What are the Jaredites for?

[_Chap]

As a result of reading discussions of such matters as the Jaredite barges, I have been asking myself what (in the mind of whatever early 19th century American who composed it) was the function of the Jaredite narrative as part of the Book of Mormon.

The Jardeite story has several parallels with main (Nephite) narrative of the Book of Mormon: the journey of the Jaredites is motivated by an Old World catastrophe (the Confusion of Tongues) just like the destruction of Jerusalem in the main story. The Jaredites cross the sea to a land of promise in boats provided with special technology (the dish-like build of the barges, the light-stones) like the Liahona of the Nephites. They have kings (and worries about whether they should have them) and prophecies of Christ. They have problems with 'secret combinations' like the later Nephite difficulties with the Gadianton robbers. All of them but one are wiped out in a final battle, just like the Nephites and Moroni.

Yet the whole thing ends very implausibly (only one Jaredite left alive after the final battle: not likely), and has a weak and artificial connection with the main story - Coriantumr's 9-month stay with the people of Zarahemla before his death, the strange 'stone' with records on it.

To me it looks very like an early attempt at a complete 'Book of Mormon' style narrative. Could it be that the 19th century author (Smith or someone else) produced this material as a first try at giving a 'biblical' origin of the native people and cultures of North America, but in the end found that it would not do the job so well as having some real Jews turning up, and so wiped out the Jaredites through the device of the final battle with Shiz?

He was however reluctant to waste either the text he had composed, or to lose the narrative devices he had constructed. So he linked the text in with his new Nephite narrative, and repeated quite a few of his ideas with variations in his story of the Nephites.

Do we know, by the way, whether the 'translation' of the Book of Mormon was actually written down in the order in which it now stands?

This discussion is of course founded on the assumption that the Book of Mormon is a 19th century document. Those who believe otherwise are under no obligation to take part.

[_beastie]

I know the answer to this, I just have to remember the details and where I read it.

The Jaredites were the Book of Mormon author's attempt to cover all bases in regards to the nineteenth century myths told about the origins of Native Americans... but I can't remember the details of the theory.

[_Mercury]

The jaredites were a poorly constructed plot device.

[_Chap]

The jaredites were a poorly constructed plot device.

But a device to do what?

[_The Nehor]

A microcosm of the overarching lesson of the Book of Mormon in case the main story of the Book of Mormon is missed due to constant interludes of preaching, prophesying, and attention to the stories of individual characters. The Book of Mormon is (after it's primary goal of testifying of Christ) a warning addressed to our world of what may happen to us. The Jaredite story is that story in an even more abbreviated form.

[_Chap]

A microcosm of the overarching lesson of the Book of Mormon in case the main story of the Book of Mormon is missed due to constant interludes of preaching, prophesying, and attention to the stories of individual characters. The Book of Mormon is (after it's primary goal of testifying of Christ) a warning addressed to our world of what may happen to us. The Jaredite story is that story in an even more abbreviated form.

That's more or less what I said.

Except that you think the story was put there by divine providence, and I think it was put there by a 19th C. author.

Even leaving aside my disbelief in divine providence, I think my suggestion is more plausible than yours.

[_CaliforniaKid]

I personally think that this is Joseph's dispensationalism at work. In each dispensation we see the same pattern emerging. God separates for himself a sacred remnant, the remnant keeps a record, and at the end of the dispensation the record is preserved and delivered by miraculous means into the hands of the next dispensation head. By rehearsing this narrative pattern for both the Jaredites and the Nephites, Joseph Smith created a sacred role for himself to play as the head of a new dispensation. In effect, the message of the Book of Mormon is that all of this has happened before, and all of it will happen again.

[_Chap]

I personally think that this is Joseph's dispensationalism at work. In each dispensation we see the same pattern emerging. God separates for himself a sacred remnant, the remnant keeps a record, and at the end of the dispensation the record is preserved and delivered by miraculous means into the hands of the next dispensation head. By rehearsing this narrative pattern for both the Jaredites and the Nephites, Joseph Smith created a sacred role for himself to play as the head of a new dispensation. In effect, the message of the Book of Mormon is that all of this has happened before, and all of it will happen again.

Thanks. That is interesting, and makes a virtue out of what had seemed to me a defect.

I'd still like Beastie to find a fuller reference to the theory she mentioned, however - that Joseph Smith (or whoever it was) was trying to cover all bases on current views of Native American Origins.

[_Scottie]

I personally think that this is Joseph's dispensationalism at work. In each dispensation we see the same pattern emerging. God separates for himself a sacred remnant, the remnant keeps a record, and at the end of the dispensation the record is preserved and delivered by miraculous means into the hands of the next dispensation head. By rehearsing this narrative pattern for both the Jaredites and the Nephites, Joseph Smith created a sacred role for himself to play as the head of a new dispensation. In effect, the message of the Book of Mormon is that all of this has happened before, and all of it will happen again.

I don't see Joseph Smith thinking that far ahead.

[_Dr. Shades]

I'm of the opinion that sometime during the translation process Joseph learned that Native Americans had been there since long before 600 B.C. So he had to hurry and insert some sort of narrative explaining the existence of people before the Lehites.

He went back as close to the time of Noah as he could so that the timeframe would be covered in the eyes of his Christian audience.

And we know that Joseph picked up where the 116 pages left off, so the Words of Mormon--the book which mentions Coriantumr living with the Mulekites for "nine moons"--was written after the Book of Ether.