I grew up in a strong family who believed in Jesus Christ and his coming. I am a descendant of the Brother of Jared, Mohonri Moriacumr, and heard all the stories that were passed down from generation to generation. Not only were they passed down verbally, but they were written on plates and the type of paper that we used. We were not allowed to read his vision of the future, but we knew that he saw the future until the end of the world.

After Mohonri died, as a spirit, he continued to visit many of his posterity, including me. He gave me strength and courage. He knew the problems with my son Jared. He was one of the angels that came to me and gave me comfort and helped me to understand the Atonement of Jesus Christ and how that would heal my broken heart and make all things right.

Jared, as a young child and in his early teen years, was an amazing son. Even while he was still inside of me, I felt his strong, valiant spirit. I felt that he would have power to be very influential. Of course, I thought that maybe he would be a prophet or the next king.

Jared grew up having a solid testimony of Jesus Christ and His plan. He felt the Holy Spirit as a young boy and knew about Jesus Christ, and knew Jesus would come. He helped many of his friends choose to follow the prophets and Jesus Christ.

Apparently the adversary also knew of Jared’s power and ability to influence people. It started slowly when Jared was about 15 years old. Jared stayed strong for a long time, but finally a couple of his friends, whom he had helped develop testimonies of Christ, began to persuade him to obtain riches. The sad thing is, Jared didn’t need riches. He didn’t need to obtain them in any bad way. Because of who he was, he was successful at everything that he did and would have had more than enough riches for what he needed and wanted. He could have been king, without the negative influences. He didn’t need any of that! But, he got caught up in the power, in greed. It took time, it didn’t happen all at once, in fact, it took a couple years. It was as if he were slowly poisoned. His attitude towards Omer and me gradually disintegrated. Jared became more and more disrespectful as he desired greater power and gained prodigious power. And, he took a couple of my children with him!

My heart just about broke in two when Jared gathered together an army and took Omer and me into captivity, along with many of our followers. I missed my son! I missed my grandchildren. I hated who they became. I couldn’t believe that my dear, sweet son could become so power-hungry and treat his family, and others, with complete disrespect.

We did find some peace while in captivity because we remained true and faithful to the covenants that we made, but it was a difficult time. We had to give much of our increase to Jared and those that ruled with him. Our needs were met, only because the Lord multiplied what we were able to retain.

We prayed mightily during this time. I became personally acquainted with Heavenly Father and even Heavenly Mother as she mourned with me. We all developed deep relationships with our God and Savior. We were visited daily by angels who brought us peace and joy. I enjoyed the grandchildren that were with us. We prayed multiple times a day for Jared and his family, with the hope that they would come back to the knowledge of Christ.

My dear sons who were born in captivity, Esrom and Coriantumr, and some of our sons-in-law were able to gather enough people to raise an army to fight against Jared. They did this in secret as Jared had guards over us continually. They recruited others who were unhappy with Jared and wanted Omer to regain his throne.

As it states in Ether 8, they were able to slay Jared’s army, but Jared begged for his life, promising to give the kingdom back to Omer. What a happy day that was! I was so hopeful that Jared would return to Christ, but it was not to be so.

As told in my dear husband’s story, Jared brought forth the evil plan revealed by the adversary. When Omer told me about his dream that we needed to depart immediately, I wept. How I wept. My son! How much more depraved could he get that he would desire the life of his own father. The father that cared for him as a baby, the father that took him hunting, to visit other cities, the father that taught him about Jesus Christ, the father that loved him more than any person could love him (except for me, of course).

We quickly gathered what we would need in a new settlement, gathered our flocks and herds, and left under the cover of darkness. I know that God was with us and His angels protected us.

Although I greatly missed our home, we flourished in our new city. I loved living near the seashore. I would go out to the beach, look over the vast waters and pray to God that Jared would come back to us, to Him. Although I prayed daily for Jared, deep down in my heart, I knew that would not happen.

