The Book of Ether Chapter 8
Setting: There
is strife and contention over the kingdom—Akish forms an oath-bound
secret combination to slay the king—Secret combinations are of the
devil and result in the destruction of nations—Modern Gentiles are
warned against the secret combination that will seek to overthrow the
freedom of all lands, nations, and countries.
Verses 1-5: And
it came to pass that he begat Omer, and Omer reigned in his stead. And
Omer begat Jared; and Jared begat sons and daughters. And Jared
rebelled against his father, and came and dwelt in the land of Heth.
And it came to pass that he did flatter many people, because of his
cunning words, until he had gained the half of the kingdom. And when he
had gained the half of the kingdom he gave battle unto his father, and
he did carry away his father into captivity, and did make him serve in
captivity; And now, in the days of the reign of Omer he was in
captivity the half of his days. And it came to pass that he begat sons
and daughters, among whom were Esrom and Coriantumr; And they were
exceedingly angry because of the doings of Jared their brother,
insomuch that they did raise an army and gave battle unto Jared. And it
came to pass that they did give battle unto him by night.
Note: Solomon Spalding knew nothing about the Olmec dynasty.
San Lorenzo was the first Olmec site that demonstrates
state level complexity. The site dominated the gulf coast lowlands,
creating Olmec cultural diffusion throughout the rest of Mesoamerica.
The iconic finds at the site are the famous colossal heads. The
colossal heads stand up to 200 centimetres (79 in) tall. According to
archaeological finds, archaeologists have divided the Olmec history
into four stages: Formation stage (1700–1300 BC), Integration stage
(1300–900 BC) Expansion stage (900–300 BC) and Disintegration stage
(300 BC – 200AD). Wikipedia Encyclopedia.
Verses 6-9: And
it came to pass that when they had slain the army of Jared they were
about to slay him also; and he pled with them that they would not slay
him, and he would give up the kingdom unto his father. And it came to
pass that they did grant unto him his life. And now Jared became
exceedingly sorrowful because of the loss of the kingdom, for he had
set his heart upon the kingdom and upon the glory of the world. Now the
daughter of Jared being exceedingly expert, and seeing the sorrows of
her father, thought to devise a plan whereby she could redeem the
kingdom unto her father. Now the daughter of Jared was exceedingly
fair. And it came to pass that she did talk with her father, and said
unto him: Whereby hath my father so much sorrow? Hath he not read the
record which our fathers brought across the great deep? Behold, is
there not an account concerning them of old, that they by their secret
plans did obtain kingdoms and great glory?
Note: Pre-Columbian writing systems did not originate in the Old World.
Mesoamerican writing systems arose independently from
other writing systems in the world, and their development represents
one of the very few such origins in the history of writing. Wikipedia
Encyclopedia.
Verses 10-12:
And now, therefore, let my father send for Akish, the son of Kimnor;
and behold, I am fair, and I will dance before him, and I will please
him, that he will desire me to wife; wherefore if he shall desire of
thee that ye shall give unto him me to wife, then shall ye say: I will
give her if ye will bring unto me the head of my father, the king. And
now Omer was a friend to Akish; wherefore, when Jared had sent for
Akish, the daughter of Jared danced before him that she pleased him,
insomuch that he desired her to wife. And it came to pass that he said
unto Jared: Give her unto me to wife. And Jared said unto him: I will
give her unto you, if ye will bring unto me the head of my father, the
king.
Note: Sidney Ridgon plagiarized the Holy Bible.
But when Herod’s birthday was celebrated, the daughter
of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod. Therefore he promised
with an oath to give her whatever she might ask. So she, having been
prompted by her mother, said, “Give me John the Baptist’s head here on
a platter.” Matthew 14:6-8.
Verses 13-15: And
it came to pass that Akish gathered in unto the house of Jared all his
kinsfolk, and said unto them: Will ye swear unto me that ye will be
faithful unto me in the thing which I shall desire of you? And it came
to pass that they all sware unto him, by the God of heaven, and also by
the heavens, and also by the earth, and by their heads, that whoso
should vary from the assistance which Akish desired should lose his
head; and whoso should divulge whatsoever thing Akish made known unto
them, the same should lose his life. And it came to pass that thus they
did agree with Akish. And Akish did administer unto them the oaths
which were given by them of old who also sought power, which had been
handed down even from Cain, who was a murderer from the beginning.
Note: Pre-Columbian natives were polytheistic pagans.
Marshall Howard Saville first suggested in 1929 that
the Olmec deities were forerunners of later Mesoamerican gods, linking
were-jaguar votive axes with the Aztec god Tezcatlipoca. This proposal
was amplified by Miguel Covarrubias in his 1957 work Indian Art of
Mexico and Central America where he famously drew a family tree showing
19 later Mesoamerican rain deities as descendents of a "jaguar masked"
deity portrayed on a votive axe. The Continuity Hypothesis has since
been generally accepted by scholars, although the extent of Olmec
influence on later cultures is still debated. Wikipedia Encyclopedia.
