Ether 8

(All of my own thoughts are in blue 2020 red type 7/20 orange 8/21 brown 2022-23) 

CHAPTER 8 THIS WHOLE CHAPTER WARNS ABOUT SECRET COMBINATIONS!!!

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.

  1 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.
  2 And Jared rebelled against his father, and came and dwelt in the land of Heth. And it came to pass that he did ^aflatter many people, because of his cunning words, until he had gained the half of the kingdom. I have a new appreciation for what it might mean when they say they did "flatter" many people. I can only think that the mind games that the media and government and "scientists" are speaking that the masses are believing is a form of "flattery". The normal definition usually centers around excessive or false praise for the person you're talking to. In that sense, all the "greater good; caring about grandma; protecting our children; do the right thing;" kind of virtue signaling causes those who believe to "flatter" themselves that they are now "better" than those who don't follow the narrative. In our day, "they" have also gained at least "half the kingdom/world".
  3 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;
  4 And now, in the days of the reign of Omer he was in ^acaptivity the half of his days. And it came to pass that he begat sons and daughters, among whom were Esrom and Coriantumr;
  5 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.
  6 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. It seems like they could have taken the kingdom without sparing his life. I wonder what the advantage was?
  7 And now Jared became exceedingly ^asorrowful because of the loss of the kingdom, for he had set his heart upon the kingdom and upon the glory of the world. It really isn't money that lures the wicked, but power and domination and control and then feeling a sense of personal "glory" for being able to control others to do your will.
  8 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. What was she "exceedingly expert" at? Devising plans? the art of war? 
  9 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 ^arecord which our fathers brought across the great deep? Behold, is there not an ^baccount concerning them of ^cold, that they by their ^dsecret plans did obtain kingdoms and great glory? SECRET COMBINATIONS What records did they bring? Ether 1 says Moroni found the first part of the 24 plates was a record from Adam to the tower of Babel. Were these plates they brought with them or that they recorded from memory? I am going to copy and paste the footnote scriptures in this verse here, because I feel it is SO IMPORTANT that we see and understand the warnings given to us in the Book of Mormon about secret combinations. There is no doubt in my mind that they are at work RIGHT NOW and in plain sight. How this isn't at the forefront of every Latter Day Saint conversation about what is going on in our world is beyond me! Do we not believe the Book of Mormon? Are we still under condemnation because we have taken this warning "lightly"? Here's the footnotes:

3 Nephi 6:28 And they did enter into a covenant one with another, yea, even into that covenant which was given by them of old, which covenant was given and administered by the devil, to combine against all righteousness.

Helaman 6:26 Now behold, those secret oaths and covenants did not come forth unto Gadianton from the records which were delivered unto Helaman; but behold, they were put into the heart of Gadianton by that same being who did entice our first parents to partake of the forbidden fruit—

27 Yea, that same being who did plot with Cain, that if he would murder his brother Abel it should not be known unto the world. And he did plot with Cain and his followers from that time forth.

28 And also it is that same being who put it into the hearts of the people to build a tower sufficiently high that they might get to heaven. And it was that same being who led on the people who came from that tower into this land; who spread the works of darkness and abominations over all the face of the land, until he dragged the people down to an entire destruction, and to an everlasting hell.

29 Yea, it is that same being who put it into the heart of Gadianton to still carry on the work of darkness, and of secret murder; and he has brought it forth from the beginning of man even down to this time.

30 And behold, it is he who is the author of all sin. And behold, he doth carry on his works of darkness and secret murder, and doth hand down their plots, and their oaths, and their covenants, and their plans of awful wickedness, from generation to generation according as he can get hold upon the hearts of the children of men.

Ether 13:18 Wherefore, it came to pass that in the first year that Ether dwelt in the cavity of a rock, there were many people who were slain by the sword of those secret combinations, fighting against Coriantumr that they might obtain the kingdom.

Moses 5:18 And Cain loved Satan more than God. And Satan commanded him, saying: Make an offering unto the Lord.

