Today I read Ether 9 which is just a look into their history and their culture. One thing that I find interesting about this chapter is the fact that the Jaredites seem to be more wicked than the Nephites were. The Jaredites in this chapter were almost completely destroyed except for Omer's family who had fled. According to this chapter, the Jaredite nation was completely destroyed except for 30 of them and Omer's family. The Nephites were never so wicked that they were all destroyed until the end.
If there is one thing the Book of Mormon does really well, is prove how stupid of an idea it is to have the leadership of a people be hereditary. Have you noticed that, especially with the Jaredites, they almost never seem to have more than 3 righteous kings in a row? And think about all the other societies that have had monarchies for their system of government. It almost seems like kings or queens with supreme power over their subjects seem to be prime picking grounds for Satan. Or perhaps it's just that the raising of the princes and princesses is so contrary to the laws of God that it makes it that much easier for Satan to influence them. The sense of entitlement, to deserve whatever it is they want, is contrary to the proper order of things. And we are running into this problem now with the general population here in America even without the royalty aspect. We have an entire generation that feel entitled to whatever they want because they are alive, for no other reason.
This chapter has always intrigued me also because of the insight we get into the Jaredite culture. I once came across a man on my mission that endeavored to prove to my companion and I that the Book of Mormon was not true by the fact that when Cortez and the other conquerors of South and Latin America who left records arrived, they did not find any wheels. He also went on to prove it as incorrect because the American Indians had no knowledge of horses when the Europeans arrived and yet the Book of Mormon states they had horses. I smile every time I read this because I wonder what this gentleman would think if he read this chapter that states they had elephants too. I also always wonder just what exactly a curelom and cumom are. I've heard people suppose they were llamas or what not but given that they are listed with the elephants as being especially useful for man, I'm not too sure about that, but it's all just fun speculation.
It also amuses me every time I read this chapter because while the Jaredites had the same issues with wickedness that the Nephites did, the Jaredite history is so condensed it makes it seem a lot shorter than it was even though they were around almost twice as long as the Nephites were. But it is really easy to see the pride cycle and the wickedness of the Jaredites with such a condensed history. It makes it seem like as soon as they started progressing again after nearly being destroyed they returned to their wicked ways, when in reality it was at least 253 years, based on the dates we are given, before Moroni states they were ripening for destruction again. 253 years, that is less time than America has been a country! We are given false sense of how wicked they were because of the condensed method of Moroni's telling us of their history.
The rest of this chapter is pretty typical stuff, the Lord sends a famine and poisonous serpents to remind the people to repent and to invite them to turn again unto him. I have never understood why secret combinations are such an interesting thing to so many people. I guess it's the idea of something for nothing and not having to work for what they want. And yet the people who are enticed to them never seem to learn this one lesson, that wickedness never was happiness. True happiness only comes from living the Gospel of Christ. Choose happiness that will last, choose Christ. Until tomorrow.
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