Coriantumr Began to Repent

Towards the end of the great war that destroyed the Jaredite civilization, we learn that Coriantumr—one of the two kings fighting—began to repent. We read, “And it came to pass when Coriantumr had recovered of his wounds, he began to remember the words which Ether had spoken unto him. He saw that there had been slain by the sword already nearly two millions of his people, and he began to sorrow in his heart; yea, there had been slain two millions of mighty men, and also their wives and their children. He began to repent of the evil which he had done; he began to remember the words which had been spoken by the mouth of all the prophets, and he saw them that they were fulfilled thus far, every whit; and his soul mourned and refused to be comforted.” He subsequently tried to end the war by giving up the kingdom to save the lives of his people: “And it came to pass that he wrote an epistle unto Shiz, desiring him that he would spare the people, and he would give up the kingdom for the sake of the lives of the people.” But Coriantumr’s people wouldn’t accept it and the fighting continued. After more people had died Coriantumr tried again, “And it came to pass that Coriantumr wrote again an epistle unto Shiz, desiring that he would not come again to battle, but that he would take the kingdom, and spare the lives of the people” (Ether 15:1-4, 18). But Shiz refused this and the fighting continued until all had died except Coriantumr. But clearly Coriantumr had had a change of heart before it all ended.

                I have always believed that Coriantumr was simply too late in his repentance. And certainly that was true in terms of saving his people; his change of heart came at a time when the path of destruction his people were on was unstoppable. But was it too late for him? Was Coriantumr able to repent and receive forgiveness in the flesh from the Lord after his terrible mistakes? After thinking more about how his story ended, I think the answer is yes. We know from the book of Omni that Coriantumr subsequently traveled to the land of Zarahemla and dwelt among the people there “for the space of nine moons.” (Omni 1:21). I wondered today at the fact that it wasn’t Ether that made this journey to meet the people of Zarahemla. His final words were these: “Whether the Lord will that I be translated, or that I suffer the will of the Lord in the flesh, it mattereth not, if it so be that I am saved in the kingdom of God” (Ether 15:34). Only he and Coriantumr were left alive, and here’s how I imagine it might have happened. Ether met up with Coriantumr after it was all over, and he gave Coriantumr a mission as a way for this king to redeem himself. He handed Coriantumr the “two stones” that the brother of Jared had received from the Lord on the mount Shelem and told Coriantumr to take them to the other civilization which had “received the land for their inheritance” that Ether had already told him about (Ether 13:21). Ether told Coriantumr to make a brief record among them and leave it with the two stones. This was the Urim and Thummim that ultimately ended up in the box deposited for Joseph Smith (see Doctrine and Covenants 17:6). Coriantumr this time obeyed Ether and took these two stones to the Mulekites and while there he wrote upon “a large stone” a very brief account of his people. He left the large stone with the engravings as well as the two stones for translation with the people who preserved them. When Mosiah reached Zarahemla some time later, “He did interpret the engravings by the gift and power of God” (Omni 1:20). I believe he did that translation with the Urim and Thummim that had been prepared for translating the records of the Jaredites. And that would explain how they ended up among the Nephites to be passed down ultimately to Moroni who put them in the box for Joseph. Or course this is just my guess, but I say this to suggest that receiving this mission from Ether and fulfilling it may have been Coriantumr’s chance to truly repent and this time obey a prophet of the Lord. The words that Coriantumr wrote on that large stone suggest that he indeed had had a change of heart: “They gave an account of one Coriantumr, and the slain of his people…. It also spake a few words concerning his fathers. And his first parents came out from the tower, at the time the Lord confounded the language of the people; and the severity of the Lord fell upon them according to his judgments, which are just” (Omni 1:21-22). Coriantumr recognized that the judgments of God had been just upon his people and he believed in the Lord. And perhaps the fact that he stayed there about nine months—the time it takes for a baby to be born—is symbolic of the fact that he was indeed born again.