Book of Mormon Commentary - Ether 1

by Don R. Hender

Now it does appear that at some later date than that of 401 A.D. when Moroni hid up the Book of Mormon plates for he first time, he then having no more space upon the plates to write, that Moroni did enter into the great room where all the records of the Nephites had been placed by his father Mormon and he did obtain the 24 plates of Ether. And whether in that great room did Moroni find more plates or perhaps he had found ore and had molten more plates, and thus after a time he had returned to further engraven and record according to the direction of the Lord. And Moroni did proceed to abride the 24 plates of the prophet Ether, taking his account directly from those 24 plates, which implies Moroni's use of the Urim and Thummim. And Moroni also did engraven a small book of his own which we have as the book of Moroni.

Scriptural Text [& Editorial] Commentary & Explanation Footnotes ~ References ~ JST

THE BOOK OF ETHER
The record of the Jaredites, taken from the twenty-four plates found by the people of Limhi in the days of king Mosiah.

             CHAPTER 1
Moroni abridges the writings of Ether—Ether's genealogy set forth—The language of the Jaredites is not confounded at the Tower of Babel—The Lord promises to lead them to a choice land and make them a great nation.

1 AND now I, Moroni, proceed to give an ^aaccount of those ancient inhabitants who were destroyed by the ^bhand of the Lord upon the face of this north country.
2 And I take mine account from the ^atwenty and four plates which were found by the people of Limhi^a, which is called the Book of Ether.

2^a I take mine account from the twenty and four plates which were found by the people of Limhi Now King Mosiah II is stated to have once translated these plates. But Moroni clearly states that he takes his account directly from the twenty four plates, which would mean that Moroni is using the Urim and Thummim to read them and then make his own abridgement there from. In either case, Moroni would have had to return to the hill Cumorah and he would have had to have entered into that constructed room of his father Mormon in the hill of Cumorah that contained all of the Nephite records including the plates of brass obtained from Laban, Mosiah's translation of the 24 plates and the 24 plates of Ether themselves. This would logically have been after Moroni had written his first farewell and had hide the plates of Mormon and, which contained the small plates of Nephi with them, in the side of the hill of Cumorah the first time at the 400 A.D. date recorded in the last two chapters of the small book of Mormon of his father. Now, whether Moroni had included with that first hiding of the plates the Urim and Thummim or whether this was part of the cause of Moroni needing to enter the larger record room is not known. Neither is it known at what date after 400 A.D. that Moroni did so re-enter that room and thus did proceed to make his own abridged record from the plates of Ether. But it would certainly be prior to the 420 A.D. date of his next time of reported writings as stated in his own book of Moroni and his subsequent and final hiding of the total 'plates package' as of or after that date. Now perhaps the reason that Moroni took his account directly from the 24 plates was to obtain the first hand account of the vision of all, which the Lord does not allow him to include in his abridgment and may not have allowed Mosiah to so give although the Book of Mormon states that such was given and allowed to the Nephites after the time of Christ, perhaps some portion was still withheld. 1^a Mosiah 28:19
   ^b 1 Sam. 5:9; Morm. 5:23;
      D&C 87:6 (6-7)
2^a Alma 37:21 (21-31); Ether 15:33

3 And as I suppose that the ^afirst part of this record, which speaks concerning the creation of the world, and also of Adam, and an account from that time even to the great ^btower, and whatsoever things transpired among the children of men until that time, is had among the Jews—
4 Therefore I do not write those things which transpired from the days of ^aAdam until that time; but they are had upon the plates; and whoso findeth them, the same will have power that he may get the full account^a.
5 But behold, I give not the full account, but a ^apart of the account I give, from the tower down until they were destroyed.

