Ether 4

#Ether Chapter 4

1 And the Lord commanded the brother of Jared to go down out of the mount from the presence of the Lord, and write the things which he had seen; and they were forbidden to come unto the children of men until after that he should be lifted up upon the cross; and for this cause did king Mosiah keep them, that they should not come unto the world until after Christ should show himself unto his people.

verse 1 King Mosiah kept the record of the brother of Jared contained on the Jaredite record, the plates of Ether. We know that Mosiah translated the Jaredite plates. We don’t really know whether Mosiah translated the brother of Jared’s account of his great vision or not. In either case, Mosiah kept it to himself. Moroni was allowed to translate that account along with the rest of the Jaredite record. Alternatively, Moroni was allowed access to that account as he abridged Mosiah’s translation of the plates of Ether. The timing of Moroni’s translation (or abridgement), obviously, was after Christ was “lifted up upon the cross.” Nevertheless, Moroni’s account of the brother of Jared’s vision was sealed and unavailable to the Prophet Joseph.

2 And after Christ truly had showed himself unto his people he commanded that they should be made manifest.

verse 2 What specifically does “they” refer to here. If it refers to the translation of the entire Jaredite record, then we are not surprised to learn that the Nephites had access to the “book of Ether” just as we do today. This access was in the form of their having access to king Mosiah’s translation of the plates of Ether. This verse, and the following verse, have raised the question of whether or not the Nephites even had access to the account of the great vision of the brother of Jared. Perhaps this account was even part of the scriptures expounded upon by the resurrected Lord himself when he appeared to the righteous Nephites (see 3 Nephi 26:1-4).

3 And now, after that, they have all dwindled in unbelief; and there is none save it be the Lamanites, and they have rejected the gospel of Christ; therefore I am commanded that I should hide them up again in the earth.

verses 3 Moroni was commanded to render the Jaredite record inaccessible to the unrighteous people remaining in his world. We would presume the Jaredite record was available to those Nephites who lived during the “mini-Millennium.” Again, if they were available, presumably it was king Mosiah’s translation to which they had access.

4 Behold, I have written upon these plates the very things which the brother of Jared saw; and there never were greater things made manifest than those which were made manifest unto the brother of Jared.

verse 4 “These plates,” of course, are the plates of Mormon. This suggests that the timing of Moroni’s recording of the book of Ether was after the death of his father Mormon and after the destruction of virtually all of the Nephite people. Remember that Moroni entered chapters 8 and 9 of the book of Mormon following the death of his father. The next thing he entered onto the plates of Mormon was his translation or abridgment of the book of Ether.

5 Wherefore the Lord hath commanded me to write them; and I have written them. And he commanded me that I should seal them up; and he also hath commanded that I should seal up the interpretation thereof; wherefore I have sealed up the interpreters, according to the commandment of the Lord.

verse 5 Moroni is commanded to “seal up” two things—the account of the vision of the brother of Jared and the interpreters. For a discussion of the interpreters, see the commentaries for Mosiah 8:13, Mosiah 28:13, and The Process of Translating the Book of Mormon in Ye Shall Know of the Doctrine, volume 2, Appendix A.

The process by which the interpreters were sealed up by Moroni is unknown. Presumably the purpose of this sealing up of the interpreters was simply to protect them until they could be delivered, with the plates of Mormon and the small plates of Nephi, to the Joseph Smith. Moroni makes no mention of the breastplate to which the interpreters were attached when they were found by the Prophet Joseph.

verses 6-19 In these verses, Moroni records a lengthy quotation of the Lord.

6 For the Lord said unto me: They shall not go forth unto the Gentiles until the day that they shall repent of their iniquity, and become clean before the Lord.

verse 6 “They” refers, at least in part, to the account of the vision of the brother of Jared (“those [things] which were made manifest unto the brother of Jared” in verse 4). This account will be made available during the Millennium. By the time of the onset of the Millennium, the Gentiles shall have promulgated the restored gospel, and then a major apostasy shall have occurred among them. Some of these rebellious Gentiles will have been cleansed from off the earth.

7 And in that day that they shall exercise faith in me, saith the Lord, even as the brother of Jared did, that they may become sanctified in me, then will I manifest unto them the things which the brother of Jared saw, even to the unfolding unto them all my revelations, saith Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of the heavens and of the earth, and all things that in them are.

8 And he that will contend against the word of the Lord, let him be accursed; and he that shall deny these things, let him be accursed; for unto them will I show no greater things, saith Jesus Christ; for I am he who speaketh.

verse 8 This verse implies that even after the onset of the Millennium, after the vision of the brother of Jared shall be made available to the people, there will be those who reject its message.

An alternative interpretation would be that “these things” represent all of the writings in the Book of Mormon, and the Lord has reference not to a time after the onset of the Millennium, but rather to the period of judging and purging just prior to the Millennium as is suggested by the following verse.

