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Annotations |
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Chapter 14
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1 And now there began to be a great curse upon all the
land because of the iniquity of the people, in which, if a man should lay his
tool or his sword upon his shelf, or upon the place whither he would
keep it, behold, upon the morrow, he could not find it, so great was the
curse upon the land.
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Ether 14:1-2, 4, 24
The only pre-Columbian weapon I can find that was similar
to a sword was the macuahuitl which was made with a plank of wood similar in
shape to a cricket bat with obsidian blades mounted on the edges. It is
similar enough to a sword that it is often referred to as the Aztec sword.
However, the macuahuitl does not seem to fit the Book of
Mormon time frame. “Some groups of Central Mexico, principally in the
transition between the Early and the Late Post-Classic, probably
developed this weapon” (emphasis added, Dr. Marco Antonio Cervera Obregón, “The
macuahuitl: an innovative weapon of the Late Post-Classic in Mesoamerica”,
Arms & Armour, Vol.3, Nov. 2, 2006, p. 146, article from a research journal).
The Post-Classic period is between 900 CE and the Spanish conquest.
Regarding the curse on the land, according to documents
apparently from a court hearing about Joseph Smith’s treasure seeking with a
seer stone, Jonathan Thompson testified that in one treasure digging led by
Joseph, “on account of an enchantment, the trunk kept settling away from
under them while digging; that, notwithstanding they continued constantly
removing the dirt, yet the trunk kept about the same distance from them” (The 1826 Trial of Joseph Smith).
There seems to be some controversy regarding the
authenticity of this documented testimony, but it is uncontested that Joseph
was hired on more than one occasion to seek treasure with his seer stone, and
it was common folk lore of the time that buried treasure could slip away
through the earth. “Getting the treasure was always difficult and harrowing.
If not recovered quickly the trove sank into the earth’s depths” (Ronald W.
Walker, The Persisting Idea of American Treasure Hunting, BYU Studies Quarterly, Volume 24 | Issue 4 Article 4, 1 Oct 1984, p. 432).
Which is more likely—that there were ancient Native Americans
that were descendants of Hebrews that really experienced such a curse, or
that this reflects a 19th century superstition of the author of the book?
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2 Wherefore every man did cleave unto that which was his
own, with his hands, and would not borrow neither would he lend; and every
man kept the hilt of his sword in his right hand, in the defence of
his property and his own life and of his wives and children.
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Annotation for Ether 14:1-2, 4, 24 above
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3 And now, after the space of two years, and after the death
of Shared, behold, there arose the brother of Shared and he gave battle unto
Coriantumr, in which Coriantumr did beat him and did pursue him to the
wilderness of Akish.
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4 And it came to pass that the brother of Shared did give
battle unto him in the wilderness of Akish; and the battle became exceedingly
sore, and many thousands fell by the sword.
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Annotation for Ether 14:1-2, 4, 24 above
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5 And it came to pass that Coriantumr did lay siege to the
wilderness; and the brother of Shared did march forth out of the wilderness
by night, and slew a part of the army of Coriantumr, as they were drunken.
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6 And he came forth to the land of Moron, and placed
himself upon the throne of Coriantumr.
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7 And it came to pass that Coriantumr dwelt with his army
in the wilderness for the space of two years, in which he did receive great
strength to his army.
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8 Now the brother of Shared, whose name was Gilead, also
received great strength to his army, because of secret combinations.
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9 And it came to pass that his high priest murdered him as
he sat upon his throne.
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10 And it came to pass that one of the secret combinations
murdered him in a secret pass, and obtained unto himself the kingdom; and his
name was Lib; and Lib was a man of great stature, more than any other man
among all the people.
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11 And it came to pass that in the first year of Lib,
Coriantumr came up unto the land of Moron, and gave battle unto Lib.
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12 And it came to pass that he fought with Lib, in which
Lib did smite upon his arm that he was wounded; nevertheless, the army of
Coriantumr did press forward upon Lib, that he fled to the borders upon the
seashore.
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13 And it came to pass that Coriantumr pursued him; and
Lib gave battle unto him upon the seashore.
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14 And it came to pass that Lib did smite the army of
Coriantumr, that they fled again to the wilderness of Akish.
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15 And it came to pass that Lib did pursue him until he
came to the plains of Agosh. And Coriantumr had taken all the people with him
as he fled before Lib in that quarter of the land whither he fled.
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16 And when he had come to the plains of Agosh he gave
battle unto Lib, and he smote upon him until he died; nevertheless, the
brother of Lib did come against Coriantumr in the stead thereof, and the
battle became exceedingly sore, in the which Coriantumr fled again before the
army of the brother of Lib.
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17 Now the name of the brother of Lib was called Shiz. And
it came to pass that Shiz pursued after Coriantumr, and he did overthrow many
cities, and he did slay both women and children, and he did burn the cities.
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18 And there went a fear of Shiz throughout all the land;
yea, a cry went forth throughout the land—Who can stand before the army of
Shiz? Behold, he sweepeth the earth before him!
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19 And it came to pass that the people began to flock
together in armies, throughout all the face of the land.
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20 And they were divided; and a part of them fled to the
army of Shiz, and a part of them fled to the army of Coriantumr.
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21 And so great and lasting had been the war, and so long
had been the scene of bloodshed and carnage, that the whole face of the land
was covered with the bodies of the dead.
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22 And so swift and speedy was the war that there was none
left to bury the dead, but they did march forth from the shedding of blood to
the shedding of blood, leaving the bodies of both men, women, and children
strewed upon the face of the land, to become a prey to the worms of the
flesh.
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23 And the scent thereof went forth upon the face of the
land, even upon all the face of the land; wherefore the people became
troubled by day and by night, because of the scent thereof.
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24 Nevertheless, Shiz did not cease to pursue Coriantumr;
for he had sworn to avenge himself upon Coriantumr of the blood of his
brother, who had been slain, and the word of the Lord which came to Ether
that Coriantumr should not fall by the sword.
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Annotation for Ether 14:1-2, 4, 24 above
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25 And thus we see that the Lord did visit them in the
fulness of his wrath, and their wickedness and abominations had prepared a
way for their everlasting destruction.
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26 And it came to pass that Shiz did pursue Coriantumr
eastward, even to the borders by the seashore, and there he gave battle unto
Shiz for the space of three days.
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27 And so terrible was the destruction among the armies of
Shiz that the people began to be frightened, and began to flee before the
armies of Coriantumr; and they fled to the land of Corihor, and swept off the
inhabitants before them, all them that would not join them.
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28 And they pitched their tents in the valley of Corihor;
and Coriantumr pitched his tents in the valley of Shurr. Now the valley of
Shurr was near the hill Comnor; wherefore, Coriantumr did gather his armies
together upon the hill Comnor, and did sound a trumpet unto the armies of
Shiz to invite them forth to battle.
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29 And it came to pass that they came forth, but were
driven again; and they came the second time, and they were driven again the
second time. And it came to pass that they came again the third time, and the
battle became exceedingly sore.
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30 And it came to pass that Shiz smote upon Coriantumr
that he gave him many deep wounds; and Coriantumr, having lost his blood,
fainted, and was carried away as though he were dead.
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31 Now the loss of men, women and children on both sides
was so great that Shiz commanded his people that they should not pursue the
armies of Coriantumr; wherefore, they returned to their camp.
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