4^a whoso findeth them, the same will have power that he may get the full account There are a few items which seem to be disclosed in this statement. First, in conjunction with the understanding given in the Book of Mormon concerning the translation of the 24 plates by Mosiah II, it would seem that the account given by Jared was a more comprehensive account of the sins of the early fathers than is given in any of the other accounts we have for it speaks of there being the details of those secret combinations which were made from the beginning which were forbidden to be revealed unto the people. Thus it would seem that the Jaredite record of Ether does detail just how fully ripened in their wickedness the people where in the days of Noah along with 'the full account' to be had from the 24 plates of Ether. Second, it seems to suppose that the 'discovery' of the 24 plates will be one of 'finding' them and not being led to them by an angel as was Joseph Smith by Moroni as it states 'whoso findeth them'. But the third, is also implies that whoever it is that finds them will be one who has the 'power' of God the so translated the record. It would seem logical that such would be a prophet of God who takes it upon himself to so seek after and find that room prepared by Mormon which is in the hill of Cumorah. This would be consistant in the doctrine that men are not to be commanded and led in all things but to seek after things of their own motivation unto righteousness. When such a prophet will be who is so motivated to do the work of the Lord of his own accord, not waiting upon the Lord to command in all things is of some question. Already we may have seen the making of such men in the manner in which the priesthood was openned up unto all worthy male members of the Church. For it did seem that the brethren did seek after that answer and not just wait upon the Lord. The Lord does expect us to lead out and do many things of our own accord yet being in harmony with the guidance of the spirit with us and not opposed to it. 3^a Ether 8:9
   ^b Gen. 11:4 (1-9); Omni. 1:22; Mosiah 28:17;
     Hel. 6:28
4^a IE covering same period as Genesis 1-10
5^a Ether 3:17; Ether 15:33

The Genealogy of the Jaredite Prophet Ether

6 And on this wise do I give the account. He that wrote this record was ^aEther, and he was a descendant of Coriantor.
7 Coriantor was the son of Moron.
8 And Moron was the son of Ethem.
9 And Ethem was the son of Ahah.
10 And Ahah was the son of Seth.
11 And Seth was the son of Shiblon^a.
12 And Shiblon^a was the son of Com.
13 And Com was the son of Coriantum.
14 And Coriantum was the son of Amnigaddah.
15 And Amnigaddah was the son of Aaron.
16 And Aaron was a descendant of Heth, who was the son of Hearthom.
17 And Hearthom was the son of Lib.
18 And Lib was the son of Kish.
19 And Kish was the son of Corom.
20 And Corom was the son of Levi.
21 And Levi was the son of Kim.
22 And Kim was the son of Morianton.
23 And Morianton was a descendant of Riplakish.
24 And Riplakish was the son of Shez.
25 And Shez was the son of Heth.
26 And Heth was the son of Com.
27 And Com was the son of Coriantum.
28 And Coriantum was the son of Emer.
29 And Emer was the son of Omer.
30 And Omer was the son of Shule.
31 And Shule was the son of Kib.
32 And ^aKib was the son of ^bOrihah, who was the son of Jared;

From Jared to Ether
Jared
Oriah
Kib
Shule
Omer
Emer
Coriantum
Com
Heth
Shez
Riplakish
|
Morianton
Kim
Levi
Corom
Kish
Lib
Hearthom
Heth
|
Aaron
Amnigaddah
Coriantum
Com
Shiblon^a
Seth
Ahah
Ethem
Moron
Coriantor
|
Ether
As given, this marks at least 30 generations from Jared to Ether. But in three places rather than stating 'son of', it states 'descendant of' which may either imply added missing generation or a 'maternal' marriage to one outside the known linage lines.
   6^a Ehter 11:23; Ether 12:2; Ether 15:34
32^a Ether 7:3
     ^b Ether 6:27

11 & 12^a Shiblon Now this name Shiblon does appear to be recorded as Shiblom in chapter 11 verses 4, 5, 7, and 9. That is unless Shiblom has a brother named Shiblon, perhaps the evil one. In chapter 11 verse 9, it is never stated that Seth was the son of Shiblom, but seems to leave the reader to concluded upon it. Now this seems to be a case of an error in the Book of Mormon, but whose error? It would certainly be covered under the warning that there are the errors of men to be found and that we should not discount the word of God because of them, which we will not do. But whose error? Joseph Smith's error, the transcriber's error, the printer's error, an erro of Moroni's abridgment, an error of Ether's record or an error in the endless genealogies of men as seen in the Bible where there are a number of such error made. Perhaps it could also be a error of time wherein the characters of a language do change for the representing of the same name. How slight of an difference in engraving would it take to have such a slight difference in the name of a man to have the sound of 'n' come out 'm'? Certainly in any respect it is an error or difference of some type. Perhaps Ether just didn't want us to consider that he was the descendant of that evil Shiblon the evil brother of Shiblom, and thus he left it purposefully to one's own determination upon it. And if the reader determines Shiblon to be the same as Shiblom when in fact they are two diferent people, then the error has come full circle back upon the head of the reader, and the critic does but condemn himself in his own ignorance of it.

