That Ye May Know the Decrees of God by the Things Which We Have Written

Alan C. Miner

Moroni brings forth the last element of ancient covenant-making demonstrated in the Lord's covenant with the brother of Jared with these words, "And this cometh unto you, O ye Gentiles, that ye may know the decrees of God . . . by the things which we have written" (Ether 2:11-12)

According to Lee Donaldson, this covenant was deposited and read publicly for every nation that came, or will come, to the promised land. Prophets sent to the Jaredites either read or quoted the covenant to them frequently (Ether 7:23; 9:28; 11:1,12,20). They reminded the Jaredites to serve the Lord or "the Lord God would send or bring forth another people to possess the land, by his power, after the manner by which he brought their fathers" (Ether 11:21). The final recorded act of Ether's life was to deposit the record in a manner that the people of Limhi did find them" (Ether 15:33). The Jaredite covenant was read during the reign of king Mosiah (Mosiah 28:17-19). Finally, Moroni promises that "the Gentiles" possessing the promised land will not only have access to the words of the covenant, but that the covenant will apply to them (Ether 2:12). [Lee L. Donaldson, "The Plates of Ether and the Covenant of the Book of Mormon," in The Book of Mormon: Fourth Nephi through Moroni, From Zion to Destruction, p. 72] [See the commentary on Ether 5:4]

Geographical [Theory Map]: Ether 2:13 Jared Comes Forth to the Great Sea and Moriancumr (Year )

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

References