Secret Combinations Plague the Land

Event 200

Reference: Ether 9:1-35; 10:1-34; 11:1-23

AND now I, Moroni, proceed with my record.MoroniLand of MoronTherefore, behold, it came to pass that because of the secretcombinations of Akish and his friends, behold, they didoverthrow the kingdom of Omer. 2 Nevertheless, the Lordwas merciful unto Omer, and also to his sons and to hisdaughters who did not seek his destruction.3 And the Lord warned Omer in a dream that he shoulddepart out of the land; wherefore Omer departed out of theland with his family, and traveled many days, and cameover and passed by the hill of Shim, and came over by theplace where the Nephites were destroyed, and from thenceeastward, and came to a place which was called Ablom, bythe seashore, and there he pitched his tent, and also his sonsand his daughters, and all his household, save it were Jaredand his family.Ablom byseashore of eastsea4 And it came to pass that Jared was anointed king over thepeople, by the hand of wickedness; and he gave unto Akishhis daughter to wife.Land of Moron5 And it came to pass that Akish sought the life of hisfather-in-law; and he applied unto those whom he hadsworn by the oath of the ancients, and they obtained thehead of his father-in-law, as he sat upon his throne, givingaudience to his people. 6 For so great had been thespreading of this wicked and secret society that it hadcorrupted the hearts of all the people; therefore Jared wasmurdered upon his throne, and Akish reigned in his stead.7 And it came to pass that Akish began to be jealous of hisson, therefore he shut him up in prison, and kept him uponlittle or no food until he had suffered death. 8 And now thebrother of him that suffered death, (and his name wasNimrah) was angry with his father because of that which hisfather had done unto his brother.9 And it came to pass that Nimrah gathered together a smallnumber of men, and fled out of the land, and came over anddwelt with Omer.Ablom byseashore of eastsea10 And it came to pass that Akish begat other sons, and theywon the hearts of the people, notwithstanding they hadLand of Moron sworn unto him to do all manner of iniquity according tothat which he desired. 11 Now the people of Akish weredesirous for gain, even as Akish was desirous for power;wherefore, the sons of Akish did offer them money, bywhich means they drew away the more part of the peopleafter them. 12 And there began to be a war between the sonsof Akish and Akish, which lasted for the space of manyyears, yea, unto the destruction of nearly all the people ofthe kingdom, yea, even all, save it were thirty souls, andthey who fled with the house of Omer. 13 Wherefore, Omerwas restored again to the land of his inheritance.MoroniLand of Moron14 And it came to pass that Omer began to be old;nevertheless, in his old age he begat Emer; and he anointedEmer to be king to reign in his stead. 15 And after that hehad anointed Emer to be king he saw peace in the land forthe space of two years, and he died, having seenexceedingly many days, which were full of sorrow.And it came to pass that Emer did reign in his stead, and didfill the steps of his father. 16 And the Lord began again totake the curse from off the land, and the house of Emer didprosper exceedingly under the reign of Emer; and in thespace of sixty and two years they had become exceedinglystrong, insomuch that they became exceedingly rich— 17Having all manner of fruit, and of grain, and of silks, and offine linen, and of gold, and of silver, and of precious things;18 And also all manner of cattle, of oxen, and cows, and ofsheep, and of swine, and of goats, and also many otherkinds of animals which were useful for the food of man. 19And they also had horses, and asses, and there wereelephants and cureloms and cumoms; all of which wereuseful unto man, and more especially the elephants andcureloms and cumoms. 20 And thus the Lord did pour outhis blessings upon this land, which was choice above allother lands; and he commanded that whoso should possessthe land should possess it unto the Lord, or they should bedestroyed when they were ripened in iniquity; for uponsuch, saith the Lord:I will pour out the fulness of my wrath.The Lord21 And Emer did execute judgment in righteousness all hisdays, and he begat many sons and daughters; and he begatCoriantum, and he anointed Coriantum to reign in his stead.22 And after he had anointed Coriantum to reign in his steadMoroni he lived four years, and he saw peace in the land; yea, andhe even saw the Son of Righteousness, and did rejoice andglory in his day; and he died in peace.MoroniLand of Moron23 And it came to pass that Coriantum did walk in the stepsof his father, and did build many mighty cities, and didadminister that which was good unto his people in all hisdays.And it came to pass that he had no children even until hewas exceedingly old.24 And it came to pass that his wife died, being an hundredand two years old.And it came to pass that Coriantum took to wife, in his oldage, a young maid, and begat sons and daughters;wherefore he lived until he was an hundred and forty andtwo years old.25 And it came to pass that he begat Com, and Com reignedin his stead; and he reigned forty and nine years, and hebegat Heth; and he also begat other sons and daughters. 