33 Which ^aJared came forth with his brother and their families, with some others and their families, from the great tower, at the time the Lord ^bconfounded the language of the people, and swore in his wrath that they should be scattered upon all the ^cface of the earth; and according to the word of the Lord the people were scattered.
34 And the ^abrother of Jared being a large and mighty man, and a man highly favored of the Lord, Jared, his brother, said unto him: Cry unto the Lord, that he will not confound us that we may not ^bunderstand our words.
35 And it came to pass that the brother of Jared did cry unto the Lord, and the Lord had compassion upon Jared; therefore he did not confound the ^alanguage of Jared; and Jared and his brother were not confounded.

33^a Gen. 11:9 (6-9)
     ^b Omni 1:22
     ^c Mosiah 28:17
34^a Ether 2:13; Ether 6:1
     ^b TG Communication
35^a Zeph. 3:9; Ether 3:24; Moses 6:6 (5-6)

36 Then Jared said unto his brother: Cry again unto the Lord, and it may be that he will turn away his anger from them who are our ^afriends, that he confound not their language^a.
37 And it came to pass that the brother of Jared did cry unto the Lord, and the Lord had compassion upon their friends and their families also, that they were not confounded.

36^a that he confound not their language Now the Lord does not confound the language of Jared, his brother, their friends and their family. Thus we are left to presume that the Jaredites did have a dialect of the language of Adam among them. Whether this was a 'pure' form of the language or some corruption which eventuated down from it over time is not known, but the record recorded by Ether, on his twenty four plates would be of great interest to determine if in fact it was written in the language of Adam. 36^a Ether 2:1

38 And it came to pass that Jared spake again unto his brother, saying: Go and ^ainquire of the Lord whether he will drive us out of the land, and if he will drive us out of the land, cry unto him whither we shall go. And who knoweth but the Lord will carry us forth into a land which is ^bchoice above all the earth? And if it so be, let us be faithful unto the Lord, that we may receive it for our inheritance.
39 And it came to pass that the brother of Jared did cry unto the Lord according to that which had been spoken by the mouth of Jared.

38^a 2 Chr. 18:4-7
     ^b 1 Ne. 2:20; TG Lands of Inheritance

40 And it came to pass that the Lord did hear the brother of Jared, and ^ahad compassion upon him, and said unto him:
41 Go to and gather together thy ^aflocks, both male and female, of every kind; and also of the ^bseed of the earth of every kind; and ^cthy ^dfamilies; and also Jared thy brother and his family; and also thy ^efriends and their families, and the friends of Jared and their families.
42 And when thou hast done this thou shalt ^ago at the head of them down into the valley which is northward. And there will I meet thee, and I will go ^bbefore thee into a land which is ^cchoice above all the lands of the earth.

40^a Ether 3:3
41^a Ether 2:1-3
     ^b 1 Ne. 8:1; 1 Ne. 16:11; Ether 9:17
     ^c Ether 6:20
     ^d Num. 1:2; Mosiah 6:3; D&C 48:6
     ^e Ether 6:16
42^a Gen. 12:1; Num. 9:17; 1 Ne. 2:2;
       Ether 2:5; Abr. 2:3
     ^b Judg. 4:14; D&C 84:88 (87-88)
     ^c 1 Ne. 13:30

43 And there will I bless thee and thy seed, and raise up unto me of thy seed, and of the seed of thy brother, and they who shall go with thee, a great nation. And ^athere shall be none ^bgreater than the nation which I will raise up unto me of thy seed^a, upon all the face of the earth. And thus I will do unto thee because this long time ye have cried unto me.

