Ether 12 - 15: Faith and another wipe out. Book of Mormon Come Follow me with Sam

 Welcome to Come Follow Me with Sam! Guess what! Not even a month ago we read about the complete collapse of the Nephite civilization! Now we hit the Jaredite one as well! These are the chapters we learn about Ether, his ministry, his warnings, and the final days of the Jaredites. We also get a fascinating in-the-moment play-by-play discourse on faith from Moroni, and likely what he thought would be his very last words in the record. Chapter 12 is difficult because it deserves more time than a blog post. It deserves its own book. I have highlighted certain parts of it, and I hope you use this as a stepping stone to read and learn more.

If only Moroni could tell us

Why was Ether so inspired among a generation on the brink of destruction? I don't know, but something strikes Moroni about the fact that someone in the Jaredite civilization was in tune and powerful in word and able to hear.

If you listen closely you can feel a terrible agony with Moroni in this chapter (12). He is seeing Ether alone preaching, and he was alone preaching, and he sees our day and feels like his words NEED the power the he sees in Ether's day and his own, but just doesn't feel like its enough to tell us.

Remember that Moroni saw his share of bitterness. More than his share actually. And he knows what is going to happen at the end of the Ether story; we are only 2 chapters away from him writing that. And he doesn't want the same thing to happen to our day. (sidenote, if you think that is over-dramatic and that we aren't in the same boat, a quick reminder that the world now has nuclear weapons. We have lived with the reality of ending our civilization in one sweep for 75 years. Just because no one's pushed the button doesn't mean its time to get complacent). So he is pleading with us to understand how it all works.

You have a role to play

4 Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God.

7 For it was by faith that Christ showed himself unto our fathers, after he had risen from the dead; and he showed not himself unto them until after they had faith in him; wherefore, it must needs be that some had faith in him, for he showed himself not unto the world.

Look. You can be that person! What do you think the blessings of Abraham are predicated on? Why could Christ perform those miracles among the Nephites? Why does Elder Uchtdorf remind us 'You are my hands'? You can be the person who learns of hope and seeks understanding by faith, and blesses your community, for 'it must needs be that some had faith in him'.

Moroni then reminds us of all the people of the past who were able to make this change for the people they loved and what followed. You can compare this to Hebrews 11, by the way, as it is written in similar style.

Is my sacrifice enough?

Moroni knows what it takes to move mountains and to see generations. He knows what is going on in our day and he doesn't know how his words will have the power to help us. God explains what I talked about in the post of 3rd Nephi 20-26. This is not some game of chicanery where God arbitrarily holds the greater things back. Moroni has made it abundantly clear earlier (see Ether 4, and 12, 7,19-22. If we were to receive the knowledge without the faith, we would not have the strength to survive what our trial is. When we exercise our faith by covenant, we can know all things, we can not be kept within the veil and the veil of unbelief is undone in you.

WHAT IS YOUR WEAKNESS!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

Sam's opinion here, but I'm pretty sure I'm right. Have you ever asked what your weakness is in Ether 12:27? Its the same for all of us and surprise, it is the exact same thing that Moroni is talking about above! Its the veil of unbelief. God is telling us everything about how faith works and how we can work it to destroy that veil of unbelief. This is the veil that separates us from the presence of God.

 If men come unto God (with hope!) He will show how they are separated from the presence of God and how they can come back. And with hope they can exercise their faith, and gain the strength as Ether did to rend the veil and the scales will fall from their eyes like Nephi prophesied and they will obtain the knowledge necessary to bless themselves and the world. And so the weak things in you will be made strong by the process that God has made on earth.

To me, this is the answer to all the riddles. Why are we here on earth? What are we doing here when there's so much greatness in heaven? Why do we suffer, and seek and plead and wrestle? We have the veil of unbelief around us and we need the strength of faith to rend the veil of unbelief in our hearts, and we came down to exercise the faith by hope! and if we can just hope for a better world, we can make an anchor for our faith, and like Alma said, we can plant the word and nourish it with faith and rend the veil. And when we rend the veil, we can bless everyone, just Moroni and Paul told us happened in times past.

Contrary-wise, if we stayed in heaven, we could be in the presence of God, but we would never have the power to rend the veil of unbelief inside our hearts. Thus, our great weakness can become our strength to the rending of the veil from top to bottom through Christ and the gospel and the Great Plan of Happiness.

I think I have weakness of writing here too. Come talk to me and I will tell you everything I possibly can!

Moroni's last words (again)

Yes, I'm pretty darn sure he thought this really was the end, especially considering the fact that he bid farewell. Luckily we'll get a little more later.

And now I, Moroni, bid farewell unto the Gentiles, yea, and also unto my brethren whom I love, until we shall meet before the judgment-seat of Christ, where all men shall know that my  are not spotted with your blood. And then shall ye know that I have seen Jesus, and that he hath talked with me, and that he told me in humility, even as a man telleth another in mine own language, concerning these things; And only a few have I written, because of my weakness in writing. And now, I would commend you to this Jesus of whom the prophets and apostles have written, that the grace of God the Father, and also the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost, which beareth of them, may be and abide in you forever. Amen.

Oh Shiz

Now you know what the deeply badness shizam is named after (Civilization ender. Utter destruction type stuff. really bad. Secret combinations).

Things can get very bad very fast. They can fall about very badly very fast. It's a good idea to listen to prophets.

Here is something else that is crazy to think of. At this point, both the Mulekites and the Nephites/Lamanites are setting up their civilizations, oblivious to what is happening every day just a few hundred to a few thousand (probably just a few hundred) miles from them. They are also oblivious that the same doom will come to their own generations.

I would like to stop talking about all the terrible things that happened, but Moroni talks about them for a pretty solid 3 chapters. I think he was tired of thinking about it too, but he knew that he had to help us understand in some way what happened.

Coriantumr refused to be comforted: a Haiku

A strange part of this unfathomably awful narrative is the turning of the heart of Coriantumr which can be juxtaposed to the vision of Ether in Moses 7. I got creative and made a haiku

The king has no hope

refuse to be comforted

The prophet gains hope

Read Ether 15:3 with Moses 7:44. It would be really fun to dig into the entire compare/contrast, but here is the main point. Enos saw what happens when a people forsake God. Coriantumr lived through it and recognized what was happening. Enos was able to gain hope through Christ. Coriantumr knew at this point his society was without hope. Maybe, just maybe, he was able to eventually able to gain the same hope through Christ, though everyone else perished.

Ether's last words

Whether the Lord will that I be translated, or that I suffer the will of the Lord in the flesh, it mattereth not, if it so be that I am in the kingdom of God. Amen.