Book of Mormon (Plain English Version)/Ether/Chapter 9
The struggle with the ancient plans...
(compare Ether, chapter 9)
- Now I, Moroni, will continue my record:
Because Akish, his friends and family secretly combined in their vain ambitions, they overthrew Omer's kingdom. But the Lord showed His mercy to Omer, and to those members of his family who were loyal, by warning him in a dream to get out of the land.
Omer took his family and traveled for many days. They passed by Shim Hill and by the place where my people (the Nephites) were destroyed (Cumorah Hill). Then they traveled east, and camped by the seashore in a place called Ablom.
Meanwhile, Jared was anointed king over the people by the hand of wickedness, and gave Akish his daughter for a wife.
Then Akish wanted to kill Jared, his father-in-law. He employed those who had vowed to him with the oath of the ancients, and they obtained Jared's head as he sat on his throne listening to his people.
This wicked, secret society had corrupted all the people. This is why they were able to murder Jared in public and put Akish in power.
Then Akish became jealous of his son and put him in prison, where he starved to death.
Akish had another son named Nimrah, who was angry with his father for killing his brother. Nimrah gathered a small group of men, fled out of the land, and went to live with Omer.
Akish had other sons, who won the hearts of the people, even though they had vowed to their father to do all kinds of sinful things according to their father's desires.
Akish's people wanted money just as much as Akish wanted power. So Akish's sons bribed the people with money and thereby gained most of their support.
Then a war broke out between Akish and his sons. This war lasted many years and destroyed all but thirty people in the kingdom, not including those who had fled to join Omer's people.
Then Omer was restored again to the land of his inheritance. As he grew old, he had a son named Emer, and anointed him to be the next king.
Omer had seen many days of sorrow, but he enjoyed peace for the next two years. After Omer died, Emer reigned righteously as his father had.
The Lord. began to take the curse off the land again, and the house of Emer prospered greatly under his reign.
Sixty-two years later, Emer's people had become very strong and rich. They had all kinds of fruit, grain, silk, linen, gold, silver and precious things. They also had cattle, oxen, sheep, pigs, goats, and many other kinds of animals for food.
They had horses and donkeys, and other types of animals that were very useful to them, including elephants.
The Lord poured out His blessings upon this land--a land more choice than any other. He commands those who live here to remember Him or else be destroyed when fully ripe in iniquity.
- "For upon such,” says the Lord, "I will pour out the fullness of my wrath.”
Emer judged righteously all his life. He had many sons and daughters. Among his sons was Coriantum, whom he anointed to reign in his place.
Emer lived four more years, and enjoyed peace in the land. He even saw a vision of the Son of Righteousness, and did rejoice and glory in His day. Then he died in peace.
Coriantum walked in his father's steps, building many mighty cities and administering righteously to his people all his life. He had no children until after his wife died at age 102.
Then in his old age, Coriantum married a young woman who bore him sons and daughters. Coriantum lived to be 142 years old.
After Coriantum died, one of his sons, Com, reigned in his place.
After reigning forty-nine years, Com had a son, Heth. Com also had other sons and daughters.
As the years passed, the people spread out all over all the land. And once again, a great wickedness emerged.
Heth embraced those ancient secret plans in order to destroy Com, his father. He dethroned his father, killing him with his own sword, and he reigned in his place.
Then prophets came into the land again, crying repentance to the people--that they must prepare the way of the Lord or a great famine would destroy them. The people did not believe the prophets and threw them out. By King Heth's command, they threw other prophets into pits and left them to die.
Then a great famine came upon the land and people started to die quickly, for there was no rain. Poisonous snakes came into the land and killed many people. Their flocks began to run from the snakes toward the southern land, (later called Zarahemla by the Nephites).
Many of the flocks died on the way, but some did escape into the southern land. The Lord caused the snakes to stop chasing the flocks, and to block the way, preventing the people from passing through.
The people who attempted to pass were killed by the snakes. The people followed their animals southward and ate the ones that had died along the way. When the people realized they would soon starve to death, they began to repent of their sinfulness and cry to the Lord.
After they had humbled themselves sufficiently before the Lord, He sent rain. Again there was fruit in the northern land and in all the surrounding lands. The Lord had shown His power to the people by ending the famine.