Origin Of Book Of Ether Secret Combinations

[bjw]

We are told in the Book of Mormon that the content of the secret combinations were not to be written so that future generations should not know the oaths and plans and follow them the way the Gadianton Robbers did. However, it seems that in the Book of Ether we are given a clue as to their content:

In Ether 8:9 it says:

Now the daughter of Jared was exceedingly fair. And it came to pass that she did talk with her father, and said unto him: Whereby hath my father so much sorrow? Hath he not read the ^arecord‍ which our fathers brought across the great deep? Behold, is there not an ^baccount‍ concerning them of ^cold, that they by their ^dsecret‍ plans did obtain kingdoms and great glory?

The question is, what is this account, who are the people of old that used these secret plans to obtain kingdoms and great glory?

This verse goes on to describe the murder plot where the daughter of Jared dances for Akish to get him to kill the king, similar to how John the Baptist was beheaded by a similar plan. This chapter tells us that those involved had to swear by the God of Heaven, the heavens, the earth, and their heads to keep the plot to overthrow the government a secret.

I remember hearing on this forum before that Hugh Nibley compares this account with the story "Dance of the Seven Vails" where something similar to this happened, an allusion that this story has an ancient origin, and that this original story is what the daughter of Jared is referring to. So, could this story have been carried over to the new world by the Jaredites? Could this give us enough information to retrace what the secret combination was that was warned about in the Book of Mormon? Is this original secret combination the same one that had the original "Dance of the Seven Vails" story and possibly had the oaths that are described in Ether?

Its definitely something to think about. If anyone could point me in the right direction to more information on this, or if this has been researched in light of Book of Mormon times I would appreciate it.

[The Nehor]

I'm pretty sure the original one was Cain's.

[bjw]

I'm pretty sure the original one was Cain's.

This is an interesting thought because Rosicrucian scholar Max Heindel believed that the origin of the mystery schools (and all other forerunners of Freemasonry) was Cain, and that Cain's people were the working class or people of fire while Seth's people became the priesthood class or people of water. He believed the molten sea (laver sitting on the back of 12 oxen) was symbolic of water and fire, the two classes reconciling and mixing together. Today's masonic 3rd degree makes an allusion to Cain's lineage in one part, though I won't say it on here since it is oathbound material.

It makes you wonder which mystery school came up with the Dance of the Seven Veils, and how this aspect of the secret combination was used that inspired the daughter of Jared. If all religion comes from a common source, somewhere along the way it makes sense that a mystery school preserved this tradition.

[Sevenbak]

Since Ether was the author, he had to have a library to make a abridgment, similar to what Mormon did. I'm sure the Bro. of Jared brought sacred records with him too, like Lehi did. It's a logical pattern based on how the scriptures say records get preserved and handed down or transferred to righteous branches the Lord breaks off.

I'm also of the opinion that the "cavity of a rock" that Ether hid in to compile/write/ and witness the end of the Jaredite civilization was the same cave and "hall of records" that Joseph and Oliver went in upon completing the BoM translation. JMHO

[Bill Hamblin]

I suspect it has reference to the traditions related to the Cainites, the Nefilim/giants in Gen. 6, Nimrod, and the kings of the Tower.

[bjw]

Sorry I haven't replied in awhile, I've been pretty busy this week.

I had a question about Nibley's theory about this being the Dance of the Seven Veils. I read in the Wikipedia entry for Dance of the Seven Veils that the legend says that Ishtar danced to get out of imprisonment from the underworld and that she had to find someone to take her place, so she chose Tammuz. Here's the link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dance_of_the_Seven_Veils

It seems like quite a strained paralell, unless there is some other literature that associates stories such as the death of John the Baptist with the Dance of the Seven Veils. I know they made a movie with Rita Haworth that made the connection, but is Hollywood the only ones to connect the stories or are there other sources?

[Maidservant]

Also, I find it interesting that we have "Akish" in the BoM, and isn't "Kish" a word associated with Cain also in some traditions?

[JRM]

U dash kish dash kan...

isnt that close enough to jar the wonder bank?

[LeSellers]

Also, I find it interesting that we have "Akish" in the BoM, and isn't "Kish" a word associated with Cain also in some traditions?

We also have Kishkumen, also closely associated with the secret combinations that eventually brought the end of the house of Nephi.

3 But behold, Kishkumen, who had murdered Pahoran, did lay wait to destroy Helaman also; and he was upheld by his band, who had entered into a covenant that no one should know his wickedness. 4 For there was one Gadianton, who was exceedingly expert in many words, and also in his craft, to carry on the secret work of murder and of robbery; therefore he became the leader of the band of Kishkumen. 5 Therefore he did flatter them, and also Kishkumen, that if they would place him in the judgment-seat he would grant unto those who belonged to his band that they should be placed in power and authority among the people; therefore Kishkumen sought to destroy Helaman.

