“Coriantumr Began to Remember the Words of Ether”

Brant Gardner

Finally, after this gigantic slaughter, Coriantumr remembered Ether’s prophetic warning/promise. Although the record specifies nearly two million dead, including men, women, and children, the number should be considered a metaphoric number, not even an estimate and certainly not an exact count. There would simply have been no way to count the dead. Rather, we should read this number as communicating tremendous devastation with a greater loss of life than had ever been seen before.

Second Witness: Analytical & Contextual Commentary on the Book of Mormon, Vol. 6

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