43^a there shall be none greater than the nation which I will raise up unto me of thy seed Now in what sense is the term greater used? Does it mean size in population, does it mean size in land distribution? Or is it meant in some other way? Certainly if it means in land distribution and size, then we must conclude that the Jaredites did indeed spread forth upon all of the North American continent that the nation would so be the greatest of all nations of the earth. Certainly a little nation merely confined to the limited scope of Mesoamerica could hardly be so considered to be a nation of which no other nation was greater than. 43^a Gen. 26:3; Deut. 28:8
     ^b Ether 15:2

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Scriptural Text [& Editorial]	Commentary & Explanation	Footnotes ~ References ~ JST
THE BOOK OF ETHER The record of the Jaredites, taken from the twenty-four plates found by the people of Limhi in the days of king Mosiah.
CHAPTER 1 Moroni abridges the writings of Ether—Ether's genealogy set forth—The language of the Jaredites is not confounded at the Tower of Babel—The Lord promises to lead them to a choice land and make them a great nation.
1 AND now I, Moroni, proceed to give an ^aaccount of those ancient inhabitants who were destroyed by the ^bhand of the Lord upon the face of this north country. 2 And I take mine account from the ^atwenty and four plates which were found by the people of Limhi^a, which is called the Book of Ether.	2^a I take mine account from the twenty and four plates which were found by the people of Limhi Now King Mosiah II is stated to have once translated these plates. But Moroni clearly states that he takes his account directly from the twenty four plates, which would mean that Moroni is using the Urim and Thummim to read them and then make his own abridgement there from. In either case, Moroni would have had to return to the hill Cumorah and he would have had to have entered into that constructed room of his father Mormon in the hill of Cumorah that contained all of the Nephite records including the plates of brass obtained from Laban, Mosiah's translation of the 24 plates and the 24 plates of Ether themselves. This would logically have been after Moroni had written his first farewell and had hide the plates of Mormon and, which contained the small plates of Nephi with them, in the side of the hill of Cumorah the first time at the 400 A.D. date recorded in the last two chapters of the small book of Mormon of his father. Now, whether Moroni had included with that first hiding of the plates the Urim and Thummim or whether this was part of the cause of Moroni needing to enter the larger record room is not known. Neither is it known at what date after 400 A.D. that Moroni did so re-enter that room and thus did proceed to make his own abridged record from the plates of Ether. But it would certainly be prior to the 420 A.D. date of his next time of reported writings as stated in his own book of Moroni and his subsequent and final hiding of the total 'plates package' as of or after that date. Now perhaps the reason that Moroni took his account directly from the 24 plates was to obtain the first hand account of the vision of all, which the Lord does not allow him to include in his abridgment and may not have allowed Mosiah to so give although the Book of Mormon states that such was given and allowed to the Nephites after the time of Christ, perhaps some portion was still withheld.	1^a Mosiah 28:19 ^b 1 Sam. 5:9; Morm. 5:23; D&C 87:6 (6-7) 2^a Alma 37:21 (21-31); Ether 15:33
3 And as I suppose that the ^afirst part of this record, which speaks concerning the creation of the world, and also of Adam, and an account from that time even to the great ^btower, and whatsoever things transpired among the children of men until that time, is had among the Jews— 4 Therefore I do not write those things which transpired from the days of ^aAdam until that time; but they are had upon the plates; and whoso findeth them, the same will have power that he may get the full account^a. 5 But behold, I give not the full account, but a ^apart of the account I give, from the tower down until they were destroyed.	