Lehi

[RhipSaw2]

I think the dance was just a means to an end. The BOM is clear that the purpose of the secret combinations were made to gain power and money...

Hel2

8] And when the servant of Helaman had known all the heart of Kishkumen, and how that it was his object to murder, and also that it was the object of all those who belonged to his band to murder, and to rob, and to gain power, (and this was their secret plan, and their combination)

An interesting thing about the name Kish though:

The name Kish comes from the verb (qosh) meaning lay bait, or lure. This verb occurs only once in the Bible (Isaiah 29:21), but according to BDB Theological Dictionary, it's the root of the common verb (yaqosh), meaning to set a snare or lay a trap.

Hel2

[3] But behold, Kishkumen, who had murdered Pahoran, did lay wait to destroy Helaman also

It seems the author is using a play on words with the kish in kishkumen. The phrase "lay wait to destroy" or even "lay wait'', for that matter, appears nowhere else in the BOM.

[zerinus]

We are told in the Book of Mormon that the content of the secret combinations were not to be written so that future generations should not know the oaths and plans and follow them the way the Gadianton Robbers did. However, it seems that in the Book of Ether we are given a clue as to their content:

In Ether 8:9 it says:

Now the daughter of Jared was exceedingly fair. And it came to pass that she did talk with her father, and said unto him: Whereby hath my father so much sorrow? Hath he not read the ^arecord‍ which our fathers brought across the great deep? Behold, is there not an ^baccount‍ concerning them of ^cold, that they by their ^dsecret‍ plans did obtain kingdoms and great glory?

The question is, what is this account, who are the people of old that used these secret plans to obtain kingdoms and great glory?

This verse goes on to describe the murder plot where the daughter of Jared dances for Akish to get him to kill the king, similar to how John the Baptist was beheaded by a similar plan. This chapter tells us that those involved had to swear by the God of Heaven, the heavens, the earth, and their heads to keep the plot to overthrow the government a secret.

I remember hearing on this forum before that Hugh Nibley compares this account with the story "Dance of the Seven Vails" where something similar to this happened, an allusion that this story has an ancient origin, and that this original story is what the daughter of Jared is referring to. So, could this story have been carried over to the new world by the Jaredites? Could this give us enough information to retrace what the secret combination was that was warned about in the Book of Mormon? Is this original secret combination the same one that had the original "Dance of the Seven Vails" story and possibly had the oaths that are described in Ether?

Its definitely something to think about. If anyone could point me in the right direction to more information on this, or if this has been researched in light of Book of Mormon times I would appreciate it.

I think you are looking way beyond the mark. The migration of the Jaredites took place shortly after the Flood. The "record" that the Jaredites had brought with them "across the great deep" refers to the scriptural record that Noah and his family must have preserved with them, belonging to the period before the Flood. Before the Flood we are told that Adam and his righteous posterity had kept a sacred record known as the "book of remembrance" (Moses 6:5, 46). The account that we have in Genesis and Book of Moses of the period before the Flood is an abridgement of that record, of which they had the complete version. In the Book of Moses (which is a more complete version of Genesis) it mentions that Cain was the originator of the "secret combinations" among men. He entered into a compact with Satan, which is how the "secret combinations" began (Moses 5:29-31, 49). The Jaredites had a more complete version of that scripture, which is where the daughter of Jared had obtained a knowledge of the "secret combinations" to instruct her father about them. This sacred record is mentioned in D&C 107:57, with the promise that the fullness of it will some day be revealed to the Church.

Edited October 17, 2011 by zerinus

[RhipSaw2]

The discussion from Nibley your looking for might have been The World of the Jaredites....it is cited in this essay about secret combinations:

http://books.google.com/books?id=XsvUc5sapjUC&pg=PA76&lpg=PA76&dq=hugh+nibley+secret+combinations&source=bl&ots=uvX5UT-5L5&sig=7Cf5iDRuwE0xwQDOftrIGN-_SeM&hl=en&ei=rHqbTtnFIqnpsQLmtN2yBA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9&sqi=2&ved=0CGUQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=hugh%20nibley%20secret%20combinations&f=false

[inquiringmind]

I think you are looking way beyond the mark.

What does looking "beyond the mark" mean?

[bjw]

The discussion from Nibley your looking for might have been The World of the Jaredites....it is cited in this essay about secret combinations:

http://books.google....nations&f=false

Thanks for the link.

[zerinus]

What does looking "beyond the mark" mean?

"Looking beyond the mark" is an expression found in the Book of Mormon (Jacob 4:14), and it means focusing on unlikely clues in the distant horizon, while missing the more obvious ones closer at home. Sermons have been preached about it in LDS literature, which you read here, here, and here. Elder Maxwell was fond of this metaphor, and often used it in his sermons. Here is a typical example.

[zerinus]

Double post.

Edited October 17, 2011 by zerinus