Shulem Cracks the Book of Ether! Jaredite Expedition & Geography is Revealed!

[Shulem]

Take away an s and add an e.

There.

[Shulem]

And it came to pass that the Lord commanded them that they should go forth into the wilderness, yea, into that quarter where there never had man been. And it came to pass that the Lord did go before them, and did talk with them as he stood in a cloud, and gave directions whither they should travel.

When they came down into the valley of Nimrod they receive further instruction on where to travel. Note the following peculiar phrase “into that quarter” is found one other time in all of LDS scripture (Alma 58:35 into that quarter of the land) meaning this terminology is unique in how Smith designates a portion of land from all the rest. Interesting enough, the following variant phrase “in that quarter of the land” is also unique to the Book of Mormon and is mentioned multiple times but nowhere else in LDS scripture. The chief difference between the usage in Ether 2:5 and all the other instances the phrase is used is that Ether is describing a quarter of land that is unbeknown to the world (100 years since Noah's Flood) having never been explored compared to the Book of Mormon lands that were already mapped out. The Ether account is telling us that they went into a quarter of land where there never had man been which means they don’t even know if such a land exists beyond that valley they are in or the next hill on the horizon.

It’s a hole in the script in which Smith in trying to put one of the four quarters of the earth in place where it hasn’t been shown to even exist as far as those explorers are concerned. It’s obvious that Smith is just telling a story as the author and architect as one who sees the whole map and has already figured out how the story will play out. You can be sure that Smith was familiar with a globe and probably was fascinated with globes since childhood.

[infinityball]

Take away an s and add an e.

Thank you for the belly laugh.

[Shulem]

And it came to pass that they did travel in the wilderness, and did build barges, in which they did cross many waters, being directed continually by the hand of the Lord.

1) Build barges
2) Cross many waters

Thus, boats to cross rivers and ferry up and down many waters. Smith probably envisioned primitive rafts being constructed out of wood or reeds and may have looked somewhat like barges in his own neck of the woods, New York. I’m sure he imagined primitive boats. Smith makes it all sound so easy as if these primitives have all the tools and time in the world to build whatever they want and go wherever God tells them too. Considering the earth was just recently flooded, it’s amazing how these people seem to have everything they need to set out and conquer that quarter of the land. I guess that’s what's supposed to make the story so exciting or, is it?

We learn that they are being continually directed by the Lord but no reference to a brass compass during this early stage of the game. Also, nobody is keeping track of the days or keeping an intricate calendar like we see for the first 600 years of the Book of Mormon. Obviously, Smith was careful not to delve into ancient timetables that might get him into trouble. It would have been quite telling had he mentioned how many years had passed since one of the patriarchs was ordained or when the flood waters subsided.

[Moksha]

4 And it came to pass that when they had come down into the valley of Nimrod the Lord came down and talked with the brother of Jared; and he was in a cloud, and the brother of Jared saw him not.

Is this talking cloud the earliest recorded mention of Skype?

[Shulem]

4 And it came to pass that when they had come down into the valley of Nimrod the Lord came down and talked with the brother of Jared; and he was in a cloud, and the brother of Jared saw him not.

Is this talking cloud the earliest recorded mention of Skype?

In. A. Cloud.


I skipped that part on purpose because it annoyed me how Smith was obviously borrowing from the biblical account of Moses and how the Lord showed himself during certain visual manifestations. It seems that Smith was copying the Bible as he was often inclined to do:

And the Lord came down in a cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the spirit that was upon him

However, with that said, I won’t go on record by saying that Smith never at anytime saw a being of light. I don’t know. It’s entirely possible that he may have at some point in his life witnessed spiritual manifestations of that nature whether in the conscience of unconscious state. But I will say that his description in Ether is reminiscent of what we read in the Bible which is where he gleaned virtually all of his information from God at that time in his life.

[Shulem]

And the Lord would not suffer that they should stop beyond the sea in the wilderness, but he would that they should come forth even unto the land of promise, which was choice above all other lands, which the Lord God had preserved for a righteous people.

And suddenly, in just a couple of verses after having gone forward to go forth into the wilderness into that quarter where there never had man been, they reach the end of the line. The journey by land is over and the sea has now become all that lies before their face and the land they traversed is at their backs. All that happened rather very quickly after making their trek northward from the land of Babel. So, where are they now? At what part of the globe is Smith looking at as he formulates his story and contemplates the construction of 8 barges to cross the ocean?

Where are the Jaredites on the map? All we were told is that they headed out of town northward into the valley of Nimrod and the Lord directed them from there where to go. And a couple of verses later they’ve reached the sea. What sea? It must be a sea that separates them from where they are at that very point, between them and the land of promise, which is America.

Where are they? Where is Joseph’s finger on the globe?

[Shulem]

And it came to pass that they did travel in the wilderness, and did build barges, in which they did cross many waters, being directed continually by the hand of the Lord.

1) Build barges
2) Cross many waters

For those who are reading this thread and benefiting from it, I would like to say that the above verse is the the grand BLUE KEY to understanding the route the Jeredites took as directed continually by the hand of the Lord finger that Smith ran across an atlas map as he imagined the journey.

The key is in understanding that key!

[Shulem]

Lest I confuse readers, please understand or don’t confuse the barges. There was a first set of barges crafted to “cross many waters” and then 8 barges were later built to cross the “great deep”.

Thus, the expedition involved:

1) Crossing land
2) Crossing many waters
3) Crossing the great deep

And please, do yourself a favor and don't read Hugh Nibley’s speculations or that of Mormon apologists who are totally blind in these matters. The more you read apologetic material about these things, the further you will get from the truth! But that’s why I’m here, to set the record straight. And my buddy Joe S. is helping me do just that!

[Shulem]

Let’s go back to the beginning, shall we?

The Tower of Babel icon is on the map at mid-center, towards the right.

Zoom here




Here is a different map. The Tower of Babel icon is located at the center of the map and the Euphrates & Tigris rivers dance about.

Zoom here




The Jaredites left Babel and traveled northward to the valley of Nimrod. They went into the wilderness where man had never been and built barges and crossed many waters. Eventually they arrived at the the point in their journey where they must cross the great deep which leads to the promised land.