4^a whoso findeth them, the same will have power that he may get the full account There are a few items which seem to be disclosed in this statement. First, in conjunction with the understanding given in the Book of Mormon concerning the translation of the 24 plates by Mosiah II, it would seem that the account given by Jared was a more comprehensive account of the sins of the early fathers than is given in any of the other accounts we have for it speaks of there being the details of those secret combinations which were made from the beginning which were forbidden to be revealed unto the people. Thus it would seem that the Jaredite record of Ether does detail just how fully ripened in their wickedness the people where in the days of Noah along with 'the full account' to be had from the 24 plates of Ether. Second, it seems to suppose that the 'discovery' of the 24 plates will be one of 'finding' them and not being led to them by an angel as was Joseph Smith by Moroni as it states 'whoso findeth them'. But the third, is also implies that whoever it is that finds them will be one who has the 'power' of God the so translated the record. It would seem logical that such would be a prophet of God who takes it upon himself to so seek after and find that room prepared by Mormon which is in the hill of Cumorah. This would be consistant in the doctrine that men are not to be commanded and led in all things but to seek after things of their own motivation unto righteousness. When such a prophet will be who is so motivated to do the work of the Lord of his own accord, not waiting upon the Lord to command in all things is of some question. Already we may have seen the making of such men in the manner in which the priesthood was openned up unto all worthy male members of the Church. For it did seem that the brethren did seek after that answer and not just wait upon the Lord. The Lord does expect us to lead out and do many things of our own accord yet being in harmony with the guidance of the spirit with us and not opposed to it.	3^a Ether 8:9 ^b Gen. 11:4 (1-9); Omni. 1:22; Mosiah 28:17; Hel. 6:28 4^a IE covering same period as Genesis 1-10 5^a Ether 3:17; Ether 15:33
The Genealogy of the Jaredite Prophet Ether
6 And on this wise do I give the account. He that wrote this record was ^aEther, and he was a descendant of Coriantor. 7 Coriantor was the son of Moron. 8 And Moron was the son of Ethem. 9 And Ethem was the son of Ahah. 10 And Ahah was the son of Seth. 11 And Seth was the son of Shiblon^a. 12 And Shiblon^a was the son of Com. 13 And Com was the son of Coriantum. 14 And Coriantum was the son of Amnigaddah. 15 And Amnigaddah was the son of Aaron. 16 And Aaron was a descendant of Heth, who was the son of Hearthom. 17 And Hearthom was the son of Lib. 18 And Lib was the son of Kish. 19 And Kish was the son of Corom. 20 And Corom was the son of Levi. 21 And Levi was the son of Kim. 22 And Kim was the son of Morianton. 23 And Morianton was a descendant of Riplakish. 24 And Riplakish was the son of Shez. 25 And Shez was the son of Heth. 26 And Heth was the son of Com. 27 And Com was the son of Coriantum. 28 And Coriantum was the son of Emer. 29 And Emer was the son of Omer. 30 And Omer was the son of Shule. 31 And Shule was the son of Kib. 32 And ^aKib was the son of ^bOrihah, who was the son of Jared;	From Jared to Ether Jared Oriah Kib Shule Omer Emer Coriantum Com Heth Shez Riplakish \| Morianton Kim Levi Corom Kish Lib Hearthom Heth \| Aaron Amnigaddah Coriantum Com Shiblon^a Seth Ahah Ethem Moron Coriantor \| Ether As given, this marks at least 30 generations from Jared to Ether. But in three places rather than stating 'son of', it states 'descendant of' which may either imply added missing generation or a 'maternal' marriage to one outside the known linage lines.	6^a Ehter 11:23; Ether 12:2; Ether 15:34 32^a Ether 7:3 ^b Ether 6:27 11 & 12^a Shiblon Now this name Shiblon does appear to be recorded as Shiblom in chapter 11 verses 4, 5, 7, and 9. That is unless Shiblom has a brother named Shiblon, perhaps the evil one. In chapter 11 verse 9, it is never stated that Seth was the son of Shiblom, but seems to leave the reader to concluded upon it. Now this seems to be a case of an error in the Book of Mormon, but whose error? It would certainly be covered under the warning that there are the errors of men to be found and that we should not discount the word of God because of them, which we will not do. But whose error? Joseph Smith's error, the transcriber's error, the printer's error, an erro of Moroni's abridgment, an error of Ether's record or an error in the endless genealogies of men as seen in the Bible where there are a number of such error made. Perhaps it could also be a error of time wherein the characters of a language do change for the representing of the same name. How slight of an difference in engraving would it take to have such a slight difference in the name of a man to have the sound of 'n' come out 'm'? Certainly in any respect it is an error or difference of some type. Perhaps Ether just didn't want us to consider that he was the descendant of that evil Shiblon the evil brother of Shiblom, and thus he left it purposefully to one's own determination upon it. And if the reader determines Shiblon to be the same as Shiblom when in fact they are two diferent people, then the error has come full circle back upon the head of the reader, and the critic does but condemn himself in his own ignorance of it.
