Ether 7

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

CHAPTER 7

Orihah reigns in righteousness—Amid usurpation and strife, the rival kingdoms of Shule and Cohor are set up—Prophets condemn the wickedness and idolatry of the people, who then repent.

  1 And it came to pass that Orihah did execute judgment upon the land in righteousness all his days, whose days were exceedingly many. Remember I said in the last chapter that this was at a time when Noah lived to be 150, so I think “exceedingly many” is not an exaggeration...
  2 And he begat sons and daughters; yea, he begat thirty and one, among whom were twenty and three sons. So....did they just live a long time, or did he have lots of wives? They lived a long time...
  3 And it came to pass that he also begat ^aKib in his ^bold age. And it came to pass that Kib reigned in his stead; and Kib begat Corihor. Looks like Orihah gave up the kingship due to old age.  Or...it’s just “time” to do something different. 
  4 And when Corihor was thirty and two years old he rebelled against his father, and went over and dwelt in the land of Nehor; and he begat sons and daughters, and they became exceedingly fair; wherefore Corihor drew away many people after him. He drew people away because they were “fair”? Kind of makes me think he “drew them away” over morality/chastity issues (lusts of the flesh kind of things?)
  5 And when he had gathered together an army he came up unto the land of ^aMoron where the king dwelt, and took him captive, which ^bbrought to pass the saying of the brother of Jared that they would be brought into captivity. Sounds like when the brother of Jared said this he was prophesying and this is confirming that he was a prophet.
  6 Now the ^aland of Moron, where the king dwelt, was near the land which is called Desolation by the Nephites.
  7 And it came to pass that Kib dwelt in ^acaptivity, and his people under Corihor his son, until he became exceedingly old; nevertheless Kib begat Shule in his old age, while he was yet in captivity. Captivity must not have been "prison" like we know it. They must have just not had freedom to leave. Otherwise his wife had to be in prison with him...
  8 And it came to pass that Shule was angry with his brother; and Shule waxed strong, and became mighty as to the strength of a man; and he was also mighty in judgment.
  9 Wherefore, he came to the hill Ephraim, and he did molten out of the hill, and made swords out of ^asteel for those whom he had drawn away with him; He was in captivity but able to go to a hill and make swords... and after he had armed them with swords he returned to the city Nehor, and gave battle unto his brother Corihor, by which means he obtained the kingdom and restored it unto his father Kib.
 10 And now because of the thing which Shule had done, his father bestowed upon him the kingdom; therefore he began to reign in the stead of his father.
 11 And it came to pass that he did execute judgment in righteousness; and he did spread his kingdom upon all the face of the land, for the people had become exceedingly numerous.
 12 And it came to pass that Shule also begat many sons and daughters.
 13 And Corihor repented of the many evils which he had done; wherefore Shule gave him power in his kingdom. How do you trust someone who did the things Corihor did? His repentance must have been long and sincere to be given power again...
 14 And it came to pass that Corihor had many sons and daughters. And among the sons of Corihor there was one whose name was Noah.
 15 And it came to pass that Noah rebelled against Shule, the king, and also his father Corihor, and drew away Cohor his brother, and also all his brethren and many of the people.
 16 And he gave battle unto Shule, the king, in which he did obtain the land of  their ^afirst inheritance; and he became a king over that part of the land.
 17 And it came to pass that he gave battle again unto Shule, the king; and he took Shule, the king, and carried him away captive into Moron.
 18 And it came to pass as he was about to put him to death, the sons of Shule crept into the house of Noah by night and slew him, and broke down the door of the prison and brought out their father, and placed him upon his throne in his own kingdom.
 19 Wherefore, the son of Noah did build up his kingdom in his stead; nevertheless they did not gain power any more over Shule the king, and the people who were under the reign of Shule the king did prosper exceedingly and wax great.
 20 And the country was ^adivided; and there were two kingdoms, the kingdom of Shule, and the kingdom of Cohor, the son of Noah.
 21 And Cohor, the son of Noah, caused that his people should give battle unto Shule, in which Shule did beat them and did slay Cohor.
 22 And now Cohor had a son who was called Nimrod; and Nimrod gave up the kingdom of Cohor unto Shule, and he did gain favor in the eyes of Shule; wherefore Shule did bestow great favors upon him, and he did do in the kingdom of Shule according to his desires.
 23 And also in the reign of Shule there came ^aprophets among the people, who were sent from the Lord, prophesying that the wickedness and ^bidolatry of the people was bringing a curse upon the land, and they should be destroyed if they did not repent.
 24 And it came to pass that the people did ^arevile against the prophets, and did mock them. And it came to pass that king Shule did execute judgment against all those who did revile against the prophets.
25 And he did execute a law throughout all the land, which gave power unto the prophets that they should go whithersoever they would; and by this cause the people were brought unto repentance. The preaching of the word had great power! We don't know what they were preaching. For sure, they were preaching against "wickedness and idolatry" but what else? Were they worshiping idols or just their "stuff" like we do? Were they preaching the gospel? Commandments? All we know of Jared and his brother is they prayed to the Lord. What was "repentance" to them? Did they know about Christ? 
 26 And because the people did repent of their iniquities and idolatries the Lord did spare them, and they began to prosper again in the land. And it came to pass that Shule ^abegat sons and daughters in his old age.
 27 And there were no more wars in the days of Shule; and he remembered the great things that the Lord had done for his fathers in bringing them ^aacross the great deep into the promised land; wherefore he did execute judgment in righteousness all his days. This is the first mention of prophets in the record of the Jaredites. I know we only have a hundredth part of their record, and we know Adam and Noah had the gospel and the ordinances and the priesthood...did these people have a formal religion and structure? Did they have commandments and laws and ordinances too? Or was it a belief in God (they knew he had led their fathers across the ocean) and prayer only? Surely they had commandments or rules for life? I wonder why there is only mention of prophets and not baptism and churches? 

