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“By
Faith All Things
Are Fulfilled”
Ether 7–15
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Lesson
46
Summary |
Scripture
Summary: |
Orihah reigns in righteousness—Amid usurpation and strife the rival kingdoms of Shule and Cohor are set up—Prophets condemn the wickedness and idolatry of
the people, who then repent. There is strife and contention over the kingdom—Akish forms an oath-bound secret combination to slay the king—Secret combinations are of the devil and result in the destruction of nations—Modern Gentiles are warned against the secret combination which shall seek to overthrow the freedom of all
lands, nations, and countries.
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The kingdom passes from one to another by descent and intrigue and murder—Emer saw the Son of Righteousness—Many prophets cry
repentance—A famine and poisonous serpents plague the people.
One king succeeds another—Some of the kings are righteous; others are wicked—When righteousness prevails, the people are blessed and prospered by the Lord.
Wars, dissensions, and wickedness dominate Jaredite life—Their prophets predict the utter destruction of the Jaredites unless they repent—The people reject the words of the prophets.
The prophet Ether exhorts the people to believe in God—Moroni recounts the wonders and marvels done by faith—Faith enabled the brother of Jared to see Christ—The Lord gives men weaknesses
that they may be humble—The brother of Jared moved Mount Zerin by faith—Faith, hope, and charity are essential to salvation—Moroni saw Jesus face to face.
Ether speaks of a New Jerusalem to be built in America by the seed of Joseph—He prophesies, is cast out, writes the Jaredite history, and foretells the destruction of the Jaredites—War rages
over all the land.
The iniquity of the people brings a curse upon the land—Coriantumr engages in warfare against Gilead, then Lib, and then Shiz—Blood and carnage cover the land.
Millions of the Jaredites are slain in battle—Shiz and Coriantumr assemble all the people to mortal combat—The Spirit of the Lord ceases to strive with them—The Jaredite nation is utterly
destroyed—Only Coriantumr remains. |
Supplemental
Holy Land
and Jewish
insights:
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Vows and Covenants: In Judaism they are usually to be made with the Lord and are not to be used as an instrument of people to people. "In Jewish law, ‘oaths’
and ‘vows’ serve as distinct terms, each representing a different class of ‘sworn statement.’ The oath, which in Hebrew is called shevuah, is . . . made during . . . judicial
proceedings, while the vow, called in Hebrew neder, . . . refers to . . . sworn statements made outside the courtroom. Both are treated at great length in the Talmud, in separate tractates
entitled, respectively, Shevuot and Nedarim." (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.)
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"Swearing In:"
"Jewish law never adopted this custom, preferring to accept testimony . . . as long as there were at least two witnesses who corroborated each other's
testimony . . . Testimony given under oath was . . . considered to be a particularly weak form of evidence . . . In capital cases, a judicial oath was never administered, since it was
assumed that no one charged with a capital crime could be believed . . ." (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.)
Vows are Binding:
"If the vow is made voluntarily, without any compulsion from anyone else, it is fully binding, and only with great difficulty can it be declared
void." "The rabbis tolerated vows only when they were taken in order to get rid of bad habits and encourage one to do good; otherwise they emphasized that one should strive for the
desired ends without the aid of vows." (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.)
Rebelling Against Prophets: Prior to the destruction of the people rulers like Shiblom, arrested and killed the
prophets. In the days of Ahah, Ethem and Moroni even the people rebelled against the prophets. A parallel to that is in Israel when Jeremiah was imprisoned for speaking against the
government. This is also just prior to the destruction of the City of The Lord, Jerusalem.
"Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it." (Jeremiah
32:2-3)
Arm of Flesh or the Lord? The contrast in these chapters is that of trusting in the arm of flesh versus trusting
faith in the Lord. Today, modern Judaism is based on keeping commandments rather than on the "spirit" or personal "faith."
"The medieval Jewish philosophers gave a great deal of thought to formulating articles of faith and disagreed among themselves . . . Moses Mendelssohn
rejected belief as a requirement of Judaism and claimed that performance of the mitzvot is the sole criterion." (Encyclopedia Judaica
Jr.)
Return to Jerusalem: In Judaism, one of the commandments is to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem three times a year. One called Passover, celebrating
being delivered from Egypt. The second, fifty days later, is Shavuot, commemorating receiving the Law of Moses. It is also the time the "Spirit or the gift of the Holy Ghost" was
given after Jesus’ atonement. The third is called Sukkot celebrating the journey through the wilderness, eventually arriving in the promised land. These were done in Old Jerusalem, and now
after several utter destructions of the Holy City, it is done in the newly rebuilt Jerusalem.
A Holy City:
"Because of its special holiness, Jerusalem is treated differently from other cities by the sages. There could be no permanent ownership of property in
the city; its ritual purity had to be protected, and so no burial sites were allowed within the city walls." "Jerusalem [is the] capital of the State of Israel and spiritual center
for most of the western world. Jerusalem has since had many names, reflective of the love and reverence of its admirers, including ‘God's City,’ ‘Faithful City,’ and ‘The Beautiful
City.’" (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.)
A City of The Lord: The imagery of the Holy City, Jerusalem, applies to the past, present and future conjuring a
sacred and caring respect just as the "House of The Lord." As there are more than one eternal, righteous and one-in-heart "Houses of The Lord," so will there be more than
one eternal, righteous and one-in-heart "Cities of The Lord."
". . . As everything cannot be had in so narrow a compass as a letter, I shall say with brevity, that there is a New Jerusalem to be established on
this continent, and also Jerusalem shall be rebuilt on the eastern continent (see Book of Mormon, Ether 13:1-12)" (Teachings of the Prophet
Joseph Smith, Section Two 1834-37 p.86)
One Heart and Mind:
"The city of the Lord is different wherein we seek not only that which is better, but that which is best. Filled as our city is with people who
are increasingly of one heart and of one mind and who are moved by the same basic beliefs, there is need for less and less in the way of structure to see that people do their duty toward
each other. Here we do not divert people from their own labors into wasteful secondary tasks; basic love and honesty obtain increasingly between our people." (Neal
A. Maxwell, Of One Heart, p.38)
The Lord in the Camp of Zion: The Children of Israel in ancient times knew Him in the "Camp of Zion," a city of the Lord. The tribe of
Judah from Old Jerusalem provided the Kings and from Judah’s line came the King of Kings. In our present time, the leadership is with Joseph, who received the keys of Temple worship,
building Houses of the Lord to bind us together and prepare us for His future return. He will return to New Jerusalem, Adam Ondi Ahman and in Old Jerusalem, made new with Jews waiting for
their King of Kings. They will recognize Him as the Holy One their forefathers knew. All things will be fulfilled as the prophets told us.
The Lord Among Us:
"I saw Adam in the valley of Adam-ondi-Ahman. He called together his children and blessed them with a patriarchal blessing. The Lord appeared in their
midst, and he (Adam) blessed them all, and foretold what should befall them to the latest generation." (Teachings of the
Prophet Joseph Smith, Section Four 1839-42 p.158)
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