# Ether 9

*Simple English*

### Akish Takes Over

I, Moroni, will continue with my record. Akish and his friends had secret plans. They took over Omer’s kingdom. But the Lord was kind to Omer and to his sons and daughters who did not want to kill him. The Lord warned Omer in a dream that he should leave the land. So Omer left with his family. They traveled many days. They passed by the hill of Shim. They passed by the place where the Nephites were destroyed. Then they went east. They came to a place called Ablom by the ocean. Omer put up his tent there. His sons and daughters and everyone in his house did too, except Jared and his family.

Then Jared was made king over the people by wicked men. He gave his daughter to Akish as his wife. Akish wanted to kill his father-in-law. He got help from those who had made the secret promises. They killed his father-in-law while he sat on his throne talking to his people. This wicked secret group had spread so much that it had made all the people evil. So Jared was killed on his throne. Akish became king.

### Akish Kills His Son

Akish became jealous of his son. So he put him in prison. He gave him very little food until he died. The brother of the son who died was named Nimrah. He was angry with his father for what he had done to his brother. Nimrah gathered a few men and ran away from the land. He came and lived with Omer.

### War Between Akish and His Sons

Akish had other sons. They won the hearts of the people even though they had promised to do all the evil things Akish wanted. The people of Akish wanted money, just like Akish wanted power. So Akish’s sons offered them money. This is how they got most of the people to follow them. A war started between Akish’s sons and Akish. It lasted many years. Almost all the people in the kingdom were killed. Only thirty people were left, plus those who ran away with Omer’s family. So Omer got his land back.

### Emer Becomes King

Omer got old. But in his old age he had a son named Emer. He made Emer king to rule in his place. After he made Emer king, there was peace in the land for two years. Then Omer died. He had lived many days that were full of sadness. Emer became king in his place and followed his father’s ways.

The Lord started to take the curse off the land. Emer’s family did very well when Emer was king. In sixty-two years, they became very strong and very rich. They had all kinds of fruit and grain and silks and fine cloth. They had gold and silver and precious things. They also had all kinds of cattle, oxen and cows and sheep and pigs and goats. They had many other kinds of animals that were good for food. They also had horses and donkeys. There were elephants and cureloms and cumoms. All of these were helpful to people, especially the elephants and cureloms and cumoms. This is how the Lord poured out his blessings on this land, which was the best land of all. He said that whoever owned the land should serve the Lord, or they would be destroyed when they became fully wicked. The Lord said: I will pour out my full anger on people like that.

### Kings After Emer

Emer made fair decisions all his days. He had many sons and daughters. He had a son named Coriantum. He made Coriantum king in his place. After he made Coriantum king, Emer lived four more years. He saw peace in the land. He even saw the Son of Righteousness. He was happy and celebrated in his day. He died in peace. Coriantum followed his father’s ways. He built many great cities. He gave his people good things all his days. He had no children until he was very old. His wife died when she was 102 years old. Coriantum married a young woman when he was old. He had sons and daughters. He lived to be 142 years old. He had a son named Com. Com became king in his place. He was king for forty-nine years. He had a son named Heth. He also had other sons and daughters.

### Heth’s Evil Rule

The people had spread across the whole land again. There was very great evil in the land again. Heth started to use the old secret plans to kill his father. He took his father off the throne by killing him with his own sword. Then he became king.

Prophets came to the land again. They told the people to turn from their sins. They said the people must get ready for the Lord, or a curse would come on the land. There would be a great time with no food. They would be destroyed if they did not turn from their sins. But the people did not believe the prophets. They sent them away. They threw some of them into pits and left them to die. They did all these things because King Heth told them to.

### The Great Famine

There was a great lack of food in the land. The people started to die very fast because there was no food. There was no rain on the earth. Poisonous snakes came on the land and killed many people. Their animals ran away from the snakes toward the land to the south, which the Nephites called Zarahemla. Many of the animals died on the way. But some made it to the land to the south. The Lord made the snakes stop chasing them. Instead, the snakes blocked the way so the people could not pass. Anyone who tried to pass would die from the poisonous snakes. The people followed the animals. They ate the dead bodies of animals that died on the way until they had eaten them all. When the people saw that they would die, they started to turn from their sins and cry to the Lord. When they had humbled themselves enough before the Lord, the Lord sent rain on the earth. The people started to get better. Fruit started to grow in the north and in all the lands around. The Lord showed his power to them by keeping them from dying of hunger.

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*Source: [The Book of Mormon](https://bookofmormon.com/simple/ether/9)*