When the news came that Akish had our son killed, I was heartbroken. I could not be consoled. I went out to the beach to pour my heart out to God. Actually, I wanted to blame Him. I wanted to be angry at Him because of our dear son. Mohonri came to me, as he had before. He comforted me. He reminded me that our Heavenly Parents wept with me. He opened a vision to me of our Heavenly Mother weeping at the loss of my son, Her son. I was amazed and humbled. He reminded me that Jesus Christ would come and make all things right. He opened another vision to me, that of Jesus suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross. I was not shown much; my heart could not take witnessing anymore of what Jesus would go through for us. What I witnessed was greater than I could comprehend and tore my aching heart into pieces. Then, I saw Jesus; He took my heart and put it back together and strengthened it. I had a new heart! A heart where I could show greater love, even to my son who was now dead, and my grandchildren; those who were corrupted by the evil doings of my son.

After the visions, I ran back to my home, found Omer and told him all that I saw. We hugged and we cried. We were blessed with a new found faith that sustained us the rest of our days.

The time came when we were able to return to our home. I had mixed feelings as I grew to love our city in Ablom. In fact, many of my children and our friends decided to stay. I knew I would miss the great sea and all the marvelous experiences I had sitting along the shore. However, it was time to return and once again establish our kingdom, God’s kingdom.

 

I am Omer, a righteous Jaredite king. I loved God and Jesus Christ. I worked hard for my people. With my wife, Cass, we had several children, most of whom followed after the teaching of my fathers. However, Jared chose a different path, one that proved destructive to my people.

It broke my heart that my dear son Jared turned to wickedness and made known the secret combinations that were to remain hidden. I can’t even begin to tell you how my heart grieved. I taught my children the ways of Christ. I prophesied to them. I taught them the plan of salvation and the commandments to lead them to happiness. I set the example for them. I was a good king. I worked for my food so I did not require taxing the people. I did have servants who helped me, but I compensated them well. I did not pay them with taxed money, I paid them with what I earned. God abundantly blessed me so I could be a righteous king.

When Jared was born, I was thrilled to have another son. He was a strong, healthy baby. I sang to him, rocked him, held him when he cried. I held Jared’s hand when he took his first steps. I taught him about the coming of Jesus Christ and how He would redeem the world. I loved all my children like this; even though I was the king, I was very involved with my children.

I do not know or completely understand what happened to Jared that he transformed to become so evil. He was a such good and helpful boy. He was strong and curious. He was tall and well-built for his age, as both his mother and I were tall. He demonstrated outstanding leadership skills, even as a child. He learned quickly, things of the earth, and heavenly things. He was very handsome, he looked so much like his mother. He attracted a lot of attention from the girls! Even as a young child, he was a strong and compassionate leader. I could easily picture Jared as the next king.

When Jared was in his late-teen years, a couple of his closest friends turned away from the teaching of their parents and the prophets. They began questioning the doctrines taught to them while growing up. They sought Jared because they knew of his leadership skills and his ability to influence people.

I believe these friends had already made a deal with the adversary and the adversary commanded them to lure Jared into their group. They tempted him with the most beautiful girls, and of course, riches. They gave Jared gold, silver, and other precious minerals. Jared didn’t need what they gave him. He was already abundant and could have had anything that he wanted. I don’t know how they acquired all the gold and silver that they had, as they were still young, but I am confident it was not from a good source. I do not believe it was from their parents as their parents were still good people.

But somehow, they instilled a desire in my son for more riches; and, for power. They lied to him! They lied! Because of their lies, my family and I were taken captive. Jared ruled over us. I was right, he did become a king, but ruled with unleashed power and hate.

We lived in captivity for years. Jared and those who influenced him and followed him, degraded us and abused us. Even through the hardships of captivity, my people were blessed with everything that we needed. My wife and I were blessed with several more children. As they grew in captivity, and learned the truth about Jared, they developed a determination to take the throne from him and return it to me.