26And the people had spread again over all the face of theland, and there began again to be an exceedingly greatwickedness upon the face of the land, and Heth began toembrace the secret plans again of old, to destroy his father.27 And it came to pass that he did dethrone his father, for heslew him with his own sword; and he did reign in his stead.28 And there came prophets in the land again, cryingrepentance unto them—that they must prepare the way ofthe Lord or there should come a curse upon the face of theland; yea, even there should be a great famine, in whichthey should be destroyed if they did not repent. 29 But thepeople believed not the words of the prophets, but they castthem out; and some of them they cast into pits and left themto perish.And it came to pass that they did all these things accordingto the commandment of the king, Heth.30 And it came to pass that there began to be a great dearthupon the land, and the inhabitants began to be destroyedexceedingly fast because of the dearth, for there was no rainupon the face of the earth. 31 And there came forthpoisonous serpents also upon the face of the land, and didpoison many people. And it came to pass that their flocks began to flee before thepoisonous serpents, towards the land southward, which wascalled by the Nephites Zarahemla.MoroniLand southward32 And it came to pass that there were many of them whichdid perish by the way; nevertheless, there were some whichfled into the land southward.33 And it came to pass that the Lord did cause the serpentsthat they should pursue them no more, but that they shouldhedge up the way that the people could not pass, that whososhould attempt to pass might fall by the poisonous serpents.34 And it came to pass that the people did follow the courseof the beasts, and did devour the carcasses of them whichfell by the way, until they had devoured them all. Nowwhen the people saw that they must perish they began torepent of their iniquities and cry unto the Lord.35 And it came to pass that when they had humbledthemselves sufficiently before the Lord he did send rainupon the face of the earth; and the people began to reviveagain, and there began to be fruit in the north countries, andin all the countries round about. And the Lord did showforth his power unto them in preserving them from famine.Land northward1 AND it came to pass that Shez, who was a descendant ofHeth—for Heth had perished by the famine, and all hishousehold save it were Shez—wherefore, Shez began tobuild up again a broken people.2 And it came to pass that Shez did remember thedestruction of his fathers, and he did build up a righteouskingdom; for he remembered what the Lord had done inbringing Jared and his brother across the deep; and he didwalk in the ways of the Lord; and he begat sons anddaughters. 3 And his eldest son, whose name was Shez, didrebel against him; nevertheless, Shez was smitten by thehand of a robber, because of his exceeding riches, whichbrought peace again unto his father.4 And it came to pass that his father did build up manycities upon the face of the land, and the people began againto spread over all the face of the land. And Shez did live toan exceedingly old age; and he begat Riplakish. And hedied, and Riplakish reigned in his stead. 5 And it came to pass that Riplakish did not do that whichwas right in the sight of the Lord, for he did have manywives and concubines, and did lay that upon men’sshoulders which was grievous to be borne; yea, he did taxthem with heavy taxes; and with the taxes he did buildmany spacious buildings. 6 And he did erect him anexceedingly beautiful throne; and he did build manyprisons, and whoso would not be subject unto taxes he didcast into prison; and whoso was not able to pay taxes he didcast into prison; and he did cause that they should laborcontinually for their support; and whoso refused to labor hedid cause to be put to death. 7 Wherefore he did obtain allhis fine work, yea, even his fine gold he did cause to berefined in prison; and all manner of fine workmanship hedid cause to be wrought in prison.MoroniLand northwardAnd it came to pass that he did afflict the people with hiswhoredoms and abominations. 