Ether Chapter 15

Scripture Mastery

Ether 15 The great and final battle of the Jaredites-Coriantumr kills Shiz.

verse 1-3 Coriantumr comes to an awful realization.

1 And it came to pass when Coriantumr had recovered of his wounds, he began to remember the words which Ether had spoken unto him.

2 He saw that there had been slain by the sword already nearly two millions of his people, and he began to sorrow in his heart; yea, there had been slain two millions of mighty men, and also their wives and their children.

verse 2 "two millions" This is not necessarily a reliable statistic. It may be simply hyperbole and not representative of actual counts. If it is anywhere close to being accurate, then the carnage from the great Jaredite wars is impressive indeed. If there were two million men, then we might estimate the Jaredite population as being between six and eight million people. For a comparison, let us consider the number of Americans killed in war. If we start with the American Revolutionary War and then include the Civil War, World Wars I and II, the Korean War, and Viet Nam, the total war-related deaths is estimated at 1,178,066. This includes battle-field deaths (652,769) and other causes such as wound infections and other illnesses.

It has been stated previously that there is much information to suggest that the Jaredites parallel an ancient culture known to archaeologists as the Olmecs. It is interesting to note that the final destruction of the Olmecs, according to the archaeologist Michael Coe (Mexico [New York: Frederick A. Praeger Publishers], 1962.), was caused by internal strife and was violent. Also the 16th-century historian Fernando de Alva Ixtlilxochitl commented, "They [the Olmecs] were destroyed, and their civilization came to an end as a result of great calamities and punishments from heaven for some grave sins that they had committed (Exploring the Lands of the Book of Mormon, Joseph L. Allen, 66).

3 He began to repent of the evil which he had done; he began to remember the words which had been spoken by the mouth of all the prophets, and he saw them that they were fulfilled thus far, every whit; and his soul mourned and refused to be comforted.

4 And it came to pass that he wrote an epistle unto Shiz, desiring him that he would spare the people, and he would give up the kingdom for the sake of the lives of the people.

verse 4 Coriantumr offers to surrender to Shiz if Shiz would spare the people.

5 And it came to pass that when Shiz had received his epistle he wrote an epistle unto Coriantumr, that if he would give himself up, that he might slay him with his own sword, that he would spare the lives of the people.

6 And it came to pass that the people repented not of their iniquity; and the people of Coriantumr were stirred up to anger against the people of Shiz; and the people of Shiz were stirred up to anger against the people of Coriantumr; wherefore, the people of Shiz did give battle unto the people of Coriantumr.

verse 6 While Coriantumr may have been repentant and inclined to surrender for the good of his people, his people were not.

7 And when Coriantumr saw that he was about to fall he fled again before the people of Shiz.

8 And it came to pass that he came to the waters of Ripliancum, which, by interpretation, is large, or to exceed all; wherefore, when they came to these waters they pitched their tents; and Shiz also pitched his tents near unto them; and therefore on the morrow they did come to battle.

verse 8 From the text, it is clear that the "waters of Ripliancum" were in the north of the Jaredite land near the eastern coast.

9 And it came to pass that they fought an exceedingly sore battle, in which Coriantumr was wounded again, and he fainted with the loss of blood.

10 And it came to pass that the armies of Coriantumr did press upon the armies of Shiz that they beat them, that they caused them to flee before them; and they did flee southward, and did pitch their tents in a place which was called Ogath.

11 And it came to pass that the army of Coriantumr did pitch their tents by the hill Ramah; and it was that same hill where my father Mormon did hide up the records unto the Lord, which were sacred.

verse 11 The Jaredite hill Ramah is the same as the Nephite hill Cumorah.

12 And it came to pass that they did gather together all the people upon all the face of the land, who had not been slain, save it was Ether.

13 And it came to pass that Ether did behold all the doings of the people; and he beheld that the people who were for Coriantumr were gathered together to the army of Coriantumr; and the people who were for Shiz were gathered together to the army of Shiz.

verse 13 The prophet Ether was an observer from his place of hiding and not a participant in the war.

14 Wherefore, they were for the space of four years gathering together the people, that they might get all who were upon the face of the land, and that they might receive all the strength which it was possible that they could receive.

15 And it came to pass that when they were all gathered together, every one to the army which he would, with their wives and their children-both men women and children being armed with weapons of war, having shields, and breastplates, and head-plates, and being clothed after the manner of war-they did march forth one against another to battle; and they fought all that day, and conquered not.

16 And it came to pass that when it was night they were weary, and retired to their camps; and after they had retired to their camps they took up a howling and a lamentation for the loss of the slain of their people; and so great were their cries, their howlings and lamentations, that they did rend the air exceedingly.

