Ramah Was That Same Hill Where My Father Mormon Did Hide Up the Records

Alan C. Miner

In fleeing "southward" from the waters of Ripliancum, the armies of Shiz came to "a place which was called Ogath" (Ether 15:10) while the armies of Coriantumr pitched their tents by the hill Ramah, "and it was that same hill where my father Mormon did hide up the records unto the Lord, which were sacred." (Ether 15:11). The reader should note that Mormon took the records from the hill Shim (Mormon 1:3), but only hid them up in the hill Cumorah (see Mormon 6:6). Thus the Jaredite hill Ramah and the Nephite hill Cumorah are the same. The reader should also note that no mention is made of the Jaredite armies passing by the hill Shim, which Omer did in his flight from the land of Nehor. The text says that after passing by the hill of Shim, Omer "came over by the place where the Nephites were destroyed, and from thence eastward, and came to a place which was called Ablom, by the seashore" (Ether 9:3). If the armies of Shiz and Coriantumr came from the north (they were fleeing "southward"), and if they were apparently near an "eastern" seashore, then Omer's path would probably have come from the west or from the south. Thus one might conclude that from the hill Ramah/Cumorah, one would travel either west or south to reach the hill Shim. [Alan C. Miner, Personal Notes]

[Ether 15:11] The Hill Ramah:

According to Millet, McConkie and Top, Moroni notes in Ether 15:11 that the hill Ramah, which was a sacred site to him, was the same Cumorah where his father, Mormon, had deposited the sacred plates. We do not know whether this hill had any other significance to the Jaredites, but it may not be totally unreasonable to suggest that Ether, under the inspiration of the Lord, may have likewise secreted his plates away there in a similar manner as did Mormon (see Ether 15:33). [Joseph F. McConkie, Robert L. Millet, and Brent L. Top, Doctrinal Commentary on the Book of Mormon, Vol. IV, p. 316]

Using this reasoning, another possibility for the record depository of Ether could have been the hill Shim. [Alan C. Miner, Personal Notes]

Ether 15:11 Ramah ([Illustration]): Cerro El Vigia, the best candidate for the Hill Cumorah and the Hill Ramah. The battles of the Nephites and Jaredites would have taken place on the plains, beyond the hill in this view. (Courtesy Richard Jones.) [John L. Sorenson, An Ancient American Setting For The Book Of Mormon, p. 349]

Ether 15:11 Ramah ([Illustration]): View of the cloud-shrouded Cerro Vigia as it appears from the side of Tres Zapotes. [David A. Palmer, In Search of Cumorah, p. 99]

Ether 15:11 Ramah (Illustration): Cerro Vigia on the western edge of the Tuxtla Mountains, a plausible candidate for the hill Ramah-Cumorah] [F.A.R.M.S. Staff, "Lands of the Book of Mormon," Slide #103]

Step by Step Through the Book of Mormon: A Cultural Commentary

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