The Jaredite Pilgrims Reach the Promised Land
Book of Mormon Notes - Thursday, May 15, 2024, Ether 6 (Part 2)
The voyage of the Jaredites was just as the Lord told them it would be. Compare what the Lord told the brother of Jared to the account of their voyage:
The Lord’s Prophecy
For behold, ye shall be as a whale in the midst of the sea; for the mountain waves shall dash upon you. Nevertheless, I will bring you up again out of the depths of the sea; for the winds have gone forth out of my mouth, and also the rains and the floods have I sent forth.
And behold, I prepare you against these things; for ye cannot cross this great deep save I prepare you against the waves of the sea, and the winds which have gone forth, and the floods which shall come. Therefore what will ye that I should prepare for you that ye may have light when ye are swallowed up in the depths of the sea? (Ether 2:25)
The Jaredite’s Journey
And it came to pass that the Lord God caused that there should be a furious wind blow upon the face of the waters, towards the promised land; and thus they were tossed upon the waves of the sea before the wind.
And it came to pass that they were many times buried in the depths of the sea, because of the mountain waves which broke upon them, and also the great and terrible tempests which were caused by the fierceness of the wind.
And it came to pass that when they were buried in the deep there was no water that could hurt them, their vessels being tight like unto a dish, and also they were tight like unto the ark of Noah; therefore when they were encompassed about by many waters they did cry unto the Lord, and he did bring them forth again upon the top of the waters.
And it came to pass that the wind did never cease to blow towards the promised land while they were upon the waters; and thus they were driven forth before the wind. (Ether 6:5-8)
and
And thus they were driven forth; and no monster of the sea could break them, neither whale that could mar them; and they did have light continually, whether it was above the water or under the water.
And thus they were driven forth, three hundred and forty and four days upon the water. (Ether 6:10-11)
Can you imagine how terrifying the journey would have been, especially for the children, if they did not know that the Lord was directing their course, and that He was the source of the winds and the waves? The Lord prepared the Jaredites. He propelled them towards the Promised Land. He brought them out of the depths of the sea. He protected them against sea monsters and whales. He gave light to their vessels. For 344 days upon the water, the Lord carried them to the Promised Land.
Can you imagine their relief when they finally reached land again? They must have eaten most of their provisions. How they obtained water during their journey, I don’t know… perhaps they had a system for collecting rain water. What was the Jaredite’s response when they reached the Promised Land?
And they did land upon the shore of the promised land. And when they had set their feet upon the shores of the promised land they bowed themselves down upon the face of the land, and did humble themselves before the Lord, and did shed tears of joy before the Lord, because of the multitude of his tender mercies over them. (Ether 6:12)
The Jaredites were the forerunners to the Pilgrims. They must have held a great Thanksgiving feast. The Jaredite nation was off to a great start (just like our own started so well with the Puritan point of departure).
Where did the Jaredites land? We don’t know. There is much speculation on these matters, and it is an interesting question to explore. I currently favor the hypothesis that the Jaredites crossed the Pacific Ocean from Asia and landed somewhere on the west coast of North America, perhaps near what is now called Alaska. Maybe they landed in Chile. I don’t know. Maybe we’ll find more clues about their location along the way.
Notice Moroni’s use of the phrase “tender mercies.” The use and placement of this phrase is not accidental. Moroni’s heart and mind were immersed in the Nephite scriptures, and he certainly understood the parallels between the Lehites and the Jaredites. Remember that Nephi declared his purpose for writing:
But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance. (1 Nephi 1:20)
Remember Lehi’s account of his vision:
And after I had traveled for the space of many hours in darkness, I began to pray unto the Lord that he would have mercy on me, according to the multitude of his tender mercies. (1 Nephi 8:8)
In his description of the Jaredites’ gratitude upon reaching the shores of the Promised Land, Moroni uses the exact same phrase that Nephi uses in his description of his father’s account of his dream: “the multitude of his tender mercies.” Why does Moroni do this? I don’t know. But one answer that comes to mind is that Moroni cherished the small plates of Nephi that his father Mormon had carefully selected from among the Nephite records and inserted into his own abridgment. Like Nephi, Moroni shows us that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance. By the use of the phrase “tender mercies” and in many other ways, Moroni shows us the parallels between the beginning of the Lehite civilization and the beginning of the Jaredite civilization. Both the Lehites and the Jaredites were led by the Lord to the Promised Land and began to accomplish the Lord’s purposes.
