Shez: descendant remembers the destruction of his fathers and builds up a righteous kingdom (10:1-4)
c. Riplakish: oppresses the people with taxation and servitude until they rise up against him (10:5-8)
d. Morianton: descendant eases the people's burden but is personally wicked (10:9-13a)
b. Kim, Levi, Corom, and Kish: minimal detail (10:13b-18)
a. Lib: serpents destroyed, prosperity in a choice land (10:19-29)
● Twelve kings and captives: Captivity, prophets withdraw, destruction #3 (Chapter 11)
a. Hearthom and four descendants in captivity (10:30-31)
• Com: protects prophets but cannot overcome secret combinations (10:32-11:3)
• Shiblom and Seth: prophets killed by usurper and ignored because of secret combinations, destruction by war and famine until people repent (11:4-9)
• Ahah and Ethem: prophets ignored and withdraw (10-14a)
a. Moron and Coriantor in captivity (11:14b-23)

Ether 7-11: Themes[edit]

  • Treatment of prophets. In verses 7:23-27, king Shule protects the prophets, and the people are spared. In verses 9:28-29 king Heth commands that the prophets be persecuted, and the people are destroyed. But in verses 11:1-3 king Com II protects the prophets, but the people reject the prophets and are destroyed once the new king ascends the throne.
  • Treatment of kings. In verses 8:20-26, the middle of Chapter 8-9a, Moroni warns us to actively oppose secret combinations. In verses 10:5-8, near the middle of another large section, the people rise up and oppose (smite down?) an oppressive king. This is the only time in Ether that the people, as opposed to a power hungry usurper, are described as taking any action to control their own political destiny.
  • Effect of kings. It is so interesting to see the effect that a king has upon his people. We see this over an over again in this book. When a king is good and remembers the Lord than the people in the kingdom usually do the same but when he is bad he usually ignites wickedness throughout the kingdom. It makes me grateful for freedom of religion.

Ether 7 / Verses 7:4-27[edit]

  • Ether 7:4-27. This passage follows on verses 6:12b-7:3a by showing the fulfillment of the Brother of Jared's statement that having a king would lead into captivity. This passage also, like the rest of chapters 7-11, races quickly through multiple generations with much less detail than the opening and closing narratives. But two things distinguish this passage from the remainder of chapters 7-11: (1) there are no secret combinations, and (2) while there is captivity, there is no widespread destruction.

Ether 8-9a / Verses 8:1-9:15a[edit]

Ether 9b-10 / Verses 9:15b-10:29[edit]

  • Verse 10:3-8: Intervention in the selection of kings. In verse 10:3 Shez II, a son seeking to take the throne from his righteous father Shez I, is smitten by a robber. In verses 10:5-8, the people rise up and oppose (smite down?) the next king, who is oppressive. This parallel is suggestive.
  • Verse 9:19: Elephants. Hugh Nibley saw the mention of "elephants" in this verse as evidence for the historicity of the Book of Mormon. See his book Lehi in the Desert and The World of Jaredites (ISBN 0884940225).
  • Verse 10:28: Hyperbole Moroni's phrase here "never could be a people more blessed than were they" seems like hyperbole in light of the blessings other communities have received (e.g. the City of Enoch).

Ether 11 / Verses 10:30-11:23[edit]

Unanswered questions[edit]

This section is for questions along the lines of "I still don't understand ..." Please do not be shy. The point of these questions is to identify things that still need to be addressed on this page. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Prompts for life application[edit]

This section is for prompts that suggest ways in which a passage can influence a person's life. Prompts may be appropriate either for private self reflection or for a class discussion. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Prompts for further study[edit]

This section is for prompts that invite us to think about a passage more deeply or in a new way. These are not necessarily questions that beg for answers, but rather prompts along the lines of "Have you ever thought about ..." Prompts are most helpful when they are developed individually, thoughtfully, and with enough background information to clearly indicate a particular direction for further study or thought. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

  • Verse 8:9:: Use of history. How are we to understand the daughter's use of history for unrighteous purposes? Compare with Shule's remembering "the great things that the Lord had done for his fathers in bringing them across the great deep into the promised land; wherefore he did execute judgment in righteousness all his days" (Ether 7:27).
  • Verse 8:10-11:: Akish's character. What do we learn of Akish's character, given that the daughter of Jared chose him to seduce? What does Omer's friendship with Akish tell us about Omer? If the daughter of Jared knew Akish to be capable of treachery, did Omer?
  • Verse 8:13-14:: Uninformed consent. Akish administers the oath before revealing his plan. What kind of people would Akish's relations have needed to be to swear such an oath? Were they blindly loyal to Akish? Were they enticed by greed? Did they suspect his plan?
  • Verse 8:15:: Oaths from Cain. Cain seems not to have had any accomplices. What does Cain's murder have to do with the oaths Akish administered?
  • Verse 8:23:: The work, yea, even the work of destruction. Was their language structure such that the describer “of destruction” came before the noun, so that when he first wrote “the work” he couldn't just add “of destruction” after it, but had to go back and re-write it completely to add the modifier “of destruction?” Otherwise why repeat what looks like a not too important item “the work”?
  • Verse 9:22:: The Son of Righteousness. It states that Emer saw the Son of Righteousness. Why are no more details given of this vision? What is the significance of referring to Christ here as the "Son of Righteousness"?
  • Verses 9:31-33:: Animals in America. This explains why Lehi's family found the cow and ox, etc. already present when they arrived in America. (1 Ne 18:25)
  • Verse 10:5:: Borrowed phrase? When this verse says the king did not "that which was right in the sight of the Lord," is it borrowing a formulaic phrase from the Old Testament?
  • Verse 10:30:: Hearthom. After such an elaborate description of the wealth and prosperity of the people, why does Moroni neglect to explain how and why Hearthom lost his kingdom?
  • Verse 11:22:: Social institutions. How did the social and political institutions and relationships they built make them unresponsive to revelation?

Resources[edit]

This section is for listing links and print resources, including those that are also cited elsewhere on this page. A short comment about the particular strengths of a resource can be helpful. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Notes[edit]

Footnotes are not required but are encouraged for factual assertions that average readers cannot easily evaluate for themselves (such as the date of King Solomon’s death or the nuanced definition of a Greek word). In contrast, insights rarely benefit from footnoting, and the focus of this page should always remain on the scriptures themselves rather than what someone has said about them. Links are actively encouraged on all sections of this page, and links to authoritative sources (such as Strong's Bible Concordance or the Joseph Smith Papers) are preferable to footnotes.



Previous page: Chapter 6                      Next page: Chapters 12-15

Ether 8:1-19

Home > The Book of Mormon > Ether > Chapters 7-11
Previous page: Chapter 6                      Next page: Chapters 12-15


This page would ideally always be under construction. You are invited to contribute.


Summary[edit]

This section should be very brief. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Relationship to Ether. The relationship of Chapters 7-11 to the rest of Ether is discussed at Ether.

Story. Chapters 7-11 cover all of Jaredite history between the founding generation of Jared and his brother, and the final generation of Coriantumr and Ether. This middle portion of Ether consists of four major sections. In the first, destruction is averted by repentance. In the other three, secret combinations cause society to be destroyed:

  • Chapter 7 / 7:3b-27: Shule, destruction averted. Shule's brother takes the kingdom from their father. Shule eventually restores the kingdom to his father and then succeeds him as king. King Shule is likewise brought into captivity and is likewise rescued by his sons. In the days of Shule the people revile against the prophets. King Shule protects the prophets, which brings the people to repentance and spares them from destruction.
  • Chapter 8-9a / 8:1-9:15a: Omer and Jared II, first destruction. Jared brings his father King Omer into captivity, but his brothers restore Omer as king. Akish, in order to marry Jared's daughter, employs a secret combination to again overthrow King Omer. The Lord warns Omer to flee. Competing secret combinations cause the destruction of the Jaredites. Moroni strongly warns the Gentiles to put down secret combinations in order to avoid similar destruction.
  • Chapter 9b-10 / 9:15b-10:29: Twelve kings, second destruction. This chapter moves quickly through the reigns of twelve kings. The Jaredites enjoy periods of great righteousness and prosperity. But when King Heth embraces secret combinations and persecutes the prophets, the Jaredites are destroyed — for the second time — by famine and fiery serpents until Heth dies and the people repent. His successor Riplakish oppresses the people until they rise up against him.
  • Chapter 11 / 10:30-11:23: Twelve more kings and captives, third destruction. This chapter moves quickly through the reigns of another twelve kings (or their captive descendants). Eight of the twelve generations listed in this chapter die in captivity. This period is described in terms of increasing wickedness, secret combinations, and rejection of the prophets. Com II protects the prophets but is unable to overcome the secret combinations. Soon after his reign secret combinations lead to ignoring and killing the prophets. The Jaredites are destroyed — for the third time — by war and famine until the people repent.

Message. Themes, symbols, and doctrinal points emphasized in Chapters 7-11 include:

  • Captivity. As the brother of Jared warned, monarchy leads to captivity.
  • Secret Combinations. As Moroni warns, secret combinations lead to destruction unless put down.

Discussion[edit]

This section is for detailed discussion such as the meaning of a symbol, how a doctrinal point is developed throughout a passage, or insights that can be further developed in the future. Contributions may range from polished paragraphs down to a single bullet point. The focus, however, should always be on understanding the scriptural text consistent with LDS doctrine. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Ether 7-11: Organization of the text[edit]

  • Identifying constituent sections. The opening third of Ether (Chapters 1-6 — 5,304 words) centers on just two main characters, Jared and his prophet brother. The final third of Ether (Chapters 12-15 — 5,738 words) likewise centers on just two main characters, the king Coriantumr and the prophet Ether. All the intervening centuries of Jaredite history are covered here in the middle third (Chapters 7-11 — 5,201 words).
This middle third divides into four sections. The first section (Chapter 7) revolves around Jared's great grandson Shule. The second section revolves around the reign of Shule's son Omer, including Omer's son Jared and Jared's daughter and son in law Akish (Chapters 8-9a). This leaves only two and a half chapters (chapters 9b-11) for an extremely compressed account of more than a thousand years of history. That history is recounted in two sections that can be recognized by their use of inclusions, or repeated elements at the beginning and end of each section. The third section begins and ends with detailed accounts of Jaredite prosperity in a choice and of the poisonous serpents being introduced and eradicated. The fourth section begins and ends with multiple generations of the royal line dwelling in captivity.
  • Relationship of constituent sections. In the first section (Chapter 7) there is substantial contention for the throne, fulfilling the Brother of Jared's statement that the institution of monarchy would lead to captivity. But contention for the throne among aspiring elites does not lead to general destruction among the population.
In the second section (Chapters 8-9a) secret combinations first appear as an additional tool in competition for the throne. Within a generation or so those secret combinations leads to the almost complete destruction of the entire population.
In the third section (Chapters 9b-10) the people become ripe and begin to be destroyed because they cast out the prophets. But Moroni expressly states that this was done according to the commandments of a king who obtained the throne through the same secret plans (9:26-29).
In the fourth section (Chapter 11) the people again begin to be destroyed when the prophets are ordered killed by a contender for the throne and are ignored by the general population, again because of the secret combinations among them.
So while contention for the throne leads to the captivity of unsuccessful elites, secret combinations lead to the destruction of the general population.
It is also significant that only once in all of Ether, in the third section (Chapters 9b-10), Moroni provides the only account of the general population rising up against an oppressive king and exercising any influence over the kingship to hold it accountable to them.
  • Outline.
● Shule: Is protected and in turn protects the prophets, destruction averted (Chapter 7)
• Shule (follows Orihah and Kib) restores kingdom to his father Kib (7:3b-13)
• other half of kingdom restored to Shule (7:14-22)
• Shule protects prophets from the people (7:23-27)
● Omer: Secret combinations introduced, destruction #1 (Chapter 8-9a)
A. secret combinations introduced (8:1-19)
• Omer brougt into captivity and restored to throne, Jared repents (8:1-6)
• daughter of Jared suggests a secret combination (8:7-12)
• Akish's oath initiates the secret combination (8:13-19)
B. Moroni commanded to warn against: secret combinations (8:20-26)
A. secret combinations result in destruction (9:1-15a)
• Omer warned to flee (9:1-3)
• Akish kills his father in law Jared (9:4-6)
• Akish kills his son, another son flees (9:7-9)
• other sons rebel, secret combinations kill all but thirty, Omer rules over a remnant (9:10-15a)
● Twelve kings: Prosperity in a choice land, oppression, destruction #2 (Chapter 9b-10)
a. Emer: prosperity in a choice land (9:15b-22)
b. Coriantum and Com: minimal detail (9:23-25)
c. Heth: embraces secret combinations and persecutes prophets, destruction by famine and serpents until people repent (9:26-35)
d. Shez: descendant remembers the destruction of his fathers and builds up a righteous kingdom (10:1-4)
c. Riplakish: oppresses the people with taxation and servitude until they rise up against him (10:5-8)
d. Morianton: descendant eases the people's burden but is personally wicked (10:9-13a)
b. Kim, Levi, Corom, and Kish: minimal detail (10:13b-18)
a. Lib: serpents destroyed, prosperity in a choice land (10:19-29)
● Twelve kings and captives: Captivity, prophets withdraw, destruction #3 (Chapter 11)
a. Hearthom and four descendants in captivity (10:30-31)
• Com: protects prophets but cannot overcome secret combinations (10:32-11:3)
• Shiblom and Seth: prophets killed by usurper and ignored because of secret combinations, destruction by war and famine until people repent (11:4-9)
• Ahah and Ethem: prophets ignored and withdraw (10-14a)
a. Moron and Coriantor in captivity (11:14b-23)

Ether 7-11: Themes[edit]

  • Treatment of prophets. In verses 7:23-27, king Shule protects the prophets, and the people are spared. In verses 9:28-29 king Heth commands that the prophets be persecuted, and the people are destroyed. But in verses 11:1-3 king Com II protects the prophets, but the people reject the prophets and are destroyed once the new king ascends the throne.
  • Treatment of kings. In verses 8:20-26, the middle of Chapter 8-9a, Moroni warns us to actively oppose secret combinations. In verses 10:5-8, near the middle of another large section, the people rise up and oppose (smite down?) an oppressive king. This is the only time in Ether that the people, as opposed to a power hungry usurper, are described as taking any action to control their own political destiny.
  • Effect of kings. It is so interesting to see the effect that a king has upon his people. We see this over an over again in this book. When a king is good and remembers the Lord than the people in the kingdom usually do the same but when he is bad he usually ignites wickedness throughout the kingdom. It makes me grateful for freedom of religion.

Ether 7 / Verses 7:4-27[edit]

  • Ether 7:4-27. This passage follows on verses 6:12b-7:3a by showing the fulfillment of the Brother of Jared's statement that having a king would lead into captivity. This passage also, like the rest of chapters 7-11, races quickly through multiple generations with much less detail than the opening and closing narratives. But two things distinguish this passage from the remainder of chapters 7-11: (1) there are no secret combinations, and (2) while there is captivity, there is no widespread destruction.

Ether 8-9a / Verses 8:1-9:15a[edit]

Ether 9b-10 / Verses 9:15b-10:29[edit]

  • Verse 10:3-8: Intervention in the selection of kings. In verse 10:3 Shez II, a son seeking to take the throne from his righteous father Shez I, is smitten by a robber. In verses 10:5-8, the people rise up and oppose (smite down?) the next king, who is oppressive. This parallel is suggestive.
  • Verse 9:19: Elephants. Hugh Nibley saw the mention of "elephants" in this verse as evidence for the historicity of the Book of Mormon. See his book Lehi in the Desert and The World of Jaredites (ISBN 0884940225).
  • Verse 10:28: Hyperbole Moroni's phrase here "never could be a people more blessed than were they" seems like hyperbole in light of the blessings other communities have received (e.g. the City of Enoch).

Ether 11 / Verses 10:30-11:23[edit]

Unanswered questions[edit]

This section is for questions along the lines of "I still don't understand ..." Please do not be shy. The point of these questions is to identify things that still need to be addressed on this page. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Prompts for life application[edit]

This section is for prompts that suggest ways in which a passage can influence a person's life. Prompts may be appropriate either for private self reflection or for a class discussion. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Prompts for further study[edit]

This section is for prompts that invite us to think about a passage more deeply or in a new way. These are not necessarily questions that beg for answers, but rather prompts along the lines of "Have you ever thought about ..." Prompts are most helpful when they are developed individually, thoughtfully, and with enough background information to clearly indicate a particular direction for further study or thought. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

  • Verse 8:9:: Use of history. How are we to understand the daughter's use of history for unrighteous purposes? Compare with Shule's remembering "the great things that the Lord had done for his fathers in bringing them across the great deep into the promised land; wherefore he did execute judgment in righteousness all his days" (Ether 7:27).
  • Verse 8:10-11:: Akish's character. What do we learn of Akish's character, given that the daughter of Jared chose him to seduce? What does Omer's friendship with Akish tell us about Omer? If the daughter of Jared knew Akish to be capable of treachery, did Omer?
  • Verse 8:13-14:: Uninformed consent. Akish administers the oath before revealing his plan. What kind of people would Akish's relations have needed to be to swear such an oath? Were they blindly loyal to Akish? Were they enticed by greed? Did they suspect his plan?
  • Verse 8:15:: Oaths from Cain. Cain seems not to have had any accomplices. What does Cain's murder have to do with the oaths Akish administered?
  • Verse 8:23:: The work, yea, even the work of destruction. Was their language structure such that the describer “of destruction” came before the noun, so that when he first wrote “the work” he couldn't just add “of destruction” after it, but had to go back and re-write it completely to add the modifier “of destruction?” Otherwise why repeat what looks like a not too important item “the work”?
  • Verse 9:22:: The Son of Righteousness. It states that Emer saw the Son of Righteousness. Why are no more details given of this vision? What is the significance of referring to Christ here as the "Son of Righteousness"?
  • Verses 9:31-33:: Animals in America. This explains why Lehi's family found the cow and ox, etc. already present when they arrived in America. (1 Ne 18:25)
  • Verse 10:5:: Borrowed phrase? When this verse says the king did not "that which was right in the sight of the Lord," is it borrowing a formulaic phrase from the Old Testament?
  • Verse 10:30:: Hearthom. After such an elaborate description of the wealth and prosperity of the people, why does Moroni neglect to explain how and why Hearthom lost his kingdom?
  • Verse 11:22:: Social institutions. How did the social and political institutions and relationships they built make them unresponsive to revelation?

Resources[edit]

This section is for listing links and print resources, including those that are also cited elsewhere on this page. A short comment about the particular strengths of a resource can be helpful. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Notes[edit]

Footnotes are not required but are encouraged for factual assertions that average readers cannot easily evaluate for themselves (such as the date of King Solomon’s death or the nuanced definition of a Greek word). In contrast, insights rarely benefit from footnoting, and the focus of this page should always remain on the scriptures themselves rather than what someone has said about them. Links are actively encouraged on all sections of this page, and links to authoritative sources (such as Strong's Bible Concordance or the Joseph Smith Papers) are preferable to footnotes.



Previous page: Chapter 6                      Next page: Chapters 12-15

Ether 8:20-26

Home > The Book of Mormon > Ether > Chapters 7-11
Previous page: Chapter 6                      Next page: Chapters 12-15


This page would ideally always be under construction. You are invited to contribute.


Summary[edit]

This section should be very brief. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Relationship to Ether. The relationship of Chapters 7-11 to the rest of Ether is discussed at Ether.