My sons gathered together an army. We created weapons and armor in secret so Jared and his guards would not discover that we were preparing to attack him.

The Lord was with us. We prayed constantly, mostly in our hearts as we went about our daily routines. We prayed for our weapons and those who would use the weapons that they would be used only for freedom. We prayed that our armor would protect us. We prayed for angels to watch over us and protect us.

The day came when the Lord’s spirit told us to prepare to retake my kingdom that night. We silently and speedily made our preparations. Then, led by my sons Esrom and Coriantumr, we went to the palace, slayed most of Jared’s army, then confronted Jared. He pled with us to spare his life. How could I allow my son, my own flesh and blood, to be killed? My sons, and others, warned me about Jared, that if we allowed him to live, he would create further problems; he was not repentant. I could not allow my son to die so I ordered Jared to live.

As it mentions in the Book of Ether, although I allowed Jared to live, he was distraught because he lost his position. I do not know what caused him to crave power, influence, and riches. It was as if he were addicted to power. His daughter, my dear sweet granddaughter, devised a cunning plan for Jared to retake the kingdom. Unfortunately, the plan was pure evil as it required acquiring and bringing to light the old evil plans created by the devil. Part of the plan was for the son of one of my dearest friends, a very handsome young man named Akish, to desire Jared’s daughter to be his wife. To complete the agreement, Jared required Akish to bring him my head!

Fortunately, God was merciful to me and my family. His spirit came to me in a dream and warned me that I needed to quickly leave and take my family and friends, and all those who supported me. We left that night, under the cover of darkness, traveled for many days until we came to a place called Ablom. We pitched our tents there and made that location our home.

We created a beautiful city in Ablom. It was not as elaborate as where we came from, but it was nice, a nice place that we could call home. My sons, daughters, and grandchildren thrived there. Our crops and herds flourished there. We were truly blessed by the Lord.

Occasionally, friends would travel from our previous home and bring us news about the happenings there. One time, a couple of good friends rushed into Ablom, searching for me and my wife. Once they found us, they reported that Akish had Jared killed and now occupied the throne. Oh, how my heart ached. My wife’s heart ached. The anguish completely consumed us. Even though our son became wicked, he was still our son and we loved him.

Akish, my once dear friend, how could he have turned so evil? Nimrah, one of Akish’s son’s came to us and told us what Akish did to his brother—he starved his own son, our great-grandson, out of jealousy. How could any father starve his own son? The Spirit of the Lord must have completely departed from Akish for that to happen.

Others fled to us because of the abuses of power Akish subjected his people to. They wearied of the constant battles between Akish and his sons and the cruelties to those who were originally loyal to Akish.

After battling for many years, most of the people of Akish were destroyed in senseless wars. The remaining people came to us and escorted me and my family back to my original throne. Although it was so wonderful to be back in our homeland, it was bittersweet as so many of my people needlessly died because of the wickedness of my son.

My son. I lost my son! My grandchildren, my great-grandchildren. My son, the cause of so much senseless heartache and destruction.

My wife suffered greatly because of Jared. As his mother, she felt incredibly responsible, even though she did all that she knew to teach Jared and our children the truth. She suffered physically, spiritually, and emotionally because of her afflictions. I tried to comfort her, our other children tried to comfort her, but she would not be comforted. Finally, an angel came to her. The angel blessed her and comforted her. He told her that Jesus would come and make everything right. The angel told her that she was an amazing mother and did all she could do to teach her children, including Jared, about Jesus. The angel reminded her of agency and that is what she fought for in the pre-earth life. She needed to allow Jared to have his agency! Although difficult, she was able to let go of the pain and hurt that she felt and found peace in her heart, through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. It was Jesus Christ that healed her broken heart. After that experience, she knew without any doubt that Jesus Christ would come to the earth and do what He said He would do and heal the earth. Although she was still very sad about Jared, she knew that she was ok, and that Jesus would suffer and die, even for Jared, and because of His Atonement, all would be made right.

See Ether 8 and 9.