Theorists’ View of Where the Mulekites Settled – Part II

In an article that appeared on the Maxwell Institute website (the first paragraph was covered in the last post), the following statement appears:

“Further, the Mulek group discovered the final Jaredite ruler, Coriantumr1, shortly after the Jaredites’ final struggle, and that had to have taken place near the east sea (see Omni 1:21; Ether 9:3).”

First of all, there is no mention of, or reference to, the “east sea” in Omni 1:21. And the passage in Ether 9:3, states that eastward of the Hill Shim “where the Nephites were destroyed.” How far eastward we are not told, for the passage reads: “and from thence eastward, and came to a place which was called, Ablom, by the seashore.” All this verse states is that the place called Ablom was by the seashore—not the Hill Shim. And that Ablom was to the east of the Hill Shim.

This hill Shim was in the Land of Antum and the location where Ammaron deposited the plates later obtained by Mormon. Moroni tells us that the Jaredite king Omer passed by the hill of Shim with his family on his way to Ablom, implying that the hill was near where the Nephites were destroyed.

However, even if we want to place the Hill Shim near the east sea, that has nothing to do with Coriantumr, nor the final battle of the Jaredites, for that took place near the Hill Ramah, in a place called Ogath, which was the same as the Hill Cumorah to the Nephites (Ether 15:10-11). Thus, the Jaredites fought their civil war around the Hill Ramah until only a few were left, then the remnant of Coriantumr’s army fled and were overtaken after a day (Ether 15:28-29), and the final battle ended with Coriantumr killing Shiz (15:30).

Now the location of where Coriantumr killed Shiz was about a day’s fast march in some direction from the Hill Ramah. We might assume southward, since just before this last battle, they were fighting near the waters of Ripliancum, which would be far to the north.

So even though Coriantumr fell seriously wounded (Ether 15:32), he obviously recovered, for we know that he lived at least nine months beyond this battle (Omni 1:21). To further evaluate this time frame, let us consider that Ether was commanded by the Lord to prophesy to Coriantumr just after the first year of the civil war that if he did not repent, he and all his people would be destroyed “and he should only live to see the fulfilling of the prophecies which had been spoken concerning another people receiving the land for their inheritance and Coriantumr should receive a burial by them” (Ether 13:21).

It is possible, of course, that these two events, Coriantumr’s survival in the final battle and his discovery by the people of Zarahemla, happened close together; however, it is more likely that Coriantumr was meant to suffer, wandering his land and seeing “every soul should be destroyed save it were Coriantumr” (Ether 13:21). This might have been a short time, or a long time—we simply do not know. But Coriantumr wandering his land and seeing that all were destroyed except for him, then wandering southward into the Land Southward to see there were no Jaredites anywhere, makes a lot more sense for in this wandering it would have been hammered home again and again that Ether had been correct, and the Lord had warned him and Coriantumr had failed to listen.

In any event, since Amaleki tells us that the Mulek party landed where Mosiah found them and that they had always dwelt there, it seems likely that Coriantumr indeed wandered into the Land Southward toward Zarahemla and eventually was discovered by the people of Zarahemla (Ether 1:21) where he lived for nine months, died, and was buried by them as prophesied, and that the Lord’s judgments were just (Omni 1:22).

(See the next post, “Theorists’ View of Where the Mulekites Settled – Part III,” showing where Mulek landed and how inaccurate it is to claim they landed in the Land Northward and eventually migrated to Zarahemla)