Story. Chapters 7-11 cover all of Jaredite history between the founding generation of Jared and his brother, and the final generation of Coriantumr and Ether. This middle portion of Ether consists of four major sections. In the first, destruction is averted by repentance. In the other three, secret combinations cause society to be destroyed:

  • Chapter 7 / 7:3b-27: Shule, destruction averted. Shule's brother takes the kingdom from their father. Shule eventually restores the kingdom to his father and then succeeds him as king. King Shule is likewise brought into captivity and is likewise rescued by his sons. In the days of Shule the people revile against the prophets. King Shule protects the prophets, which brings the people to repentance and spares them from destruction.
  • Chapter 8-9a / 8:1-9:15a: Omer and Jared II, first destruction. Jared brings his father King Omer into captivity, but his brothers restore Omer as king. Akish, in order to marry Jared's daughter, employs a secret combination to again overthrow King Omer. The Lord warns Omer to flee. Competing secret combinations cause the destruction of the Jaredites. Moroni strongly warns the Gentiles to put down secret combinations in order to avoid similar destruction.
  • Chapter 9b-10 / 9:15b-10:29: Twelve kings, second destruction. This chapter moves quickly through the reigns of twelve kings. The Jaredites enjoy periods of great righteousness and prosperity. But when King Heth embraces secret combinations and persecutes the prophets, the Jaredites are destroyed — for the second time — by famine and fiery serpents until Heth dies and the people repent. His successor Riplakish oppresses the people until they rise up against him.
  • Chapter 11 / 10:30-11:23: Twelve more kings and captives, third destruction. This chapter moves quickly through the reigns of another twelve kings (or their captive descendants). Eight of the twelve generations listed in this chapter die in captivity. This period is described in terms of increasing wickedness, secret combinations, and rejection of the prophets. Com II protects the prophets but is unable to overcome the secret combinations. Soon after his reign secret combinations lead to ignoring and killing the prophets. The Jaredites are destroyed — for the third time — by war and famine until the people repent.

Message. Themes, symbols, and doctrinal points emphasized in Chapters 7-11 include:

  • Captivity. As the brother of Jared warned, monarchy leads to captivity.
  • Secret Combinations. As Moroni warns, secret combinations lead to destruction unless put down.

Discussion[edit]

This section is for detailed discussion such as the meaning of a symbol, how a doctrinal point is developed throughout a passage, or insights that can be further developed in the future. Contributions may range from polished paragraphs down to a single bullet point. The focus, however, should always be on understanding the scriptural text consistent with LDS doctrine. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Ether 7-11: Organization of the text[edit]

  • Identifying constituent sections. The opening third of Ether (Chapters 1-6 — 5,304 words) centers on just two main characters, Jared and his prophet brother. The final third of Ether (Chapters 12-15 — 5,738 words) likewise centers on just two main characters, the king Coriantumr and the prophet Ether. All the intervening centuries of Jaredite history are covered here in the middle third (Chapters 7-11 — 5,201 words).
This middle third divides into four sections. The first section (Chapter 7) revolves around Jared's great grandson Shule. The second section revolves around the reign of Shule's son Omer, including Omer's son Jared and Jared's daughter and son in law Akish (Chapters 8-9a). This leaves only two and a half chapters (chapters 9b-11) for an extremely compressed account of more than a thousand years of history. That history is recounted in two sections that can be recognized by their use of inclusions, or repeated elements at the beginning and end of each section. The third section begins and ends with detailed accounts of Jaredite prosperity in a choice and of the poisonous serpents being introduced and eradicated. The fourth section begins and ends with multiple generations of the royal line dwelling in captivity.
  • Relationship of constituent sections. In the first section (Chapter 7) there is substantial contention for the throne, fulfilling the Brother of Jared's statement that the institution of monarchy would lead to captivity. But contention for the throne among aspiring elites does not lead to general destruction among the population.
In the second section (Chapters 8-9a) secret combinations first appear as an additional tool in competition for the throne. Within a generation or so those secret combinations leads to the almost complete destruction of the entire population.
In the third section (Chapters 9b-10) the people become ripe and begin to be destroyed because they cast out the prophets. But Moroni expressly states that this was done according to the commandments of a king who obtained the throne through the same secret plans (9:26-29).
In the fourth section (Chapter 11) the people again begin to be destroyed when the prophets are ordered killed by a contender for the throne and are ignored by the general population, again because of the secret combinations among them.
So while contention for the throne leads to the captivity of unsuccessful elites, secret combinations lead to the destruction of the general population.
It is also significant that only once in all of Ether, in the third section (Chapters 9b-10), Moroni provides the only account of the general population rising up against an oppressive king and exercising any influence over the kingship to hold it accountable to them.
  • Outline.
● Shule: Is protected and in turn protects the prophets, destruction averted (Chapter 7)
• Shule (follows Orihah and Kib) restores kingdom to his father Kib (7:3b-13)
• other half of kingdom restored to Shule (7:14-22)
• Shule protects prophets from the people (7:23-27)
● Omer: Secret combinations introduced, destruction #1 (Chapter 8-9a)
A. secret combinations introduced (8:1-19)
• Omer brougt into captivity and restored to throne, Jared repents (8:1-6)
• daughter of Jared suggests a secret combination (8:7-12)
• Akish's oath initiates the secret combination (8:13-19)
B. Moroni commanded to warn against: secret combinations (8:20-26)
A. secret combinations result in destruction (9:1-15a)
• Omer warned to flee (9:1-3)
• Akish kills his father in law Jared (9:4-6)
• Akish kills his son, another son flees (9:7-9)
• other sons rebel, secret combinations kill all but thirty, Omer rules over a remnant (9:10-15a)
● Twelve kings: Prosperity in a choice land, oppression, destruction #2 (Chapter 9b-10)
a. Emer: prosperity in a choice land (9:15b-22)
b. Coriantum and Com: minimal detail (9:23-25)
c. Heth: embraces secret combinations and persecutes prophets, destruction by famine and serpents until people repent (9:26-35)
d. Shez: descendant remembers the destruction of his fathers and builds up a righteous kingdom (10:1-4)
c. Riplakish: oppresses the people with taxation and servitude until they rise up against him (10:5-8)
d. Morianton: descendant eases the people's burden but is personally wicked (10:9-13a)
b. Kim, Levi, Corom, and Kish: minimal detail (10:13b-18)
a. Lib: serpents destroyed, prosperity in a choice land (10:19-29)
● Twelve kings and captives: Captivity, prophets withdraw, destruction #3 (Chapter 11)
a. Hearthom and four descendants in captivity (10:30-31)
• Com: protects prophets but cannot overcome secret combinations (10:32-11:3)
• Shiblom and Seth: prophets killed by usurper and ignored because of secret combinations, destruction by war and famine until people repent (11:4-9)
• Ahah and Ethem: prophets ignored and withdraw (10-14a)
a. Moron and Coriantor in captivity (11:14b-23)

Ether 7-11: Themes[edit]

  • Treatment of prophets. In verses 7:23-27, king Shule protects the prophets, and the people are spared. In verses 9:28-29 king Heth commands that the prophets be persecuted, and the people are destroyed. But in verses 11:1-3 king Com II protects the prophets, but the people reject the prophets and are destroyed once the new king ascends the throne.
  • Treatment of kings. In verses 8:20-26, the middle of Chapter 8-9a, Moroni warns us to actively oppose secret combinations. In verses 10:5-8, near the middle of another large section, the people rise up and oppose (smite down?) an oppressive king. This is the only time in Ether that the people, as opposed to a power hungry usurper, are described as taking any action to control their own political destiny.
  • Effect of kings. It is so interesting to see the effect that a king has upon his people. We see this over an over again in this book. When a king is good and remembers the Lord than the people in the kingdom usually do the same but when he is bad he usually ignites wickedness throughout the kingdom. It makes me grateful for freedom of religion.

Ether 7 / Verses 7:4-27[edit]

  • Ether 7:4-27. This passage follows on verses 6:12b-7:3a by showing the fulfillment of the Brother of Jared's statement that having a king would lead into captivity. This passage also, like the rest of chapters 7-11, races quickly through multiple generations with much less detail than the opening and closing narratives. But two things distinguish this passage from the remainder of chapters 7-11: (1) there are no secret combinations, and (2) while there is captivity, there is no widespread destruction.

Ether 8-9a / Verses 8:1-9:15a[edit]

Ether 9b-10 / Verses 9:15b-10:29[edit]

  • Verse 10:3-8: Intervention in the selection of kings. In verse 10:3 Shez II, a son seeking to take the throne from his righteous father Shez I, is smitten by a robber. In verses 10:5-8, the people rise up and oppose (smite down?) the next king, who is oppressive. This parallel is suggestive.
  • Verse 9:19: Elephants. Hugh Nibley saw the mention of "elephants" in this verse as evidence for the historicity of the Book of Mormon. See his book Lehi in the Desert and The World of Jaredites (ISBN 0884940225).
  • Verse 10:28: Hyperbole Moroni's phrase here "never could be a people more blessed than were they" seems like hyperbole in light of the blessings other communities have received (e.g. the City of Enoch).

Ether 11 / Verses 10:30-11:23[edit]

Unanswered questions[edit]

This section is for questions along the lines of "I still don't understand ..." Please do not be shy. The point of these questions is to identify things that still need to be addressed on this page. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Prompts for life application[edit]

This section is for prompts that suggest ways in which a passage can influence a person's life. Prompts may be appropriate either for private self reflection or for a class discussion. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Prompts for further study[edit]

This section is for prompts that invite us to think about a passage more deeply or in a new way. These are not necessarily questions that beg for answers, but rather prompts along the lines of "Have you ever thought about ..." Prompts are most helpful when they are developed individually, thoughtfully, and with enough background information to clearly indicate a particular direction for further study or thought. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

  • Verse 8:9:: Use of history. How are we to understand the daughter's use of history for unrighteous purposes? Compare with Shule's remembering "the great things that the Lord had done for his fathers in bringing them across the great deep into the promised land; wherefore he did execute judgment in righteousness all his days" (Ether 7:27).
  • Verse 8:10-11:: Akish's character. What do we learn of Akish's character, given that the daughter of Jared chose him to seduce? What does Omer's friendship with Akish tell us about Omer? If the daughter of Jared knew Akish to be capable of treachery, did Omer?
  • Verse 8:13-14:: Uninformed consent. Akish administers the oath before revealing his plan. What kind of people would Akish's relations have needed to be to swear such an oath? Were they blindly loyal to Akish? Were they enticed by greed? Did they suspect his plan?
  • Verse 8:15:: Oaths from Cain. Cain seems not to have had any accomplices. What does Cain's murder have to do with the oaths Akish administered?
  • Verse 8:23:: The work, yea, even the work of destruction. Was their language structure such that the describer “of destruction” came before the noun, so that when he first wrote “the work” he couldn't just add “of destruction” after it, but had to go back and re-write it completely to add the modifier “of destruction?” Otherwise why repeat what looks like a not too important item “the work”?
  • Verse 9:22:: The Son of Righteousness. It states that Emer saw the Son of Righteousness. Why are no more details given of this vision? What is the significance of referring to Christ here as the "Son of Righteousness"?
  • Verses 9:31-33:: Animals in America. This explains why Lehi's family found the cow and ox, etc. already present when they arrived in America. (1 Ne 18:25)
  • Verse 10:5:: Borrowed phrase? When this verse says the king did not "that which was right in the sight of the Lord," is it borrowing a formulaic phrase from the Old Testament?
  • Verse 10:30:: Hearthom. After such an elaborate description of the wealth and prosperity of the people, why does Moroni neglect to explain how and why Hearthom lost his kingdom?
  • Verse 11:22:: Social institutions. How did the social and political institutions and relationships they built make them unresponsive to revelation?

Resources[edit]

This section is for listing links and print resources, including those that are also cited elsewhere on this page. A short comment about the particular strengths of a resource can be helpful. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Notes[edit]

Footnotes are not required but are encouraged for factual assertions that average readers cannot easily evaluate for themselves (such as the date of King Solomon’s death or the nuanced definition of a Greek word). In contrast, insights rarely benefit from footnoting, and the focus of this page should always remain on the scriptures themselves rather than what someone has said about them. Links are actively encouraged on all sections of this page, and links to authoritative sources (such as Strong's Bible Concordance or the Joseph Smith Papers) are preferable to footnotes.



Previous page: Chapter 6                      Next page: Chapters 12-15

Ether 9:1-15

Home > The Book of Mormon > Ether > Chapters 7-11
Previous page: Chapter 6                      Next page: Chapters 12-15


This page would ideally always be under construction. You are invited to contribute.


Summary[edit]

This section should be very brief. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Relationship to Ether. The relationship of Chapters 7-11 to the rest of Ether is discussed at Ether.

Story. Chapters 7-11 cover all of Jaredite history between the founding generation of Jared and his brother, and the final generation of Coriantumr and Ether. This middle portion of Ether consists of four major sections. In the first, destruction is averted by repentance. In the other three, secret combinations cause society to be destroyed:

  • Chapter 7 / 7:3b-27: Shule, destruction averted. Shule's brother takes the kingdom from their father. Shule eventually restores the kingdom to his father and then succeeds him as king. King Shule is likewise brought into captivity and is likewise rescued by his sons. In the days of Shule the people revile against the prophets. King Shule protects the prophets, which brings the people to repentance and spares them from destruction.
  • Chapter 8-9a / 8:1-9:15a: Omer and Jared II, first destruction. Jared brings his father King Omer into captivity, but his brothers restore Omer as king. Akish, in order to marry Jared's daughter, employs a secret combination to again overthrow King Omer. The Lord warns Omer to flee. Competing secret combinations cause the destruction of the Jaredites. Moroni strongly warns the Gentiles to put down secret combinations in order to avoid similar destruction.
  • Chapter 9b-10 / 9:15b-10:29: Twelve kings, second destruction. This chapter moves quickly through the reigns of twelve kings. The Jaredites enjoy periods of great righteousness and prosperity. But when King Heth embraces secret combinations and persecutes the prophets, the Jaredites are destroyed — for the second time — by famine and fiery serpents until Heth dies and the people repent. His successor Riplakish oppresses the people until they rise up against him.
  • Chapter 11 / 10:30-11:23: Twelve more kings and captives, third destruction. This chapter moves quickly through the reigns of another twelve kings (or their captive descendants). Eight of the twelve generations listed in this chapter die in captivity. This period is described in terms of increasing wickedness, secret combinations, and rejection of the prophets. Com II protects the prophets but is unable to overcome the secret combinations. Soon after his reign secret combinations lead to ignoring and killing the prophets. The Jaredites are destroyed — for the third time — by war and famine until the people repent.

Message. Themes, symbols, and doctrinal points emphasized in Chapters 7-11 include:

  • Captivity. As the brother of Jared warned, monarchy leads to captivity.
  • Secret Combinations. As Moroni warns, secret combinations lead to destruction unless put down.

Discussion[edit]

This section is for detailed discussion such as the meaning of a symbol, how a doctrinal point is developed throughout a passage, or insights that can be further developed in the future. Contributions may range from polished paragraphs down to a single bullet point. The focus, however, should always be on understanding the scriptural text consistent with LDS doctrine. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Ether 7-11: Organization of the text[edit]

  • Identifying constituent sections. The opening third of Ether (Chapters 1-6 — 5,304 words) centers on just two main characters, Jared and his prophet brother. The final third of Ether (Chapters 12-15 — 5,738 words) likewise centers on just two main characters, the king Coriantumr and the prophet Ether. All the intervening centuries of Jaredite history are covered here in the middle third (Chapters 7-11 — 5,201 words).
This middle third divides into four sections. The first section (Chapter 7) revolves around Jared's great grandson Shule. The second section revolves around the reign of Shule's son Omer, including Omer's son Jared and Jared's daughter and son in law Akish (Chapters 8-9a). This leaves only two and a half chapters (chapters 9b-11) for an extremely compressed account of more than a thousand years of history. That history is recounted in two sections that can be recognized by their use of inclusions, or repeated elements at the beginning and end of each section. The third section begins and ends with detailed accounts of Jaredite prosperity in a choice and of the poisonous serpents being introduced and eradicated. The fourth section begins and ends with multiple generations of the royal line dwelling in captivity.
  • Relationship of constituent sections. In the first section (Chapter 7) there is substantial contention for the throne, fulfilling the Brother of Jared's statement that the institution of monarchy would lead to captivity. But contention for the throne among aspiring elites does not lead to general destruction among the population.
In the second section (Chapters 8-9a) secret combinations first appear as an additional tool in competition for the throne. Within a generation or so those secret combinations leads to the almost complete destruction of the entire population.
In the third section (Chapters 9b-10) the people become ripe and begin to be destroyed because they cast out the prophets. But Moroni expressly states that this was done according to the commandments of a king who obtained the throne through the same secret plans (9:26-29).
In the fourth section (Chapter 11) the people again begin to be destroyed when the prophets are ordered killed by a contender for the throne and are ignored by the general population, again because of the secret combinations among them.
So while contention for the throne leads to the captivity of unsuccessful elites, secret combinations lead to the destruction of the general population.
It is also significant that only once in all of Ether, in the third section (Chapters 9b-10), Moroni provides the only account of the general population rising up against an oppressive king and exercising any influence over the kingship to hold it accountable to them.
  • Outline.
● Shule: Is protected and in turn protects the prophets, destruction averted (Chapter 7)
• Shule (follows Orihah and Kib) restores kingdom to his father Kib (7:3b-13)
• other half of kingdom restored to Shule (7:14-22)
• Shule protects prophets from the people (7:23-27)
● Omer: Secret combinations introduced, destruction #1 (Chapter 8-9a)
A. secret combinations introduced (8:1-19)
• Omer brougt into captivity and restored to throne, Jared repents (8:1-6)
• daughter of Jared suggests a secret combination (8:7-12)
• Akish's oath initiates the secret combination (8:13-19)
B. Moroni commanded to warn against: secret combinations (8:20-26)
A. secret combinations result in destruction (9:1-15a)
• Omer warned to flee (9:1-3)
• Akish kills his father in law Jared (9:4-6)
• Akish kills his son, another son flees (9:7-9)
• other sons rebel, secret combinations kill all but thirty, Omer rules over a remnant (9:10-15a)
● Twelve kings: Prosperity in a choice land, oppression, destruction #2 (Chapter 9b-10)
a. Emer: prosperity in a choice land (9:15b-22)
b. Coriantum and Com: minimal detail (9:23-25)
c. Heth: embraces secret combinations and persecutes prophets, destruction by famine and serpents until people repent (9:26-35)
d. Shez: descendant remembers the destruction of his fathers and builds up a righteous kingdom (10:1-4)
c. Riplakish: oppresses the people with taxation and servitude until they rise up against him (10:5-8)
d. Morianton: descendant eases the people's burden but is personally wicked (10:9-13a)
b. Kim, Levi, Corom, and Kish: minimal detail (10:13b-18)
a. Lib: serpents destroyed, prosperity in a choice land (10:19-29)
● Twelve kings and captives: Captivity, prophets withdraw, destruction #3 (Chapter 11)
a. Hearthom and four descendants in captivity (10:30-31)
• Com: protects prophets but cannot overcome secret combinations (10:32-11:3)
• Shiblom and Seth: prophets killed by usurper and ignored because of secret combinations, destruction by war and famine until people repent (11:4-9)
• Ahah and Ethem: prophets ignored and withdraw (10-14a)
a. Moron and Coriantor in captivity (11:14b-23)

Ether 7-11: Themes[edit]

  • Treatment of prophets. In verses 7:23-27, king Shule protects the prophets, and the people are spared. In verses 9:28-29 king Heth commands that the prophets be persecuted, and the people are destroyed. But in verses 11:1-3 king Com II protects the prophets, but the people reject the prophets and are destroyed once the new king ascends the throne.
  • Treatment of kings. In verses 8:20-26, the middle of Chapter 8-9a, Moroni warns us to actively oppose secret combinations. In verses 10:5-8, near the middle of another large section, the people rise up and oppose (smite down?) an oppressive king. This is the only time in Ether that the people, as opposed to a power hungry usurper, are described as taking any action to control their own political destiny.
  • Effect of kings. It is so interesting to see the effect that a king has upon his people. We see this over an over again in this book. When a king is good and remembers the Lord than the people in the kingdom usually do the same but when he is bad he usually ignites wickedness throughout the kingdom. It makes me grateful for freedom of religion.