9 And at my command the heavens are opened and are shut; and at my word the earth shall shake; and at my command the inhabitants thereof shall pass away, even so as by fire.

verse 9 This is apparently a reference to the pre-millennial purging of the earth.

10 And he that believeth not my words believeth not my disciples; and if it so be that I do not speak, judge ye; for ye shall know that it is I that speaketh, at the last day.

verse 10 The Lord now seems to be speaking of the Book of Mormon—“my words.” The “last day” is the final day of judgment. Those who receive the Book of Mormon during their mortal sojourn will have to judge whether or not they will believe it to be a true record. At the “last day” they will know for certain that it is.

11 But he that believeth these things which I have spoken, him will I visit with the manifestations of my Spirit, and he shall know and bear record. For because of my Spirit he shall know that these things are true; for it persuadeth men to do good.

verse 11 He that accepts the Book of Mormon will be blessed.

I must mention that it seems almost unfair that those of us in the Church have been given so powerful a witness of eternal truth as is contained in the Book of Mormon. I say unfair because in light of the many scholarly corroborations available to church members today, the Book of Mormon stands as virtually proven to be true. The whole world does not have access to this irrefutable witness. And if the Book of Mormon is true, what does that imply? It implies that Moroni did appear to Joseph Smith and assist him in his preparation for the translation of the book. It implies that Joseph Smith did literally have access to the “gift and power of God” to assist him in the translation. And if he did indeed translate the book by the gift and power of God, then Joseph did indeed see the Father and the Son in the sacred grove. And all of this is indeed the Lord’s restored gospel! How blessed we are indeed!!

“because of my Spirit he shall know that these things are true; for it persuadeth men to do good” Ether 4 and 5 present Moroni’s conclusion to the aweinspiring account of the Brother of Jared’s vision of the premortal Christ. Moroni had a number of editorial comments to make to future Gentile readers of this account, including how they could prepare themselves to receive all that the Lord had revealed to the Brother of Jared. He wanted them to understand how they could come to believe in his words—and in the words of Christ—as well as what they needed to do in order to receive the blessings that were promised to believers.

As he made these comments in Ether 4–5, Moroni repeated and made use of many of the themes and verbal expressions used by his father, Mormon. For example, Moroni wrote here in Ether 4:11 that by the “Spirit he shall know that these things are true; for it persuadeth men to do good.” Moroni presents these words as a quotation from memory of the things Jesus Christ commanded him to write (Ether 5:1). Because the section quoted here is very similar to what Mormon wrote in his letter transcribed in Moroni 7, readers may speculate that either Moroni received a revelation from Christ that had previously been given (at least partially) to his father, that the revelation had originally been given to Mormon and Moroni simply took upon himself the instructions that Christ had given to his father, or that both Mormon and Moroni had been given similar teachings in the revelations that each had received. (See also John Gee, “Quotations of the Sealed Portions of the Book of Mormon,” Insights 24, no. 6, 2004: 2– 3). In Moroni 7, Mormon similarly had stated, “For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ” (Moroni 7:16).

Furthermore, towards the end of his writings, Moroni again rehearsed these same principles: “And whatsoever thing is good is just and true; wherefore, nothing that is good denieth the Christ, but acknowledgeth that he is” (Moroni 10:6).

For a review of the concept of intertextuality, see the commentary for 1 Nephi 22:1. Regarding Nephi’s intertextual use of biblical passages, that commentary states: “Far from slavishly and lazily copying the Bible, Book of Mormon authors, such as Nephi, conscientiously knit together strings of biblical phrases and passages in an intricate manner that expanded and re-conceptualized the teachings of biblical prophets. This phenomenon of a text recombining quotations, allusions, and paraphrases of other texts for new literary purposes is called intertextuality. It was anciently the mark of a fine scribe or author and is found explicitly and implicitly throughout the biblical books themselves.” See also the commentaries for 2 Nephi 25:16 and Jacob 1:7.

The following material illustrates several of the many intertextual uses in Moroni’s writings in Ether 4–5 and Moroni 10 of distinctive words and doctrinal themes previously written by Mormon in Moroni 7:

#Subject: Addressed to specific audience

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Moroni 7 (Mormon): To the church, the peaceable followers of Christ (7:3).

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Ether 4-5 (Moroni): To the Gentiles (Ether 4:6, 13).

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Moroni 10 (Moroni): To the Lamanites (Moroni 10:1).

Subject: Must have faith, hope, and / or charity to be part of church / kingdom

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Moroni 7 (Mormon): . . . that have obtained a sufficient hope by which ye can enter into the rest of the Lord … until ye shall rest with him in heaven” (7:3).

“for if ye have not faith in him then ye are not fit to be numbered among the people of his church (7:39).

