At the end of chapter 6, Jared and
his brother are getting old and they gather all their people together to count
them (they’ve really multiplied!) and to ask what else they can do for them
before they die. The people want one of their sons to be their king, but kings
tend to lead to trouble, and the brother of Jared warns the people that having
a king will lead to captivity, but the people still want a king. None of the sons
want to be king except for Jared’s
youngest son, Orihah, who luckily is a good and humble man. Jared and his
brother both die of old age, and the reign of Orihah begins.
Now to chapter 7. Believe it or not,
the story in this chapter is even crazier than the election that just happened
in America this week! I think this chapter could make a great plot outline for
a movie, actually. I’ll let you read it yourself, but I did a very scrappy
sketch/diagram of the people involved to help you keep track of who’s who.
I’ve also sketched out Ether 8, but
let’s make it clear I only want to make a movie at out of Ether 7… because that
story ends happy. Ether 8 starts getting ugly and evil as the people
introduce the secret combinations of old, and I hate that (leads to the
destruction of an entire people… every time).
A very similar pattern of
rebellious sons and redemptive sons continues in this chapter, but then the
fate of the people takes a turn for the worst when a conniving woman gets
involved. Jared, who is pining for the crown, works with his daughter (whose
name we don’t even know) to overthrow the kingdom through secret combinations. Her plan is to dance for a man named Akish so he will want to marry her, and Jared will only agree if Akish will murder the king. You'll see that this woman's wicked plan to help her father gain power backfires on her in many awful ways.
18 And it came to pass that they formed a secret combination, even as they of old; which combination is most abominable and wicked above all, in the sight of God...
19 For the Lord worketh not in secret combinations, neither doth he will that man should shed blood, but in all things hath forbidden it, from the beginning of man.
21 And they have caused the destruction of this people of whom I am now speaking, and also the destruction of the people of Nephi.
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