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D&C 42

2012-10-12T03:15:32Z

173.64.199.25: Cleaning up footnotes

[[Doctrine & Covenants]] > [[D&C 42 | Section 42]] 
:Subpages: [[D&C 42:1-10 | Verses 1-10]], [[D&C 42:11-17 | Verses 11-17]], [[D&C 42:18-29 | Verses 18-29]], [[D&C 42:30-42 | Verses 30-42]], [[D&C 42:43-55 | Verses 43-55]], [[D&C 42:56-59 | Verses 56-59]], [[D&C 42:60-69 | Verses 60-69]], [[D&C 42:70-73 | Verses 70-73]], [[D&C 42:74-77 | Verses 74-77]], [[D&C 42:78-93 | Verses 78-93]] 
                                                                 [[D&C 42:1-10 | Next page: Verses 1-10]]

== Historical setting ==

* Received: February 9, 1831 at Kirtland, Ohio<ref>(1) Smith, Joseph. [http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/history-1838%E2%80%931856-volume-a-1#101 ''Manuscript History of the Church'', Vol. A-1, p. 95.] The Joseph Smith Papers. (2) [http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/revelation-book-1#46 Commandment, 9 February 1831 (D&C 42)]. In ''Revelation Book 1'', p. 62-67. The Joseph Smith Papers.</ref>
* Prior section in chronological order: [[D&C 41]]
* Next section in chronological order: [[D&C 43]]

On January 2, 1831 the Lord had instructed the New York Saints in [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/38.32?lang=eng#31 D&C 38:32] to move to Ohio where they would receive his law.<ref>Smith, Joseph. [http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/history-1838%E2%80%931856-volume-a-1#94 ''Manuscript History of the Church'', Vol. A-1, p. 88-90]. The Joseph Smith Papers.</ref> Joseph Smith arrived in Kirtland, Ohio about the first of February, where he joined the new converts at Kirtland well ahead of most other New York Saints. On February 4 he received [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/41.2-3?lang=eng D&C 41:2-3], which instructed the elders to assemble and agree upon the receipt of God’s word in order that, through the prayer of faith, they might receive that word.<ref>Smith, Joseph, [http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/history-1838%E2%80%931856-volume-a-1#98 ''Manuscript History of the Church'', Vol. A-1, p. 92-93]. The Joseph Smith Papers.</ref>

"After this revelation [D&C 41] was received, the elders were called together and united in mighty prayer and were agreed as touching the reception of the Law."<ref>Whitmer, John. ''The Book of John Whitmer'', p. 15. Grantsville, Utah: Archive Publishers, 2000.</ref> So "on the 9th of February 1831 at Kirtland, in the presence of 12 elders, and according to the promise heretofore made, the Lord gave the following revelation embracing the Law of the Church [D&C 42],"<ref>Smith, Joseph. [http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/history-1838%E2%80%931856-volume-a-1#101 ''Manuscript History of the Church'', Vol. A-1, p. 95.] The Joseph Smith Papers.</ref> or "The Laws of the Church of Christ."<ref>[http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/revelation-book-1#46 Commandment, 9 February 1831 (D&C 42)]. In ''Revelation Book 1'', p. 62-67. The Joseph Smith Papers.</ref>

For a brief overview of D&C 42 in historical relation to the rest of the Doctrine & Covenants, see [[D&C: Historical Overview]]. For lengthier discussions of the historical setting, see [http://www.kurtelieson.com/scriptures/hcdc1.pdf#page=235 Historical Context of the Doctrine & Covenants, chapter 7] or [http://institute.lds.org/manuals/latter-day-saint-history?lang=eng Church History in the Fulness of Times, chapter 8].

== Brief outline and summary ==

:[[D&C 42:1-10 | • Introduction (1-3)]]

:[[D&C 42:1-10 | ■ • __ (4-10)]]

:■ The "Law"

::[[D&C 42:11-17 | • Preaching the gospel (11-17)]]

::[[D&C 42:18-29 | • Commandments #6-9 (18-29)]]

::[[D&C 42:30-42 | • Commandment #10, the Law of Consecration and Stewardship (30-42)]]

::[[D&C 42:43-55 | • Corrections of Campbellite beliefs (43-55)]]

::[[D&C 42:56-59 | • Continuing revelation (56-59)]]

::[[D&C 42:60-69 | • Gathering (60-69)]]

:[[D&C 42:70-73 | ■ How the elders are to care for their families while engaged in the service of the Church (70-73)]]

:[[D&C 42:74-77 | ■ A commandment how to act in certain cases of adultery (74-77)]]

:[[D&C 42:78-93 | ■ ___ (78-93)]]

* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add summary''

The major divisions of D&C 42 are discussed on the following subpages: [[D&C 42:1-10 | Verses 1-10]], [[D&C 42:11-17 | Verses 11-17]], [[D&C 42:18-29 | Verses 18-29]], [[D&C 42:30-42 | Verses 30-42]], [[D&C 42:43-55 | Verses 43-55]], [[D&C 42:56-59 | Verses 56-59]], [[D&C 42:60-69 | Verses 60-69]], [[D&C 42:70-73 | Verses 70-73]], [[D&C 42:74-77 | Verses 74-77]], [[D&C 42:78-93 | Verses 78-93]]

== Detailed discussion ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add content''

== Relation to other scriptures ==

=== Related sections and chapters ===

[[D&C 20]] and D&C 42 were treated as the two most important revelations in the earliest days of the Church. Both were often read and discussed at Church conferences, handwritten copies of both sections were made by many elders, and both were often read in the course of preaching by the elders.<ref>Woodford, Robert. ''Historical Development of the Doctrine & Covenants,'' p. 293, 299, 527. Ph.D. dissertation, Brigham Young University, 1974.</ref> Portions of several other revelations are identified as additions to the commandments, covenants, laws, and/or articles of the Church, meaning [[D&C 20]] and/or D&C 42, in [[D&C 68:13]], [[D&C 72:9]], [[D&C 72:24]], [[D&C 83:1]], and [[D&C 107:59]].

Several of the Ten Commandments are also addressed in connection with the establishment of a Zion community in [[D&C 59 | D&C 59:5-13, 20]], [[D&C 63 | D&C 63:13-18]], [[D&C 68:25-35]], and [[D&C 136 | D&C 136:19-33]]. The Ten Commandments are also recited in [[Exodus 20]], [[Deuteronomy 5]], and [[Mosiah 13]].

=== Parallel passages ===
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add parallel passages''

== Text transmission and circulation ==

* The oldest surviving copies of D&C 42 are: for verses 1-73, the copy by John Whitmer in [http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/revelation-book-1#46 Revelation Book 1, p. 62-67] made soon after its receipt; for verses 74-77, the copy by Oliver Cowdery on a scrap of paper in [http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/revelation-book-1#52 Revelation Book 1, scrap following p. 67] probably made soon after its receipt; for verses 78-93, the copy of verses 78-93, 74-77 printed by William Phelps in the October 1832 issue, p. 34 of [http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/NCMP1820-1846/id/5919 ''The Evening and the Morning Star''] newspaper.

* D&C 42:1-69 was first published and first received widespread circulation in the September 6, 1831 issue of the ''Ravenna Western Courier'' newspaper and was republished by the end of that month in at least four other local newspapers in northeast Ohio, including the ''Painesville Telegraph''.<ref>(1) ''Painesville Telegraph'' (13 Sep 1831) Vol. 3 / No. 13, p. 1, reprinting article from ''Ravenna Western Courier'' (6 Sep 1831). (2) Backman, Milton. ''The Heavens Resound'', p. 80-81, 403 n.45. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1983.</ref>

* D&C 42:11-77 was first published by the Church on the front page of the second, July 1832 issue of [http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/NCMP1820-1846/id/5919 ''The Evening and the Morning Star''] newspaper printed by William Phelps in Jackson County, Missouri<ref>"Extract from the Laws for the Government of the Church of Christ." In [http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/NCMP1820-1846/id/5919 ''The Evening and the Morning Star'', original series] (July 1832) Vol. 1 / No. 2, p. 9. Independence, Missouri: W.W. Phelps & Co., 1832-1833.</ref> (a month after [[D&C 20]] was published on the front page of the inaugural June 1832 issue).<ref>"The Articles and Covenants of the Church of Christ." In [http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/NCMP1820-1846/id/5919 ''The Evening and the Morning Star'', original series] (June 1832) Vol. 1 / No. 1, p. 1. Independence, Missouri: W.W. Phelps & Co., 1832-1833.</ref> Verses 78-93 were first published three months later in the October 1832 issue.<ref>"Items of Law for the Government of the Church of Christ, Given February 23, 1831." In [http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/NCMP1820-1846/id/5919 ''The Evening and the Morning Star'', original series] (October 1832) Vol. 1 / No. 5, p. 34. Independence, Missouri: W.W. Phelps & Co., 1832-1833.</ref>

* D&C 42 was first included in the Doctrine & Covenants in the 1833 Book of Commandments, which was also printed by William Phelps during 1833. Verses 1-73 were printed as chapter 44, and verses 78-93, 74-77 were printed as chapter 47. The various parts of D&C 42 were combined in the second 1835 edition and all subsequent editions of the Doctrine & Covenants.

* The text of D&C 42 in [http://eom.byu.edu/index.php/Doctrine_and_Covenants_Editions significant editions of the Doctrine & Covenants] can be found at: '''

:* [http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/book-of-commandments-1833#93 1833 Book of Commandments, chap. 44, p. 89-96] and [http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/book-of-commandments-1833#105 chap. 47, p. 101-03]
:* [http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/doctrine-and-covenants-1835#128 1835 Doctrine & Covenants, sec. 13, p. 120-25]
:* [http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/doctrine-and-covenants-1844#168 1844 Doctrine & Covenants, sec. 13, p. 166-75]
:* [http://books.google.com/books?id=dzJOAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false 1876 Doctrine & Covenants], sec. 42, p. 156-64
:* [http://books.google.com/books?id=k3HA72ZZOm4C&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false 1921 Doctrine & Covenants], sec. 42, p. 60-65
:* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/42?lang=eng 1981 Doctrine & Covenants, sec. 17, p. 69-75 (current)]

* D&C 42 is one of the sections with the most significant changes having been made. Changes to the text of D&C 42:

== Complete outline and pagemap ==

Items in blue or purple text indicate hyperlinked pages that address specific portions of this section.

::::::[[D&C 42]]

[[D&C 42:1-10 | • Introduction (1-3)]]

[[D&C 42:1-10 | ■ '''• __ (4-10)]]

■ '''The "Law"'''

:[[D&C 42:11-17 | • Preaching the gospel (11-17)]]

:[[D&C 42:18-29 | • Commandments #6-9 (18-29)]]

:[[D&C 42:30-42 | • Commandment #10, the Law of Consecration and Stewardship (30-42)]]

:[[D&C 42:43-55 | • Corrections of Campbellite beliefs (43-55)]]

:[[D&C 42:56-59 | • Continuing revelation (56-59)]]

:[[D&C 42:60-69 | • Gathering (60-69)]]

[[D&C 42:70-73 | ■ '''How the elders are to care for their families while engaged in the service of the Church (70-73)''']]

[[D&C 42:74-77 | ■ '''A commandment how to act in certain cases of adultery (74-77)''']]

[[D&C 42:78-93 | ■ '''___ (78-93)''']]

== Questions for further study and reflection ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
<references/>

== Additional resources ==

* A 2009 [http://mormontheologyseminar.org/ Mormon Theology Seminar] conducted a series of [http://embracingthelaw.wordpress.com weekly discussions on D&C 42].

----

                                                                 [[D&C 42:1-10 | Next page: Verses 1-10]]

Old Testament: Geography

2012-10-11T15:19:09Z

173.64.199.25: Adding content

[[The Old Testament]] > [[Old Testament: Places | Places and Geography within Israel]]

This page should remain short enough to read in about fifteen minutes. The purpose of this page is to quickly provide the minimum amount of information necessary to become familiar with the most significant place names in Old Testament Israel.

== Introduction ==

The Old Testament can be understood without knowing much more than Jerusalem, but a little familiarity with about a dozen place names will significantly enrich understanding of events at each location. These are listed generally from south to north.

Right click to open the [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bc/scriptures/content/english/bible-maps/images/03990_000_bible-map-1.pdf online LDS Bible Map #1] and [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bc/scriptures/content/english/bible-maps/images/03990_000_bible-map-3-4.pdf online LDS Bible Maps #3-4] while working through these notes.

== Jerusalem and Vicinity ==

=== <big>Jerusalem</big> ===

Israel did not conquer Jerusalem until the seventh year of King David's reign. David promptly made Jerusalem his capitol. ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/2-sam/5.5-9?lang=eng#4 2 Samuel 5:5-9]). When Solomon built the temple, it was also at Jerusalem ('''CITE'''). When the kingdom was divided following Solomon's reign, the capitol of the Southern Kingdom of Judah remained in Jerusalem ('''CITE''').

Jerusalem is also mentioned in the following passages prior to its conquest by the Israelites.
Joshua 10:1-5, 23; 12:10; 15:8, 63; 18:28; Judges 1:7-8, 21; 19:10; 1 Sam 17:34 or 54; 2 Sam 5:5-14; 8:7; 9:13; 10:14; 11:1-31; 14:23, 28; 15:8-37; 16:3, 15; 17:20; 19:19-34; 20:2-7, 22; 24:8, 16; 1 Kings 2:11, 36-3:1, 15; 8:1 9:15, 19; 10:2, 26-27; 11:7, 29-42; 12:18-28; 14:21-25; 15:1-4, 10; 22:42; 2 Kings 8:17, 26; 9:28; 12:1, 17-18; 14:2; etc.

=== <big>Bethlehem</big> ===

Bethlehem was a small town located 5 miles south of Jerusalem (see [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bc/scriptures/content/english/bible-maps/images/03990_000_bible-map-1.pdf Map #1] and [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bc/scriptures/content/english/bible-maps/images/03990_000_bible-map-3-4.pdf Maps #3-4]). Bethlehem was significant as:

* the burial place of Rachel ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/gen/35.19?lang=eng#18 Gen 35:19]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/gen/48.7?lang=eng#6 Gen 48:7])

* the hometown of King David ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/1-sam/16.1,4-5,11-13,17-19?lang=eng 1 Sam 16-17])

* the birthplace of Christ ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/micah/5.2?lang=eng Micah 5:2]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/luke/2.4,6-7,11,15-16?lang=eng Luke 2:1-16])

Bethlehem also figured prominently in the "Bethlehem Trilogy," a name applied to the last two stories in Judges regarding the apostasy of tribes of Dan ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/judg/17.7-10?lang=eng#6 Judg 17:7-10]) and the destruction of Benjamin ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/judg/19.1-2,18?lang=eng Judg 19:1-2, 18]) plus the story of David’s great grandmother Ruth ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/ruth/1.1,19,22?lang=eng Ruth 1:1, 19, 22; 2:4; 4:11]).

Bethlehem is also mentioned in the following passages: settled by Caleb's sons Salma ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/1-chr/2.50-54?lang=eng#49 1 Chron 2:50-54]); Ibzan of Bethlehem a judge in Israel ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/judg/12.8-10?lang=eng#7 Judg 12:8-10]); fortified by King Rehoboam ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/2-chr/11.6?lang=eng#5 2 Chron 11:6]); Bethlehemites among those returning from Babylon ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/ezra/2.21?lang=eng#20 Ezra 2:21]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/neh/7.26?lang=eng#25 Neh 7:26]).

=== <big>Kirjath-Jearim</big> ===

Kirjath-Jearim was a small town located 6 miles west of Jerusalem on the border between Judah and Benjamin. Kirjath-Jearim was significant as:

* the location of the Ark of the Covenant (at Abinidab's house ''at Kirjath-Jearim'') for at least twenty years after it was captured and then returned by the Philistines in the days of Eli and Samuel ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/1-sam/6?lang=eng 1 Sam 6:1-7:2]) until it was moved by King David (from Abinidab's house ''at Gibeah'') to Jerusalem ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/2-sam/6?lang=eng 2 Sam 6]).

Kirjath-Jearim is also mentioned in the following passages: Joshua 9:17; 15:9, 60; 18:14-15, 28; Dan camped there on its way to the north of Israel (Judg 18:11-12); The prophet Uriah was of Kirjath-Jearim (Jer 26:20–23); 1 Chron 2:50-53; 13:5-6; 2 Chron 1:4; some Jews returning from the Babylonian Captivity settled at Kirjath-Jearim (Ezra 2:25; Neh 7:29).

=== <big>Gibeah</big> ===

Gibeah, also known as Gibeah of Saul or Gibeah of Benjamin, was a small town located 3 miles north of Jerusalem (see [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bc/scriptures/content/english/bible-maps/images/03990_000_bible-map-3-4.pdf Map #4]). Gibeah was significant as:

* the town where Benjamites raped a concubine, which in turn led to the destruction of Benjamin

* the hometown and capitol of King Saul

Gibeah is also mentioned in the following passages: Joshua 15:57; 18:28 allotment to Benjamin; 24:33; Judges 19:12-16; 20:4-43; same as Awarta in Joshua 24:33 where Eleazer son of Aaron is buried; 1 Sam 10:26-11:4; 13:2-16; 14:2-5, 16; 15:34; 22:6; 23:19; 26:1; 2 Sam 6:3-4; 21:6; 23:29; 1 Chron 11:31; 2 Chron 13:2.

=== <big>Gilgal</big> ===

Gilgal may mean "circle of standing stones." Gilgal was located barely north of Jericho where the Jordan River flows into the Dead Sea (see [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bc/scriptures/content/english/bible-maps/images/03990_000_bible-map-1.pdf Map #1] and [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bc/scriptures/content/english/bible-maps/images/03990_000_bible-map-3-4.pdf Map #4]). Gilgal was significant as:

Symbolically important, and in Saul's day a sacred city.

* the location where the Israelites camped on the first night after crossing the Jordan River into the promised land of Canaan and set up twelve stones as witnesses that the Lord had parted the river for them to cross. (Joshua 4:19; 5:10; 10).

* the location where Saul was made king (1 Samuel 10:8; 11:14-15; 13:4, 15; 15:12-33), though some scholars think that was a different Gilgal near Bethel.

Gilgal is also mentioned in the following passages: Deut 11:30; Joshua 4:19-5:10; 9:6; 10:6-15, 43; 14:6; 15:7; Judges 2:1; 3:19; 1 Sam 7:16; 10:8; 11:14-15; 13:4-15; 15:12, 21, 33; 2 Sam 19:15, 40; 2 Kings 2:1; 4:38; Neh 12:29.

This is probably not the same Gilgal mentioned in Joshua 12:7 since it would not make sense for Israel to go back and conquer a place where it had previously encamped while conquering the large nearby city of Jericho. This is probably also not the same Gilgal that Elijah and Elisha later visit probably 8 miles north of Bethel. Scholars do not know if the Gilgal mentioned in Deuteronomy 11:29 is the same as any of these.

=== <big>Bethel</big> ===

Bethel, previously known as Luz, was one of the most sacred places in Israel. Bethel was located 12 miles north of Jerusalem and about 12 miles west of Jericho on the border between Benjamin and Ephraim (see [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bc/scriptures/content/english/bible-maps/images/03990_000_bible-map-3-4.pdf Maps #3-4]). Bethel was significant as:

* the place where Abraham built his first altar in Canaan (__), and to which he then returned after going to Egypt (Genesis 12:8, 13:3).

* the place where Jacob had his dream, God promises him the land of Canaan, and he sets up a pillar. (Genesis 28:19).

* the place where Jacob covenant renewed and name change to Israel. (Genesis 35:__).

In the days of united Israel, Bethel was a sanctuary. (1 Samuel 7:16, 10:3).

* One of the two cities (Dan and Bethel) in which Jeroboam I, first king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, placed two golden calves as he tried to dissuade his new subjects from leaving the kingdom to go worship at Jerusalem ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/1-kgs/12.26-30?lang=eng#25 1 Kgs 12:26-30]).

Bethel is also mentioned in the followng passages: Gen 12:8; 13:3; 28:19; 31:13; 35:1-16; Joshua 7:2; 8:9-17; 16:1-2; 18:13, 22; Judges 1:22-23; 4:4; 21:19; 1 Sam 7:16; 10:3; 13:2; 30:27; 1 Kings 12:29-13:32; 2 Kings 2:2-3, 23; 10:29; 17:28; 23:4-19; 1 Chron 7:28; 2 Chron 13:19; Ezra 2:28; Neh 7:32; 11:31.

Joshua 8:17 and 12:16 is a different Bethel in southern Judah.

=== <big>Mizpah</big> ===

Located 8 miles north of Jerusalem on Map 9.

Gen 31:48; Joshua 11:3, 8; 5:38; 18:26; Judges 10:19; 11:11-34; 20:1-3; 21:1-8; 1 Sam 7:5-16; 10:17; 22:3; 1 Kings 15:22; 2 Kings 25:23, 25; 2 Chron 16:6; Neh 3:7-19.

Mizpah of Benjamin is about 8 miles north of Jerusalem. This is where Israel gathered to destroy Benjamin in Judges. Also with Samuel after the ark was lost to the Philistines and again to anoint Saul as King (a Benjamite at the location where they had plotted to destroy Benjamin).

After Jeremiah released from Ramah by Babylonians, he went to Mizpah of Benjamin.

Mizpah in Gilead is where Jacob and Laban put pile of stones. Gen 31:49. May be the same Mizpah of Gilead where Jephthah of Judges lived. Mizpah in Gilead in Joshua may be different, at the foot of Mount Hermon. The heap of stones raised by Jacob and Laban (Gen. 31:49; Judges 10:17; 11; 20-21). Gad (Joshua 18:26).

Mizpah in Moah is a fortress where David took his parents for safety. 1 Samuel 22:3

Joshua 15:38 may also be a different place in Judah southwest of Jerusalem.

== Ephraim Heartland ==

=== <big>Shiloh</big> ===

Located halfway between Bethel and Shechem, 10 miles from each, on Maps 1, 3-6, 9. In the hill country of Ephraim.

Tabernacle and ark kept here and is the religious center of Israel during Judges until ark lost (1 Sam 1:3). Joshua 22:9, 12; Judges 21:12-23; 1 Sam 1:24; 3:21; 4:3-4; 14:3; 1 Kgs 2:27; 14:2, 4. This is where people gathered for the major festivals and sacrifices, and Joshua assigned the lands of inheritance.

(Ark set up at Shiloh (Josh 18:1); Judges 18:31). Gen 49:10; Joshua 18:1-10; 19:51; 21:2; 22:9-12; Judges 18:31; 21:12-21; Taken from Shiloh into battle, where lost to Philistines for seven months (1 Sam 1-4); 14:3; 1 Kings 2:27; 14:1-4.

=== <big>Shechem</big> ===

Located west of the Jordan River halfway between the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee on Maps 1-9. In the heart of Ephraim at the foot of Mount Gerizim. Very old commercial city located on trade routes.

Visited by Abraham on his first visit to Canaan (Ge.n. 12:6). Jacob bought land here (Gen. 33:18; 35:4; 37:14; Acts 7:16). Ephraim (Joshua 17:7). Levite city and city of refuge (Joshua 20:7; 21:21; 1 Chron 6:67). Joshua addressed the people (Joshua 24:1). Bones of Joseph buried (Joshua 24:32). Rehoboam crowned here in hopes of pacifying North (1 Kings 12:1; 2 Chron. 10). Also Judges 8:31; 9:6, 46; 21:19; I Kgs 12:25; 1 Chron 7:28; Jer. 41:5). Abimelech.

Located in Manasseh, or the hill country of Ephraim, and is the first capitol of the Northern Kingdom. North of Bethel and Shiloh. May be the first place Abraham stopped on entering Canaan. Here revenge on those who raped Dinah by prince of Schechem area. Here Joshua gathered the Israelites to have them affirm loyalty to the Torah. Here Abimelech was crowned king. Joseph’s bones are buried here. Jacob’s well is nearby. It is at the foot of Mount Gerizim, on which Jotham makes his speech about Abimelech. After Abimelech destroyed it, rebuilt and probably the capitol of Ephraim. After Solomon’s death here Jeroboam made king of ten tribes and it was the Northern Kingdom capitol for a time. Capitol them moved to Tirzah and then to Samaria. Now Nablus in Palestine. Then not important until when Nehemiah casts out the priest who married Sanballat’s daughter, they go to Shechem. Then a main settlement of the Samaritans with their temple on Mount Gerizim.

Gen 33:18-34:26; 35:4; 37:12-14; Num 26:31; Joshua 17:2, 7; 20:7; 21:21; 24:1-32; Judges 8:31-9:57; 21:19; 1 Kings 12:1, 25; 1 Chron 6:67; 7:19, 28; 10:1.

=== <big>Samaria</big> ===

Samaria was located __ miles northwest of Shechem on Maps 1, 9 near modern Nablus. King Omri purchased this hill and built a new capitol for the Northern Kingdom of Israel. (1 Kgs 16:24; 2 Kgs 17:5-6). Samaria survived three sieges by Ben Hadad II of Syria before falling to Assyria. (1 Kgs 20, 2 Kgs 7).

1 Kings 13:32; 16:24-32; 18:2; 20:1-21:18; 22:10-51; 2 Kings 1:2-3; 2:25-3:6; 5:3; 6:19-25; 7:1, 18; 10:1-17, 35-36; 13:1-13; 14:14-23; 15:8-27; 17; 18; 21:13; 23:18-19; 2 Chron 18:2, 9; 22:9; 25:13, 24; 28:8-15; Ezra 4:10-17; Neh 4:2.

== Outlying areas to the North, South, and East ==

=== <big>Dan</big> ===

Dan, previously known as Laish, was located at the far northern end of Israel (see [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bc/scriptures/content/english/bible-maps/images/03990_000_bible-map-4.pdf Maps #4]). Dan was not generally important to the history of Israel, but was significant as:

* part of the phrase "Dan to Bersheeba," meaning all of combined Israel, from the far northernmost end to the southernmost

* One of the two cities (Dan and Bethel) in which Jeroboam I, first king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, placed two golden calves as he tried to dissuade his new subjects from leaving the kingdom to go worship at Jerusalem ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/1-kgs/12.26-30?lang=eng#25 1 Kgs 12:26-30]).

Dan is also mentioned in the following passages:

=== <big>Bersheeba</big> ===

Conquered by David. Many wells in the area, at least some dug by Abraham and Jacob. Southernmost settled area of Israel. Abraham’s pact with Abimelech (Gen. 26:23-33). Jacob had his dream at Shechem after leaving Ber Sheeba (28:10-15; 46:1-7). In area of Simeon and Judah. Elijah took refuge here after Jezenbel ordered him killed (1 Kgs 19:3). Samuel’s sons were judges here (1 Sam 8:2). Saul built a fort here for his campaign against the Amalekites (1 Sam 14:48; 15:2-9). Has at times been entirely abandoned. Today over 200,000. Did not extract a list of cites. Bersheeba is significant as:

* part of the phrase "Dan to Bersheeba," meaning all of combined Israel, from the far northernmost point to the southernmost

=== <big>Jabesh-Gilead</big> ===

Located just east of the Jordan River on Maps 5, 9. In Manasseh. Known primarily for its friendship toward the tribe of Benjamin and toward King Saul. Only town that did not join in destroying Benjamin. Saul’s kingship was cemented when he lifted the siege of Jabesh-Gilead. It informed on David to King Saul, and after Saul’s death removed his body from the wall of a Philistine city.

Judges 21:8-14; 1 Sam 11:1-10; 31:11-13; 2 Sam 2:4-5; 21:12; 1 Chron 10:11-12.

=== <big>Gilead</big>===

Name given to all of Trans-Jordan

=== <big>Bashan</big>===

Northern part of Gilead. Very fertile.

== Footnotes ==
<references/>

== Additional resources ==

* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add sources and links''

* [http://bible.org/maps http://bible.org/maps]

* [http://www.generationword.com/maps.htm http://www.generationword.com/maps.htm] - very specific to text, hand drawn

* [http://www.preceptaustin.org/biblical_maps.htm http://www.preceptaustin.org/biblical_maps.htm]

* [http://www.christianityoasis.com/keyword/Maps.htm scroll down past the ads]

* [http://www.ebibleteacher.com/imagehtml/otmaps.html http://www.ebibleteacher.com/imagehtml/otmaps.html]

* [http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/old-testament-bible-maps.html also descriptions]

* [http://www.bible.ca/maps/ good simple maps]

* [http://bibleatlas.org/gilgal.htm good gazeteer]

* [http://www.bible-history.com/maps/ another gazeteer]

* [http://lavistachurchofchrist.org/LVlinks/Maps.htm all the rest]

----

                                                                 Go to the [[The Old Testament | Old Testament]] main page

Old Testament: Geography

2012-10-11T15:14:06Z

173.64.199.25: Adding content

[[The Old Testament]] > [[Old Testament: Places | Places and Geography within Israel]]

This page should remain short enough to read in about fifteen minutes. The purpose of this page is to quickly provide the minimum amount of information necessary to become familiar with the most significant place names in Old Testament Israel.

== Introduction ==

The Old Testament can be understood without knowing much more than Jerusalem, but a little familiarity with about a dozen place names will significantly enrich understanding of events at each location. These are listed generally from south to north.

Right click to open the [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bc/scriptures/content/english/bible-maps/images/03990_000_bible-map-1.pdf online LDS Bible Map #1] and [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bc/scriptures/content/english/bible-maps/images/03990_000_bible-map-3-4.pdf online LDS Bible Maps #3-4] while working through these notes.

== Jerusalem and Vicinity ==

=== <big>Jerusalem</big> ===

Israel did not conquer Jerusalem until the seventh year of King David's reign. David promptly made Jerusalem his capitol. ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/2-sam/5.5-9?lang=eng#4 2 Samuel 5:5-9]). When Solomon built the temple, it was also at Jerusalem ('''CITE'''). When the kingdom was divided following Solomon's reign, the capitol of the Southern Kingdom of Judah remained in Jerusalem ('''CITE''').

Jerusalem is also mentioned in the following passages prior to its conquest by the Israelites.
Joshua 10:1-5, 23; 12:10; 15:8, 63; 18:28; Judges 1:7-8, 21; 19:10; 1 Sam 17:34 or 54; 2 Sam 5:5-14; 8:7; 9:13; 10:14; 11:1-31; 14:23, 28; 15:8-37; 16:3, 15; 17:20; 19:19-34; 20:2-7, 22; 24:8, 16; 1 Kings 2:11, 36-3:1, 15; 8:1 9:15, 19; 10:2, 26-27; 11:7, 29-42; 12:18-28; 14:21-25; 15:1-4, 10; 22:42; 2 Kings 8:17, 26; 9:28; 12:1, 17-18; 14:2; etc.

=== <big>Bethlehem</big> ===

Bethlehem was a small town located 5 miles south of Jerusalem (see [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bc/scriptures/content/english/bible-maps/images/03990_000_bible-map-1.pdf Map #1] and [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bc/scriptures/content/english/bible-maps/images/03990_000_bible-map-3-4.pdf Maps #3-4]). Bethlehem was significant as:

* the burial place of Rachel ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/gen/35.19?lang=eng#18 Gen 35:19]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/gen/48.7?lang=eng#6 Gen 48:7])

* the hometown of King David ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/1-sam/16.1,4-5,11-13,17-19?lang=eng 1 Sam 16-17])

* the birthplace of Christ ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/micah/5.2?lang=eng Micah 5:2]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/luke/2.4,6-7,11,15-16?lang=eng Luke 2:1-16])

Bethlehem also figured prominently in the "Bethlehem Trilogy," a name applied to the last two stories in Judges regarding the apostasy of tribes of Dan ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/judg/17.7-10?lang=eng#6 Judg 17:7-10]) and the destruction of Benjamin ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/judg/19.1-2,18?lang=eng Judg 19:1-2, 18]) plus the story of David’s great grandmother Ruth ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/ruth/1.1,19,22?lang=eng Ruth 1:1, 19, 22; 2:4; 4:11]).

Bethlehem is also mentioned in the following passages: settled by Caleb's sons Salma ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/1-chr/2.50-54?lang=eng#49 1 Chron 2:50-54]); Ibzan of Bethlehem a judge in Israel ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/judg/12.8-10?lang=eng#7 Judg 12:8-10]); fortified by King Rehoboam ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/2-chr/11.6?lang=eng#5 2 Chron 11:6]); Bethlehemites among those returning from Babylon ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/ezra/2.21?lang=eng#20 Ezra 2:21]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/neh/7.26?lang=eng#25 Neh 7:26]).

=== <big>Kirjath-Jearim</big> ===

Kirjath-Jearim was a small town located 6 miles west of Jerusalem on the border between Judah and Benjamin. Kirjath-Jearim was significant as:

* the location of the Ark of the Covenant (at Abinidab's house ''at Kirjath-Jearim'') for at least twenty years after it was captured and then returned by the Philistines in the days of Eli and Samuel ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/1-sam/6?lang=eng 1 Sam 6:1-7:2]) until it was moved by King David (from Abinidab's house ''at Gibeah'') to Jerusalem ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/2-sam/6?lang=eng 2 Sam 6]).

Kirjath-Jearim is also mentioned in the following passages: Joshua 9:17; 15:9, 60; 18:14-15, 28; Dan camped there on its way to the north of Israel (Judg 18:11-12); The prophet Uriah was of Kirjath-Jearim (Jer 26:20–23); 1 Chron 2:50-53; 13:5-6; 2 Chron 1:4; some Jews returning from the Babylonian Captivity settled at Kirjath-Jearim (Ezra 2:25; Neh 7:29).

=== <big>Gibeah</big> ===

Gibeah, also known as Gibeah of Saul or Gibeah of Benjamin, was a small town located 3 miles north of Jerusalem (see [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bc/scriptures/content/english/bible-maps/images/03990_000_bible-map-3-4.pdf Map #4]). Gibeah was significant as:

* the town where Benjamites raped a concubine, which in turn led to the destruction of Benjamin

* the hometown and capitol of King Saul

Gibeah is also mentioned in the following passages: Joshua 15:57; 18:28 allotment to Benjamin; 24:33; Judges 19:12-16; 20:4-43; same as Awarta in Joshua 24:33 where Eleazer son of Aaron is buried; 1 Sam 10:26-11:4; 13:2-16; 14:2-5, 16; 15:34; 22:6; 23:19; 26:1; 2 Sam 6:3-4; 21:6; 23:29; 1 Chron 11:31; 2 Chron 13:2.

=== <big>Gilgal</big> ===

Gilgal may mean "circle of standing stones." Gilgal was located barely north of Jericho where the Jordan River flows into the Dead Sea (see [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bc/scriptures/content/english/bible-maps/images/03990_000_bible-map-1.pdf Map #1] and [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bc/scriptures/content/english/bible-maps/images/03990_000_bible-map-3-4.pdf Map #4]). Gilgal was significant as:

Symbolically important, and in Saul's day a sacred city.

* the location where the Israelites camped on the first night after crossing the Jordan River into the promised land of Canaan and set up twelve stones as witnesses that the Lord had parted the river for them to cross. (Joshua 4:19; 5:10; 10).

* the location where Saul was made king (1 Samuel 10:8; 11:14-15; 13:4, 15; 15:12-33), though some scholars think that was a different Gilgal near Bethel.

Gilgal is also mentioned in the following passages: Deut 11:30; Joshua 4:19-5:10; 9:6; 10:6-15, 43; 14:6; 15:7; Judges 2:1; 3:19; 1 Sam 7:16; 10:8; 11:14-15; 13:4-15; 15:12, 21, 33; 2 Sam 19:15, 40; 2 Kings 2:1; 4:38; Neh 12:29.

This is probably not the same Gilgal mentioned in Joshua 12:7 since it would not make sense for Israel to go back and conquer a place where it had previously encamped while conquering the large nearby city of Jericho. This is probably also not the same Gilgal that Elijah and Elisha later visit probably 8 miles north of Bethel. Scholars do not know if the Gilgal mentioned in Deuteronomy 11:29 is the same as any of these.

=== <big>Bethel</big> ===

Bethel, previously known as Luz, was one of the most sacred places in Israel. Bethel was located 12 miles north of Jerusalem and about 12 miles west of Jericho on the border between Benjamin and Ephraim (see [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bc/scriptures/content/english/bible-maps/images/03990_000_bible-map-3-4.pdf Maps #3-4]). Bethel was significant as:

* the place where Abraham built his first altar in Canaan (__), and to which he then returned after going to Egypt (Genesis 12:8, 13:3).

* the place where Jacob had his dream, God promises him the land of Canaan, and he sets up a pillar. (Genesis 28:19).

* the place where Jacob covenant renewed and name change to Israel. (Genesis 35:__).

In the days of united Israel, Bethel was a sanctuary. (1 Samuel 7:16, 10:3).

* One of the two cities (Dan and Bethel) in which Jeroboam I, first king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, placed two golden calves as he tried to dissuade his new subjects from leaving the kingdom to go worship at Jerusalem ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/1-kgs/12.26-30?lang=eng#25 1 Kgs 12:26-30]).

Bethel is also mentioned in the followng passages: Gen 12:8; 13:3; 28:19; 31:13; 35:1-16; Joshua 7:2; 8:9-17; 16:1-2; 18:13, 22; Judges 1:22-23; 4:4; 21:19; 1 Sam 7:16; 10:3; 13:2; 30:27; 1 Kings 12:29-13:32; 2 Kings 2:2-3, 23; 10:29; 17:28; 23:4-19; 1 Chron 7:28; 2 Chron 13:19; Ezra 2:28; Neh 7:32; 11:31.

Joshua 8:17 and 12:16 is a different Bethel in southern Judah.

=== <big>Mizpah</big> ===

Located 8 miles north of Jerusalem on Map 9.

Gen 31:48; Joshua 11:3, 8; 5:38; 18:26; Judges 10:19; 11:11-34; 20:1-3; 21:1-8; 1 Sam 7:5-16; 10:17; 22:3; 1 Kings 15:22; 2 Kings 25:23, 25; 2 Chron 16:6; Neh 3:7-19.

Mizpah of Benjamin is about 8 miles north of Jerusalem. This is where Israel gathered to destroy Benjamin in Judges. Also with Samuel after the ark was lost to the Philistines and again to anoint Saul as King (a Benjamite at the location where they had plotted to destroy Benjamin).

After Jeremiah released from Ramah by Babylonians, he went to Mizpah of Benjamin.

Mizpah in Gilead is where Jacob and Laban put pile of stones. Gen 31:49. May be the same Mizpah of Gilead where Jephthah of Judges lived. Mizpah in Gilead in Joshua may be different, at the foot of Mount Hermon. The heap of stones raised by Jacob and Laban (Gen. 31:49; Judges 10:17; 11; 20-21). Gad (Joshua 18:26).

Mizpah in Moah is a fortress where David took his parents for safety. 1 Samuel 22:3

Joshua 15:38 may also be a different place in Judah southwest of Jerusalem.

== Ephraim Heartland ==

=== <big>Shiloh</big> ===

Located halfway between Bethel and Shechem, 10 miles from each, on Maps 1, 3-6, 9. In the hill country of Ephraim.

Tabernacle and ark kept here and is the religious center of Israel during Judges until ark lost (1 Sam 1:3). Joshua 22:9, 12; Judges 21:12-23; 1 Sam 1:24; 3:21; 4:3-4; 14:3; 1 Kgs 2:27; 14:2, 4. This is where people gathered for the major festivals and sacrifices, and Joshua assigned the lands of inheritance.

(Joshua 18:1; Judges 18:31). Gen 49:10; Joshua 18:1-10; 19:51; 21:2; 22:9-12; Judges 18:31; 21:12-21; 1 Sam 1-4; 14:3; 1 Kings 2:27; 14:1-4.

=== <big>Shechem</big> ===

Located west of the Jordan River halfway between the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee on Maps 1-9. In the heart of Ephraim at the foot of Mount Gerizim. Very old commercial city located on trade routes.

Visited by Abraham on his first visit to Canaan (Ge.n. 12:6). Jacob bought land here (Gen. 33:18; 35:4; 37:14; Acts 7:16). Ephraim (Joshua 17:7). Levite city and city of refuge (Joshua 20:7; 21:21; 1 Chron 6:67). Joshua addressed the people (Joshua 24:1). Bones of Joseph buried (Joshua 24:32). Rehoboam crowned here in hopes of pacifying North (1 Kings 12:1; 2 Chron. 10). Also Judges 8:31; 9:6, 46; 21:19; I Kgs 12:25; 1 Chron 7:28; Jer. 41:5). Abimelech.

Located in Manasseh, or the hill country of Ephraim, and is the first capitol of the Northern Kingdom. North of Bethel and Shiloh. May be the first place Abraham stopped on entering Canaan. Here revenge on those who raped Dinah by prince of Schechem area. Here Joshua gathered the Israelites to have them affirm loyalty to the Torah. Here Abimelech was crowned king. Joseph’s bones are buried here. Jacob’s well is nearby. It is at the foot of Mount Gerizim, on which Jotham makes his speech about Abimelech. After Abimelech destroyed it, rebuilt and probably the capitol of Ephraim. After Solomon’s death here Jeroboam made king of ten tribes and it was the Northern Kingdom capitol for a time. Capitol them moved to Tirzah and then to Samaria. Now Nablus in Palestine. Then not important until when Nehemiah casts out the priest who married Sanballat’s daughter, they go to Shechem. Then a main settlement of the Samaritans with their temple on Mount Gerizim.

Gen 33:18-34:26; 35:4; 37:12-14; Num 26:31; Joshua 17:2, 7; 20:7; 21:21; 24:1-32; Judges 8:31-9:57; 21:19; 1 Kings 12:1, 25; 1 Chron 6:67; 7:19, 28; 10:1.

=== <big>Samaria</big> ===

Samaria was located __ miles northwest of Shechem on Maps 1, 9 near modern Nablus. King Omri purchased this hill and built a new capitol for the Northern Kingdom of Israel. (1 Kgs 16:24; 2 Kgs 17:5-6). Samaria survived three sieges by Ben Hadad II of Syria before falling to Assyria. (1 Kgs 20, 2 Kgs 7).

1 Kings 13:32; 16:24-32; 18:2; 20:1-21:18; 22:10-51; 2 Kings 1:2-3; 2:25-3:6; 5:3; 6:19-25; 7:1, 18; 10:1-17, 35-36; 13:1-13; 14:14-23; 15:8-27; 17; 18; 21:13; 23:18-19; 2 Chron 18:2, 9; 22:9; 25:13, 24; 28:8-15; Ezra 4:10-17; Neh 4:2.

== Outlying areas to the North, South, and East ==

=== <big>Dan</big> ===

Dan, previously known as Laish, was located at the far northern end of Israel (see [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bc/scriptures/content/english/bible-maps/images/03990_000_bible-map-4.pdf Maps #4]). Dan was not generally important to the history of Israel, but was significant as:

* part of the phrase "Dan to Bersheeba," meaning all of combined Israel, from the far northernmost end to the southernmost

* One of the two cities (Dan and Bethel) in which Jeroboam I, first king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, placed two golden calves as he tried to dissuade his new subjects from leaving the kingdom to go worship at Jerusalem ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/1-kgs/12.26-30?lang=eng#25 1 Kgs 12:26-30]).

