“Every Soul Should Be Destroyed Save It Were Coriantumr”

Alan C. Miner

In Ether 13:20-22 we find a prophecy given by Ether to Coriantumr that, if he would repent, and all his household, the Lord would give unto him his kingdom and spare the people--Otherwise, they should be destroyed, and all his household save it were himself. And he should only live to see the fulfilling of the prophecies which had been spoken concerning another people receiving the land for their inheritance; and Coriantumr should receive a burial by them; and every soul should be destroyed save it were Coriantumr.

In the next verse it says that "it came to pass that Coriantumr repented not." Alma 22:30 tells us that the land Bountiful,

bordered upon the land which they called Desolation, it being so far northward that it came into the land which had been peopled and been destroyed, of whose bones we have spoken, which was discovered by the people of Zarahemla, it being the place of their first landing.

Thus, the "people of Zarahemla" apparently discovered the area of the final battles. The Book of Mormon students should note that the term "people of Zarahemla" could refer to the group that Mosiah discovered (around 200 B.C.) or it might refer to the ancestors of the people of Zarahemla (the "Mulekites" -- Helaman 6:10; 8:21). Whatever the case, they apparently found Coriantumr and buried him, thus fulfilling the promise to Coriantumr.

One might wonder, Did Coriantumr (as the surviving king, and also as a representative of the brother of Jared) communicate with Ether after the final battles? And if so, did Coriantumr know the location of all the Jaredite royal records, and also those handled by Ether? And if so, was that knowledge delivered to King Mosiah1 through the translation of the record of the "large stone brought unto him with engravings on it" which he "did interpret . . . by the gift and power of God (see Omni 1:20-22)? Unfortunately, the text does not specifically tell us. [Alan C. Miner, Personal Notes] [But see the Commentary on Mosiah 8:7,11,12,13,15; Mosiah 28:20]

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

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