Verses 16-19:
And they were kept up by the power of the devil to administer these
oaths unto the people, to keep them in darkness, to help such as sought
power to gain power, and to murder, and to plunder, and to lie, and to
commit all manner of wickedness and whoredoms. And it was the daughter
of Jared who put it into his heart to search up these things of old;
and Jared put it into the heart of Akish; wherefore, Akish administered
it unto his kindred and friends, leading them away by fair promises to
do whatsoever thing he desired. And it came to pass that they formed a
secret combination, even as they of old; which combination is most
abominable and wicked above all, in the sight of God; For the Lord
worketh not in secret combinations, neither doth he will that man
should shed blood, but in all things hath forbidden it, from the
beginning of man.
Note: Mormonism has developed secret temple rituals.
The endowment was instituted by founder Joseph Smith in
the 1840s with further contributions by Brigham Young and his
successors. The ceremony is performed in Latter Day Saints' temples,
special places dedicated specifically for the endowment and certain
other rituals sacred to Mormons, and is closed to all but worthy
Mormons. There was a brief period during the construction of the Salt
Lake Temple where a small building referred to as the Endowment House
was used to perform the ritual. The endowment is currently practiced by
the LDS Church, several denominations of Mormon fundamentalism, and a
few other Mormon denominations. The LDS Church has simplified its
ceremony from the way it existed in the 19th century and has removed
some of the more controversial elements. Wikipedia Encyclopedia.
Verses 20-22: And
now I, Moroni, do not write the manner of their oaths and combinations,
for it hath been made known unto me that they are had among all people,
and they are had among the Lamanites. And they have caused the
destruction of this people of whom I am now speaking, and also the
destruction of the people of Nephi. And whatsoever nation shall uphold
such secret combinations, to get power and gain, until they shall
spread over the nation, behold, they shall be destroyed; for the Lord
will not suffer that the blood of his saints, which shall be shed by
them, shall always cry unto him from the ground for vengeance upon them
and yet he avenge them not.
Note: For years, Mormons made oaths of vengeance.
In Mormonism, the oath of vengeance (or law of
vengeance) was an oath that was made by participants in the endowment
ritual of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church)
between about 1845 and the early 1930s, in which participants vowed to
pray that God would avenge the blood of the prophets Joseph Smith and
Hyrum Smith, who were assassinated in 1844 by a mob. Wikipedia
Encyclopedia.
Verse 23:
Wherefore, O ye Gentiles, it is wisdom in God that these things should
be shown unto you, that thereby ye may repent of your sins, and suffer
not that these murderous combinations shall get above you, which are
built up to get power and gain—and the work, yea, even the work of
destruction come upon you, yea, even the sword of the justice of the
Eternal God shall fall upon you, to your overthrow and destruction if
ye shall suffer these things to be.
Note: Mormons have never been considered Christians.
Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things
in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you,
live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but
rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I
will repay,” says the Lord. Romans 12:17-19.
Verses 24-25:
Wherefore, the Lord commandeth you, when ye shall see these things come
among you that ye shall awake to a sense of your awful situation,
because of this secret combination which shall be among you; or wo be
unto it, because of the blood of them who have been slain; for they cry
from the dust for vengeance upon it, and also upon those who built it
up. For it cometh to pass that whoso buildeth it up seeketh to
overthrow the freedom of all lands, nations, and countries; and it
bringeth to pass the destruction of all people, for it is built up by
the devil, who is the father of all lies; even that same liar who
beguiled our first parents, yea, even that same liar who hath caused
man to commit murder from the beginning; who hath hardened the hearts
of men that they have murdered the prophets, and stoned them, and cast
them out from the beginning.
Note: Pre-Columbian natives were polytheistic pagans.
At the El Manatí site, disarticulated skulls and
femurs, as well as the complete skeletons of newborn or unborn
children, have been discovered amidst the other offerings, leading to
speculation concerning infant sacrifice. Scholars have not determined
how the infants met their deaths. Some authors have associated infant
sacrifice with Olmec ritual art showing limp were-jaguar babies, most
famously in La Venta's Altar 5 (on the right) or Las Limas figure.
Wikipedia Encyclopedia.
Verse 26: Wherefore,
I, Moroni, am commanded to write these things that evil may be done
away, and that the time may come that Satan may have no power upon the
hearts of the children of men, but that they may be persuaded to do
good continually, that they may come unto the fountain of all
righteousness and be saved.
Note: Pre-Columbian writing involved symbols not letters.
The 2002 find at the San Andrés site shows a bird,
speech scrolls, and glyphs that are similar to the later Mayan
hieroglyphs. Known as the Cascajal Block, and dated between 1100 BCE
and 900 BCE, the 2006 find from a site near San Lorenzo shows a set of
62 symbols, 28 of which are unique, carved on a serpentine block. A
large number of prominent archaeologists have hailed this find as the
"earliest pre-Columbian writing" Wikipedia Encyclopedia.
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