19 And in process of time it came to pass that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord.

20 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock, and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel, and to his offering;

21 But unto Cain, and to his offering, he had not respect. Now Satan knew this, and it pleased him. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.

22 And the Lord said unto Cain: Why art thou wroth? Why is thy countenance fallen?

23 If thou doest well, thou shalt be accepted. And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door, and Satan desireth to have thee; and except thou shalt hearken unto my commandments, I will deliver thee up, and it shall be unto thee according to his desire. And thou shalt rule over him; why does Cain rule over Satan? Because he has a body?

24 For from this time forth thou shalt be the father of his lies; thou shalt be called Perdition; for thou wast also before the world.

25 And it shall be said in time to come—That these abominations were had from Cain; for he rejected the greater counsel which was had from God; and this is a cursing which I will put upon thee, except thou repent.

26 And Cain was wroth, and listened not any more to the voice of the Lord, neither to Abel, his brother, who walked in holiness before the Lord.

27 And Adam and his wife mourned before the Lord, because of Cain and his brethren.

28 And it came to pass that Cain took one of his brothers’ daughters to wife, and they loved Satan more than God.

29 And Satan said unto Cain: Swear unto me by thy throat, and if thou tell it thou shalt die; and swear thy brethren by their heads, and by the living God, that they tell it not; for if they tell it, they shall surely die; and this that thy father may not know it; and this day I will deliver thy brother Abel into thine hands.

30 And Satan sware unto Cain that he would do according to his commands. And all these things were done in secret.

31 And Cain said: Truly I am Mahan, the master of this great secret, that I may murder  and get gain. Wherefore Cain was called Master Mahan, and he gloried in his wickedness.

32 And Cain went into the field, and Cain talked with Abel, his brother. And it came to pass that while they were in the field, Cain rose up against Abel, his brother, and slew him. Here is an example of a righteous person, Abel, who was not spared by God because of his righteousness. We never know...

33 And Cain gloried in that which he had done, saying: I am free; surely the flocks of my brother falleth into my hands. He must have thought no one would really know he killed his brother to think his flocks would be given to him...

41 And Cain was shut out from the presence of the Lord, and with his wife and many of his brethren dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.

42 And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bare Enoch, ...

43 And unto Enoch was born Irad,... And Irad begat Mahujael.... And Mahujael begat Methusael, ... And Methusael begat Lamech.

47 And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah: Hear my voice, ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech; for I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt.

48 If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech shall be seventy and seven fold;

49 For Lamech having entered into a covenant with Satan, after the manner of Cain, wherein he became Master Mahan, master of that great secret which was administered unto Cain by Satan; and Irad, the son of Enoch, having known their secret, began to reveal it unto the sons of Adam;

50 Wherefore Lamech, being angry, slew him, not like unto Cain, his brother Abel, for the sake of getting gain, but he slew him for the oath’s sake.

51 For, from the days of Cain, there was a secret combination, and their works were in the dark, and they knew every man his brother.

52 Wherefore the Lord cursed Lamech, and his house, and all them that had covenanted with Satan; for they kept not the commandments of God, and it displeased God, and he ministered not unto them, and their works were abominations, and began to spread among all the sons of men. And it was among the sons of men.

Can you see the power of these secret combinations? Are you convinced they are among us and that we should ever be on guard?  

 10 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 ^ahead of my father, the king. This is one wicked girl! Was there a similar account in the record she read? Did she really become his wife or was that a lie? 
 11 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.
 12 And Jared said unto him: I will give her unto you, if ye will bring unto me the head of my father, the king.
 13 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? What if you had said no? You already know too much...
 14 And it came to pass that they all ^asware unto him, by the God of heaven, are they acknowledging our Heavenly Father as God? or Jesus Christ? or some unknown God? and also by the heavens, and also by the earth, and by their heads, this is in direct opposition to the commandment Jesus gave. Seems to be in direct rebellion of Jesus by Satan. Matthew 5:33 ¶ Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths:34 But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne:35 Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.

