Proof the Jaredites were real

[_MCB]

Were the animals also translated?

Perhaps, like space travel, they were all put in suspended animation. Sort of like the proverbial glass bottle.

[_Chap]

... enough with the scatology already!

But I'd like to hear a little from people who (like me) regard the Jaredite story in a secular light, as one part of the rich and strange religio-historical pastiche fiction of the Book of Mormon. How did it get there? What role does it play in the construction of the text?

My personal favorite is that a version of the Jaredite story may have been an early draft of a 'how God got people to America' story intended to begin the Book of Mormon, which was later abandoned in favor of the richer Lehi narrative.

But why waste material? In the end it was spliced in as we see it today, a story written into the final collection by Nephi. Since Smith needed the exiles from the Babylonian conquest to get a free run into the American continent, naturally the Jaredites all had to be got out of the way before the later story starts - apart from Coriantumr, who has to live just long enough to pass on his story to the people of Zarahemla.

Or what?

[_MCB]

I have also wondered if Ether was originally intended to be the beginning of the book. Perhaps the missing 118 pages was just another lie, or was later found and tacked on at the end because it no longer belonged, or was written by someone behind the scenes to substitute for the 118.

[_zeezrom]

Weren't there bees inside those things too? Yikes!

[_Kishkumen]

If they were translated why the need for air holes?

The air holes are for the refreshment of the occupants of the vessels. Just because you are translated, does not mean you lose your sensory faculties.

[_zeezrom]

Ether 2:3

"3 And they did also carry with them deseret, which, by interpretation, is a honey bee; and thus they did carry with them swarms of bees, and all manner of that which was upon the face of the land, seeds of every kind."

Srsly?

forget the human feces. We have some major solid waste management and safety concerns to deal with here.

[_Kishkumen]

Ether 2:3

"3 And they did also carry with them deseret, which, by interpretation, is a honey bee; and thus they did carry with them swarms of bees, and all manner of that which was upon the face of the land, seeds of every kind."

seriously?

forget the human feces. We have some major solid waste management and safety concerns to deal with here.

Animals can be translated too!

[_zeezrom]

Do you think it's true that the older the myth, the more outlandish it tends to be?

If that's true, Joseph and Co. were right on target. Bullseye!

Where's Consig?

;)

[_Kishkumen]

Do you think it's true that the older the myth, the more outlandish it tends to be?

If that's true, Joseph and Co. were right on target. Bullseye!

Where's Consig?

;)

Hey, I am not responsible for the truth. I just follow it.

[_MCB]

Do you think it's true that the older the myth, the more outlandish it tends to be?

I think that could almost be quantified.