Mahonri What??

This past week I read the entire book of Ether. Of course, it’s only 15 chapters long, but there are some 1,700 years jam packed into those 15 chapters. I finished reading the last chapter Monday night, and then Tuesday morning I woke up to the news that there had been terrorist attacks in Brussels. I couldn’t help but watch that news coverage with the horrible tale of the Jaredites echoing in my brain.

Most people who live in the United States have this complacency that lulls them into thinking that nothing can happen to us because our country is too strong, too great to fall. Considering that this nation has only existed a little over 200 years, we are really just in our infancy stage. Many European nations have been around far longer. The aforementioned Jaredite nation was around nearly 2,000 years before completely annihilating itself.

I work in court as the judge’s court reporter. I hear all kinds of bad stuff. Some is just nonsense, some is just sad, and some is just horrific. The judge has a difficult task before him, and it impresses me to see how he does it. Many defendants ask to be given “one last chance,” and sometimes the judge clearly states that this IS their last chance. Later, when they come back after a probation violation, the judge or the prosecutor reminds the defendant of the judge’s words at the last hearing.

Over the 1,000 years the Nephites were here and the 1,700 the Jaredites were here, they were given chance after chance after chance to humble themselves and repent, being warned or reminded that the Lord places great value on this part of the world, calling it a choice land. The Nephites danced an endless circle of righteousness-prosperity-pride-evil. The Jaredites lived and died through the same cycle, until they were all gone. There were so many prophets who often lost their lives as a result of trying to warn the people.

Why did the Lord make sure this was included in the Book of Mormon? It is very clear as you read the book of Ether that our world would very much resemble theirs, and this is our warning. Don’t be like the Jaredites. Well, except for in the early days. The brother of Jared was a man of great faith, far greater than most others. He trusted in the Lord and did hard things because he knew the Lord would watch over him. I wait with eagerness for the day when we are able to read the sealed portion of the Book of Mormon so we can learn more about the Jaredites. I feel like there was far more to tell than a mere 15 chapters could contain.

Every day I pray that a segment of our population will feel inspired to view others with love and compassion and that that segment of the population will overcome the selfish, loathsome segment of the population until that is just a thing from our past.