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Moron does that which is wicked before the Lord (Ether 11-13)
2025

Episode 66: Moron does that which is wicked before the Lord

Ether 11-13

111-2 Many prophets came in the days of Com saying the things that Mormon prophets always say -- repent or God will kill you all. The people rejected them and tried to kill them, so the prophets went to Cob for protection. 3-4 God blessed Cob, who lived to a good old age and begat Shiblom, who replaced him as king. But Shiblom's brother rebelled against him, starting a war.

5 Shiblom's brother decided to kill all the prophets who said God was going to kill everyone. 6 But the prophets kept talking anyway. They said God will curse the land and the people, that he'll destroy them like he'd never destroyed before, and that their bones would become heaps upon the land (unless they repent, of course).

7 To punish the people for "their wicked combinations," God sent wars, famines, and pestilences. The resulting destruction was the greatest ever seen on the face of the earth -- greater than the flood of Noah, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, or World War II. Yet there is no evidence for any of this today.

8 Then the people repented and God stopped killing everyone.

9-11 Shiblom died and Seth lived in captivity for the rest of his life. His son, Ahah, replaced him as king. But Ahah didn't live long, since he did all manner of iniquity. Ahah's son, Ethem, took over for him and he also did that which is wicked in his days.

12-13 The prophets prophesy (again) that God will kill everyone unless they repent and the people ignore them (again). 14 Ethem was wicked throughout his life, then he begat Moron, who did wicked things before the Lord.

15 There was a rebellion because of that secret combination. And a mighty man rose up and gave battle to Moron, taking away half of the kingdom. 16-18 Then Moron overthrew the mighty man that overthrew him, but then Moron was overthrown by another mighty man, a descendant of the brother of Jared. So Moron dwelt in captivity for the rest of his days, and begat Coriantor.

19-23 Coriantor dwelt in captivity all of his days (just like his dad, Moron). During this time the prophets returned and told everyone the usual things (repent or God would kill them all). But the people rejected their prophecy because of their secret society and wicked abominations. Then Coriantor died after begetting Ether.

Ether prophesies great and marvelous things

12 5 Ether was a prophet who lived while Coriantumr was king. Day and night he prophesied great and marvelous things, which can be summarized as follows: believe and repent or God will kill you.

6-41 Moroni interrupts his story to speak somewhat about things you've heard dozens of times in the Book of Mormon. Here are the highlights: 13 Alma and Amulek caused the prison to fall down. 17 Jesus promised the three disciples that they’d never die. 20 The brother of Jared saw Jesus’s finger.

23-25 The Gentiles will make fun of us, Moroni says, because of our poor writing. God didn’t make us mighty in writing, because of the awkwardness of our hands.

26 The Lord said to me, “Fools mock, but they shall mourn.” 30 The brother of Jared said to the Mountain Zerin, “Move.” And it moved. 38 My garments aren’t spotted with your blood. 40 That’s all I’m going to write, because of my weakness in writing.

Ether dwells in the cavity of a rock

13 1 After his sermon in the last chapter, Moroni returns to the Jaredite story.

2-12 The Jaredites rejected all of Ether's preaching. They didn't believe his stories about the flood; that God liked the New World better than the old; that there would be a holy city, a New Jerusalem (Salt Lake City?), in the Western Hemisphere; that there would be a new heaven and a new earth (after God destroyed the old ones); that the people in the New Jerusalem would have white garments, washed in the blood of a lamb; or that the first will be last and the last, first.

13-14 Moroni was going to write more, but God made him stop. (Thank God.)

Ether had many great and marvelous things to say, but the people thought his prophecies sucked. They threw his holy ass out of town. So Ether hid out in a cave by day, writing his record; and roamed the Jaredite streets at night, where he watched the destruction of the Jaredites. 15-16 In the next year or so another great war broke out, with mighty men trying to kill Coriantumr with their secret plans of wickedness.

17 Coriantumr, who had studied all the arts of war and all the cunning of the world, fought back against the mighty men and their secret plans. But he didn't repent. Neither did his fair sons and daughters; neither did the fair sons and daughters of Cahor; in fine, don't you know, there wasn't a fair son or daughter on the entire earth that repented.

18 In the year while Ether was camping out in the hole in the rock, many people were slain by the sword of those secret combinations. 20-21 After living in the cave for another year or so, Ether stopped by to talk to Coriantumr. Ether told him to repent or all of the Jaredites would be killed (except him). 22 But Coriantumr ignored Ether, the wars continued, and the Jaredites tried to kill Ether. But he went back to his cave.

23-26 A guy named Shared defeated Coriantumr and in the third year brought him into captivity. But in the fourth year, the sons of Coriantumr beat Shared and freed their father. There were wars going on all over the place with every group fighting every other group. There were robbers and wickedness pretty much everywhere.

27-30 Coriantumr became exceedingly angry with Shared and the battle became exceedingly sore in the valley of Gilgal. They fought for three days until Coriantumr finally beat Shared on the plains of Heslon. But then Shared returned to fight again, so Coriantumr had to beat Shared again in the valley of Gilgal. 31 In the battle, Shared wounded Coriantumr's thigh, so he didn't fight again for two years, during which time there was much shedding of blood.

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