The Deseret Stone used in the construction of theWashington Monument. The stone was donated by the territory in 1853 to represent the provisional state. The WordDeseret is from theBook of Ether.
Ether's account, which Moroni abridged into the Book of Ether, is found in the 24 plates discovered by the people of Limhi in the Book of Mosiah.[2]
Ether's grandfatherMoron had been king of the Jaredites. Moron was overthrown and "dwelt in captivity all the remainder of his days".[3] Ether's father,Coriantor, was born while his father was captive and Coriantor "dwelt in captivity all his days".[4] Ether "was a prophet of the Lord"[5] and "lived in the days ofCoriantumr; and Coriantumr was king over all the land".[6] He sees and prophesies many things but the people reject his teachings because they refuse to believe what they have not seen for themselves. Because of their rejection, Ether retreats to hide in a cave and record what happens to his people. He is later sent by the Lord to prophesy to King Coriantumr that he and his family can be saved if they will repent, but is again rejected.[7] At the end of his record, Ether reflects on whether he will be translated to heaven or die like a normal man.[8]
According toDaniel H. Ludlow, it is not clear whether or not the Jaredites were commanded by the Lord to practice polygamy. The following evidences have been cited which might indicate that they did practice polygamy:[9]
Many of the men had large numbers of sons and daughters. For example, the brother of Jared had 22 sons and daughters (Ether 6:20) and Orihah had 31 sons and daughters (Ether 7:2).
Riplakish had "many wives and concubines" (Ether 10:5). He was condemned by the Lord for his wickedness, but it is not clear whether or not this condemnation was because of his "many wives."
InEther 14:2 it states that "everyman kept the hilt of his sword in his right hand, in the defence of his property and his own life and of hiswives and children." This verse seems to indicate that the people practiced polygamy, but whether or not it was sanctioned by the Lord is not made clear in the record.
The last prophet called of God to warn the Jaredite nation and to witness against them was Ether, the son of Coriantor.[11]H. Donl Peterson notes thatMoroni could have empathized with Ether, since both were prophets of God sent to preach to a people who were "past feeling" and who "did reject all the words of the prophets" (Ether 11:23). Both men were the last of their once great civilizations, and both were called upon to record their final struggles and then were charged to be responsible for preserving the precious records of their fallen people.[12]