Dan is also mentioned in the following passages:

=== <big>Bersheeba</big> ===

Conquered by David. Many wells in the area, at least some dug by Abraham and Jacob. Southernmost settled area of Israel. Abraham’s pact with Abimelech (Gen. 26:23-33). Jacob had his dream at Shechem after leaving Ber Sheeba (28:10-15; 46:1-7). In area of Simeon and Judah. Elijah took refuge here after Jezenbel ordered him killed (1 Kgs 19:3). Samuel’s sons were judges here (1 Sam 8:2). Saul built a fort here for his campaign against the Amalekites (1 Sam 14:48; 15:2-9). Has at times been entirely abandoned. Today over 200,000. Did not extract a list of cites. Bersheeba is significant as:

* part of the phrase "Dan to Bersheeba," meaning all of combined Israel, from the far northernmost point to the southernmost

=== <big>Jabesh-Gilead</big> ===

Located just east of the Jordan River on Maps 5, 9. In Manasseh. Known primarily for its friendship toward the tribe of Benjamin and toward King Saul. Only town that did not join in destroying Benjamin. Saul’s kingship was cemented when he lifted the siege of Jabesh-Gilead. It informed on David to King Saul, and after Saul’s death removed his body from the wall of a Philistine city.

Judges 21:8-14; 1 Sam 11:1-10; 31:11-13; 2 Sam 2:4-5; 21:12; 1 Chron 10:11-12.

=== <big>Gilead</big>===

Name given to all of Trans-Jordan

=== <big>Bashan</big>===

Northern part of Gilead. Very fertile.

== Footnotes ==
<references/>

== Additional resources ==

* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add sources and links''

* [http://bible.org/maps http://bible.org/maps]

* [http://www.generationword.com/maps.htm http://www.generationword.com/maps.htm] - very specific to text, hand drawn

* [http://www.preceptaustin.org/biblical_maps.htm http://www.preceptaustin.org/biblical_maps.htm]

* [http://www.christianityoasis.com/keyword/Maps.htm scroll down past the ads]

* [http://www.ebibleteacher.com/imagehtml/otmaps.html http://www.ebibleteacher.com/imagehtml/otmaps.html]

* [http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/old-testament-bible-maps.html also descriptions]

* [http://www.bible.ca/maps/ good simple maps]

* [http://bibleatlas.org/gilgal.htm good gazeteer]

* [http://www.bible-history.com/maps/ another gazeteer]

* [http://lavistachurchofchrist.org/LVlinks/Maps.htm all the rest]

----

                                                                 Go to the [[The Old Testament | Old Testament]] main page

Old Testament: Twelve Tribes

2012-10-09T18:06:26Z

173.64.199.25: Minor revisions

[[The Old Testament]] > [[Old Testament: Twelve Tribes | The Twelve Tribes of Israel]]

This page should remain short enough to read in about fifteen minutes. The purpose of this page is to quickly provide the minimum amount of information necessary to become familiar with the tribes of Israel.

== Introduction ==

For the purpose of understanding the Old Testament, the twelve tribes of Israel can be thought of in four groups:
:1. Three key tribes: Judah, Ephraim, Levi
:2. Two more southern tribes: Benjamin, Simeon
:3. Three transjordan tribes: Reuben, Gad, Manasseh
:4. Five northernmost tribes: Issachar, Zebulon, Naphtali, Asher, Dan

Right click to open the online [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bc/scriptures/content/english/bible-maps/images/03990_000_bible-map-3-4.pdf LDS Bible Map #3] while working through these notes.

Remember that counting both of Joseph’s sons Ephraim and Manasseh as full tribes means there are really thirteen tribes, not twelve.

== Three key tribes: Judah, Ephraim, Levi ==

'''''Judah''''' is the tribe of kings David and Solomon. David’s descendants continue to rule the Southern Kingdom of Judah after the northern tribes break away to form their own kingdom. Judah’s inheritance includes Jerusalem and is later the tribe of Christ. Judah is the tribe that has managed to preserve its Israelite identity in substantial numbers into modern times.

'''''Ephraim''''' is the tribe that leads the rebellion of northern tribes following the reign of King Solomon. The Northern Kingdom is known as Israel or Ephraim, and the kings of the Northern Kingdom are all Ephraimites. Ephraim and Judah are clearly the two leading tribes of Israel.

'''''Levi''''' is the priestly tribe. Levi is not allotted any lands, but is instead given cities scattered throughout the lands allotted to other tribes. Aaron belongs to one of the three principal Levite clans, but his descendants come to monopolize the priestly office and to be treated as a separate fourth clan. The phrase “priests and Levites” thus refers separately to Levites who are descended from Aaron and those who are not.

Only these three tribes are essential to understanding of the Old Testament. The individual identities of other tribes can generally be ignored without much loss of understanding. But the next most useful tribes to keep track of would be Benjamin, Manasseh and Dan.

== Two more southern tribes: Benjamin, Simeon ==

These two southern tribes are generally associated with Judah. All the other tribes are generally associated instead with Ephraim.

'''''Benjamin''''' received an inheritance located between the two dominant tribes of Judah to the south and Ephraim to the North. Benjamin is important to understanding Israelite history only at the end of Judges and beginning of Samuel when Benjamin is nearly wiped out by the other tribes and then supplies Saul as the first king of Israel. When the kingdom divides following the reign of Solomon, Benjamin is initially associated with the Northern Kingdom but over time becomes associated with the Southern Kingdom of Judah.

'''''Simeon''''' is allotted cities but no land, and those cities are all surrounded by land allotted to Judah. Simeon’s inheritance is also the furthest south in all of Israel, thus separating it from all other tribes except Judah. Over time Simeon is largely absorbed into Judah and ceases to have much significance as a separate tribe.

== Three transjordan tribes: Reuben, Gad, Manasseh ==

'''''Reuben''''', '''''Gad''''' and half the tribe of '''''Manasseh''''' are allowed to settle on land conquered by the Israelites under Moses before Joshua leads the Israelites across the Jordan River into the Promised Land. These tribes nevertheless participate in the initial conquest of Canaan under Joshua. Over time the Jordan River tends to isolate these tribes from the rest of Israel. Reuben has difficulty occupying its inheritance and soon ceases to matter much as a tribe. Gad is known as being particularly warlike.

The other half of Manasseh’s inheritance is located on adjacent land west of the Jordan River and just north of Ephraim. Manasseh, like Ephraim, is descended from Joseph. And like Ephraim and Judah, Manasseh is a large tribe and often takes a leading role in Israelite affairs.

== Five northernmost tribes: Issachar, Zebulon, Naphtali, Asher, Dan ==

Like Benjamin, Dan’s inheritance is located between the two dominant tribes of Judah to the south and Ephraim to the north. But Dan is also bordered on the west by the Philistines and is unable to settle on its inheritance. So in Judges 17-18 the entire tribe abandons its inheritance in the south and migrates to the far north of Israel. Dan thus appears on the map twice, once in the south and once in the north.

The five tribes that live north of Ephraim and Manasseh are, from South to North, '''''Issachar''''', '''''Zebulon''''', '''''Naphtali''''' and '''''Asher''''' – and then '''''Dan''''' furthest north after abandoning its inheritance in the south.

== Footnotes ==

<references/>

== Additional resources ==

* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add sources and links''

----

                                                                 Go to the [[The Old Testament | Old Testament]] main page

Historical Overview of the Restoration Scriptures

2012-09-23T01:54:21Z

173.64.199.25: Adding content - very rough

[[Doctrine & Covenants]] > [[D&C Historical Background | Historical Background]]

This page should remain short enough to read in about fifteen minutes.

Those seeking a more detailed introduction to Church history should see the Institute manual [http://institute.lds.org/manuals/latter-day-saint-history?lang=eng Church History in the Fulness of Times].

== Sections 2-19 ==

'''1820-1830: The First Vision through publication of the Book of Mormon'''

Joseph Smith received his First Vision in the Spring of 1820 as recorded in '''Joseph Smith History 1:____'''.

Three years later the angel Moroni first appeared to Joseph Smith on September 22, 1823 as recorded in '''Joseph Smith History 1:____'''. '''[[D&C 2]]''' records a small portion of what Moroni quoted to Joseph Smith on this occasion. Every year for four years Joseph returned to the Hill Cumorah to meet and receive instruction from Moroni. Finally on September 22, 1827 Joseph received the gold plates.

In about December 1827, to escape rising persecution, Joseph and Emma left Palmyra, New York to go live with her parents at Harmony, Pennsylvania. During the following April - June 1828 Martin Harris spent two months as Joseph's scribe helping to translate 116 pages of handwritten text from the Book of Mormon. Martin then took the manuscript home to Palmyra, New York, where it was lost. In July Joseph learned that the 116 page manuscript had been lost. Soon afterward, Moroni appeared and related to Joseph the chastisement and instruction recorded in '''[[D&C 3]]'''.

In September 1828 Joseph received the gold plates back from Moroni and probably at this time received the instruction found in the first part of '''[[D&C 10]]''' that he was not to re-translate the lost 116 pages.

In early 1829 Joseph received '''[[D&C 4]]''' directed to his father and '''[[D&C 5]]''' regarding Martin Harris when these two people made separate visits to Harmony.

In April 1829 Oliver Cowdery arrived at Harmony and began assisting Joseph as scribe for the remainder of the Book of Mormon translation. '''[[D&C 6]]''', '''[[D&C 7]]''', '''[[D&C 8]]''' and '''[[D&C 9]]''' were all received in April as Joseph and Oliver translated. On May 15 Joseph and Oliver received the Aaronic Priesthood as recorded in '''[[D&C 13]]''' and '''Joseph Smith History 1:____'''. About this time Joseph received '''[[D&C 11]]''' directed to his brother Hyrum Smith and '''[[D&C 12]]''' directed to Joseph Knight Sr. when these two people visited him at Harmony. It is likely that it was in late May, as Joseph and Oliver neared the end of the Book of Mormon translation, that they were instructed in the second half of '''[[D&C 10]]''' to translate the small plates containing First Nephi through Words of Mormon.

About the first of June 1829, to again escape rising persecution, Joseph and Oliver moved to Fayette, New York to stay with the Whitmer family. During that time Joseph received revelations directed to three of the Whitmer sons, '''[[D&C 14]]''' to David, '''[[D&C 15]]''' to John, and '''[[D&C 16]]''' to Peter Jr. About mid June Joseph received '''[[D&C 18]]''' directed to Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer appointing them to later seek out the twelve Apostles. About late June Joseph received '''[[D&C 17]]''' in which Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer and Martin Harris are identified as the Three Witnesses, probably in the morning of the same day on which they received their vision of Moroni and the gold plates. Martin Harris soon afterward granted a mortgage on his farm to guarantee the cost of printing the Book of Mormon.

The translation was completed at Fayette near the end of June 1829, and the center of activity then moved back to Palmyra where Oliver Cowdery and Hyrum Smith oversaw the process of printing the Book of Mormon. Joseph spent most of October 1829 through March 1830 back home in Harmony, Pennsylvania. In March 1830, as the printing neared completion, Joseph returned again to Palmyra. Martin Harris, concerned that he might lose his farm if the Book of Mormon did not sell, insisted that Joseph obtain a revelation from the Lord, and this resulted in '''[[D&C 19]]'''.

== Sections 20-40, 74, Moses ==

''' 1830: The Church's first year in New York'''

Eleven days after the Book of Mormon first went on sale, the Church was organized on April 6, 1830. '''[[D&C 21]]''' was received during this organizational meeting.

The Church is organized at Fayette on April 6, 1830. This chapter covers the next six months during which Joseph Smith begins to establish and regulate its practices. D&C 20-27 play an important role in that process.

The Articles & Covenants. D&C 20 is known as the constitution or Articles & Covenants of the Church. It proclaims the role of God’s Church in restoring the gospel. It establishes basic doctrines such as the Godhead, the creation, the fall, the atonement, faith, repentance, baptism, sanctification and justification. It establishes the qualifications for and covenant of baptism. And it outlines the duties and organization of the priesthood leadership and of the general Church membership. D&C 20 is often read at Church meetings in its entirety.

Regulating the Church. Beginning with D&C 21, revelations are increasingly addressed to the Church as a whole rather than to individuals. Most of the revelations in this chapter address basic matters of Church doctrine and practice.

In D&C 24, 26 Joseph Smith is instructed to strengthen the branches and work on the Joseph Smith Translation. He soon receives Moses 1-4 as part of that translation. In D&C 21, 23, 24 Church members are warned that they will be blessed or cursed according to the heed they give to the words of the prophet and are encouraged to preach the gospel.

In D&C 24 the Lord instructs that miracles are only to be performed upon request, and then only to heal or to cast out evil spirits.

The manner and qualifications for baptism are set forth in D&C 20. In D&C 22 the Lord clarifies that baptisms are only valid if performed according to his restored covenant by holders of his restored priesthood. In D&C 27 the Lord explains that drinks other than wine may be used in the administration of the sacrament.

The Church is instructed in D&C 20, 21 to keep written records, and in D&C 25 Emma Smith is instructed to compile a hymn book.

Persecution at Colesville. During this time Joseph Smith makes four trips to Colesville. On the first trip he casts an evil spirit out of Newel Knight. On the second trip he is arrested and tried on two successive days as a disorderly person in both Chenango and Broome Counties. His third and fourth trips are marked by threats of mob violence.

The Order of Revelation. But the greatest threat comes from within the Church at Fayette, where external persecution is largely absent. In about August Oliver Cowdery writes a letter from Fayette in which he commands Joseph Smith to correct a portion of D&C 20:37. Joseph fires back a letter from Harmony inquiring as to Oliver’s authority to change a revelation from God. Joseph then travels to Fayette and ultimately succeeds in convincing Oliver Cowdery and Whitmers that the verse is written correctly.

In September Joseph Smith moves to Fayette and discovers that Hiram Page has been receiving false revelations. At the end of the month (and the beginning of the next chapter), D&C 28 is read in a general conference stating that only the prophet is authorized to receive written revelation for the Church. Other Church leaders may speak by way of commandment, but they may only write by way of suggestion. This establishes the “order of revelation.”

Missions and Conversions. During the Church’s first few months the gospel spreads mostly among the extended families of Joseph Smith’s early supporters. By late September 63 people have been baptized, about 3/4 of them related to Smiths, Rockwells, Whitmers, Jollys, or Knights. In early September Thomas Marsh and Parley Pratt are also baptized.

In June Samuel Smith departs on his first mission and leaves two copies of the Book of Mormon with Brigham Young’s extended family. In August Joseph Smith Sr. and Don Carlos Smith preach the gospel to Joseph Smith’s extended family in northeast New York.

This chapter covers Joseph Smith’s last four months in New York as the Church begins to grow both there and in Ohio. D&C 28-40 send missionaries to Missouri, send the general Church membership to Ohio, and continue the process of regulating the Church.

The Church in New York. Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery both move to Fayette, which serves as the Church’s headquarters.

Hyrum Smith’s family goes to live at Colesville where persecution is severe. Hyrum Smith & Newel Knight spend most of their time ministering to the local membership and preaching. In January Joseph Smith visits Colesville one last time as instructed in D&C 37.

Church membership in New York grows from 63 in September 1830 to about 200 by May 1831 and breaks out of the circle of mostly just five extended families.

Mission to the Lamanites. D&C 28 announces the order of revelation, resolving issues raised in the previous chapter. But D&C 28 is also the first in a series of revelations to address a mission to the Lamanites and the location of latter-day Zion.

D&C 28, 30b, 32 appoint Oliver Cowdery, Peter Whitmer Jr., Parley Pratt & Ziba Peterson to preach in the Indian Territory west of Missouri. This group includes four of the Church’s entire ordained ministry of nine elders, its Second Elder, one of the Three Witnesses, and one of the Eight Witnesses. The importance of this mission is also reflected in its objectives to begin preaching the gospel to the Lamanites in fulfillment of the promises made to them in the Book of Mormon, and to scout the location of Zion, the New Jerusalem to be built in preparation for the Lord’s Second Coming.

D&C 29 places this mission in its grand historical context from the pre-mortal to the post-Millennial.

Mass Conversions in Ohio. At Kirtland, Ohio the missionaries to the Lamanites baptize Sidney Rigdon and about 125 others. These converts continue preaching after the missionaries resume their trip to Missouri, and soon there are more members in Ohio than New York.

Many who will play prominent roles throughout the Ohio-Missouri Period of Church history (1831-1839) are baptized in Ohio during November-January before Joseph Smith’s arrival, including: Sidney Rigdon, Frederick Williams, Edward Partridge, Sidney Gilbert, Newel Whitney, Isaac Morley, John Murdock, and Lyman Wight.

Gathering and Zion. The other purpose of the mission to the Lamanites, identifying the location of Zion in Missouri, will be addressed in several revelations through D&C 57. In D&C 37, 38 the Church in New York is instructed to gather to Ohio. D&C 38 promises that in Ohio the Saints will receive the Lord’s law and be endowed with power. The scope of activity continues to grow, now from building up a church to establishing a Zion community.

Missionaries Appointed. In D&C 28-40 eleven people are appointed to preach the gospel: Oliver Cowdery, Peter Whitmer Jr., Parley Pratt & Ziba Peterson to the Lamanites in D&C 28, 30b, 32; John Whitmer in D&C 30c; Thomas Marsh in D&C 31; Ezra Thayre & Northrop Sweet in D&C 33; Orson Pratt in D&C 34; Edward Partridge in D&C 36; and James Covill in D&C 39. In D&C 36 the Lord states that all who embrace the calling and commandment to preach shall be ordained and sent forth. When James Covill leaves the Church rather than fulfilling his mission, the Lord states in D&C 40 that he will do with James Covill as seems him good.

In D&C 35 Sidney Rigdon’s work as a Campbellite preacher is likened to that of John the Baptist in preparing the hearts of the people at Kirtland to receive the restored gospel. Sidney Rigdon is also appointed in D&C 35 to serve as Joseph Smith’s scribe.

Other Resources. See the maps of New York - Ohio and Kirtland at the back of the Doctrine & Covenants.

== Sections 41-64, Matt 24 JST ==

'''1831: The Church moves to Ohio and the first mission to Zion, Missouri'''

This chapter covers the first four months that Joseph Smith spends in Ohio, after leaving New York and before his first trip to Missouri. Two groups of Ohio converts figure prominently: the Morley Common Stock Family where all property is owned in common, and those involved with false spirits. D&C 41-51 provide guidance for regulating the Church temporally, spiritually, and admini-stratively.

Consecration & Gathering. D&C 41 introduces the office of bishop, appoints Edward Partridge to that office, and renews the promise to reveal the Lord’s Law.

The Law revealed in D&C 42 expands upon the charge to “love thy neighbor” in Commandments # 6-9 (to not lie, commit adultery, kill or steal). But it is most known for implementing Commandment # 10 (to not covet) by announcing the Law of Consecration and Stewardship. Members are to consecrate their property by deeding it to the bishop and then receiving back an amount sufficient for their families. Members who grow their stewardships are to periodically consecrate the excess. D&C 51 explains that the size of a stewardship appointed by the bishop is based on a family’s wants as well as its needs, and that stewardships are given to each family to own as their private property.

During the spring about 200 New York Saints move to Ohio. D&C 48 instructs the Ohio Saints to share their lands with the New York Saints. If needed, additional land should be purchased with money.

D&C 42, 48 also promise to reveal the location of the city Zion.

Operations of the Spirit. The order of revelation, the rule that only the prophet receives written revelation for the Church, was established for the New York Saints in D&C 28. D&C 43 likewise establishes this rule for the Ohio Saints.

D&C 46 authorizes the elders to conduct meetings as led by the Spirit. D&C 42 again instructs the elders to also preach by the Spirit. D&C 43 reminds them that they are not sent to be taught by those who lack the fullness of the gospel, but are to teach what the Lord has revealed.

D&C 46 also identifies several gifts of the Spirit and encourages the Saints to seek after them. Church leaders have the gift to discern whether a particular spiritual manifestation is of God.

D&C 50 provides two tests for identifying false spirits. That which is of God is light and promotes understanding; that which does not is of the devil. If the elders are still unsure, they can pray to receive the manifested spirit, and if they do not receive it then it is not of God. At the Fourth Quarterly General Conference both the Holy Ghost and false spirits are manifested, and the elders gain practical experience in distinguishing between them.

Church Administration. Church discipline is addressed in D&C 42, the appointment of a quarterly general conference in D&C 44, the appointment of a Church Historian in D&C 47, and allowing sincere investigators to attend sacrament and confirmation meetings in D&C 46.

Missionaries receive instruc-tion in D&C 42, 43, and hundreds are baptized. In D&C 49 Sidney Rigdon, Parley Pratt and Leman Copley are sent to preach to the Shakers.

D&C 42, 49 also correct several incorrect doctrines taught by the Campbellites and Shakers, the two religious groups teaching doctrines most similar to the Mormons.

Signs preceding the Second Coming are discussed in several revelations, including D&C 43, 45, 49.

Other People and Activities. In May Joseph Smith heals Elsa Johnson’s arm. This experience leads to the baptism of the Father John Johnson family and Ezra Booth. These new converts will soon play significant roles in Church history.

In Missouri the missionaries to the Lamanites (Oliver Cowdery, Peter Whitmer Jr., Ziba Peterson, Frederick Williams) spend the winter and spring preaching, except for Parley Pratt who returns to Ohio to report on their mission.

This chapter covers the three months during which Joseph Smith makes his first trip from Ohio to Missouri and back. D&C 52-64 provide guidance for the trip to Missouri, establishment of Zion, return trip to Ohio, and migration of Church members to Missouri.

Missions to Zion. D&C 52 instructs Joseph Smith and a few others to travel together to Missouri. Once there, the location of the city Zion will be revealed. Others are soon added to the group in D&C 53, 55.

D&C 52 also instructs a dozen pairs of missionaries to travel to Missouri two by two. By late June nine pairs of elders are en route. When Thomas Marsh and Selah Griffin find themselves without companions, D&C 56 appoints them to travel together.

Leman Copley breaks his covenant to let the Colesville Branch settle on his farm at Thompson, Ohio. D&C 54 instructs the Colesville Branch to leave for Missouri. When they delay, D&C 56 instructs branch president Newel Knight to leave with as many as will go. Within two weeks they are traveling to Missouri.

A second land dispute involving the Frederick Williams farm will not be resolved until fall.

The Land of Zion. In D&C 52 the Lord promised to reveal where and how to settle Zion. Once in Missouri, Joseph Smith asks where Zion is to be established and when it will flourish. Regarding where, D&C 57a states that Zion is in Jackson County, Missouri. Regarding when it will flourish, D&C 58a cautions that those who lay the foundation of Zion will be crowned will blessings only after much tribulation. Temporal arrangements for settling Zion are set forth in D&C 57b, 58b. Spiritual arrangements for establishing Zion, including Sabbath Day observance and fasting, are stated in D&C 59.

The Return Trip to Ohio. D&C 60 instructs the missionaries who return to Ohio to travel through St. Louis. From there Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery and Sidney Rigdon are to return quickly, while the others are to return two by two, preaching along the way.

There is contention as the returning elders travel downstream by canoe, followed by an accident that is nearly serious. D&C 61 chastises the company and teaches that the Saints are generally to travel by land rather than by water.

The next day they cross paths with four elders still on their way to Missouri. D&C 62 instructs the outbound elders to continue on to Jackson County and to hold a conference there before returning to Ohio.

The Church in Ohio. During this time most of the Church remains in Ohio. Jared Carter and others employ the methods outlined in D&C 50 to identify false spirits, and by October false spirits and excessive spiritual displays are largely gone from the Church.

But in D&C 61 the Lord instructs Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery and Sidney Rigdon to return quickly to Ohio where their labors are most urgently needed. Upon Simeon Carter’s return to Ohio, he laments a falling away that occurred while on his mission to Missouri.

Migrating to Zion. D&C 63, 64 state the arrangements under which Saints are to be sent from Ohio to Zion. For the next five years, they are to move to Zion only as appointed by Church leaders, and not in haste or confusion.

The Church now has two centers of activity 800 miles apart, one in Ohio and one in Missouri. This will continue until 1838, only a year before the Saints move to Nauvoo, Illinois in 1839. Joseph Smith is in Ohio with Sidney Rigdon and most of the Saints, all living under the same economic rules as their neighbors. Bishop Edward Partridge is the spiritual and temporal leader of the Saints in Missouri where the Law of Consecration and Stewardship is implemented.

As directed in D&C 63, Oliver Cowdery & Newel Knight visit the Church congregations in Ohio collecting money to purchase land in Missouri.

== Sections 1, 65-73, 75-81, 107, 133 ==

Upon his return to Ohio, Joseph Smith moves from Kirtland to the John Johnson Farm at Hiram. He lives with Johnsons for the next six months before making a second trip to Missouri. This chapter covers the first half of that “Hiram Period,” including several revelations that relate to publishing the Book of Commandments (the first edition of the Doctrine & Covenants).

Book of Commandments. A series of three special conferences regarding the Book of Commandments is held in November. During the first conference D&C 1 is received as the Lord’s own dictated Preface. In D&C 67 the Lord confirms the revelations designated for publication. The Lord also challenges those who hesitate to endorse the revelations to write a better one themselves. William McLellin attempts to do so but fails. The next day those at the conference affirm their testimony of the revelations and receive D&C 68. These three revelations address the content of the Book of Commandments.

The next day after the conference, Joseph Smith receives D&C 133 as an apocalyptic Appendix for inclusion at the end of the Book of Commandments.

Two more revelations address the procedure for publication. During the last of the special conferences D&C 69 appoints John Whitmer to accompany Oliver Cowdery to Missouri with the revelation manuscripts and the money donated for purchasing land in Missouri. William Phelps is appointed by a conference to purchase a printing press.

In D&C 70 Joseph Smith, Martin Harris, Oliver Cowdery, Sidney Rigdon, John Whitmer and William Phelps are appointed as stewards over the Book of Commandments. Any profits from the sale of the book are assigned to the group jointly. This “Literary Firm” is the first joint stewardship under the Law of Consecration and Stewardship, and it is a precursor to the United Order or United Firm.

Missouri. Missouri is barely mentioned in this chapter. The last of the D&C 52 missionaries finally arrives in November. A few more families arrive. Land is purchased. But mostly the Saints who arrived during the summer and fall spend their first winter at Zion just getting settled.

Church Administration. While the Church remained in New York, Church offices were limited to a First and Second Elder, branch president, elder, priest, teacher and deacon. During Joseph Smith’s first four months in Ohio the offices of bishop and high priest were added. Following Joseph’s return from Missouri, D&C 68 adds subordinate bishops who report to the Presiding Bishop in Zion. D&C 107b adds quorum presidents and a President of the High Priesthood. And the relationship between the Presiding Bishop and the President of the High Priesthood is explained in D&C 68, 107b.

William McLellin. William McLellin will at times figure prominently in Church history, including in this chapter. In October he spends two weeks with the Prophet. D&C 66 answers some questions for William McLellin and instructs him to go on a mission to the East rather than moving to Missouri. When D&C 67 challenges the assembled elders to write a revelation, William McLellin is the one who takes up the challenge. D&C 68, although directed to the elders in general, is received at the request of William McLellin, Orson Hyde, Luke Johnson, and Lyman Johnson.

Other People and Activities. The first two missions to New England are undertaken in late 1831 by Jared Carter and by members of the Rutland-Columbia Branch in Pennsylvania.

The land dispute at Kirtland regarding the Frederick Williams farm is finally resolved in the fall of 1831. But soon afterward Sidney Rigdon writes a letter that sparks another dispute by asserting complaints against Bishop Edward Partridge. It will take a year to finally resolve that dispute.

By September Ezra Booth and Symonds Ryder both apostatize. Their apostasy sets the stage for key events that will occur during the second half of the Hiram Period.

This chapter covers the second half of the Hiram Period, or the last four months that Joseph Smith spends in Ohio between his first two trips to Missouri. During this time Joseph receives D&C 71-73, 75-81.

This chapter picks up right where Volume 1 left off at the end of Chapter 9.

Ezra Booth and Symonds Ryder. In Ohio the Hiram Period continues with several revelations of major doctrinal importance.

regarding bishops. And in D&C 72 appoint a second bishop in Ohio and how he relates to Bishop in Missouri.

Joseph Smith’s work on the Inspired Revision is interrupted by the conferences on the Book of Commandments. It has hardly resumed before it is interrupted again by opposition from apostates. D&C 71 preach for a while on December 1, only ten days after sending off the missionaries.

Ezra Booth and Symonds Ryder both apostatized by mid September soon after return of Ezra Booth and Joseph Smith to Ohio. By mid October publishing antagonistic articles. Effective enough that by ____ Joseph Smith & Sidney Rigdon are instructed in D&C 71 to go preach for a while, which they do until commanded otherwise in January in D&C __.

The year 1831 closes with the purchase of the temple lot at Independence, Missouri.

In D&C 73 Joseph Smith & Sidney Rigdon are told that they can cease preaching and return to the

Inspired Translation.

Lots of missions

Debate with opponents

Regulating the church and doctrinal revelations.

== Sections 82-93, 99 ==

'''1832: The second year in Ohio and Missouri'''

== Sections 94-98, 100-105 ==

'''1833-1834: The Kirtland Temple and Zion's Camp'''

== Sections 106-123, 134, 137 ==

'''1834-1839: Clay County and Far West, Missouri'''

Following the receipt of D&C 105 at the conclusion of Zion's Camp in the summer of 1834, few additional revelations were added to the Doctrine & Covenants.

== Sections 124-132, 135-136, Abraham ==

'''1840-1844: Nauvoo'''

'''1847: Brigham Young receives D&C 136'''

== Section 138 and official statements ==

'''1890: Official declaration 1 regarding polygamy'''

'''1918: Joseph F. Smith receives D&C 138'''

'''1978: Official Declaration 2 regarding priesthood'''

'''1995: Proclamation on the Family'''

'''2000: Testimony of the Twelve regarding the Living Christ'''

== Footnotes ==

<references/>

== Additional resources ==

* Those seeking a more detailed introduction to Church history should see the Institute manual [http://institute.lds.org/manuals/latter-day-saint-history?lang=eng Church History in the Fulness of Times].

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Go to [[Doctrine & Covenants]] main page                          Go to [[The Pearl of Great Price | Pearl of Great Price]] main page

Historical Overview of the Restoration Scriptures

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Third Nephi

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[[The Book of Mormon]] > [[Third Nephi]] 
:Subpages: [[Third Nephi 1 | Chapter 1]], [[Third Nephi 2 | Chapter 2]], [[Third Nephi 3 | Chapter 3]], [[Third Nephi 4 | Chapter 4]], [[Third Nephi 5 | Chapter 5]], [[Third Nephi 6 | Chapter 6]], [[Third Nephi 7 | Chapter 7]], [[Third Nephi 8 | Chapter 8]], [[Third Nephi 9 | Chapter 9]], [[Third Nephi 10 | Chapter 10]], [[Third Nephi 11 | Chapter 11]], [[Third Nephi 12 | Chapter 12]], [[Third Nephi 13 | Chapter 13]], [[Third Nephi 14 | Chapter 14]], [[Third Nephi 15 | Chapter 15]], [[Third Nephi 16 | Chapter 16]], [[Third Nephi 17 | Chapter 17]], [[Third Nephi 18 | Chapter 18]], [[Third Nephi 19 | Chapter 19]], [[Third Nephi 20 | Chapter 20]], [[Third Nephi 21 | Chapter 21]], [[Third Nephi 22 | Chapter 22]], [[Third Nephi 23 | Chapter 23]], [[Third Nephi 24 | Chapter 24]], [[Third Nephi 25 | Chapter 25]], [[Third Nephi 26 | Chapter 26]], [[Third Nephi 27 | Chapter 27]], [[Third Nephi 28 | Chapter 28]], [[Third Nephi 29 | Chapter 29]], [[Third Nephi 30 | Chapter 30]] 
                                                                 [[Third Nephi 1 | Next page: Chapter 1]]

== Historical setting ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add historical setting''

== Brief outline and summary ==

The relationship of the book of Third Nephi to the rest of the Book of Mormon is discussed at [[The Book of Mormon]]. The book of Third Nephi can be outlined broadly as follows:

The major divisions of Third Nephi are discussed separately on the following subpages: [[Third Nephi 1 | Chapter 1]], [[Third Nephi 2 | Chapter 2]], [[Third Nephi 3 | Chapter 3]], [[Third Nephi 4 | Chapter 4]], [[Third Nephi 5 | Chapter 5]], [[Third Nephi 6 | Chapter 6]], [[Third Nephi 7 | Chapter 7]], [[Third Nephi 8 | Chapter 8]], [[Third Nephi 9 | Chapter 9]], [[Third Nephi 10 | Chapter 10]], [[Third Nephi 11 | Chapter 11]], [[Third Nephi 12 | Chapter 12]], [[Third Nephi 13 | Chapter 13]], [[Third Nephi 14 | Chapter 14]], [[Third Nephi 15 | Chapter 15]], [[Third Nephi 16 | Chapter 16]], [[Third Nephi 17 | Chapter 17]], [[Third Nephi 18 | Chapter 18]], [[Third Nephi 19 | Chapter 19]], [[Third Nephi 20 | Chapter 20]], [[Third Nephi 21 | Chapter 21]], [[Third Nephi 22 | Chapter 22]], [[Third Nephi 23 | Chapter 23]], [[Third Nephi 24 | Chapter 24]], [[Third Nephi 25 | Chapter 25]], [[Third Nephi 26 | Chapter 26]], [[Third Nephi 27 | Chapter 27]], [[Third Nephi 28 | Chapter 28]], [[Third Nephi 29 | Chapter 29]], [[Third Nephi 30 | Chapter 30]]

== Detailed discussion ==

=== Direct address to the reader ===
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add detailed discussion''

== Relation to other scriptures ==

=== Related books and chapters ===

The relationship of Third Nephi to the rest of the Book of Mormon is discussed at [[The Book of Mormon]]

=== Parallel passages ===

=== Previous editions ===

The original [http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/book-of-mormon-1830#159 1830 edition of Third Nephi] was divided into only thirteen chapters (I-XIII). For the 1879 edition Parley Pratt further divided those thirteen into the thirty chapters (1-30) still used today. • I: 1-3 • II: 4 • III: 5 • IV: 6 • V: 7-8 • VI: 9-10 • VII: ch.11-13:24 • VIII: 13:25-ch.16 • IX: 17-21 • X: 22 • XI: 23-27 • XII: 28:1-19 • XIII: 28:20-ch.29

== Complete outline and page map ==

Items in blue or purple text indicate hyperlinked pages that address specific portions of Ether.

:::::'''[[Third Nephi]]'''

== Questions for further study and reflection ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
<references/>

== Additional resources ==

* Book of Mormon, 1830 edition: [http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/book-of-mormon-1830#159 Third Nephi]

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                                                                 [[Third Nephi 1 | Next page: Chapter 1]]

Mormon

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[[The Book of Mormon]] > [[Mormon]] 
:Subpages: [[Mormon 1 | Chapter 1]], [[Mormon 2 | Chapter 2]], [[Mormon 3 | Chapter 3]], [[Mormon 4 | Chapter 4]], [[Mormon 5 | Chapter 5]], [[Mormon 6 | Chapter 6]], [[Mormon 7 | Chapter 7]], [[Mormon 8 | Chapter 8]], [[Mormon 9 | Chapter 9]] 
                                                                 [[Mormon 1 | Next page: Chapter 1]]

== Historical setting ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add historical setting''

== Brief outline and summary ==

The relationship of Mormon to the rest of the Book of Mormon is discussed at [[The Book of Mormon]]. Mormon can be outlined broadly as follows:

The major divisions of Mormon are discussed separately on the following subpages: [[Mormon 1 | Chapter 1]], [[Mormon 2 | Chapter 2]], [[Mormon 3 | Chapter 3]], [[Mormon 4 | Chapter 4]], [[Mormon 5 | Chapter 5]], [[Mormon 6 | Chapter 6]], [[Mormon 7 | Chapter 7]], [[Mormon 8 | Chapter 8]], [[Mormon 9 | Chapter 9]]

== Detailed discussion ==

=== Direct address to the reader ===
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add detailed discussion''

== Relation to other scriptures ==

=== Related books and chapters ===

The relationship of Mormon to the rest of the Book of Mormon is discussed at [[The Book of Mormon]]

=== Parallel passages ===

=== Previous editions ===

The original [http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/book-of-mormon-1830#159 1830 edition of Mormon] was divided into only thirteen chapters (I-XIII). For the 1879 edition Parley Pratt further divided those thirteen into the nine chapters (1-9) still used today. • I: 1-3 • II: 4 • III: 5 • IV: 6 • V: 7-8 • VI: 9-10 • VII: ch.11-13:24 • VIII: 13:25-ch.16 • IX: 17-21 • X: 22 • XI: 23-27 • XII: 28:1-19 • XIII: 28:20-ch.29

== Complete outline and page map ==

Items in blue or purple text indicate hyperlinked pages that address specific portions of Mormon.

:::::'''[[Mormon]]'''

== Questions for further study and reflection ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
<references/>

== Additional resources ==

* Book of Mormon, 1830 edition: [http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/book-of-mormon-1830#159 Mormon]

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                                                                 [[Mormon 1 | Next page: Chapter 1]]

Helaman

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[[The Book of Mormon]] > [[Helaman]] 
:Subpages: [[Helaman 1 | Chapter 1]], [[Helaman 2 | Chapter 2]], [[Helaman 3 | Chapter 3]], [[Helaman 4 | Chapter 4]], [[Helaman 5 | Chapter 5]], [[Helaman 6 | Chapter 6]], [[Helaman 7 | Chapter 7]], [[Helaman 8 | Chapter 8]], [[Helaman 9 | Chapter 9]], [[Helaman 10 | Chapter 10]], [[Helaman 11 | Chapter 11]], [[Helaman 12 | Chapter 12]], [[Helaman 13 | Chapter 13]], [[Helaman 14 | Chapter 14]], [[Helaman 15 | Chapter 15]], [[Helaman 16 | Chapter 16]] 
                                                                 [[Helaman 1 | Next page: Chapter 1]]

== Historical setting ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add historical setting''

== Brief outline and summary ==

The relationship of the book of Helaman to the rest of the Book of Mormon is discussed at [[The Book of Mormon]]. The book of Helaman can be outlined broadly as follows:

The major divisions of Helaman are discussed separately on the following subpages: [[Helaman 1 | Chapter 1]], [[Helaman 2 | Chapter 2]], [[Helaman 3 | Chapter 3]], [[Helaman 4 | Chapter 4]], [[Helaman 5 | Chapter 5]], [[Helaman 6 | Chapter 6]], [[Helaman 7 | Chapter 7]], [[Helaman 8 | Chapter 8]], [[Helaman 9 | Chapter 9]], [[Helaman 10 | Chapter 10]], [[Helaman 11 | Chapter 11]], [[Helaman 12 | Chapter 12]], [[Helaman 13 | Chapter 13]], [[Helaman 14 | Chapter 14]], [[Helaman 15 | Chapter 15]], [[Helaman 16 | Chapter 16]]

== Detailed discussion ==

=== Direct address to the reader ===
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add detailed discussion''

== Relation to other scriptures ==

=== Related books and chapters ===

The relationship of Helaman to the rest of the Book of Mormon is discussed at [[The Book of Mormon]]

=== Parallel passages ===

=== Previous editions ===

The original [http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/book-of-mormon-1830#159 1830 edition of Helaman] was divided into only thirteen chapters (I-XIII). For the 1879 edition Parley Pratt further divided those thirteen into the sixteen chapters (1-16) still used today. • I: 1-3 • II: 4 • III: 5 • IV: 6 • V: 7-8 • VI: 9-10 • VII: ch.11-13:24 • VIII: 13:25-ch.16 • IX: 17-21 • X: 22 • XI: 23-27 • XII: 28:1-19 • XIII: 28:20-ch.29

== Complete outline and page map ==

Items in blue or purple text indicate hyperlinked pages that address specific portions of Helaman.

:::::'''[[Helaman]]'''

== Questions for further study and reflection ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
<references/>

== Additional resources ==

* Book of Mormon, 1830 edition: [http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/book-of-mormon-1830#159 Helaman]

----

                                                                 [[Helaman 1 | Next page: Chapter 1]]

Mosiah

2012-09-22T23:29:31Z

173.64.199.25: Typos

[[The Book of Mormon]] > [[Mosiah]] 
:Subpages: [[Mosiah 1 | Chapter 1]], [[Mosiah 2 | Chapter 2]], [[Mosiah 3 | Chapter 3]], [[Mosiah 4 | Chapter 4]], [[Mosiah 5 | Chapter 5]], [[Mosiah 6 | Chapter 6]], [[Mosiah 7 | Chapter 7]], [[Mosiah 8 | Chapter 8]], [[Mosiah 9 | Chapter 9]], [[Mosiah 10 | Chapter 10]], [[Mosiah 11 | Chapter 11]], [[Mosiah 12 | Chapter 12]], [[Mosiah 13 | Chapter 13]], [[Mosiah 14 | Chapter 14]], [[Mosiah 15 | Chapter 15]], [[Mosiah 16 | Chapter 16]], [[Mosiah 17 | Chapter 17]], [[Mosiah 18 | Chapter 18]], [[Mosiah 19 | Chapter 19]], [[Mosiah 20 | Chapter 20]], [[Mosiah 21 | Chapter 21]], [[Mosiah 22 | Chapter 22]], [[Mosiah 23 | Chapter 23]], [[Mosiah 24 | Chapter 24]], [[Mosiah 25 | Chapter 25]], [[Mosiah 26 | Chapter 26]], [[Mosiah 27 | Chapter 27]], [[Mosiah 28 | Chapter 28]], [[Mosiah 29 | Chapter 29]]
 
                                                                 [[Mosiah 1 | Next page: Chapter 1]]

== Historical setting ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add historical setting''

== Brief outline and summary ==

The relationship of the book of Mosiah to the rest of the Book of Mormon is discussed at [[The Book of Mormon]]. The book of Mosiah can be outlined broadly as follows:

The major divisions of Mosiah are discussed separately on the following subpages: [[Mosiah 1 | Chapter 1]], [[Mosiah 2 | Chapter 2]], [[Mosiah 3 | Chapter 3]], [[Mosiah 4 | Chapter 4]], [[Mosiah 5 | Chapter 5]], [[Mosiah 6 | Chapter 6]], [[Mosiah 7 | Chapter 7]], [[Mosiah 8 | Chapter 8]], [[Mosiah 9 | Chapter 9]], [[Mosiah 10 | Chapter 10]], [[Mosiah 11 | Chapter 11]], [[Mosiah 12 | Chapter 12]], [[Mosiah 13 | Chapter 13]], [[Mosiah 14 | Chapter 14]], [[Mosiah 15 | Chapter 15]], [[Mosiah 16 | Chapter 16]], [[Mosiah 17 | Chapter 17]], [[Mosiah 18 | Chapter 18]], [[Mosiah 19 | Chapter 19]], [[Mosiah 20 | Chapter 20]], [[Mosiah 21 | Chapter 21]], [[Mosiah 22 | Chapter 22]], [[Mosiah 23 | Chapter 23]], [[Mosiah 24 | Chapter 24]], [[Mosiah 25 | Chapter 25]], [[Mosiah 26 | Chapter 26]], [[Mosiah 27 | Chapter 27]], [[Mosiah 28 | Chapter 28]], [[Mosiah 29 | Chapter 29]]

== Detailed discussion ==

=== Direct address to the reader ===
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add detailed discussion''

== Relation to other scriptures ==

=== Related books and chapters ===

The relationship of Mosiah to the rest of the Book of Mormon is discussed at [[The Book of Mormon]]

=== Parallel passages ===

=== Previous editions ===

The original [http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/book-of-mormon-1830#159 1830 edition of Mosiah] was divided into only thirteen chapters (I-XIII). For the 1879 edition Parley Pratt further divided those thirteen into the twenty nine chapters (1-29) still used today. • I: 1-3 • II: 4 • III: 5 • IV: 6 • V: 7-8 • VI: 9-10 • VII: ch.11-13:24 • VIII: 13:25-ch.16 • IX: 17-21 • X: 22 • XI: 23-27 • XII: 28:1-19 • XIII: 28:20-ch.29

== Complete outline and page map ==

Items in blue or purple text indicate hyperlinked pages that address specific portions of Mosiah.

