Ether 13:2 the Lord would have that all men should serve him who
dwell upon the face thereof
Hugh Nibley
“This
is the ‘choice land above all other lands’
since the Flood, reserved for the New Jerusalem and the
‘remnant of the house of Joseph . . . like unto the Jerusalem of old’ (Ether
13:2, 6-8). But God placed the promise upon it ‘in
his wrath’ (Jacob 1:7; Alma 12:35; Ether 1:33; 2:8; 15:28). Why that, of
all things? Because his patience was at an end when men had defiled all the
other lands in the glorious and beautiful world he had given them. He would set
apart a place where he would stand for no nonsense; there men would be given
such freedom as nowhere else, and could enjoy such prosperity as nowhere else.
“But
in return for this liberty, certain ground rules have to be observed. Perfect
liberty means that you can go as far as you want…But when the inhabitants abuse
that freedom until they ‘are ripened in iniquity,’ their
presence will be no longer tolerated…God was angry when he laid down these conditions:
‘These are my thoughts upon the land which I shall
give you for your inheritance; for it shall be a land choice above all other
lands.’ And these are the thoughts: ‘My
Spirit will not always strive with man; wherefore, if ye will sin until ye are
fully ripe ye shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord’ (Ether
2:15). This promise is conveyed to us for our special benefit: ‘And this cometh to you, O ye Gentiles, that ye may know
the decrees of God—that ye may repent, and not continue in your iniquities
until the fulness come, that ye may not bring down the fulness of the wrath of
God upon you as the inhabitants of the land have hitherto done’ (Ether
2:11). It is Moroni's prophetic warning to stop doing what we are doing.
Fullness and ripeness: when the cup is full, it can no longer be diluted; when
the fruit is ripe, it can only rot—there is no point to continuing the game.
But up to that point all is permitted.” (The Prophetic Book of Mormon,
p. 505)
Ether 13:3 the place of the New Jerusalem, which should come down out
of heaven
The Lord has revealed the
exact location of the New Jerusalem, Missouri…is the
land which I have appointed and consecrated for the gathering of the saints.
Wherefore, this is the land of promise, and the place of the city of
Zion…Behold, the place which is now called Independence is the center place
(DC 57:1-3). Verily this is the word of the Lord,
that the city New Jerusalem shall be built by the gathering of the saints,
beginning at this place (DC 84:4).
The above scriptures speak
of a New Jerusalem to be built by the gathering of
the saints. But Moroni is talking about a New Jerusalem which should
come down out of heaven. We should understand this to mean that the earthly
Zion and the heavenly Zion will have to combine to become one great city.
Elder Bruce R. McConkie explained, “This New Jerusalem on the American
continent will have a dual origin. It will be built by the saints on earth and
it will also come down from heaven, and the cities so originating will be united
into one holy city.” (Mormon Doctrine, p. 532)
Elder James E. Talmage said, “The Church in this day teaches that the New
Jerusalem seen by John and by the prophet Ether, as descending from the heavens
in glory, is the return of exalted Enoch and his righteous people; and that the
people or Zion of Enoch, and the modern Zion, or the gathered saints on the
western continent, will become one people.” (Articles of Faith, p. 318
as taken from Jerusalem: The Eternal City, by Galbraith, Ogden, and
Skinner p. 547)
The Lord describes the
reunion of the earthly and heavenly Zions saying,
‘I shall prepare, an
Holy City (the earthly New Jerusalem), that my people may gird up their loins, and be looking
forth for the time of my coming; for there shall be my tabernacle, and it shall
be called Zion, a New Jerusalem.
And the Lord said unto
Enoch: Then shalt thou and all thy city meet them there, and we will receive
them into our bosom, and they shall see us; and we will fall upon their necks,
and they shall fall upon our necks, and we will kiss each other;
And there shall be mine
abode, and it shall be Zion, which shall come forth out of all the creations
which I have made; and for the space of a thousand years the earth shall rest’ (Moses 7:62-64).
From the last verse, we
learn that this great event occurs at the beginning of the Millenium.