17 And it came to pass that on the morrow they did go again to battle, and great and terrible was that day; nevertheless, they conquered not, and when the night came again they did rend the air with their cries, and their howlings, and their mournings, for the loss of the slain of their people.

verses 16-17 These "howlings" and "mournings" are all the more poignant considering that they were not just the anguished cries of the people for their young male soldiers. Rather they were bemoaning the inhumane destruction of entire families.

18 And it came to pass that Coriantumr wrote again an epistle unto Shiz, desiring that he would not come again to battle, but that he would take the kingdom, and spare the lives of the people.

verse 18 Coriantumr reiterates his offer of surrender.

19 And behold, the Spirit of the Lord had ceased striving with them, and Satan had full power over the hearts of the people; for they were given up unto the hardness of their hearts, and the blindness of their minds that they might be destroyed; wherefore they went again to battle.

verse 19 It would seem that the people of Shiz and the people of Coriantumr were dead to the workings of the Spirit. They were past feeling.

20 And it came to pass that they fought all that day, and when the night came they slept upon their swords.

21 And on the morrow they fought even until the night came.

22 And when the night came they were drunken with anger, even as a man who is drunken with wine; and they slept again upon their swords.

23 And on the morrow they fought again; and when the night came they had all fallen by the sword save it were fifty and two of the people of Coriantumr, and sixty and nine of the people of Shiz.

verse 23 Modern warfare, of course, does not involve all levels of the population, and thus there could be no such thing as a war of extinction. However, Hugh Nibley, in his article "Warfare and the Book of Mormon" (Warfare in the Book of Mormon) mentions certain wars in Russia fought in a manner so as to exterminate an entire nation (142). As will be mentioned below, however, it is still unlikely that total annihilation and extinction of a people can result from war.

24 And it came to pass that they slept upon their swords that night, and on the morrow they fought again, and they contended in their might with their swords and with their shields, all that day.

25 And when the night came there were thirty and two of the people of Shiz, and twenty and seven of the people of Coriantumr.

26 And it came to pass that they ate and slept, and prepared for death on the morrow. And they were large and mighty men as to the strength of men.

27 And it came to pass that they fought for the space of three hours, and they fainted with the loss of blood.

28 And it came to pass that when the men of Coriantumr had received sufficient strength that they could walk, they were about to flee for their lives; but behold, Shiz arose, and also his men, and he swore in his wrath that he would slay Coriantumr or he would perish by the sword.

29 Wherefore, he did pursue them, and on the morrow he did overtake them; and they fought again with the sword. And it came to pass that when they had all fallen by the sword, save it were Coriantumr and Shiz, behold Shiz had fainted with the loss of blood.

30 And it came to pass that when Coriantumr had leaned upon his sword, that he rested a little, he smote off the head of Shiz.

31 And it came to pass that after he had smitten off the head of Shiz, that Shiz raised upon his hands and fell; and after that he had struggled for breath, he died.

verse 31 This peculiar agonal posturing of Shiz after his decapitation might have been accounted for by a well-known medical phenomenon called "decerebrate posturing or rigidity." It is characterized by forceful contraction of the extensor muscles of the upper and lower extremities. It is not a conscious or purposeful act, but simply due to nervous-system mediated muscle contractions due to separation of the upper brain (the cerebral hemispheres) from the mid brain near the base of the skull.

The agonal respiratory efforts are also not unexpected after decapitation.

32 And it came to pass that Coriantumr fell to the earth, and became as if he had no life.

verse 32 We know, of course, that Coriantumr did not die but will later be found by the Mulekite people (Omni 1:21-22). The prophet Ether had predicted that Coriantumr's people would be killed but that his life would be spared (Ether 13:21).

At this point in the story of the Jaredites, one may be left with the impression that Coriantumr is the only surviving individual of the entire Jaredite civilization. It seems more likely, however, that others of the Jaredites did survive by staying home and not fighting in the war. The prophet Ether is just one example (John L. Sorenson, "When Lehi's Party Arrived in the Land, Did They Find Others There?" Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, volume 1, number 1, 1992, 6).

33 And the Lord spake unto Ether, and said unto him: Go forth. And he went forth, and beheld that the words of the Lord had all been fulfilled; and he finished his record; (and the hundredth part I have not written) and he hid them in a manner that the people of Limhi did find them.

verse 33 "and the hundredth part I have not written" Moroni's meaning is that he was able to write less that a "hundredth part," one percent-a very small part indeed.

It would be interesting to know if there was any contact between Ether and Coriantumr following the final battle. We are, of course, not told.

34 Now the last words which are written by Ether are these: Whether the Lord will that I be translated, or that I suffer the will of the Lord in the flesh, it mattereth not, if it so be that I am saved in the kingdom of God. Amen.

verse 34 It is interesting to note that the last words of Ether contemplate whether he would be translated or die as other men-the particular option not mattering to him as long as he would be "saved in the kingdom of God."