:::::'''[[Mosiah]]'''

== Questions for further study and reflection ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==

<references/>

== Additional resources ==

* Book of Mormon, 1830 edition: [http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/book-of-mormon-1830#159 Mosiah]

----

                                                                 [[Mosiah 1 | Next page: Chapter 1]]

Mormon

2012-09-22T23:29:00Z

173.64.199.25: Adding formatting

[[The Book of Mormon]] > [[Mormon]] 
:Subpages: [[Mormon 1 | Chapter 1]], [[Mormon 2 | Chapter 2]], [[Mormon 3 | Chapter 3]], [[Mormon 4 | Chapter 4]], [[Mormon 5 | Chapter 5]], [[Mormon 6 | Chapter 6]], [[Mormon 7 | Chapter 7]], [[Mormon 8 | Chapter 8]], [[Mormon 9 | Chapter 9]] 
                                                                 [[Mormon 1 | Next page: Chapter 1]]

== Historical setting ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add historical setting''

== Brief outline and summary ==

The relationship of Mormon to the rest of the Book of Mormon is discussed at [[The Book of Mormon]]. Mormon can be outlined broadly as follows:

The major divisions of Mormon are discussed separately on the following subpages: [[Mormon 1 | Chapter 1]], [[Mormon 2 | Chapter 2]], [[Mormon 3 | Chapter 3]], [[Mormon 4 | Chapter 4]], [[Mormon 5 | Chapter 5]], [[Mormon 6 | Chapter 6]], [[Mormon 7 | Chapter 7]], [[Mormon 8 | Chapter 8]], [[Mormon 9 | Chapter 9]]

== Detailed discussion ==

=== Direct address to the reader ===
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add detailed discussion''

== Relation to other scriptures ==

=== Related books and chapters ===

The relationship of Mormon to the rest of the Book of Mormon is discussed at [[The Book of Mormon]]

=== Parallel passages ===

=== Previous editions ===

The original [http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/book-of-mormon-1830#159 1830 edition of Mosiah] was divided into only thirteen chapters (I-XIII). For the 1879 edition Parley Pratt further divided those thirteen into the nine chapters (1-9) still used today. • I: 1-3 • II: 4 • III: 5 • IV: 6 • V: 7-8 • VI: 9-10 • VII: ch.11-13:24 • VIII: 13:25-ch.16 • IX: 17-21 • X: 22 • XI: 23-27 • XII: 28:1-19 • XIII: 28:20-ch.29

== Complete outline and page map ==

Items in blue or purple text indicate hyperlinked pages that address specific portions of Mormon.

:::::'''[[Mormon]]'''

== Questions for further study and reflection ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
<references/>

== Additional resources ==

* Book of Mormon, 1830 edition: [http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/book-of-mormon-1830#159 Mormon]

----

                                                                 [[Mormon 1 | Next page: Chapter 1]]

D&C 2:1-3

2012-08-30T02:00:12Z

173.64.199.25: Fixing footnote form

[[Doctrine & Covenants]] > [[D&C 2:1-3 | Section 2]]

== Historical setting ==

* Received: 21-22 September 1823 in the Joseph Smith home at Manchester-Palmyra, New York<ref> [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/pgp/js-h/1?lang=eng#26 Joseph Smith History 1:27]</ref>
* D&C 2 is the first section in chronological order
* Next section in chronological order: [[D&C 3]]

The immediate setting of D&C 2 is recounted in [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/pgp/js-h/1?lang=eng#26 Joseph Smith History 1:27-54]. Three and a half years after his First Vision, Joseph Smith felt that he had fallen into many follies. He remained awake late at night on Sunday, 21 September 1823, praying to be forgiven and to know of his status before God. While praying, the angel Moroni appeared and quoted many Old Testament prophecies, including part of Malachi 3 and all of Malachi 4. Moroni appeared two more times that night and yet again the next day, repeating the same Old Testament prophecies during each of these four appearances.

== Brief summary ==

Section 2 is an excerpt from Moroni's quotation of [[Malachi 4]]. Section 2 does not put these verses in the context of Moroni's larger discourse, nor even in the context of the rest of Malachi chapter 4. It simply identifies the points at which Moroni's quotation of Mal 4:5-6 differs from the text of the King James version. As noted in [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/pgp/js-h/1.37?lang=eng#36 JSH 1:37], Moroni also made a change to [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/mal/4.1?lang=eng Mal 4:1] that is not included in D&C 2.

[http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/2?lang=eng D&C 2] is not a correction of a poorly transmitted Biblical text, since [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/mal/4.5-6?lang=eng#4 Mal 4:5-6] is quoted by the Lord in [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/3-ne/25.5-6?lang=eng#4 3 Ne 25:5-6] without any change, and the Joseph Smith Translation of Malachi consists in its entirety of the word "correct."<ref>''OT2 (Old Testament Manuscript 2 of the Joseph Smith Translation),'' p.119. Reproduced in Scott H. Faulring and Kent P. Jackson, eds. ''Joseph Smith's Translation of the Bible: Electronic Library.'' Provo: Brigham Young University Press, 2011.</ref> D&C 2 is instead an interpretive paraphrase, or to use Joseph Smith's words in [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/128.17-18?lang=eng#16 D&C 128:17-18], it is a "plainer translation."

== Detailed discussion ==

The changes that Moroni makes in [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/2?lang=eng D&C 2] while reciting [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/mal/4.5-6?lang=eng#4 Malachi 4:5-6] emphasize that: (1) what Elijah will do is restore priesthood keys, (2) those priesthood keys are necessary to fulfill the promises made to the fathers under the Abrahamic Covenant, and (3) those promises must be fulfilled in order to fulfill God's purposes in mortality.

== Relation to other scriptures ==

=== Related sections and chapters ===

* D&C 2 is one of several sections that were added to the Doctrine & Covenants for the 1876 edition, along with [[D&C 13]], [[D&C 110]], and [[D&C 132]]. These additions cause the Doctrine & Covenants to begin with Malachi's promise in D&C 2 that Elijah will return and restore the priesthood sealing keys and an account in [[D&C 13]] of John restoring the first set of preparatory keys, and to finish with an account of the fulfillment of Malachi's promise in [[D&C 110]] and with discussions of the exercise of those keys through proxy baptism in [[D&C 127]] and [[D&C 128]] and eternal marriage in [[D&C 132]] (further bookended by the Preface in [[D&C 1]] and the Appendix in [[D&C 133]]).

* Moroni quoted several Old Testament prophecies to Joseph Smith on the occasion of his first visit to Joseph Smith, including:
# [[Malachi | part of Malachi 3 and all of Malachi 4]], making the changes now found in D&C 2
# [[Isa 11 | Isaiah 11]], saying that it is about to be fulfilled
# [[Acts 3:23 | Acts 3:22-23]], which quotes [[Deut 18 | Deuteronomy 18:15-19]], explaining that the prophet spoken of by Moses and Peter is Christ, and that the day will soon come when they who will not hear his voice will be cut off
# [[Joel 2:28 | Joel 2:28-32]], saying that it will soon be fulfilled and that the fullness of the Gentiles will soon come in
# [[Psalms | Psalm 100]]
# [[Psalms | Psalm 107]]
# [[Psalms | Psalm 144]]
# [[Isaiah 1 | Isaiah 1-2]]
# [[Jeremiah 31]]
# perhaps also [[Isa 29:11 | Isaiah 29:11-12]]

=== Parallel passages ===

Section 2 is a short excerpt from the last chapter of [[Malachi]], which is again quoted in [[3 Ne 25]]. Parallel passages are better listed there.

== Text transmission and circulation ==

* D&C 2 was first written down in the original manuscript of [http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/js-history-circa-1841-fair-copy#7 Manuscript History of the Church, Vol. A-1, p. 7], often known as Joseph Smith's 1838 account of his history.

* D&C 2 was first published as part of the serial publication of the History of Joseph Smith in the [http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/NCMP1820-1846/id/9200/rec/4 Times & Seasons] newspaper at Nauvoo on 15 April 1842 (Vol. 3, No. 12, p. 753).

* D&C 2 was not included in the Doctrine & Covenants until the 1876 edition that was published a year before Brigham Young's death.

* The text of D&C 2 in [http://eom.byu.edu/index.php/Doctrine_and_Covenants_Editions significant editions of the Doctrine & Covenants] can be found at:

:* [http://books.google.com/books?id=dzJOAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false 1876 Doctrine & Covenants, sec. 2, p. 76]
:* [http://books.google.com/books?id=k3HA72ZZOm4C&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false 1921 Doctrine & Covenants, sec. 2, p. 4]
:* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/2?lang=eng 1981 Doctrine & Covenants, sec. 2, p.4-5 (current)]

* Summary of textual changes to D&C 2:

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==

<references/>

== Additional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add links''

D&C 1:1-39

2012-08-30T01:21:37Z

173.64.199.25: Fixing footnote form

[[Doctrine & Covenants]] > [[Doctrine & Covenants 1 | Section 1]] 
:Subpages: [[D&C 1:1-10 | Verses 1-10]], [[D&C 1:11-16 | Verses 11-16]], [[D&C 1:17-23 | Verses 17-23]], [[D&C 1:24-33 | Verses 24-33]], [[D&C 1:34-39 | Verses 34-39]] 
                                                                 [[D&C 1:1-10 | Next page: Verses 1-10]]

== Historical setting ==

* Received: November 1, 1831 at Hiram, Ohio<ref>[http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/revelation-book-1#111 Revelation Book 1, p.125]</ref>
* First section in chronological order: [[D&C 2]]
* Prior section in chronological order: [[D&C 65]]
* Next section in chronological order: [[D&C 67]]

The immediate setting of D&C 1 was a conference at Hiram, Ohio attended by ten elders including Joseph Smith. The conference was held on November 1-2, 1831, a year and a half after the organization of the Church. The purpose of the conference was to make plans for publishing Joseph Smith’s revelations for the first time. The conference determined to print several thousand copies of the revelations in book form under the name Book of Commandments. D&C 1 was received on the first day of this conference.<ref>[http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/minute-book-2#17 Minute Book 2 (1 Nov 1831), p.15-16]</ref>

William McLellin later recalled that:

:''A committee had been appointed to draft a preface [to the Book of Commandments], consisting of himself [William McLellin], [Oliver] Cowdery and [probably] Sidney Rigdon, but when they made their report the conference picked it all to pieces. The conference then requested Joseph to inquire of the Lord about it, and he said that he would if the people would bow in prayer with him. This they did, and Joseph prayed. When they arose, Joseph dictated by the Spirit the Preface found in the book of Doctrine & Covenants [D&C 1] while sitting by a window of the room in which the conference was sitting, and Sidney Rigdon wrote it down.''<ref>Kelly, William H. Interview with William McLellin, 13 September 1881. In “Letter from Elder W.H Kelly.” In ''The Saints’ Herald'' (1 March 1882) 29/5:66-68. Plano, Illinois, Lamoni, Iowa and Independence, Missouri: Reorganized Church of Latter-day Saints (now Community of Christ), 1860-present.</ref>

In [http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/revelation-book-1#111 Revelation Book 1] the following explanation introduces D&C 1:

:''A Preface or instructions upon the Book of Commandments which were given of the Lord unto his Church through him who he appointed to this work by the voice of his Saints through the prayer of faith.''<ref>[http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/revelation-book-1#111 Revelation Book 1, p.125]</ref>

From this background we learn that D&C 1 is the Preface or Introduction to the Doctrine & Covenants, the book of the Lord’s commandments to the inhabitants of the earth. It is thus intended to orient the reader to the content and purpose of the entire Doctrine & Covenants.

== Brief outline and summary ==

D&C 1 is addressed to "ye people of my church" and to "all men" as the Lord's Preface to the Book of his Commandments published to the "inhabitants of the earth" [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/1.1-2,6,11,34?lang=eng (D&C 1:-2, 6, 11, 34)]

D&C 1 can be outlined as follows (items in blue or purple text indicate hyperlinked pages that address specific portions of this section):

: [[D&C 1:1-10 | A. Lord’s word will go forth and be fulfilled (1-10)]]
:: [[D&C 1:11-16 | B. Lord's anger is kindled against the world and wicked will be cut off (11-16)]]
:: [[D&C 1:17-23 | B. Lord's servants to preach these commandments to the world (17-23)]]
:: [[D&C 1:24-33 | B. Lord gave these commandments to his servants (24-33)]]
: [[D&C 1:34-39 | A. Lord’s word will be fulfilled (34-39)]]

D&C 1 is the preface or introduction to the Doctrine & Covenants. Section 1 opens and closes with statements that the Lord’s word is unstoppable; it will go forth and it will be fulfilled, whether spoken by himself or his servants. In between these two statements, the Lord gives three lists: (1) reasons why the Lord's anger is kindled against the world, (2) reasons why the Lord's servants are to preach these commandments to the world, and (3) reasons why these commandments have been given to his servants.

== Detailed discussion ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add content''

== Relation to other scriptures ==

=== Related sections and chapters ===

* D&C 1 was immediately followed by [[D&C 67]] and [[D&C 68]]. These three sections comprise a group that were all received during the first conference called to consider publishing Joseph Smith's revelations. These sections address the content and truthfulness of the revelations contained in the Doctrine & Covenants. In contrast, [[D&C 69]] and [[D&C 70]], which were received at another conference later that month, address the mechanics of getting the revelations published.

* D&C 1 was followed two days later by [[D&C 133]]. These two sections are the bookends of the Doctrine & Covenants. D&C 1 appears at the beginning as a Preface, while D&C 133 was placed at the end as an Appendix. Both sections quote many of the same Bible passages.

=== Parallel passages ===

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/1.1?lang=eng D&C 1:1] – [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/isa/51.4?lang=eng#3 Isa 51:14] (allusion); [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/isa/49.1?lang=eng Isa 49:1] (allusion)

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/1.3?lang=eng#2 D&C 1:3] – [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/1-tim/6.10?lang=eng#9 1 Tim 6:10]

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/1.3?lang=eng#2 D&C 1:3] – [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/luke/12.3?lang=eng#2 Luke 12:3]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/morm/5.8?lang=eng#7 Morm 5:8]

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/1.5?lang=eng#4 D&C 1:5] – [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/dan/4.35?lang=eng#34 Dan 4:35]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/morm/8.26?lang=eng#25 Morm 8:26]

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/1.6?lang=eng#5 D&C 1:6] – [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/isa/18.3?lang=eng#2 Isa 18:3]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/dan/4.35?lang=eng#34 Dan 4:35]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/jrt/25.29-30?lang=eng#28 Jer 25:29-30]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/2-ne/2.8?lang=eng#7 2 Ne 2:8]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/2-ne/28.26-27?lang=eng#25 2 Ne 28:26-27]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/joel/1.2?lang=eng#1 Joel 1:2]

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/1.7?lang=eng#6 D&C 1:7] – [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/isa/63.6?lang=eng#5 Isa 63:6]

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/1.8?lang=eng#7 D&C 1:8] – [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/matt/16.19?lang=eng#18 Matt 16:19]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/hel/10.7?lang=eng#6 Hel 10:7]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/2-ne/33.5?lang=eng#4 2 Ne 33:5]

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/1.9?lang=eng#8 D&C 1:9] – [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/1-ne/22.16?lang=eng#15 1 Ne 22:16]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/rev/16.1?lang=eng Rev 16:1]

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/1.10?lang=eng#9 D&C 1:10] – [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/matt/16.27?lang=eng#26 Matt 16:27]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/isa/65.6?lang=eng#5 Isa 65:6]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/isa/59.18?lang=eng#17 59:18]

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/1.10?lang=eng#9 D&C 1:10] – [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/matt/7.2?lang=eng#1 Matt 7:2]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/mark/4.24?lang=eng#23 Mark 4:24]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/luke/6.38?lang=eng#37 Luke 6:38]

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/1.11?lang=eng#10 D&C 1:11] – [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/matt/24.14?lang=eng#13 Matt 24:14]

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/1.12?lang=eng#11 D&C 1:12] – [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/isa/40.3?lang=eng#2 Isa 40:3]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/matt/3.3?lang=eng#2 Matt 3:3]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/mark/1.3?lang=eng#2 Mark 1:3]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/luke/3.4?lang=eng#3 Luke 3:4]

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/1.13?lang=eng#12 D&C 1:13] – [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/isa/34.5?lang=eng#4 Isa 34:5]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/2-ne/26.6?lang=eng#5 2 Ne 26:6]

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/1.14?lang=eng#13 D&C 1:14] – [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/isa/53.1?lang=eng Isa 53:1]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/john/12.37-38?lang=eng#36 John 12:37-38]

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/1.14?lang=eng#13 D&C 1:14] – [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/deut/18.15-19?lang=eng#14 Deut 18:15-19]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/acts/3.22-23?lang=eng#21 Acts 3:22-23]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/50.8?lang=eng#7 D&C 50:8]

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/1.15?lang=eng#14 D&C 1:15] – [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/isa/24.5?lang=eng#4 Isa 24:5]

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/1.16?lang=eng#15 D&C 1:16] – [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/matt/6.33?lang=eng#32 Matt 6:33]

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/1.16?lang=eng#15 D&C 1:16] – [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/isa/53.6?lang=eng#5 Isa 53:6]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/isa/65.1?lang=eng Isa 65:1]

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/1.16?lang=eng#15 D&C 1:16] – [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/isa/50.9?lang=eng#8 Isa 50:9]

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/1.16?lang=eng#15 D&C 1:16] – [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/rev/14.8?lang=eng#7 Rev 14:8]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/isa/21.9?lang=eng#8 Isa 21:9]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/jrt/51.8?lang=eng#7 Jer 51:8]

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/1.19,23?lang=eng#18 D&C 1:19, 23] – [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/1-cor/1.27?lang=eng#26 1 Cor 1:27]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/35.3?lang=eng#2 D&C 35:3]

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/1.23?lang=eng#22 D&C 1:23] – [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/jer/17.5?lang=eng#4 Jer 17:5]

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/1.23?lang=eng#22 D&C 1:23] – [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/isa/29?lang=eng#10 Isa 29b generally?]

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/1.24?lang=eng#23 D&C 1:24] – [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/1-cor/1.27?lang=eng#26 1 Cor 1:27]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/mark/13.9-10?lang=eng#8 Mark 13:9-10]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/matt/10.18?lang=eng#17 Matt 10:18]

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/1.25?lang=eng#24 D&C 1:25] – [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/isa/29.4?lang=eng#3 Isa 29:4]

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/1.28?lang=eng#27 D&C 1:28] – [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/ether/12.27?lang=eng#26 Ether 12:27]

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/1.30?lang=eng#29 D&C 1:30] – [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/38.10?lang=eng#9 D&C 38:10]

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/1.31?lang=eng#30 D&C 1:31] – [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/alma/45.16?lang=eng#15 Alma 45:16]

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/1.33?lang=eng#32 D&C 1:33] – [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/mark/4.25?lang=eng#24 Mark 4:25]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/matt/25.29-30?lang=eng#28 Matt 25:29-30]

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/1.33?lang=eng#32 D&C 1:33] – [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/gen/6.3?lang=eng#2 Gen 6:3]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/ether/2.15?lang=eng#14 Ether 2:15]

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/1.34?lang=eng#33 D&C 1:34] – [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/isa/18.3?lang=eng#2 Isa 18:3]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/isa/26.21?lang=eng#20 Isa 26:21]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/dan/4.35?lang=eng#34 Dan 4:35]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/jer/25.29-30?lang=eng#28 Jer 25:29-30]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/2-ne/2.8?lang=eng#7 2 Ne 2:8]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/2-ne/28.26-27?lang=eng#25 2 Ne 28:26-27]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/joel/1.2?lang=eng#1 Joel 1:2]

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/1.35?lang=eng#34 D&C 1:35] – [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/acts/10.34?lang=eng#33 Acts 10:34]

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/1.35?lang=eng#34 D&C 1:35] – [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/matt/24.6?lang=eng#5 Matt 24:6]

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/1.35?lang=eng#34 D&C 1:35] – [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/rev/6.4?lang=eng#3 Rev 6:4]

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/1.36?lang=eng#35 D&C 1:36] – [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/micah/4.7?lang=eng#6 Micah 4:7]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/zech/2.11?lang=eng#10 Zech 2:11]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/45.59?lang=eng#58 D&C 45:59]

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/1.36?lang=eng#35 D&C 1:36] – [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/isa/34.5?lang=eng#4 Isa 34:5]

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/1.37?lang=eng#36 D&C 1:37] – [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/rev/19.11?lang=eng#10 Rev 19:11]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/rev/3.13?lang=eng#12 Rev 3:13]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/rev/21.5?lang=eng#4 Rev 21:5]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/rev/22.6?lang=eng#5 Rev 22:6]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/2-ne/31.15?lang=eng#14 2 Ne 31:15]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/68.34?lang=eng#33 D&C 68:34]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/71.11?lang=eng#10 D&C 71:11]; Search

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/1.37?lang=eng#36 D&C 1:37] – [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/rev/17.17?lang=eng#16 Rev 17:17]

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/1.38?lang=eng#37 D&C 1:38] – [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/matt/24.35?lang=eng#34 Matt 24:35]

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/1.39?lang=eng#38 D&C 1:39] – [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/59.24?lang=eng#23 D&C 59:24]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/1-jn/5.6?lang=eng#5 1 Jn 5:6]

== Text transmission and circulation ==

* D&C 1 was written down by Sidney Rigdon as it was received during the conference on November 1, 1831. The oldest surviving copy is the one copied by John Whitmer into [http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/revelation-book-1#111 Revelation Book 1, p. 125-27] soon after its receipt.

* D&C 1 was first published and received widespread circulation in [http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/NCMP1820-1846/id/5919 The Evening and the Morning Star] newspaper printed by William Phelps in Jackson County, Missouri, March 1833 issue, p. 78.

* D&C 1 was first included in the Doctrine & Covenants as Chapter 1 in the 1833 Book of Commandments, which was also printed by William Phelps during 1833.

* The text of D&C 1 in [http://eom.byu.edu/index.php/Doctrine_and_Covenants_Editions significant editions of the Doctrine & Covenants] can be found at:

:* [http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/book-of-commandments-1833#7 1833 Book of Commandments, chap. 1, p. 3-6]
:* [http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/doctrine-and-covenants-1835#83 1835 Doctrine & Covenants, sec. 1, p. 75-77]
:* [http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/doctrine-and-covenants-1844#89 1844 Doctrine & Covenants, sec. 1, p. 87-91]
:* [http://books.google.com/books?id=dzJOAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false 1876 Doctrine & Covenants, sec. 1, p. 72-75]
:* [http://books.google.com/books?id=k3HA72ZZOm4C&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false 1921 Doctrine & Covenants, sec. 1, p. 1-3]
:* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/1?lang=eng current 1981 Doctrine & Covenants, sec. 1, p.1-4]

* There are few changes of any significance to the text of D&C 1

== Complete outline and pagemap ==

Items in blue or purple text indicate hyperlinked pages that address specific portions of this section.

:[[D&C 1:1-10 | '''A. Lord’s word will go forth and be fulfilled (1-10)''']]
:::• Lord's voice will go to all, there is none that shall not hear (1-2)
:::• the rebellious will be sorrowful for iniquities will become public (3)
:::• Lord's servants are his voice, so none shall stay them (4-6a)
:::• this same authority applies to Book of Commandments, so all shall be fulfilled (6b-7)
:::• Lord's servants have been given power to seal up the wicked unto Second Coming (8-10)

::[[D&C 1:11-16 | '''B. Lord's anger is kindled against the world and wicked will be cut off (11-16)''']]
::::• Lord warns those who will hear to prepare because his anger is kindled ''against the world'' (11-13)
::::• those who will not hear the Lord's voice will be cut off because they: (14)
:::::• have strayed from his ordinances;
:::::• have broken his covenant; and
:::::• seek after idols that will perish when Babylon falls (15-16)

::[[D&C 1:17-23 | '''B. Lord's servants to preach these commandments to the world (17-23)''']]
::::• Lord commands his servants to proclaim these things ''to the world'' (17-18a)
::::• so the weak might break down the strong so that: (18b-19)
:::::• every man might speak in name of Lord rather than counseled by neighbor;
:::::• faith might increase rather than trusting in the arm of flesh; and
:::::• Lord's covenant might be established (19-22)

::[[D&C 1:24-33 | '''B. Lord gave these commandments to his servants (24-33)''']]
::::• Lord gave these commandments ''to his servants'' (24)
::::• so they might come to understanding so that:
:::::• his servants might be instructed, corrected, chastened, and strengthened;
:::::• Joseph Smith might translate the Book of Mormon; and
:::::• his servants might have power to lay the foundation of the Church (25-30)
::::• but light will be taken ''from those who repent not'' (31-33)

:[[D&C 1:34-39 | '''A. Lord’s word will be fulfilled (34-39)''']]
:::• Lord speaks to entire earth and is willing that all should know these things (34-35a)
:::• the hour is nigh that peace taken from earth and Lord will return in judgment (35b-36)
:::• search these commandments, for all shall be fulfilled (37)
:::• whether by Lord's own voice or servants, it is the same (38)
:::• the Holy Ghost bears record of these truths (39)

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==

<references/>

== Additional sources and links ==

* For a more in-depth discussion of the historical setting of D&C 1 and its relationship to Sections 66, 67, 133, see [http://www.kurtelieson.com/scriptures/hcdc1-ch09.pdf Elieson, Kurt, Historical Context of the Doctrine & Covenants, chapter 9].

----

                                                                 [[D&C 1:1-10 | Next page: Verses 1-10]]

D&C 1:1-39

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D&C 3:1-20

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[[Doctrine & Covenants]] > [[Doctrine & Covenants 3 | Section 3]] 
:Subpages: [[D&C_3:1-5 | Verses 1-5]], [[D&C_3:6-10 | Verses 6-10]], [[D&C_3:11-15 | Verses 11-15]], [[D&C_3:16-20 | Verses 16-20]] 
                                                                 [[D&C 3:1-5 | Next page: Verses 1-5]]

== Brief outline and summary ==

Section 3 can be outlined as follows:

== Historical setting ==

Received: early July 1828 at Harmony, Pennsylvania

[[D&C 2 | Previous section chronologically: Section 2]]                      [[D&C 10 | Next section chronologically: Section 10a]]

== Text transmission ==

* Section 3 was written down ________. The oldest surviving copy is ________.

* Section 3 was first published in the 1833 Book of Commandments, the earliest edition of what we now call the Doctrine & Covenants. The text of Section 3 in [[Doctrine & Covenants | significant editions]] of the Doctrine & Covenants can be found at:

:* [http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/book-of-commandments-1833#11 1833 Book of Commandments, chap. 2]
:* [http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/doctrine-and-covenants-1835#164 1835 edition, sec. 30]
:* [http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/doctrine-and-covenants-1844#231 1844 edition, sec. 30]
:* 1876 edition, sec. _
:* 1921 edition, sec. _
:* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/3?lang=eng 1981 edition, sec.3].

* Summary of textual changes:

== Detailed discussion ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add content''

== Relation to other scriptures ==

=== Related sections and chapters ===
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add discussion of related sections and chapters''

=== Parallel passages ===
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add parallel references''

There has been no serious effort to make this list complete.

== Complete outline and pagemap ==

Items in blue or purple text indicate hyperlinked pages that address specific portions of this section.

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add footnotes''

== Additional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add links''

----

                                                                 [[D&C 3:1-5 | Next page: Verses 1-5]]

Doctrine & Covenants 3

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#REDIRECT [[D&C 3]]

Doctrine & Covenants 1

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#REDIRECT [[D&C 1]]

D&C 1:1-39

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Doctrine & Covenants

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== Sections ==

{| cellspacing="5" cellpadding="4" border="0"
|- valign="top"
|
* [[D&C 1 | 1  ]]
* [[D&C 2 | 2  ]]
* [[D&C 3 | 3  ]]
* [[D&C 4 | 4  ]]
* [[D&C 5 | 5  ]]
* [[D&C 6 | 6  ]]
* [[D&C 7 | 7  ]]
* [[D&C 8 | 8  ]]
* [[D&C 9 | 9  ]]
* [[D&C 10 | 10 ]]
|
* [[D&C 11 | 11 ]]
* [[D&C 12 | 12 ]]
* [[D&C 13 | 13 ]]
* [[D&C 14 | 14 ]]
* [[D&C 15 | 15 ]]
* [[D&C 16 | 16 ]]
* [[D&C 17 | 17 ]]
* [[D&C 18 | 18 ]]
* [[D&C 19 | 19 ]]
* [[D&C 20 | 20 ]]
|
* [[D&C 21 | 21 ]]
* [[D&C 22 | 22 ]]
* [[D&C 23 | 23 ]]
* [[D&C 24 | 24 ]]
* [[D&C 25 | 25 ]]
* [[D&C 26 | 26 ]]
* [[D&C 27 | 27 ]]
* [[D&C 28 | 28 ]]
* [[D&C 29 | 29 ]]
* [[D&C 30 | 30 ]]
|
* [[D&C 31 | 31 ]]
* [[D&C 32 | 32 ]]
* [[D&C 33 | 33 ]]
* [[D&C 34 | 34 ]]
* [[D&C 35 | 35 ]]
* [[D&C 36 | 36 ]]
* [[D&C 37 | 37 ]]
* [[D&C 38 | 38 ]]
* [[D&C 39 | 39 ]]
* [[D&C 40 | 40 ]]
|
* [[D&C 41 | 41 ]]
* [[D&C 42 | 42 ]]
* [[D&C 43 | 43 ]]
* [[D&C 44 | 44 ]]
* [[D&C 45 | 45 ]]
* [[D&C 46 | 46 ]]
* [[D&C 47 | 47 ]]
* [[D&C 48 | 48 ]]
* [[D&C 49 | 49 ]]
* [[D&C 50 | 50 ]]
|
* [[D&C 51 | 51 ]]
* [[D&C 52 | 52 ]]
* [[D&C 53 | 53 ]]
* [[D&C 54 | 54 ]]
* [[D&C 55 | 55 ]]
* [[D&C 56 | 56 ]]
* [[D&C 57 | 57 ]]
* [[D&C 58 | 58 ]]
* [[D&C 59 | 59 ]]
* [[D&C 60 | 60 ]]
|
* [[D&C 61 | 61 ]]
* [[D&C 62 | 62 ]]
* [[D&C 63 | 63 ]]
* [[D&C 64 | 64 ]]
* [[D&C 65 | 65 ]]
* [[D&C 66 | 66 ]]
* [[D&C 67 | 67 ]]
* [[D&C 68 | 68 ]]
* [[D&C 69 | 69 ]]
* [[D&C 70 | 70 ]]
|
* [[D&C 71 | 71 ]]
* [[D&C 72 | 72 ]]
* [[D&C 73 | 73 ]]
* [[D&C 74 | 74 ]]
* [[D&C 75 | 75 ]]
* [[D&C 76 | 76 ]]
* [[D&C 77 | 77 ]]
* [[D&C 78 | 78 ]]
* [[D&C 79 | 79 ]]
* [[D&C 80 | 80 ]]
|
* [[D&C 81 | 81 ]]
* [[D&C 82 | 82 ]]
* [[D&C 83 | 83 ]]
* [[D&C 84 | 84 ]]
* [[D&C 85 | 85 ]]
* [[D&C 86 | 86 ]]
* [[D&C 87 | 87 ]]
* [[D&C 88 | 88 ]]
* [[D&C 89 | 89 ]]
* [[D&C 90 | 90 ]]
|
* [[D&C 91 | 91 ]]
* [[D&C 92 | 92 ]]
* [[D&C 93 | 93 ]]
* [[D&C 94 | 94 ]]
* [[D&C 95 | 95 ]]
* [[D&C 96 | 96 ]]
* [[D&C 97 | 97 ]]
* [[D&C 98 | 98 ]]
* [[D&C 99 | 99 ]]
* [[D&C 100 | 100 ]]
|
* [[D&C 101 | 101 ]]
* [[D&C 102 | 102 ]]
* [[D&C 103 | 103 ]]
* [[D&C 104 | 104 ]]
* [[D&C 105 | 105 ]]
* [[D&C 106 | 106 ]]
* [[D&C 107 | 107 ]]
* [[D&C 108 | 108 ]]
* [[D&C 109 | 109 ]]
* [[D&C 110 | 110 ]]
|
* [[D&C 111 | 111 ]]
* [[D&C 112 | 112 ]]
* [[D&C 113 | 113 ]]
* [[D&C 114 | 114 ]]
* [[D&C 115 | 115 ]]
* [[D&C 116 | 116 ]]
* [[D&C 117 | 117 ]]
* [[D&C 118 | 118 ]]
* [[D&C 119 | 119 ]]
* [[D&C 120 | 120 ]]
|
* [[D&C 121 | 121 ]]
* [[D&C 122 | 122 ]]
* [[D&C 123 | 123 ]]
* [[D&C 124 | 124 ]]
* [[D&C 125 | 125 ]]
* [[D&C 126 | 126 ]]
* [[D&C 127 | 127 ]]
* [[D&C 128 | 128 ]]
* [[D&C 129 | 129 ]]
* [[D&C 130 | 130 ]]
|
* [[D&C 131 | 131 ]]
* [[D&C 132 | 132 ]]
* [[D&C 133 | 133 ]]
* [[D&C 134 | 134 ]]
* [[D&C 135 | 135 ]]
* [[D&C 136 | 136 ]]
* [[D&C 137 | 137 ]]
* [[D&C 138 | 138 ]]
|-
|}

==Official Declarations==

* [[OD 1:1-1 | Official Declaration 1 ]]
* [[OD 2:1-1 | Official Declaration 2 ]]

== Significant editions of the Doctrine & Covenants ==

There have been several editions of the Doctrine & Covenants. Some editions are historically more important than others.

Ether

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[[The Book of Mormon]] > [[Ether]] 
:Subpages: [[Ether 1:1-32 | Chapter 1a]], [[Ether 1-2,6 | Chapters 1b-2, 6]], [[Ether 3-5 | Chapters 3-5]], [[Ether 7-11 | Chapters 7-11]], [[Ether 12 | Chapter 12]], [[Ether 13 | Chapter 13a]], [[Ether 13-15 | Chapters 13b-15]] 
                                                                 [[Ether 1:1-32 | Next page: Chapter 1a]]

== Historical setting ==

The book of Ether recounts the history of the Jaredites, the second of four peoples to live and leave record of their occupation of the Americas.

== Brief outline and summary ==

The relationship of the book of Ether to the rest of the Book of Mormon is discussed at [[The Book of Mormon]]. The book of Ether can be outlined broadly as follows:

:'''• Prologue, origins, and genealogy (1a)'''

:'''I. Jared & Brother: Jaredites established in the land (1b-6)'''
:::[[Ether 1-2,6 | • Narrative (1b-2)]]
::::[[Ether 2:8-12 | • America as a choice land (2:8-12)]]
:::::[[Ether 3-5 | • Faith to receive knowledge and enter into the presence of the Lord (3-5)]]
:::[[Ether 1-2,6 | • Narrative (6)]]

::'''II. Centuries of kings, prophets, secret combinations, and destructions (7-11)'''
:::[[Ether 7-11 | • Narrative (7-11)]]
::::[[Ether 8:20-26 | • Warning to fight against secret combinations (8:20-26)]]

:'''I. Coriantumr & Ether: Jaredites destroyed from off the land (12-15)'''
:::::[[Ether 12 | • Faith precedes blessing; humility, hope, and charity (12)]]
::::[[Ether 13:1-12 | • America as home to the New Jerusalem (13a)]]
:::[[Ether 13-15 | • Narrative (13b-15)]]

Chapters 1b-6, containing 5,304 words in English translation, follow Jared and his brother as the first generation settles in America. Chapters 12-15, containing 5,201 words, follow the prophet Ether and the king Coriantumr as the last generation is destroyed. The remaining middle third, containing 5,738 words, covers all the intervening centuries of Jaredite history.

Ether particularly addresses the issue of at what point a society becomes "ripe" in iniquity, the susceptibility of centralized governmental power to attack by secret societies, and the desirability of faith. As elsewhere in the scriptures, Ether dwells on the extremes.

The major divisions of Ether are discussed separately on the following subpages: [[Ether 1:1-32 | Chapter 1a]], [[Ether 1-2,6 | Chapters 1b-2, 6]], [[Ether 3-5 | Chapters 3-5]], [[Ether 7-11 | Chapters 7-11]], [[Ether 12 | Chapter 12]], [[Ether 13 | Chapter 13a]], [[Ether 13-15 | Chapters 13b-15.]] 

== Detailed discussion ==

=== Direct address to the reader ===

Moroni several times directly addresses the reader and makes express doctrinal points. These are points that Moroni makes sure cannot be overlooked, and these points should therefore have a significant influence on the interpretation of the entire book of Ether.

# Ether 2:8-12 - Moroni tells the Gentiles that "we can behold the decrees of God concerning this land," that it is a choice land and that those who live upon it will be blessed while they serve God, and swept off when they are ripe in iniquity.
# Ether 4:6-19 - In obedience to a commandment from God, Moroni exhorts both Jew and Gentile to come unto Christ to obtain knowledge (immediately after relating how the Brother of Jared was redeemed and brought into the Lord's presence through faith and knowledge). He also states that the Brother of Jared's vision of world history will not be disclosed until the Gentiles repent, but that the account in Revelation of John's vision will begin to unfold when the Book of Mormon comes forth.
# Ether 5:1-6 - Moroni also tells Joseph Smith not to attempt to open the sealed portion of the plates containing the Brother of Jared's vision and that the Book of Mormon plates themselves will be shown to some who help in bringing the Book of Mormon forth.
# Ether 7:5 - Moroni notes in passing that a usurper taking the king captive fulfilled the Brother of Jared's warning (6:23) that monarchy leads into captivity.
# Ether 8:20-26 - Moroni states that the Lord commands those who read the Book of Mormon, when they see secret combinations, to put them down and not tolerate them.
# Ether 12:6-40 - Most of the discussion on faith, hope and charity in chapter 12 is Moroni's own exposition that he wants to be sure we understand. At the end he also expressly bears testimony to the Jews and Gentiles that he has seen Jesus face to face and commends the reader to seek him.

=== Secret combinations ===

The Jaredites suffer major destructions four times in the book of Ether (CITES). All four destructions follow the introduction of secret combinations, and the Jaredites never suffer destruction in their absence.

=== Group temporal salvation and individual spiritual salvation ===

The narrative portions of Ether generally address what a society must do to save itself, rather than what an individual must do to save him/herself. The church, ordinances, and specific commandments are never mentioned, nor does the narrative ever concern itself with the spiritual salvation of any particular individual. When the Lord chastises the Brother of Jared, it is as a representative of the entire group, the threatened punishment does not apply only to him, and that threatened destruction is death rather than damnation. Likewise, the suspense at the end of the book is not whether Coriantumr will repent in time to save himself spiritually, but whether he will do so in time to save society temporally.

Individual salvation is addressed in the "faith" divisions of Ether, chapters 3-5, 12. Ether presumes that a person already knows what they must do to repent. Ether is a "third temple speech" book. That is, it does not function on the level of Jacob's speech in Jacob 2-3 (or 1-2 Nephi) where people are exhorted to behave as they know they should. Nor does Ether function on the level of King Benjamin's speech (or Mosiah-Alma generally) where people are led to feel the Holy Ghost and have a change of heart. Rather, the faith speeches in Ether 3 and 12 (and in Moroni 7, 10) function on the level of the Lord's teachings in 3 Nephi 11-27 and assume that people already know all that and can move beyond faith as a principle of action and obedience to learning about faith as a principle of power to work miracles and enter into the presence of the Lord.

Ether 3 and 13 relate visions to Jaredites, the contents of which are not to be freely distributed. Ether 2 and 12 contain Moroni's own comments and bear no such restrictions. The climax of the first half of the opening narrative is the first promised land speech (2:8-12), a statement of what it takes to save a nation temporally. The high point of the entire opening narrative is the experience where the brother of Jared is brought into the presence of the Lord and experiences individual spiritual salvation (3-5). Moroni apparently sees a close connection between these two ideas and suggests that societies are saved temporally when some critical mass of its members are qualifying for individual temporal salvation.

Throughout Ether, political conditions, especially as regards secret societies, are presented as reflections of underlying societal conditions. The solution to bad situations is always a very generic "repent." Only in Moroni's sidebar speech in 8:20-26, the doctrinal climax of Ether, and in the narrative climax under the reigns of Riplakish and Morianton, do we see any exercise of volition in a specific course of action to change the prevailing political conditions.

=== Political leaders ===

This emphasis on society as a whole rather than particular individuals may result from the fact that this record was kept by the society's political leaders rather than its religious leaders. Unlike religious institutions, political institutions are not concerned with the content of the marketplace of ideas; they are concerned only with seeing that the marketplace functions and is available. Similarly, God will not intervene to destroy, and has commanded us to support (AF 11), political institutions as long as that marketplace functions, thus allowing free agency (AF 12). Hence, Moroni's account of Jaredite history does not dwell at length on the content of Christ's Gospel as does Mormon's account of Nephite history. As long as society ensures the existence of free agency, society may save itself from destruction at God's hand, regardless of whether any particular individual, or any member of society at all, chooses to take advantage of it and save him/herself.

Throughout Ether, political conditions, especially as regards secret societies, are presented as reflections of underlying societal conditions. The solution to bad situations is always a very generic "repent." Only in Moroni's sidebar speech in 8:20-26, the doctrinal climax of Ether, and in the narrative climax under the reigns of Riplakish and Morianton, do we see any exercise of volition in a specific course of action to change the prevailing political conditions.

The Brother of Jared warns about the evils of monarchy, power from the top down and a lure or prize to the ambitious, while Moroni warns of the evils of secret societies, power from the ground up. Com II may be intended to show that secret societies, which derive their strength from the bottom up rather than vice versa, are the more potent of the two.

=== Wickedness ===

Free agency requires that a person have both a correct understanding of what his/her choices are and the liberty to act on those choices. The Book of Ether never mentions false or competing ideologies. The Jaredites know the truth and either accept or reject it knowingly. Nor does Ether mention divisions in society based on wealth, religious inclination, genealogy, etc. We know they exist from the mention of Morianton raising an army of outcasts, but that is not Moroni's point. As the picture is painted for us, the Jaredites never have to make hard choices when deciding whether to obey God as did the faithful Nephites on the eve of Christ's birth. When we are told that the Jaredites killed the prophets, the emphasis is on the hardness of their hearts rather than the difficult lot of a righteous prophet in a wicked society. Jaredite society thus exists in an environment of complete moral freedom with its knowledge of the gospel and the lack of any obstacles to its practice other than individual desire. Wickedness, then, is not the result of external conditions, such as the false traditions of the Lamanites. Rather, it is knowing and open rebellion motivated by worldly enticements. The issue in the book of Ether is not what it takes to obey God's Plan, but simply whether the Jaredites want to.

In the Nephite history secret societies are depicted as an external threat to the ability of the righteous to live as they should in a fractured society. In Ether, because society is depicted as monolithic, secret societies are an internal sickness, a result of what the people are like rather than an environmental condition. In Ether secret societies seem to disappear rather easily any time the people repent. It is true that Com II fought against them without success, but that just means the king was out of touch with his more wicked subjects. Jaredite society was never convulsed in an attempt to eradicate them as was the case with the Gadianton robbers, only as the result of having embraced them.