Furthermore, we should note that the tabernacle spoken of in Moses 7:62 is the
same temple as the holy sanctuary spoken of
in Ether 13:3. The time for the building of this city and its temple has not
yet come (DC 58:44), but both will be built rather quickly when the time comes,
behold, I, the Lord, will hasten the city in its
time, and will crown the faithful with joy and rejoicing (DC 52:43).
John Taylor
“When
Zion descends from above, Zion will also ascend from beneath and be prepared to
associate with those from above. The people will be so perfected and purified,
ennobled, exalted, and dignified in their feelings and so truly humble and most
worthy, virtuous and intelligent that they will be fit, when caught up, to
associate with that Zion that shall come down from God out of heaven” (Journal
of Discourses, 10:147 as taken from Jerusalem: The Eternal City, by
Galbraith, Ogden, and Skinner p. 547)
Brigham Young
“We
have no business here other than to build up and establish the Zion of God. It
must be done according to the will and law of God, after that pattern and order
by which Enoch built up and perfected the former-day Zion, which was taken away
to heaven, hence the saying went abroad that Zion had fled. By and by it will
come back again, and as Enoch prepared his people to be worthy of translation,
so we through our faithfulness must prepare ourselves to meet Zion from above
when it shall return to earth, and to abide the brightness and glory of its
coming." (Journal of Discourses, 18:356.)
Franklin D. Richards
“I
expect that in the city of Enoch there are temples; and when Enoch and his
people come back, they will come back with their city, their temples, blessings
and powers.” (Journal of Discourses, 25:236-37)
Ether 13:5 the Jerusalem from whence Lehi should come…should be built
up again
The Jerusalem spoken of has
been rebuilt according to this prophecy and the prophecies of other prophets,
through whom the Lord said to Jerusalem, Thou shalt
be inhabited; and to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built, and I will raise
up the decayed places thereof (Isa 44:26-28). Therefore
thus saith the Lord; I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies: my house shall be
built in it…My cities through prosperity shall yet be spread abroad; and the
Lord shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem (Zech
1:16-17).
The realization of these
great prophecies was made possible, in part, by the dedication of the land of
Jerusalem for the gathering of the House of Israel. Ironically, there were very
few who understood the significance of the dedicatory prayer uttered on the
Mount of Olives by Orson Pratt in October 1941. But that priesthood
ordinance dedicated the Holy Land “for the building up of Jerusalem again after
it has been trodden down by the Gentiles so long, and for rearing a Temple in
honor of Thy name….Let that nation or that people who shall take an active part
in behalf of Abraham’s children, and in the raising up of Jerusalem, find favor
in Thy sight” (History of the Church, 4:456-7)
Ether 13:7 the seed of Joseph…should perish not
Moroni makes a veiled
reference to the coat of “many colors.” This infamous coat was torn into
pieces, but a portion of it was preserved symbolizing that portion of Joseph’s
posterity would be preserved and redeemed. Moroni said,
‘…we are a remnant of
the seed of Joseph, whose coat was rent by his brethren into many pieces…
…let us remember the
words of Jacob, before his death, for behold, he saw that a part of the remnant
of the coat of Joseph was preserved and had not decayed. And he said—Even as
this remnant of garment of my son hath been preserved, so shall a remnant of
the seed of my son be preserved by the hand of God, and be taken unto himself,
while the remainder of the seed of Joseph shall perish, even as the remnant of
his garment’ (Alma 46:23-24).
Ether 13:11 then also cometh the Jerusalem of old
In this verse, Moroni speaks
of the ancient city of Jerusalem which has since been rebuilt to be the
gathering place for the house of Israel. The redemption of Jerusalem is the
time when all the promises given to the house of Israel will be fulfilled. This
is the redemption of the Millenial Jerusalem which Isaiah spoke of frequently, Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of
Jerusalem: for the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem (Isa
52:9). While Moroni is referring to Jerusalem during the Millenium, he
undoubtedly saw the transformation it would undergo after the Millenium—as he
admits, I was about to write more, but I am
forbidden (v. 13).