Ether 6

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

CHAPTER 6

The Jaredite barges are driven by the winds to the promised land—The people praise the Lord for His goodness—Orihah is appointed king over them—Jared and his brother die.

  1 And now I, Moroni, proceed to give the record of ^aJared and his brother. We're 5 chapters (of 15) into the book of Ether, which already only contains a hundredth part of their history. It gives emphasis to the words of Moroni in the first 5 chapters and their importance!
  2 For it came to pass after the Lord had prepared the ^astones which the brother of Jared had carried up into the mount, the brother of Jared came down out of the mount, and he did put forth the stones into the vessels which were prepared, one in each end thereof; and behold, they did give light unto the vessels. It seems like these stones could be in existence somewhere today. Wouldn't they be considered among the most precious items they possessed? Wouldn't they be handed down like the plates and the sword of Laban and the interpreters? We know the Jaradites are all wiped out, but there was one man left...did he know where these stones were? Did the Lord take them away or cause them not to shine anymore?  
  3 And thus the Lord caused stones to shine in darkness, to give light unto men, women, and children, that they might not cross the great waters in darkness. This seems to be a general statement to all mankind. God gives us "stones" (apostles/prophets) to shine in our dark world to give us light so we don't cross the "great waters" of live in darkness.  This was Brett's impression once when he read this verse. 
  4 And it came to pass that when they had prepared all manner of ^afood, that thereby they might subsist upon the water, and also food for their flocks and herds, and ^bwhatsoever beast or animal or fowl that they should carry with them—and it came to pass that when they had done all these things they got aboard of their vessels or barges, and set forth into the sea, commending themselves unto the Lord their God. At the end of the day...this is all we can do! Practically speaking this must have been quite a feat. Food preservation; sanitation, water, cooking, sleeping, natural predator issues, gravity (tossed and turned in the water)...how did they manage all this in such a small space and for a year? Did the Lord teach them these things or did they already know how to do it? 
  5 And it came to pass that the Lord God caused that there should be a ^afurious wind blow upon the face of the waters, ^btowards the promised land; and thus they were tossed upon the waves of the sea before the wind. When you feel like a "furious wind" is upon you and you know you are doing your best to love God and keep His commandments...trust that He is just "blowing you" towards your "promised land". If all has been in order, He has prepared you for the circumstances you find yourself in.
  6 And it came to pass that they were many times buried in the depths of the sea, because of the mountain waves which broke upon them, and also the great and terrible tempests which were caused by the fierceness of the wind. Did they have everything in locked and secured lockers? Did they tie themselves down? Really...I'd love to see the movie version of this voyage!
  7 And it came to pass that when they were buried in the deep there was no water that could hurt them, their vessels being ^atight like unto a dish, and also they were tight like unto the ^bark of Noah; another reference that lends credibility to the idea that Noah also had stones for light...Never pictured the ark as "tight like a dish" or being "under the water"...hmm...therefore when they were encompassed about by many waters they did cry unto the Lord, and he did bring them forth again upon the top of the waters. Adversity turns you toward the Lord. It's almost like he took them "under" to get them to "cry" unto Him....
  8 And it came to pass that the wind did never cease to blow towards the promised land while they were upon the waters; and thus they were ^adriven forth before the wind. The winds of adversity never cease to blow US to our promised land. Don't forget that... These winds were necessary to get them to the Promised Land.
  9 And they did ^asing praises unto the Lord; yea, the brother of Jared did sing praises unto the Lord, and he did ^bthank and praise the Lord all the day long; and when the night came, they did not cease to praise the Lord. I feel like this was a strategy they used to maintain their faith. If they stopped praising, they would go in to fear and worry and anxiety...I think this is so key! We must never, never, cease to sing praises to the Lord and thank Him all the day long and all the night long. Never take your eye off the Savior. Never look at the winds and waves. Just focus on Him.
 10 And thus they were driven forth; and no monster of the sea could break them, What were these?  neither ^awhale that could mar them; Not whales... what's bigger than a whale? and they did have light continually, whether it was above the water or under the water. Trust. The light of Christ is with you always so no monster or whale can mar you. Light is so comforting. Make sure in your preps you always have a means for light.
 11 And thus they were driven forth, ^athree hundred and forty and four days upon the water. My sister thinks that God put them all to sleep. LOL How could any human handle this voyage? They either were told to prepare food/supplies for a year, or they had means to produce food on the boats...
 12 And they did ^aland upon the shore of the ^bpromised land. And when they had set their feet upon the shores of the promised land they bowed themselves down upon the face of the land, and did humble themselves before the Lord, and did shed tears of joy before the Lord, because of the multitude of his ^ctender mercies over them. They didn't recount their woes, only their tender mercies. Record yours! I can only imagine what those tender mercies must have been, but even then I think I'll come up way short of what they really experienced!
 13 And it came to pass that they went forth upon the face of the land, and began to till the earth. Get going on fresh food asap!
 14 And Jared had four ^asons; and they were called Jacom, and Gilgah, and Mahah, and Orihah. 6 people
 15 And the brother of Jared also begat sons and daughters.2 + at least 4 more
 16 And the ^afriends of Jared and his brother were in number about twenty and two souls; and they also begat sons and daughters before they came to the promised land; and therefore they began to be many. 22 + 4 adults + at least 8 children before the crossing... (total at least 34 in 8 vessels)
 17 And they were taught to ^awalk humbly before the Lord; and they were also ^btaught from on high. Ok...what does this mean? Angelic visitors? The Savior?
 18 And it came to pass that they began to spread upon the face of the land, and to multiply and to till the earth; and they did wax strong in the land.
19 And the brother of Jared began to be old, It is thought that Noah was 600 years old at the time of the flood and lived to be 950. The Tower of Babel was 100 years after the flood. I'm just saying...that the brother of Jared could have been really old when he "began to be old"... and saw that he must soon go down to the grave; wherefore he said unto Jared: Let us gather together our people that we may number them, that we may know of them what they will desire of us before we go down to our graves.
 20 And accordingly the people were gathered together. Now the number of the sons and the daughters of the brother of Jared were twenty and two souls; and the number of sons and daughters of Jared were twelve, he having four sons.2+22+2+22=48  Only 48 and they call it "multiplying" and "waxing strong"?
 21 And it came to pass that they did number their people; and after that they had numbered them, they did desire of them the things which they would that they should do before they went down to their graves.
 22 And it came to pass that the people desired of them that they should ^aanoint one of their sons to be a king over them. Hard to believe 48 people feel like they need a king. Maybe I'm not reading the number of people right...
 23 And now behold, this was grievous unto them. And the brother of Jared said unto them: Surely this thing ^aleadeth into captivity.
 24 But Jared said unto his brother: Suffer them that they may have a king. Sometimes we just get what we want...even if it isn't good for us....And therefore he said unto them: Choose ye out from among our sons a king, even whom ye will.
 25 And it came to pass that they chose even the firstborn of the brother of Jared; and his name was Pagag. And it came to pass that he refused and would not be their ^aking. And the people would that his father should constrain him, but his father would not; and he commanded them that they should constrain no man to be their king.
 26 And it came to pass that they chose all the brothers of Pagag, and they would not. All the sons of the righteous brother of Jared refused. Sounds like they listened to their dad..
 27 And it came to pass that neither would the ^asons of Jared, even all save it were one; and ^bOrihah was anointed to be king over the people. Sounds like they respected their uncle's opinion. What's with the lone son?
 28 And he began to reign, and the people began to ^aprosper; and they became exceedingly rich.
 29 And it came to pass that Jared died, and his brother also.
 30 And it came to pass that Orihah did walk humbly before the Lord, and did remember how great things the Lord had done for his father, and also taught his people how great things the Lord had done for their fathers.Ok...so he was a good son. That's good, but....