In summary, the two big questions throughout the Book of Ether are whether society as a whole will temporally save itself, and whether society feels like it.

Two answers: it is an aggregation of individuals & you must call the shots to secret combinations & kings.

== Parallel passages in other scriptures ==

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/ether/12?lang=eng Ether 12] - [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/heb/11?lang=eng Hebrews 11] (chapters are similar)

== Verse and chapter divisions in earlier editions ==

The original 1830 edition of Ether was divided into only six chapters (I-VI). For the 1879 edition Parley Pratt further divided them into the 15 chapters (1-15) still in use today. • I: 1-4 • II: 5 • III: 6-8 • IV: 9-11 • V: 12 • VI: 13-15

== Complete outline and page map ==

Items in blue or purple text indicate hyperlinked pages that address specific portions of Ether.

:::::'''[[Ether]]'''

[[Ether 1:1-32 | '''■ Prologue, origins, and genealogy (1a)''']]

[[Ether 1-2,6 | '''I. Jared & Brother: Jaredites established in the land (1b-6)''']]
:[[Ether 1:33-2:7 | '''A. Land journey (1:33-2:7)''']]
::::a. questions and answers about scattering and traveling to a land of promise (34-43)
:::::b. gathering food supplies for the journey (2:1-4)
::::::c. Lord leads Jaredites toward promised land (4-7)

:::::::[[Ether 2:8-12 |'''• We can behold: America as a choice land (2:8-12)''']]

::[[Ether 2:13-25 | '''B. Building boats to cross the ocean (2:13-25)''']]
::::::c. Lord chastises for three hours because no progress for four years (13-15)
:::::b. building boats for the water journey (16-17)
::::a. questions and answers about light and air while traveling in boats (18-25)

:::[[Ether 3-5 | '''C. Faith to receive knowledge and enter into the presence of the Lord (3-5)''']]
::::[[Ether 3:1-20 | '''• Brother of Jared redeemed from the fall through faith (3:1-20)''']]
:::::• he requests in prayer that the Lord touch sixteen stones with finger (1-5)
:::::• he sees the finger of the Lord because of his great faith (6-12)
:::::• he is redeemed and brought back into Christ's presence because of his knowledge (13-20)
::::[[Ether 3:21-5:6 | '''• Knowledge and redemption available through Holy Ghost on conditions of faith, repentance, and baptism (3:21-5:6)''']]
:::::• vision received of all mankind because of faith, instruction to seal it up until Christ's ministry, two stones (3:21-28)
:::::• vision disclosed to Nephites after Christ's ministry, then again sealed up because of unbelief, two stones (4:1-5)
:::::• '''Moroni commanded to say:''' (4:6-19)
::::::• vision will again be disclosed only when Gentiles exercise faith and repent (6-12)
::::::• come unto Christ to receive hidden knowledge, John's revelation is now unfolding (13-19)
:::::• the Lord will confirm the testimony of Three Witnesses who will see the Book of Mormon plates (5:1-6)

::[[Ether 6:1-12 | '''B. Crossing the ocean in boats (6:1-12a)''']]
:::• stones, food supplies and people aboard boats for journey (1-4)
:::• wind, protected, Noah (5-8)
:::• praise God the whole way (9)
:::• light, protected, Noah (10-12a)

:[[Ether 6:13-7:3 | '''A. Settling on the promised land (6:12b-7:3a)''']]
::a. multiply, walk humbly, and prosperous (12b-18)
:::b. stewardship accounting of leadership (19-21)
:::b. four sons refuse kingship, people choose king which will lead to captivity (22-27)
::a. prosperous, walk humbly, and multiply (6:27-7:3a)

[[Ether 7-11 | '''II. Centuries of kings, prophets, secret combinations, and destructions (7-11)''']]
:[[Ether 7:4-27 | '''■ Shule: is protected and in turn protects the prophets, no destruction (7:3b-27)''']]
::• Shule restores kingdom to his father (3b-13)
::• Nimrah restores second half of kingdom to Shule (14-22)
::• Shule protects prophets from the people (23-27)

:[[Ether 8 | '''■ Omer: secret combinations introduced, destruction #1 (8:1-9:15a)''']]
::[[Ether 8:1-19 | '''A. Secret combinations introduced (8:1-19)''']]
::::• Omer brougt into captivity and restored to throne, Jared repents (1-6)
::::• daughter of Jared suggests a secret combination (7-12)
::::• Akish's oath initiates the secret combination (13-19)
:::[[Ether 8:20-26 | '''B. Moroni commanded to warn against: secret combinations (8:20-26)''']]
::[[Ether 9:1-15 | '''A. Secret combinations result in destruction (9:1-15a)''']]
::::• king Omer warned to flee (1-3)
::::• Akish kills his father in law Jared (4-6)
::::• Akish kills his son, another son flees (7-9)
::::• other sons rebel, secret combinations kill all but thirty people (10-12)
::::• Omer restored as king of a remnant (13-15a)

:[[Ether 9:16-10:29 | '''■ Prosperity in a choice land, oppression, destruction #2 until people repent (9:15b-10:29)''']]
::a. Emer: prosperity in a choice land (15b-22)
:::b. Coriantum and Com: minimal detail (23-25)
::::c. Heth: embraces secret combinations and persecutes prophets, destruction by famine and serpents until people repent (26-35)
:::::d. Shez: descendant remembers the destruction of his fathers and builds up a righteous kingdom (10:1-4)
::::c. Riplakish: oppresses the people with taxation and servitude until they rise up against him (5-8)
:::::d. Morianton: descendant eases the people's burden but is personally wicked (9-13a)
:::b. Kim, Levi, Corom: minimal detail (13b-18)
::a. Lib: serpents destroyed, prosperity in a choice land (19-29)

:[[Ether 10:30-11:23 | '''■ Captivity, prophets withdraw, destruction #3 until people repent (10:30-11:23)''']]
::a. Hearthom and descendants in captivity (30-31)
:::• Com: protects prophets but cannot overcome secret combinations (10:32-11:3)
:::• Shiblom: prophets killed by usurper and ignored because of secret combinations, destruction by war and famine until people repent (4-9)
:::• Ahah and Ethem: prophets ignored and withdraw (10-14a)
::a. Moron and descendants in captivity until Ether (14b-23)

'''I. Coriantumr & Ether: Jaredites destroyed from off the land (12-15)'''
:[[Ether 12 | '''■ Faith precedes blessing; humility, hope, and charity (12)''']]
::[[Ether 12:1-21 | '''• Faith precedes blessing (1-21)''']]
:::a. Ether cannot be restrained from preaching faith, repentance, and hope (1-5)
::::b. faith precedes witness and miracles (6-18)
:::a. Brother of Jared could not be kept from within the veil because of his faith (19-21)
::[[Ether 12:22-41 | '''• Humility, hope, and charity (22-41)''']]
:::a. Moroni: apprehension at his weakness in writing compared to speaking (22-25)
::::b. Lord: Gentiles must be humble (26-28)
:::::c. Moroni: the Lord works according people's faith, Brother of Jared (29-31)
:::::c. Moroni: hope and charity (32-35)
::::b. Lord: Moroni has been humble (36-37)
:::a. Moroni: closing testimony of his writing and of Christ (38-41)

:[[Ether 13:1-12 | '''■ America as home to the New Jerusalem (13a)''']]

:[[Ether 13-15 | '''■ Coriantumr & Ether: Jaredites destroyed from off the land - Narrative (13b-15)''']]
::[[Ether 13:13-22 | '''• Ether's warning to avoid destruction by repenting (13:13-22)''']]
:::a. Ether rejected, views destruction from hiding (13-14)
::::b. wars between secret combinations and king (15-16)
:::::c. no one repents (17)
::::b. wars between secret combinations and king (18-19)
:::a. Ether prophesies final destruction and in hiding, no one repents (20-22)

::[[Ether 13:23-14:31 | '''• Coriantumr tries to avoid destruction by fighting four usurpers (13:23-14:31)''']]
:::a. Corinatumr and Shared battle three days (23-30)
::::b. curse on the land (13:31-14:2)
:::::c. Coriantumr and Gilead battle in Akish and Moron (3-8)
::::::d. self-destruction within secret combinations (9-10)
:::::c. Coriantumr and Lib II battle in Moron and Akish (11-16)
::::b. fear of Shiz sweeping the earth (17-25)
:::a. Coriantumr and Shiz battle three days (26-31)

::[[Ether 15:1-34 | '''• Coriantumr tries to avoid destruction by negotiating, destruction #4 fulfilled over eight days (15:1-34)''']]
:::a. Coriantumr sees that prophecy is being fulfilled, tries to avoid destruction by negotiating (1-5)
::::b. battle at seashore, Coriantumr faints (6-11)
:::::c. camping four years to gather strength (12-15a)
::::::d. days 1-2 of final battle (15b-17)
:::::::e. Coriantumr again tries to avoid destruction by negotiating (18-19)
::::::d. days 3-6 of final battle (20-26)
:::::c. days 7-8 of final battle, Coriantumr's group flees (27-29a)
::::b. Shiz and Coriantumr both faint, Coriantumr kills Shiz (29b-32)
:::a. Ether's witness that prophesied destruction is fulfilled (33-34)

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
{|
reflist
|}

== Additional sources and links ==

[http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/book-of-mormon-1830#544 1830 edition]

----

                                                                 [[Ether 1:1-32 | Next page: Chapter 1a]]

Ether 12

2012-07-15T20:07:54Z

173.64.199.25: Adding formatting

[[The Book of Mormon]] > [[Ether]] > [[Ether 12 | Chapter 12]] 
:Subpages: [[Ether 12:1-21 | Verses 1-21]], [[Ether 12:22-41 | Verses 22-41]] 
[[Ether 10:30-11:23 | Previous page: Verses 10:30-11:23]]                      [[Ether 12:1-21 | Next page: Verses 12:1-21]]

== Outline and brief summary ==

The relationship of chapter 12 to the rest of the book is discussed at [[Ether]]. This chapter can be outlined as follows:

[[Ether 12 | '''• Faith precedes blessing; humility, hope, and charity (12)''']]

:• Faith precedes blessing (1-21)
::a. Ether cannot be restrained from preaching faith, repentance, and hope (1-5)
:::b. faith precedes witness and miracles (6-18)
::a. Brother of Jared could not be kept from within the veil because of his faith (19-21)

:• Humility, hope, and charity (22-41)
::a. Moroni: apprehension at his weakness in writing compared to speaking (22-25)
:::b. Lord: Gentiles must be humble (26-28)
::::c. Moroni: the Lord works according people's faith, Brother of Jared (29-31)
::::c. Moroni: hope and charity (32-35)
:::b. Lord: Moroni has been humble (36-37)
::a. Moroni: closing testimony of his writing and of Christ (38-41)

== Detailed discussion ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add detailed discussion relating to this entire chapter''

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
{|
reflist
|}

== Additional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add additional sources and links''

----

[[Ether 10:30-11:23 | Previous page: Verses 10:30-11:23]]                      [[Ether 12:1-21 | Next page: Verses 12:1-21]]

Ether 7:4-11:23

2012-07-10T03:12:58Z

173.64.199.25: Adding content - brief discussion

[[The Book of Mormon]] > [[Ether]] > [[Ether 7-11 | Chapters 7-11]] 
:Subpages: [[Ether 7:4-27 | Verses 7:3b-27]], [[Ether 8:1-9:15 | Verses 8:1-9:15a]], [[Ether 8:20-26 | (Verses 8:20-26)]], [[Ether 9:16-10:29 | Verses 9:15b-10:29]], [[Ether 10:30-11:23 | Verses 10:30-11:23]] 
[[Ether 6:13-7:3 | Previous page: Verses 6:13-7:3]]                      [[Ether 7 | Next page: Chapter 7]]

== Outline and brief summary ==

=== Outline ===

The relationship of chapters 7-11 to the rest of the book is discussed at [[Ether]]. These chapters can be outlined as follows:

The pages for these chapters have not yet been regrouped, so the content of these chapters is still discussed on the original computer-generated default pages of chapters and five-verse blocks.

* [[Ether 7 | Chapter 7]]
* [[Ether 8 | Chapter 8a]]
* [[Ether 8:20-26 | Verses 8:20-26]]
* [[Ether 9 | Chapter 9]]
* [[Ether 10 | Chapter 10]]
* [[Ether 11 | Chapter 11]]

:::[[Ether 7-11 | '''II. Centuries of kings, prophets, secret combinations, and destructions (7-11)''']]

[[Ether 7:4-27 | '''A. Shule: is protected and in turn protects the prophets (7:3b-27)''']]
:• Shule restores kingdom to his father (3b-13)
:• Nimrah restores second half of kingdom to Shule (14-22)
:• Shule protects prophets from the people (23-27)

[[Ether 8:1-9:15 | '''B. Omer: secret combinations cause destruction #1 (8:1-9:15a)''']]
:• Secret combinations introduced (8:1-19)
:::• Jared rebels against his father Omer, is defeated, and repents (1-6)
:::• daughter of Jared suggests a secret combination (7-12)
:::• Akish's oath initiates the secret combination (13-19)
::[[Ether 8:20-26 | '''• Moroni commanded to warn against secret combinations (8:20-26)''']]
:• Secret combinations result in destruction #1 (9:1-15a)
:::• king Omer warned to flee (1-3)
:::• Akish kills his father in law Jared (4-6)
:::• Akish kills his son, another son flees (7-9)
:::• other sons rebel, secret combinations kill all but thirty people (10-12)
:::• Omer restored as king of a remnant (13-15a)

[[Ether 9:16-10:29 | '''C. Destruction #2 until people repent, people rise up against oppressive king (9:15b-10:29)''']]
:a. Emer: prosperity in a choice land (15b-22)
::b. Coriantum and Com: minimal detail (23-25)
:::c. Heth: embraces secret combinations and persecutes prophets, destruction #2 by famine and serpents until people repent (26-35)
::::d. Shez: descendant remembers the destruction of his fathers and builds up a righteous kingdom (10:1-4)
:::c. Riplakish: oppresses the people with taxation and servitude until they rise up against him (5-8)
::::d. Morianton: descendant eases the people's burden but is personally wicked (9-13a)
::b. Kim, Levi, Corom: minimal detail (13b-18)
:a. Lib: serpents destroyed, prosperity in a choice land (19-29)

[[Ether 10:30-11:23 | '''D. Destruction #3 until people repent, general decline into wickedness (10:30-11:23)''']]
:a. Hearthom and descendants in captivity (30-31)
::• Com: protects prophets but cannot overcome secret combinations (10:32-11:3)
::• Shiblom: prophets killed by usurper and ignored because of secret combinations, destruction #3 by war and famine until people repent (4-9)
::• Ahah and Ethem: prophets ignored and withdraw (10-14a)
:a. Moron and descendants in captivity until Ether (14b-23)

=== Identifying constituent sections ===

The opening third of Ether (chapters 1-6) centers on just two main characters, Jared and his prophet brother. The final third of Ether (chapters 12-15) likewise centers on just two main characters, the king Coriantumr and the prophet Ether. All the intervening centuries of Jaredite history are covered here in the middle third (chapters 7-11).

This middle third divides into four sections. The first section (chapter 7) revolves around Jared's great grandson Shule. The second section revolves around the reign of Shule's son Omer, including Omer's son Jared and Jared's daughter and son in law Akish (chapters 8-9a). This leaves only two and a half chapters (chapters 9b-11) for an extremely compressed account of more than a thousand years of history. That history is recounted in two sections that can be recognized by their use of inclusions, or repeated elements at the beginning and end of each section. The third section begins and ends with detailed accounts of Jaredite prosperity in a choice and of the poisonous serpents being introduced and eradicated. The fourth section begins and ends with multiple generations of the royal line dwelling in captivity.

=== Relationship of constituent sections ===

In the first section (chapter 7) there is substantial contention for the throne, fulfilling the Brother of Jared's statement that the institution of monarchy would lead to captivity. But contention for the throne among aspiring elites does not lead to general destruction among the population.

In the second section (chapters 8-9a) secret combinations first appear as an additional tool in competition for the throne. Within a generation or so those secret combinations leads to the almost complete destruction of the entire population.

In the third section (chapters 9b-10) the people become ripe and begin to be destroyed because they cast out the prophets. But Moroni expressly states that this was done according to the commandments of a king who obtained the throne through the same secret plans (9:26-29).

In the fourth section (chapter 11) the people again begin to be destroyed when the prophets are ordered killed by a contender for the throne and are ignored by the general population, again because of the secret combinations among them.

So while contention for the throne leads to the captivity of unsuccessful elites, secret combinations lead to the destruction of the general population.

It is also significant that only once in all of Ether, in the third section (chapters 9b-10), Moroni provides the only account of the general population rising up against an oppressive king and exercising any influence over the kingship to hold it accountable to them.

== Detailed discussion ==

=== Main characters ===

Here is a quick reminder about the main characters in Ether:

* Jared & his Brother - Jaredites established
* Orihah - fourth son of Jared, first king
* Shule - restores kingdom to father, averts destruction
* Jared II - rebels against father Omer, destruction #1
* Heth - rebels against father Com I, destruction #2
* Emer - Pax Jaredita #1
* Shez I - protected from Shez II (smitten by robber)
* Riplakish - people rise up & cast him out
* Morianton - eases the burden of the people
* Kim - wicked & brought into captivity
* Lib I - Pax Jaredita #2
* Com II - unsuccessful in suppressing secret combinations
* Shiblom - destruction #3
* Ahah & Ethem - prophets rejected, withdraw
* Moron & Coriantor - prophets rejected
* Shared, Gilead, Lib II, Shiz - each challenges Coriantumr
* Coriantumr & Ether - final destruction #4

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
{|
reflist
|}

== Additional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add additional sources and links''

----

[[Ether 6:13-7:3 | Previous page: Verses 6:13-7:3]]                      [[Ether 7 | Next page: Chapter 7]]

Ether

2012-07-08T15:48:39Z

173.64.199.25: Adding content

[[The Book of Mormon]] > [[Ether]] 
:Subpages: [[Ether 1:1-32 | Chapter 1a]], [[Ether 1-2,6 | Chapters 1b-2, 6]], [[Ether 3-5 | Chapters 3-5]], [[Ether 7-11 | Chapters 7-11]], [[Ether 12 | Chapter 12]], [[Ether 13 | Chapter 13a]], [[Ether 13-15 | Chapters 13b-15]] 
                                                                 [[Ether 1:1-32 | Next page: Chapter 1a]]

== Historical setting ==

The book of Ether recounts the history of the Jaredites, the second of four peoples to live and leave record of their occupation of the Americas.

== Brief outline and summary ==

The relationship of the book of Ether to the rest of the Book of Mormon is discussed at [[The Book of Mormon]]. The book of Ether can be outlined broadly as follows:

:'''• Prologue, origins, and genealogy (1a)'''

:'''I. Jared & Brother: Jaredites established in the land (1b-6)'''
:::[[Ether 1-2,6 | • Narrative (1b-2, 6)]]
::::[[Ether 2:8-12 | • America as a choice land (2:8-12)]]
:::::[[Ether 3-5 | • Faith to receive knowledge and enter into the presence of the Lord (3-5)]]
:::[[Ether 1-2,6 | • Narrative (1b-2, 6)]]

::'''II. Centuries of kings, prophets, secret combinations, and destructions (7-11)'''
:::[[Ether 7-11 | • Narrative (7-11)]]
::::[[Ether 8:20-26 | • Warning to fight against secret combinations (8:20-26)]]

:'''I. Coriantumr & Ether: Jaredites destroyed from off the land (12-15)'''
:::::[[Ether 12 | • Faith precedes blessing; humility, hope, and charity (12)]]
::::[[Ether 13:1-12 | • America as home to the New Jerusalem (13a)]]
:::[[Ether 13-15 | • Narrative (13b-15)]]

Chapters 1b-6, containing 5,304 words in English translation, follow Jared and his brother as the first generation settles in America. Chapters 12-15, containing 5,201 words, follow the prophet Ether and the king Coriantumr as the last generation is destroyed. The remaining middle third, containing 5,738 words, covers all the intervening centuries of Jaredite history.

Ether particularly addresses the issue of at what point a society becomes "ripe" in iniquity, the susceptibility of centralized governmental power to attack by secret societies, and the desirability of faith. As elsewhere in the scriptures, Ether dwells on the extremes.

The major divisions of Ether are discussed separately on the following subpages: [[Ether 1:1-32 | Chapter 1a]], [[Ether 1-2,6 | Chapters 1b-2, 6]], [[Ether 3-5 | Chapters 3-5]], [[Ether 7-11 | Chapters 7-11]], [[Ether 12 | Chapter 12]], [[Ether 13 | Chapter 13a]], [[Ether 13-15 | Chapters 13b-15.]] 

== Detailed discussion ==

=== Moroni directly addresses the reader ===

Moroni several times directly addresses the reader and makes express doctrinal points. These are points that Moroni makes sure cannot be overlooked, and these points should therefore have a significant influence on the interpretation of the entire book of Ether.

# Ether 2:8-12 - Moroni tells the Gentiles that "we can behold the decrees of God concerning this land," that it is a choice land and that those who live upon it will be blessed while they serve God, and swept off when they are ripe in iniquity.
# Ether 4:6-19 - In obedience to a commandment from God, Moroni exhorts both Jew and Gentile to come unto Christ to obtain knowledge (immediately after relating how the Brother of Jared was redeemed and brought into the Lord's presence through faith and knowledge). He also states that the Brother of Jared's vision of world history will not be disclosed until the Gentiles repent, but that the account in Revelation of John's vision will begin to unfold when the Book of Mormon comes forth.
# Ether 5:1-6 - Moroni also tells Joseph Smith not to attempt to open the sealed portion of the plates containing the Brother of Jared's vision and that the Book of Mormon plates themselves will be shown to some who help in bringing the Book of Mormon forth.
# Ether 7:5 - Moroni notes in passing that a usurper taking the king captive fulfilled the Brother of Jared's warning (6:23) that monarchy leads into captivity.
# Ether 8:20-26 - Moroni states that the Lord commands those who read the Book of Mormon, when they see secret combinations, to put them down and not tolerate them.
# Ether 12:6-40 - Most of the discussion on faith, hope and charity in chapter 12 is Moroni's own exposition that he wants to be sure we understand. At the end he also expressly bears testimony to the Jews and Gentiles that he has seen Jesus face to face and commends the reader to seek him.

=== Secret combinations ===

The Jaredites suffer major destructions four times in the book of Ether (CITES). All four destructions follow the introduction of secret combinations, and the Jaredites never suffer destruction in their absence.

=== Group temporal salvation and individual spiritual salvation ===

The narrative portions of Ether generally address what a society must do to save itself, rather than what an individual must do to save him/herself. The church, ordinances, and specific commandments are never mentioned, nor does the narrative ever concern itself with the spiritual salvation of any particular individual. When the Lord chastises the Brother of Jared, it is as a representative of the entire group, the threatened punishment does not apply only to him, and that threatened destruction is death rather than damnation. Likewise, the suspense at the end of the book is not whether Coriantumr will repent in time to save himself spiritually, but whether he will do so in time to save society temporally.

Individual salvation is addressed in the "faith" divisions of Ether, chapters 3-5, 12. Ether presumes that a person already knows what they must do to repent. Ether is a "third temple speech" book. That is, it does not function on the level of Jacob's speech in Jacob 2-3 (or 1-2 Nephi) where people are exhorted to behave as they know they should. Nor does Ether function on the level of King Benjamin's speech (or Mosiah-Alma generally) where people are led to feel the Holy Ghost and have a change of heart. Rather, the faith speeches in Ether 3 and 12 (and in Moroni 7, 10) function on the level of the Lord's teachings in 3 Nephi 11-27 and assume that people already know all that and can move beyond faith as a principle of action and obedience to learning about faith as a principle of power to work miracles and enter into the presence of the Lord.

Ether 3 and 13 relate visions to Jaredites, the contents of which are not to be freely distributed. Ether 2 and 12 contain Moroni's own comments and bear no such restrictions. The climax of the first half of the opening narrative is the first promised land speech (2:8-12), a statement of what it takes to save a nation temporally. The high point of the entire opening narrative is the experience where the brother of Jared is brought into the presence of the Lord and experiences individual spiritual salvation (3-5). Moroni apparently sees a close connection between these two ideas and suggests that societies are saved temporally when some critical mass of its members are qualifying for individual temporal salvation.

Throughout Ether, political conditions, especially as regards secret societies, are presented as reflections of underlying societal conditions. The solution to bad situations is always a very generic "repent." Only in Moroni's sidebar speech in 8:20-26, the doctrinal climax of Ether, and in the narrative climax under the reigns of Riplakish and Morianton, do we see any exercise of volition in a specific course of action to change the prevailing political conditions.

=== Political leaders ===

This emphasis on society as a whole rather than particular individuals may result from the fact that this record was kept by the society's political leaders rather than its religious leaders. Unlike religious institutions, political institutions are not concerned with the content of the marketplace of ideas; they are concerned only with seeing that the marketplace functions and is available. Similarly, God will not intervene to destroy, and has commanded us to support (AF 11), political institutions as long as that marketplace functions, thus allowing free agency (AF 12). Hence, Moroni's account of Jaredite history does not dwell at length on the content of Christ's Gospel as does Mormon's account of Nephite history. As long as society ensures the existence of free agency, society may save itself from destruction at God's hand, regardless of whether any particular individual, or any member of society at all, chooses to take advantage of it and save him/herself.

Throughout Ether, political conditions, especially as regards secret societies, are presented as reflections of underlying societal conditions. The solution to bad situations is always a very generic "repent." Only in Moroni's sidebar speech in 8:20-26, the doctrinal climax of Ether, and in the narrative climax under the reigns of Riplakish and Morianton, do we see any exercise of volition in a specific course of action to change the prevailing political conditions.

The Brother of Jared warns about the evils of monarchy, power from the top down and a lure or prize to the ambitious, while Moroni warns of the evils of secret societies, power from the ground up. Com II may be intended to show that secret societies, which derive their strength from the bottom up rather than vice versa, are the more potent of the two.

=== Wickedness ===

Free agency requires that a person have both a correct understanding of what his/her choices are and the liberty to act on those choices. The Book of Ether never mentions false or competing ideologies. The Jaredites know the truth and either accept or reject it knowingly. Nor does Ether mention divisions in society based on wealth, religious inclination, genealogy, etc. We know they exist from the mention of Morianton raising an army of outcasts, but that is not Moroni's point. As the picture is painted for us, the Jaredites never have to make hard choices when deciding whether to obey God as did the faithful Nephites on the eve of Christ's birth. When we are told that the Jaredites killed the prophets, the emphasis is on the hardness of their hearts rather than the difficult lot of a righteous prophet in a wicked society. Jaredite society thus exists in an environment of complete moral freedom with its knowledge of the gospel and the lack of any obstacles to its practice other than individual desire. Wickedness, then, is not the result of external conditions, such as the false traditions of the Lamanites. Rather, it is knowing and open rebellion motivated by worldly enticements. The issue in the book of Ether is not what it takes to obey God's Plan, but simply whether the Jaredites want to.

In the Nephite history secret societies are depicted as an external threat to the ability of the righteous to live as they should in a fractured society. In Ether, because society is depicted as monolithic, secret societies are an internal sickness, a result of what the people are like rather than an environmental condition. In Ether secret societies seem to disappear rather easily any time the people repent. It is true that Com II fought against them without success, but that just means the king was out of touch with his more wicked subjects. Jaredite society was never convulsed in an attempt to eradicate them as was the case with the Gadianton robbers, only as the result of having embraced them.

In summary, the two big questions throughout the Book of Ether are whether society as a whole will temporally save itself, and whether society feels like it.

Two answers: it is an aggregation of individuals & you must call the shots to secret combinations & kings.

== Parallel passages in other scriptures ==

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/ether/12?lang=eng Ether 12] - [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/heb/11?lang=eng Hebrews 11] (chapters are similar)

== Complete outline and page map ==

Items in blue or purple text indicate hyperlinked pages that address specific portions of Ether.

:::::'''[[Ether]]'''
[[Ether 1:1-32 | '''• Prologue, origins, and genealogy (1a)''']]

[[Ether 1-2,6 | '''I. Jared & Brother: Jaredites established in the land (1b-6)''']]
:[[Ether 1:33-2:7 | '''A. Land journey (1:33-2:7)''']]
::::a. questions and answers about scattering and traveling to a land of promise (34-43)
:::::b. gathering food supplies for the journey (2:1-4)
::::::c. Lord leads Jaredites toward promised land (4-7)

:::::::[[Ether 2:8-12 |'''• We can behold: America as a choice land (2:8-12)''']]

::[[Ether 2:13-25 | '''B. Building boats to cross the ocean (2:13-25)''']]
::::::c. Lord chastises for three hours because no progress for four years (13-15)
:::::b. building boats for the water journey (16-17)
::::a. questions and answers about light and air while traveling in boats (18-25)

:::[[Ether 3-5 | '''C. Faith to receive knowledge and enter into the presence of the Lord (3-5)''']]
::::• Brother of Jared redeemed from the fall through faith (3:1-20)
:::::• he requests in prayer that the Lord touch sixteen stones with finger (1-5)
:::::• he sees the finger of the Lord because of his great faith (6-12)
:::::• he is redeemed and brought back into Christ's presence because of his knowledge (13-20)
::::• Knowledge and redemption are available through the Holy Ghost on conditions of faith, repentance and baptism (3:21-5:6)
:::::• vision received of all mankind because of faith, instruction to seal it up until Christ's ministry, two stones (3:21-28)
:::::• vision disclosed to Nephites after Christ's ministry, then again sealed up because of unbelief, two stones (4:1-5)
:::::• '''Moroni commanded to say:''' (4:6-19)
::::::• vision will again be disclosed only when Gentiles exercise faith and repent (6-12)
::::::• come unto Christ to receive hidden knowledge, John's revelation is now unfolding (13-19)
:::::• the Lord will confirm the testimony of Three Witnesses who will see the Book of Mormon plates (5:1-6)

::[[Ether 6:1-12 | '''B. Crossing the ocean in boats (6:1-12a)''']]
:::• stones, food supplies and people aboard boats for journey (1-4)
:::• wind, protected, Noah (5-8)
:::• praise God the whole way (9)
:::• light, protected, Noah (10-12a)

:[[Ether 6:13-7:3 | '''A. Settling on the promised land (6:12b-7:3a)''']]
::a. multiply, walk humbly, and prosperous (12b-18)
:::b. stewardship accounting of leadership (19-21)
:::b. allowing the people to choose a king (22-27)
::a. prosperous, walk humbly, and multiply (6:27-7:3a)

[[Ether 7-11 | '''II. Centuries of kings, prophets, secret combinations, and destructions (7-11)''']]
:[[Ether 7:4-27 | '''A. Shule: is protected and in turn protects the prophets (7:3b-27)''']]
::• Shule restores kingdom to his father (3b-13)
::• Nimrah restores second half of kingdom to Shule (14-22)
::• Shule protects prophets from the people (23-27)

:[[Ether 8:1-9:15 | '''B. Omer: secret combinations cause destruction #1 (8:1-9:15a)''']]
::• Secret combinations introduced (8:1-19)
::::• Jared rebels against his father Omer, is defeated, and repents (1-6)
::::• daughter of Jared suggests a secret combination (7-12)
::::• Akish's oath initiates the secret combination (13-19)
:::[[Ether 8:20-26 | '''• Moroni commanded to warn against secret combinations (8:20-26)''']]
::• Secret combinations result in destruction #1 (9:1-15a)
::::• king Omer warned to flee (1-3)
::::• Akish kills his father in law Jared (4-6)
::::• Akish kills his son, another son flees (7-9)
::::• other sons rebel, secret combinations kill all but thirty people (10-12)
::::• Omer restored as king of a remnant (13-15a)

:[[Ether 9:16-10:29 | '''C. Destruction #2 until people repent, people rise up against oppressive king (9:15b-10:29)''']]
::a. Emer: prosperity in a choice land (15b-22)
:::b. Coriantum and Com: minimal detail (23-25)
::::c. Heth: embraces secret combinations and persecutes prophets, destruction #2 by famine and serpents until people repent (26-35)
:::::d. Shez: descendant remembers the destruction of his fathers and builds up a righteous kingdom (10:1-4)
::::c. Riplakish: oppresses the people with taxation and servitude until they rise up against him (5-8)
:::::d. Morianton: descendant eases the people's burden but is personally wicked (9-13a)
:::b. Kim, Levi, Corom: minimal detail (13b-18)
::a. Lib: serpents destroyed, prosperity in a choice land (19-29)

:[[Ether 10:30-11:23 | '''D. Destruction #3 until people repent, general decline into wickedness (10:30-11:23)''']]
::a. Hearthom and descendants in captivity (30-31)
:::• Com: protects prophets but cannot overcome secret combinations (10:32-11:3)
:::• Shiblom: prophets killed by usurper and ignored because of secret combinations, destruction #3 by war and famine until people repent (4-9)
:::• Ahah and Ethem: prophets ignored and withdraw (10-14a)
::a. Moron and descendants in captivity until Ether (14b-23)

'''I. Coriantumr & Ether: Jaredites destroyed from off the land (12-15)'''
:[[Ether 12 | '''• Faith precedes blessing; humility, hope, and charity (12)''']]
::• Faith precedes blessing (1-21)
:::a. Ether cannot be restrained from preaching faith, repentance, and hope (1-5)
::::b. faith precedes witness and miracles (6-18)
:::a. Brother of Jared could not be kept from within the veil because of his faith (19-21)
::• Humility, hope, and charity (22-41)
:::a. Moroni: apprehension at his weakness in writing compared to speaking (22-25)
::::b. Lord: Gentiles must be humble (26-28)
:::::c. Moroni: the Lord works according people's faith, Brother of Jared (29-31)
:::::c. Moroni: hope and charity (32-35)
::::b. Lord: Moroni has been humble (36-37)
:::a. Moroni: closing testimony of his writing and of Christ (38-41)

:[[Ether 13:1-12 | '''• America as home to the New Jerusalem (13a)''']]
::a. people reject Ether's words (1-2a)
:::b. after flood this land choice and inhabitants accountable (2b)
::::c. Old Jerusalem, New Jerusalem to be built to Joseph (3-4)
:::::d. this typology also applies to Nephites (__)
::::c. New Jerusalem to be built to Joseph, not confounded (__)
:::b. Old and New Jerusalems to be inhabited by righteous (__)
::a. Moroni forbidden to write more of Ether's words (13a)

:[[Ether 13-15 | '''• Coriantumr & Ether: Jaredites destroyed from off the land - Narrative (13b-15)''']]
::[[Ether 13:13-22 | '''A. Ether's warning to avoid destruction through repentance (13:13-22)''']]
::::a. Ether rejected, views destruction from hiding (13-14)
:::::b. wars between secret combinations and king (15-16)
::::::c. no one repents (17)
:::::b. wars between secret combinations and king (18-19)
::::a. Ether prophesies final destruction and in hiding, no one repents (20-22)

:::[[Ether 13:23-14:31 | '''B. Coriantumr tries to avoid destruction by fighting four challengers (13:23-14:31)''']]
:::::a. Corinatumr and Shared battle three days (23-30)
::::::b. curse on the land (13:31-14:2)
:::::::c. Coriantumr and Gilead battle in Akish and Moron (3-8)
::::::::d. self-destruction within secret combinations (9-10)
:::::::c. Coriantumr and Lib II battle in Moron and Akish (11-16)
::::::b. fear of Shiz sweeping the earth (17-25)
:::::a. Coriantumr and Shiz battle three days (26-31)

::::[[Ether 15:1-5 | '''C. Coriantumr tries to avoid destruction by negotiating (15:1-5)''']]

:::[[Ether 15:6-32 | '''B. Jaredites are destroyed over eight days of fighting (15:6-32)''']]
::::a. battle at seashore, Coriantumr faints (6-11)
:::::b. camping four years to gather strength (12-15a)
::::::c. days 1-2 of final battle (15b-17)
:::::::d. Coriantumr again tries to avoid destruction by negotiating (18-19)
::::::c. days 3-6 of final battle (20-26)
:::::b. days 7-8 of final battle, Coriantumr's group flees (27-29a)
::::a. Shiz and Coriantumr both faint (29b-32)

::[[Ether 15:33-34 | '''A. Ether's witness of non-repentance and total destruction #4 (15:33-34)''']]

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
{|
reflist
|}

== Additional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add sources and links''

----

                                                                 [[Ether 1:1-32 | Next page: Chapter 1a]]

Ether

2012-07-08T12:38:03Z

173.64.199.25: Minor revisions

[[The Book of Mormon]] > [[Ether]] 
:Subpages: [[Ether 1:1-32 | Chapter 1a]], [[Ether 1-2,6 | Chapters 1b-2, 6]], [[Ether 3-5 | Chapters 3-5]], [[Ether 7-11 | Chapters 7-11]], [[Ether 12 | Chapter 12]], [[Ether 13 | Chapter 13a]], [[Ether 13-15 | Chapters 13b-15]] 
                                                                 [[Ether 1:1-32 | Next page: Chapter 1a]]

== Historical setting ==

The book of Ether recounts the history of the Jaredites, the second of four peoples to live and leave record of their occupation of the Americas.

== Brief outline and summary ==

The relationship of the book of Ether to the rest of the Book of Mormon is discussed at [[The Book of Mormon]]. The book of Ether can be outlined broadly as follows:

:'''• Prologue, origins, and genealogy (1a)'''

:'''I. Jared & Brother: Jaredites established in the land (1b-6)'''
:::[[Ether 1-2,6 | • Narrative (1b-2, 6)]]
::::[[Ether 2:8-12 | • America as a choice land (2:8-12)]]
:::::[[Ether 3-5 | • Faith to receive knowledge and enter into the presence of the Lord (3-5)]]
:::[[Ether 1-2,6 | • Narrative (1b-2, 6)]]

::'''II. Centuries of kings, prophets, secret combinations, and destructions (7-11)'''
:::[[Ether 7-11 | • Narrative (7-11)]]
::::[[Ether 8:20-26 | • Warning to fight against secret combinations (8:20-26)]]

:'''I. Coriantumr & Ether: Jaredites destroyed from off the land (12-15)'''
:::::[[Ether 12 | • Faith precedes blessing; humility, hope, and charity (12)]]
::::[[Ether 13:1-12 | • America as home to the New Jerusalem (13a)]]
:::[[Ether 13-15 | • Narrative (13b-15)]]

Chapters 1b-6, containing 5,304 words in English translation, follow Jared and his brother as the first generation settles in America. Chapters 12-15, containing 5,201 words, follow the prophet Ether and the king Coriantumr as the last generation is destroyed. The remaining middle third, containing 5,738 words, covers all the intervening centuries of Jaredite history.

Ether particularly addresses the issue of at what point a society becomes "ripe" in iniquity, the susceptibility of centralized governmental power to attack by secret societies, and the desirability of faith. As elsewhere in the scriptures, Ether dwells on the extremes.

The major divisions of Ether are discussed separately on the following subpages: [[Ether 1:1-32 | Chapter 1a]], [[Ether 1-2,6 | Chapters 1b-2, 6]], [[Ether 3-5 | Chapters 3-5]], [[Ether 7-11 | Chapters 7-11]], [[Ether 12 | Chapter 12]], [[Ether 13 | Chapter 13a]], [[Ether 13-15 | Chapters 13b-15.]] 

== Detailed discussion ==

=== Secret combinations ===

The Jaredites suffer major destructions four times in the book of Ether (CITES). All four destructions follow the introduction of secret combinations, and the Jaredites never suffer destruction in their absence.

=== Group temporal salvation and individual spiritual salvation ===

The narrative portions of Ether generally address what a society must do to save itself, rather than what an individual must do to save him/herself. The church, ordinances, and specific commandments are never mentioned, nor does the narrative ever concern itself with the spiritual salvation of any particular individual. When the Lord chastises the Brother of Jared, it is as a representative of the entire group, the threatened punishment does not apply only to him, and that threatened destruction is death rather than damnation. Likewise, the suspense at the end of the book is not whether Coriantumr will repent in time to save himself spiritually, but whether he will do so in time to save society temporally.

Individual salvation is addressed in the "faith" divisions of Ether, chapters 3-5, 12. Ether presumes that a person already knows what they must do to repent. Ether is a "third temple speech" book. That is, it does not function on the level of Jacob's speech in Jacob 2-3 (or 1-2 Nephi) where people are exhorted to behave as they know they should. Nor does Ether function on the level of King Benjamin's speech (or Mosiah-Alma generally) where people are led to feel the Holy Ghost and have a change of heart. Rather, the faith speeches in Ether 3 and 12 (and in Moroni 7, 10) function on the level of the Lord's teachings in 3 Nephi 11-27 and assume that people already know all that and can move beyond faith as a principle of action and obedience to learning about faith as a principle of power to work miracles and enter into the presence of the Lord.

Ether 3 and 13 relate visions to Jaredites, the contents of which are not to be freely distributed. Ether 2 and 12 contain Moroni's own comments and bear no such restrictions. The climax of the first half of the opening narrative is the first promised land speech (2:8-12), a statement of what it takes to save a nation temporally. The high point of the entire opening narrative is the experience where the brother of Jared is brought into the presence of the Lord and experiences individual spiritual salvation (3-5). Moroni apparently sees a close connection between these two ideas and suggests that societies are saved temporally when some critical mass of its members are qualifying for individual temporal salvation.

Throughout Ether, political conditions, especially as regards secret societies, are presented as reflections of underlying societal conditions. The solution to bad situations is always a very generic "repent." Only in Moroni's sidebar speech in 8:20-26, the doctrinal climax of Ether, and in the narrative climax under the reigns of Riplakish and Morianton, do we see any exercise of volition in a specific course of action to change the prevailing political conditions.

=== Political leaders ===

This emphasis on society as a whole rather than particular individuals may result from the fact that this record was kept by the society's political leaders rather than its religious leaders. Unlike religious institutions, political institutions are not concerned with the content of the marketplace of ideas; they are concerned only with seeing that the marketplace functions and is available. Similarly, God will not intervene to destroy, and has commanded us to support (AF 11), political institutions as long as that marketplace functions, thus allowing free agency (AF 12). Hence, Moroni's account of Jaredite history does not dwell at length on the content of Christ's Gospel as does Mormon's account of Nephite history. As long as society ensures the existence of free agency, society may save itself from destruction at God's hand, regardless of whether any particular individual, or any member of society at all, chooses to take advantage of it and save him/herself.

Throughout Ether, political conditions, especially as regards secret societies, are presented as reflections of underlying societal conditions. The solution to bad situations is always a very generic "repent." Only in Moroni's sidebar speech in 8:20-26, the doctrinal climax of Ether, and in the narrative climax under the reigns of Riplakish and Morianton, do we see any exercise of volition in a specific course of action to change the prevailing political conditions.

The Brother of Jared warns about the evils of monarchy, power from the top down and a lure or prize to the ambitious, while Moroni warns of the evils of secret societies, power from the ground up. Com II may be intended to show that secret societies, which derive their strength from the bottom up rather than vice versa, are the more potent of the two.