Ether 7 / Verses 7:4-27[edit]

  • Ether 7:4-27. This passage follows on verses 6:12b-7:3a by showing the fulfillment of the Brother of Jared's statement that having a king would lead into captivity. This passage also, like the rest of chapters 7-11, races quickly through multiple generations with much less detail than the opening and closing narratives. But two things distinguish this passage from the remainder of chapters 7-11: (1) there are no secret combinations, and (2) while there is captivity, there is no widespread destruction.

Ether 8-9a / Verses 8:1-9:15a[edit]

Ether 9b-10 / Verses 9:15b-10:29[edit]

  • Verse 10:3-8: Intervention in the selection of kings. In verse 10:3 Shez II, a son seeking to take the throne from his righteous father Shez I, is smitten by a robber. In verses 10:5-8, the people rise up and oppose (smite down?) the next king, who is oppressive. This parallel is suggestive.
  • Verse 9:19: Elephants. Hugh Nibley saw the mention of "elephants" in this verse as evidence for the historicity of the Book of Mormon. See his book Lehi in the Desert and The World of Jaredites (ISBN 0884940225).
  • Verse 10:28: Hyperbole Moroni's phrase here "never could be a people more blessed than were they" seems like hyperbole in light of the blessings other communities have received (e.g. the City of Enoch).

Ether 11 / Verses 10:30-11:23[edit]

Unanswered questions[edit]

This section is for questions along the lines of "I still don't understand ..." Please do not be shy. The point of these questions is to identify things that still need to be addressed on this page. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Prompts for life application[edit]

This section is for prompts that suggest ways in which a passage can influence a person's life. Prompts may be appropriate either for private self reflection or for a class discussion. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Prompts for further study[edit]

This section is for prompts that invite us to think about a passage more deeply or in a new way. These are not necessarily questions that beg for answers, but rather prompts along the lines of "Have you ever thought about ..." Prompts are most helpful when they are developed individually, thoughtfully, and with enough background information to clearly indicate a particular direction for further study or thought. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

  • Verse 8:9:: Use of history. How are we to understand the daughter's use of history for unrighteous purposes? Compare with Shule's remembering "the great things that the Lord had done for his fathers in bringing them across the great deep into the promised land; wherefore he did execute judgment in righteousness all his days" (Ether 7:27).
  • Verse 8:10-11:: Akish's character. What do we learn of Akish's character, given that the daughter of Jared chose him to seduce? What does Omer's friendship with Akish tell us about Omer? If the daughter of Jared knew Akish to be capable of treachery, did Omer?
  • Verse 8:13-14:: Uninformed consent. Akish administers the oath before revealing his plan. What kind of people would Akish's relations have needed to be to swear such an oath? Were they blindly loyal to Akish? Were they enticed by greed? Did they suspect his plan?
  • Verse 8:15:: Oaths from Cain. Cain seems not to have had any accomplices. What does Cain's murder have to do with the oaths Akish administered?
  • Verse 8:23:: The work, yea, even the work of destruction. Was their language structure such that the describer “of destruction” came before the noun, so that when he first wrote “the work” he couldn't just add “of destruction” after it, but had to go back and re-write it completely to add the modifier “of destruction?” Otherwise why repeat what looks like a not too important item “the work”?
  • Verse 9:22:: The Son of Righteousness. It states that Emer saw the Son of Righteousness. Why are no more details given of this vision? What is the significance of referring to Christ here as the "Son of Righteousness"?
  • Verses 9:31-33:: Animals in America. This explains why Lehi's family found the cow and ox, etc. already present when they arrived in America. (1 Ne 18:25)
  • Verse 10:5:: Borrowed phrase? When this verse says the king did not "that which was right in the sight of the Lord," is it borrowing a formulaic phrase from the Old Testament?
  • Verse 10:30:: Hearthom. After such an elaborate description of the wealth and prosperity of the people, why does Moroni neglect to explain how and why Hearthom lost his kingdom?
  • Verse 11:22:: Social institutions. How did the social and political institutions and relationships they built make them unresponsive to revelation?

Resources[edit]

This section is for listing links and print resources, including those that are also cited elsewhere on this page. A short comment about the particular strengths of a resource can be helpful. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Notes[edit]

Footnotes are not required but are encouraged for factual assertions that average readers cannot easily evaluate for themselves (such as the date of King Solomon’s death or the nuanced definition of a Greek word). In contrast, insights rarely benefit from footnoting, and the focus of this page should always remain on the scriptures themselves rather than what someone has said about them. Links are actively encouraged on all sections of this page, and links to authoritative sources (such as Strong's Bible Concordance or the Joseph Smith Papers) are preferable to footnotes.



Previous page: Chapter 6                      Next page: Chapters 12-15

Ether 9:16-10:29

Home > The Book of Mormon > Ether > Chapters 7-11
Previous page: Chapter 6                      Next page: Chapters 12-15


This page would ideally always be under construction. You are invited to contribute.


Summary[edit]

This section should be very brief. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Relationship to Ether. The relationship of Chapters 7-11 to the rest of Ether is discussed at Ether.

Story. Chapters 7-11 cover all of Jaredite history between the founding generation of Jared and his brother, and the final generation of Coriantumr and Ether. This middle portion of Ether consists of four major sections. In the first, destruction is averted by repentance. In the other three, secret combinations cause society to be destroyed:

  • Chapter 7 / 7:3b-27: Shule, destruction averted. Shule's brother takes the kingdom from their father. Shule eventually restores the kingdom to his father and then succeeds him as king. King Shule is likewise brought into captivity and is likewise rescued by his sons. In the days of Shule the people revile against the prophets. King Shule protects the prophets, which brings the people to repentance and spares them from destruction.
  • Chapter 8-9a / 8:1-9:15a: Omer and Jared II, first destruction. Jared brings his father King Omer into captivity, but his brothers restore Omer as king. Akish, in order to marry Jared's daughter, employs a secret combination to again overthrow King Omer. The Lord warns Omer to flee. Competing secret combinations cause the destruction of the Jaredites. Moroni strongly warns the Gentiles to put down secret combinations in order to avoid similar destruction.
  • Chapter 9b-10 / 9:15b-10:29: Twelve kings, second destruction. This chapter moves quickly through the reigns of twelve kings. The Jaredites enjoy periods of great righteousness and prosperity. But when King Heth embraces secret combinations and persecutes the prophets, the Jaredites are destroyed — for the second time — by famine and fiery serpents until Heth dies and the people repent. His successor Riplakish oppresses the people until they rise up against him.
  • Chapter 11 / 10:30-11:23: Twelve more kings and captives, third destruction. This chapter moves quickly through the reigns of another twelve kings (or their captive descendants). Eight of the twelve generations listed in this chapter die in captivity. This period is described in terms of increasing wickedness, secret combinations, and rejection of the prophets. Com II protects the prophets but is unable to overcome the secret combinations. Soon after his reign secret combinations lead to ignoring and killing the prophets. The Jaredites are destroyed — for the third time — by war and famine until the people repent.

Message. Themes, symbols, and doctrinal points emphasized in Chapters 7-11 include:

  • Captivity. As the brother of Jared warned, monarchy leads to captivity.
  • Secret Combinations. As Moroni warns, secret combinations lead to destruction unless put down.

Discussion[edit]

This section is for detailed discussion such as the meaning of a symbol, how a doctrinal point is developed throughout a passage, or insights that can be further developed in the future. Contributions may range from polished paragraphs down to a single bullet point. The focus, however, should always be on understanding the scriptural text consistent with LDS doctrine. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Ether 7-11: Organization of the text[edit]

  • Identifying constituent sections. The opening third of Ether (Chapters 1-6 — 5,304 words) centers on just two main characters, Jared and his prophet brother. The final third of Ether (Chapters 12-15 — 5,738 words) likewise centers on just two main characters, the king Coriantumr and the prophet Ether. All the intervening centuries of Jaredite history are covered here in the middle third (Chapters 7-11 — 5,201 words).
This middle third divides into four sections. The first section (Chapter 7) revolves around Jared's great grandson Shule. The second section revolves around the reign of Shule's son Omer, including Omer's son Jared and Jared's daughter and son in law Akish (Chapters 8-9a). This leaves only two and a half chapters (chapters 9b-11) for an extremely compressed account of more than a thousand years of history. That history is recounted in two sections that can be recognized by their use of inclusions, or repeated elements at the beginning and end of each section. The third section begins and ends with detailed accounts of Jaredite prosperity in a choice and of the poisonous serpents being introduced and eradicated. The fourth section begins and ends with multiple generations of the royal line dwelling in captivity.
  • Relationship of constituent sections. In the first section (Chapter 7) there is substantial contention for the throne, fulfilling the Brother of Jared's statement that the institution of monarchy would lead to captivity. But contention for the throne among aspiring elites does not lead to general destruction among the population.
In the second section (Chapters 8-9a) secret combinations first appear as an additional tool in competition for the throne. Within a generation or so those secret combinations leads to the almost complete destruction of the entire population.
In the third section (Chapters 9b-10) the people become ripe and begin to be destroyed because they cast out the prophets. But Moroni expressly states that this was done according to the commandments of a king who obtained the throne through the same secret plans (9:26-29).
In the fourth section (Chapter 11) the people again begin to be destroyed when the prophets are ordered killed by a contender for the throne and are ignored by the general population, again because of the secret combinations among them.
So while contention for the throne leads to the captivity of unsuccessful elites, secret combinations lead to the destruction of the general population.
It is also significant that only once in all of Ether, in the third section (Chapters 9b-10), Moroni provides the only account of the general population rising up against an oppressive king and exercising any influence over the kingship to hold it accountable to them.
  • Outline.
● Shule: Is protected and in turn protects the prophets, destruction averted (Chapter 7)
• Shule (follows Orihah and Kib) restores kingdom to his father Kib (7:3b-13)
• other half of kingdom restored to Shule (7:14-22)
• Shule protects prophets from the people (7:23-27)
● Omer: Secret combinations introduced, destruction #1 (Chapter 8-9a)
A. secret combinations introduced (8:1-19)
• Omer brougt into captivity and restored to throne, Jared repents (8:1-6)
• daughter of Jared suggests a secret combination (8:7-12)
• Akish's oath initiates the secret combination (8:13-19)
B. Moroni commanded to warn against: secret combinations (8:20-26)
A. secret combinations result in destruction (9:1-15a)
• Omer warned to flee (9:1-3)
• Akish kills his father in law Jared (9:4-6)
• Akish kills his son, another son flees (9:7-9)
• other sons rebel, secret combinations kill all but thirty, Omer rules over a remnant (9:10-15a)
● Twelve kings: Prosperity in a choice land, oppression, destruction #2 (Chapter 9b-10)
a. Emer: prosperity in a choice land (9:15b-22)
b. Coriantum and Com: minimal detail (9:23-25)
c. Heth: embraces secret combinations and persecutes prophets, destruction by famine and serpents until people repent (9:26-35)
d. Shez: descendant remembers the destruction of his fathers and builds up a righteous kingdom (10:1-4)
c. Riplakish: oppresses the people with taxation and servitude until they rise up against him (10:5-8)
d. Morianton: descendant eases the people's burden but is personally wicked (10:9-13a)
b. Kim, Levi, Corom, and Kish: minimal detail (10:13b-18)
a. Lib: serpents destroyed, prosperity in a choice land (10:19-29)
● Twelve kings and captives: Captivity, prophets withdraw, destruction #3 (Chapter 11)
a. Hearthom and four descendants in captivity (10:30-31)
• Com: protects prophets but cannot overcome secret combinations (10:32-11:3)
• Shiblom and Seth: prophets killed by usurper and ignored because of secret combinations, destruction by war and famine until people repent (11:4-9)
• Ahah and Ethem: prophets ignored and withdraw (10-14a)
a. Moron and Coriantor in captivity (11:14b-23)

Ether 7-11: Themes[edit]

  • Treatment of prophets. In verses 7:23-27, king Shule protects the prophets, and the people are spared. In verses 9:28-29 king Heth commands that the prophets be persecuted, and the people are destroyed. But in verses 11:1-3 king Com II protects the prophets, but the people reject the prophets and are destroyed once the new king ascends the throne.
  • Treatment of kings. In verses 8:20-26, the middle of Chapter 8-9a, Moroni warns us to actively oppose secret combinations. In verses 10:5-8, near the middle of another large section, the people rise up and oppose (smite down?) an oppressive king. This is the only time in Ether that the people, as opposed to a power hungry usurper, are described as taking any action to control their own political destiny.
  • Effect of kings. It is so interesting to see the effect that a king has upon his people. We see this over an over again in this book. When a king is good and remembers the Lord than the people in the kingdom usually do the same but when he is bad he usually ignites wickedness throughout the kingdom. It makes me grateful for freedom of religion.

Ether 7 / Verses 7:4-27[edit]

  • Ether 7:4-27. This passage follows on verses 6:12b-7:3a by showing the fulfillment of the Brother of Jared's statement that having a king would lead into captivity. This passage also, like the rest of chapters 7-11, races quickly through multiple generations with much less detail than the opening and closing narratives. But two things distinguish this passage from the remainder of chapters 7-11: (1) there are no secret combinations, and (2) while there is captivity, there is no widespread destruction.

Ether 8-9a / Verses 8:1-9:15a[edit]

Ether 9b-10 / Verses 9:15b-10:29[edit]

  • Verse 10:3-8: Intervention in the selection of kings. In verse 10:3 Shez II, a son seeking to take the throne from his righteous father Shez I, is smitten by a robber. In verses 10:5-8, the people rise up and oppose (smite down?) the next king, who is oppressive. This parallel is suggestive.
  • Verse 9:19: Elephants. Hugh Nibley saw the mention of "elephants" in this verse as evidence for the historicity of the Book of Mormon. See his book Lehi in the Desert and The World of Jaredites (ISBN 0884940225).
  • Verse 10:28: Hyperbole Moroni's phrase here "never could be a people more blessed than were they" seems like hyperbole in light of the blessings other communities have received (e.g. the City of Enoch).

Ether 11 / Verses 10:30-11:23[edit]

Unanswered questions[edit]

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Prompts for life application[edit]

This section is for prompts that suggest ways in which a passage can influence a person's life. Prompts may be appropriate either for private self reflection or for a class discussion. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Prompts for further study[edit]

This section is for prompts that invite us to think about a passage more deeply or in a new way. These are not necessarily questions that beg for answers, but rather prompts along the lines of "Have you ever thought about ..." Prompts are most helpful when they are developed individually, thoughtfully, and with enough background information to clearly indicate a particular direction for further study or thought. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

  • Verse 8:9:: Use of history. How are we to understand the daughter's use of history for unrighteous purposes? Compare with Shule's remembering "the great things that the Lord had done for his fathers in bringing them across the great deep into the promised land; wherefore he did execute judgment in righteousness all his days" (Ether 7:27).
  • Verse 8:10-11:: Akish's character. What do we learn of Akish's character, given that the daughter of Jared chose him to seduce? What does Omer's friendship with Akish tell us about Omer? If the daughter of Jared knew Akish to be capable of treachery, did Omer?
  • Verse 8:13-14:: Uninformed consent. Akish administers the oath before revealing his plan. What kind of people would Akish's relations have needed to be to swear such an oath? Were they blindly loyal to Akish? Were they enticed by greed? Did they suspect his plan?
  • Verse 8:15:: Oaths from Cain. Cain seems not to have had any accomplices. What does Cain's murder have to do with the oaths Akish administered?
  • Verse 8:23:: The work, yea, even the work of destruction. Was their language structure such that the describer “of destruction” came before the noun, so that when he first wrote “the work” he couldn't just add “of destruction” after it, but had to go back and re-write it completely to add the modifier “of destruction?” Otherwise why repeat what looks like a not too important item “the work”?
  • Verse 9:22:: The Son of Righteousness. It states that Emer saw the Son of Righteousness. Why are no more details given of this vision? What is the significance of referring to Christ here as the "Son of Righteousness"?
  • Verses 9:31-33:: Animals in America. This explains why Lehi's family found the cow and ox, etc. already present when they arrived in America. (1 Ne 18:25)
  • Verse 10:5:: Borrowed phrase? When this verse says the king did not "that which was right in the sight of the Lord," is it borrowing a formulaic phrase from the Old Testament?
  • Verse 10:30:: Hearthom. After such an elaborate description of the wealth and prosperity of the people, why does Moroni neglect to explain how and why Hearthom lost his kingdom?
  • Verse 11:22:: Social institutions. How did the social and political institutions and relationships they built make them unresponsive to revelation?

Resources[edit]

This section is for listing links and print resources, including those that are also cited elsewhere on this page. A short comment about the particular strengths of a resource can be helpful. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Notes[edit]

Footnotes are not required but are encouraged for factual assertions that average readers cannot easily evaluate for themselves (such as the date of King Solomon’s death or the nuanced definition of a Greek word). In contrast, insights rarely benefit from footnoting, and the focus of this page should always remain on the scriptures themselves rather than what someone has said about them. Links are actively encouraged on all sections of this page, and links to authoritative sources (such as Strong's Bible Concordance or the Joseph Smith Papers) are preferable to footnotes.



Previous page: Chapter 6                      Next page: Chapters 12-15

Ether 10:30-11:23

Home > The Book of Mormon > Ether > Chapters 7-11
Previous page: Chapter 6                      Next page: Chapters 12-15


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Summary[edit]

This section should be very brief. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Relationship to Ether. The relationship of Chapters 7-11 to the rest of Ether is discussed at Ether.

Story. Chapters 7-11 cover all of Jaredite history between the founding generation of Jared and his brother, and the final generation of Coriantumr and Ether. This middle portion of Ether consists of four major sections. In the first, destruction is averted by repentance. In the other three, secret combinations cause society to be destroyed:

  • Chapter 7 / 7:3b-27: Shule, destruction averted. Shule's brother takes the kingdom from their father. Shule eventually restores the kingdom to his father and then succeeds him as king. King Shule is likewise brought into captivity and is likewise rescued by his sons. In the days of Shule the people revile against the prophets. King Shule protects the prophets, which brings the people to repentance and spares them from destruction.
  • Chapter 8-9a / 8:1-9:15a: Omer and Jared II, first destruction. Jared brings his father King Omer into captivity, but his brothers restore Omer as king. Akish, in order to marry Jared's daughter, employs a secret combination to again overthrow King Omer. The Lord warns Omer to flee. Competing secret combinations cause the destruction of the Jaredites. Moroni strongly warns the Gentiles to put down secret combinations in order to avoid similar destruction.
  • Chapter 9b-10 / 9:15b-10:29: Twelve kings, second destruction. This chapter moves quickly through the reigns of twelve kings. The Jaredites enjoy periods of great righteousness and prosperity. But when King Heth embraces secret combinations and persecutes the prophets, the Jaredites are destroyed — for the second time — by famine and fiery serpents until Heth dies and the people repent. His successor Riplakish oppresses the people until they rise up against him.
  • Chapter 11 / 10:30-11:23: Twelve more kings and captives, third destruction. This chapter moves quickly through the reigns of another twelve kings (or their captive descendants). Eight of the twelve generations listed in this chapter die in captivity. This period is described in terms of increasing wickedness, secret combinations, and rejection of the prophets. Com II protects the prophets but is unable to overcome the secret combinations. Soon after his reign secret combinations lead to ignoring and killing the prophets. The Jaredites are destroyed — for the third time — by war and famine until the people repent.