Remember Nephi’s explanation of the Lord’s purposes:
Behold, the Lord hath created the earth that it should be inhabited; and he hath created his children that they should possess it.
And he raiseth up a righteous nation, and destroyeth the nations of the wicked.
And he leadeth away the righteous into precious lands, and the wicked he destroyeth, and curseth the land unto them for their sakes.
He ruleth high in the heavens, for it is his throne, and this earth is his footstool. (1 Nephi 17:36-39)
The Lord created the Promised Land of America to be inhabited by His children, and He raised up a righteous nation, the Jaredites, followed by another righteous nation, the Lehites, followed by another righteous nation, the United States of America. The Lord established the righteous Jaredites and confounded the people at the Tower of Babel. The Lord established the righteous Lehites and destroyed the people at Jerusalem. The Lord established the righteous early Americans and protected them from their enemies. It is the same pattern of the Lord who lead the children of Israel out of Egypt by His servant Moses. The Lord raises up the righteous and destroys the wicked. The Lord our God is incomparably great. Remember Isaiah 40, and Eric Liddle’s recitation of Isaiah 40.
The Jaredites set to work tilling the earth. They walked humbly before the Lord. They were taught from on high. They spread, multiplied, and waxed strong in the land. When the brother of Jared grew old, near death, he recruited his brother to help gather his people together to number them and counsel with them concerning their desires. The Jaredites gathered, were numbered (22 sons and daughters of the brother of Jared, 12 sons and daughters of Jared, 22 friends of the brother of Jared, and many more), and met in council.
Naturally, the people desired a king. The people always seem to desire a king. The brother of Jared did not like this idea at all. The brother of Jared’s reaction to the desire of his people was like that of King Mosiah when his people desired a king. (see Mosiah 29) After the failed experiments with monarchy among the Jaredites and the Nephites, the Lord decreed that America would be different:
But behold, this land, said God, shall be a land of thine inheritance, and the Gentiles shall be blessed upon the land.
And this land shall be a land of liberty unto the Gentiles, and there shall be no kings upon the land, who shall raise up unto the Gentiles. (2 Nephi 10:10-11)
This was the brother of Jared’s reaction when he learned that his people desired a king:
And now behold, this was grievous unto them. And the brother of Jared said unto them: Surely this thing leadeth into captivity. (Ether 6:23)
But Jared relented and persuaded his brother to let their people have a king. Interestingly, each one of the brother of Jared’s sons, beginning with his first born Pagag, refused to be king. The Jaredites wanted the brother of Jared to constrain Pagag to be their king, but the brother of Jared refused and commanded them never to constrain anyone to be their king. After each of the brother of Jared’s sons refused to be king, each of the sons of Jared also refused to be king, except one son named Orihah. Thus the Jaredite royal lineage was established from Jared to Orihah.
Why did each of the sons of the brother of Jared refuse to be king, and why did almost all of the sons of Jared refuse to be king? It seems like they agreed with the brother of Jared that monarchy would eventually lead to captivity. Why then did Orihah agree to be king? Good question.
Under the reign of the first Jaredite king in the Promised Land, Orihah, the Jaredites began to prosper and become exceedingly rich. The great Jaredite leaders, Jared and the brother of Jared passed away. By this point in the Book of Mormon we know what usually happens when righteous leaders die and the people become wealthy and prosperous. Moroni will reveal the same pattern among the Jaredites that his father traced throughout Nephite history. Nevertheless, the first Jaredite king, Orihah, was a good and righteous king who walked humbly before the Lord, remembered the great things that the Lord had done for his father, and taught his people the great things that the Lord had done for their fathers. As one of those who probably helped build the barges and miraculously traversed the ocean, Orihah could not forget what the Lord had done for him and his people. How long would this historical memory last? As we shall see, it did not last very long.