On the Neal A.
Maxwell website, which is the locatio for the FARMS group and their articles
about Mesoamerica, an interesting set of comments are made regarding the
Jaredite barges.
Randall P. Spackman
wrote the following: “In Ether 6:10 it
states that in the Jaredite travels across the great sea, “no monster of the
sea could break them, neither whale that could mar them.” This brief statement
when combined with what is known about storms at sea, suggests that there were
times when the Jaredites could remain on deck and view the sea life that
surrounded them. The Jaredite record points to the most frightening meetings
between men and these huge creatures, when vessels and leviathans encounter
each other close up and occasionally collide.”
From this, it seems
that either Spackman is writing fiction, or he has a different Book of Ether
than I do, for in my scriptural account, Ether tells us “And it came to pass
that they were many times, buried in the depths of the sea, because of the
mountain waves which broke upon them, and also the great and terrible tempests
which were caused by the fierceness of the wind” (Ether 6:6).
Now buried in the sea should suggest they
were not on the surface. In fact the 1828 American
Dictionary of the English Language, defines buried as “being placed under
the earth or under the water,” and “cover with water.” Ether continues: “And it
came to pass that when they were buried in the deep there was no water that
could hurt them, their vessels being tight like unto a dish” (Ether 6:7). So
when they were buried in the water, their vessel did not leak, which should suggest
something like a vessel that was submersible, i.e., meant to go under water. To
better understand this, we turn to “buried in baptism,” and since
we are buried with Christ in baptism (Romans 6:4; Colossians 2:12), President
Lorenzo Snow said, “It is plenty evident that they could not have been buried
by baptism without having been entirely overwhelmed or covered in water. An
object cannot said to be buried when any portion of it remains uncovered; so,
also, a man is not buried in water by baptism unless his whole person is put
into the watery element.” (Teachings of
the Presidents of the Church - Lorenzo Snow, published by the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2012)
Similar to a modern submarine then, the Jaredite barges
could move both beneath the water and on the surface. To make sure we
understand that, Ether adds, “And thus they were driven forth; and no monster
of the sea could break them, neither whale that could mar them; and they did
have light continually, whether it was above the water or under the water”
(Ether 6:10). Again, under the water should suggest to everyone that they were
under, that is, beneath the water. In the 1828 dictionary, under is defined as
“beneath, below, so as to have something over or above, as in under water.”
Now, when the vessel
was beneath the water, no deep-sea creature or whale could injure them. Sperm,
beaked and bottlenose whales spend about two hours underwater at a time. The
Guinness Book of Records has a sperm whale on 25th of August 1969 in
a record dive for one hour and 52 minutes, but whales are diving all the time
in the ocean without someone around to time them. According to Woods Hole
Oceanographic Institution Oceanus,
whales spend about 95% of their time under the water.
As for monsters of
the sea, the only thing in modern marine life known to be so categorized would
be a giant squid (Architeuthis dux),
which is the world’s largest invertebrate, average between 20 and 40 feet in
length, with the largest ever recorded at 60 feet and weighing nearly a ton.
These squid live in the sea between 700 and 3000 feet deep, where they are the
prey of the deep-diving sperm whale. Though giant squid have washed ashore in
all parts of the world, one has never been seen in its natural environment,
despite many expeditions designed to do so.
Whether this is the “monster of the sea”
referred to in Ether is not known, but if it is, surely its size could prove a
problem for any wooden submersible of that time. There are in history
recordings of whales attacking sailing ships, with Moche Dick, a large white whale that inspired the story Moby Dick, in the forefront, having
supposedly destroyed some 20 ships off the Chilean coast near Moche Island, and
survived 100 other whaling vessels over a 28-year span. Another huge sperm
whale is claimed to have destroyed the ship Essex in 1820, two thousand miles
west of South America. In addition, there have been 58 deadly collisions between
whales and ships from the late 1800s onward, based on whales washed up on
shores as recorded in newspaper
clippings, early stranding records, and scientific publications.
The point
is, the Lord was reassuring the Jaredites that despite their possible fears, He
would not allow any sea creature or whale from injuring the barges, especially
when they were submerged. Though it is not mentioned, it might be assumed that
the Jaredites were quite concerned about such a possibility since it was worthy
of note in the record. However, the imaginative writing of Spackman “The
Jaredite record points to the most frightening meetings between men and these
huge creatures, when vessels and leviathans encounter each other close up and
occasionally collide” is unfounded based on the record of Ether, and not worthy
of scholarly work. That the Jaredites encountered, or even saw, whales or sea
monsters is speculation of the worst kind. In fact, we have no idea if the
Jaredite barges allowed for any deck or access to the outside during their
entire 344-day journey for none is mentioned. Ether tells us when the only
opening, a door, was shut, it was sealed tight like unto a dish (Ether 2:17)
and may not have been opened during the entire voyage, like that of Noah’s Ark,
which door was not opened for a year.
It might also be suggested that if
Spackman wants to write a fictitious adventure that he do so, and not couch his
writing in academic terms and cite the Book of Mormon as his basis, but label
it what it is, a novel.
As for the light, they
had light, both when under the water and above it because of the stones the
Lord touched (Ether 3:6; 6:3). And as for being under the water, Ether wrote:
“Ye shall be as a whale in the midst of the sea; for the mountain waves shall
dash upon you. Nevertheless, I will bring you up again out of the depths of the
sea” (Ether 2:24). Since whales spend about 95% of their time submerged in the
ocean depths, it seems likely that the Jaredite barges spent some time beneath
the surface, but the Lord promised the Brother of Jared that the barges would
be brought back to the surface from time to time. As Ether said, “when they
were encompassed about by many waters they did cry unto the Lord, and he did
bring them forth again upon the top of the waters.” There seems little doubt
that these eight Jaredite barges were like submarines, capable of moving
beneath the surface and on the surface of the ocean. In fact, one of the many
definitions of barge is “bark, a ship,” and another is “a pleasure boat,” or
“boat of state.” But most typically defined as a “flat-bottomed vessel used for
loading and unloading ships, or for transporting freight.” It can also be
defined as “any vessel, especially an old, or clumsy one.” Interestingly, one
of the definitions of a barge is a submarine.
(See the next post, “Another
Look at the Jaredite Barges Part II,” for more understanding of what the
Jaredite barges were like, and how they differ from most of the Theorists
claims)
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