8 And when he had reignedfor the space of forty and two years the people did rise up inrebellion against him; and there began to be war again inthe land, insomuch that Riplakish was killed, and hisdescendants were driven out of the land.9 And it came to pass after the space of many years,Morianton, (he being a descendant of Riplakish) gatheredtogether an army of outcasts, and went forth and gave battleunto the people; and he gained power over many cities; andthe war became exceedingly sore, and did last for the spaceof many years; and he did gain power over all the land, anddid establish himself king over all the land. 10 And after thathe had established himself king he did ease the burden ofthe people, by which he did gain favor in the eyes of thepeople, and they did anoint him to be their king. 11 And hedid do justice unto the people, but not unto himself becauseof his many whoredoms; wherefore he was cut off from thepresence of the Lord.12 And it came to pass that Morianton built up many cities,and the people became exceedingly rich under his reign,both in buildings, and in gold and silver, and in raisinggrain, and in flocks, and herds, and such things which hadbeen restored unto them. 13 And Morianton did live to anexceedingly great age, and then he begat Kim; and Kim didreign in the stead of his father; and he did reign eight years,and his father died. And it came to pass that Kim did not reign in righteousness,wherefore he was not favored of the Lord. 14 And hisbrother did rise up in rebellion against him, by which he didbring him into captivity; and he did remain in captivity allhis days; and he begat sons and daughters in captivity, andin his old age he begat Levi; and he died.MoroniLand northward15 And it came to pass that Levi did serve in captivity afterthe death of his father, for the space of forty and two years.And he did make war against the king of the land, by whichhe did obtain unto himself the kingdom. 16 And after he hadobtained unto himself the kingdom he did that which wasright in the sight of the Lord; and the people did prosper inthe land; and he did live to a good old age, and begat sonsand daughters; and he also begat Corom, whom he anointedking in his stead.17 And it came to pass that Corom did that which was goodin the sight of the Lord all his days; and he begat many sonsand daughters; and after he had seen many days he did passaway, even like unto the rest of the earth; and Kish reignedin his stead.18 And it came to pass that Kish passed away also, and Libreigned in his stead.19 And it came to pass that Lib also did that which wasgood in the sight of the Lord. And in the days of Lib thepoisonous serpents were destroyed. Wherefore they did gointo the land southward, to hunt food for the people of theland, for the land was covered with animals of the forest.And Lib also himself became a great hunter.Land southward20 And they built a great city by the narrow neck of land, bythe place where the sea divides the land.City by narrowneck of landwhere sea dividesthe land21 And they did preserve the land southward for awilderness, to get game.Land southwardAnd the whole face of the land northward was covered withinhabitants. 22 And they were exceedingly industrious, andthey did buy and sell and traffic one with another, that theymight get gain. 23 And they did work in all manner of ore,and they did make gold, and silver, and iron, and brass, andall manner of metals; and they did dig it out of the earth;wherefore, they did cast up mighty heaps of earth to get ore,of gold, and of silver, and of iron, and of copper. And theyLand northward did work all manner of fine work. 24 And they did havesilks, and fine-twined linen; and they did work all mannerof cloth, that they might clothe themselves from theirnakedness. 25 And they did make all manner of tools to tillthe earth, both to plow and to sow, to reap and to hoe, andalso to thrash. 26 And they did make all manner of toolswith which they did work their beasts. 27 And they didmake all manner of weapons of war. And they did work allmanner of work of exceedingly curious workmanship. 28And never could be a people more blessed than were they,and more prospered by the hand of the Lord. And they werein a land that was choice above all lands, for the Lord hadspoken it.MoroniLand northward29 And it came to pass that Lib did live many years, andbegat sons and daughters; and he also begat Hearthom.Land of Moron30 And it came to pass that Hearthom reigned in the stead ofhis father. And when Hearthom had reigned twenty and fouryears, behold, the kingdom was taken away from him. Andhe served many years in captivity, yea, even all theremainder of his days. 31 And he begat Heth, and Heth livedin captivity all his days. And Heth begat Aaron, and Aarondwelt in captivity all his days; and he begat Amnigaddah,and Amnigaddah also dwelt in captivity all his days; and hebegat Coriantum, and Coriantum dwelt in captivity all hisdays; and he begat Com.32 And it came to pass that Com drew away the half of thekingdom. And he reigned over the half of the kingdom fortyand two years; and he went to battle against the king,Amgid, and they fought for the space of many years, duringwhich time Com gained power over Amgid, and obtainedpower over the remainder of the kingdom. 