Message. Themes, symbols, and doctrinal points emphasized in Chapters 7-11 include:

  • Captivity. As the brother of Jared warned, monarchy leads to captivity.
  • Secret Combinations. As Moroni warns, secret combinations lead to destruction unless put down.

Discussion[edit]

This section is for detailed discussion such as the meaning of a symbol, how a doctrinal point is developed throughout a passage, or insights that can be further developed in the future. Contributions may range from polished paragraphs down to a single bullet point. The focus, however, should always be on understanding the scriptural text consistent with LDS doctrine. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Ether 7-11: Organization of the text[edit]

  • Identifying constituent sections. The opening third of Ether (Chapters 1-6 — 5,304 words) centers on just two main characters, Jared and his prophet brother. The final third of Ether (Chapters 12-15 — 5,738 words) likewise centers on just two main characters, the king Coriantumr and the prophet Ether. All the intervening centuries of Jaredite history are covered here in the middle third (Chapters 7-11 — 5,201 words).
This middle third divides into four sections. The first section (Chapter 7) revolves around Jared's great grandson Shule. The second section revolves around the reign of Shule's son Omer, including Omer's son Jared and Jared's daughter and son in law Akish (Chapters 8-9a). This leaves only two and a half chapters (chapters 9b-11) for an extremely compressed account of more than a thousand years of history. That history is recounted in two sections that can be recognized by their use of inclusions, or repeated elements at the beginning and end of each section. The third section begins and ends with detailed accounts of Jaredite prosperity in a choice and of the poisonous serpents being introduced and eradicated. The fourth section begins and ends with multiple generations of the royal line dwelling in captivity.
  • Relationship of constituent sections. In the first section (Chapter 7) there is substantial contention for the throne, fulfilling the Brother of Jared's statement that the institution of monarchy would lead to captivity. But contention for the throne among aspiring elites does not lead to general destruction among the population.
In the second section (Chapters 8-9a) secret combinations first appear as an additional tool in competition for the throne. Within a generation or so those secret combinations leads to the almost complete destruction of the entire population.
In the third section (Chapters 9b-10) the people become ripe and begin to be destroyed because they cast out the prophets. But Moroni expressly states that this was done according to the commandments of a king who obtained the throne through the same secret plans (9:26-29).
In the fourth section (Chapter 11) the people again begin to be destroyed when the prophets are ordered killed by a contender for the throne and are ignored by the general population, again because of the secret combinations among them.
So while contention for the throne leads to the captivity of unsuccessful elites, secret combinations lead to the destruction of the general population.
It is also significant that only once in all of Ether, in the third section (Chapters 9b-10), Moroni provides the only account of the general population rising up against an oppressive king and exercising any influence over the kingship to hold it accountable to them.
  • Outline.
● Shule: Is protected and in turn protects the prophets, destruction averted (Chapter 7)
• Shule (follows Orihah and Kib) restores kingdom to his father Kib (7:3b-13)
• other half of kingdom restored to Shule (7:14-22)
• Shule protects prophets from the people (7:23-27)
● Omer: Secret combinations introduced, destruction #1 (Chapter 8-9a)
A. secret combinations introduced (8:1-19)
• Omer brougt into captivity and restored to throne, Jared repents (8:1-6)
• daughter of Jared suggests a secret combination (8:7-12)
• Akish's oath initiates the secret combination (8:13-19)
B. Moroni commanded to warn against: secret combinations (8:20-26)
A. secret combinations result in destruction (9:1-15a)
• Omer warned to flee (9:1-3)
• Akish kills his father in law Jared (9:4-6)
• Akish kills his son, another son flees (9:7-9)
• other sons rebel, secret combinations kill all but thirty, Omer rules over a remnant (9:10-15a)
● Twelve kings: Prosperity in a choice land, oppression, destruction #2 (Chapter 9b-10)
a. Emer: prosperity in a choice land (9:15b-22)
b. Coriantum and Com: minimal detail (9:23-25)
c. Heth: embraces secret combinations and persecutes prophets, destruction by famine and serpents until people repent (9:26-35)
d. Shez: descendant remembers the destruction of his fathers and builds up a righteous kingdom (10:1-4)
c. Riplakish: oppresses the people with taxation and servitude until they rise up against him (10:5-8)
d. Morianton: descendant eases the people's burden but is personally wicked (10:9-13a)
b. Kim, Levi, Corom, and Kish: minimal detail (10:13b-18)
a. Lib: serpents destroyed, prosperity in a choice land (10:19-29)
● Twelve kings and captives: Captivity, prophets withdraw, destruction #3 (Chapter 11)
a. Hearthom and four descendants in captivity (10:30-31)
• Com: protects prophets but cannot overcome secret combinations (10:32-11:3)
• Shiblom and Seth: prophets killed by usurper and ignored because of secret combinations, destruction by war and famine until people repent (11:4-9)
• Ahah and Ethem: prophets ignored and withdraw (10-14a)
a. Moron and Coriantor in captivity (11:14b-23)

Ether 7-11: Themes[edit]

  • Treatment of prophets. In verses 7:23-27, king Shule protects the prophets, and the people are spared. In verses 9:28-29 king Heth commands that the prophets be persecuted, and the people are destroyed. But in verses 11:1-3 king Com II protects the prophets, but the people reject the prophets and are destroyed once the new king ascends the throne.
  • Treatment of kings. In verses 8:20-26, the middle of Chapter 8-9a, Moroni warns us to actively oppose secret combinations. In verses 10:5-8, near the middle of another large section, the people rise up and oppose (smite down?) an oppressive king. This is the only time in Ether that the people, as opposed to a power hungry usurper, are described as taking any action to control their own political destiny.
  • Effect of kings. It is so interesting to see the effect that a king has upon his people. We see this over an over again in this book. When a king is good and remembers the Lord than the people in the kingdom usually do the same but when he is bad he usually ignites wickedness throughout the kingdom. It makes me grateful for freedom of religion.

Ether 7 / Verses 7:4-27[edit]

  • Ether 7:4-27. This passage follows on verses 6:12b-7:3a by showing the fulfillment of the Brother of Jared's statement that having a king would lead into captivity. This passage also, like the rest of chapters 7-11, races quickly through multiple generations with much less detail than the opening and closing narratives. But two things distinguish this passage from the remainder of chapters 7-11: (1) there are no secret combinations, and (2) while there is captivity, there is no widespread destruction.

Ether 8-9a / Verses 8:1-9:15a[edit]

Ether 9b-10 / Verses 9:15b-10:29[edit]

  • Verse 10:3-8: Intervention in the selection of kings. In verse 10:3 Shez II, a son seeking to take the throne from his righteous father Shez I, is smitten by a robber. In verses 10:5-8, the people rise up and oppose (smite down?) the next king, who is oppressive. This parallel is suggestive.
  • Verse 9:19: Elephants. Hugh Nibley saw the mention of "elephants" in this verse as evidence for the historicity of the Book of Mormon. See his book Lehi in the Desert and The World of Jaredites (ISBN 0884940225).
  • Verse 10:28: Hyperbole Moroni's phrase here "never could be a people more blessed than were they" seems like hyperbole in light of the blessings other communities have received (e.g. the City of Enoch).

Ether 11 / Verses 10:30-11:23[edit]

Unanswered questions[edit]

This section is for questions along the lines of "I still don't understand ..." Please do not be shy. The point of these questions is to identify things that still need to be addressed on this page. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Prompts for life application[edit]

This section is for prompts that suggest ways in which a passage can influence a person's life. Prompts may be appropriate either for private self reflection or for a class discussion. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Prompts for further study[edit]

This section is for prompts that invite us to think about a passage more deeply or in a new way. These are not necessarily questions that beg for answers, but rather prompts along the lines of "Have you ever thought about ..." Prompts are most helpful when they are developed individually, thoughtfully, and with enough background information to clearly indicate a particular direction for further study or thought. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

  • Verse 8:9:: Use of history. How are we to understand the daughter's use of history for unrighteous purposes? Compare with Shule's remembering "the great things that the Lord had done for his fathers in bringing them across the great deep into the promised land; wherefore he did execute judgment in righteousness all his days" (Ether 7:27).
  • Verse 8:10-11:: Akish's character. What do we learn of Akish's character, given that the daughter of Jared chose him to seduce? What does Omer's friendship with Akish tell us about Omer? If the daughter of Jared knew Akish to be capable of treachery, did Omer?
  • Verse 8:13-14:: Uninformed consent. Akish administers the oath before revealing his plan. What kind of people would Akish's relations have needed to be to swear such an oath? Were they blindly loyal to Akish? Were they enticed by greed? Did they suspect his plan?
  • Verse 8:15:: Oaths from Cain. Cain seems not to have had any accomplices. What does Cain's murder have to do with the oaths Akish administered?
  • Verse 8:23:: The work, yea, even the work of destruction. Was their language structure such that the describer “of destruction” came before the noun, so that when he first wrote “the work” he couldn't just add “of destruction” after it, but had to go back and re-write it completely to add the modifier “of destruction?” Otherwise why repeat what looks like a not too important item “the work”?
  • Verse 9:22:: The Son of Righteousness. It states that Emer saw the Son of Righteousness. Why are no more details given of this vision? What is the significance of referring to Christ here as the "Son of Righteousness"?
  • Verses 9:31-33:: Animals in America. This explains why Lehi's family found the cow and ox, etc. already present when they arrived in America. (1 Ne 18:25)
  • Verse 10:5:: Borrowed phrase? When this verse says the king did not "that which was right in the sight of the Lord," is it borrowing a formulaic phrase from the Old Testament?
  • Verse 10:30:: Hearthom. After such an elaborate description of the wealth and prosperity of the people, why does Moroni neglect to explain how and why Hearthom lost his kingdom?
  • Verse 11:22:: Social institutions. How did the social and political institutions and relationships they built make them unresponsive to revelation?

Resources[edit]

This section is for listing links and print resources, including those that are also cited elsewhere on this page. A short comment about the particular strengths of a resource can be helpful. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Notes[edit]

Footnotes are not required but are encouraged for factual assertions that average readers cannot easily evaluate for themselves (such as the date of King Solomon’s death or the nuanced definition of a Greek word). In contrast, insights rarely benefit from footnoting, and the focus of this page should always remain on the scriptures themselves rather than what someone has said about them. Links are actively encouraged on all sections of this page, and links to authoritative sources (such as Strong's Bible Concordance or the Joseph Smith Papers) are preferable to footnotes.



Previous page: Chapter 6                      Next page: Chapters 12-15


Ether 12

Home > The Book of Mormon > Ether > Chapters 12-15 > Chapter 12
Previous page: Chapters 12-15                      Next page: Chapter 13a


This page would ideally always be under construction. You are invited to contribute.


Summary[edit]

This section should be very brief. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Relationship to Chapters 12-15. The relationship of Chapter 12 to the rest of Chapters 12-15 is discussed at Chapters 12-15.

Story. Chapter 12 consists of a sermon about faith preceding blessing, and about humility, hope, and charity.

● Faith precedes blessing (12:1-21)
a. Ether cannot be restrained from preaching faith, repentance, and hope (12:1-5)
b. faith precedes witness and miracles (12:6-18)
a. Brother of Jared could not be kept from within the veil because of his faith (12:19-21)
● Humility, hope, and charity (12:22-41)
a. Moroni: apprehension at his weakness in writing compared to speaking (12:22-25)
b. Lord: Gentiles must be humble (12:26-28)
c. Moroni: the Lord works according people's faith, Brother of Jared (12:29-31)
c. Moroni: hope and charity (12:32-35)
b. Lord: Moroni has been humble (12:36-37)
a. Moroni: closing testimony of his writing and of Christ (12:38-41)

Message. Themes, symbols, and doctrinal points emphasized in Chapter 12 include:

Discussion[edit]

This section is for detailed discussion such as the meaning of a symbol, how a doctrinal point is developed throughout a passage, or insights that can be further developed in the future. Contributions may range from polished paragraphs down to a single bullet point. The focus, however, should always be on understanding the scriptural text consistent with LDS doctrine. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

  • Ether 12:4. See "Hope is a Vision" on the discussion page.
  • Ether 12:4: Hope cometh of faith. One might think that hope precedes faith in the sense that one hopes that God exists and then develops a belief in God and eventually genuine faith in God. However, this verse suggests the opposite (see also Alma 32:21). First one has faith in God and then, somehow, out of that faith comes hope. One way to think of this is in the temporal sense that, since God currently exists, it is possible to believe in God now, whereas one hopes for things that are to come. For example, one must first have faith that God has the power to grant salvation. Then, once this faith is established, the believer can look forward to—that is, hope for—the salvation which will eventually come. (See also Moro 7:40, 42; Moro 8:26; 2 Ne 31:19-20.)
  • Hope and knowledge. In Alma 32:21, the prophet says that faith is "not to have a perfect knowledge of things," apparently opposing faith to knowledge. A closer reading, however, suggests that faith is precisely a question of knowledge, just not a question of a "perfect knowledge." Since faith, a "less-than-perfect knowledge," is according to this verse (Ether 12:4) what issues from faith, there is at least a suggestion that hope is that "more-perfect-knowledge," perhaps even "a perfect knowledge of things." If this is a justified reading, it should be noted that this verse demolishes the dichotomy often read into faith/knowledge: faith is a kind of knowledge, and hope is a surer kind of knowledge. Moreover, knowledge itself should therefore be rethought: it is apparently not a question of confirmed belief, but rather a question of relation to something (faith is one relation, one kind of knowledge, and hope is another).
  • Moroni on faith, hope, and charity. The explicit demarcation between faith and hope that is asserted in this verse seems to corroborate (unlike some other verses) with 2 Ne 31:19-20. It seems, in fact, that Moroni is the first Nephite prophet after many years clearly to understand the implication of what Nephi there writes. This fits in well with the many other broad parallels between Nephi's teachings and those of Moroni. However, it must be admitted that Moroni is here citing the teachings of Ether, the Jaredite prophet. This raises an interesting question. Did Moroni understand Nephi through Ether, or did he understand Ether through Nephi? That Moroni takes up a tangential discussion throughout the present chapter, introduced by his explicit desire to "speak somewhat concerning these things" (verse 6), suggests that Moroni wants to clear up much of what has been said concerning the three-fold theme of faith, hope, and charity. Why, however, Moroni would later quote the lengthy discourse of his father on the subject (Moro 7), which seems at times to revert to a different (or even unclear) reading of faith and hope, must then be handled. Perhaps it is safest to acknowledge that Moroni is here citing Ether, and that Nephi remains—at least for the moment—at a distance from his thoughts.
  • Ether 12:6. After discussing how Christ appeared to the Nephites (verse 6), Moroni claimed that Christ instituted "a way" that those who had not seen Christ in the flesh might also partake of "the heavenly gift." This may be an oblique reference to temple ordinances, where "the heavenly gift" would be an apt translation of what we call an endowment--a sacred ordinance where participants ceremonially interact with the Divine in ways that echo those depicted in 3 Nephi 11:14-15. The "heavenly gift" is mentioned without explanation in Heb 6:4; Moroni's explanation may help us better understand that passage, serving as another example of how the Book of Mormon restores previously lost sacred knowledge.
  • Ether 12:6. That a sacred ordinance is involved with this heavenly gift is reiterated here by Moroni when he mentions being "called after the holy order of god"--which Alma taught involved an ordination "in a manner that thereby the people might know in what manner to look forward to his Son for redemption" (Alma 13:2).
  • Ether 12:27: Weakness not weaknesses. Verse 27 can be easily misunderstood to say God gives unto men weaknesses (plural) instead of weakness (singular). The difference suggests general and overall weakness, as opposed to multiple specific weaknesses. For example, our mortality and sinful nature is part of our inherent weakness. So when the Lord talks of his grace being sufficient, he may be saying that he will make humans, as weak things, become strong. This can be accomplished via the Atonement. Our state of weakness can become strong but only if we humble ourselves before the Lord and confess our sins before him. This helps explain why Moroni prays for grace in verse 36, so that we might have charity. In verse 34 Moroni states that we cannot inherit that place prepared for us in the heavens except we have charity, thus charity is something that will help us overcome (or compensate for) our general state of weakness. This prayer for the general virtue of charity stands in contrast to a prayer asking for specific strengths in light of specific weaknesses.
  • Ether 12:38-41: Grace. In the New Testament, grace is a translation of the Greek charis, which can mean "that which affords joy or pleasure." While we typically think of grace as something that God has for us (as in good feelings towards us or pleasure in us), perhaps God having grace means something more along the lines of God affording us joy or pleasure. In other words, we have the grace of God when we take pleasure or joy in Him. If this is the case, seeking after Him and trying to serve him gives us pleasure and joy which abides in us.

