He Begat Heth and Heth Begat Aaron

Bryan Richards

Chapter 10 can lull the reader to sleep with a long list of kings which are only distinguishable by whether or not they were righteous. However, Moroni's abridgment comes not from a secular, royal history but from the personal record of Ether. In verses 30-31, we realize that the record does not follow the line of kings but Ether's own genealogical line. Heth, Aaron, Amnigaddah, Coriantum, and Com all dwelt in captivity. But none of these reigned as king until Com took half the kingdom. Thus, Ether's record is the story of his forefathers, not just the kings of the Jaredites.

"Neither did Ether give much attention to those usurping rulers, likely from a competing lineage, who imprisoned his ancestors and so kept them from their place on the throne; in fact, their names aren't even mentioned in the Book of Ether. (See Ether 10:30-31; Ether 11:17-19.) To the people of Jared's lineage, those names were not important.
"In significant ways, the burden of these ancient American records was about the fate of the central families who kept them. Others were sometimes mentioned, but only because they provided necessary scenery and furniture for the primary drama. Even centuries-long periods could be ignored, no doubt because little happened then which was considered crucial in determining the destiny of the descendants of Nephi or of Jared." (John L. Sorenson, Ensign, Sept. 1984, "Digging into the Book of Mormon")

Ether 11 The decline of Jaredite society is marked by the rejection of the prophets

"As with the Nephites, the Jaredite society moved through various stages of decline. As we have seen thus far in their history, the Jaredites went through the cycle of prosperity, and so on. But as with the Nephites, eventually the depths of the apostasy became more and more serious. Here in this chapter we see the Jaredites moving toward the final stages of their cycle of apostasy. Earlier we are told the people rejected the prophets, mocking and reviling them, but the king passed a law protecting the prophets and punishing those who persecuted them. (See Ether 7:23-26.) Note the contrast with a later king who made it state policy to execute the prophets (v. 5). And finally the wickedness became so rampant that the prophets were withdrawn (v. 13)." (Book of Mormon Student Manual, 1981, p. 45-6)

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