=== Wickedness ===

Free agency requires that a person have both a correct understanding of what his/her choices are and the liberty to act on those choices. The Book of Ether never mentions false or competing ideologies. The Jaredites know the truth and either accept or reject it knowingly. Nor does Ether mention divisions in society based on wealth, religious inclination, genealogy, etc. We know they exist from the mention of Morianton raising an army of outcasts, but that is not Moroni's point. As the picture is painted for us, the Jaredites never have to make hard choices when deciding whether to obey God as did the faithful Nephites on the eve of Christ's birth. When we are told that the Jaredites killed the prophets, the emphasis is on the hardness of their hearts rather than the difficult lot of a righteous prophet in a wicked society. Jaredite society thus exists in an environment of complete moral freedom with its knowledge of the gospel and the lack of any obstacles to its practice other than individual desire. Wickedness, then, is not the result of external conditions, such as the false traditions of the Lamanites. Rather, it is knowing and open rebellion motivated by worldly enticements. The issue in the book of Ether is not what it takes to obey God's Plan, but simply whether the Jaredites want to.

In the Nephite history secret societies are depicted as an external threat to the ability of the righteous to live as they should in a fractured society. In Ether, because society is depicted as monolithic, secret societies are an internal sickness, a result of what the people are like rather than an environmental condition. In Ether secret societies seem to disappear rather easily any time the people repent. It is true that Com II fought against them without success, but that just means the king was out of touch with his more wicked subjects. Jaredite society was never convulsed in an attempt to eradicate them as was the case with the Gadianton robbers, only as the result of having embraced them.

In summary, the two big questions throughout the Book of Ether are whether society as a whole will temporally save itself, and whether society feels like it.

Two answers: it is an aggregation of individuals & you must call the shots to secret combinations & kings.

== Parallel passages in other scriptures ==

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/ether/12?lang=eng Ether 12] - [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/heb/11?lang=eng Hebrews 11] (chapters are similar)

== Complete outline and page map ==

Items in blue or purple text indicate hyperlinked pages that address specific portions of Ether.

:::::'''[[Ether]]'''
[[Ether 1:1-32 | '''• Prologue, origins, and genealogy (1a)''']]

[[Ether 1-2,6 | '''I. Jared & Brother: Jaredites established in the land (1b-6)''']]
:[[Ether 1:33-2:7 | '''A. Land journey (1:33-2:7)''']]
::::a. questions and answers about scattering and traveling to a land of promise (34-43)
:::::b. gathering food supplies for the journey (2:1-4)
::::::c. Lord leads Jaredites toward promised land (4-7)

:::::::[[Ether 2:8-12 |'''• We can behold: America as a choice land (2:8-12)''']]

::[[Ether 2:13-25 | '''B. Building boats to cross the ocean (2:13-25)''']]
::::::c. Lord chastises for three hours because no progress for four years (13-15)
:::::b. building boats for the water journey (16-17)
::::a. questions and answers about light and air while traveling in boats (18-25)

:::[[Ether 3-5 | '''C. Faith to receive knowledge and enter into the presence of the Lord (3-5)''']]
::::• Brother of Jared redeemed from the fall through faith (3:1-20)
:::::• he requests in prayer that the Lord touch sixteen stones with finger (1-5)
:::::• he sees the finger of the Lord because of his great faith (6-12)
:::::• he is redeemed and brought back into Christ's presence because of his knowledge (13-20)
::::• Knowledge and redemption are available through the Holy Ghost on conditions of faith, repentance and baptism (3:21-5:6)
:::::• vision received of all mankind because of faith, instruction to seal it up until Christ's ministry, two stones (3:21-28)
:::::• vision disclosed to Nephites after Christ's ministry, then again sealed up because of unbelief, two stones (4:1-5)
:::::• '''Moroni commanded to say:''' (4:6-19)
::::::• vision will again be disclosed only when Gentiles exercise faith and repent (6-12)
::::::• come unto Christ to receive hidden knowledge, John's revelation is now unfolding (13-19)
:::::• the Lord will confirm the testimony of Three Witnesses who will see the Book of Mormon plates (5:1-6)

::[[Ether 6:1-12 | '''B. Crossing the ocean in boats (6:1-12a)''']]
:::• stones, food supplies and people aboard boats for journey (1-4)
:::• wind, protected, Noah (5-8)
:::• praise God the whole way (9)
:::• light, protected, Noah (10-12a)

:[[Ether 6:13-7:3 | '''A. Settling on the promised land (6:12b-7:3a)''']]
::a. multiply, walk humbly, and prosperous (12b-18)
:::b. stewardship accounting of leadership (19-21)
:::b. allowing the people to choose a king (22-27)
::a. prosperous, walk humbly, and multiply (6:27-7:3a)

[[Ether 7-11 | '''II. Centuries of kings, prophets, secret combinations, and destructions (7-11)''']]
:[[Ether 7:4-27 | '''A. Shule: is protected and in turn protects the prophets (7:3b-27)''']]
::• Shule restores kingdom to his father (3b-13)
::• Nimrah restores second half of kingdom to Shule (14-22)
::• Shule protects prophets from the people (23-27)

:[[Ether 8:1-9:15 | '''B. Omer: secret combinations cause destruction #1 (8:1-9:15a)''']]
::• Secret combinations introduced (8:1-19)
::::• Jared rebels against his father Omer, is defeated, and repents (1-6)
::::• daughter of Jared suggests a secret combination (7-12)
::::• Akish's oath initiates the secret combination (13-19)
:::[[Ether 8:20-26 | '''• Moroni commanded to warn against secret combinations (8:20-26)''']]
::• Secret combinations result in destruction #1 (9:1-15a)
::::• king Omer warned to flee (1-3)
::::• Akish kills his father in law Jared (4-6)
::::• Akish kills his son, another son flees (7-9)
::::• other sons rebel, secret combinations kill all but thirty people (10-12)
::::• Omer restored as king of a remnant (13-15a)

:[[Ether 9:16-10:29 | '''C. Destruction #2 until people repent, people rise up against oppressive king (9:15b-10:29)''']]
::a. Emer: prosperity in a choice land (15b-22)
:::b. Coriantum and Com: minimal detail (23-25)
::::c. Heth: embraces secret combinations and persecutes prophets, destruction #2 by famine and serpents until people repent (26-35)
:::::d. Shez: descendant remembers the destruction of his fathers and builds up a righteous kingdom (10:1-4)
::::c. Riplakish: oppresses the people with taxation and servitude until they rise up against him (5-8)
:::::d. Morianton: descendant eases the people's burden but is personally wicked (9-13a)
:::b. Kim, Levi, Corom: minimal detail (13b-18)
::a. Lib: serpents destroyed, prosperity in a choice land (19-29)

:[[Ether 10:30-11:23 | '''D. Destruction #3 until people repent, general decline into wickedness (10:30-11:23)''']]
::a. Hearthom and descendants in captivity (30-31)
:::• Com: protects prophets but cannot overcome secret combinations (10:32-11:3)
:::• Shiblom: prophets killed by usurper and ignored because of secret combinations, destruction #3 by war and famine until people repent (4-9)
:::• Ahah and Ethem: prophets ignored and withdraw (10-14a)
::a. Moron and descendants in captivity until Ether (14b-23)

'''I. Coriantumr & Ether: Jaredites destroyed from off the land (12-15)'''
:[[Ether 12 | '''• Faith precedes blessing; humility, hope, and charity (12)''']]
::• Faith precedes blessing (1-21)
:::a. Ether cannot be restrained from preaching faith, repentance, and hope (1-5)
::::b. faith precedes witness and miracles (6-18)
:::a. Brother of Jared could not be kept from within the veil because of his faith (19-21)
::• Humility, hope, and charity (22-41)
:::a. Moroni: apprehension at his weakness in writing compared to speaking (22-25)
::::b. Lord: Gentiles must be humble (26-28)
:::::c. Moroni: the Lord works according people's faith, Brother of Jared (29-31)
:::::c. Moroni: hope and charity (32-35)
::::b. Lord: Moroni has been humble (36-37)
:::a. Moroni: closing testimony of his writing and of Christ (38-41)

:[[Ether 13:1-12 | '''• America as home to the New Jerusalem (13a)''']]
::a. people reject Ether's words (1-2a)
:::b. after flood this land choice and inhabitants accountable (2b)
::::c. Old Jerusalem, New Jerusalem to be built to Joseph (3-4)
:::::d. this typology also applies to Nephites (__)
::::c. New Jerusalem to be built to Joseph, not confounded (__)
:::b. Old and New Jerusalems to be inhabited by righteous (__)
::a. Moroni forbidden to write more of Ether's words (13a)

:[[Ether 13-15 | '''• Coriantumr & Ether: Jaredites destroyed from off the land - Narrative (13b-15)''']]
::[[Ether 13:13-22 | '''A. Ether's warning to avoid destruction through repentance (13:13-22)''']]
::::a. Ether rejected, views destruction from hiding (13-14)
:::::b. wars between secret combinations and king (15-16)
::::::c. no one repents (17)
:::::b. wars between secret combinations and king (18-19)
::::a. Ether prophesies final destruction and in hiding, no one repents (20-22)

:::[[Ether 13:23-14:31 | '''B. Coriantumr tries to avoid destruction by fighting four challengers (13:23-14:31)''']]
:::::a. Corinatumr and Shared battle three days (23-30)
::::::b. curse on the land (13:31-14:2)
:::::::c. Coriantumr and Gilead battle in Akish and Moron (3-8)
::::::::d. self-destruction within secret combinations (9-10)
:::::::c. Coriantumr and Lib II battle in Moron and Akish (11-16)
::::::b. fear of Shiz sweeping the earth (17-25)
:::::a. Coriantumr and Shiz battle three days (26-31)

::::[[Ether 15:1-5 | '''C. Coriantumr tries to avoid destruction by negotiating (15:1-5)''']]

:::[[Ether 15:6-32 | '''B. Jaredites are destroyed over eight days of fighting (15:6-32)''']]
::::a. battle at seashore, Coriantumr faints (6-11)
:::::b. camping four years to gather strength (12-15a)
::::::c. days 1-2 of final battle (15b-17)
:::::::d. Coriantumr again tries to avoid destruction by negotiating (18-19)
::::::c. days 3-6 of final battle (20-26)
:::::b. days 7-8 of final battle, Coriantumr's group flees (27-29a)
::::a. Shiz and Coriantumr both faint (29b-32)

::[[Ether 15:33-34 | '''A. Ether's witness of non-repentance and total destruction #4 (15:33-34)''']]

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
{|
reflist
|}

== Additional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add sources and links''

----

                                                                 [[Ether 1:1-32 | Next page: Chapter 1a]]

Ether

2012-07-08T12:26:22Z

173.64.199.25: Moving content to subpage

[[The Book of Mormon]] > [[Ether]] 
:Subpages: [[Ether 1:1-32 | Chapter 1a]], [[Ether 1-2,6 | Chapters 1b-2, 6]], [[Ether 3-5 | Chapters 3-5]], [[Ether 7-11 | Chapters 7-11]], [[Ether 12 | Chapter 12]], [[Ether 13 | Chapter 13a]], [[Ether 13-15 | Chapters 13b-15]] 
                                                                 [[Ether 1:1-32 | Next page: Chapter 1a]]

== Historical setting ==

The book of Ether recounts the history of the Jaredites, the second of four peoples to live and leave record of their occupation of the Americas.

== Brief outline and summary ==

The relationship of the book of Ether to the rest of the Book of Mormon is discussed at [[The Book of Mormon]]. The book of Ether can be outlined broadly as follows:

:'''• Prologue, origins, and genealogy (1a)'''

:'''I. Jared & Brother: Jaredites established in the land (1b-6)'''
:::[[Ether 1-2,6 | • Narrative (1b-2, 6)]]
::::[[Ether 2:8-12 | • America as a choice land (2:8-12)]]
:::::[[Ether 3-5 | • Faith to receive knowledge and enter into the presence of the Lord (3-5)]]
:::[[Ether 1-2,6 | • Narrative (1b-2, 6)]]

::'''II. Centuries of kings, prophets, secret combinations, and destructions (7-11)'''
:::[[Ether 7-11 | • Narrative (7-11)]]
::::[[Ether 8:20-26 | • Warning to fight against secret combinations (8:20-26)]]

:'''I. Coriantumr & Ether: Jaredites destroyed from off the land (12-15)'''
:::::[[Ether 12 | • Faith precedes blessing; humility, hope, and charity (12)]]
::::[[Ether 13:1-12 | • America as home to the New Jerusalem (13a)]]
:::[[Ether 13-15 | • Narrative (13b-15)]]

Chapters 1b-6, containing 5,304 words in English translation, follow Jared and his brother as the first generation settles in America. Chapters 12-15, containing 5,201 words, follow the prophet Ether and the king Coriantumr as the last generation is destroyed. The remaining middle third, containing 5,738 words, covers all the intervening centuries of Jaredite history.

Ether particularly addresses the issue of at what point a society becomes "ripe" in iniquity, the susceptibility of centralized governmental power to attack by secret societies, and the desirability of faith. As elsewhere in the scriptures, Ether dwells on the extremes.

The major divisions of Ether are discussed separately on the following subpages: [[Ether 1:1-32 | Chapter 1a]], [[Ether 1-2,6 | Chapters 1b-2, 6]], [[Ether 3-5 | Chapters 3-5]], [[Ether 7-11 | Chapters 7-11]], [[Ether 12 | Chapter 12]], [[Ether 13 | Chapter 13a]], [[Ether 13-15 | Chapters 13b-15.]] 

== Detailed discussion ==

=== Secret combinations ===

The Jaredites suffer major destructions four times in the book of Ether (CITES). All four destructions follow the introduction of secret combinations, and the Jaredites never suffer destruction in their absence.

=== Group temporal salvation and individual spiritual salvation ===

The narrative portions of Ether generally address what a society must do to save itself, rather than what an individual must do to save him/herself. The church, ordinances, and specific commandments are never mentioned, nor does the narrative ever concern itself with the spiritual salvation of any particular individual. When the Lord chastises the Brother of Jared, it is as a representative of the entire group, the threatened punishment does not apply only to him, and that threatened destruction is death rather than damnation. Likewise, the suspense at the end of the book is not whether Coriantumr will repent in time to save himself spiritually, but whether he will do so in time to save society temporally.

Individual salvation is addressed in the "faith" divisions of Ether, chapters 3-5, 12. Ether presumes that a person already knows what they must do to repent. Ether is a "third temple speech" book. That is, it does not function on the level of Jacob's speech in Jacob 2-3 (or 1-2 Nephi) where people are exhorted to behave as they know they should. Nor does Ether function on the level of King Benjamin's speech (or Mosiah-Alma generally) where people are led to feel the Holy Ghost and have a change of heart. Rather, the faith speeches in Ether 3 and 12 (and in Moroni 7, 10) function on the level of the Lord's teachings in 3 Nephi 11-27 and assume that people already know all that and can move beyond faith as a principle of action and obedience to learning about faith as a principle of power to work miracles and enter into the presence of the Lord.

Ether 3 and 13 relate visions to Jaredites, the contents of which are not to be freely distributed. Ether 2 and 12 contain Moroni's own comments and bear no such restrictions. The climax of the first half of the opening narrative is the first promised land speech (2:8-12), a statement of what it takes to save a nation temporally. The high point of the entire opening narrative is the experience where the brother of Jared is brought into the presence of the Lord and experiences individual spiritual salvation (3-5). Moroni apparently sees a close connection between these two ideas and suggests that societies are saved temporally when some critical mass of its members are qualifying for individual temporal salvation.

Throughout Ether, political conditions, especially as regards secret societies, are presented as reflections of underlying societal conditions. The solution to bad situations is always a very generic "repent." Only in Moroni's sidebar speech in 8:20-26, the doctrinal climax of Ether, and in the narrative climax under the reigns of Riplakish and Morianton, do we see any exercise of volition in a specific course of action to change the prevailing political conditions.

=== Political leaders ===

This emphasis on society as a whole rather than particular individuals may result from the fact that this record was kept by the society's political leaders rather than its religious leaders. Unlike religious institutions, political institutions are not concerned with the content of the marketplace of ideas; they are concerned only with seeing that the marketplace functions and is available. Similarly, God will not intervene to destroy, and has commanded us to support (AF 11), political institutions as long as that marketplace functions, thus allowing free agency (AF 12). Hence, Moroni's account of Jaredite history does not dwell at length on the content of Christ's Gospel as does Mormon's account of Nephite history. As long as society ensures the existence of free agency, society may save itself from destruction at God's hand, regardless of whether any particular individual, or any member of society at all, chooses to take advantage of it and save him/herself.

Throughout Ether, political conditions, especially as regards secret societies, are presented as reflections of underlying societal conditions. The solution to bad situations is always a very generic "repent." Only in Moroni's sidebar speech in 8:20-26, the doctrinal climax of Ether, and in the narrative climax under the reigns of Riplakish and Morianton, do we see any exercise of volition in a specific course of action to change the prevailing political conditions.

The Brother of Jared warns about the evils of monarchy, power from the top down and a lure or prize to the ambitious, while Moroni warns of the evils of secret societies, power from the ground up. Com II may be intended to show that secret societies, which derive their strength from the bottom up rather than vice versa, are the more potent of the two.

=== Wickedness ===

Free agency requires that a person have both a correct understanding of what his/her choices are and the liberty to act on those choices. The Book of Ether never mentions false or competing ideologies. The Jaredites know the truth and either accept or reject it knowingly. Nor does Ether mention divisions in society based on wealth, religious inclination, genealogy, etc. We know they exist from the mention of Morianton raising an army of outcasts, but that is not Moroni's point. As the picture is painted for us, the Jaredites never have to make hard choices when deciding whether to obey God as did the faithful Nephites on the eve of Christ's birth. When we are told that the Jaredites killed the prophets, the emphasis is on the hardness of their hearts rather than the difficult lot of a righteous prophet in a wicked society. Jaredite society thus exists in an environment of complete moral freedom with its knowledge of the gospel and the lack of any obstacles to its practice other than individual desire. Wickedness, then, is not the result of external conditions, such as the false traditions of the Lamanites. Rather, it is knowing and open rebellion motivated by worldly enticements. The issue in the book of Ether is not what it takes to obey God's Plan, but simply whether the Jaredites want to.

In the Nephite history secret societies are depicted as an external threat to the ability of the righteous to live as they should in a fractured society. In Ether, because society is depicted as monolithic, secret societies are an internal sickness, a result of what the people are like rather than an environmental condition. In Ether secret societies seem to disappear rather easily any time the people repent. It is true that Com II fought against them without success, but that just means the king was out of touch with his more wicked subjects. Jaredite society was never convulsed in an attempt to eradicate them as was the case with the Gadianton robbers, only as the result of having embraced them.

In summary, the two big questions throughout the Book of Ether are whether society as a whole will temporally save itself, and whether society feels like it.

Two answers: it is an aggregation of individuals & you must call the shots to secret combinations & kings.

== Parallel passages in other scriptures ==

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/ether/12?lang=eng Ether 12] - [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/heb/11?lang=eng Hebrews 11] (chapters are similar)

== Complete outline and page map ==

Items in blue or purple text indicate hyperlinked pages that address specific portions of Ether.

:::::'''[[Ether]]'''
[[Ether 1:1-32 | '''• Prologue, origins and genealogy (1a)''']]

[[Ether 1-2,6 | '''I. Jared & Brother: Jaredites established in the land (1b-6)''']]
:[[Ether 1:33-2:7 | '''• Land journey (1:33-2:7)''']]
:::a. questions and answers about scattering and traveling to a land of promise (34-43)
::::b. gathering food supplies for the journey (2:1-4)
:::::c. Lord leads Jaredites toward promised land (4-7)

::::::[[Ether 2:8-12 |'''• We can behold: America as a choice land (2:8-12)''']]

:[[Ether 2:13-25 | '''• Preparing to cross the ocean (2:13-25)''']]
:::::c. Lord chastises for three hours because no progress for four years (13-15)
::::b. building boats for the water journey (16-17)
:::a. questions and answers about light and air while traveling in boats (18-25)

::[[Ether 3-5 | '''B. Faith to receive knowledge and enter into the presence of the Lord (3-5)''']]
:::• Brother of Jared redeemed from the fall through faith (3:1-20)
::::• he requests in prayer that the Lord touch sixteen stones with finger (1-5)
::::• he sees the finger of the Lord because of his great faith (6-12)
::::• he is redeemed and brought back into Christ's presence because of his knowledge (13-20)
:::• Knowledge and redemption are available through the Holy Ghost on conditions of faith, repentance and baptism (3:21-5:6)
::::• vision received of all mankind because of faith, instruction to seal it up until Christ's ministry, two stones (3:21-28)
::::• vision disclosed to Nephites after Christ's ministry, then again sealed up because of unbelief, two stones (4:1-5)
::::• '''Moroni commanded to say:''' (4:6-19)
:::::• vision will again be disclosed only when Gentiles exercise faith and repent (6-12)
:::::• come unto Christ to receive hidden knowledge, John's revelation is now unfolding (13-19)
::::• the Lord will confirm the testimony of Three Witnesses who will see the Book of Mormon plates (5:1-6)

:[[Ether 6:1-12 | '''• Crossing the ocean (6:1-12a)''']]
::a. stones, food supplies and people aboard boats for journey (1-4)
:::b. wind, protected, Noah (5-8)
::::c. praise God the whole way (9)
:::b. light, protected, Noah (10-12a)

:[[Ether 6:13-7:3 | '''• Settling on the promised land (6:12b-7:3a)''']]
::a. multiply, walk humbly, and prosperous (12b-18)
:::b. stewardship accounting of leadership (19-21)
:::b. allowing the people to choose a king (22-27)
::a. prosperous, walk humbly, and multiply (6:27-7:3a)

[[Ether 7-11 | '''II. Centuries of kings, prophets, secret combinations, and destructions (7-11)''']]
:[[Ether 7:4-27 | '''A. Shule: is protected and in turn protects the prophets (7:3b-27)''']]
::• Shule restores kingdom to his father (3b-13)
::• Nimrah restores second half of kingdom to Shule (14-22)
::• Shule protects prophets from the people (23-27)

:[[Ether 8:1-9:15 | '''B. Omer: secret combinations cause destruction #1 (8:1-9:15a)''']]
::• Secret combinations introduced (8:1-19)
::::• Jared rebels against his father Omer, is defeated, and repents (1-6)
::::• daughter of Jared suggests a secret combination (7-12)
::::• Akish's oath initiates the secret combination (13-19)
:::[[Ether 8:20-26 | '''• Moroni commanded to warn against secret combinations (8:20-26)''']]
::• Secret combinations result in destruction #1 (9:1-15a)
::::• king Omer warned to flee (1-3)
::::• Akish kills his father in law Jared (4-6)
::::• Akish kills his son, another son flees (7-9)
::::• other sons rebel, secret combinations kill all but thirty people (10-12)
::::• Omer restored as king of a remnant (13-15a)

:[[Ether 9:16-10:29 | '''C. Destruction #2 until people repent, people rise up against oppressive king (9:15b-10:29)''']]
::a. Emer: prosperity in a choice land (15b-22)
:::b. Coriantum and Com: minimal detail (23-25)
::::c. Heth: embraces secret combinations and persecutes prophets, destruction #2 by famine and serpents until people repent (26-35)
:::::d. Shez: descendant remembers the destruction of his fathers and builds up a righteous kingdom (10:1-4)
::::c. Riplakish: oppresses the people with taxation and servitude until they rise up against him (5-8)
:::::d. Morianton: descendant eases the people's burden but is personally wicked (9-13a)
:::b. Kim, Levi, Corom: minimal detail (13b-18)
::a. Lib: serpents destroyed, prosperity in a choice land (19-29)

:[[Ether 10:30-11:23 | '''D. Destruction #3 until people repent, general decline into wickedness (10:30-11:23)''']]
::a. Hearthom and descendants in captivity (30-31)
:::• Com: protects prophets but cannot overcome secret combinations (10:32-11:3)
:::• Shiblom: prophets killed by usurper and ignored because of secret combinations, destruction #3 by war and famine until people repent (4-9)
:::• Ahah and Ethem: prophets ignored and withdraw (10-14a)
::a. Moron and descendants in captivity until Ether (14b-23)

'''I. Coriantumr & Ether: Jaredites destroyed from off the land (12-15)'''
:[[Ether 12 | '''• Faith precedes blessing; humility, hope, and charity (12)''']]
::• Faith precedes blessing (1-21)
:::a. Ether cannot be restrained from preaching faith, repentance, and hope (1-5)
::::b. faith precedes witness and miracles (6-18)
:::a. Brother of Jared could not be kept from within the veil because of his faith (19-21)
::• Humility, hope, and charity (22-41)
:::a. Moroni: apprehension at his weakness in writing compared to speaking (22-25)
::::b. Lord: Gentiles must be humble (26-28)
:::::c. Moroni: the Lord works according people's faith, Brother of Jared (29-31)
:::::c. Moroni: hope and charity (32-35)
::::b. Lord: Moroni has been humble (36-37)
:::a. Moroni: closing testimony of his writing and of Christ (38-41)

:[[Ether 13:1-12 | '''• America as home to the New Jerusalem (13a)''']]
::a. people reject Ether's words (1-2a)
:::b. after flood this land choice and inhabitants accountable (2b)
::::c. Old Jerusalem, New Jerusalem to be built to Joseph (3-4)
:::::d. this typology also applies to Nephites (__)
::::c. New Jerusalem to be built to Joseph, not confounded (__)
:::b. Old and New Jerusalems to be inhabited by righteous (__)
::a. Moroni forbidden to write more of Ether's words (13a)

:[[Ether 13-15 | '''• Narrative: Coriantumr & Ether, Jaredites destroyed from off the land (13b-15)''']]
::[[Ether 13:13-22 | '''A. Ether's warning to avoid destruction through repentance (13:13-22)''']]
::::a. Ether rejected, views destruction from hiding (13-14)
:::::b. wars between secret combinations and king (15-16)
::::::c. no one repents (17)
:::::b. wars between secret combinations and king (18-19)
::::a. Ether prophesies final destruction and in hiding, no one repents (20-22)

:::[[Ether 13:23-14:31 | '''B. Coriantumr tries to avoid destruction by fighting four challengers (13:23-14:31)''']]
:::::a. Corinatumr and Shared battle three days (23-30)
::::::b. curse on the land (13:31-14:2)
:::::::c. Coriantumr and Gilead battle in Akish and Moron (3-8)
::::::::d. self-destruction within secret combinations (9-10)
:::::::c. Coriantumr and Lib II battle in Moron and Akish (11-16)
::::::b. fear of Shiz sweeping the earth (17-25)
:::::a. Coriantumr and Shiz battle three days (26-31)

::::[[Ether 15:1-5 | '''C. Coriantumr tries to avoid destruction by negotiating (15:1-5)''']]

:::[[Ether 15:6-32 | '''B. Jaredites are destroyed over eight days of fighting (15:6-32)''']]
::::a. battle at seashore, Coriantumr faints (6-11)
:::::b. camping four years to gather strength (12-15a)
::::::c. days 1-2 of final battle (15b-17)
:::::::d. Coriantumr again tries to avoid destruction by negotiating (18-19)
::::::c. days 3-6 of final battle (20-26)
:::::b. days 7-8 of final battle, Coriantumr's group flees (27-29a)
::::a. Shiz and Coriantumr both faint (29b-32)

::[[Ether 15:33-34 | '''A. Ether's witness of non-repentance and total destruction #4 (15:33-34)''']]

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
{|
reflist
|}

== Additional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add sources and links''

----

                                                                 [[Ether 1:1-32 | Next page: Chapter 1a]]

Ether 7:4-11:23

2012-07-08T12:21:01Z

173.64.199.25: Moving content from main page of Ether

[[The Book of Mormon]] > [[Ether]] > [[Ether 7-11 | Chapters 7-11]] 
:Subpages: 
[[Ether 6:13-7:3 | Previous page: Verses 6:13-7:3]]                      [[Ether 7 | Next page: Chapter 7]]

== Outline and brief summary ==

The relationship of chapters 7-11 to the rest of the book is discussed at [[Ether]].

The pages for these chapters have not yet been regrouped, so the content of these chapters is still discussed on the original computer-generated default pages of chapters and five-verse blocks.

* [[Ether 7 | Chapter 7]]
* [[Ether 8 | Chapter 8a]]
* [[Ether 8:20-26 | Verses 8:20-26]]
* [[Ether 9 | Chapter 9]]
* [[Ether 10 | Chapter 10]]
* [[Ether 11 | Chapter 11]]

[[Ether 7-11 | '''II. Centuries of kings, prophets, secret combinations, and destructions (7-11)''']]
:[[Ether 7:4-27 | '''A. Shule: is protected and in turn protects the prophets (7:3b-27)''']]
::• Shule restores kingdom to his father (3b-13)
::• Nimrah restores second half of kingdom to Shule (14-22)
::• Shule protects prophets from the people (23-27)

:[[Ether 8:1-9:15 | '''B. Omer: secret combinations cause destruction #1 (8:1-9:15a)''']]
::• Secret combinations introduced (8:1-19)
::::• Jared rebels against his father Omer, is defeated, and repents (1-6)
::::• daughter of Jared suggests a secret combination (7-12)
::::• Akish's oath initiates the secret combination (13-19)
:::[[Ether 8:20-26 | '''• Moroni commanded to warn against secret combinations (8:20-26)''']]
::• Secret combinations result in destruction #1 (9:1-15a)
::::• king Omer warned to flee (1-3)
::::• Akish kills his father in law Jared (4-6)
::::• Akish kills his son, another son flees (7-9)
::::• other sons rebel, secret combinations kill all but thirty people (10-12)
::::• Omer restored as king of a remnant (13-15a)

:[[Ether 9:16-10:29 | '''C. Destruction #2 until people repent, people rise up against oppressive king (9:15b-10:29)''']]
::a. Emer: prosperity in a choice land (15b-22)
:::b. Coriantum and Com: minimal detail (23-25)
::::c. Heth: embraces secret combinations and persecutes prophets, destruction #2 by famine and serpents until people repent (26-35)
:::::d. Shez: descendant remembers the destruction of his fathers and builds up a righteous kingdom (10:1-4)
::::c. Riplakish: oppresses the people with taxation and servitude until they rise up against him (5-8)
:::::d. Morianton: descendant eases the people's burden but is personally wicked (9-13a)
:::b. Kim, Levi, Corom: minimal detail (13b-18)
::a. Lib: serpents destroyed, prosperity in a choice land (19-29)

:[[Ether 10:30-11:23 | '''D. Destruction #3 until people repent, general decline into wickedness (10:30-11:23)''']]
::a. Hearthom and descendants in captivity (30-31)
:::• Com: protects prophets but cannot overcome secret combinations (10:32-11:3)
:::• Shiblom: prophets killed by usurper and ignored because of secret combinations, destruction #3 by war and famine until people repent (4-9)
:::• Ahah and Ethem: prophets ignored and withdraw (10-14a)
::a. Moron and descendants in captivity until Ether (14b-23)

The opening third third of Ether (chapters 1-6) centers on just two main characters, Jared and his prophet brother. The final third of Ether (chapters 12-15) likewise centers on just two main characters, the king Coriantumr and the prophet Ether. All the intervening centuries of Jaredite history are covered here in the middle third (chapters 7-11).

This middle third divides into four sections. The first section (chapter 7) revolves around Jared's great grandson Shule. The second section revolves around the reign of Shule's son Omer, including Omer's son Jared and Jared's daughter and son in law Akish (8-9a). This leaves only two and a half chapters (9b-11) for an extremely compressed account of more than a thousand years of history. The foregoing outline identifies repeated patterns in Moroni's account of that history that bring out the lessons he drew from that history.

== Detailed discussion ==

=== Main characters ===

Here is a quick reminder about the main characters in Ether:

* Jared & his Brother - Jaredites established
* Orihah - fourth son of Jared, first king
* Shule - restores kingdom to father, averts destruction
* Jared II - rebels against father Omer, destruction #1
* Heth - rebels against father Com I, destruction #2
* Emer - Pax Jaredita #1
* Shez I - protected from Shez II (smitten by robber)
* Riplakish - people rise up & cast him out
* Morianton - eases the burden of the people
* Kim - wicked & brought into captivity
* Lib I - Pax Jaredita #2
* Com II - unsuccessful in suppressing secret combinations
* Shiblom - destruction #3
* Ahah & Ethem - prophets rejected, withdraw
* Moron & Coriantor - prophets rejected
* Shared, Gilead, Lib II, Shiz - each challenges Coriantumr
* Coriantumr & Ether - final destruction #4

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
{|
reflist
|}

== Additional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add additional sources and links''

----

[[Ether 6:13-7:3 | Previous page: Verses 6:13-7:3]]                      [[Ether 7 | Next page: Chapter 7]]

Ether

2012-07-08T12:02:26Z

173.64.199.25: Minor revisions

[[The Book of Mormon]] > [[Ether]] 
:Subpages: [[Ether 1:1-32 | Chapter 1a]], [[Ether 1-2,6 | Chapters 1b-2, 6]], [[Ether 3-5 | Chapters 3-5]], [[Ether 7-11 | Chapters 7-11]], [[Ether 12 | Chapter 12]], [[Ether 13 | Chapter 13a]], [[Ether 13-15 | Chapters 13b-15]] 
                                                                 [[Ether 1:1-32 | Next page: Chapter 1a]]

== Historical setting ==

The book of Ether recounts the history of the Jaredites, the second of four peoples to live and leave record of their occupation of the Americas.

== Brief outline and summary ==

The relationship of the book of Ether to the rest of the Book of Mormon is discussed at [[The Book of Mormon]]. The book of Ether can be outlined broadly as follows:

:'''• Prologue, origins, and genealogy (1a)'''

:'''I. Jared & Brother: Jaredites established in the land (1b-6)'''
:::[[Ether 1-2,6 | • Narrative (1b-2, 6)]]
::::[[Ether 2:8-12 | • America as a choice land (2:8-12)]]
:::::[[Ether 3-5 | • Faith to receive knowledge and enter into the presence of the Lord (3-5)]]
:::[[Ether 1-2,6 | • Narrative (1b-2, 6)]]

::'''II. Centuries of kings, prophets, secret combinations, and destructions (7-11)'''
:::[[Ether 7-11 | • Narrative (7-11)]]
::::[[Ether 8:20-26 | • Warning to fight against secret combinations (8:20-26)]]

:'''I. Coriantumr & Ether: Jaredites destroyed from off the land (12-15)'''
:::::[[Ether 12 | • Faith precedes blessing; humility, hope, and charity (12)]]
::::[[Ether 13:1-12 | • America as home to the New Jerusalem (13a)]]
:::[[Ether 13-15 | • Narrative (13b-15)]]

Chapters 1b-6, containing 5,304 words in English translation, follow Jared and his brother as the first generation settles in America. Chapters 12-15, containing 5,201 words, follow the prophet Ether and the king Coriantumr as the last generation is destroyed. The remaining middle third, containing 5,738 words, covers all the intervening centuries of Jaredite history.

Ether particularly addresses the issue of at what point a society becomes "ripe" in iniquity, the susceptibility of centralized governmental power to attack by secret societies, and the desirability of faith. As elsewhere in the scriptures, Ether dwells on the extremes.

The major divisions of Ether are discussed separately on the following subpages: [[Ether 1:1-32 | Chapter 1a]], [[Ether 1-2,6 | Chapters 1b-2, 6]], [[Ether 3-5 | Chapters 3-5]], [[Ether 7-11 | Chapters 7-11]], [[Ether 12 | Chapter 12]], [[Ether 13 | Chapter 13a]], [[Ether 13-15 | Chapters 13b-15.]] 

== Detailed discussion ==

=== Main characters ===

Here is a quick reminder about the main characters in Ether:

* Jared & his Brother - Jaredites established
* Orihah - fourth son of Jared, first king
* Shule - restores kingdom to father, averts destruction
* Jared II - rebels against father Omer, destruction #1
* Heth - rebels against father Com I, destruction #2
* Emer - Pax Jaredita #1
* Shez I - protected from Shez II (smitten by robber)
* Riplakish - people rise up & cast him out
* Morianton - eases the burden of the people
* Kim - wicked & brought into captivity
* Lib I - Pax Jaredita #2
* Com II - unsuccessful in suppressing secret combinations
* Shiblom - destruction #3
* Ahah & Ethem - prophets rejected, withdraw
* Moron & Coriantor - prophets rejected
* Shared, Gilead, Lib II, Shiz - each challenges Coriantumr
* Coriantumr & Ether - final destruction #4

=== Secret combinations ===

The Jaredites suffer major destructions four times in the book of Ether (CITES). All four destructions follow the introduction of secret combinations, and the Jaredites never suffer destruction in their absence.

=== Group temporal salvation and individual spiritual salvation ===

The narrative portions of Ether generally address what a society must do to save itself, rather than what an individual must do to save him/herself. The church, ordinances, and specific commandments are never mentioned, nor does the narrative ever concern itself with the spiritual salvation of any particular individual. When the Lord chastises the Brother of Jared, it is as a representative of the entire group, the threatened punishment does not apply only to him, and that threatened destruction is death rather than damnation. Likewise, the suspense at the end of the book is not whether Coriantumr will repent in time to save himself spiritually, but whether he will do so in time to save society temporally.

Individual salvation is addressed in the "faith" divisions of Ether, chapters 3-5, 12. Ether presumes that a person already knows what they must do to repent. Ether is a "third temple speech" book. That is, it does not function on the level of Jacob's speech in Jacob 2-3 (or 1-2 Nephi) where people are exhorted to behave as they know they should. Nor does Ether function on the level of King Benjamin's speech (or Mosiah-Alma generally) where people are led to feel the Holy Ghost and have a change of heart. Rather, the faith speeches in Ether 3 and 12 (and in Moroni 7, 10) function on the level of the Lord's teachings in 3 Nephi 11-27 and assume that people already know all that and can move beyond faith as a principle of action and obedience to learning about faith as a principle of power to work miracles and enter into the presence of the Lord.

Ether 3 and 13 relate visions to Jaredites, the contents of which are not to be freely distributed. Ether 2 and 12 contain Moroni's own comments and bear no such restrictions. The climax of the first half of the opening narrative is the first promised land speech (2:8-12), a statement of what it takes to save a nation temporally. The high point of the entire opening narrative is the experience where the brother of Jared is brought into the presence of the Lord and experiences individual spiritual salvation (3-5). Moroni apparently sees a close connection between these two ideas and suggests that societies are saved temporally when some critical mass of its members are qualifying for individual temporal salvation.

Throughout Ether, political conditions, especially as regards secret societies, are presented as reflections of underlying societal conditions. The solution to bad situations is always a very generic "repent." Only in Moroni's sidebar speech in 8:20-26, the doctrinal climax of Ether, and in the narrative climax under the reigns of Riplakish and Morianton, do we see any exercise of volition in a specific course of action to change the prevailing political conditions.

=== Political leaders ===

This emphasis on society as a whole rather than particular individuals may result from the fact that this record was kept by the society's political leaders rather than its religious leaders. Unlike religious institutions, political institutions are not concerned with the content of the marketplace of ideas; they are concerned only with seeing that the marketplace functions and is available. Similarly, God will not intervene to destroy, and has commanded us to support (AF 11), political institutions as long as that marketplace functions, thus allowing free agency (AF 12). Hence, Moroni's account of Jaredite history does not dwell at length on the content of Christ's Gospel as does Mormon's account of Nephite history. As long as society ensures the existence of free agency, society may save itself from destruction at God's hand, regardless of whether any particular individual, or any member of society at all, chooses to take advantage of it and save him/herself.

Throughout Ether, political conditions, especially as regards secret societies, are presented as reflections of underlying societal conditions. The solution to bad situations is always a very generic "repent." Only in Moroni's sidebar speech in 8:20-26, the doctrinal climax of Ether, and in the narrative climax under the reigns of Riplakish and Morianton, do we see any exercise of volition in a specific course of action to change the prevailing political conditions.

The Brother of Jared warns about the evils of monarchy, power from the top down and a lure or prize to the ambitious, while Moroni warns of the evils of secret societies, power from the ground up. Com II may be intended to show that secret societies, which derive their strength from the bottom up rather than vice versa, are the more potent of the two.

=== Wickedness ===

Free agency requires that a person have both a correct understanding of what his/her choices are and the liberty to act on those choices. The Book of Ether never mentions false or competing ideologies. The Jaredites know the truth and either accept or reject it knowingly. Nor does Ether mention divisions in society based on wealth, religious inclination, genealogy, etc. We know they exist from the mention of Morianton raising an army of outcasts, but that is not Moroni's point. As the picture is painted for us, the Jaredites never have to make hard choices when deciding whether to obey God as did the faithful Nephites on the eve of Christ's birth. When we are told that the Jaredites killed the prophets, the emphasis is on the hardness of their hearts rather than the difficult lot of a righteous prophet in a wicked society. Jaredite society thus exists in an environment of complete moral freedom with its knowledge of the gospel and the lack of any obstacles to its practice other than individual desire. Wickedness, then, is not the result of external conditions, such as the false traditions of the Lamanites. Rather, it is knowing and open rebellion motivated by worldly enticements. The issue in the book of Ether is not what it takes to obey God's Plan, but simply whether the Jaredites want to.

In the Nephite history secret societies are depicted as an external threat to the ability of the righteous to live as they should in a fractured society. In Ether, because society is depicted as monolithic, secret societies are an internal sickness, a result of what the people are like rather than an environmental condition. In Ether secret societies seem to disappear rather easily any time the people repent. It is true that Com II fought against them without success, but that just means the king was out of touch with his more wicked subjects. Jaredite society was never convulsed in an attempt to eradicate them as was the case with the Gadianton robbers, only as the result of having embraced them.

In summary, the two big questions throughout the Book of Ether are whether society as a whole will temporally save itself, and whether society feels like it.

Two answers: it is an aggregation of individuals & you must call the shots to secret combinations & kings.

== Parallel passages in other scriptures ==

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/ether/12?lang=eng Ether 12] - [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/heb/11?lang=eng Hebrews 11] (chapters are similar)

== Complete outline and page map ==

Items in blue or purple text indicate hyperlinked pages that address specific portions of Ether.