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. Is this just a difference in the manner of death? Is beheading a "tradition" that comes from Satan and a sign of a secret combination? (I think so...) Is it worse to lose your head than to die some other way? Symbolically I think it has something to do with severing the head from the body, as the head represents our thoughts and our will...
 15 And it came to pass that thus they did agree with ^aAkish. 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 ^bCain, who was a murderer from the beginning. From the beginning of when? we read in Moses 5:24 For from this time forth thou shalt be the father of his lies; thou shalt be called Perdition; for thou wast also before the world. This sounds like it could mean that Cain was "like this" in the pre-earth life as well. Maybe this is the meaning of "beginning". Or it could mean that these secrets were had beginning with Cain. 
 16 And they were kept up by the ^apower 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. Do not minimize the evil in the hearts of these secret combinations that are among us. There is no evil they will not do...
 17 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. I think they get "drunk" on this "wine" of getting others do to whatever they say. Of course, I believe Satan has counterfeited the temple covenants and oaths and ordinances. You watch...at some point the Masonic order will be exposed and we'll see how close their "secret oaths and symbols and tokens" are to our temple rites and we'll be accused of being evil like they are, when I think it is Satan that stole from the Lord and copied and then corrupted what was good.
 18 And it came to pass that they formed a ^asecret combination, even as they of old; which combination is most abominable and wicked above all, in the sight of  
 19 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.
 20 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 ^aamong all people, and they are had among the Lamanites.
 21 And they have caused the ^adestruction of this people of whom I am now speaking, and also the destruction of the people of Nephi.
 22 And whatsoever ^anation 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 ^bblood 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. There have to be saints who are martyred for this to be true. sigh. 
 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 ^apower and gain—and the work, yea, even the work of ^bdestruction 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. We have to repent! Now what? We have allowed these murderous combinations to get above us...they have power and gain and are working a work of destruction upon us. How do we escape destruction? 
 24 Wherefore, the Lord commandeth you, when not "if" but "when" ye shall see these things come among you that ye shall awake you only need to "awake" if you've been "asleep" and you've been "asleep" if you have allowed them to get above you. We're not going to keep them from existing, but we don't have to be blind to who they are and what they are doing and thus "support" them in their evil, secret plans to a sense of your awful situation, and it IS an "awful" situation when they get above you because they will be the cause of your destruction! because of this ^asecret combination which shall not "may" but "shall" be among you; or wo be unto it, their future is not good, no matter what they think or have planned. They will be destroyed too... 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. There is blood on the hands of all those who build up these combinations as well...those who vote for them, support their causes with time and money and voice, even if they are not part of their "secret" group. 
 25 For it cometh to pass that whoso buildeth it up seeketh to overthrow the ^afreedom 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 ^bbeguiled our first parents, yea, even that same liar who hath caused man to commit murder from the beginning; who hath ^chardened the hearts of men that they have ^dmurdered the prophets, and stoned them, and cast them out from the beginning. When people say that wearing a mask is the "loving" thing to do, I scream...."how is building up these secret combinations loving when they are conspiring to overthrow your freedom and the freedom of the whole world and destroy you? How is it not more loving to stand up against their lying, conspiring plans and call out their evil? People will die no matter what we do. Part of their secret plans is to plant death and destruction. They are trying to control us through fear, getting us to believe by complying we can "stop" the threat of people dying. No! They won't ever stop releasing agents of death to keep us in fear. They are playing you! Stop! Wake up! They are "beguiling" you! He is "hardening your hearts" against truth and against your neighbor!
 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 ^ano power upon the hearts of the children of men, but that they may be ^bpersuaded to do good continually, that they may come unto the fountain of all ^crighteousness and be saved. If we believe these things in this book...that they really are true...that they really happened, then "evil may be done away" and we can live in a way such that "Satan may have no power upon the hearts of the children of men". Let the truths of this book "persuade" you to "do good continually" and to come unto Christ and be saved from all this death and destruction and deception!