According to the Book of Mormon, the Jaredites are the descendants of
Jared, his brother, their immediate family, and their friends. (
Joseph Smith later identified the brother of Jared as
Mahonri Moriancumer.) At the time of the
Tower of Babel, when the tongues of all nations were confounded, the Lord acceded to the desires of Jared, and his people's language was not confounded. The people were also granted a land of promise. The Lord guided the people through the wilderness and were eventually directed to cross the sea in "barges". The vessels were sealed and watertight and able to be swamped by waves without sinking. Air was obtained from outside the vessels, as needed. They also brought with them animals and food. The recorded length of the trip was 344 days. Among other things they carried in their voyage were honeybees, which, in the language of the Jaredites were called "deseret".
Ether is the last in the royal line that began with one of the sons of Jared. From the time of the
first king to the destruction of the Jaredites, there were only occasional periods of peace and prosperity. The times of peace were interrupted by intrigue over the throne, civil war, and the accession of wicked kings. The history of the Jaredites confirmed the fears of Jared and his brother that a monarchy would lead to evil. The Book of Mormon claims that the Jaredites grew to become a civilization that exceeded two million people before its destruction. They finally destroyed themselves about the time
Lehi and the other refugees from
Jerusalem arrived in America. A prophecy of
Ether was fulfilled: the last Jaredite king,
Coriantumr, lived to see both the total destruction of his entire house, the scattering of the remaining Jaredites, and the arrival of another people to inherit the land.
Other references in Book of Mormon Outside the Book of Ether, the Book of Mormon relates that Coriantumr was found by the
Mulekites. The Nephites later encountered the Mulekites and taught them the Nephite language. The Mulekites told them that Coriantumr had died some nine months after he had come to live with them. The Nephite prophet King
Mosiah I was able to translate a large stone with engravings that gave an account of Coriantumr. An abridged account of the Jaredite records was later included by
Moroni, as the Book of Ether, in the Book of Mormon. ==Geography==