:::::'''[[Ether]]'''
[[Ether 1:1-32 | '''• Prologue, origins and genealogy (1a)''']]

[[Ether 1-2,6 | '''I. Jared & Brother: Jaredites established in the land (1b-6)''']]
:[[Ether 1:33-2:7 | '''• Land journey (1:33-2:7)''']]
:::a. questions and answers about scattering and traveling to a land of promise (34-43)
::::b. gathering food supplies for the journey (2:1-4)
:::::c. Lord leads Jaredites toward promised land (4-7)

::::::[[Ether 2:8-12 |'''• We can behold: America as a choice land (2:8-12)''']]

:[[Ether 2:13-25 | '''• Preparing to cross the ocean (2:13-25)''']]
:::::c. Lord chastises for three hours because no progress for four years (13-15)
::::b. building boats for the water journey (16-17)
:::a. questions and answers about light and air while traveling in boats (18-25)

::[[Ether 3-5 | '''B. Faith to receive knowledge and enter into the presence of the Lord (3-5)''']]
:::• Brother of Jared redeemed from the fall through faith (3:1-20)
::::• he requests in prayer that the Lord touch sixteen stones with finger (1-5)
::::• he sees the finger of the Lord because of his great faith (6-12)
::::• he is redeemed and brought back into Christ's presence because of his knowledge (13-20)
:::• Knowledge and redemption are available through the Holy Ghost on conditions of faith, repentance and baptism (3:21-5:6)
::::• vision received of all mankind because of faith, instruction to seal it up until Christ's ministry, two stones (3:21-28)
::::• vision disclosed to Nephites after Christ's ministry, then again sealed up because of unbelief, two stones (4:1-5)
::::• '''Moroni commanded to say:''' (4:6-19)
:::::• vision will again be disclosed only when Gentiles exercise faith and repent (6-12)
:::::• come unto Christ to receive hidden knowledge, John's revelation is now unfolding (13-19)
::::• the Lord will confirm the testimony of Three Witnesses who will see the Book of Mormon plates (5:1-6)

:[[Ether 6:1-12 | '''• Crossing the ocean (6:1-12a)''']]
::a. stones, food supplies and people aboard boats for journey (1-4)
:::b. wind, protected, Noah (5-8)
::::c. praise God the whole way (9)
:::b. light, protected, Noah (10-12a)

:[[Ether 6:13-7:3 | '''• Settling on the promised land (6:12b-7:3a)''']]
::a. multiply, walk humbly, and prosperous (12b-18)
:::b. stewardship accounting of leadership (19-21)
:::b. allowing the people to choose a king (22-27)
::a. prosperous, walk humbly, and multiply (6:27-7:3a)

[[Ether 7-11 | '''II. Centuries of kings, prophets, secret combinations, and destructions (7-11)''']]
:[[Ether 7:4-27 | '''A. Shule: is protected and in turn protects the prophets (7:3b-27)''']]
::• Shule restores kingdom to his father (3b-13)
::• Nimrah restores second half of kingdom to Shule (14-22)
::• Shule protects prophets from the people (23-27)

:[[Ether 8:1-9:15 | '''B. Omer: secret combinations cause destruction #1 (8:1-9:15a)''']]
::• Secret combinations introduced (8:1-19)
::::• Jared rebels against his father Omer, is defeated, and repents (1-6)
::::• daughter of Jared suggests a secret combination (7-12)
::::• Akish's oath initiates the secret combination (13-19)
:::[[Ether 8:20-26 | '''• Moroni commanded to warn against secret combinations (8:20-26)''']]
::• Secret combinations result in destruction #1 (9:1-15a)
::::• king Omer warned to flee (1-3)
::::• Akish kills his father in law Jared (4-6)
::::• Akish kills his son, another son flees (7-9)
::::• other sons rebel, secret combinations kill all but thirty people (10-12)
::::• Omer restored as king of a remnant (13-15a)

:[[Ether 9:16-10:29 | '''C. Destruction #2 until people repent, people rise up against oppressive king (9:15b-10:29)''']]
::a. Emer: prosperity in a choice land (15b-22)
:::b. Coriantum and Com: minimal detail (23-25)
::::c. Heth: embraces secret combinations and persecutes prophets, destruction #2 by famine and serpents until people repent (26-35)
:::::d. Shez: descendant remembers the destruction of his fathers and builds up a righteous kingdom (10:1-4)
::::c. Riplakish: oppresses the people with taxation and servitude until they rise up against him (5-8)
:::::d. Morianton: descendant eases the people's burden but is personally wicked (9-13a)
:::b. Kim, Levi, Corom: minimal detail (13b-18)
::a. Lib: serpents destroyed, prosperity in a choice land (19-29)

:[[Ether 10:30-11:23 | '''D. Destruction #3 until people repent, general decline into wickedness (10:30-11:23)''']]
::a. Hearthom and descendants in captivity (30-31)
:::• Com: protects prophets but cannot overcome secret combinations (10:32-11:3)
:::• Shiblom: prophets killed by usurper and ignored because of secret combinations, destruction #3 by war and famine until people repent (4-9)
:::• Ahah and Ethem: prophets ignored and withdraw (10-14a)
::a. Moron and descendants in captivity until Ether (14b-23)

'''I. Coriantumr & Ether: Jaredites destroyed from off the land (12-15)'''
:[[Ether 12 | '''• Faith precedes blessing; humility, hope, and charity (12)''']]
::• Faith precedes blessing (1-21)
:::a. Ether cannot be restrained from preaching faith, repentance, and hope (1-5)
::::b. faith precedes witness and miracles (6-18)
:::a. Brother of Jared could not be kept from within the veil because of his faith (19-21)
::• Humility, hope, and charity (22-41)
:::a. Moroni: apprehension at his weakness in writing compared to speaking (22-25)
::::b. Lord: Gentiles must be humble (26-28)
:::::c. Moroni: the Lord works according people's faith, Brother of Jared (29-31)
:::::c. Moroni: hope and charity (32-35)
::::b. Lord: Moroni has been humble (36-37)
:::a. Moroni: closing testimony of his writing and of Christ (38-41)

:[[Ether 13:1-12 | '''• America as home to the New Jerusalem (13a)''']]
::a. people reject Ether's words (1-2a)
:::b. after flood this land choice and inhabitants accountable (2b)
::::c. Old Jerusalem, New Jerusalem to be built to Joseph (3-4)
:::::d. this typology also applies to Nephites (__)
::::c. New Jerusalem to be built to Joseph, not confounded (__)
:::b. Old and New Jerusalems to be inhabited by righteous (__)
::a. Moroni forbidden to write more of Ether's words (13a)

:[[Ether 13-15 | '''• Narrative: Coriantumr & Ether, Jaredites destroyed from off the land (13b-15)''']]
::[[Ether 13:13-22 | '''A. Ether's warning to avoid destruction through repentance (13:13-22)''']]
::::a. Ether rejected, views destruction from hiding (13-14)
:::::b. wars between secret combinations and king (15-16)
::::::c. no one repents (17)
:::::b. wars between secret combinations and king (18-19)
::::a. Ether prophesies final destruction and in hiding, no one repents (20-22)

:::[[Ether 13:23-14:31 | '''B. Coriantumr tries to avoid destruction by fighting four challengers (13:23-14:31)''']]
:::::a. Corinatumr and Shared battle three days (23-30)
::::::b. curse on the land (13:31-14:2)
:::::::c. Coriantumr and Gilead battle in Akish and Moron (3-8)
::::::::d. self-destruction within secret combinations (9-10)
:::::::c. Coriantumr and Lib II battle in Moron and Akish (11-16)
::::::b. fear of Shiz sweeping the earth (17-25)
:::::a. Coriantumr and Shiz battle three days (26-31)

::::[[Ether 15:1-5 | '''C. Coriantumr tries to avoid destruction by negotiating (15:1-5)''']]

:::[[Ether 15:6-32 | '''B. Jaredites are destroyed over eight days of fighting (15:6-32)''']]
::::a. battle at seashore, Coriantumr faints (6-11)
:::::b. camping four years to gather strength (12-15a)
::::::c. days 1-2 of final battle (15b-17)
:::::::d. Coriantumr again tries to avoid destruction by negotiating (18-19)
::::::c. days 3-6 of final battle (20-26)
:::::b. days 7-8 of final battle, Coriantumr's group flees (27-29a)
::::a. Shiz and Coriantumr both faint (29b-32)

::[[Ether 15:33-34 | '''A. Ether's witness of non-repentance and total destruction #4 (15:33-34)''']]

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
{|
reflist
|}

== Additional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add sources and links''

----

                                                                 [[Ether 1:1-32 | Next page: Chapter 1a]]

Ether

2012-07-08T11:51:15Z

173.64.199.25: Revising outline

[[The Book of Mormon]] > [[Ether]] 
:Subpages: [[Ether 1:1-32 | Chapter 1a]], [[Ether 1-2,6 | Chapters 1b-2, 6]], [[Ether 3-5 | Chapters 3-5]], [[Ether 7-11 | Chapters 7-11]], [[Ether 12 | Chapter 12]], [[Ether 13 | Chapter 13a]], [[Ether 13-15 | Chapters 13b-15]] 
                                                                 [[Ether 1:1-32 | Next page: Chapter 1a]]

== Historical setting ==

The book of Ether recounts the history of the Jaredites, the second of four peoples to live and leave record of their occupation of the Americas.

== Brief outline and summary ==

The relationship of the book of Ether to the rest of the Book of Mormon is discussed at [[The Book of Mormon]]. The book of Ether can be outlined broadly as follows:

:'''• Prologue, origins, and genealogy (1a)'''

:'''I. Jared & Brother: Jaredites established in the land (1b-6)'''
:::[[Ether 1-2,6 | • Narrative (1b-2, 6)]]
::::[[Ether 2:8-12 | • America as a choice land (2:8-12)]]
:::::[[Ether 3-5 | • Faith to receive knowledge and enter into the presence of the Lord (3-5)]]
:::[[Ether 1-2,6 | • Narrative (1b-2, 6)]]

::'''II. Centuries of kings, prophets, secret combinations, and destructions (7-11)'''
:::[[Ether 7-11 | • Narrative (7-11)]]
::::[[Ether 8:20-26 | • Warning to fight against secret combinations (8:20-26)]]

:'''I. Coriantumr & Ether: Jaredites destroyed from off the land (12-15)'''
:::::[[Ether 12 | • Faith precedes blessing; humility, hope, and charity (12)]]
::::[[Ether 13:1-12 | • America as home to the New Jerusalem (13a)]]
:::[[Ether 13-15 | • Narrative (13b-15)]]

Chapters 1b-6, containing 5,304 words in English translation, follow Jared and his brother as the first generation settles in America. Chapters 12-15, containing 5,201 words, follow the prophet Ether and the king Coriantumr as the last generation is destroyed. The remaining middle third, containing 5,738 words, covers all the intervening centuries of Jaredite history.

Ether particularly addresses the issue of at what point a society becomes "ripe" in iniquity, the susceptibility of centralized governmental power to attack by secret societies, and the desirability of faith. As elsewhere in the scriptures, Ether dwells on the extremes.

The major divisions of Ether is discussed separately on the following subpages: [[Ether 1:1-32 | Chapter 1a]], [[Ether 1-2,6 | Chapters 1b-2, 6]], [[Ether 3-5 | Chapters 3-5]], [[Ether 7-11 | Chapters 7-11]], [[Ether 12 | Chapter 12]], [[Ether 13 | Chapter 13a]], [[Ether 13-15 | Chapters 13b-15.]] 

== Detailed discussion ==

=== Main characters ===

Here is a quick reminder about the main characters in Ether:

* Jared & his Brother - Jaredites established
* Orihah - fourth son of Jared, first king
* Shule - restores kingdom to father, averts destruction
* Jared II - rebels against father Omer, destruction #1
* Heth - rebels against father Com I, destruction #2
* Emer - Pax Jaredita #1
* Shez I - protected from Shez II (smitten by robber)
* Riplakish - people rise up & cast him out
* Morianton - eases the burden of the people
* Kim - wicked & brought into captivity
* Lib I - Pax Jaredita #2
* Com II - unsuccessful in suppressing secret combinations
* Shiblom - destruction #3
* Ahah & Ethem - prophets rejected, withdraw
* Moron & Coriantor - prophets rejected
* Shared, Gilead, Lib II, Shiz - each challenges Coriantumr
* Coriantumr & Ether - final destruction #4

=== Secret combinations ===

The Jaredites suffer major destructions four times in the book of Ether (CITES). All four destructions follow the introduction of secret combinations, and the Jaredites never suffer destruction in their absence.

=== Group temporal salvation and individual spiritual salvation ===

The narrative portions of Ether generally address what a society must do to save itself, rather than what an individual must do to save him/herself. The church, ordinances, and specific commandments are never mentioned, nor does the narrative ever concern itself with the spiritual salvation of any particular individual. When the Lord chastises the Brother of Jared, it is as a representative of the entire group, the threatened punishment does not apply only to him, and that threatened destruction is death rather than damnation. Likewise, the suspense at the end of the book is not whether Coriantumr will repent in time to save himself spiritually, but whether he will do so in time to save society temporally.

Individual salvation is addressed in the "faith" divisions of Ether, chapters 3-5, 12. Ether presumes that a person already knows what they must do to repent. Ether is a "third temple speech" book. That is, it does not function on the level of Jacob's speech in Jacob 2-3 (or 1-2 Nephi) where people are exhorted to behave as they know they should. Nor does Ether function on the level of King Benjamin's speech (or Mosiah-Alma generally) where people are led to feel the Holy Ghost and have a change of heart. Rather, the faith speeches in Ether 3 and 12 (and in Moroni 7, 10) function on the level of the Lord's teachings in 3 Nephi 11-27 and assume that people already know all that and can move beyond faith as a principle of action and obedience to learning about faith as a principle of power to work miracles and enter into the presence of the Lord.

Ether 3 and 13 relate visions to Jaredites, the contents of which are not to be freely distributed. Ether 2 and 12 contain Moroni's own comments and bear no such restrictions. The climax of the first half of the opening narrative is the first promised land speech (2:8-12), a statement of what it takes to save a nation temporally. The high point of the entire opening narrative is the experience where the brother of Jared is brought into the presence of the Lord and experiences individual spiritual salvation (3-5). Moroni apparently sees a close connection between these two ideas and suggests that societies are saved temporally when some critical mass of its members are qualifying for individual temporal salvation.

Throughout Ether, political conditions, especially as regards secret societies, are presented as reflections of underlying societal conditions. The solution to bad situations is always a very generic "repent." Only in Moroni's sidebar speech in 8:20-26, the doctrinal climax of Ether, and in the narrative climax under the reigns of Riplakish and Morianton, do we see any exercise of volition in a specific course of action to change the prevailing political conditions.

=== Political leaders ===

This emphasis on society as a whole rather than particular individuals may result from the fact that this record was kept by the society's political leaders rather than its religious leaders. Unlike religious institutions, political institutions are not concerned with the content of the marketplace of ideas; they are concerned only with seeing that the marketplace functions and is available. Similarly, God will not intervene to destroy, and has commanded us to support (AF 11), political institutions as long as that marketplace functions, thus allowing free agency (AF 12). Hence, Moroni's account of Jaredite history does not dwell at length on the content of Christ's Gospel as does Mormon's account of Nephite history. As long as society ensures the existence of free agency, society may save itself from destruction at God's hand, regardless of whether any particular individual, or any member of society at all, chooses to take advantage of it and save him/herself.

Throughout Ether, political conditions, especially as regards secret societies, are presented as reflections of underlying societal conditions. The solution to bad situations is always a very generic "repent." Only in Moroni's sidebar speech in 8:20-26, the doctrinal climax of Ether, and in the narrative climax under the reigns of Riplakish and Morianton, do we see any exercise of volition in a specific course of action to change the prevailing political conditions.

The Brother of Jared warns about the evils of monarchy, power from the top down and a lure or prize to the ambitious, while Moroni warns of the evils of secret societies, power from the ground up. Com II may be intended to show that secret societies, which derive their strength from the bottom up rather than vice versa, are the more potent of the two.

=== Wickedness ===

Free agency requires that a person have both a correct understanding of what his/her choices are and the liberty to act on those choices. The Book of Ether never mentions false or competing ideologies. The Jaredites know the truth and either accept or reject it knowingly. Nor does Ether mention divisions in society based on wealth, religious inclination, genealogy, etc. We know they exist from the mention of Morianton raising an army of outcasts, but that is not Moroni's point. As the picture is painted for us, the Jaredites never have to make hard choices when deciding whether to obey God as did the faithful Nephites on the eve of Christ's birth. When we are told that the Jaredites killed the prophets, the emphasis is on the hardness of their hearts rather than the difficult lot of a righteous prophet in a wicked society. Jaredite society thus exists in an environment of complete moral freedom with its knowledge of the gospel and the lack of any obstacles to its practice other than individual desire. Wickedness, then, is not the result of external conditions, such as the false traditions of the Lamanites. Rather, it is knowing and open rebellion motivated by worldly enticements. The issue in the book of Ether is not what it takes to obey God's Plan, but simply whether the Jaredites want to.

In the Nephite history secret societies are depicted as an external threat to the ability of the righteous to live as they should in a fractured society. In Ether, because society is depicted as monolithic, secret societies are an internal sickness, a result of what the people are like rather than an environmental condition. In Ether secret societies seem to disappear rather easily any time the people repent. It is true that Com II fought against them without success, but that just means the king was out of touch with his more wicked subjects. Jaredite society was never convulsed in an attempt to eradicate them as was the case with the Gadianton robbers, only as the result of having embraced them.

In summary, the two big questions throughout the Book of Ether are whether society as a whole will temporally save itself, and whether society feels like it.

Two answers: it is an aggregation of individuals & you must call the shots to secret combinations & kings.

== Parallel passages in other scriptures ==

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/ether/12?lang=eng Ether 12] - [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/heb/11?lang=eng Hebrews 11] (chapters are similar)

== Complete outline and page map ==

Items in blue or purple text indicate hyperlinked pages that address specific portions of Ether.

:::::'''[[Ether]]'''
[[Ether 1:1-32 | '''• Prologue, origins and genealogy (1a)''']]

[[Ether 1-2,6 | '''I. Jared & Brother: Jaredites established in the land (1b-6)''']]
:[[Ether 1:33-2:7 | '''• Land journey (1:33-2:7)''']]
:::a. questions and answers about traveling to a land of promise (34-43)
::::b. gathering food supplies for the journey (2:1-4)
:::::c. Lord leads Jaredites toward promised land (4-7)

::::::[[Ether 2:8-12 |'''• We can behold: America as a choice land (2:8-12)''']]

:[[Ether 2:13-25 | '''• Preparing to cross the ocean (2:13-25)''']]
:::::c. Lord chastises for three hours because no progress for four years (13-15)
::::b. building boats for the water journey (16-17)
:::a. questions and answers about light and air while traveling in boats (18-25)

::[[Ether 3-5 | '''B. Faith to receive knowledge and enter into the presence of the Lord (3-5)''']]
:::• Brother of Jared redeemed from the fall through faith (3:1-20)
::::• he requests in prayer that the Lord touch sixteen stones with finger (1-5)
::::• he sees the finger of the Lord because of his great faith (6-12)
::::• he is redeemed and brought back into Christ's presence because of his knowledge (13-20)
:::• Knowledge and redemption are available through the Holy Ghost on conditions of faith, repentance and baptism (3:21-5:6)
::::• limited diclosure of the vision (3:21-4:5)
::::::• vision received of all mankind because of faith, instruction to seal it up until Christ's ministry, two stones (3:21-28)
::::::• vision disclosed to Nephites after Christ's ministry, then again sealed up because of unbelief, two stones (4:1-5)
::::• '''Moroni commanded to say:''' (4:6-19)
::::::• vision will again be disclosed when Gentiles exercise faith and repent (6-12)
::::::• come unto Christ to receive hidden knowledge, John's revelation is now unfolding (13-19)
::::• the Lord will confirm the testimony of Three Witnesses who will see the Book of Mormon plates (5:1-6)

:[[Ether 6:1-12 | '''• Crossing the ocean (6:1-12a)''']]
::a. stones, food supplies and people aboard boats for journey (1-4)
:::b. wind, protected, Noah (5-8)
::::c. praise God the whole way (9)
:::b. light, protected, Noah (10-12a)

:[[Ether 6:13-7:3 | '''• Settling in the promised land (6:12b-7:3a)''']]
::a. multiply, walk humbly, and prosperous (12b-18)
:::b. stewardship accounting of leadership (19-21)
:::b. allowing the people to choose a king (22-27)
::a. prosperous, walk humbly, and multiply (6:27-7:3a)

[[Ether 7-11 | '''II. Centuries of kings, prophets, secret combinations, and destructions (7-11)''']]
:[[Ether 7:4-27 | '''A. Shule: is protected and in turn protects the prophets (7:3b-27)''']]
::• Shule restores kingdom to his father (3b-13)
::• Nimrah restores second half of kingdom to Shule (14-22)
::• Shule protects prophets from the people (23-27)

:[[Ether 8:1-9:15 | '''B. Omer: secret combinations cause destruction #1 (8:1-9:15a)''']]
::• Secret combinations introduced (8:1-19)
::::• Jared rebels against his father Omer, is defeated, and repents (1-6)
::::• daughter of Jared suggests a secret combination (7-12)
::::• Akish's oath initiates the secret combination (13-19)
:::[[Ether 8:20-26 | '''• Moroni commanded to warn against secret combinations (8:20-26)''']]
::• Secret combinations result in destruction #1 (9:1-15a)
::::• king Omer warned to flee (1-3)
::::• Akish kills father in law Jared (4-6)
::::• Akish kills one son, and another son flees (7-9)
::::• other sons rebel and secret combinations kill all but thirty people (10-12)
::::• Omer restored as king of a remnant (13-15a)

:[[Ether 9:16-10:29 | '''C. Destruction #2 until people repent, people rise up against oppressive king (9:15b-10:29)''']]
::a. Emer: prosperity in a choice land (15b-22)
:::b. Coriantum and Com: minor kings (23-25)
::::c. Heth: embraces secret combinations and persecutes prophets, destruction #2 by famine and serpents until people repent (26-35)
:::::d. Shez: descendant remembers the destruction of his fathers and builds up a righteous kingdom (10:1-4)
::::c. Riplakish: oppresses the people with taxation and servitude until they rise up against him (5-8)
:::::d. Morianton: descendant eases the people's burden but is personally wicked (9-13a)
:::b. Kim, Levi, Corom: minor kings (13b-18)
::a. Lib: serpents destroyed, prosperity in a choice land (19-29)

:[[Ether 10:30-11:23 | '''D. Destruction #3 until people repent, general decline into wickedness (10:30-11:23)''']]
::a. Hearthom and descendants in captivity (30-31)
:::• Com: protects prophets but cannot overcome secret combinations (10:32-11:3)
:::• Shiblom: prophets killed by usurper and ignored because of secret combinations, destruction #3 by war and famine until people repent (4-9)
:::• Ahah and Ethem: prophets ignored and withdraw (10-14a)
::a. Moron and descendants in captivity until Ether (14b-23)

'''I. Coriantumr & Ether: Jaredites destroyed from off the land (12-15)'''
:[[Ether 12 | '''• Faith precedes blessing; humility, hope, and charity (12)''']]
::• Faith precedes blessing (1-21)
:::a. Ether cannot be restrained from preaching faith, repentance, and hope (1-5)
::::b. faith precedes witness and miracles (6-18)
:::a. Brother of Jared could not be kept from within the veil because of his faith (19-21)
::• Humility, hope, and charity (22-41)
:::a. Moroni: apprehension at his weakness in writing compared to speaking (22-25)
::::b. Lord: Gentiles must be humble (26-28)
:::::c. Moroni: the Lord works according people's faith, Brother of Jared (29-31)
:::::c. Moroni: hope and charity (32-35)
::::b. Lord: Moroni has been humble (36-37)
:::a. Moroni: closing testimony of his writing and of Christ (38-41)

:[[Ether 13:1-12 | '''• America as home to the New Jerusalem (13a)''']]
::a. people reject Ether's words (1-2a)
:::b. after flood this land choice and inhabitants accountable (2b)
::::c. Old Jerusalem, New Jerusalem to be built to Joseph (3-4)
:::::d. this typology also applies to Nephites (__)
::::c. New Jerusalem to be built to Joseph, not confounded (__)
:::b. Old and New Jerusalems to be inhabited by righteous (__)
::a. Moroni forbidden to write more of Ether's words (13a)

:[[Ether 13-15 | '''• Narrative: Coriantumr & Ether, Jaredites destroyed from off the land (13b-15)''']]
::[[Ether 13:13-22 | '''A. Ether's warning to avoid destruction through repentance (13:13-22)''']]
::::a. Ether rejected, views destruction from hiding (13-14)
:::::b. wars between secret combinations and king (15-16)
::::::c. no one repents (17)
:::::b. wars between secret combinations and king (18-19)
::::a. Ether prophesies final destruction and in hiding, no one repents (20-22)

:::[[Ether 13:23-14:31 | '''B. Coriantumr tries to avoid destruction by fighting four challengers (13:23-14:31)''']]
:::::a. Corinatumr and Shared battle three days (23-30)
::::::b. curse on the land (13:31-14:2)
:::::::c. Coriantumr and Gilead battle in Akish and Moron (3-8)
::::::::d. self-destruction within secret combinations (9-10)
:::::::c. Coriantumr and Lib II battle in Moron and Akish (11-16)
::::::b. fear of Shiz sweeping the earth (17-25)
:::::a. Coriantumr and Shiz battle three days (26-31)

::::[[Ether 15:1-5 | '''C. Coriantumr tries to avoid destruction by negotiating (15:1-5)''']]

:::[[Ether 15:6-32 | '''B. Jaredites are destroyed over eight days of fighting (15:6-32)''']]
::::a. battle at seashore, Coriantumr faints (6-11)
:::::b. camping four years to gather strength (12-15a)
::::::c. days 1-2 of final battle (15b-17)
:::::::d. Coriantumr again tries to avoid destruction by negotiating (18-19)
::::::c. days 3-6 of final battle (20-26)
:::::b. days 7-8 of final battle, Coriantumr's group flees (27-29a)
::::a. Shiz and Coriantumr both faint (29b-32)

::[[Ether 15:33-34 | '''A. Ether's witness of non-repentance and total destruction #4 (15:33-34)''']]

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
{|
reflist
|}

== Additional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add sources and links''

----

                                                                 [[Ether 1:1-32 | Next page: Chapter 1a]]

Ether

2012-07-08T10:33:53Z

173.64.199.25: Adding to brief summary and cleaning up outline

[[The Book of Mormon]] > [[Ether]] 
:Subpages: [[Ether 1:1-32 | Chapter 1a]], [[Ether 1-2,6 | Chapters 1b-2, 6]], [[Ether 3-5 | Chapters 3-5]], [[Ether 7-11 | Chapters 7-11]], [[Ether 12 | Chapter 12]], [[Ether 13 | Chapter 13a]], [[Ether 13-15 | Chapters 13b-15]] 
                                                                 [[Ether 1:1-32 | Next page: Chapter 1a]]

== Historical setting ==

The book of Ether recounts the history of the Jaredites, the second of four peoples to live and leave record of their occupation of the Americas.

== Brief outline and summary ==

The relationship of the book of Ether to the rest of the Book of Mormon is discussed at [[The Book of Mormon]]. The book of Ether can be outlined broadly as follows:

:'''• Prologue, origins and genealogy (1a)'''

:'''I. Jaredites established in the land, Jared & Brother (1b-6)'''
:::[[Ether 1-2,6 | • Narrative (1b-2, 6)]]
::::[[Ether 2:8-12 | • America as a choice land (2:8-12)]]
:::::[[Ether 3-5 | • Faith to receive knowledge and enter into the presence of the Lord (3-5)]]
:::[[Ether 1-2,6 | • Narrative (1b-2, 6)]]

::'''II. Kings, prophets, secret combinations, and destructions (7-11)'''
:::[[Ether 7-11 | • Narrative (7-11)]]
::::[[Ether 8:20-26 | • Warning to fight against secret combinations (8:20-26)]]

:'''I. Jaredites destroyed from off the land, Coriantumr & Ether (12-15)'''
:::::[[Ether 12 | • Faith precedes blessing; humility, hope, and charity (12)]]
::::[[Ether 13:1-12 | • America as home to the New Jerusalem (13a)]]
:::[[Ether 13-15 | • Narrative (13b-15)]]

Chapters 1b-6, containing 5,304 words in English translation, follow Jared and his brother as the first generation settles in America. Chapters 12-15, containing 5,201 words, follow the prophet Ether and the king Coriantumr as the last generation is destroyed. The remaining middle third, containing 5,738 words, covers all the intervening centuries of Jaredite history.

Ether particularly addresses the issue of at what point a society becomes "ripe" in iniquity, the susceptibility of centralized governmental power to attack by secret societies, and the desirability of faith. As elsewhere in the scriptures, Ether dwells on the extremes.

The major divisions of Ether is discussed separately on the following subpages: [[Ether 1:1-32 | Chapter 1a]], [[Ether 1-2,6 | Chapters 1b-2, 6]], [[Ether 3-5 | Chapters 3-5]], [[Ether 7-11 | Chapters 7-11]], [[Ether 12 | Chapter 12]], [[Ether 13 | Chapter 13a]], [[Ether 13-15 | Chapters 13b-15.]] 

== Detailed discussion ==

=== Main characters ===

Here is a quick reminder about the main characters in Ether:

* Jared & his Brother - Jaredites established
* Orihah - fourth son of Jared, first king
* Shule - restores kingdom to father, averts destruction
* Jared II - rebels against father Omer, destruction #1
* Heth - rebels against father Com I, destruction #2
* Emer - Pax Jaredita #1
* Shez I - protected from Shez II (smitten by robber)
* Riplakish - people rise up & cast him out
* Morianton - eases the burden of the people
* Kim - wicked & brought into captivity
* Lib I - Pax Jaredita #2
* Com II - unsuccessful in suppressing secret combinations
* Shiblom - destruction #3
* Ahah & Ethem - prophets rejected, withdraw
* Moron & Coriantor - prophets rejected
* Shared, Gilead, Lib II, Shiz - each challenges Coriantumr
* Coriantumr & Ether - final destruction #4

=== Secret combinations ===

The Jaredites suffer major destructions four times in the book of Ether (CITES). All four destructions follow the introduction of secret combinations, and the Jaredites never suffer destruction in their absence.

=== Group temporal salvation and individual spiritual salvation ===

The narrative portions of Ether generally address what a society must do to save itself, rather than what an individual must do to save him/herself. The church, ordinances, and specific commandments are never mentioned, nor does the narrative ever concern itself with the spiritual salvation of any particular individual. When the Lord chastises the Brother of Jared, it is as a representative of the entire group, the threatened punishment does not apply only to him, and that threatened destruction is death rather than damnation. Likewise, the suspense at the end of the book is not whether Coriantumr will repent in time to save himself spiritually, but whether he will do so in time to save society temporally.

Individual salvation is addressed in the "faith" divisions of Ether, chapters 3-5, 12. Ether presumes that a person already knows what they must do to repent. Ether is a "third temple speech" book. That is, it does not function on the level of Jacob's speech in Jacob 2-3 (or 1-2 Nephi) where people are exhorted to behave as they know they should. Nor does Ether function on the level of King Benjamin's speech (or Mosiah-Alma generally) where people are led to feel the Holy Ghost and have a change of heart. Rather, the faith speeches in Ether 3 and 12 (and in Moroni 7, 10) function on the level of the Lord's teachings in 3 Nephi 11-27 and assume that people already know all that and can move beyond faith as a principle of action and obedience to learning about faith as a principle of power to work miracles and enter into the presence of the Lord.

Ether 3 and 13 relate visions to Jaredites, the contents of which are not to be freely distributed. Ether 2 and 12 contain Moroni's own comments and bear no such restrictions. The climax of the first half of the opening narrative is the first promised land speech (2:8-12), a statement of what it takes to save a nation temporally. The high point of the entire opening narrative is the experience where the brother of Jared is brought into the presence of the Lord and experiences individual spiritual salvation (3-5). Moroni apparently sees a close connection between these two ideas and suggests that societies are saved temporally when some critical mass of its members are qualifying for individual temporal salvation.

Throughout Ether, political conditions, especially as regards secret societies, are presented as reflections of underlying societal conditions. The solution to bad situations is always a very generic "repent." Only in Moroni's sidebar speech in 8:20-26, the doctrinal climax of Ether, and in the narrative climax under the reigns of Riplakish and Morianton, do we see any exercise of volition in a specific course of action to change the prevailing political conditions.

=== Political leaders ===

This emphasis on society as a whole rather than particular individuals may result from the fact that this record was kept by the society's political leaders rather than its religious leaders. Unlike religious institutions, political institutions are not concerned with the content of the marketplace of ideas; they are concerned only with seeing that the marketplace functions and is available. Similarly, God will not intervene to destroy, and has commanded us to support (AF 11), political institutions as long as that marketplace functions, thus allowing free agency (AF 12). Hence, Moroni's account of Jaredite history does not dwell at length on the content of Christ's Gospel as does Mormon's account of Nephite history. As long as society ensures the existence of free agency, society may save itself from destruction at God's hand, regardless of whether any particular individual, or any member of society at all, chooses to take advantage of it and save him/herself.

Throughout Ether, political conditions, especially as regards secret societies, are presented as reflections of underlying societal conditions. The solution to bad situations is always a very generic "repent." Only in Moroni's sidebar speech in 8:20-26, the doctrinal climax of Ether, and in the narrative climax under the reigns of Riplakish and Morianton, do we see any exercise of volition in a specific course of action to change the prevailing political conditions.

The Brother of Jared warns about the evils of monarchy, power from the top down and a lure or prize to the ambitious, while Moroni warns of the evils of secret societies, power from the ground up. Com II may be intended to show that secret societies, which derive their strength from the bottom up rather than vice versa, are the more potent of the two.

=== Wickedness ===

Free agency requires that a person have both a correct understanding of what his/her choices are and the liberty to act on those choices. The Book of Ether never mentions false or competing ideologies. The Jaredites know the truth and either accept or reject it knowingly. Nor does Ether mention divisions in society based on wealth, religious inclination, genealogy, etc. We know they exist from the mention of Morianton raising an army of outcasts, but that is not Moroni's point. As the picture is painted for us, the Jaredites never have to make hard choices when deciding whether to obey God as did the faithful Nephites on the eve of Christ's birth. When we are told that the Jaredites killed the prophets, the emphasis is on the hardness of their hearts rather than the difficult lot of a righteous prophet in a wicked society. Jaredite society thus exists in an environment of complete moral freedom with its knowledge of the gospel and the lack of any obstacles to its practice other than individual desire. Wickedness, then, is not the result of external conditions, such as the false traditions of the Lamanites. Rather, it is knowing and open rebellion motivated by worldly enticements. The issue in the book of Ether is not what it takes to obey God's Plan, but simply whether the Jaredites want to.

In the Nephite history secret societies are depicted as an external threat to the ability of the righteous to live as they should in a fractured society. In Ether, because society is depicted as monolithic, secret societies are an internal sickness, a result of what the people are like rather than an environmental condition. In Ether secret societies seem to disappear rather easily any time the people repent. It is true that Com II fought against them without success, but that just means the king was out of touch with his more wicked subjects. Jaredite society was never convulsed in an attempt to eradicate them as was the case with the Gadianton robbers, only as the result of having embraced them.

In summary, the two big questions throughout the Book of Ether are whether society as a whole will temporally save itself, and whether society feels like it.

Two answers: it is an aggregation of individuals & you must call the shots to secret combinations & kings.

== Parallel passages in other scriptures ==

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/ether/12?lang=eng Ether 12] - [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/heb/11?lang=eng Hebrews 11] (chapters are similar)

== Complete outline and page map ==

Items in blue or purple text indicate hyperlinked pages that address specific portions of Ether.

:::::'''[[Ether]]'''
[[Ether 1:1-32 | '''• Prologue, origins and genealogy (1a)''']]

[[Ether 1-2,6 | '''I. Jaredites established in the land, Jared & Brother (1b-6)''']]
:[[Ether 1:33-2:7 | '''A. Land journey (1:33-2:7)''']]
::::a. questions about traveling to a land of promise (34-40)
:::::b. preparations for the land journey (1:41-2:4)
::::::c. Lord leads Jaredites toward promised land (4-7)

:::::::[[Ether 2:8-12 |'''• America as a choice land (2:8-12)''']]

::[[Ether 2:13-25 | '''B. Journey through many waters (2:13-25)''']]
::::::c. Lord chastises Jaredites for sitting four years, not praying (13-15)
:::::b. preparations for the water journey (16-17)
::::a. questions about traveling in boats (18-25)

:::[[Ether 3-5 | '''C. Faith to receive knowledge and enter into the presence of the Lord (3-5)''']]
::::• Brother of Jared redeemed from the fall through faith (3:1-20)
:::::• he requests in prayer that the Lord touch sixteen stones with finger (1-5)
:::::• he sees the finger of the Lord because of his great faith (6-12)
:::::• he is redeemed and brought back into Christ's presence because of his knowledge (13-20)
::::• Knowledge and redemption are available through the Holy Ghost on conditions of faith, repentance and baptism (3:21-5:6)
:::::• vision received of all mankind because of faith, instruction to seal it up until Christ's ministry, two stones (3:21-28)
:::::• vision disclosed to Nephites after Christ's ministry, then again sealed up because of unbelief, two stones (4:1-5)
:::::• Moroni commanded to say: vision will again be disclosed when Gentiles exercise faith and repent (4:6-12)
:::::• Moroni commanded to say: come unto Christ to receive hidden knowledge, John's revelation is now unfolding (4:13-19)
:::::• the Lord will confirm the testimony of Three Witnesses who will see the Book of Mormon plates (5:1-6)

::[[Ether 6:1-12 | '''B. Ocean journey (6:1-12)''']]
:::a. subsist on food and light from two stones (2-4)
::::b. wind, protected, Noah (5-8)
:::::c. praise God the whole way (9)
::::b. light, protected, Noah (10-12a)
:::a. arrive in promised land and tender mercies (12b)

:[[Ether 6:13-7:3 | '''A. Doings on the promised land (6:13-7:3a)''']]
::a. multiply, walk humbly, and prosperous (13-18)
:::b. stewardship accounting of leadership (19-21)
:::b. allowing the people to choose a king (22-27)
::a. prosperous, walk humbly, and multiply (6:27-7:3a)

[[Ether 7-11 | '''II. Kings, prophets, secret combinations, and destructions (7-11)''']]
:[[Ether 7:4-27 | '''A. Shule: is protected and in turn protects the prophets (7:3b-27)''']]
::• Shule restores kingdom to his father (3b-13)
::• Nimrah restores second half of kingdom to Shule (14-22)
::• Shule protects prophets from the people (23-27)

:[[Ether 8:1-9:15 | '''B. Jared: secret combinations cause destruction #1 (8:1-9:15a)''']]
::• Secret combinations introduced (8:1-19)
::::• Jared rebels, is defeated, and repents (1-6)
::::• daughter of Jared suggests a secret combination (7-12)
::::• Akish's oath initiates a secret combination (13-15a)
::::• these oaths are of the devil (15b-19)
:::[[Ether 8:20-26 | '''• Warning to fight against secret combinations (8:20-26)''']]
::• Secret combinations result in destruction #1 (9:1-15a)
::::• king Omer warned to flee (1-3)
::::• usurper Akish kills family members (4-7)
::::• usurper Akish's son flees (8-9)
::::• secret combinations kill almost all Jaredites (11-12)
::::• Omer restored as king of a remnant (13-15a)

:[[Ether 9:16-10:29 | '''C. Destruction #2 until people repent, people rise up against oppressive king (9:15b-10:29)''']]
::a. Emer and Corianton: good kings, prosperity in a choice land (15b-22)
:::• Heth: embraces secret combinations and persecutes prophets, destruction #2 by famine and serpents until people repent (25-35)
:::• Shez: good king remembers the destruction of his fathers (10:1-4)
:::• Riplakish: people rise up against oppressive king (5-8)
:::• Morianton: eases the people's burden but is personally wicked (9-13a)
:::• Kim, Levi, Corom: three minor kings (13b-18)
::a. Lib: good king, serpents destroyed, prosperity in a choice land (19-29)

:[[Ether 10:30-11:23 | '''D. Destruction #3 until people repent, general decline into wickedness (10:30-11:23)''']]
::a. Hearthom and descendants in captivity (30-31)
:::• Com: protects prophets but cannot overcome secret combinations (10:32-11:3)
:::• Shiblom: prophets killed by usurper and ignored because of secret combinations, destruction #3 by war and famine until people repent (4-9)
:::• Ahah and Ethem: prophets ignored and withdraw (10-14a)
::a. Moron and descendants in captivity until Ether (14b-23)

'''I. Jaredites destroyed from off the land, Coriantumr & Ether (12-15)'''
:[[Ether 12 | '''• Faith precedes blessing; humility, hope, and charity (12)''']]
::• Faith precedes blessing (1-21)
:::a. Ether cannot be restrained from preaching faith, repentance, and hope (1-5)
::::b. faith precedes witness and miracles (6-18)
:::a. Brother of Jared could not be kept from within the veil because of his faith (19-21)
::• Humility, hope, and charity (22-41)
:::a. Moroni: apprehension at his weakness in writing compared to speaking (22-25)
::::b. Lord: Gentiles must be humble (26-28)
:::::c. Moroni: the Lord works according people's faith, Brother of Jared (29-31)
:::::c. Moroni: hope and charity (32-35)
::::b. Lord: Moroni has been humble (36-37)
:::a. Moroni: closing testimony of his writing and of Christ (38-41)

:[[Ether 13:1-12 | '''• America as home to the New Jerusalem (13a)''']]
::a. people reject Ether's words (1-2a)
:::b. after flood this land choice and inhabitants accountable (2b)
::::c. Old Jerusalem, New Jerusalem to be built to Joseph (3-4)
:::::d. this typology also applies to Nephites (__)
::::c. New Jerusalem to be built to Joseph, not confounded (__)
:::b. Old and New Jerusalems to be inhabited by righteous (__)
::a. Moroni forbidden to write more of Ether's words (13a)

:[[Ether 13-15 | '''• Narrative: Jaredites destroyed from off the land, Coriantumr & Ether (13b-15)''']]
::[[Ether 13:13-22 | '''A. Ether's warning to avoid destruction through repentance (13:13-22)''']]
::::a. Ether rejected, views destruction from hiding (13-14)
:::::b. wars between secret combinations and king (15-16)
::::::c. no one repents (17)
:::::b. wars between secret combinations and king (18-19)
::::a. Ether prophesies final destruction and in hiding, no one repents (20-22)

:::[[Ether 13:23-14:31 | '''B. Coriantumr tries to avoid destruction by fighting four challengers (13:23-14:31)''']]
:::::a. Corinatumr and Shared battle three days (23-30)
::::::b. curse on the land (13:31-14:2)
:::::::c. Coriantumr and Gilead battle in Akish and Moron (3-8)
::::::::d. self-destruction within secret combinations (9-10)
:::::::c. Coriantumr and Lib II battle in Moron and Akish (11-16)
::::::b. fear of Shiz sweeping the earth (17-25)
:::::a. Coriantumr and Shiz battle three days (26-31)

::::[[Ether 15:1-5 | '''C. Coriantumr tries to avoid destruction by negotiating (15:1-5)''']]

:::[[Ether 15:6-32 | '''B. Jaredites are destroyed over eight days of fighting (15:6-32)''']]
::::a. battle at seashore, Coriantumr faints (6-11)
:::::b. camping four years to gather strength (12-15a)
::::::c. days 1-2 of final battle (15b-17)
:::::::d. Coriantumr again tries to avoid destruction by negotiating (18-19)
::::::c. days 3-6 of final battle (20-26)
:::::b. days 7-8 of final battle, Coriantumr's group flees (27-29a)
::::a. Shiz and Coriantumr both faint (29b-32)

::[[Ether 15:33-34 | '''A. Ether's witness of non-repentance and total destruction #4 (15:33-34)''']]

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
{|
reflist
|}

== Additional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add sources and links''

----

                                                                 [[Ether 1:1-32 | Next page: Chapter 1a]]

Ether

2012-07-08T03:23:14Z

173.64.199.25: Adding outline for Ether 12

[[The Book of Mormon]] > [[Ether]] 
:Subpages: [[Ether 1:1-32 | Chapter 1a]], [[Ether 1-2,6 | Chapters 1b-2, 6]], [[Ether 3-5 | Chapters 3-5]], [[Ether 7-11 | Chapters 7-11]], [[Ether 12 | Chapter 12]], [[Ether 13 | Chapter 13a]], [[Ether 13-15 | Chapters 13b-15]] 
                                                                 [[Ether 1:1-32 | Next page: Chapter 1a]]

== Historical setting ==

The book of Ether recounts the history of the Jaredites, the second of four peoples to live and leave record of their occupation of the Americas.