Joseph Smith explained the difference between the New Jerusalem
and the Old Jerusalem:
“Now
many will feel disposed to say, that this New Jerusalem spoken of, is the
Jerusalem that was built by the Jews on the eastern continent. But you will
see, from Revelation 21:2, there was a New Jerusalem coming down from God out
of heaven, adorned as a bride for her husband; that after this, the Revelator
was caught away in the Spirit, to a great and high mountain, and saw the great
and holy city descending out of heaven from God. Now there are two cities
spoken of here.” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 86,
italics added)
Some elaboration on the
Prophets remarks is in order. The Prophet quotes Revelation chapter 21 to show
the differences between the two cities, saying “there are two cities spoken of
here.” This subject is of particular interest because both the New Jerusalem
and the Old Jerusalem are to be met by a city coming out of heaven. However,
the circumstances and timing are different.
“And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out
of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold the tabernacle of
God is with men, and he will dwell with them’ (Rev 21:2-3).
The prophet taught that this
description of the New Jerusalem should not be confused with the other holy
city which John saw coming out of heaven:
‘And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high
mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of
heaven from God.’ (Rev 21:10)
This passage speaks of a
heavenly Jerusalem which will come out of heaven just as the Enoch’s Zion will
come out of heaven to the New Jerusalem. The key to understanding this is that
this heavenly Jerusalem spoken of in Rev 21:10 does not come until after the
Millenium. The two cities are compared in the following table:
Heavenly New Jerusalem |
Heavenly Old Jerusalem |
Description: a city which
is to come from heaven and be joined with the New Jerusalem |
Description: a city which
is to come from heaven and be joined with the Old Jerusalem |
Timing: beginning of
Millenium |
Timing: after the
Millenium |
Temple: large temple in
the city will be the site of extensive temple work during the Millenium |
Temple: no temple is
necessary because the work has already been done, hence John saw no temple therein (Rev 21:22) |
Inhabitants: the people of
Enoch (Moses 7:62-64) |
Inhabitants: an innumerable company of angels…the general assembly
and the church of the firstborn (Heb 12:22-23) |
Glory: established after the first heaven and the first earth were passed away
(Rev 21:1) when the earth becomes a terrestrialized sphere |
Glory: comes after a
second heaven and a second earth have passed away, when the earth becomes a
celestialized sphere |
Leadership: The Son of God
will dwell with men for a thousand years |
Leadership: Both the
Father and the Son will reign, for the Lord God
Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it (Rev 21:22) |
Other scriptures which speak
of this heavenly city of Jerusalem are Rev 21:9-27; 22:1-5, Heb 11:9-16;
12:22-23.
Joseph Fielding Smith
“After
the close of the millennial reign we are informed that Satan, who was bound
during the millennium, shall be loosed and go forth to deceive the nations.
Then will come the end. The earth will die and be purified and receive its
resurrection. During this cleansing period the City Zion, or New Jerusalem,
will be taken from the earth; and when the earth is prepared for the celestial
glory, the city will come down according to the prediction in the Book of
Revelation.” (Answers to Gospel Questions 2:105 as taken from Jerusalem:
The Eternal City, by Galbraith, Ogden, and Skinner p. 550)
LeGrand Richards
“There
are those who do not understand why there should be no temple in this ‘holy Jerusalem.’ The fact is that when the
thousand years are ended, the temple work will all have been done, and
therefore we will have no more use for a temple, just as we learn from verse 23
(Rev 21) that we will have no further need of the moon by night or the sun by
day, ‘for the glory of God did lighten it, and the
Lamb is the light thereof.’” (A Marvelous Work and a Wonder, p.
327)
Ether 13:13 great and marvelous were the prophecies of Ether
Neal A. Maxwell
“Other
things Ether saw were simply too ‘great and
marvelous’ for Moroni to record. (Ether 13:13) How marvelous these must
have been—in view of the great things Moroni was able to record!
