The Book of Mormon

Ether 10

Shez Rebuilds the People

Shez was a descendant of Heth. Heth and all his family had died in the famine except for Shez. So Shez started to rebuild his broken people. Shez remembered how his fathers had been destroyed. He built up a good kingdom. He remembered what the Lord had done to bring Jared and his brother across the ocean. He followed the Lord’s ways. He had sons and daughters. His oldest son’s name was Shez. He rebelled against his father. But Shez was killed by a robber because of his great riches. This brought peace back to his father. His father built many cities on the land. The people began to spread over all the land again. Shez lived to be very old. He had a son named Riplakish. Then he died. Riplakish became king after him.

The Evil King Riplakish

Riplakish did not do what was right in the Lord’s sight. He had many wives and concubines. He put heavy burdens on the people. He made them pay high taxes. With the taxes he built many large buildings. He built a beautiful throne for himself. He built many prisons. If people would not pay taxes, he put them in prison. If people could not pay taxes, he put them in prison. He made them work all the time to support themselves. If anyone refused to work, he had them killed. This is how he got all his fancy work done. He had his fine gold made in prison. He had all kinds of fancy things made in prison. He hurt the people with his sexual sins and wrong behavior. He ruled for forty-two years. Then the people rose up against him. War started again in the land. Riplakish was killed. His family was forced out of the land.

Morianton Takes Control

Many years later, Morianton was a descendant of Riplakish. He gathered an army of outcasts. He went and fought against the people. He took control of many cities. The war was very bad. It lasted for many years. He took control of all the land. He made himself king over all the land. After he made himself king, he took the heavy burdens off the people. The people liked him for this. They chose him to be their king. He was fair to the people. But he was not fair to himself because of his sexual sins. So he was cut off from being with the Lord. Morianton built many cities. The people became very rich while he ruled. They had many buildings. They had gold and silver. They grew lots of grain. They had many animals.

Kim and His Family

Morianton lived to be very old. Then he had a son named Kim. Kim became king after his father. He ruled for eight years. Then his father died. Kim did not rule the right way. So the Lord did not help him. Kim’s brother turned against him. The brother took Kim prisoner. Kim stayed in prison all his life. He had sons and daughters while he was in prison. When he was old, he had a son named Levi. Then he died. Levi was a prisoner for forty-two years after his father died. He made war against the king of the land. He won and became king himself. After he became king, he did what was right in the Lord’s sight. The people did well in the land. He lived to be very old. He had sons and daughters. He also had a son named Corom. He chose Corom to be king after him. Corom did what was good in the Lord’s sight all his life. He had many sons and daughters. After he had lived many days, he died. Kish became king after him. Kish also died. Lib became king after him.

The Successful Kingdom of Lib

Lib also did what was good in the Lord’s sight. In Lib’s days, the poisonous snakes were destroyed. So the people went to the land to the south to hunt for food. The land was covered with wild animals. Lib himself became a great hunter. They built a great city by the narrow neck of land. This was by the place where the sea divides the land. They kept the land to the south as wilderness to hunt animals. The whole land to the north was covered with people.

They worked very hard. They bought and sold things. They traded with each other to make money. They worked with all kinds of ore. They made gold, silver, iron, brass, and all kinds of metals. They dug them out of the earth. So they dug up big piles of earth to get ore of gold, silver, iron, and copper. They did all kinds of fancy work. They had silks and fine linen. They made all kinds of cloth so they could wear clothes. They made all kinds of tools to work the earth. They made tools to plow and to plant seeds, to harvest and to hoe, and to thresh. They made all kinds of tools to work with their animals. They made all kinds of war weapons. They did all kinds of very skilled work. No people could ever be more blessed than they were. The Lord helped them do well. They were in a land that was the best of all lands. The Lord had said so. Lib lived many years. He had sons and daughters. He also had a son named Hearthom.

Hearthom and the Captive Kings

Hearthom became king after his father. After Hearthom had ruled for twenty-four years, the kingdom was taken from him. He was a prisoner for many years. He stayed a prisoner for the rest of his life. He had a son named Heth. Heth lived as a prisoner all his life. Heth had a son named Aaron. Aaron lived as a prisoner all his life. Aaron had a son named Amnigaddah. Amnigaddah lived as a prisoner all his life. Amnigaddah had a son named Coriantum. Coriantum lived as a prisoner all his life. Coriantum had a son named Com.

Com Fights for the Kingdom

Com took away half of the kingdom. He ruled over half the kingdom for forty-two years. Then he went to battle against King Amgid. They fought for many years. Com won power over Amgid. He took control of the rest of the kingdom. When Com was king, robbers started coming to the land. They used the old plans. They made oaths like the people long ago. They tried to destroy the kingdom again. Com fought against them a lot. But he did not win against them.