Moroni paused in his rapid summary of Jaredite history to recount in great detail the instituting of secret combinations among these people. Moroni did so because these organizations caused the entire downfall of both the Jaredite and the Nephite societies (see Ether 8:21); unless we repent, secret combinations will cause the downfall of society in our own time (see verses 23–25).
Ether 8:9 indicates that the Jaredites learned about secret combinations from records that their fathers had brought with them from the old world. It is possible that these records contained an account of the earliest secret combinations (see Moses 5:29–33, 47–55). We know that the Jaredites had records of the “creation of the world, and also of Adam, and an account from that time even to the great tower” (Ether 1:3).
The plan by which Jared’s daughter proposed to help secure the kingdom for her father indicates how evil persons can take advantage of human weakness. Jared’s daughter was well aware of her personal beauty, as well as Akish’s desire for her. In her anxiety to help her father get power and gain, she was willing to participate in an evil plot.