Ether 5

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

CHAPTER 5

Three witnesses and the work itself will stand as a testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon.

  1 And now I, Moroni, have written the words which were commanded me, according to my memory; I'm going to take this as justification that we can write our life history by memory and not have to do it daily as we go along... lol and I have told you the things which I have ^asealed up; lots of mention of the sealed portion in these last few chapters. They must be super important for us to know about and desire...therefore touch them not in order that ye may translate; for that thing is forbidden you, except by and by it shall be wisdom in God. They WILL come forth...
  2 And behold, ye  Joseph Smith may be privileged that ye may show the plates unto ^athose who shall assist to bring forth this work;
  3 And unto ^athree shall they be shown by the power of God; wherefore they shall ^bknow of a surety that these things are ^ctrue. God operates by the law of witnesses
  4 And in the mouth of three ^awitnesses shall these things be established; and the ^btestimony of three, and this work, in the which shall be shown forth the power of God and also his word, of which the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost bear record—and all this shall stand as a testimony against the world at the last day.  You can choose not to believe it, but it still stands in the courts of God as a witness against the unbelievers
  5 And if it so be that they repent and ^acome unto the Father in the name of Jesus, they shall be received into the kingdom of God. Repentance is the key. God knows we have mortal flaws and weakness. He just asks us to be humble and repent
  6 And now, if I have no authority for these things, judge ye; for ye shall know that I have authority when ye shall see me, and we shall stand before God at the last day. Amen.