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Ether 4-5 (Moroni): . . . blessed is he that is found faithful unto my name at the last day, for he shall be lifted up to dwell in the kingdom (4:19).

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Moroni 10 (Moroni): And except ye have charity ye can in nowise be saved in

the kingdom of God; neither can ye be saved in the kingdom of God if ye have not faith; neither can ye if ye have no hope (10:21).

Subject: Discerning good from evil; all that is good (every good gift) comes from God; anything that is good invites to come to Christ and not deny Him; good people work by the “power and gift(s)” of Christ / God

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Moroni 7 (Mormon): Wherefore, a man being evil cannot do that which is good; neither will he give a good gift.

Wherefore, all things which are good cometh of God; and that which is evil cometh of the devil;

For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God. But whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do evil, and believe not in Christ, and deny him, and serve not God, then ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of the devil (7:5-19).

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Ether 4-5 (Moroni): For because of my Spirit he shall know that these things are true; for it persuadeth men to do good.

And whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do good is of me; for good cometh of none save it be of me. I am the same that leadeth men to all good (4:11-12).

Moroni 10 (Moroni): And whatsoever thing is good is just and true; wherefore, nothing that is good denieth the Christ, but acknowledgeth that he is.

And I would exhort you, my beloved brethren, that ye remember that every good gift cometh of Christ.

And wo be unto the children of men if this be the case; for there shall be none that doeth good among you, no not one. For if there be one among you that doeth good, he shall work by the power and gifts of God (10:6, 18, 25).

#Subject: Pray unto Father with “heart”

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Moroni 7 (Mormon): . . . pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart (7:48).

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Ether 4-5 (Moroni): . . . yea, when ye shall call upon the Father in my name, with a broken heart and a contrite spirit (4:15).

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Moroni 10 (Moroni): . . . ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ . . . ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent (10:4).

#Subject: By the Spirit, one can know the truth

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Moroni 7 (Mormon): . . . the way to judge is as plain, that ye may know with a perfect knowledge . . . For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil (7:15-16).

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Ether 4-5 (Moroni): For because of my Spirit he shall know that these things are true (4:11).

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Moroni 10 (Moroni): . . . he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things (10:4-5).

#Subject: God will provide witnesses

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Moroni 7 (Mormon): Wherefore, by the ministering of angels, and by every word which proceeded forth out of the mouth of God, men began to exercise faith in Christ; For behold, [the angels] are subject unto [Christ], to minister according to the word of his command, showing themselves unto them of strong faith and a firm mind in every form of godliness.

And the office of their ministry is to call men unto repentance … to prepare the way among the children of men, by declaring the word of Christ unto the chosen vessels of the Lord, that they may bear testimony of him (7:25, 29–31).

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Ether 4-5 (Moroni): And unto three shall [the plates] be shown by the power of God; wherefore they shall know of a surety that these things are true. And in the mouth of three witnesses shall these things be established; and the testimony of three, and this work, in the which shall be shown forth the power of God and also his word, of

which the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost bear record—and all this shall stand as a testimony against the world at the last day (5:3–4).

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Moroni 10 (Moroni): And I exhort you to remember these things; for the time speedily cometh that ye shall know that I lie not, for ye shall see me at the bar of God; and the Lord God will say unto you: Did I not declare my words unto you, which were

written by this man, like as one crying from the dead, yea, even as one speaking out of the dust? And God shall show unto you, that that which I have written is true. (10:28– 29).

#Subject: The problem of unbelief

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Moroni 7 (Mormon): But whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do evil, and believe not in Christ, and deny him, and serve not God, then ye may know with a perfect knowledge is is of the devil (7:17).

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Ether 4-5 (Moroni): And now, after that, they have all dwindled in unbelief

. . . the knowledge which is hid up because of unbelief.

. . . and it hath not come unto you, because of unbelief.

Behold, when ye shall rend that veil of unbelief which doth cause you to remain in your awful state of wickedness, and hardness of heart, and blindness of mind (4:3, 13-15).

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Moroni 10 (Moroni): . . . all these gifts of which I have spoken, which are spiritual, never will be done away, even as long as the world shall stand, only according to the unbelief of the children of men.

. . . if the day cometh that the power and gifts of God shall be done away among you, it shall be because of unbelief (10:19, 24).

This material obviously provides an extensive example of intertextuality between two Book of Mormon writers. It is, perhaps, natural to expect that Moroni would know and use the words of his father, the great prophet-redactor-historian, Mormon. BYU professor of law, W. Cole Durham, Jr., commented on the relationship between the two: “The scriptures provide only a limited account of Moroni’s family relationships and focus solely on father and son, but the glimpses suggest a tie rich with natural affection, strengthened by mutual concern for the ministry” (W. Cole Durham, Jr., “Moroni,” Ensign, June 1978).