Unanswered questions[edit]

This section is for questions along the lines of "I still don't understand ..." Please do not be shy. The point of these questions is to identify things that still need to be addressed on this page. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Prompts for life application[edit]

This section is for prompts that suggest ways in which a passage can influence a person's life. Prompts may be appropriate either for private self reflection or for a class discussion. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Prompts for further study[edit]

This section is for prompts that invite us to think about a passage more deeply or in a new way. These are not necessarily questions that beg for answers, but rather prompts along the lines of "Have you ever thought about ..." Prompts are most helpful when they are developed individually, thoughtfully, and with enough background information to clearly indicate a particular direction for further study or thought. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

  • Ether 12:2: What does it mean when it says that Ether "could not be restrained" from going and preaching the Gospel to the people? Was he physically compelled? In Alma 43:1 it mentions Alma the younger having a similar experience: "And Alma, also, himself, could not rest, and he also went forth." Did these men both just have such strong convictions of the Gospel that they couldn't bear to not be preaching it? Do the prophets today experience the same thing?
  • Ether 12:4: What is the "better world" mentioned here?
  • Ether 12:5: It is clear that "seeing" is a major question here for the Jaredites, as well as for Moroni in the next verse. What role does seeing play in these verses, and how does it open up the themes Moroni is considering as he recounts the Jaredite history?
  • Ether 12:7-8: How do we reconcile the phrase "for [Christ] showed himself not unto the world" in verse 7 with the phrase in verse 8 "[Christ] has shown himself unto the world"?
  • Ether 12:11: How was the law of Moses given by faith--and how is that related to the ordinations mentioned in verse 10?
  • Ether 12:11: How is the "gift of [Christ]" a "more excellent way" than the law of Moses (see discussion of the heavenly gift in Ether 12:8)?
  • Ether 12:11: What does the word "it" refer to at the end of the verse?
  • Ether 12:27: Come unto the Lord. How are we to "come unto" the Lord?
  • Ether 12:27: Show. How does the Lord show us our weakness when we come unto Him? What does it mean for weakness to be shown? Can we understand our weakness without coming unto the Lord?
  • Ether 12:27: What does it mean that the Lord gives us "weakness"? Is this a reference to the general weakness of our fallen natures?
  • Ether 12:27: Humility. What does it mean to be truly humble? How do we become humble? Is humility a choice? What might lead us to become humble? How might our weakness help us to be humble? What other choices might we have in dealing with our weakness? What happens if we don't allow our weakness to make us humble?
  • Ether 12:27: Sufficient. What does it mean to speak of grace as being "sufficient" for us?
  • Ether 12:27: Themselves. What does it mean for us to humble ourselves? Can anyone really make us humble?
  • Ether 12:27: Before me. What does it mean to be humble before the Lord? Is there any other type of humility? What constitutes being humble before the Lord? Is it more than just acknowledging sin or weakness?
  • Ether 12:27: Faith. What does faith in the Lord have to do with being humble and being made strong? How do we exercise a faith in the Lord that can make us strong?
  • Ether 12:27: Verse 12:27: I. The Lord says that He will make us strong if we are humble and exercise faith. How does the Lord do that? Is this a process or an all of a sudden change? How is this a manifestation of grace?
  • Ether 12:27: Will. What does it mean that the Lord will make weak things strong? What kind of promise might this entail? How does this reflect the Lord's will? Does this promise imply that the Lord wants to do this, that this is his will?
  • Ether 12:27: Weak things. Is there a difference between weakness and a weak thing? Why are weak things pluralized here? Does that reflect specific areas or manifestations of weakness in an individual, or the collective weakness of everyone, or is it just a reference to all of us as fallen or weak mortal beings?
  • Ether 12:27: Become. What does it mean that the weak things will become strong? Does this happen in this life, or does this reflect a restitution or change brought about in the resurrection? Does this indicate a sudden change, or a process of change, or can we even tell that from this verse?
  • Ether 12:27: Strong. What does it mean for us to speak of a weak thing becoming strong? What does it mean to be strong?
  • Ether 12:36: What is the relationship between grace and charity?
  • Ether 12:37: Why wouldn't it matter to Moroni if the Gentiles have charity?
  • Ether 12:37: Why would the Lord tell Moroni essentially to "not worry about others, you're gonna be OK"?
  • Ether 12:37: What is the relationship between seeing your weakness and being "made strong"?
  • Ether 12:37: What does it mean to "sit down" in the mansions of the Father?
  • Ether 12:38-41: Did Moroni anticipate that this would be where he ended his writing upon the plates? He seems like he's ultimately wrapping things up in these last few verses of this chapter.
  • Ether 12:38: What does Moroni anticipate will happen "before the judgment-seat of Christ"?
  • Ether 12:38: What does having unspotted garments have to do with the judgement?
  • Ether 12:38: What does it mean to have garments spotted or unspotted with blood?
  • Ether 12:39: Why would Jesus appear to Moroni "face to face"?
  • Ether 12:39: What does it mean for Jesus to speak "in plain humility"?
  • Ether 12:39: Can we have a similar face to face experience with Jesus, or is this a unique experience?
  • Ether 12:40: Why does Moroni say that he has a "weakness in writing"?
  • Ether 12:41: What does it mean to "seek this Jesus"? How is this done?
  • Ether 12:41: What does seeking Jesus have to do with obtaining grace?
  • Ether 12:41: What is the grace of God? Is this something that God has for us, or something we have for God?

Resources[edit]

This section is for listing links and print resources, including those that are also cited elsewhere on this page. A short comment about the particular strengths of a resource can be helpful. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

  • Ether 12:4: Hope and predestination. See this post by LXXLuthor at the FPR blog for a discussion of Paul's teaching on communal predestination and how it contrasts to the more common individual-foreordination interpretation of Paul by Mormons, and how these issues suggest a predestination reading of this verse that affords more assurance than a foreordination-type reading.
  • Ether 12:27. Anthony D. Perkins, "‘The Great and Wonderful Love’," Ensign, Nov 2006, pp. 76–78. Beware of false inadequacy, exaggerated imperfection, and needless guilt. Elder Perkins counsels us to place our burdens on Jesus Christ. "When you feel overwhelmed by expectations and challenges, do not fight the battle alone."
  • See also 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, quoted here from the NIV translation. "To keep me [Paul] from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

Notes[edit]

Footnotes are not required but are encouraged for factual assertions that average readers cannot easily evaluate for themselves (such as the date of King Solomon’s death or the nuanced definition of a Greek word). In contrast, insights rarely benefit from footnoting, and the focus of this page should always remain on the scriptures themselves rather than what someone has said about them. Links are actively encouraged on all sections of this page, and links to authoritative sources (such as Strong's Bible Concordance or the Joseph Smith Papers) are preferable to footnotes.



Previous page: Chapters 12-15                      Next page: Chapter 13a

Ether 12:1-21

Home > The Book of Mormon > Ether > Chapters 12-15 > Chapter 12
Previous page: Chapters 12-15                      Next page: Chapter 13a


This page would ideally always be under construction. You are invited to contribute.


Summary[edit]

This section should be very brief. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Relationship to Chapters 12-15. The relationship of Chapter 12 to the rest of Chapters 12-15 is discussed at Chapters 12-15.

Story. Chapter 12 consists of a sermon about faith preceding blessing, and about humility, hope, and charity.

● Faith precedes blessing (12:1-21)
a. Ether cannot be restrained from preaching faith, repentance, and hope (12:1-5)
b. faith precedes witness and miracles (12:6-18)
a. Brother of Jared could not be kept from within the veil because of his faith (12:19-21)
● Humility, hope, and charity (12:22-41)
a. Moroni: apprehension at his weakness in writing compared to speaking (12:22-25)
b. Lord: Gentiles must be humble (12:26-28)
c. Moroni: the Lord works according people's faith, Brother of Jared (12:29-31)
c. Moroni: hope and charity (12:32-35)
b. Lord: Moroni has been humble (12:36-37)
a. Moroni: closing testimony of his writing and of Christ (12:38-41)

Message. Themes, symbols, and doctrinal points emphasized in Chapter 12 include:

Discussion[edit]

This section is for detailed discussion such as the meaning of a symbol, how a doctrinal point is developed throughout a passage, or insights that can be further developed in the future. Contributions may range from polished paragraphs down to a single bullet point. The focus, however, should always be on understanding the scriptural text consistent with LDS doctrine. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

  • Ether 12:4. See "Hope is a Vision" on the discussion page.
  • Ether 12:4: Hope cometh of faith. One might think that hope precedes faith in the sense that one hopes that God exists and then develops a belief in God and eventually genuine faith in God. However, this verse suggests the opposite (see also Alma 32:21). First one has faith in God and then, somehow, out of that faith comes hope. One way to think of this is in the temporal sense that, since God currently exists, it is possible to believe in God now, whereas one hopes for things that are to come. For example, one must first have faith that God has the power to grant salvation. Then, once this faith is established, the believer can look forward to—that is, hope for—the salvation which will eventually come. (See also Moro 7:40, 42; Moro 8:26; 2 Ne 31:19-20.)
  • Hope and knowledge. In Alma 32:21, the prophet says that faith is "not to have a perfect knowledge of things," apparently opposing faith to knowledge. A closer reading, however, suggests that faith is precisely a question of knowledge, just not a question of a "perfect knowledge." Since faith, a "less-than-perfect knowledge," is according to this verse (Ether 12:4) what issues from faith, there is at least a suggestion that hope is that "more-perfect-knowledge," perhaps even "a perfect knowledge of things." If this is a justified reading, it should be noted that this verse demolishes the dichotomy often read into faith/knowledge: faith is a kind of knowledge, and hope is a surer kind of knowledge. Moreover, knowledge itself should therefore be rethought: it is apparently not a question of confirmed belief, but rather a question of relation to something (faith is one relation, one kind of knowledge, and hope is another).
  • Moroni on faith, hope, and charity. The explicit demarcation between faith and hope that is asserted in this verse seems to corroborate (unlike some other verses) with 2 Ne 31:19-20. It seems, in fact, that Moroni is the first Nephite prophet after many years clearly to understand the implication of what Nephi there writes. This fits in well with the many other broad parallels between Nephi's teachings and those of Moroni. However, it must be admitted that Moroni is here citing the teachings of Ether, the Jaredite prophet. This raises an interesting question. Did Moroni understand Nephi through Ether, or did he understand Ether through Nephi? That Moroni takes up a tangential discussion throughout the present chapter, introduced by his explicit desire to "speak somewhat concerning these things" (verse 6), suggests that Moroni wants to clear up much of what has been said concerning the three-fold theme of faith, hope, and charity. Why, however, Moroni would later quote the lengthy discourse of his father on the subject (Moro 7), which seems at times to revert to a different (or even unclear) reading of faith and hope, must then be handled. Perhaps it is safest to acknowledge that Moroni is here citing Ether, and that Nephi remains—at least for the moment—at a distance from his thoughts.
  • Ether 12:6. After discussing how Christ appeared to the Nephites (verse 6), Moroni claimed that Christ instituted "a way" that those who had not seen Christ in the flesh might also partake of "the heavenly gift." This may be an oblique reference to temple ordinances, where "the heavenly gift" would be an apt translation of what we call an endowment--a sacred ordinance where participants ceremonially interact with the Divine in ways that echo those depicted in 3 Nephi 11:14-15. The "heavenly gift" is mentioned without explanation in Heb 6:4; Moroni's explanation may help us better understand that passage, serving as another example of how the Book of Mormon restores previously lost sacred knowledge.
  • Ether 12:6. That a sacred ordinance is involved with this heavenly gift is reiterated here by Moroni when he mentions being "called after the holy order of god"--which Alma taught involved an ordination "in a manner that thereby the people might know in what manner to look forward to his Son for redemption" (Alma 13:2).
  • Ether 12:27: Weakness not weaknesses. Verse 27 can be easily misunderstood to say God gives unto men weaknesses (plural) instead of weakness (singular). The difference suggests general and overall weakness, as opposed to multiple specific weaknesses. For example, our mortality and sinful nature is part of our inherent weakness. So when the Lord talks of his grace being sufficient, he may be saying that he will make humans, as weak things, become strong. This can be accomplished via the Atonement. Our state of weakness can become strong but only if we humble ourselves before the Lord and confess our sins before him. This helps explain why Moroni prays for grace in verse 36, so that we might have charity. In verse 34 Moroni states that we cannot inherit that place prepared for us in the heavens except we have charity, thus charity is something that will help us overcome (or compensate for) our general state of weakness. This prayer for the general virtue of charity stands in contrast to a prayer asking for specific strengths in light of specific weaknesses.
  • Ether 12:38-41: Grace. In the New Testament, grace is a translation of the Greek charis, which can mean "that which affords joy or pleasure." While we typically think of grace as something that God has for us (as in good feelings towards us or pleasure in us), perhaps God having grace means something more along the lines of God affording us joy or pleasure. In other words, we have the grace of God when we take pleasure or joy in Him. If this is the case, seeking after Him and trying to serve him gives us pleasure and joy which abides in us.

Unanswered questions[edit]

This section is for questions along the lines of "I still don't understand ..." Please do not be shy. The point of these questions is to identify things that still need to be addressed on this page. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Prompts for life application[edit]

This section is for prompts that suggest ways in which a passage can influence a person's life. Prompts may be appropriate either for private self reflection or for a class discussion. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Prompts for further study[edit]

This section is for prompts that invite us to think about a passage more deeply or in a new way. These are not necessarily questions that beg for answers, but rather prompts along the lines of "Have you ever thought about ..." Prompts are most helpful when they are developed individually, thoughtfully, and with enough background information to clearly indicate a particular direction for further study or thought. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

  • Ether 12:2: What does it mean when it says that Ether "could not be restrained" from going and preaching the Gospel to the people? Was he physically compelled? In Alma 43:1 it mentions Alma the younger having a similar experience: "And Alma, also, himself, could not rest, and he also went forth." Did these men both just have such strong convictions of the Gospel that they couldn't bear to not be preaching it? Do the prophets today experience the same thing?
  • Ether 12:4: What is the "better world" mentioned here?
  • Ether 12:5: It is clear that "seeing" is a major question here for the Jaredites, as well as for Moroni in the next verse. What role does seeing play in these verses, and how does it open up the themes Moroni is considering as he recounts the Jaredite history?
  • Ether 12:7-8: How do we reconcile the phrase "for [Christ] showed himself not unto the world" in verse 7 with the phrase in verse 8 "[Christ] has shown himself unto the world"?
  • Ether 12:11: How was the law of Moses given by faith--and how is that related to the ordinations mentioned in verse 10?
  • Ether 12:11: How is the "gift of [Christ]" a "more excellent way" than the law of Moses (see discussion of the heavenly gift in Ether 12:8)?
  • Ether 12:11: What does the word "it" refer to at the end of the verse?
  • Ether 12:27: Come unto the Lord. How are we to "come unto" the Lord?
  • Ether 12:27: Show. How does the Lord show us our weakness when we come unto Him? What does it mean for weakness to be shown? Can we understand our weakness without coming unto the Lord?
  • Ether 12:27: What does it mean that the Lord gives us "weakness"? Is this a reference to the general weakness of our fallen natures?
  • Ether 12:27: Humility. What does it mean to be truly humble? How do we become humble? Is humility a choice? What might lead us to become humble? How might our weakness help us to be humble? What other choices might we have in dealing with our weakness? What happens if we don't allow our weakness to make us humble?
  • Ether 12:27: Sufficient. What does it mean to speak of grace as being "sufficient" for us?
  • Ether 12:27: Themselves. What does it mean for us to humble ourselves? Can anyone really make us humble?
  • Ether 12:27: Before me. What does it mean to be humble before the Lord? Is there any other type of humility? What constitutes being humble before the Lord? Is it more than just acknowledging sin or weakness?
  • Ether 12:27: Faith. What does faith in the Lord have to do with being humble and being made strong? How do we exercise a faith in the Lord that can make us strong?
  • Ether 12:27: Verse 12:27: I. The Lord says that He will make us strong if we are humble and exercise faith. How does the Lord do that? Is this a process or an all of a sudden change? How is this a manifestation of grace?
  • Ether 12:27: Will. What does it mean that the Lord will make weak things strong? What kind of promise might this entail? How does this reflect the Lord's will? Does this promise imply that the Lord wants to do this, that this is his will?
  • Ether 12:27: Weak things. Is there a difference between weakness and a weak thing? Why are weak things pluralized here? Does that reflect specific areas or manifestations of weakness in an individual, or the collective weakness of everyone, or is it just a reference to all of us as fallen or weak mortal beings?
  • Ether 12:27: Become. What does it mean that the weak things will become strong? Does this happen in this life, or does this reflect a restitution or change brought about in the resurrection? Does this indicate a sudden change, or a process of change, or can we even tell that from this verse?
  • Ether 12:27: Strong. What does it mean for us to speak of a weak thing becoming strong? What does it mean to be strong?
  • Ether 12:36: What is the relationship between grace and charity?
  • Ether 12:37: Why wouldn't it matter to Moroni if the Gentiles have charity?
  • Ether 12:37: Why would the Lord tell Moroni essentially to "not worry about others, you're gonna be OK"?
  • Ether 12:37: What is the relationship between seeing your weakness and being "made strong"?
  • Ether 12:37: What does it mean to "sit down" in the mansions of the Father?
  • Ether 12:38-41: Did Moroni anticipate that this would be where he ended his writing upon the plates? He seems like he's ultimately wrapping things up in these last few verses of this chapter.
  • Ether 12:38: What does Moroni anticipate will happen "before the judgment-seat of Christ"?
  • Ether 12:38: What does having unspotted garments have to do with the judgement?
  • Ether 12:38: What does it mean to have garments spotted or unspotted with blood?
  • Ether 12:39: Why would Jesus appear to Moroni "face to face"?
  • Ether 12:39: What does it mean for Jesus to speak "in plain humility"?
  • Ether 12:39: Can we have a similar face to face experience with Jesus, or is this a unique experience?
  • Ether 12:40: Why does Moroni say that he has a "weakness in writing"?
  • Ether 12:41: What does it mean to "seek this Jesus"? How is this done?
  • Ether 12:41: What does seeking Jesus have to do with obtaining grace?
  • Ether 12:41: What is the grace of God? Is this something that God has for us, or something we have for God?

Resources[edit]

This section is for listing links and print resources, including those that are also cited elsewhere on this page. A short comment about the particular strengths of a resource can be helpful. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

  • Ether 12:4: Hope and predestination. See this post by LXXLuthor at the FPR blog for a discussion of Paul's teaching on communal predestination and how it contrasts to the more common individual-foreordination interpretation of Paul by Mormons, and how these issues suggest a predestination reading of this verse that affords more assurance than a foreordination-type reading.
  • Ether 12:27. Anthony D. Perkins, "‘The Great and Wonderful Love’," Ensign, Nov 2006, pp. 76–78. Beware of false inadequacy, exaggerated imperfection, and needless guilt. Elder Perkins counsels us to place our burdens on Jesus Christ. "When you feel overwhelmed by expectations and challenges, do not fight the battle alone."
  • See also 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, quoted here from the NIV translation. "To keep me [Paul] from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

Notes[edit]

Footnotes are not required but are encouraged for factual assertions that average readers cannot easily evaluate for themselves (such as the date of King Solomon’s death or the nuanced definition of a Greek word). In contrast, insights rarely benefit from footnoting, and the focus of this page should always remain on the scriptures themselves rather than what someone has said about them. Links are actively encouraged on all sections of this page, and links to authoritative sources (such as Strong's Bible Concordance or the Joseph Smith Papers) are preferable to footnotes.



Previous page: Chapters 12-15                      Next page: Chapter 13a

Ether 12:22-41

Home > The Book of Mormon > Ether > Chapters 12-15 > Chapter 12
Previous page: Chapters 12-15                      Next page: Chapter 13a


This page would ideally always be under construction. You are invited to contribute.


Summary[edit]

This section should be very brief. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Relationship to Chapters 12-15. The relationship of Chapter 12 to the rest of Chapters 12-15 is discussed at Chapters 12-15.

Story. Chapter 12 consists of a sermon about faith preceding blessing, and about humility, hope, and charity.

