Ether starts out with Jared and his brother from the tower of Babel. God led them, their families and friends to the Americas. They built barges as God instructed them. In Ether 1:31 & 32 it tells us this: "And now we can behold the decrees of God concerning this land, that it is a land of promise, and whatsoever nation shall possess it, shall serve God, or they shall be swepts off when the fullness of his wrath shall come upon them. And the fullness of his wrath cometh upon them when they are ripened in iniquity; for behold, this is a land which is choice above all other lands; wherefore he that doth possess it shall serve God, or shall be swept off; for it is the everlasting decree of God."
Do we, as a nation today serve God? Or are we following our own desires and wants instead of obeying God and keeping His commandments? Sometimes I wonder how come we haven't been swept off this land. All of the horrible things that are happening today makes me wonder what God's definition of "ripened in iniquity" is, because it seems like we are at that point. Perhaps it is because of the people who are repentant and trying to keep His commandments that God hasn't punished us yet.
I'm not putting everything that is written in the book of Ether in this post, because there is a lot that happened. But eventually they made it to the promised land. Some time later they decided to have a king rule over them. There were some righteous kings, but then always one had a son who rebelled against him. This led the people into captivity. Then the people repented because of their sins and idolatries, and they prospered again. It's an on-going cycle all throughout the Book of Mormon; the people would have righteous periods, and then they would become unrighteous and forget the Lord.
In Ether 3:81 we see the "secret combinations" being re-introduced. Secret combinations is the term used in the Book of Mormon for the secret societies. Verse 81,"Behold, is there not an account concerning them of old, that they by their secret plans did obtain kingdoms and great glory?" Verse 89 goes on to say, "And Akish did administer unto them the oaths which were given by them of old, who also sought power, which had been handed down even from Cain, who was a murderer from the beginning. Verse 90 says, "And they were kept up by the power of the devil to administer these oaths unto the people, to keep them in darkness, to help such as sought power, to gain power, and to murder, and to plunder, and to lie, and to commit all manner of wickedness and whoredoms.
As you can see, these secret combinations began with Cain, who murdered his own brother. Verses 92-96 goes on to say, "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; 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. And now I, Moroni, do not write the manner of their oaths and combinations, for it hath been made known unto me that they are had among all people, and they are had among the Lamanites, and they have caused the destruction of this people of whom I am now speaking, and also the destruction of the people of Nephi; And whatsoever nation shall uphold such secret combinations, to get power and gain, until they shall spread over the nation, behold, they shall be destroyed, for the Lord will not suffer that the blood of his saints, which shall be shed by them, shall always cry unto him from the ground for vengeance upon them, and yet he avenge them not; Wherefore, O ye Gentiles, it is wisdom in God that these things should be shewn unto you, that thereby ye may repent of your sins, and suffer not that these murderous combinations shall get above you, which are built up to get power and gain, and the work, yea, even the work of destruction com upon you;
We as a people shouldn't allow these combinations because the book clearly states that we will be destroyed. This is why we need to expose these works of darkness for what they are. In verses 99 & 100 it says, "For it cometh to pass that whoso buildeth it up, seeketh to overthrow the freedom of all lands, nations and countries: And it bringeth to pass the destruction of all people, for it is built up by the devil, who is the father of all lies; even that same liar who beguiled our first parents;
What kind of people does this bring to mind? Maybe those in political power (there are many who belong to secret societies such as the Freemasons, Bohemian Grove, Skull & Bones, just to name a few.) Hitler, is the best example of this. He was an occultist. Even many artists and musicians and actors are into Satanic cults. It's becoming clearer and clearer every day who their "god" is. You can't watch a music video without seeing an upside down cross, or baphomet in it nowadays. It's reviling and disgusting.
So it goes on to talk about how these people used these secret combinations to overthrow kingdoms, and how they murdered and plundered to get gain, and to become rich. There were many wars and contentions among the people because of the secret combinations. Time and time again, we see how some of the people would repent and come back into the presence of God, but then they would go back to the ways of the secret combinations, and the Lord would send prophets to warn the people. God even cursed the land with poisonous serpents and famine to punish the people.
Ether 4:7, "For so great had been the spreading of this wicked and secret society, that it had corrupted the hearts of all the people; therefore Jared was murdered upon his throne, and Akish reigned in his stead.
Ether 112 & 114, "And in the days of Coriantor there also came many prophets, and prophesied of great and marvelous things, and cried repentance unto the people,....And they did reject all the words of the prophets, because of their secret society and wicked abominations."
What can we learn from reading the book of Ether? The book of Ether also talks a great deal about faith and repentance, which are two important things we need to have and do to be able to enter into the kingdom of God. Another thing we can learn from this book is the need to expose these secret combinations, or else we too, will become captive as the people from that time were. God has warned us, but are we willing to forsake the worldy things and do His will?