33 Which ^aJared came forth with his brother and their families, with some others and their families, from the great tower, at the time the Lord ^bconfounded the language of the people, and swore in his wrath that they should be scattered upon all the ^cface of the earth; and according to the word of the Lord the people were scattered. 34 And the ^abrother of Jared being a large and mighty man, and a man highly favored of the Lord, Jared, his brother, said unto him: Cry unto the Lord, that he will not confound us that we may not ^bunderstand our words. 35 And it came to pass that the brother of Jared did cry unto the Lord, and the Lord had compassion upon Jared; therefore he did not confound the ^alanguage of Jared; and Jared and his brother were not confounded.		33^a Gen. 11:9 (6-9) ^b Omni 1:22 ^c Mosiah 28:17 34^a Ether 2:13; Ether 6:1 ^b TG Communication 35^a Zeph. 3:9; Ether 3:24; Moses 6:6 (5-6)
36 Then Jared said unto his brother: Cry again unto the Lord, and it may be that he will turn away his anger from them who are our ^afriends, that he confound not their language^a. 37 And it came to pass that the brother of Jared did cry unto the Lord, and the Lord had compassion upon their friends and their families also, that they were not confounded.	36^a that he confound not their language Now the Lord does not confound the language of Jared, his brother, their friends and their family. Thus we are left to presume that the Jaredites did have a dialect of the language of Adam among them. Whether this was a 'pure' form of the language or some corruption which eventuated down from it over time is not known, but the record recorded by Ether, on his twenty four plates would be of great interest to determine if in fact it was written in the language of Adam.	36^a Ether 2:1
38 And it came to pass that Jared spake again unto his brother, saying: Go and ^ainquire of the Lord whether he will drive us out of the land, and if he will drive us out of the land, cry unto him whither we shall go. And who knoweth but the Lord will carry us forth into a land which is ^bchoice above all the earth? And if it so be, let us be faithful unto the Lord, that we may receive it for our inheritance. 39 And it came to pass that the brother of Jared did cry unto the Lord according to that which had been spoken by the mouth of Jared.		38^a 2 Chr. 18:4-7 ^b 1 Ne. 2:20; TG Lands of Inheritance
40 And it came to pass that the Lord did hear the brother of Jared, and ^ahad compassion upon him, and said unto him: 41 Go to and gather together thy ^aflocks, both male and female, of every kind; and also of the ^bseed of the earth of every kind; and ^cthy ^dfamilies; and also Jared thy brother and his family; and also thy ^efriends and their families, and the friends of Jared and their families. 42 And when thou hast done this thou shalt ^ago at the head of them down into the valley which is northward. And there will I meet thee, and I will go ^bbefore thee into a land which is ^cchoice above all the lands of the earth.		40^a Ether 3:3 41^a Ether 2:1-3 ^b 1 Ne. 8:1; 1 Ne. 16:11; Ether 9:17 ^c Ether 6:20 ^d Num. 1:2; Mosiah 6:3; D&C 48:6 ^e Ether 6:16 42^a Gen. 12:1; Num. 9:17; 1 Ne. 2:2; Ether 2:5; Abr. 2:3 ^b Judg. 4:14; D&C 84:88 (87-88) ^c 1 Ne. 13:30
43 And there will I bless thee and thy seed, and raise up unto me of thy seed, and of the seed of thy brother, and they who shall go with thee, a great nation. And ^athere shall be none ^bgreater than the nation which I will raise up unto me of thy seed^a, upon all the face of the earth. And thus I will do unto thee because this long time ye have cried unto me.	43^a there shall be none greater than the nation which I will raise up unto me of thy seed Now in what sense is the term greater used? Does it mean size in population, does it mean size in land distribution? Or is it meant in some other way? Certainly if it means in land distribution and size, then we must conclude that the Jaredites did indeed spread forth upon all of the North American continent that the nation would so be the greatest of all nations of the earth. Certainly a little nation merely confined to the limited scope of Mesoamerica could hardly be so considered to be a nation of which no other nation was greater than.	43^a Gen. 26:3; Deut. 28:8 ^b Ether 15:2