● Faith precedes blessing (12:1-21)
a. Ether cannot be restrained from preaching faith, repentance, and hope (12:1-5)
b. faith precedes witness and miracles (12:6-18)
a. Brother of Jared could not be kept from within the veil because of his faith (12:19-21)
● Humility, hope, and charity (12:22-41)
a. Moroni: apprehension at his weakness in writing compared to speaking (12:22-25)
b. Lord: Gentiles must be humble (12:26-28)
c. Moroni: the Lord works according people's faith, Brother of Jared (12:29-31)
c. Moroni: hope and charity (12:32-35)
b. Lord: Moroni has been humble (12:36-37)
a. Moroni: closing testimony of his writing and of Christ (12:38-41)

Message. Themes, symbols, and doctrinal points emphasized in Chapter 12 include:

Discussion[edit]

This section is for detailed discussion such as the meaning of a symbol, how a doctrinal point is developed throughout a passage, or insights that can be further developed in the future. Contributions may range from polished paragraphs down to a single bullet point. The focus, however, should always be on understanding the scriptural text consistent with LDS doctrine. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

  • Ether 12:4. See "Hope is a Vision" on the discussion page.
  • Ether 12:4: Hope cometh of faith. One might think that hope precedes faith in the sense that one hopes that God exists and then develops a belief in God and eventually genuine faith in God. However, this verse suggests the opposite (see also Alma 32:21). First one has faith in God and then, somehow, out of that faith comes hope. One way to think of this is in the temporal sense that, since God currently exists, it is possible to believe in God now, whereas one hopes for things that are to come. For example, one must first have faith that God has the power to grant salvation. Then, once this faith is established, the believer can look forward to—that is, hope for—the salvation which will eventually come. (See also Moro 7:40, 42; Moro 8:26; 2 Ne 31:19-20.)
  • Hope and knowledge. In Alma 32:21, the prophet says that faith is "not to have a perfect knowledge of things," apparently opposing faith to knowledge. A closer reading, however, suggests that faith is precisely a question of knowledge, just not a question of a "perfect knowledge." Since faith, a "less-than-perfect knowledge," is according to this verse (Ether 12:4) what issues from faith, there is at least a suggestion that hope is that "more-perfect-knowledge," perhaps even "a perfect knowledge of things." If this is a justified reading, it should be noted that this verse demolishes the dichotomy often read into faith/knowledge: faith is a kind of knowledge, and hope is a surer kind of knowledge. Moreover, knowledge itself should therefore be rethought: it is apparently not a question of confirmed belief, but rather a question of relation to something (faith is one relation, one kind of knowledge, and hope is another).
  • Moroni on faith, hope, and charity. The explicit demarcation between faith and hope that is asserted in this verse seems to corroborate (unlike some other verses) with 2 Ne 31:19-20. It seems, in fact, that Moroni is the first Nephite prophet after many years clearly to understand the implication of what Nephi there writes. This fits in well with the many other broad parallels between Nephi's teachings and those of Moroni. However, it must be admitted that Moroni is here citing the teachings of Ether, the Jaredite prophet. This raises an interesting question. Did Moroni understand Nephi through Ether, or did he understand Ether through Nephi? That Moroni takes up a tangential discussion throughout the present chapter, introduced by his explicit desire to "speak somewhat concerning these things" (verse 6), suggests that Moroni wants to clear up much of what has been said concerning the three-fold theme of faith, hope, and charity. Why, however, Moroni would later quote the lengthy discourse of his father on the subject (Moro 7), which seems at times to revert to a different (or even unclear) reading of faith and hope, must then be handled. Perhaps it is safest to acknowledge that Moroni is here citing Ether, and that Nephi remains—at least for the moment—at a distance from his thoughts.
  • Ether 12:6. After discussing how Christ appeared to the Nephites (verse 6), Moroni claimed that Christ instituted "a way" that those who had not seen Christ in the flesh might also partake of "the heavenly gift." This may be an oblique reference to temple ordinances, where "the heavenly gift" would be an apt translation of what we call an endowment--a sacred ordinance where participants ceremonially interact with the Divine in ways that echo those depicted in 3 Nephi 11:14-15. The "heavenly gift" is mentioned without explanation in Heb 6:4; Moroni's explanation may help us better understand that passage, serving as another example of how the Book of Mormon restores previously lost sacred knowledge.
  • Ether 12:6. That a sacred ordinance is involved with this heavenly gift is reiterated here by Moroni when he mentions being "called after the holy order of god"--which Alma taught involved an ordination "in a manner that thereby the people might know in what manner to look forward to his Son for redemption" (Alma 13:2).
  • Ether 12:27: Weakness not weaknesses. Verse 27 can be easily misunderstood to say God gives unto men weaknesses (plural) instead of weakness (singular). The difference suggests general and overall weakness, as opposed to multiple specific weaknesses. For example, our mortality and sinful nature is part of our inherent weakness. So when the Lord talks of his grace being sufficient, he may be saying that he will make humans, as weak things, become strong. This can be accomplished via the Atonement. Our state of weakness can become strong but only if we humble ourselves before the Lord and confess our sins before him. This helps explain why Moroni prays for grace in verse 36, so that we might have charity. In verse 34 Moroni states that we cannot inherit that place prepared for us in the heavens except we have charity, thus charity is something that will help us overcome (or compensate for) our general state of weakness. This prayer for the general virtue of charity stands in contrast to a prayer asking for specific strengths in light of specific weaknesses.
  • Ether 12:38-41: Grace. In the New Testament, grace is a translation of the Greek charis, which can mean "that which affords joy or pleasure." While we typically think of grace as something that God has for us (as in good feelings towards us or pleasure in us), perhaps God having grace means something more along the lines of God affording us joy or pleasure. In other words, we have the grace of God when we take pleasure or joy in Him. If this is the case, seeking after Him and trying to serve him gives us pleasure and joy which abides in us.

Unanswered questions[edit]

This section is for questions along the lines of "I still don't understand ..." Please do not be shy. The point of these questions is to identify things that still need to be addressed on this page. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Prompts for life application[edit]

This section is for prompts that suggest ways in which a passage can influence a person's life. Prompts may be appropriate either for private self reflection or for a class discussion. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Prompts for further study[edit]

This section is for prompts that invite us to think about a passage more deeply or in a new way. These are not necessarily questions that beg for answers, but rather prompts along the lines of "Have you ever thought about ..." Prompts are most helpful when they are developed individually, thoughtfully, and with enough background information to clearly indicate a particular direction for further study or thought. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

  • Ether 12:2: What does it mean when it says that Ether "could not be restrained" from going and preaching the Gospel to the people? Was he physically compelled? In Alma 43:1 it mentions Alma the younger having a similar experience: "And Alma, also, himself, could not rest, and he also went forth." Did these men both just have such strong convictions of the Gospel that they couldn't bear to not be preaching it? Do the prophets today experience the same thing?
  • Ether 12:4: What is the "better world" mentioned here?
  • Ether 12:5: It is clear that "seeing" is a major question here for the Jaredites, as well as for Moroni in the next verse. What role does seeing play in these verses, and how does it open up the themes Moroni is considering as he recounts the Jaredite history?
  • Ether 12:7-8: How do we reconcile the phrase "for [Christ] showed himself not unto the world" in verse 7 with the phrase in verse 8 "[Christ] has shown himself unto the world"?
  • Ether 12:11: How was the law of Moses given by faith--and how is that related to the ordinations mentioned in verse 10?
  • Ether 12:11: How is the "gift of [Christ]" a "more excellent way" than the law of Moses (see discussion of the heavenly gift in Ether 12:8)?
  • Ether 12:11: What does the word "it" refer to at the end of the verse?
  • Ether 12:27: Come unto the Lord. How are we to "come unto" the Lord?
  • Ether 12:27: Show. How does the Lord show us our weakness when we come unto Him? What does it mean for weakness to be shown? Can we understand our weakness without coming unto the Lord?
  • Ether 12:27: What does it mean that the Lord gives us "weakness"? Is this a reference to the general weakness of our fallen natures?
  • Ether 12:27: Humility. What does it mean to be truly humble? How do we become humble? Is humility a choice? What might lead us to become humble? How might our weakness help us to be humble? What other choices might we have in dealing with our weakness? What happens if we don't allow our weakness to make us humble?
  • Ether 12:27: Sufficient. What does it mean to speak of grace as being "sufficient" for us?
  • Ether 12:27: Themselves. What does it mean for us to humble ourselves? Can anyone really make us humble?
  • Ether 12:27: Before me. What does it mean to be humble before the Lord? Is there any other type of humility? What constitutes being humble before the Lord? Is it more than just acknowledging sin or weakness?
  • Ether 12:27: Faith. What does faith in the Lord have to do with being humble and being made strong? How do we exercise a faith in the Lord that can make us strong?
  • Ether 12:27: Verse 12:27: I. The Lord says that He will make us strong if we are humble and exercise faith. How does the Lord do that? Is this a process or an all of a sudden change? How is this a manifestation of grace?
  • Ether 12:27: Will. What does it mean that the Lord will make weak things strong? What kind of promise might this entail? How does this reflect the Lord's will? Does this promise imply that the Lord wants to do this, that this is his will?
  • Ether 12:27: Weak things. Is there a difference between weakness and a weak thing? Why are weak things pluralized here? Does that reflect specific areas or manifestations of weakness in an individual, or the collective weakness of everyone, or is it just a reference to all of us as fallen or weak mortal beings?
  • Ether 12:27: Become. What does it mean that the weak things will become strong? Does this happen in this life, or does this reflect a restitution or change brought about in the resurrection? Does this indicate a sudden change, or a process of change, or can we even tell that from this verse?
  • Ether 12:27: Strong. What does it mean for us to speak of a weak thing becoming strong? What does it mean to be strong?
  • Ether 12:36: What is the relationship between grace and charity?
  • Ether 12:37: Why wouldn't it matter to Moroni if the Gentiles have charity?
  • Ether 12:37: Why would the Lord tell Moroni essentially to "not worry about others, you're gonna be OK"?
  • Ether 12:37: What is the relationship between seeing your weakness and being "made strong"?
  • Ether 12:37: What does it mean to "sit down" in the mansions of the Father?
  • Ether 12:38-41: Did Moroni anticipate that this would be where he ended his writing upon the plates? He seems like he's ultimately wrapping things up in these last few verses of this chapter.
  • Ether 12:38: What does Moroni anticipate will happen "before the judgment-seat of Christ"?
  • Ether 12:38: What does having unspotted garments have to do with the judgement?
  • Ether 12:38: What does it mean to have garments spotted or unspotted with blood?
  • Ether 12:39: Why would Jesus appear to Moroni "face to face"?
  • Ether 12:39: What does it mean for Jesus to speak "in plain humility"?
  • Ether 12:39: Can we have a similar face to face experience with Jesus, or is this a unique experience?
  • Ether 12:40: Why does Moroni say that he has a "weakness in writing"?
  • Ether 12:41: What does it mean to "seek this Jesus"? How is this done?
  • Ether 12:41: What does seeking Jesus have to do with obtaining grace?
  • Ether 12:41: What is the grace of God? Is this something that God has for us, or something we have for God?

Resources[edit]

This section is for listing links and print resources, including those that are also cited elsewhere on this page. A short comment about the particular strengths of a resource can be helpful. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

  • Ether 12:4: Hope and predestination. See this post by LXXLuthor at the FPR blog for a discussion of Paul's teaching on communal predestination and how it contrasts to the more common individual-foreordination interpretation of Paul by Mormons, and how these issues suggest a predestination reading of this verse that affords more assurance than a foreordination-type reading.
  • Ether 12:27. Anthony D. Perkins, "‘The Great and Wonderful Love’," Ensign, Nov 2006, pp. 76–78. Beware of false inadequacy, exaggerated imperfection, and needless guilt. Elder Perkins counsels us to place our burdens on Jesus Christ. "When you feel overwhelmed by expectations and challenges, do not fight the battle alone."
  • See also 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, quoted here from the NIV translation. "To keep me [Paul] from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

Notes[edit]

Footnotes are not required but are encouraged for factual assertions that average readers cannot easily evaluate for themselves (such as the date of King Solomon’s death or the nuanced definition of a Greek word). In contrast, insights rarely benefit from footnoting, and the focus of this page should always remain on the scriptures themselves rather than what someone has said about them. Links are actively encouraged on all sections of this page, and links to authoritative sources (such as Strong's Bible Concordance or the Joseph Smith Papers) are preferable to footnotes.



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Ether 13:1-12

Home > The Book of Mormon > Ether > Chapters 12-15 > Chapter 13a / Verses 13:1-12
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Summary[edit]

This section should be very brief. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Relationship to Chapters 12-15. The relationship of Chapter 13a to the rest of Chapters 12-15 is discussed at Chapters 12-15.

Story. Chapter 13a consists of four major sections:

Message. Themes, symbols, and doctrinal points emphasized in Chapter 13a include:

Discussion[edit]

This section is for detailed discussion such as the meaning of a symbol, how a doctrinal point is developed throughout a passage, or insights that can be further developed in the future. Contributions may range from polished paragraphs down to a single bullet point. The focus, however, should always be on understanding the scriptural text consistent with LDS doctrine. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

  • The Jaredites and the Israelites. We are used to the Book of Mormon talking about Israel from time to time, so we might not notice something strange going on here. While it is normal to talk to the Nephites and Lamanites about Israel (indeed one of the purposes of the Book of Mormon is to make sure their descendants know that they are of Israel!), the Jaredites are not of Israel. The Jaredites left before there was a covenant established with Israel. They left before the original Jerusalem had been built. They did leave after Enoch's city had been taken up to heaven (although not called a New Jerusalem at that point I assume). And they did have their own covenant (the covenant that the Jaredites received can be found in Ether 1:42-43.) But the Jaredites are not Israel, and they don't the particular covenant that Israel has. It seems safe to assume that what Ether is teaching the Jaredites in verses 2-12 is something new to them.
Therefore, we can approach these verses in two ways:
  1. what do they teach us about Israel, the New Jerusalem, etc. (this is what the following commentary as done thus far) and also
  2. what was Ether doing by teaching the Jaredites about Israel, the New Jerusalem, etc.?
As a beginning to the latter question, in general it seems that Ether is inviting the Jaredites to stick around a little longer (don't get yourself destroyed!) so that they can meet these Israelites, learn about their covenant, and become adopted into it. More of how these verses would have sounded to the Jaredites can be added below in the verse-by-verse commentary.
How this relates to the title page of the Book of Mormon. One of the promises that Israel (and Abraham, Noah, Enoch, Adam, etc) get is that there will be some of their seed alive at the second coming. (See D&C 107 on that point.) Isaiah constantly reminds Israel that even though they forget God, God has promised not to forget them. There will always be a remnant left to carry on the work of the covenant, even if that remnant needs some reminding of who they are. The Jaredites, on the other hand, have no such promise. They are a chosen people who have prophets, etc., but as far as we know there is no record of them receiving the specific promises of the Abrahamic Covenant. This becomes quite clear when the Jaredites are actually completely destroyed. The Nephites/Lamanites are given a remnant to redeem their family and carry on the work of teaching the gospel; the Jaredites are not. It seems that perhaps Ether was trying to keep them around so that they could be adopted into that family, but as things played out they were not and did not receive those blessings.
This may be what Moroni meant when he wrote on the title page: "An abridgment taken from the Book of Ether also, which is a record of the people of Jared, who were scattered at the time the Lord confounded the language of the people, when they were building a tower to get to heaven—Which is to show unto the remnant of the house of Israel what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers; and that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off forever"
  • Ether 13:1. Moroni returns explicitly to the question of "the destruction of the people," the Jaredites. As it turns out, this focus on destruction will be vital to this chapter.
  • Ether 13:2. This verse opens by pinning the destruction mentioned in verse 1 on the Jaredite reception of Ether: in that the people reject the words of Ether, they go on to destruction. This point will turn out to be absolutely vital in understanding the importance of the few handful of verses in this chapter, because it is precisely because the Jaredites refused to believe the words that Moroni will attribute to Ether here that they were destroyed. And curiously, they are words that outstrip--undeniably outstrip--Jaredite concerns. The message comes as an untimely one, but one that meant the difference between exaltation (literally, it appears) and absolute destruction.
As Moroni begins to summarize the message of Ether, he offers first a sort of blanket statement: "he truly told them of all things, from the beginning of man." The point is curious, because it gives one a sense that Ether is a prophet in the same full sense that the Brother of Jared had been a prophet: both have had visions that encompass the whole of everything. The odd thing is that the Brother of Jared was commanded to seal all of these things up until Christ should come upon the earth, but Ether is commanded--or at least he feels he ought to--announce these things to everyone. In contrast, Moroni is forbidden to write more about Ether's prophecies in verse 13. Nevertheless, the contents of Ether's visions may have been somewhat more limited than the Brother of Jared's: Ether's concerns "all things, from the beginning of man," whereas the Brother of Jared's visions seem to have extended beyond the realm of "man." At any rate, there is an interesting tie between the first and last prophets of the Jaredite history--not unlike the curious tie between Nephi's language and Moroni's language.
As Moroni moves onto the actual content of Ether's teachings, the first subject to be taken up is the sanctification of the Promised Land. It is not quite clear, it must be admitted, whether "after the waters had receded from off the face of this land" refers to the waters of the creation as described in Gen 1 or to the waters of the flood. If one, however, takes this reference in the much broader scope of LDS scripture and the sayings of the early prophets, it seems clear that this is referring to the flood, since the antediluvian patriarchs lived in the Americas. If this is an appropriate reading, then the flood seems to have sanctified and cleansed the American continent to prepare it for a new people, and the Jaredites did not arrive too long after the flood.
The teachings are summarized so briefly that it is not entirely clear why this land should be "a choice land above all other lands, a chosen land of the Lord," but much of what Ether goes on, reportedly, to say will open up some interpretive possibilities. The final phrase of the verse is quite clear, but perhaps should be emphasized: all who come upon this land in particular are to "serve him," which implies some sort of covenant relation. All of these details open onto the shocking revelation of verse 3.
  • Ether 13:3. The particularity of "the New Jerusalem" suggests that Ether's hearers (or least latter-day readers: it will be difficult throughout the following verses to decide how much of what is written is summary of Ether and how much of it is Moroni talking to his eventual audience--though here the assumption will be that the words are Ethers) are supposed to understand the reference perfectly. That is, whatever "the New Jerusalem" is, whoever heard this discourse was apparently already quite aware that there would be one. The shocking revelation is that it was to be on this continent. The phrase, "which should come down out of heaven," does seem to function here as a further explanation of the New Jerusalem, but rather as a further explicitation, that is, it is meant to make sure that hearers of the prophecy know exactly what Ether is talking about. If the phrase is read this way, then "the holy sanctuary of the Lord" is supposed to be a parallel reference just as obvious to the people as "the New Jerusalem." In order to begin to think about what this revelation is announcing, one must begin with these two phrases as parallels: "the New Jerusalem" and "the holy sanctuary of the Lord."
While "the New Jerusalem" is certainly a biblical phrase, "the holy sanctuary of the Lord" is not, though "sanctuary of the Lord" shows up in Ezek 48:10, a passage that might well be connected with the Revelation vision of the New Jerusalem. If there is some sort of absolute reference for Ether's words here, it must begin to be thought in the intersection between Ezekiel and Revelation. Perhaps more: while it is clear in this verse that "the New Jerusalem" is to "come down out of heaven," verse 6 describes "a New Jerusalem" that will "be built up upon this land." There are--and it must be pointed out from the very beginning--probably two different "New Jerusalems" at work in this passage, one from heaven and one on the earth. This much said, interpretation of this verse might be undertaken.
Twice in Revelation is the New Jerusalem mentioned: Rev 3:12 and Rev 21:2. Both of these references specifically mention that this New Jerusalem comes down out of heaven, specifically from God. Of the two references, the former is more difficult to interpret because the New Jerusalem is mentioned simply as a promise within another context, but the latter is part of a vision of the New Jerusalem as it descends. That seems to be the place to begin to interpret. The New Jerusalem descends just after the new creation is completed, a new heavens and a new earth. It descends adorned as a bride for the bridegroom (the Lamb in the passage). The city itself is described as a great cube, something like a gigantic holy of holies, and it is paradise itself within, the place of the tree of life. From all of these details, it seems clear that the New Jerusalem is a heavenly thing, not an earthly creation, and that it comes down to give the righteous a place to dwell.
Parallel to this is "the holy sanctuary of the Lord," which might, as mentioned above, be connected with Ezek 48:10. The sanctuary there is the holy of holies of the eschatological temple: that is, it is apparently the New Jerusalem itself. The only detail in this verse that would suggest otherwise is the "and" that seems to separate the two ideas. But it seems best to read "and the holy sanctuary of the Lord" as simply doubling the reference to the heavenly Jerusalem descending. Now, all of these details may connect this with the city of Enoch: in Moses 7:63, the Lord explains to Enoch that at the last day, "Then shalt thou and all thy city meet them [those in an earthly "New Jerusalem"] there, and we will receive them into our bosom, and they shall see us; and we will fall upon their necks, and they shall fall upon our necks, and we will kiss each other." All of this suggests a meeting of two New Jerusalems, a heavenly one and an earthly one, as it is put in D&C 84:100: "The Lord hath gathered all things in one. The Lord hath brought down Zion from above. The Lord hath brought up Zion from beneath."
  • Ether 13:4. With all of these details, it is possible to approach verse 4, where Ether begins to speak of "a New Jerusalem upon this land," apparently another New Jerusalem, but one built up by men. What is perhaps odd about this verse is that this business is somehow connected with "the days of Christ." At first blush, one would probably assume that "the days of Christ" would refer to the time when Jesus was on earth. A closer look, however, reveals that things may be somewhat more complicated here. Since everything surrounding the phrase is referring to the last day when the two New Jerusalems meet, it seems it might be better to understand the phrase to be referring to the days in which Christ reigns among the people. On this account, it might be important that the name "Christ" is used instead of "Jesus" (a name Mormon and Moroni seem at times to prefer): this is the time of the coming again of the Messiah, the time of the issuing in of peace, etc.

