Ether and Moroni

As Moroni spent decades wandering alone after the destruction of his people, he must have found some comfort and comradery in the words of Ether.  Though he lived hundreds of years before Moroni, Ether was one who indeed understood Moroni’s situation and how he felt.  The fact that Moroni had the assignment from the Lord to summarize the Jaredite record and the words of Ether surely was not a coincidence, and it must have helped tremendously in his lonely moments to know that there was someone else who had made it through an almost identical situation.  Ether and Moroni surely became good friends on the other side after Moroni passed away.

 Here are the similarities that I see between the two great prophets:

·         Both were born to be leaders of their people but didn’t get the chance.  Ether was the son of Coriantor, who was the son of Moron.  Moron was the king until he was overthrown and sent into captivity; so if that hadn’t happened Ether would have been in line to be the king.  Instead he became a great prophet.  Likewise Moroni was the son of Mormon who was the general of all of the Nephites.  Moroni, who was a commander in the Nephite army himself, would have likely have been the next general over the Nephites—if it weren’t for the fact that there were none left. 

·         Both saw the entire destruction of their people.  Ether watched in hiding as the people of Coriantumr battled the people of Shiz until they were all killed.  Moroni personally took part in the final battle of the Nephites and Lamanites and was left “alone to write the sad tale of the destruction of [his] people” (Mormon 8:3).

·         Both hid up their record for a different people to find it.  Ether recorded the events of the destruction of the Jaredites and “hid them in a manner that the people of Limhi did find them” (Ether 15:33).  Similarly Moroni hid up the plates containing the Book of Mormon so that Joseph Smith ultimately could be led to them and translate them. 

·         Both gave powerful prophecies of the future.  We read that “it came to pass that Ether did prophesy great and marvelous things unto the people” (Ether 12:5).  He also prophesied to Coriantumr about what would befall him and his people if they did not repent, and those prophecies were all fulfilled.  Similarly, Moroni prophesied much about the conditions of the world in the last days when the Book of Mormon would come forth.  He spoke of the pride, riches, and vain churches that would be part of our world, and he got it all right.

·         Most importantly both put their faith in the future.  They really had nothing to hope for in their own generation, but even after watching their whole people destroyed, they still trusted in God and looked to the future.  Ether spoke “concerning a New Jerusalem upon this land” and looked to the day when “Jerusalem of old” would be rebuilt and inhabited by the righteous in the House of Israel.  Moroni likewise looked forward to the New Jerusalem and to the building up again of a righteous Jerusalem.  Some of his last words were these as he wrote to our generation: “Awake, and arise from the dust, O Jerusalem; yea, and put on thy beautiful garments, O daughter of Zion; and strengthen thy stakes and enlarge thy borders forever” (Moroni 10:31).  He saw the last days and wrote to invite us to follow a different course than his own people.

Ultimately both Ether and Moroni looked forward with hope for “a better world” that comes from faith and repentance (Ether 12:4).  They lost everything physical but their trust in God could not be taken.  As we struggle through the trials of our own day we should likewise trust in better days to come by staying true to the gospel and remembering that our challenges will likely never be as difficult and lonely as were those of Ether and Moroni.