== Brief outline and summary ==

The relationship of the book of Ether to the rest of the Book of Mormon is discussed at [[The Book of Mormon]]. The book of Ether can be outlined broadly as follows:

:[[Ether 1:1-32 | Prologue, origins and genealogy (1a)]]
:[[Ether 1-2,6 | I. Jaredites are established in the land, Jared & Brother (1b-2, 6)]]
::::*[[Ether 2:8-12 | America as a promised land (2:8-12)]]
::[[Ether 3-5 | II. Faith to enter into the Lord's presence (3-5)]]
:::[[Ether 7-11 | III. Kings, prophets, secret combinations and destructions (7-11)]]
::::*[[Ether 8:20-26 | Warning against secret combinations (8:20-26)]]
::[[Ether 12 | II. Faith to work miracles, hope and charity (12)]]
::::*[[Ether 13:1-12 | America as home to the New Jerusalem (13a)]]
:[[Ether 13-15 | I. Jaredites are destroyed in the land, Coriantumr & Ether (13b-15)]]

Ether particularly addresses the issue of at what point a society becomes "ripe" in iniquity; the susceptibility of centralized governmental power to attack by secret societies; and the benefits which follow from faith, making it desirable. As elsewhere in the Scriptures, Ether dwells on the extremes.

Each of the major divisions of Ether is discussed separately on the following subpages: [[Ether 1:1-32 | Chapter 1a]], [[Ether 1-2,6 | Chapters 1b-2]], [[Ether 3-5 | Chapters 3-5]], [[Ether 1-2,6 | Chapter 6]], [[Ether 7-11 | Chapters 7-11]], [[Ether 12 | Chapter 12]], [[Ether 13 | Chapter 13a]], [[Ether 13-15 | Chapters 13b-15.]] 

== Detailed discussion ==

=== Main characters ===

Here is a quick reminder about the main characters in Ether:

* Jared & his Brother - Jaredites established
* Orihah - fourth son of Jared, first king
* Shule - restores kingdom to father, averts destruction
* Jared II - rebels against father Omer, destruction #1
* Heth - rebels against father Com I, destruction #2
* Emer - Pax Jaredita #1
* Shez I - protected from Shez II (smitten by robber)
* Riplakish - people rise up & cast him out
* Morianton - eases the burden of the people
* Kim - wicked & brought into captivity
* Lib I - Pax Jaredita #2
* Com II - unsuccessful in suppressing secret combinations
* Shiblom - destruction #3
* Ahah & Ethem - prophets rejected, withdraw
* Moron & Coriantor - prophets rejected
* Shared, Gilead, Lib II, Shiz - each challenges Coriantumr
* Coriantumr & Ether - final destruction #4

=== Secret combinations ===

The Jaredites suffer major destructions four times in the book of Ether (CITES). All four destructions follow the introduction of secret combinations, and the Jaredites never suffer destruction in their absence.

=== Group temporal salvation and individual spiritual salvation ===

The narrative portions of Ether generally address what a society must do to save itself, rather than what an individual must do to save him/herself. The church, ordinances, and specific commandments are never mentioned, nor does the narrative ever concern itself with the spiritual salvation of any particular individual. When the Lord chastises the Brother of Jared, it is as a representative of the entire group, the threatened punishment does not apply only to him, and that threatened destruction is death rather than damnation. Likewise, the suspense at the end of the book is not whether Coriantumr will repent in time to save himself spiritually, but whether he will do so in time to save society temporally.

Individual salvation is addressed in the "faith" divisions of Ether, chapters 3-5, 12. Ether presumes that a person already knows what they must do to repent. Ether is a "third temple speech" book. That is, it does not function on the level of Jacob's speech in Jacob 2-3 (or 1-2 Nephi) where people are exhorted to behave as they know they should. Nor does Ether function on the level of King Benjamin's speech (or Mosiah-Alma generally) where people are led to feel the Holy Ghost and have a change of heart. Rather, the faith speeches in Ether 3 and 12 (and in Moroni 7, 10) function on the level of the Lord's teachings in 3 Nephi 11-27 and assume that people already know all that and can move beyond faith as a principle of action and obedience to learning about faith as a principle of power to work miracles and enter into the presence of the Lord.

Ether 3 and 13 relate visions to Jaredites, the contents of which are not to be freely distributed. Ether 2 and 12 contain Moroni's own comments and bear no such restrictions. The climax of the first half of the opening narrative is the first promised land speech (2:8-12), a statement of what it takes to save a nation temporally. The high point of the entire opening narrative is the experience where the brother of Jared is brought into the presence of the Lord and experiences individual spiritual salvation (3-5). Moroni apparently sees a close connection between these two ideas and suggests that societies are saved temporally when some critical mass of its members are qualifying for individual temporal salvation.

Throughout Ether, political conditions, especially as regards secret societies, are presented as reflections of underlying societal conditions. The solution to bad situations is always a very generic "repent." Only in Moroni's sidebar speech in 8:20-26, the doctrinal climax of Ether, and in the narrative climax under the reigns of Riplakish and Morianton, do we see any exercise of volition in a specific course of action to change the prevailing political conditions.

=== Political leaders ===

This emphasis on society as a whole rather than particular individuals may result from the fact that this record was kept by the society's political leaders rather than its religious leaders. Unlike religious institutions, political institutions are not concerned with the content of the marketplace of ideas; they are concerned only with seeing that the marketplace functions and is available. Similarly, God will not intervene to destroy, and has commanded us to support (AF 11), political institutions as long as that marketplace functions, thus allowing free agency (AF 12). Hence, Moroni's account of Jaredite history does not dwell at length on the content of Christ's Gospel as does Mormon's account of Nephite history. As long as society ensures the existence of free agency, society may save itself from destruction at God's hand, regardless of whether any particular individual, or any member of society at all, chooses to take advantage of it and save him/herself.

Throughout Ether, political conditions, especially as regards secret societies, are presented as reflections of underlying societal conditions. The solution to bad situations is always a very generic "repent." Only in Moroni's sidebar speech in 8:20-26, the doctrinal climax of Ether, and in the narrative climax under the reigns of Riplakish and Morianton, do we see any exercise of volition in a specific course of action to change the prevailing political conditions.

The Brother of Jared warns about the evils of monarchy, power from the top down and a lure or prize to the ambitious, while Moroni warns of the evils of secret societies, power from the ground up. Com II may be intended to show that secret societies, which derive their strength from the bottom up rather than vice versa, are the more potent of the two.

=== Wickedness ===

Free agency requires that a person have both a correct understanding of what his/her choices are and the liberty to act on those choices. The Book of Ether never mentions false or competing ideologies. The Jaredites know the truth and either accept or reject it knowingly. Nor does Ether mention divisions in society based on wealth, religious inclination, genealogy, etc. We know they exist from the mention of Morianton raising an army of outcasts, but that is not Moroni's point. As the picture is painted for us, the Jaredites never have to make hard choices when deciding whether to obey God as did the faithful Nephites on the eve of Christ's birth. When we are told that the Jaredites killed the prophets, the emphasis is on the hardness of their hearts rather than the difficult lot of a righteous prophet in a wicked society. Jaredite society thus exists in an environment of complete moral freedom with its knowledge of the gospel and the lack of any obstacles to its practice other than individual desire. Wickedness, then, is not the result of external conditions, such as the false traditions of the Lamanites. Rather, it is knowing and open rebellion motivated by worldly enticements. The issue in the book of Ether is not what it takes to obey God's Plan, but simply whether the Jaredites want to.

In the Nephite history secret societies are depicted as an external threat to the ability of the righteous to live as they should in a fractured society. In Ether, because society is depicted as monolithic, secret societies are an internal sickness, a result of what the people are like rather than an environmental condition. In Ether secret societies seem to disappear rather easily any time the people repent. It is true that Com II fought against them without success, but that just means the king was out of touch with his more wicked subjects. Jaredite society was never convulsed in an attempt to eradicate them as was the case with the Gadianton robbers, only as the result of having embraced them.

In summary, the two big questions throughout the Book of Ether are whether society as a whole will temporally save itself, and whether society feels like it.

Two answers: it is an aggregation of individuals & you must call the shots to secret combinations & kings.

== Parallel passages in other scriptures ==

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/ether/12?lang=eng Ether 12] - [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/heb/11?lang=eng Hebrews 11] (chapters are similar)

== Complete outline and page map ==

Items in blue or purple text indicate hyperlinked pages that address specific portions of Amos.

::::::'''[[Ether]]'''
:[[Ether 1:1-32 | '''Prologue, origins and genealogy (1a)''']]

:[[Ether 1-2,6 | '''I. Jaredites are established in the land, Jared & Brother (1b-2, 6)''']]
::[[Ether 1:33-2:7 | '''A. Land journey (1:33-2:7)''']]
::::a. questions about traveling to a land of promise (34-40)
:::::b. preparations for the land journey (1:41-2:4)
::::::c. Lord leads Jaredites toward promised land (4-7)

:::::::*[[Ether 2:8-12 |'''America as a promised land (2:8-12)''']]

:::[[Ether 2:13-25 | '''B. Journey through many waters (2:13-25)''']]
::::::c. Lord chastises Jaredites for sitting four years, not praying (13-15)
:::::b. preparations for the water journey (16-17)
::::a. questions about traveling in boats (18-25)

::[[Ether 3-5 | '''II. Faith to receive knowledge and enter into the presence of the Lord (3-5)''']]
:::• Brother of Jared redeemed from the fall through faith (3:1-20)
:::::• he requests in prayer that the Lord touch sixteen stones with finger (3:1-5)
:::::• he sees the finger of the Lord because of his great faith (3:6-12)
:::::• he is redeemed and brought back into Christ's presence because of his knowledge (3:13-20)
:::• Knowledge and redemption are available through the Holy Ghost on conditions of faith, repentance and baptism (3:21-5:6)
:::::• he sees all mankind because of his faith, told to seal up vision until Christ's ministry, two stones (3:21-28)
:::::• this vision was revealed to Nephites after Christ's ministry, then again sealed up because of unbelief, two stones (4:1-5)
:::::• Moroni commanded to say: this vision will again be revealed when Gentiles exercise faith and repent (4:6-12)
:::::• Moroni commanded to say: come unto Christ to receive hidden knowledge, and John's revelation is now unfolding (4:13-19)
:::::• the Lord will confirm the testimony of Three Witnesses who will see the Book of Mormon plates (5:1-6)

:[[Ether 1-2,6 | '''I. Jaredites are established in the land, Jared & Brother (1b-2, 6)''']]
:::[[Ether 6:1-12 | '''B. Ocean journey (6:1-12)''']]
::::a. subsist on food and light from two stones (2-4)
:::::b. wind, protected, Noah (5-8)
::::::c. praise God the whole way (9)
:::::b. light, protected, Noah (10-12a)
::::a. arrive in promised land and tender mercies (12b)

::[[Ether 6:13-7:3 | '''A. Doings on the promised land (6:13-7:3a)''']]
::::a. multiply, walk humbly, and prosperous (13-18)
:::::b. stewardship accounting of leadership (19-21)
:::::b. allowing the people to choose a king (22-27)
::::a. prosperous, walk humbly, and multiply (6:27-7:3a)

:::[[Ether 7-11 | '''III. Prophets, secret combinations, and destructions (7-11)''']]
:::::[[Ether 7:4-27 | '''A. Shule: is protected and in turn protects the prophets (7:3b-27)''']]
:::::::• Shule restores kingdom to his father (3b-13)
:::::::• Nimrah restores second half of kingdom to Shule (14-22)
:::::::• Shule protects prophets from the people (23-27)

:::::[[Ether 8:1-9:15 | '''B. Jared: secret combinations cause destruction #1 (8:1-9:15a)''']]
:::::::• secret combinations introduced (8:1-19)
:::::::::• Jared rebels, is defeated, and repents (1-6)
:::::::::• daughter of Jared suggests a secret combination (7-12)
:::::::::• Akish's oath initiates a secret combination (13-15a)
:::::::::• these oaths are of the devil (15b-19)
:::::::* [[Ether 8:20-26 | '''Moroni's warning against secret combinations (8:20-26)''']]
:::::::• secret combinations result in destruction #1 (9:1-15a)
:::::::::• king Omer warned to flee (1-3)
:::::::::• usurper Akish kills family members (4-7)
:::::::::• usurper Akish's son flees (8-9)
:::::::::• secret combinations kill almost all Jaredites (11-12)
:::::::::• Omer restored as king of a remnant (13-15a)

:::::[[Ether 9:16-10:29 | '''C. Destruction #2 until people repent, people rise up against king's oppression (9:15b-10:29)''']]
:::::::• Emer and Corianton: good kings, prosperity in a choice land (15b-22)
::::::::• Heth: embraces secret combinations and persecutes prophets, destruction #2 by famine and serpents until people repent (25-35)
::::::::• Shez: good king remembers the destruction of his fathers (10:1-4)
::::::::• Riplakish: people rise up against king's oppression (5-8)
::::::::• Morianton: eases the people's burden but is personally wicked (9-13a)
::::::::• Kim, Levi, Corom: three minor kings (13b-18)
:::::::• Lib: good king, serpents destroyed, prosperity in a choice land (19-29)

:::::[[Ether 10:30-11:23 | '''D. Destruction #3 until people repent, general decline into wickedness (10:30-11:23)''']]
:::::::• Hearthom and descendants in captivity (30-31)
::::::::• Com: protects prophets but cannot overcome secret combinations (10:32-11:3)
::::::::• Shiblom: prophets killed by usurper and ignored because of secret combinations, destruction #3 by war and famine until people repent (4-9)
::::::::• Ahah and Ethem: prophets ignored and withdraw (10-14a)
:::::::• Moron and descendants in captivity until Ether (14b-23)

::[[Ether 12 | '''II. Faith to work miracles, hope and charity (12)''']]
:::• Faith (1-21)
:::::• Ether cannot be restrained from preaching faith, repentance and hope (1-5)
::::::• faith precedes witness and miracles (6-18)
:::::• Brother of Jared could not be kept without the veil because of his faith (19-21)

:::• Humility, hope and charity (22-41)
:::::• Moroni’s apprehension at weakness in writing compared to speaking (22-25)
::::::• Lord’s response: Gentiles must be humble (26-28)
:::::::• Moroni: the Lord works according faith of men, Brother of Jared (29-31)
:::::::• Moroni: hope and charity (32-35)
::::::• Lord’s response: Moroni has been humble (36-37)
:::::• Moroni’s closing testimony of Christ and his words (38-41)

::::*[[Ether 13:1-12 | '''America as home to the New Jerusalem (13a)''']]
:::::a. People reject Ether's words (1-2a)
::::::b. after flood this land choice and inhabitants accountable (2b)
:::::::c. Old Jerusalem, New Jerusalem to be built to Joseph (3-4)
::::::::d. this typology also applies to Nephites (__)
:::::::c. New Jerusalem to be built to Joseph, not confounded (__)
::::::b. Old and New Jerusalems to be inhabited by righteous (__)
:::::a. Moroni forbidden to write more of Ether's words (13a)

:[[Ether 13-15 | '''I. Jaredites are destroyed in the land, Coriantumr & Ether (13b-15)''']]
::[[Ether 13:13-22 | '''A. Ether's warning to avoid destruction through repentance (13:13-22)''']]
::::a. Ether rejected, views destruction from hiding (13-14)
:::::b. wars between secret combinations and king (15-16)
::::::c. no one repents (17)
:::::b. wars between secret combinations and king (18-19)
::::a. Ether prophesies final destruction and in hiding, no one repents (20-22)

:::[[Ether 13:23-14:31 | '''B. Coriantumr tries to avoid destruction by fighting four challengers (13:23-14:31)''']]
:::::a. Corinatumr and Shared battle three days (23-30)
::::::b. curse on the land (13:31-14:2)
:::::::c. Coriantumr and Gilead battle in Akish and Moron (3-8)
::::::::d. self-destruction within secret combinations (9-10)
:::::::c. Coriantumr and Lib II battle in Moron and Akish (11-16)
::::::b. fear of Shiz sweeping the earth (17-25)
:::::a. Coriantumr and Shiz battle three days (26-31)

::::[[Ether 15:1-5 | '''C. Coriantumr tries to avoid destruction by negotiating (15:1-5)''']]

:::[[Ether 15:6-32 | '''B. Jaredites are destroyed over eight days of fighting (15:6-32)''']]
:::::a. Battle at seashore, Coriantumr faints (6-11)
::::::b. camping four years to gather strength (12-15a)
:::::::c. Days 1-2 of final battle (15b-17)
::::::::d. Coriantumr tries again to avoid destruction by negotiating (18-19)
:::::::c. Days 3-6 of final battle (20-26)
::::::b. Days 7-8 of final battle, Coriantumr's group flees (27-29a)
:::::a. Shiz and Coriantumr both faint (29b-32)

::[[Ether 15:33-34 | '''A. Ether's witness of non-repentance and total destruction #4 (15:33-34)''']]

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
{|
reflist
|}

== Additional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add sources and links''

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                                                                 [[Ether 1:1-32 | Next page: Chapter 1a]]

Doctrine & Covenants 3

2012-06-06T08:20:24Z

173.64.199.25: Revising formatting

[[Doctrine & Covenants]] > [[Doctrine & Covenants 3 | Section 3]] 
:Subpages: [[D&C_3:1-5 | Verses 1-5]], [[D&C_3:6-10 | Verses 6-10]], [[D&C_3:11-15 | Verses 11-15]], [[D&C_3:16-20 | Verses 16-20]] 
                                                                 [[D&C 3:1-5 | Next page: Verses 1-5]]

--The introductory material to this section is new in June 2012, and links and content may not yet be cleaned up. This is a wiki, so you are invited to help. [[D&C 1 | Section 1]] is in decent shape for comparison.--

== Brief outline and summary ==

Section 3 can be outlined as follows:

== Historical setting ==

Received: early July 1828 at Harmony, Pennsylvania

[[D&C 2 | Previous section chronologically: Section 2]]                      [[D&C 10 | Next section chronologically: Section 10a]]

== Text transmission ==

* Section 3 was written down ________. The oldest surviving copy is ________.

* Section 3 was first published in the [http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/book-of-commandments-1833#7 1833 Book of Commandments], the earliest edition of what we now call the Doctrine & Covenants. The text of Section 3 in [[Doctrine & Covenants | significant editions]] of the Doctrine & Covenants can be found at:

:* [http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/book-of-commandments-1833#7 1833 Book of Commandments, chap. __]
:* [http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/doctrine-and-covenants-1835#83 1835 edition, sec. _]
:* [http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/doctrine-and-covenants-1844#89 1844 edition, sec. _]
:* 1876 edition, sec. _
:* 1921 edition, sec. _
:* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures?lang=eng current 1981 edition, sec.3].

* Summary of textual changes:

== Detailed discussion ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add content''

== Relation to other scriptures ==

=== Related sections and chapters ===
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add discussion of related sections and chapters''

=== Parallel passages ===
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add parallel references''

There has been no serious effort to make this list complete.

== Complete outline and pagemap ==

Items in blue or purple text indicate hyperlinked pages that address specific portions of this section.

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add footnotes''

== Additional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add links''

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                                                                 [[D&C 3:1-5 | Next page: Verses 1-5]]

Ether 13:23

2012-06-03T02:15:47Z

173.64.199.25: Redirected page to Ether 13:23-14:31

#REDIRECT [[Ether 13:23-14:31]]

Dan 7:11-15

2012-05-30T15:56:22Z

173.64.199.25: Removing content after successfully transferred to page regrouped by pericope

[[The Old Testament]] > [[Daniel]] > [[Daniel 7|Chapter 7]]
{|
| [[Dan 7:6-10|Previous (Dan 7:6-10)]] ||             || [[Dan 7:16-20|Next (Dan 7:16-20)]]
|}
== Questions ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Lexical notes ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add lexical notes''

== Exegesis ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add exegesis''

== Related links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add related links''

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{|
| [[Dan 7:6-10|Previous (Dan 7:6-10)]] ||             || [[Dan 7:16-20|Next (Dan 7:16-20)]]
|}

Dan 10:1-12:13

2012-05-30T15:54:53Z

173.64.199.25: Complete rewrite of page to add content and formatting

[[The Old Testament]] > [[Daniel]] > [[Daniel 10 | Chapters 10-12]] 
[[Daniel 9 | Previous page: Chapter 9]]                              This is the last page for [[Daniel]]

== Outline and brief summary ==

The relationship chapters 10-12 to the rest of the book, and to chapters 2 and 7-8 regarding the other prophetic dream and visions of Daniel in particular, is discussed at [[Daniel]]. Chapters 10-12 can be outlined in broadest form as follows:

:B. Vision of north and south kingdoms (Daniel 10-12)
:• Daniel’s preparation and discussion with the angel (10:1-11:2)
:• the vision (11:2-12:4)
:• epilogue: when will this be? (12:5-13)

Daniel prepares himself with three weeks of mourning and self denial. But in the presence of an angel he still feels his “comeliness was turned ... into corruption,” twice loses his strength, and is dumb. He regains strength at the touch of a hand and regains speech when his lips are touched (10:8-10, 15-19, also 8:18). This is similar to Isaiah’s account of feeling unclean followed by the purging of his sins at the touch of a burning coal to his lips on the occasion of his prophetic calling (Isaiah 6:5-8).

The vision related in Daniel 11 is not well understood. Daniel himself records that the vision is sealed up until the end of time (12:4, 9-10). The Old Testament Institute Manual points out that no interpretation of this vision has been provided (309), and it then quotes Joseph Smith’s statement that we will not be responsible to understand the vision until the Lord does provide us with an interpretation (TPJS 291).

This vision relates “what shall befall thy people in the latter days” (10:14) and is received after #1 Babylon has already been conquered by #2 Persia (10:1). The following guideposts may be helpful:
:• #2 Persia (11:2)
:• #3 Alexander the Great (11:3-4)
:• #3-4 taking away daily sacrifice in 167 BC or perhaps 70 AD (11:31)
:• #4b the world at the end of time (11:40-45L)
:• #5 Christ’s millennial kingdom (12:1-4)
Daniel’s other prophecies speak of supreme worldwide powers, but this one speaks instead of two competing great powers from the north and south, much like Isaiah’s use of Assyria and Egypt. Some see in 11:5-c.39 an account of the lengthy struggle during which the #3 Greek Ptolemies lost Judea to the Greek Seleucids. Others see in 11:22 a reference to Christ’s ministry at the center of a large chiasmus and in 11:37-38 a reference to #4 Rome’s adoption of Christianity. There are no authoritative answers.

Solomon’s Temple was completed in about 960 BC. It was destroyed by the #1 Babylonians four centuries later in 586 BC. Under the #2 Persians, Zerubbabel rebuilt the temple, which was dedicated in 515 BC. Persia was conquered by Alexander the Great of #3 Greece in 331 BC. Upon Alexander’s death two years later, his Greek empire was immediately divided among four of his generals. One established the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt, another the Seleucid dynasty in Antioch, Syria. The Ptolemies eventually lost control of Jerusalem to the Seleucids. The most notorious of the Seleucid emperors was Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who intentionally polluted the temple in 167 BC. The Maccabean revolt and Jewish independence immediately followed, and in 164 BC the temple was cleansed and rededicated. A century later Judea lost its independence to #4 Rome in 63 BC. Under Rome, Herod greatly enlarged the Temple of Zerubbabel so that it became known as the Temple of Herod. But in 70 AD, following yet another Jewish revolt, the temple was again destroyed, this time by Rome.

The references in this last vision to taking away the daily temple sacrifice and the abomination of desolation (11:31; 12:11) could refer to one or more of 167 BC, 70 AD or the Second Coming. Christ’s discussion in about 33 AD of the abomination of desolation refers both to 70 AD and to the last days (JS-M 1:12, 32 / Matthew 24 JST). The reference in chapter 9 refers only to 70 AD (9:26-27L). The small horn in the vision of two beasts refers to Antiochus IV Epiphanes, including his taking away the daily sacrifice in 167 BC (8:9-12, 23-26). But in the vision of four beasts the small horn, although it again refers to the role of an anti-Christ, refers to a time in the last days after #4 Rome has been succeeded by ten other kingdoms (7:8, 20-22). So these symbols are at times dualistic, foretelling similar events in more than one time period.

In response to the question “How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?” Daniel hears the answer “a time, times and half a time,” or 3½ times (12:6-7). And 1290 days is only 13 more than 3½ years (12:11). In the central chapter of John’s Revelation the woman is likewise hidden and nourished for 3½ times (Rev. 12:14). The devil prevails temporarily at 3½ times, the Lord prevails permanently at 7 times.

== Detailed discussion ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add detailed discussion''

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
{|
reflist
|}

== Additional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add additional sources and links''

----

[[Daniel 9 | Previous page: Chapter 9]]                              This is the last page for [[Daniel]]

Dan 9:1-27

2012-05-30T15:50:21Z

173.64.199.25: Complete rewrite of page to add content and formatting

[[The Old Testament]] > [[Daniel]] > [[Daniel 9 | Chapter 9]] 
[[Daniel 7 | Previous page: Chapters 7-8]]                              [[Daniel 10 | Next page: Chapters 10-12]]

== Outline and brief summary ==

The relationship chapter 9 to the rest of the book, and to [[Daniel 1 | chapter 1]] regarding the king's food in particular, is discussed at [[Daniel]]. Chapter 9 can be outlined as follows:

:A. Israel’s punishment for sin and the restoration of Jerusalem (Daniel 9)
:• Daniel confesses his and Israel’s sins (3-15)
:• Daniel requests forgiveness and restoration for Jerusalem (16-19)
:• Gabriel prophesies seventy weeks of restoration (20-27)

In the first year of King Nebuchadnezzar, about 605 BC, the Lord prophesied in Jeremiah 25:12 that in 70 years he would punish Babylon. The Persian king Cyrus conquered Babylon 66 years later in 539 BC. (Prophecy is often given in round numbers that convey symbolic meaning rather than identifying the precise day on which an event will occur.)

In the first year of Zedekiah’s reign over Judah as a Babylonian vassal, about 597 BC, the Lord also prophesied in Jeremiah 29:10 that in 70 years the Jews who had just been carried off to Babylon would return home to Jerusalem. Zerubbabel led the first returning group during the first year of King Cyrus, about 538 BC, or 59 years later (Ezra 1-2). Daniel is subsequently reading Jeremiah 29:10 during the first year of King Darius (9:1-2), about 522 BC, or 75 years after it was received.

Daniel begins to pray by confessing his and particularly Israel’s sins. Israel has sinned, departed from the way, and not hearkened to the prophets (9:5-6, 10-11). Righteousness belongs to the Lord, but so do mercy and forgiveness (9:7a, 9). Because of Israel’s sins, it currently suffers “confusion of face” (9:7b-8). Because Israel did not pray and repent when punished, even further evils were brought upon it (9:12-14). But again, God is both just and merciful (9:14-15).

Daniel then requests that the Lord forgive his people and restore Jerusalem, not for the sake of the unworthy people called by his name, but so that his name will again be had in respect among the nations (9:16-19).

While Daniel is praying, Gabriel (Noah per TPJS 157) appears and provides him with a vision and its interpretation (9:20-23). At the center of this section Gabriel prophecies that the Jews shall inhabit Jerusalem for 70 “weeks,” enough time for Christ to work the atonement and for the Jews to again become ripe for destruction (9:24-26). The city wall will be rebuilt after 7 weeks (about 445 BC), after another 62 weeks the Messiah will be cut off (33 AD), and in the 70th week the temple will be destroyed and the sacrifice will cease (70 AD) (9:25-27).

The first two verses of Daniel state that Judah is given into the hand of King Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel 9:5-15 finally explains why.

== Detailed discussion ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add detailed discussion''

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
{|
reflist
|}

== Additional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add additional sources and links''

----

[[Daniel 7 | Previous page: Chapters 7-8]]                              [[Daniel 10 | Next page: Chapters 10-12]]

Dan 6:1-28

2012-05-30T15:46:52Z

173.64.199.25: Minor revisions

[[The Old Testament]] > [[Daniel]] > [[Daniel 6 | Chapter 6]] 
[[Daniel 5 | Previous page: Chapter 5]]                              [[Daniel 7 | Next page: Chapters 7-8]]

== Outline and brief summary ==

The relationship chapter 6 to the rest of the book, and to [[Daniel 3 | chapter 3]] regarding the fiery furnace in particular, is discussed at [[Daniel]]. Chapter 6 can be outlined as follows:

::C. The den of lions (Daniel 6)
::a. Daniel promoted over the whole realm (1-3)
:::1b. the princes can find no fault in Daniel (4-5)
:::::c. the princes obtain the decree forbidding prayer (6-9)
:::2b. Daniel ignores the decree and prays to God (10)
:::::c. the princes report Daniel violating the decree (11-13)
:::3b - d. king tries to deliver Daniel by ignoring decree (14-15)
::::::e. king hopes God will save Daniel from lions (16-17)
:::::d. king fasts for Daniel’s deliverance (18-20)
:::4b. angel delivers Daniel because there is no error in him (21-23)
::::c. the princes are eaten by the lions (24)
::a. Darius commands people to tremble before Daniel’s living God (25-28)

In the first section (4-9) the princes can find no fault in Daniel, so they obtain a law they know his religious devotion will cause him to violate.

In the second section (10-13) the princes execute their plan, reporting to the king that Daniel has violated the law and insisting that he be thrown into the den of lions. Daniel had even left his windows open while praying, inviting people to see that his religious devotion is greater than his fear of death.

In the fourth section (21-24) Daniel is delivered from the lions because of his innocence and faith. The princes are not innocent, and the lions quickly kill them. Like his three friends in the fiery furnace (chapter 3), Daniel is delivered by an angel.

The story would work without the third section (14-20), but the story's meaning would be reduced. This section makes the point that Daniel could not be delivered by any earthly power, not even by the king. At the end of the day Darius is reduced to expressing his hope that “Thy God, whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee.” The king then spends the night fasting, recognizing that the only help he can offer is supplication to a power greater than himself.

In the conclusion (25-28) King Darius, who was powerless to deliver Daniel, commands that his subjects tremble and fear before the living God who, as in chapter 3, does deliver and rescue (6:26).

== Detailed discussion ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add detailed discussion''

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
{|
reflist
|}

== Additional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add additional sources and links''

----

[[Daniel 5 | Previous page: Chapter 5]]                              [[Daniel 7 | Next page: Chapters 7-8]]

Dan 7:1-8:27

2012-05-30T15:46:08Z

173.64.199.25: Complete rewrite of page to add content and formatting

[[The Old Testament]] > [[Daniel]] > [[Daniel 7 | Chapters 7-8]] 
[[Daniel 6 | Previous page: Chapter 6]]                              [[Daniel 9 | Next page: Chapter 9]]

== Outline and brief summary ==

The relationship chapters 7-8 to the rest of the book, and to [[Daniel 2 | chapter 2]] regarding the dream of the statue in particular, is discussed at [[Daniel]]. Chapters 7-8 can be outlined as follows:

::B. Visions of four beasts and two beasts (Daniel 7-8)
::a. Daniel sees a vision of four beasts (7:1-14)
::::• the lion #1 Babylon, bear #2 Persia, and leopard #3 Greece (2-6)
::::• the fourth beast #4 Rome with ten horns (7-8)
::::• earthly kingdoms are overcome and the ancient of days (9-12)
::::• #5 the everlasting kingdom is given to Christ (13-14)
:::b. An angel interprets the vision (7:15-28)
::::• general interpretation of the five kingdoms (15-18)
::::• question about the fourth beast with ten horns (19-22)
::::• interpretation of the fourth beast (23-27)
::a. Daniel sees a vision of two beasts (8:1-14)
::::• the ram of #2 Persia (3-4)
::::• the goat of #3 Greece’s great horn: Alexander (5-8)
::::• the goat of #3 Greece’s little horn: Antiochus Epiphanes (9-14)
:::b. Angel Gabriel interprets the vision (8:15-27)
::::• Gabriel approaches Daniel (15-19)
::::• interpretation of the ram and goat (20-22)
::::• interpretation of the little horn (23-26)

By chapters 7-8, Daniel has become a great political ruler, the recipient of dreams and visions, and the recipient of interpretations.

In the first vision, the four beasts again represent kingdoms of the world with brutish dispositions (TPJS 289): (#1) the lion is Babylon, (#2) the bear is Persia, (#3) the leopard with four heads is Greece, including the four empires created upon Alexander’s death, (#4) the beast with ten horns is the Roman Empire, (#4b) the ten horns correspond to the ten toes of the statue, and (#5) the everlasting kingdom is afterwards established by the ancient of days (Adam/Michael per D&C 116, TPJS 157) and is given to the Son of man, a term applied to Christ (Mark 14:62).

This interpretation is easily derived from: (a) the authoritative interpretations of the statue referenced on the previous page and the parallel placement of the two visions in the chiastic outline of Daniel, suggesting that parallel elements in the two visions refer to the same things; and (b) Daniel’s own interpretation of the two beasts in Daniel 8:20-22, and the similarity between the leopard with four heads in Daniel 7 and the goat’s great horn succeeded by four notable ones in Daniel 8, suggesting that they likewise refer to the same things.

Chapters 7-8 are set during the #1 Babylonian empire and so must have occurred before chapter 6, which is set during the #2 Persian era. The decision not to place these chapters in strict chronological order, but to instead place them where they contribute to the chiastic outline of Daniel, emphasizes the connection between chapters 2 and 7.

The vision in chapter 8 of two beasts revisits the middle portion of the visions of the statue and of the four beasts (chapters 2, 7). The ram’s two horns refer to the #2 Persian empire being an alliance of the Medes and Persians (8:3-4). The goat’s great horn refers to #3 Alexander the Great who died at age 32, and the four notable ones that follow him refer to the division of his empire into four parts following his death (8:5-8).

== Detailed discussion ==

===Verses 13-14 - Son of man===

Daniel sees "one like the Son of man" given dominion and glory, one which all people, nations and languages serve. The title here seems significant because it emphasizes not this person's godlike attributes but rather mortalness. The vision then is one about one who goes from a lower state to a place like God's own. It is perhaps for this reason that Jesus takes this title on himself in the New Testament. See [[Mark 14:61]]-62.

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
{|
reflist
|}

== Additional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add additional sources and links''

----

[[Daniel 6 | Previous page: Chapter 6]]                              [[Daniel 9 | Next page: Chapter 9]]

Dan 6:1-28

2012-05-30T15:40:46Z

173.64.199.25: Complete rewrite of page to add content and formatting

[[The Old Testament]] > [[Daniel]] > [[Daniel 6 | Chapter 6]] 
[[Daniel 5 | Previous page: Chapter 5]]                              [[Daniel 7 | Next page: Chapter 7]]

== Outline and brief summary ==

The relationship chapter 6 to the rest of the book, and to [[Daniel 3 | chapter 3]] regarding the fiery furnace in particular, is discussed at [[Daniel]]. Chapter 6 can be outlined as follows:

::C. The den of lions (Daniel 6)
::a. Daniel promoted over the whole realm (1-3)
:::1b. the princes can find no fault in Daniel (4-5)
:::::c. the princes obtain the decree forbidding prayer (6-9)
:::2b. Daniel ignores the decree and prays to God (10)
:::::c. the princes report Daniel violating the decree (11-13)
:::3b - d. king tries to deliver Daniel by ignoring decree (14-15)
::::::e. king hopes God will save Daniel from lions (16-17)
:::::d. king fasts for Daniel’s deliverance (18-20)
:::4b. angel delivers Daniel because there is no error in him (21-23)
::::c. the princes are eaten by the lions (24)
::a. Darius commands people to tremble before Daniel’s living God (25-28)

In the first section (4-9) the princes can find no fault in Daniel, so they obtain a law they know his religious devotion will cause him to violate.

In the second section (10-13) the princes execute their plan, reporting to the king that Daniel has violated the law and insisting that he be thrown into the den of lions. Daniel had even left his windows open while praying, inviting people to see that his religious devotion is greater than his fear of death.

In the fourth section (21-24) Daniel is delivered from the lions because of his innocence and faith. The princes are not innocent, and the lions quickly kill them. Like his three friends in the fiery furnace (chapter 3), Daniel is delivered by an angel.

The story would work without the third section (14-20), but the story's meaning would be reduced. This section makes the point that Daniel could not be delivered by any earthly power, not even by the king. At the end of the day Darius is reduced to expressing his hope that “Thy God, whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee.” The king then spends the night fasting, recognizing that the only help he can offer is supplication to a power greater than himself.

In the conclusion (25-28) King Darius, who was powerless to deliver Daniel, commands that his subjects tremble and fear before the living God who, as in chapter 3, does deliver and rescue (6:26).

== Detailed discussion ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add detailed discussion''

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
{|
reflist
|}

== Additional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add additional sources and links''

----

[[Daniel 5 | Previous page: Chapter 5]]                              [[Daniel 7 | Next page: Chapter 7]]

Dan 5:1-31

2012-05-30T15:35:17Z

173.64.199.25: Complete rewrite of page to add content and formatting

[[The Old Testament]] > [[Daniel]] > [[Daniel 5 | Chapter 5]] 
[[Daniel 4 | Previous page: Chapter 4]]                              [[Daniel 6 | Next page: Chapter 6]]

== Outline and brief summary ==

The relationship chapter 5 to the rest of the book, and in particular to King Nebuchadnezzar's insanity in chapter 4, is discussed at [[Daniel]]. Chapter 5 can be outlined as follows:

::D. King Belshazzar’s feast (Daniel 5)
::a. the king praises idols while drinking from the temple vessels (1-4)
:::b. the hand writes on the wall, the magicians cannot interpret (5-9)
::::c. the prior king heeded the spirit of God in Daniel (10-12)
:::::d. the king requests that Daniel interpret (13-17)
::::c. the prior king learned to respect God’s power (18-21)
::a. but the current king has mocked God in favor of idols (22-23)
:::b. so the hand wrote the king’s sentence on the wall (24-31)

Nebuchadnezzar had an inflated ego (chapter 4), and he promoted idol worship (chapter 3), but he was to some degree teachable. Belshazzar, in contrast, learned nothing even after witnessing Nebuchadnezzar’s insanity (5:18-22), and he proceeds to publicly and specifically mock God (5:1-4, 22-23). Belshazzar’s sentence is therefore much heavier.

Belshazzar’s offense was to drink from the captured cups of the Jerusalem temple at a large royal banquet with a thousand guests, all the while praising his idols of metal and stone (5:1-4, 22-23). This act would be widely known, would symbolize that Babylon’s gods were greater than the God of Israel, and would thus bring the name of God into widespread disrepute. God’s response was equally newsworthy and left no doubt about the extent of his power. First he had a visible hand write on a wall in front of all the banquet guests (5:5). Then he confounded the Babylonian magicians and provided the interpretation only through his own prophet Daniel (5:7-8, 24-29). That interpretation clearly informed everyone that the impending fall of Babylon would be an expression of God’s power (5:26-28). Then, still that very same night, he slew the offending king and overthrew the offending kingdom (5:30-31).

The lesson of the two central stories in chapters 4 and 5 of Daniel is simple: Although a king of Babylon may be the most powerful person in the world, even his power is as nothing compared to the power of God who rules in the affairs of men.

== Detailed discussion ==

=== Verse 29 ===

Many scholars believe that the insanity in chapter 4 happened not to Nebuchadnezzar, but to Nabonidus, the actual father of Belshazzar. They also believe that Belzhazzar was not actually king, but was co-regent with his father Nabonidus, they being the first or highest two rulers. Daniel was for a very short time the third ruler (5:29).

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
{|
reflist
|}

== Additional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add additional sources and links''

----

[[Daniel 4 | Previous page: Chapter 4]]                              [[Daniel 6 | Next page: Chapter 6]]

Dan 4:1-37

2012-05-30T15:29:54Z

173.64.199.25: Complete rewrite of page to add content and formatting

[[The Old Testament]] > [[Daniel]] > [[Daniel 4 | Chapter4]] 
[[Daniel 3 | Previous page: Chapter 3]]                              [[Daniel 5 | Next page: Chapter 5]]

== Outline and brief summary ==

The relationship chapter 4 to the rest of the book, and to chapter 5 in particular, is discussed at [[Daniel]]. Chapter 4 can be outlined as follows:

::D. King Nebuchadnezzar’s insanity (Daniel 4)
::a. introduction praising God’s power (1-3)
:::b. Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and resulting dread (4-5)
::::c. request that magicians interpret, but they cannot (6-7)
::::c. request that Daniel interpret with spirit of God (8-9)
:::::d. Nebuchadnezzar recounts the dream (10-17)
::::c. request that Daniel interpret with spirit of God (18)
:::b. Daniel’s dismay at the interpretation of the dream (19)
::::c - d. Daniel recounts and interprets the dream (20-26)
::::::e. exhorts to repent and avoid the dream’s sentence (27)
::::::e. the king’s pride triggers the dream’s sentence (28-30)
:::::d. the sentence is imposed that he live as a beast (31-33)
::a. conclusion praising both God’s power and his justice (34-37)

This outline of Daniel 4 is not pretty and could be improved, but it does track the train of thought. In this episode Nebuchadnezzar is sentenced, because of his pride, to spend seven “times” as a beast eating the grass of the field. He is then restored to his reason and to his kingdom when “I lifted up mine eyes unto heaven,” having learned that God “ruleth in the kingdom of men.”

The trigger for imposing this sentence is Nebuchadnezzar’s pride in his own greatness (4:30-31, 37L). Pride interferes (a) with faith by obscuring the need to rely on God, (b) with hope by hiding the need to repent, and (c) with charity by causing one to devalue others. The purpose of the sentence imposed upon Nebuchadnezzar is (a) to teach him enough faith to recognize that God rules in the affairs of men (4:25, 31). Daniel’s exhortation on how to avoid the dream’s sentence is to “[b] break off thy sins by righteousness, and [c] thine iniquities by showing mercy to the poor” (4:27). Daniel, in contrast to Nebuchadnezzar, humbly praised God as the source of his wisdom and might at the center of chapter 2 (2:19-23).

The Lord teaches that kings are often the basest of men (4:25). Nebuchadnezzar “dwells with the beasts of the field” until “his hairs were grown like eagles’ feathers, and his nails like birds’ claws” (4:32-33). This ties Daniel 4 to the den of lions in chapter 6 and to the vision of four beasts in chapter 7. Daniel 4 is also tied to chapter 2 when Daniel interprets the king’s dream after the king’s magicians cannot (2:4-7, 19-23, 27; 4:6-9; also 5:8, 11). Also compare 4:5 to 7:1, 15 and 4:1 to 6:25. The two stories in chapters 4-5 are placed at the center of Daniel, and many of the other stories share literary ties to the central story and lesson of Daniel 4.

== Detailed discussion ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add detailed discussion''

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
{|
reflist
|}

== Additional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add additional sources and links''

----

[[Daniel 3 | Previous page: Chapter 3]]                              [[Daniel 5 | Next page: Chapter 5]]

Daniel 3

2012-05-30T15:25:03Z

173.64.199.25: Minor revisions

[[The Old Testament]] > [[Daniel]] > [[Daniel 3 | Chapter 3]] 
[[Daniel 2 | Previous page: Chapter 2]]                              [[Daniel 4 | Next page: Chapter 4]]

== Outline and brief summary ==

The relationship chapter 3 to the rest of the book, and to chapter 6 regarding the den of lions in particular, is discussed at [[Daniel]]. Chapter 3 can be outlined as follows:

::C. The fiery furnace (Daniel 3)
::a. king commands worship of idol on pain of death (1-7)
:::b. three accused of not worshiping the idol (8-12)
::::c. who is that God that shall deliver you? (13-18)
::a. king commands three be cast into fire, but soldiers die (19-23)
:::b. three saved from sentence by angel (24-27)
::a - c. king commands respect for God who delivers (28-30)

In verses 1-7 the people obey the king’s command, upon threat of death, to worship an idol (6-7). In verses 19-23 the king commands his mighty men to cast the three friends (Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego) into the fiery furnace. But death instead takes the king’s own soldiers as they obey his command (20-22). Obedience to the world leads to destruction.

