Ether 13:15-22

Ether had been cast out of Jaredite society. In that same year, war broke out. They desired to destroy Coriantumr. “Then the thing became a free-for-all, with ‘many who rose up, who were mighty men’ (Ether 13:15), all zeroing in on King Coriantumr. But he was a great survivor—he knew all the tricks, and he kept afloat while people around him died like flies.”[1]

Coriantumr was an expert in the art of war, so he was prepared to give battle to his attacking enemies. He refused to repent, nor did the peoples of his enemies. “In view of the fact that the book of Ether, speaking only of the Jaredites, notes that ‘there were none of the fair sons and daughters upon the face of the whole earth who repented of their sins’ (Ether 13:17), it would seem that the common ‘whole earth’ (kol ha-aretz) of the Old Testament need not always be taken to mean the entire globe.”[2]

During the first year when Ether dwelt in the cave, many died in the wars led by secret combinations fighting Coriantumr.

After a year went by, Ether was commanded to go to Coriantumr and prophesy that, if they would repent, the Lord would give him his kingdom and spare the people. If he and his people failed to repent, all except Coriantumr would die, and he would live to see the fulfillment of his prophecies of another people inheriting this land. “And that the Lord God would send or bring forth another people to possess the land, by his power, after the manner by which he brought their fathers” (Ether 11:21).

He would see the entire destruction of his people and he would be buried by those who had been brought to this land.

“And it came to pass in the days of Mosiah₁, there was a large stone brought unto him with engravings on it; and he did interpret the engravings by the gift and power of God.

“And they gave an account of one Coriantumr, and the slain of his people. And Coriantumr was discovered by the people of Zarahemla; and he dwelt with them for the space of nine moons.

“It also spake a few words concerning his fathers. And his first parents came out from the tower, at the time the Lord confounded the language of the people; and the severity of the Lord fell upon them according to his judgments, which are just; and their bones lay scattered in the land northward” (Omni 1:20-22).

“We usually think of the Jaredite nation as being completely annihilated in the final battle between the armies of Coriantumr and Shiz (see Ether 15). However, the prophecy of Ether states that all of Coriantumr’s household would be destroyed if he did not repent (see Ether 13:20–21), which does not necessarily mean all of the descendants of the original Jaredite colonization party. It is entirely conceivable that one or more groups had broken away from the main Jaredite colony and survived outside of the record describing the downfall of the Coriantumr and Shiz camps. In fact, Hugh Nibley has argued for some kind of interaction and influence between the Jaredite and Lehite groups because of the continuance of such Jaredite names as Korihor (see Alma 30; Ether 7:3) and Coriantumr (see Helaman 1:15) in Nephite times (see Nibley, Lehi in the Desert; The World of the Jaredites; There Were Jaredites, 245).”[3]

They refused to repent and the wars continued. They attempted to kill Ether, but he fled and his in his cave. “The bloodthirsty hate the upright: but the just seek his soul” (Proverbs 29:10).

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[1] The Prophetic Book of Mormon, Hugh Nibley, Maxwell Institute.

[2] Lehi in the Desert, Chapter 2 – Departure, Hugh Nibley, Maxwell Institute website.

[3] A Few Thoughts From a Believing DNA Scientist, John M. Butler, Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, Volume 13, Number 1, 2003: 36-37.