Unanswered questions[edit]

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Prompts for life application[edit]

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Prompts for further study[edit]

This section is for prompts that invite us to think about a passage more deeply or in a new way. These are not necessarily questions that beg for answers, but rather prompts along the lines of "Have you ever thought about ..." Prompts are most helpful when they are developed individually, thoughtfully, and with enough background information to clearly indicate a particular direction for further study or thought. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

  • Ether 13:3: What does it mean when Ether says that the New Jerusalem will "come down out of Heaven"?
  • Ether 13:6: What is the "type" of the New Jerusalem that is referred to? Is it the old city of Jerusalem? Is it the city of Enoch?
  • Ether 13:8: Here it states that the house of Joseph shall no more be confounded when built upon the New Jerusalem. What does this mean? Are they saying that they will receive the gospel and never have it taken from them again?
  • Ether 13:9: What does it mean when it says there shall be a new heaven and a new earth and that all things will have become new?
  • Ether 13:13: Moroni was going to write more, but was forbidden, just like Nephi when he reached the end of the sixth seal in his prophecy.1 Ne 14:24-27.

Resources[edit]

This section is for listing links and print resources, including those that are also cited elsewhere on this page. A short comment about the particular strengths of a resource can be helpful. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Notes[edit]

Footnotes are not required but are encouraged for factual assertions that average readers cannot easily evaluate for themselves (such as the date of King Solomon’s death or the nuanced definition of a Greek word). In contrast, insights rarely benefit from footnoting, and the focus of this page should always remain on the scriptures themselves rather than what someone has said about them. Links are actively encouraged on all sections of this page, and links to authoritative sources (such as Strong's Bible Concordance or the Joseph Smith Papers) are preferable to footnotes.



Previous page: Chapter 12                      Next page: Chapters 13b-15


Ether 13-15

Home > The Book of Mormon > Ether > Chapters 12-15 > Chapters 13b-15 / Verses 13:13-15:34
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This page would ideally always be under construction. You are invited to contribute.


Summary[edit]

This section should be very brief. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Relationship to Chapters 12-15. The relationship of Chapters 13b-15 to the rest of Chapters 12-15 is discussed at Chapters 12-15.

Story. Chapters 13b-15 consists of three major sections:

  • Ether's warning to avoid destruction by repenting (Chapter 13b)
  • Coriantumr tries to avoid destruction by fighting four usurpers (Chapter 14)
  • Coriantumr tries to avoid destruction by negotiating, destruction fulfilled over eight days (Chapter 15)

Message. Themes, symbols, and doctrinal points emphasized in Chapters 13b-15 include:

Discussion[edit]

This section is for detailed discussion such as the meaning of a symbol, how a doctrinal point is developed throughout a passage, or insights that can be further developed in the future. Contributions may range from polished paragraphs down to a single bullet point. The focus, however, should always be on understanding the scriptural text consistent with LDS doctrine. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Outline[edit]

● Ether's warning to avoid destruction by repenting (Chapter 13b)

a. Ether rejected, views destruction from hiding (13:13-14)
b. wars between secret combinations and king (13:15-16)
c. no one repents (13:17)
b. wars between secret combinations and king (13:18-19)
a. Ether prophesies final destruction and in hiding, no one repents (13:20-22)

● Coriantumr tries to avoid destruction by fighting four usurpers (Chapter 14)

a. Corinatumr and Shared battle three days (13:23-30)
b. curse on the land (13:31-14:2)
c. Coriantumr and Gilead battle in Akish and Moron (14:3-8)
d. self-destruction within secret combinations (14:9-10)
c. Coriantumr and Lib II battle in Moron and Akish (14:11-16)
b. fear of Shiz sweeping the earth (14:17-25)
a. Coriantumr and Shiz battle three days (14:26-31)

● Coriantumr tries to avoid destruction by negotiating, destruction fulfilled over eight days (Chapter 15)

a. Coriantumr sees that prophecy is being fulfilled, tries to avoid destruction by negotiating (15:1-5)
b. battle at seashore, Coriantumr faints (15:6-11)
c. camping four years to gather strength (15:12-14)
d. days 1-2 of final battle (15:15-17)
e. Coriantumr again tries to avoid destruction by negotiating (15:18-19)
d. days 3-6 of final battle (15:20-26)
c. days 7-8 of final battle, Coriantumr's group flees (15:27-29a)
b. Shiz and Coriantumr both faint, Coriantumr kills Shiz (15:29b-32)
a. Ether's witness that prophesied destruction is fulfilled (15:33-34)

How to avoid destruction[edit]

A main point of this section is that the destruction can be avoided only through repentance. Ether tells Coriantumr at the beginning to repent. Coriantumr tried to overcome the destructive forces within his society instead by force of arms, or by relying upon the arm of flesh. He then tries to reach an accommodation through negotiation. Neither works because he does not repent as the prophet insisted must be done. So Coriantumr and his people are destroyed over the course of an eight day battle.

The first section (verses 13:13-22) sets up the thesis of the closing narrative in Ether: Destruction may be avoided only by repentance. This is that the prophet Ether tells the king Coriantumr. The rest of this closing narrative is a lesson about what happens when the king ignores this message from the prophet. Throughout this closing narrative Coriantumr thinks he is fighting a succession of competing political foes: Shared, Gilead, Lib, Shiz, but really it is about the conflict between Coriantumr and the prophet Ether.

Ether 13b / Verses 13:13-22[edit]

  • Ether 13:20-22. In Verse 12:1-3; 13:2, 13 the people rejected Ether's warning to repent. Now in Verse 13:20-22 the king Coriantumr also rejects the warning to repent. Coriantumr was given the chance to repent for his people, much like a Davidic king who stands between the Lord and his people.

Ether 14 / Verses 13:23-14:31[edit]

  • Ether 13:23-30. We do not know anything about the geography mentioned in the first episode (13:23-30) except that "hills, plains and valleys" may be intended to mean everywhere.
  • Ether 13:27: Prophecy. This verse seems to state that Ether would be alive with Coriantumr when he is found in the book of Omni. But then in the last chapter of Ether, it states that all of the Lord's words had been fulfilled, yet I still don't see how Ether saw the Nephites possess this land. Does anyone have any insight into this passage?
  • Good question. Ether 15:33 says that Ether wrote that "the words of the Lord had all been fulfilled" and yet Ether doesn't witness (or at least mention) that Coriantumr saw "another people receiving the land"—this prophesy seems to be fulfilled in Omni 1:26, but Ether doesn't mention it.
  • One view might be that when Ether "beheld that the words of the Lord had all been fulfilled" (Ether 15:34), Ether witnessed the people of Zarahemla discover Coriantumr. This is reading a bit into the text, but would seem to resolve the issue. Another view might be that the prophecy in verse 21 only consists of the first sentence—that Coriantumr's household would all be destroyed except himself—and that the rest of the verse is an editorial comment by a later redactor.
  • Ether 13:31-14:2, 14:17-25. In the first of these two episodes (13:31-14:2) the great curse is that people cannot hang on to their possessions. In the second, parallel episode (14:17-25), the piles of dead bodies indicate that one has trouble even hanging to his or her own life.
  • Ether 14:3-8, 11-17. We know that Moron was the Jaredite capitol (7:6; 14:6). We also know that the Wilderness of Akish shares the same name with the man who first introduced secret combinations to the Jaredite people, that he ascended the throne through intrigue against his own father, and that under his rule the Jaredite people were almost completely destroyed for the first time. A connection is thus drawn in the middle episodes (14:3-17) between Corinatumr and his challengers, who alternately occupy these two locations. In fact, at the center of this section (13:23-14:31) it is Coriantumr who dwells in the Wilderness of Akish. Coriantumr and his challengers are thus shown to really all be the same, and Coriantumr is not be viewed as better than his challengers or as the last remaining bastion of civil order.
  • Ether 14:9-10. Gilead is murdered by his high priest (nice religion!) while sitting on his throne, who is in turn killed in a hidden secret passageway. While the battles in most of this section (13:23-14:31) show open formal challenges for power, these two central events demonstrate that in an environment of secret combinations no one can be trusted anywhere. Even far removed from battle, even the most powerful man in the country is not safe, not on his public throne, not in a secret passage.

Ether 15 / Verses 15:1-34[edit]

  • Baptism occurs at the age of eight years, circumcision at eight days, Noah was saved as one of eight people on the ark, the Jaredites arrived in eight boats, and now the Jaredites are destroyed in eight days of battle. They are being held accountable by God.
  • Ether 15:1-5: Corinatumr misunderstands his situation. The destruction is finally reaching Coriantumr's heart. He wants it to stop. But the problem is that he still fails to recognize his true opponent. He still thinks he can cut a deal with Shiz. In fact he is standing in opposition to God and his prophet Ether, and Ether has already provided the terms under which the destruction will stop. Because Coriantumr instead asks the wrong person (Shiz) to stop the destruction on the wrong terms, the effort is doomed to fail before it even begins.
  • Ether 15:1-5: Coriantumr is not a good shepherd. In the opening section of this closing narrative Coriantumr was unwilling to repent, or to give up his way of life. Here he is unwilling to give up his life. He is not a good shepherd.
  • Ether 15:12-15. Everyone is forcibly brought into this Satanic machine of destruction, and people are denied the choice of opting out. Society is ripe for destruction.
  • Ether 15:15-17. You cannot run away from this machine of destruction. It will chase you down.

Unanswered questions[edit]

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Prompts for life application[edit]

This section is for prompts that suggest ways in which a passage can influence a person's life. Prompts may be appropriate either for private self reflection or for a class discussion. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Prompts for further study[edit]

This section is for prompts that invite us to think about a passage more deeply or in a new way. These are not necessarily questions that beg for answers, but rather prompts along the lines of "Have you ever thought about ..." Prompts are most helpful when they are developed individually, thoughtfully, and with enough background information to clearly indicate a particular direction for further study or thought. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

  • Ether 15:31: Death of Shiz. Why is there such a graphic description of the death of Shiz? What's to be gained from reading this?

Resources[edit]

This section is for listing links and print resources, including those that are also cited elsewhere on this page. A short comment about the particular strengths of a resource can be helpful. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Notes[edit]

Footnotes are not required but are encouraged for factual assertions that average readers cannot easily evaluate for themselves (such as the date of King Solomon’s death or the nuanced definition of a Greek word). In contrast, insights rarely benefit from footnoting, and the focus of this page should always remain on the scriptures themselves rather than what someone has said about them. Links are actively encouraged on all sections of this page, and links to authoritative sources (such as Strong's Bible Concordance or the Joseph Smith Papers) are preferable to footnotes.



Previous page: Chapter 13a                      This is the last page for Ether

Ether 13:13-22

Home > The Book of Mormon > Ether > Chapters 12-15 > Chapters 13b-15 / Verses 13:13-15:34
Previous page: Chapter 13a                      This is the last page for Ether


This page would ideally always be under construction. You are invited to contribute.


Summary[edit]

This section should be very brief. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Relationship to Chapters 12-15. The relationship of Chapters 13b-15 to the rest of Chapters 12-15 is discussed at Chapters 12-15.

Story. Chapters 13b-15 consists of three major sections:

  • Ether's warning to avoid destruction by repenting (Chapter 13b)
  • Coriantumr tries to avoid destruction by fighting four usurpers (Chapter 14)
  • Coriantumr tries to avoid destruction by negotiating, destruction fulfilled over eight days (Chapter 15)

Message. Themes, symbols, and doctrinal points emphasized in Chapters 13b-15 include:

Discussion[edit]

This section is for detailed discussion such as the meaning of a symbol, how a doctrinal point is developed throughout a passage, or insights that can be further developed in the future. Contributions may range from polished paragraphs down to a single bullet point. The focus, however, should always be on understanding the scriptural text consistent with LDS doctrine. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Outline[edit]

● Ether's warning to avoid destruction by repenting (Chapter 13b)

a. Ether rejected, views destruction from hiding (13:13-14)
b. wars between secret combinations and king (13:15-16)
c. no one repents (13:17)
b. wars between secret combinations and king (13:18-19)
a. Ether prophesies final destruction and in hiding, no one repents (13:20-22)

● Coriantumr tries to avoid destruction by fighting four usurpers (Chapter 14)

a. Corinatumr and Shared battle three days (13:23-30)
b. curse on the land (13:31-14:2)
c. Coriantumr and Gilead battle in Akish and Moron (14:3-8)
d. self-destruction within secret combinations (14:9-10)
c. Coriantumr and Lib II battle in Moron and Akish (14:11-16)
b. fear of Shiz sweeping the earth (14:17-25)
a. Coriantumr and Shiz battle three days (14:26-31)

● Coriantumr tries to avoid destruction by negotiating, destruction fulfilled over eight days (Chapter 15)

a. Coriantumr sees that prophecy is being fulfilled, tries to avoid destruction by negotiating (15:1-5)
b. battle at seashore, Coriantumr faints (15:6-11)
c. camping four years to gather strength (15:12-14)
d. days 1-2 of final battle (15:15-17)
e. Coriantumr again tries to avoid destruction by negotiating (15:18-19)
d. days 3-6 of final battle (15:20-26)
c. days 7-8 of final battle, Coriantumr's group flees (15:27-29a)
b. Shiz and Coriantumr both faint, Coriantumr kills Shiz (15:29b-32)
a. Ether's witness that prophesied destruction is fulfilled (15:33-34)

How to avoid destruction[edit]

A main point of this section is that the destruction can be avoided only through repentance. Ether tells Coriantumr at the beginning to repent. Coriantumr tried to overcome the destructive forces within his society instead by force of arms, or by relying upon the arm of flesh. He then tries to reach an accommodation through negotiation. Neither works because he does not repent as the prophet insisted must be done. So Coriantumr and his people are destroyed over the course of an eight day battle.

The first section (verses 13:13-22) sets up the thesis of the closing narrative in Ether: Destruction may be avoided only by repentance. This is that the prophet Ether tells the king Coriantumr. The rest of this closing narrative is a lesson about what happens when the king ignores this message from the prophet. Throughout this closing narrative Coriantumr thinks he is fighting a succession of competing political foes: Shared, Gilead, Lib, Shiz, but really it is about the conflict between Coriantumr and the prophet Ether.

Ether 13b / Verses 13:13-22[edit]

  • Ether 13:20-22. In Verse 12:1-3; 13:2, 13 the people rejected Ether's warning to repent. Now in Verse 13:20-22 the king Coriantumr also rejects the warning to repent. Coriantumr was given the chance to repent for his people, much like a Davidic king who stands between the Lord and his people.

Ether 14 / Verses 13:23-14:31[edit]

  • Ether 13:23-30. We do not know anything about the geography mentioned in the first episode (13:23-30) except that "hills, plains and valleys" may be intended to mean everywhere.
  • Ether 13:27: Prophecy. This verse seems to state that Ether would be alive with Coriantumr when he is found in the book of Omni. But then in the last chapter of Ether, it states that all of the Lord's words had been fulfilled, yet I still don't see how Ether saw the Nephites possess this land. Does anyone have any insight into this passage?
  • Good question. Ether 15:33 says that Ether wrote that "the words of the Lord had all been fulfilled" and yet Ether doesn't witness (or at least mention) that Coriantumr saw "another people receiving the land"—this prophesy seems to be fulfilled in Omni 1:26, but Ether doesn't mention it.
  • One view might be that when Ether "beheld that the words of the Lord had all been fulfilled" (Ether 15:34), Ether witnessed the people of Zarahemla discover Coriantumr. This is reading a bit into the text, but would seem to resolve the issue. Another view might be that the prophecy in verse 21 only consists of the first sentence—that Coriantumr's household would all be destroyed except himself—and that the rest of the verse is an editorial comment by a later redactor.
  • Ether 13:31-14:2, 14:17-25. In the first of these two episodes (13:31-14:2) the great curse is that people cannot hang on to their possessions. In the second, parallel episode (14:17-25), the piles of dead bodies indicate that one has trouble even hanging to his or her own life.
  • Ether 14:3-8, 11-17. We know that Moron was the Jaredite capitol (7:6; 14:6). We also know that the Wilderness of Akish shares the same name with the man who first introduced secret combinations to the Jaredite people, that he ascended the throne through intrigue against his own father, and that under his rule the Jaredite people were almost completely destroyed for the first time. A connection is thus drawn in the middle episodes (14:3-17) between Corinatumr and his challengers, who alternately occupy these two locations. In fact, at the center of this section (13:23-14:31) it is Coriantumr who dwells in the Wilderness of Akish. Coriantumr and his challengers are thus shown to really all be the same, and Coriantumr is not be viewed as better than his challengers or as the last remaining bastion of civil order.
  • Ether 14:9-10. Gilead is murdered by his high priest (nice religion!) while sitting on his throne, who is in turn killed in a hidden secret passageway. While the battles in most of this section (13:23-14:31) show open formal challenges for power, these two central events demonstrate that in an environment of secret combinations no one can be trusted anywhere. Even far removed from battle, even the most powerful man in the country is not safe, not on his public throne, not in a secret passage.

Ether 15 / Verses 15:1-34[edit]

  • Baptism occurs at the age of eight years, circumcision at eight days, Noah was saved as one of eight people on the ark, the Jaredites arrived in eight boats, and now the Jaredites are destroyed in eight days of battle. They are being held accountable by God.
  • Ether 15:1-5: Corinatumr misunderstands his situation. The destruction is finally reaching Coriantumr's heart. He wants it to stop. But the problem is that he still fails to recognize his true opponent. He still thinks he can cut a deal with Shiz. In fact he is standing in opposition to God and his prophet Ether, and Ether has already provided the terms under which the destruction will stop. Because Coriantumr instead asks the wrong person (Shiz) to stop the destruction on the wrong terms, the effort is doomed to fail before it even begins.
  • Ether 15:1-5: Coriantumr is not a good shepherd. In the opening section of this closing narrative Coriantumr was unwilling to repent, or to give up his way of life. Here he is unwilling to give up his life. He is not a good shepherd.
  • Ether 15:12-15. Everyone is forcibly brought into this Satanic machine of destruction, and people are denied the choice of opting out. Society is ripe for destruction.
  • Ether 15:15-17. You cannot run away from this machine of destruction. It will chase you down.