Durham noted how these ties affected the content and style of Moroni’s writing: “The very structure of Moroni’s writings reflects a profound respect for his father. His initial writings (Mormon 8 and Mormon 9) were intended to do no more than complete his father’s record. Later, when Moroni added his own book, approximately two-thirds of its space was devoted to a presentation of his father’s teachings and letters” (Durham, “Moroni.”).

Moroni chose to emphasize several of his father’s important teachings, including the central themes of faith, hope, and charity, and the need to come unto Christ. As Professor Durham noted, “These themes are prevalent both in the writings of Mormon which Moroni quotes and also throughout Moroni’s portion of the Book of Mormon” (Durham, “Moroni.” See also, Mormon 9:27–29; Ether 4:7, 11–19; Ether 12:23– 41; Moroni 7; Moroni 10:4–23).

Just as Moroni shared with future readers these teachings of Christ that his father had emphasized, he also passed these principles on in his role as mentor to Joseph Smith. As the prophet’s mother recorded, at the time Joseph beheld the plates, “the angel showed him, by contrast, the difference between good and evil, and likewise the consequences of both obedience and disobedience to the commandments of God, in such a striking manner, that the impression was always vivid in his memory until the very end of his days” (Lucy Mack Smith, History of Joseph Smith, Salt Lake City, UT: Bookcraft, 1958, 81).

12 And whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do good is of me; for good cometh of none save it be of me. I am the same that leadeth men to all good; he that will not believe my words will not believe me—that I am; and he that will not believe me will not believe the Father who sent me. For behold, I am the Father, I am the light, and the life, and the truth of the world.

verse 12 “whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do good is of me; for good cometh of none save it be of me” This phrase actually provides us with a definition of the word good, meaning good in its eternal sense.

“I am the Father” We know that Elohim is called Father because he is the father of the spirits of all men including that of Jesus Christ. Christ is the Son because he was sired, both in the preexistence and here on earth by the Father. It is Jesus Christ who is speaking here. See the commentary for Ether 3:14 for a summary of the reasons the Savior refers to himself as “the Father.”

“I am the light, and the life, and the truth of the world” This statement has profound significance. The light of Christ is broadcast to the immensity of space for all to perceive as they are able. This light gives life to all things and contains all truth. See the important discussion of spiritual light in The Concept of Light in Ye Shall Know of the Doctrine, volume 1, chapter 15.

13 Come unto me, O ye Gentiles, and I will show unto you the greater things, the knowledge which is hid up because of unbelief.

14 Come unto me, O ye house of Israel, and it shall be made manifest unto you how great things the Father hath laid up for you, from the foundation of the world; and it hath not come unto you, because of unbelief.

verses 13-14 The Lord promises the Gentiles and the house of Israel—indeed, all men that if they will come unto him and accept the Book of Mormon, they will receive even greater knowledge. This knowledge will include, as is made clear from the next verse, “all things which have been hid up from the foundation of the world.”

15 Behold, when ye shall rend that veil of unbelief which doth cause you to remain in your awful state of wickedness, and hardness of heart, and blindness of mind, then shall the great and marvelous things which have been hid up from the foundation of the world from you—yea, when ye shall call upon the Father in my name, with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, then shall ye know that the Father hath remembered the covenant which he made unto your fathers, O house of Israel.

verse 15 “when ye shall rend that veil of unbelief which doth cause you to remain in your awful state of wickedness, and hardness of heart, and blindness of mind” See the discussion of hard-heartedness in the commentary for Alma 10:6.

16 And then shall my revelations which I have caused to be written by my servant John be unfolded in the eyes of all the people. Remember, when ye see these things, ye shall know that the time is at hand that they shall be made manifest in very deed.

verse 16 As has been mentioned previously (see the commentary for Ether 3:25), the vision of John the Revelator is expected to be similar to that panoramic vision with which the brother of Jared was favored. When we come to have complete knowledge of these visions, we will realize that the events of which they prophesy have, in fact, occurred, are occurring, or will occur.

17 Therefore, when ye shall receive this record ye may know that the work of the Father has commenced upon all the face of the land.

verse 17 “This record” is the Book of Mormon. “The work of the Father” is the work of gathering (see also 3 Nephi 21:7 and its commentary).

18 Therefore, repent all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me, and believe in my gospel, and be baptized in my name; for he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned; and signs shall follow them that believe in my name.

verse 18 “he that believeth not shall be damned” For a brief discussion of what it means to be damned, see the commentary for 2 Nephi 9:24.

“signs shall follow them that believe in my name” Miracles will occur among the believers.

19 And blessed is he that is found faithful unto my name at the last day, for he shall be lifted up to dwell in the kingdom prepared for him from the foundation of the world. And behold it is I that hath spoken it. Amen.