“Ether
had a special perspective in his life. A fellow prophet, Moroni, paid Ether
this compliment: ‘And now I, Moroni, proceed to
finish my record concerning the destruction of the people of whom I have been
writing. For behold, they rejected all the words of Ether; for he truly told
them of all things, from the beginning of man…’ (Ether 13:1-3,
italics added)
“Ether’s
degree of disclosure to those he taught no doubt made for sweeping sermons” (Ensign,
Aug. 1978, “Three Jaredites: Contrasting Contemporaries”)
Ether 13:13 they esteemed him as naught, and cast him out
“Ether
was deprived of social status whereas Mormon was granted it by the Nephites.
Ether, the heir apparent to the Jaredite throne, was rejected by the people in
power, and they even tried to kill him. The fact that Ether was the grandson of
a deposed king and that he was making accusations against king Coriantumr must
have created a strong bias against him. Because both his person and his message
were unwelcome in Coriantumr's court, Ether had to flee for his life (Ether
13:20-22). He lived without influence among the people rather than as a king in
a castle. In fact, he was considered to be an enemy, and lived as a recluse in
a cave. He warned the people, observed the war by night, and recorded the
tragic events (Ether 13:13-14).” (E.
Dale LaBaron,
Book of Mormon Symposium Series, 4 Nephi - Moroni, edited by PR
Cheesman, MS Nyman, and CD Tate, Jr., 1988, p. 154)
Mark E. Petersen
“Is not our attitude toward these
prophets an unerring reflection of our inner-most felling toward God? I mean
our real, basic allegiance when it is divested of all outward show and stripped
of all pretensions. Can we truly love the Lord and at the same time reject his
servants? If we really do love God, then indeed we must and we will love and
revere his anointed ones.” (Conference Report, Oct. 1981, pp. 90-91 as
taken from Latter-day Commentary on the Book of Mormon compiled by K.
Douglas Bassett, p. 505)
Ether 13:21 Coriantumr should only live to see the fulfilling of the prophecies
“Ether's
prophecy becomes a remarkable example of how prophets are able to see the end
from the beginning and give inspired and detailed utterances long before such
particulars could be known rationally. The extent of this prophecy by Ether
becomes evident as we follow Coriantumr to the end of his reign and view how
improbable Ether's prediction was at the time he confronted the king.
“To
illustrate how implausible Ether's prophecy must have seemed to Coriantumr, the
record shows that he should have died several times from wounds and loss of
blood, if not infection. But Ether had told him that he alone of all of his
subjects would survive and be buried by another people who would inhabit the
land (Ether 13:20-21; see also Omni 1:14-22).” (Douglas E. Brinley, Book of
Mormon Symposium Series, 4 Nephi - Moroni, edited by PR Cheesman, MS Nyman,
and CD Tate, Jr., 1988, p. 54)
Ether 13:21 Coriantumr should receive a burial by them
For completeness sake, the
reader is reminded that Coriantumr lived for 9 months with the Mulekites before
he died and was buried, Coriantumr was discovered by
the people of Zarahemla; and he dwelt with them for the space of nine moons (Omni
1:21). The year of this occurrence is not given, but was likely a long time
after the arrival of the Nephites and the Mulekites, indicating that the three
groups were all in the land at the same time but without a knowledge of each
other.
Ether 13:25 every man with his band fighting for that which he
desired
Neal A. Maxwell
“And
as he dwelt in the cavity of a rock he made the remainder of this record,
viewing the destructions which came upon the people, by night. (Ether
13:13-14.)
“Finally,
in Ether's time too, the anarchy became absolute: ‘Now
there began to be a war upon all the face of the land, every man with his band
fighting for that which he desired.’ (Ether 13:25.) Destruction produced
its own intoxication: ‘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.’ (Ether 15:22.)
“Preceding
the second coming, will there be such similar and widespread violence,
disorder, and anarchy again? Yet even in the midst of such destruction, the
Lord's purposes unfold, not only generally but individually, as He keeps His
individualized promises to His servants.” (Plain and Precious Things, p.
90)