In verses 8-12 the three friends are discovered refusing to serve the idol by Chaldeans who are members of Babylon’s earthly empire. The three friends are individually named, but they are also identified as Jews and thus represent all who worship God (8-12). In verses 24-27 the world’s most powerful man, Nebuchadnezzar, angrily sentences the three to death for refusing to serve the idol. But they are saved by an angel of God whose form, significantly, “is like the Son of God,” and the king recognizes that they are in fact “servants of the most high God” (24-27). Safety lies in obedience to God.

The climax of verses 13-18 is the exchange in verses 16-17 between the king and the three friends about God’s ability to save:
:• king asks if friends are willing to serve the idol (14-15)
::• who is that god that shall deliver you out of my hands? (16)
::• God can deliver us, and he may or may not do so (17)
:• but we will not serve idols (18)
After the three friends are delivered, the king states the lesson in verses 28-30 that “there is no other God that can deliver after this sort” (29).

At the opening of this episode the king commanded that everyone must worship the golden idol. At the conclusion he now commands that no one may speak ill of the God of the Jews (29). The king is not converted to monotheism, but he does acknowledge God as the most high God.

== Detailed discussion ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add detailed discussion''

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
{|
reflist
|}

== Additional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add additional sources and links''

----

[[Daniel 2 | Previous page: Chapter 2]]                              [[Daniel 4 | Next page: Chapter 4]]

Daniel 3

2012-05-30T15:23:56Z

173.64.199.25: Complete rewrite of page to add content and formatting

[[The Old Testament]] > [[Daniel]] > [[Daniel 3 | Chapter 3]] 
[[Daniel | Previous page: Daniel]]                              [[Daniel 3 | Next page: Chapter 3]]

== Outline and brief summary ==

The relationship chapter 3 to the rest of the book, and to chapter 6 regarding the den of lions in particular, is discussed at [[Daniel]]. Chapter 3 can be outlined as follows:

::C. The fiery furnace (Daniel 3)
::a. king commands worship of idol on pain of death (1-7)
:::b. three accused of not worshiping the idol (8-12)
::::c. who is that God that shall deliver you? (13-18)
::a. king commands three be cast into fire, but soldiers die (19-23)
:::b. three saved from sentence by angel (24-27)
::a - c. king commands respect for God who delivers (28-30)

In verses 1-7 the people obey the king’s command, upon threat of death, to worship an idol (6-7). In verses 19-23 the king commands his mighty men to cast the three friends (Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego) into the fiery furnace. But death instead takes the king’s own soldiers as they obey his command (20-22). Obedience to the world leads to destruction.

In verses 8-12 the three friends are discovered refusing to serve the idol by Chaldeans who are members of Babylon’s earthly empire. The three friends are individually named, but they are also identified as Jews and thus represent all who worship God (8-12). In verses 24-27 the world’s most powerful man, Nebuchadnezzar, angrily sentences the three to death for refusing to serve the idol. But they are saved by an angel of God whose form, significantly, “is like the Son of God,” and the king recognizes that they are in fact “servants of the most high God” (24-27). Safety lies in obedience to God.

The climax of verses 13-18 is the exchange in verses 16-17 between the king and the three friends about God’s ability to save:
:• king asks if SM&A are willing to serve the idol (14-15)
::• who is that god that shall deliver you out of my hands? (16)
::• God can deliver us, and he may or may not do so (17)
:• but we will not serve idols (18)
After the three friends are delivered, the king states the lesson in verses 28-30 that “there is no other God that can deliver after this sort” (29).

At the opening of this episode the king commanded that everyone must worship the golden idol. At the conclusion he now commands that no one may speak ill of the God of the Jews (29). The king is not converted to monotheism, but he does acknowledge God as the most high God.

== Detailed discussion ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add detailed discussion''

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
{|
reflist
|}

== Additional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add additional sources and links''

----

[[Daniel 2 | Previous page: Chapter 2]]                              [[Daniel 4 | Next page: Chapter 4]]

Dan 1:1-21

2012-05-30T15:17:00Z

173.64.199.25: Minor revisions

[[The Old Testament]] > [[Daniel]] > [[Daniel 1 | Chapter 1]] 
[[Daniel | Previous page: Daniel]]                              [[Daniel 2 | Next page: Chapter 2]]

== Outline and brief summary ==

The relationship chapter 1 to the rest of the book, and to chapter 9 in particular, is discussed at [[Daniel]]. Chapter 1 can be outlined as follows:

::A. The king’s food: personal purity and blessing (Daniel 1)
::a. plan to teach Daniel and friends the learning of the Chaldeans (3-4)
:::b. plan to feed Daniel and friends the food of the Chaldeans (5-7)
:::b. Daniel and friends eat God’s food and become the fairest (8-16)
::a. Daniel and friends taught by God and become the wisest (17-21)

From the king’s perspective, his plan is both wise and generous. He searches the empire for promising young talent and then nurtures them at his own expense with food for both mind and body (1:3-4, 5-7). The problem is framed in the first line of b2, the transition from the first half to the second half of this episode: “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, and of the wine which he drank” (1:8). The question posed is whether one looks to God or to the world for nourishment and for guidance in achieving success.

God brought Daniel into favor. He is still controlling history on an individual level. And yet Daniel’s first request to the prince of the eunuchs is refused (1:8-10). He must continue seeking for a way to live righteously and not simply give up when the world tells him to live a different standard.

The prince of the eunuchs did not care about Daniel’s motives. So Daniel’s next conversation with Melzar (1:11-16) is all about results in testing whether God’s dietary law is superior to the dietary wisdom of the world. Daniel’s dietary requests are granted on a permanent basis only after this superiority is proved to Melzar’s satisfaction. The Book of Daniel teaches that we need not fear putting God’s wisdom to the test, either privately for ourselves or publicly before the world.

There is no indication that Daniel and his friends refuse to be instructed in the learning of the Babylonians. But their trust is placed in what they learn from God. “As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom ... And in all matters of wisdom and understanding that the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in his realm” (1:17, 21). God’s wisdom, and our individual reliance upon it, are again proved superior to the wisdom of the world, even by the world’s own standard of testing.

== Detailed discussion ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add detailed discussion''

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
{|
reflist
|}

== Additional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add additional sources and links''

----

[[Daniel | Previous page: Daniel]]                              [[Daniel 2 | Next page: Chapter 2]]

Dan 2:1-49

2012-05-30T15:16:32Z

173.64.199.25: Complete rewrite of page to add content and formatting

[[The Old Testament]] > [[Daniel]] > [[Daniel 2 | Chapter 2]] 
[[Daniel 1 | Previous page: Chapter 1]]                              [[Daniel 3 | Next page: Chapter 3]]

== Outline and brief summary ==

The relationship chapter 2 to the rest of the book is discussed at [[Daniel]]. In particular, chapter 2 should be read in conjunction with chapters 7-8. Chapter 2 can be outlined as follows:

::B. Dream of the statue (Daniel 2)
::a. the king’s request to recount the dream will verify its interpretation (1-9)
:::b. the king’s priests state that only a god can reveal dreams (10-13)
::::c. Daniel promises to interpret the dream (14-19)
:::::d. Daniel praises God as the controller of history, revealer of secrets, and source of his own wisdom (19-23)
::::c. Daniel states that he is ready to interpret the dream (24-25)
:::b. Daniel states that only God can reveal the dream (26-30)
::a. Daniel recounts the king’s dream (31-36)
::a. Daniel interprets the king’s dream (37-45)
:::::d. the king praises God as a true revealer of secrets (46-49)

Discussions of this chapter usually focus on the substance of King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. But at the most important point in this chiasmus, the center, Daniel instead emphasizes the more basic point that God alone can reveal such dreams and that God does control in the affairs of men.

The single best resource for interpreting the visions in the Book of Daniel is the Old Testament Institute Manual (vol. II, ch.28, p.298-99, 304-06), especially its collection of general authority quotes regarding interpretation of the statue in Daniel 2.

The Institute Manual quotes Apostle Rudger Clawson stating in the April 1930 General Conference that: (#1) the head of brass is the Babylonian empire, (#2) the arms and breast of silver are the empire of the Medes and Persians, (#3) the belly and thighs of brass are the Greek empire of Alexander the Great, which upon his death is split into four empires, (#4) the two legs of iron are the Roman empire with its two capitals at Rome and Constantinople, and (#4b) the ten toes are the European nations that descend from Rome.

The Institute Manual also quotes President Spencer Kimball stating in the April 1976 General Conference that the Church has been restored in the days of the European nations as (#5) “the kingdom set up by the God of heaven that would never be destroyed nor superseded, and the stone cut out of the mountain without hands that would become a great mountain and would fill the whole earth.”

== Detailed discussion ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add detailed discussion''

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
{|
reflist
|}

== Additional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add additional sources and links''

----

[[Daniel 1 | Previous page: Chapter 1]]                              [[Daniel 3 | Next page: Chapter 3]]

Dan 1:1-21

2012-05-30T15:11:10Z

173.64.199.25: Minor revisions

[[The Old Testament]] > [[Daniel]] > [[Daniel 1 | Chapter 1]] 
[[Daniel | Previous page: Daniel]]                              [[Daniel 2 | Next page: Chapter 2]]

== Outline and brief summary ==

The relationship chapter 1 to the rest of the book, and to chapter 9 in particular, is discussed at [[Daniel]]. Chapter 1 can be outlined as follows:

:A. The king’s food: personal purity and blessing
::a. plan to teach Daniel and friends the learning of the Chaldeans (3-4)
:::b. plan to feed Daniel and friends the food of the Chaldeans (5-7)
:::b. Daniel and friends eat God’s food and become the fairest (8-16)
::a. Daniel and friends taught by God and become the wisest (17-21)

From the king’s perspective, his plan is both wise and generous. He searches the empire for promising young talent and then nurtures them at his own expense with food for both mind and body (1:3-4, 5-7). The problem is framed in the first line of b2, the transition from the first half to the second half of this episode: “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, and of the wine which he drank” (1:8). The question posed is whether one looks to God or to the world for nourishment and for guidance in achieving success.

God brought Daniel into favor. He is still controlling history on an individual level. And yet Daniel’s first request to the prince of the eunuchs is refused (1:8-10). He must continue seeking for a way to live righteously and not simply give up when the world tells him to live a different standard.

The prince of the eunuchs did not care about Daniel’s motives. So Daniel’s next conversation with Melzar (1:11-16) is all about results in testing whether God’s dietary law is superior to the dietary wisdom of the world. Daniel’s dietary requests are granted on a permanent basis only after this superiority is proved to Melzar’s satisfaction. The Book of Daniel teaches that we need not fear putting God’s wisdom to the test, either privately for ourselves or publicly before the world.

There is no indication that Daniel and his friends refuse to be instructed in the learning of the Babylonians. But their trust is placed in what they learn from God. “As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom ... And in all matters of wisdom and understanding that the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in his realm” (1:17, 21). God’s wisdom, and our individual reliance upon it, are again proved superior to the wisdom of the world, even by the world’s own standard of testing.

== Detailed discussion ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add detailed discussion''

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
{|
reflist
|}

== Additional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add additional sources and links''

----

[[Daniel | Previous page: Daniel]]                              [[Daniel 2 | Next page: Chapter 2]]

Dan 1:1-21

2012-05-30T15:10:14Z

173.64.199.25: Complete rewrite of page to add content and formatting

[[The Old Testament]] > [[Daniel]] > [[Daniel 1 | Chapter 1]] 
[[Daniel | Previous page: Daniel]]                              [[Daniel 2 | Next page: Chapter 2]]

== Outline and brief summary ==

The relationship chapter 1 to the rest of the book is discussed at [[Daniel]]. Chapter 1 can be outlined as follows:

:A. The king’s food: personal purity and blessing
::a. plan to teach Daniel and friends the learning of the Chaldeans (3-4)
:::b. plan to feed Daniel and friends the food of the Chaldeans (5-7)
:::b. Daniel and friends eat God’s food and become the fairest (8-16)
::a. Daniel and friends taught by God and become the wisest (17-21)

From the king’s perspective, his plan is both wise and generous. He searches the empire for promising young talent and then nurtures them at his own expense with food for both mind and body (1:3-4, 5-7). The problem is framed in the first line of b2, the transition from the first half to the second half of this episode: “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, and of the wine which he drank” (1:8). The question posed is whether one looks to God or to the world for nourishment and for guidance in achieving success.

God brought Daniel into favor. He is still controlling history on an individual level. And yet Daniel’s first request to the prince of the eunuchs is refused (1:8-10). He must continue seeking for a way to live righteously and not simply give up when the world tells him to live a different standard.

The prince of the eunuchs did not care about Daniel’s motives. So Daniel’s next conversation with Melzar (1:11-16) is all about results in testing whether God’s dietary law is superior to the dietary wisdom of the world. Daniel’s dietary requests are granted on a permanent basis only after this superiority is proved to Melzar’s satisfaction. The Book of Daniel teaches that we need not fear putting God’s wisdom to the test, either privately for ourselves or publicly before the world.

There is no indication that Daniel and his friends refuse to be instructed in the learning of the Babylonians. But their trust is placed in what they learn from God. “As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom ... And in all matters of wisdom and understanding that the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in his realm” (1:17, 21). God’s wisdom, and our individual reliance upon it, are again proved superior to the wisdom of the world, even by the world’s own standard of testing.

== Detailed discussion ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add detailed discussion''

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
{|
reflist
|}

== Additional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add additional sources and links''

----

[[Daniel | Previous page: Daniel]]                              [[Daniel 2 | Next page: Chapter 2]]

Dan 7:1-8:27

2012-05-30T15:02:50Z

173.64.199.25: Moving content to preserve it as pages are regrouped by pericope

* [[Dan_7:1-5 | Verses 1-5]]
* [[Dan_7:6-10 | Verses 6-10]]
* [[Dan_7:11-15 | Verses 11-15]]
* [[Dan_7:16-20 | Verses 16-20]]
* [[Dan_7:21-25 | Verses 21-25]]
* [[Dan_7:26-28 | Verses 26-28]]

To see the entire commentary for Daniel 7 on one page, click [[Daniel_7_All|here]].

===Verses 7:13-14: Son of man===
Daniel sees "one like the Son of man" given dominion and glory, one which all people, nations and languages serve. The title here seems significant because it emphasizes not this person's godlike attributes but rather mortalness. The vision then is one about one who goes from a lower state to a place like God's own. It is perhaps for this reason that Jesus takes this title on himself in the New Testament. See [[Mark 14:61]]-62.

Dan 3:1-30

2012-05-30T14:30:52Z

173.64.199.25: Minor revisions

[[The Old Testament]] > [[Daniel]] 
:Subpages: [[Daniel 1 | Chapter 1]], [[Daniel 2 | Chapter 2]], [[Daniel 3 | Chapter 3]], [[Daniel 4 | Chapter 4]], [[Daniel 5 | Chapter 5]], [[Daniel 6 | Chapter 6]], [[Daniel 7 | Chapters 7-8]], [[Daniel 9 | Chapter 9]], [[Daniel 10 | Chapters 10-12]] 
                                                                 [[Daniel 1 | Next page: Chapter 1]]

== Historical setting ==

King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon was the epitome of earthly power. For centuries political power in the Near East had been balanced between two great powers – in the South Egypt, and in the North a succession of empires including Syria and Assyria. But this pattern ended in 605 BC when the next Northern power, Babylon, decisively defeated the combined armies of Assyria and Egypt at the Battle of Carchemish. The winning general was Nebuchadnezzar, the oldest son of the Babylonian king. Upon the death of his father later that year Nebuchadnezzar returned home and succeeded to the throne. He did not actually conquer Egypt as Assyria had briefly managed earlier, but Egypt’s power in the Near East was broken, and Nebuchadnezzar’s grip over the entire Near East was never seriously threatened during his 42 year reign. From a Near Eastern perspective, Nebuchadnezzar was the first person to literally become the king of the world.

Babylon conquered the Southern Kingdom of Judah in 597 BC and carried off many of its social elites, including Daniel. Jewish rebellions led to two more invasions. During the third invasion in 586 BC the Babylonians destroyed the Temple of Solomon and carried away all but the very poorest of the Jews.

== Brief outline and summary ==

The book of Daniel can be outlined as follows:

::::::'''[[Daniel]]'''
:[[Daniel 1 | '''A. The king’s food: personal purity and blessing (1)''']]
::[[Daniel 2 | '''B. Dream of the statue (2)''']]
:::[[Daniel 3 | '''C. The fiery furnace (3)''']]
::::[[Daniel 4 | '''D. King Nebuchadnezzar’s insanity (4)''']]
::::[[Daniel 5 | '''D. King Belshazzar’s feast (5)''']]
:::[[Daniel 6 | '''C. The den of lions (6)''']]
::[[Daniel 7 | '''B. Visions of four beasts and two beasts (7-8)''']]
:[[Daniel 9 | '''A. Israel’s punishment for sin and the restoration of Jerusalem (9)''']]
::[[Daniel 10 | '''B. Vision of north and south kingdoms (10-12)''']]

Following the Babylonian conquest of Judah, the entire House of Israel was for the first time since Moses conquered, dispersed, and without an ark or temple. Under these circumstances a series of questions naturally arose: Is God still all-powerful? Is there any reason to continue worshiping him? Are the Jews still his chosen people? Will they be restored to Jerusalem? The Book of Daniel answers all of these questions Yes.

The dream of the statue (chapter 2) and the vision of four beasts (chapter 7) acknowledge that a succession of earthly kingdoms will rule during much of the earth’s history. But ultimately God’s own kingdom will succeed them, will be greater than them, and will be eternal. The book of Daniel can make these prophetic assertions in chapters 2, 7-12 with authority because we first see God intervene and control the affairs of individuals in chapters 1-6. And we trust that Daniel speaks for God because he relates Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, something that the priests of other gods are unable to do (chapters 2, 4, 5).

The book of Daniel outlines as a fairly clean chiasmus. The central position of greatest importance in this structure is given to the two episodes in which Babylonian kings are individually subjected to God’s will. First, King Nebuchadnezzar is deprived of his human reason “till thou know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men” (4:25). Restored to his position as the most powerful man in the world, Nebuchadnezzar promptly acknowledges God’s supreme power (4:34-37). Then, when King Belshazzar publicly insults God’s power, his kingdom is overthrown and he is slain by the invading Persians before the next day even dawns (5:1-4, 30-31). The Book of Daniel thus affirms that God is still omnipotent, still rules in the affairs of men, and will in his own due time establish his eternal and unchallenged kingdom. That Israel meanwhile suffers distress as it is conquered by a succession of earthly empires is due not to any weakness of its God, but to the nation's own inability to govern itself in righteousness.

A second lesson of Daniel is that God also rules in the affairs of individuals. In the twin stories of the fiery furnace and the lions’ den (chapters 3, 6) God miraculously delivers Daniel and his friends when they are threatened with destruction for their righteousness in worshiping him. In the story of the king’s meat (chapter 1) their obedience to God’s dietary law results in their becoming “fairer and fatter in flesh” than the other children and “ten times better than all the astrologers and magicians.” In every episode their willingness to sacrifice political station in favor of religious commitment ultimately blesses them with higher political station. The Book of Daniel thus witnesses that God still protects and blesses righteous individuals.

A third lesson is that such protection and blessing come only to the righteous. In the opening story of the king’s meat ([[Daniel 1 | chapter 1]]) the youths’ fairness and wisdom is a direct result of their ritual purity and obedience to God’s law. The parallel vision of Judea’s redemption ([[Daniel 9 | chapter 9]]) explains that the Jews were conquered because of their wickedness. And while Jerusalem will be rebuilt and the Jews will be restored to the land of their inheritance as God’s chosen people, it will only last until they are again ripe for destruction (9:24-26). And Daniel leaves room for no excuses – he understood as well as anyone the difficulty of living faithfully in the face of great earthly power.

Each of the major divisions of Daniel is discussed separately on the following subpages: [[Daniel 1 | Chapter 1]], [[Daniel 2 | Chapter 2]], [[Daniel 3 | Chapter 3]], [[Daniel 4 | Chapter 4]], [[Daniel 5 | Chapter 5]], [[Daniel 6 | Chapter 6]], [[Daniel 7 | Chapters 7-8]], [[Daniel 9 | Chapter 9]], [[Daniel 10 | Chapters 10-12]].

== Detailed discussion ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add detailed discussion''

== Complete outline and page map ==

Items in blue or purple text indicate hyperlinked pages that address specific portions of Danirl.

::::::'''[[Daniel]]'''
:[[Daniel 1 | '''A. The king’s food: personal purity and blessing (1)''']]
:::a. plan to teach Daniel and friends the learning of the Chaldeans (3-4)
::::b. plan to feed Daniel and friends the food of the Chaldeans (5-7)
::::b. Daniel and friends eat God’s food and become the fairest (8-16)
:::a. Daniel and friends taught by God and become the wisest (17-21)

::[[Daniel 2 | '''B. Dream of the statue (2)''']]
::::a. the king’s request to recount the dream will verify its interpretation (1-9)
:::::b. the king’s priests state that only a god can reveal dreams (10-13)
::::::c. Daniel promises to interpret the dream (14-19)
:::::::d. Daniel praises God as the controller of history, revealer of secrets, and source of his own wisdom (19-23)
::::::c. Daniel states that he is ready to interpret the dream (24-25)
:::::b. Daniel states that only God can reveal the dream (26-30)
::::a. Daniel recounts the king’s dream (31-36)
::::a. Daniel interprets the king’s dream (37-45)
:::::::d. the king praises God as a true revealer of secrets (46-49)

:::[[Daniel 3 | '''C. The fiery furnace (3)''']]
:::::a. king commands worship of idol on pain of death (1-7)
::::::b. three accused of not worshiping the idol (8-12)
:::::::c. who is that God that shall deliver you? (13-18)
:::::a. king commands three be cast into fire, but soldiers die (19-23)
::::::b. three saved from sentence by angel (24-27)
:::::::a./c. king commands respect for God who delivers (28-30)

::::[[Daniel 4 | '''D. King Nebuchadnezzar’s insanity (4)''']]
::::::a. introduction praising God’s power (1-3)
:::::::b. Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and resulting dread (4-5)
::::::::c. request that magicians interpret, but they cannot (6-7)
::::::::c. request that Daniel interpret with spirit of God (8-9)
:::::::::d. Nebuchadnezzar recounts the dream (10-17)
::::::::c. request that Daniel interpret with spirit of God (18)
:::::::b. Daniel’s dismay at the interpretation of the dream (19)
::::::::c - d. Daniel recounts and interprets the dream (20-26)
::::::::::e. exhorts to repent and avoid the dream’s sentence (27)
::::::::::e. the king’s pride triggers the dream’s sentence (28-30)
:::::::::d. the sentence is imposed that he live as a beast (31-33)
::::::a. conclusion praising both God’s power and his justice (34-37)

::::[[Daniel 5 | '''D. King Belshazzar’s feast (5)''']]
::::::a. the king praises idols while drinking from the temple vessels (1-4)
:::::::b. the hand writes on the wall, the magicians cannot interpret (5-9)
::::::::c. the prior king heeded the spirit of God in Daniel (10-12)
:::::::::d. the king requests that Daniel interpret (13-17)
::::::::c. the prior king learned to respect God’s power (18-21)
::::::a. but the current king has mocked God in favor of idols (22-23)
:::::::b. so the hand wrote the king’s sentence on the wall (24-31)

:::[[Daniel 6 | '''C. The den of lions (6)''']]
:::::a. Daniel promoted over the whole realm (1-3)
::::::1b. the princes can find no fault in Daniel (4-5)
:::::::c. the princes obtain the decree forbidding prayer (6-9)
::::::2b. Daniel ignores the decree and prays to God (10)
::::::: c. the princes report Daniel violating the decree (11-13)
::::::3b / d. king tries to deliver Daniel by ignoring decree (14-15)
:::::::::e. king hopes God will save Daniel from lions (16-17)
::::::::d. king fasts for Daniel’s deliverance (18-20)
::::::4b. angel delivers Daniel because there is no error in him (21-23)
:::::::c. the princes are eaten by the lions (24)
:::::a. Darius commands people to tremble before Daniel’s living God (25-28)

::[[Daniel 7 | '''B. Visions of four beasts and two beasts (7-8)''']]
:::a. Daniel sees a vision of four beasts (7:1-14)
:::::• the lion #1 Babylon, bear #2 Persia, and leopard #3 Greece (2-6)
:::::• the fourth beast #4 Rome with ten horns (7-8)
:::::• earthly kingdoms are overcome and the ancient of days (9-12)
:::::• #5 the everlasting kingdom is given to Christ (13-14)
::::b. An angel interprets the vision (7:15-28)
:::::• general interpretation of the five kingdoms (15-18)
:::::• question about the fourth beast with ten horns (19-22)
:::::• interpretation of the fourth beast (23-27)
:::a. Daniel sees a vision of two beasts (8:1-14)
:::::• the ram of #2 Persia (3-4)
:::::• the goat of #3 Greece’s great horn: Alexander (5-8)
:::::• the goat of #3 Greece’s little horn: Antiochus Epiphanes (9-14)
::::b. Angel Gabriel interprets the vision (8:15-27)
:::::• Gabriel approaches Daniel (15-19)
:::::• interpretation of the ram and goat (20-22)
:::::• interpretation of the little horn (23-26)

:[[Daniel 9 | '''A. Israel’s punishment for sin and the restoration of Jerusalem (9)''']]
:::• Daniel confesses his and Israel’s sins (3-15)
:::• Daniel requests forgiveness and restoration for Jerusalem (16-19)
:::• Gabriel prophesies seventy weeks of restoration (20-27)

::[[Daniel 10 | '''B. Vision of north and south kingdoms (10-12)''']]
::::• Daniel’s preparation and discussion with the angel (10:1-11:2)
::::• the vision (11:2-12:4)
::::• epilogue: when will this be? (12:5-13)

== Parallel passages in other scriptures ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add references''

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
{|
reflist
|}

== Additional sources and links ==

* '''Books'''

:*Gaston, Thomas. ''Historical Issues in the Book of Daniel.'' (Oxford: TaanathShiloh, 2009)

:*Draper, Richard. ''The Prophets of the Exile: Saviors of a People.'' (Sperry #26, 1997)

:*Fewell, Danna. ''Circle of Sovereignty: A Story of Stories.'' (Almond Press, 1988)

:*Hartman, Louis. ''The Anchor Bible: Daniel.'' (1978)

:*Kimball, Spencer. ''Conference Report.'' (April 1976)

----
                                                                 [[Daniel 1 | Next page: Chapter 1]]

Dan 3:1-30

2012-05-30T14:24:17Z

173.64.199.25: Complete rewrite of page to add content and formatting

[[The Old Testament]] > [[Daniel]] 
:Subpages: [[Daniel 1 | Chapter 1]], [[Daniel 2 | Chapter 2]], [[Daniel 3 | Chapter 3]], [[Daniel 4 | Chapter 4]], [[Daniel 5 | Chapter 5]], [[Daniel 6 | Chapter 6]], [[Daniel 7 | Chapters 7-8]], [[Daniel 9 | Chapter 9]], [[Daniel 10 | Chapters 10-12]] 
                                                                 [[Daniel 1 | Next page: Chapter 1]]

== Historical setting ==

King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon was the epitome of earthly power. For centuries political power in the Near East had been balanced between two great powers – in the South Egypt, and in the North a succession of empires including Syria and Assyria. But this pattern ended in 605 BC when the next Northern power, Babylon, decisively defeated the combined armies of Assyria and Egypt at the Battle of Carchemish. The winning general was Nebuchadnezzar, the oldest son of the Babylonian king. Upon the death of his father later that year Nebuchadnezzar returned home and succeeded to the throne. He did not actually conquer Egypt as Assyria had briefly managed earlier, but Egypt’s power in the Near East was broken, and Nebuchadnezzar’s grip over the entire Near East was never seriously threatened during his 42 year reign. From a Near Eastern perspective, Nebuchadnezzar was the first person to literally become the king of the world.

Babylon conquered the Southern Kingdom of Judah in 597 BC and carried off many of its social elites, including Daniel. Jewish rebellions led to two more invasions. During the third invasion in 586 BC the Babylonians destroyed the Temple of Solomon and carried away all but the very poorest of the Jews.

== Brief outline and summary ==

The book of Daniel can be outlined as follows:

::::::'''[[Daniel]]'''
:[[Daniel 1 | '''A. The king’s food: personal purity and blessing (1)''']]
::[[Daniel 2 | '''B. Dream of the statue (2)''']]
:::[[Daniel 3 | '''C. The fiery furnace (3)''']]
::::[[Daniel 4 | '''D. King Nebuchadnezzar’s insanity (4)''']]
::::[[Daniel 5 | '''D. King Belshazzar’s feast (5)''']]
:::[[Daniel 6 | '''C. The den of lions (6)''']]
::[[Daniel 7 | '''B. Visions of four beasts and two beasts (7-8)''']]
:[[Daniel 9 | '''A. Israel’s punishment for sin and the restoration of Jerusalem (9)''']]
::[[Daniel 10 | '''B. Vision of north and south kingdoms (10-12)''']]

Following the Babylonian conquest of Judah, the entire House of Israel was for the first time since Moses conquered, dispersed, and without an ark or temple. Under these circumstances a series of questions naturally arose: Is God still all-powerful? Is there any reason to continue worshiping him? Are the Jews still his chosen people? Will they be restored to Jerusalem? The Book of Daniel answers all of these questions Yes.

The dream of the statue (chapter 2) and the vision of four beasts (chapter 7) acknowledge that a succession of earthly kingdoms will rule during much of the earth’s history. But ultimately God’s own kingdom will succeed them, will be greater than them, and will be eternal. The book of Daniel can make these prophetic assertions in chapters 2, 7-12 with authority because we first see God intervene and control the affairs of individuals in chapters 1-6. And we trust that Daniel speaks for God because he relates Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, something that the priests of other gods are unable to do (chapters 2, 4, 5).

The book of Daniel outlines as a fairly clean chiasmus. The central position of greatest importance in this structure is given to the two episodes in which Babylonian kings are individually subjected to God’s will. First, King Nebuchadnezzar is deprived of his human reason “till thou know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men” (4:25). Restored to his position as the most powerful man in the world, Nebuchadnezzar promptly acknowledges God’s supreme power (4:34-37). Then, when King Belshazzar publicly insults God’s power, his kingdom is overthrown and he is slain by the invading Persians before the next day even dawns (5:1-4, 30-31). The Book of Daniel thus affirms that God is still omnipotent, still rules in the affairs of men, and will in his own due time establish his eternal and unchallenged kingdom. That Israel meanwhile suffers distress as it is conquered by a succession of earthly empires is due not to any weakness of its God, but to the nation's own inability to govern itself in righteousness.

A second lesson of Daniel is that God also rules in the affairs of individuals. In the twin stories of the fiery furnace and the lions’ den (chapters 3, 6) God miraculously delivers Daniel and his friends when they are threatened with destruction for their righteousness in worshiping him. In the story of the king’s meat (chapter 1) their obedience to God’s dietary law results in their becoming “fairer and fatter in flesh” than the other children and “ten times better than all the astrologers and magicians.” In every episode their willingness to sacrifice political station in favor of religious commitment ultimately blesses them with higher political station. The Book of Daniel thus witnesses that God still protects and blesses righteous individuals.

A third lesson is that such protection and blessing come only to the righteous. In the opening story of the king’s meat ([[Daniel 1 | chapter 1]]) the youths’ fairness and wisdom is a direct result of their ritual purity and obedience to God’s law. The parallel vision of Judea’s redemption ([[Daniel 9 | chapter 9]]) explains that the Jews were conquered because of their wickedness. And while Jerusalem will be rebuilt and the Jews will be restored to the land of their inheritance as God’s chosen people, it will only last until they are again ripe for destruction (9:24-26). And Daniel leaves room for no excuses – he understood as well as anyone the difficulty of living faithfully in the face of great earthly power.

Each of the major divisions of Daniel is discussed separately on the following subpages: [[Daniel 1 | Chapter 1]], [[Daniel 2 | Chapter 2]], [[Daniel 3 | Chapter 3]], [[Daniel 4 | Chapter 4]], [[Daniel 5 | Chapter 5]], [[Daniel 6 | Chapter 6]], [[Daniel 7 | Chapters 7-8]], [[Daniel 9 | Chapter 9]], [[Daniel 10 | Chapters 10-12]].

== Detailed discussion ==

There are three hymns in Amos ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/4.13?lang=eng#12 4:13]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/5.8-9?lang=eng#7 5:8-9]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/9.5-6?lang=eng#4 9:5-6]).

== Complete outline and page map ==

Items in blue or purple text indicate hyperlinked pages that address specific portions of Danirl.

::::::'''[[Daniel]]'''
:[[Daniel 1 | '''A. The king’s food: personal purity and blessing (1)''']]
:::a. plan to teach Daniel and friends the learning of the Chaldeans (3-4)
::::b. plan to feed Daniel and friends the food of the Chaldeans (5-7)
::::b. Daniel and friends eat God’s food and become the fairest (8-16)
:::a. Daniel and friends taught by God and become the wisest (17-21)

::[[Daniel 2 | '''B. Dream of the statue (2)''']]
::::a. the king’s request to recount the dream will verify its interpretation (1-9)
:::::b. the king’s priests state that only a god can reveal dreams (10-13)
::::::c. Daniel promises to interpret the dream (14-19)
:::::::d. Daniel praises God as the controller of history, revealer of secrets, and source of his own wisdom (19-23)
::::::c. Daniel states that he is ready to interpret the dream (24-25)
:::::b. Daniel states that only God can reveal the dream (26-30)
::::a. Daniel recounts the king’s dream (31-36)
::::a. Daniel interprets the king’s dream (37-45)
:::::::d. the king praises God as a true revealer of secrets (46-49)

:::[[Daniel 3 | '''C. The fiery furnace (3)''']]
:::::a. king commands worship of idol on pain of death (1-7)
::::::b. three accused of not worshiping the idol (8-12)
:::::::c. who is that God that shall deliver you? (13-18)
:::::a. king commands three be cast into fire, but soldiers die (19-23)
::::::b. three saved from sentence by angel (24-27)
:::::::a./c. king commands respect for God who delivers (28-30)

::::[[Daniel 4 | '''D. King Nebuchadnezzar’s insanity (4)''']]
::::::a. introduction praising God’s power (1-3)
:::::::b. Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and resulting dread (4-5)
::::::::c. request that magicians interpret, but they cannot (6-7)
::::::::c. request that Daniel interpret with spirit of God (8-9)
:::::::::d. Nebuchadnezzar recounts the dream (10-17)
::::::::c. request that Daniel interpret with spirit of God (18)
:::::::b. Daniel’s dismay at the interpretation of the dream (19)
::::::::c - d. Daniel recounts and interprets the dream (20-26)
::::::::::e. exhorts to repent and avoid the dream’s sentence (27)
::::::::::e. the king’s pride triggers the dream’s sentence (28-30)
:::::::::d. the sentence is imposed that he live as a beast (31-33)
::::::a. conclusion praising both God’s power and his justice (34-37)

::::[[Daniel 5 | '''D. King Belshazzar’s feast (5)''']]
::::::a. the king praises idols while drinking from the temple vessels (1-4)
:::::::b. the hand writes on the wall, the magicians cannot interpret (5-9)
::::::::c. the prior king heeded the spirit of God in Daniel (10-12)
:::::::::d. the king requests that Daniel interpret (13-17)
::::::::c. the prior king learned to respect God’s power (18-21)
::::::a. but the current king has mocked God in favor of idols (22-23)
:::::::b. so the hand wrote the king’s sentence on the wall (24-31)

:::[[Daniel 6 | '''C. The den of lions (6)''']]
:::::a. Daniel promoted over the whole realm (1-3)
::::::1b. the princes can find no fault in Daniel (4-5)
:::::::c. the princes obtain the decree forbidding prayer (6-9)
::::::2b. Daniel ignores the decree and prays to God (10)
::::::: c. the princes report Daniel violating the decree (11-13)
::::::3b / d. king tries to deliver Daniel by ignoring decree (14-15)
:::::::::e. king hopes God will save Daniel from lions (16-17)
::::::::d. king fasts for Daniel’s deliverance (18-20)
::::::4b. angel delivers Daniel because there is no error in him (21-23)
:::::::c. the princes are eaten by the lions (24)
:::::a. Darius commands people to tremble before Daniel’s living God (25-28)

::[[Daniel 7 | '''B. Visions of four beasts and two beasts (7-8)''']]
::::a. Daniel sees the vision of 4 beasts (7:1-14)
:::::• the lion #1 Babylon, bear #2 Persia, and leopard #3 Greece (2-6)
:::::• the fourth beast #4 Rome with ten horns (7-8)
:::::• earthly kingdoms are overcome and the ancient of days (9-12)
:::::• #5 the everlasting kingdom is given to Christ (13-14)
::::b. An angel interprets the vision (7:15-28)
:::::• general interpretation of the five kingdoms (15-18)
:::::• question about the fourth beast with ten horns (19-22)
:::::• interpretation of the fourth beast (23-27)
::::a. Daniel sees the vision of two beasts (8:1-14)
:::::• the ram of #2 Persia (3-4)
:::::• the goat of #3 Greece’s great horn: Alexander (5-8)
:::::• the goat of #3 Greece’s little horn: Antiochus Epiphanes (9-14)
::::b. Gabriel interprets the vision (8:15-27)
:::::• Gabriel approaches Daniel (15-19)
:::::• interpretation of the ram and goat (20-22)
:::::• interpretation of the little horn (23-26)

:[[Daniel 9 | '''A. Israel’s punishment for sin and the restoration of Jerusalem (9)''']]
:::• Daniel confesses his and Israel’s sins (3-15)
:::• Daniel requests forgiveness and restoration for Jerusalem (16-19)
:::• Gabriel prophesies seventy weeks of restoration (20-27)

::[[Daniel 10 | '''B. Vision of north and south kingdoms (10-12)''']]
::::• Daniel’s preparation and discussion with the angel (10:1-11:2)
::::• the vision (11:2-12:4)
::::• epilogue: when will this be? (12:5-13)

== Parallel passages in other scriptures ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add references''

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
{|
reflist
|}

== Additional sources and links ==

* '''Books'''

:*Gaston, Thomas. ''Historical Issues in the Book of Daniel.'' (Oxford: TaanathShiloh, 2009)

:*Draper, Richard. ''The Prophets of the Exile: Saviors of a People.'' (Sperry #26, 1997)

:*Fewell, Danna. ''Circle of Sovereignty: A Story of Stories.'' (Almond Press, 1988)

:*Hartman, Louis. ''The Anchor Bible: Daniel.'' (1978)

:*Kimball, Spencer. ''Conference Report.'' (April 1976)

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                                                                 [[Daniel 1 | Next page: Chapter 1]]

The Book of Mormon

2012-05-30T05:25:48Z

173.64.199.25: Adding content

* [[Book of Mormon Title Page|Title Page]]
* [[Book of Mormon Testimony of Three Witnesses|Testimony of Three Witnesses]]
* [[Book of Mormon Testimony of Eight Witnesses|Testimony of Eight Witnesses]]
* [[Testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith]]
* [[A Brief Explanation about The Book of Mormon]]
----
* [[First Nephi|First Nephi (1 Ne)]]
* [[Second Nephi|Second Nephi (2 Ne)]]
* [[Jacob|Jacob (Jacob)]]
* [[Enos|Enos (Enos)]]
* [[Jarom|Jarom (Jarom)]]
* [[Omni|Omni (Omni)]]
* [[Words of Mormon|Words of Mormon (W of M)]]
* [[Mosiah|Mosiah (Mosiah)]]
* [[Alma|Alma (Alma)]]
* [[Helaman|Helaman (Hel)]]
* [[Third Nephi|Third Nephi (3 Ne)]]
* [[Fourth Nephi|Fourth Nephi (4 Ne)]]
* [[Mormon|Mormon (Morm)]]
* [[Ether|Ether (Ether)]]
* [[Moroni|Moroni (Moro)]]

== Themes and relationships that span multiple books ==

=== Four principal authors ===

Most of the Book of Mormon was written in its final form by just four people: Nephi, Jacob, Mormon and Moroni.

When [[First Nephi | Nephi]] wants to prophecy, he usually does so by quoting Isaiah. When [[Jacob]] wants to prophecy, he quotes Zenos. Mormon's primary vehicle for teaching in Mosiah through Mormon is Nephite history. And Moroni uses [[Ether | Jaredite history]] as his vehicle.

Four principal characters in Nephi's Isaiah quotes are Zion, Babylon, Assyria and Egypt. Zion is the Lord's people, represented in Nephite history by the church. Babylon is the worldly world and its attractions, represented in Nephi's vision as the great and spacious building, and in Mormon's account of Nephite history by the rich and proud portion of the prosperity cycle. Isaiah describes Assyria as a feared expansionist power that poses a constant threat of destruction to the Lord's people. In Nephite history this would be the Lamanite nation. Isaiah describes Egypt as a countervailing power that Israel looks to for protection, represented in Nephite history by the Nephite nation. So there is a great deal of similarity between Nephi and Mormon. Nephi quotes and explains Isaiah, while Mormon illustrates what the bi-polar world described by Isaiah looks like when applied to another time and place.

Mormon's writings in Mosiah-Mormon primarily track religious leaders and are often concerned with the conversion and salvation of individuals. Ether in contrast primarily tracks political leaders and is concerned only with the salvation or destruction of society as a whole.

=== Government and secret combinations ===

A principal message of Mosiah is that governments sometimes abuse those to whom it is not accountable. In the opening division King Benjamin is presented as an ideal king. In the middle division Noah is presented as the exact opposite. In the closing division Mosiah II explains that an unaccountable monarchy would be great if all kings were as good as his father Benjamin, but since some kings are as bad as Noah, it is better for government to be accountable through voting or democracy.

A principal messages of Alma 45-63 is that democratic governments also have a weakness. A democracy can become paralyzed when you and your neighbor disagree and the government is accountable to both of you. Mormon makes a point of explanation how dangerous it was for dissensions to arise in the context of a foreign war. And it is only after the king men are dealt with that the Nephites again begin to be victorious.

Helaman - 3 Nephi 9 explains another threat to democracy, namely secret combinations. The Lord clearly explains that it is the secret combinations that have caused the downfall of the people.

Ether cautions that transitioning from democracy to monarchy, or in other words giving up government accountability, will not automatically solve the problem of secret combinations. Ether recounts how secret combinations cause the destruction of monarchical Jaredite society not just once, but three times.

----

* [[Book of Mormon Title Page|Title Page]]
* [[Book of Mormon Testimony of Three Witnesses|Testimony of Three Witnesses]]
* [[Book of Mormon Testimony of Eight Witnesses|Testimony of Eight Witnesses]]
* [[Testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith]]
* [[A Brief Explanation about The Book of Mormon]]
----
* [[First Nephi|First Nephi (1 Ne)]]
* [[Second Nephi|Second Nephi (2 Ne)]]
* [[Jacob|Jacob (Jacob)]]
* [[Enos|Enos (Enos)]]
* [[Jarom|Jarom (Jarom)]]
* [[Omni|Omni (Omni)]]
* [[Words of Mormon|Words of Mormon (W of M)]]
* [[Mosiah|Mosiah (Mosiah)]]
* [[Alma|Alma (Alma)]]
* [[Helaman|Helaman (Hel)]]
* [[Third Nephi|Third Nephi (3 Ne)]]
* [[Fourth Nephi|Fourth Nephi (4 Ne)]]
* [[Mormon|Mormon (Morm)]]
* [[Ether|Ether (Ether)]]
* [[Moroni|Moroni (Moro)]]