Unanswered questions[edit]

This section is for questions along the lines of "I still don't understand ..." Please do not be shy. The point of these questions is to identify things that still need to be addressed on this page. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Prompts for life application[edit]

This section is for prompts that suggest ways in which a passage can influence a person's life. Prompts may be appropriate either for private self reflection or for a class discussion. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Prompts for further study[edit]

This section is for prompts that invite us to think about a passage more deeply or in a new way. These are not necessarily questions that beg for answers, but rather prompts along the lines of "Have you ever thought about ..." Prompts are most helpful when they are developed individually, thoughtfully, and with enough background information to clearly indicate a particular direction for further study or thought. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

  • Ether 15:31: Death of Shiz. Why is there such a graphic description of the death of Shiz? What's to be gained from reading this?

Resources[edit]

This section is for listing links and print resources, including those that are also cited elsewhere on this page. A short comment about the particular strengths of a resource can be helpful. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Notes[edit]

Footnotes are not required but are encouraged for factual assertions that average readers cannot easily evaluate for themselves (such as the date of King Solomon’s death or the nuanced definition of a Greek word). In contrast, insights rarely benefit from footnoting, and the focus of this page should always remain on the scriptures themselves rather than what someone has said about them. Links are actively encouraged on all sections of this page, and links to authoritative sources (such as Strong's Bible Concordance or the Joseph Smith Papers) are preferable to footnotes.



Previous page: Chapter 13a                      This is the last page for Ether

Ether 13:23-14:31

Home > The Book of Mormon > Ether > Chapters 12-15 > Chapters 13b-15 / Verses 13:13-15:34
Previous page: Chapter 13a                      This is the last page for Ether


This page would ideally always be under construction. You are invited to contribute.


Summary[edit]

This section should be very brief. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Relationship to Chapters 12-15. The relationship of Chapters 13b-15 to the rest of Chapters 12-15 is discussed at Chapters 12-15.

Story. Chapters 13b-15 consists of three major sections:

  • Ether's warning to avoid destruction by repenting (Chapter 13b)
  • Coriantumr tries to avoid destruction by fighting four usurpers (Chapter 14)
  • Coriantumr tries to avoid destruction by negotiating, destruction fulfilled over eight days (Chapter 15)

Message. Themes, symbols, and doctrinal points emphasized in Chapters 13b-15 include:

Discussion[edit]

This section is for detailed discussion such as the meaning of a symbol, how a doctrinal point is developed throughout a passage, or insights that can be further developed in the future. Contributions may range from polished paragraphs down to a single bullet point. The focus, however, should always be on understanding the scriptural text consistent with LDS doctrine. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Outline[edit]

● Ether's warning to avoid destruction by repenting (Chapter 13b)

a. Ether rejected, views destruction from hiding (13:13-14)
b. wars between secret combinations and king (13:15-16)
c. no one repents (13:17)
b. wars between secret combinations and king (13:18-19)
a. Ether prophesies final destruction and in hiding, no one repents (13:20-22)

● Coriantumr tries to avoid destruction by fighting four usurpers (Chapter 14)

a. Corinatumr and Shared battle three days (13:23-30)
b. curse on the land (13:31-14:2)
c. Coriantumr and Gilead battle in Akish and Moron (14:3-8)
d. self-destruction within secret combinations (14:9-10)
c. Coriantumr and Lib II battle in Moron and Akish (14:11-16)
b. fear of Shiz sweeping the earth (14:17-25)
a. Coriantumr and Shiz battle three days (14:26-31)

● Coriantumr tries to avoid destruction by negotiating, destruction fulfilled over eight days (Chapter 15)

a. Coriantumr sees that prophecy is being fulfilled, tries to avoid destruction by negotiating (15:1-5)
b. battle at seashore, Coriantumr faints (15:6-11)
c. camping four years to gather strength (15:12-14)
d. days 1-2 of final battle (15:15-17)
e. Coriantumr again tries to avoid destruction by negotiating (15:18-19)
d. days 3-6 of final battle (15:20-26)
c. days 7-8 of final battle, Coriantumr's group flees (15:27-29a)
b. Shiz and Coriantumr both faint, Coriantumr kills Shiz (15:29b-32)
a. Ether's witness that prophesied destruction is fulfilled (15:33-34)

How to avoid destruction[edit]

A main point of this section is that the destruction can be avoided only through repentance. Ether tells Coriantumr at the beginning to repent. Coriantumr tried to overcome the destructive forces within his society instead by force of arms, or by relying upon the arm of flesh. He then tries to reach an accommodation through negotiation. Neither works because he does not repent as the prophet insisted must be done. So Coriantumr and his people are destroyed over the course of an eight day battle.

The first section (verses 13:13-22) sets up the thesis of the closing narrative in Ether: Destruction may be avoided only by repentance. This is that the prophet Ether tells the king Coriantumr. The rest of this closing narrative is a lesson about what happens when the king ignores this message from the prophet. Throughout this closing narrative Coriantumr thinks he is fighting a succession of competing political foes: Shared, Gilead, Lib, Shiz, but really it is about the conflict between Coriantumr and the prophet Ether.

Ether 13b / Verses 13:13-22[edit]

  • Ether 13:20-22. In Verse 12:1-3; 13:2, 13 the people rejected Ether's warning to repent. Now in Verse 13:20-22 the king Coriantumr also rejects the warning to repent. Coriantumr was given the chance to repent for his people, much like a Davidic king who stands between the Lord and his people.

Ether 14 / Verses 13:23-14:31[edit]

  • Ether 13:23-30. We do not know anything about the geography mentioned in the first episode (13:23-30) except that "hills, plains and valleys" may be intended to mean everywhere.
  • Ether 13:27: Prophecy. This verse seems to state that Ether would be alive with Coriantumr when he is found in the book of Omni. But then in the last chapter of Ether, it states that all of the Lord's words had been fulfilled, yet I still don't see how Ether saw the Nephites possess this land. Does anyone have any insight into this passage?
  • Good question. Ether 15:33 says that Ether wrote that "the words of the Lord had all been fulfilled" and yet Ether doesn't witness (or at least mention) that Coriantumr saw "another people receiving the land"—this prophesy seems to be fulfilled in Omni 1:26, but Ether doesn't mention it.
  • One view might be that when Ether "beheld that the words of the Lord had all been fulfilled" (Ether 15:34), Ether witnessed the people of Zarahemla discover Coriantumr. This is reading a bit into the text, but would seem to resolve the issue. Another view might be that the prophecy in verse 21 only consists of the first sentence—that Coriantumr's household would all be destroyed except himself—and that the rest of the verse is an editorial comment by a later redactor.
  • Ether 13:31-14:2, 14:17-25. In the first of these two episodes (13:31-14:2) the great curse is that people cannot hang on to their possessions. In the second, parallel episode (14:17-25), the piles of dead bodies indicate that one has trouble even hanging to his or her own life.
  • Ether 14:3-8, 11-17. We know that Moron was the Jaredite capitol (7:6; 14:6). We also know that the Wilderness of Akish shares the same name with the man who first introduced secret combinations to the Jaredite people, that he ascended the throne through intrigue against his own father, and that under his rule the Jaredite people were almost completely destroyed for the first time. A connection is thus drawn in the middle episodes (14:3-17) between Corinatumr and his challengers, who alternately occupy these two locations. In fact, at the center of this section (13:23-14:31) it is Coriantumr who dwells in the Wilderness of Akish. Coriantumr and his challengers are thus shown to really all be the same, and Coriantumr is not be viewed as better than his challengers or as the last remaining bastion of civil order.
  • Ether 14:9-10. Gilead is murdered by his high priest (nice religion!) while sitting on his throne, who is in turn killed in a hidden secret passageway. While the battles in most of this section (13:23-14:31) show open formal challenges for power, these two central events demonstrate that in an environment of secret combinations no one can be trusted anywhere. Even far removed from battle, even the most powerful man in the country is not safe, not on his public throne, not in a secret passage.

Ether 15 / Verses 15:1-34[edit]

  • Baptism occurs at the age of eight years, circumcision at eight days, Noah was saved as one of eight people on the ark, the Jaredites arrived in eight boats, and now the Jaredites are destroyed in eight days of battle. They are being held accountable by God.
  • Ether 15:1-5: Corinatumr misunderstands his situation. The destruction is finally reaching Coriantumr's heart. He wants it to stop. But the problem is that he still fails to recognize his true opponent. He still thinks he can cut a deal with Shiz. In fact he is standing in opposition to God and his prophet Ether, and Ether has already provided the terms under which the destruction will stop. Because Coriantumr instead asks the wrong person (Shiz) to stop the destruction on the wrong terms, the effort is doomed to fail before it even begins.
  • Ether 15:1-5: Coriantumr is not a good shepherd. In the opening section of this closing narrative Coriantumr was unwilling to repent, or to give up his way of life. Here he is unwilling to give up his life. He is not a good shepherd.
  • Ether 15:12-15. Everyone is forcibly brought into this Satanic machine of destruction, and people are denied the choice of opting out. Society is ripe for destruction.
  • Ether 15:15-17. You cannot run away from this machine of destruction. It will chase you down.

Unanswered questions[edit]

This section is for questions along the lines of "I still don't understand ..." Please do not be shy. The point of these questions is to identify things that still need to be addressed on this page. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Prompts for life application[edit]

This section is for prompts that suggest ways in which a passage can influence a person's life. Prompts may be appropriate either for private self reflection or for a class discussion. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Prompts for further study[edit]

This section is for prompts that invite us to think about a passage more deeply or in a new way. These are not necessarily questions that beg for answers, but rather prompts along the lines of "Have you ever thought about ..." Prompts are most helpful when they are developed individually, thoughtfully, and with enough background information to clearly indicate a particular direction for further study or thought. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

  • Ether 15:31: Death of Shiz. Why is there such a graphic description of the death of Shiz? What's to be gained from reading this?

Resources[edit]

This section is for listing links and print resources, including those that are also cited elsewhere on this page. A short comment about the particular strengths of a resource can be helpful. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Notes[edit]

Footnotes are not required but are encouraged for factual assertions that average readers cannot easily evaluate for themselves (such as the date of King Solomon’s death or the nuanced definition of a Greek word). In contrast, insights rarely benefit from footnoting, and the focus of this page should always remain on the scriptures themselves rather than what someone has said about them. Links are actively encouraged on all sections of this page, and links to authoritative sources (such as Strong's Bible Concordance or the Joseph Smith Papers) are preferable to footnotes.



Previous page: Chapter 13a                      This is the last page for Ether

Ether 15:1-34

Home > The Book of Mormon > Ether > Chapters 12-15 > Chapters 13b-15 / Verses 13:13-15:34
Previous page: Chapter 13a                      This is the last page for Ether


This page would ideally always be under construction. You are invited to contribute.


Summary[edit]

This section should be very brief. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Relationship to Chapters 12-15. The relationship of Chapters 13b-15 to the rest of Chapters 12-15 is discussed at Chapters 12-15.

Story. Chapters 13b-15 consists of three major sections:

  • Ether's warning to avoid destruction by repenting (Chapter 13b)
  • Coriantumr tries to avoid destruction by fighting four usurpers (Chapter 14)
  • Coriantumr tries to avoid destruction by negotiating, destruction fulfilled over eight days (Chapter 15)

Message. Themes, symbols, and doctrinal points emphasized in Chapters 13b-15 include:

Discussion[edit]

This section is for detailed discussion such as the meaning of a symbol, how a doctrinal point is developed throughout a passage, or insights that can be further developed in the future. Contributions may range from polished paragraphs down to a single bullet point. The focus, however, should always be on understanding the scriptural text consistent with LDS doctrine. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Outline[edit]

● Ether's warning to avoid destruction by repenting (Chapter 13b)

a. Ether rejected, views destruction from hiding (13:13-14)
b. wars between secret combinations and king (13:15-16)
c. no one repents (13:17)
b. wars between secret combinations and king (13:18-19)
a. Ether prophesies final destruction and in hiding, no one repents (13:20-22)

● Coriantumr tries to avoid destruction by fighting four usurpers (Chapter 14)

a. Corinatumr and Shared battle three days (13:23-30)
b. curse on the land (13:31-14:2)
c. Coriantumr and Gilead battle in Akish and Moron (14:3-8)
d. self-destruction within secret combinations (14:9-10)
c. Coriantumr and Lib II battle in Moron and Akish (14:11-16)
b. fear of Shiz sweeping the earth (14:17-25)
a. Coriantumr and Shiz battle three days (14:26-31)

● Coriantumr tries to avoid destruction by negotiating, destruction fulfilled over eight days (Chapter 15)

a. Coriantumr sees that prophecy is being fulfilled, tries to avoid destruction by negotiating (15:1-5)
b. battle at seashore, Coriantumr faints (15:6-11)
c. camping four years to gather strength (15:12-14)
d. days 1-2 of final battle (15:15-17)
e. Coriantumr again tries to avoid destruction by negotiating (15:18-19)
d. days 3-6 of final battle (15:20-26)
c. days 7-8 of final battle, Coriantumr's group flees (15:27-29a)
b. Shiz and Coriantumr both faint, Coriantumr kills Shiz (15:29b-32)
a. Ether's witness that prophesied destruction is fulfilled (15:33-34)

How to avoid destruction[edit]

A main point of this section is that the destruction can be avoided only through repentance. Ether tells Coriantumr at the beginning to repent. Coriantumr tried to overcome the destructive forces within his society instead by force of arms, or by relying upon the arm of flesh. He then tries to reach an accommodation through negotiation. Neither works because he does not repent as the prophet insisted must be done. So Coriantumr and his people are destroyed over the course of an eight day battle.

The first section (verses 13:13-22) sets up the thesis of the closing narrative in Ether: Destruction may be avoided only by repentance. This is that the prophet Ether tells the king Coriantumr. The rest of this closing narrative is a lesson about what happens when the king ignores this message from the prophet. Throughout this closing narrative Coriantumr thinks he is fighting a succession of competing political foes: Shared, Gilead, Lib, Shiz, but really it is about the conflict between Coriantumr and the prophet Ether.

Ether 13b / Verses 13:13-22[edit]

  • Ether 13:20-22. In Verse 12:1-3; 13:2, 13 the people rejected Ether's warning to repent. Now in Verse 13:20-22 the king Coriantumr also rejects the warning to repent. Coriantumr was given the chance to repent for his people, much like a Davidic king who stands between the Lord and his people.

Ether 14 / Verses 13:23-14:31[edit]

  • Ether 13:23-30. We do not know anything about the geography mentioned in the first episode (13:23-30) except that "hills, plains and valleys" may be intended to mean everywhere.
  • Ether 13:27: Prophecy. This verse seems to state that Ether would be alive with Coriantumr when he is found in the book of Omni. But then in the last chapter of Ether, it states that all of the Lord's words had been fulfilled, yet I still don't see how Ether saw the Nephites possess this land. Does anyone have any insight into this passage?
  • Good question. Ether 15:33 says that Ether wrote that "the words of the Lord had all been fulfilled" and yet Ether doesn't witness (or at least mention) that Coriantumr saw "another people receiving the land"—this prophesy seems to be fulfilled in Omni 1:26, but Ether doesn't mention it.
  • One view might be that when Ether "beheld that the words of the Lord had all been fulfilled" (Ether 15:34), Ether witnessed the people of Zarahemla discover Coriantumr. This is reading a bit into the text, but would seem to resolve the issue. Another view might be that the prophecy in verse 21 only consists of the first sentence—that Coriantumr's household would all be destroyed except himself—and that the rest of the verse is an editorial comment by a later redactor.
  • Ether 13:31-14:2, 14:17-25. In the first of these two episodes (13:31-14:2) the great curse is that people cannot hang on to their possessions. In the second, parallel episode (14:17-25), the piles of dead bodies indicate that one has trouble even hanging to his or her own life.
  • Ether 14:3-8, 11-17. We know that Moron was the Jaredite capitol (7:6; 14:6). We also know that the Wilderness of Akish shares the same name with the man who first introduced secret combinations to the Jaredite people, that he ascended the throne through intrigue against his own father, and that under his rule the Jaredite people were almost completely destroyed for the first time. A connection is thus drawn in the middle episodes (14:3-17) between Corinatumr and his challengers, who alternately occupy these two locations. In fact, at the center of this section (13:23-14:31) it is Coriantumr who dwells in the Wilderness of Akish. Coriantumr and his challengers are thus shown to really all be the same, and Coriantumr is not be viewed as better than his challengers or as the last remaining bastion of civil order.
  • Ether 14:9-10. Gilead is murdered by his high priest (nice religion!) while sitting on his throne, who is in turn killed in a hidden secret passageway. While the battles in most of this section (13:23-14:31) show open formal challenges for power, these two central events demonstrate that in an environment of secret combinations no one can be trusted anywhere. Even far removed from battle, even the most powerful man in the country is not safe, not on his public throne, not in a secret passage.

Ether 15 / Verses 15:1-34[edit]

  • Baptism occurs at the age of eight years, circumcision at eight days, Noah was saved as one of eight people on the ark, the Jaredites arrived in eight boats, and now the Jaredites are destroyed in eight days of battle. They are being held accountable by God.
  • Ether 15:1-5: Corinatumr misunderstands his situation. The destruction is finally reaching Coriantumr's heart. He wants it to stop. But the problem is that he still fails to recognize his true opponent. He still thinks he can cut a deal with Shiz. In fact he is standing in opposition to God and his prophet Ether, and Ether has already provided the terms under which the destruction will stop. Because Coriantumr instead asks the wrong person (Shiz) to stop the destruction on the wrong terms, the effort is doomed to fail before it even begins.
  • Ether 15:1-5: Coriantumr is not a good shepherd. In the opening section of this closing narrative Coriantumr was unwilling to repent, or to give up his way of life. Here he is unwilling to give up his life. He is not a good shepherd.
  • Ether 15:12-15. Everyone is forcibly brought into this Satanic machine of destruction, and people are denied the choice of opting out. Society is ripe for destruction.
  • Ether 15:15-17. You cannot run away from this machine of destruction. It will chase you down.

Unanswered questions[edit]

This section is for questions along the lines of "I still don't understand ..." Please do not be shy. The point of these questions is to identify things that still need to be addressed on this page. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Prompts for life application[edit]

This section is for prompts that suggest ways in which a passage can influence a person's life. Prompts may be appropriate either for private self reflection or for a class discussion. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Prompts for further study[edit]

This section is for prompts that invite us to think about a passage more deeply or in a new way. These are not necessarily questions that beg for answers, but rather prompts along the lines of "Have you ever thought about ..." Prompts are most helpful when they are developed individually, thoughtfully, and with enough background information to clearly indicate a particular direction for further study or thought. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

  • Ether 15:31: Death of Shiz. Why is there such a graphic description of the death of Shiz? What's to be gained from reading this?

Resources[edit]

This section is for listing links and print resources, including those that are also cited elsewhere on this page. A short comment about the particular strengths of a resource can be helpful. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Notes[edit]

Footnotes are not required but are encouraged for factual assertions that average readers cannot easily evaluate for themselves (such as the date of King Solomon’s death or the nuanced definition of a Greek word). In contrast, insights rarely benefit from footnoting, and the focus of this page should always remain on the scriptures themselves rather than what someone has said about them. Links are actively encouraged on all sections of this page, and links to authoritative sources (such as Strong's Bible Concordance or the Joseph Smith Papers) are preferable to footnotes.



Previous page: Chapter 13a                      This is the last page for Ether

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