33 And in thedays of Com there began to be robbers in the land; and theyadopted the old plans, and administered oaths after themanner of the ancients, and sought again to destroy thekingdom. 34 Now Com did fight against them much;nevertheless, he did not prevail against them.1 AND there came also in the days of Com many prophets,and prophesied of the destruction of that great peopleexcept they should repent, and turn unto the Lord, andforsake their murders and wickedness.2 And it came to pass that the prophets were rejected by thepeople, and they fled unto Com for protection, for the people sought to destroy them. 3 And they prophesied untoCom many things; and he was blessed in all the remainderof his days. 4 And he lived to a good old age, and begatShiblom; and Shiblom reigned in his stead. And the brotherof Shiblom rebelled against him, and there began to be anexceedingly great war in all the land.MoroniLand of Moron5 And it came to pass that the brother of Shiblom causedthat all the prophets who prophesied of the destruction ofthe people should be put to death; 6 And there was greatcalamity in all the land, for they had testified that a greatcurse should come upon the land, and also upon the people,and that there should be a great destruction among them,such an one as never had been upon the face of the earth,and their bones should become as heaps of earth upon theface of the land except they should repent of theirwickedness.7 And they hearkened not unto the voice of the Lord,because of their wicked combinations; wherefore, therebegan to be wars and contentions in all the land, and alsomany famines and pestilences, insomuch that there was agreat destruction, such an one as never had been knownupon the face of the earth; and all this came to pass in thedays of Shiblom. 8 And the people began to repent of theiriniquity; and inasmuch as they did the Lord did have mercyon them.9 And it came to pass that Shiblom was slain, and Seth wasbrought into captivity, and did dwell in captivity all hisdays.10 And it came to pass that Ahah, his son, did obtain thekingdom; and he did reign over the people all his days. Andhe did do all manner of iniquity in his days, by which he didcause the shedding of much blood; and few were his days.11 And Ethem, being a descendant of Ahah, did obtain thekingdom; and he also did do that which was wicked in hisdays.12 And it came to pass that in the days of Ethem there camemany prophets, and prophesied again unto the people; yea,they did prophesy that the Lord would utterly destroy themfrom off the face of the earth except they repented of theiriniquities. 13 And it came to pass that the people hardened their hearts,and would not hearken unto their words; and the prophetsmourned and withdrew from among the people.MoroniLand of Moron14 And it came to pass that Ethem did execute judgment inwickedness all his days; and he begat Moron.And it came to pass that Moron did reign in his stead; andMoron did that which was wicked before the Lord.15 And it came to pass that there arose a rebellion amongthe people, because of that secret combination which wasbuilt up to get power and gain; and there arose a mightyman among them in iniquity, and gave battle unto Moron, inwhich he did overthrow the half of the kingdom; and he didmaintain the half of the kingdom for many years.16 And it came to pass that Moron did overthrow him, anddid obtain the kingdom again.17 And it came to pass that there arose another mighty man;and he was a descendant of the brother of Jared.18 And it came to pass that he did overthrow Moron andobtain the kingdom; wherefore, Moron dwelt in captivity allthe remainder of his days; and he begat Coriantor.19 And it came to pass that Coriantor dwelt in captivity allhis days.20 And in the days of Coriantor there also came manyprophets, and prophesied of great and marvelous things, andcried repentance unto the people, and except they shouldrepent the Lord God would execute judgment against themto their utter destruction; 21 And that the Lord God wouldsend or bring forth another people to possess the land, byhis power, after the manner by which he brought theirfathers.22 And they did reject all the words of the prophets, becauseof their secret society and wicked abominations.23 And it came to pass that Coriantor begat Ether, and hedied, having dwelt in captivity all his days.