Brother of Jared explained

In the Book of Mormon, the Brother of Jared is the most prominent person in the account given in the beginning (Chapters 1–6) of the Book of Ether. The Brother of Jared's name is not given in the text of the Book of Mormon but Joseph Smith stated in 1834 that it was Mahonri Moriancumer.

Name

In an 1835 letter Oliver Cowdery parenthetically gives the name of the brother of Jared as "Moriancumer,"^{[1] [2]} which appears in the Book of Ether in the Book of Mormon only as a place name. A later account describes an 1834 statement by Joseph Smith in which he said that the brother of Jared's name had been revealed to him as "Mahonri Moriancumer":

Etymologies have been proposed but remain largely speculative.^[3]

According to Daniel H. Ludlow, it is not clear why the name of the Brother of Jared does not appear in the Book of Mormon. However, the following are possible reasons:

• The Brother of Jared may have omitted his name out of modesty (John the Beloved did essentially the same thing in the Gospel of John, which he wrote).
• The Book of Ether is clearly a family record of Jared, not the Brother of Jared; Ether, the final writer and perhaps the abridger of the record, was a descendant of Jared and might naturally have emphasized the achievements of his direct ancestor rather than the brother of his ancestor.
• Moroni may have omitted the name in his abridgment because of difficulty in translating (or "transliterating") the name into the Nephite language.^[4]
• In the Roman practice of damnatio memoriae, names were intentionally removed from the record. Egyptian factions also wiped out names and statues of heretical rivals. In Ether 11:17–18, a direct descendant of the Brother of Jared, and rival king, is also not named.

See also

• List of names for the biblical nameless
• Mahonri Young, American sculptor named after the brother of Jared

Further reading

• Book: Valletta, Thomas R. . http://rsc.byu.edu/archived/book-mormon-fourth-nephi-through-moroni-zion-destruction/23-jared-and-his-brother . Jared and His Brother . 303–22 . Fourth Nephi, From Zion to Destruction . Nyman . Monte S. . Monte S. Nyman . Charles D. Jr. . Tate . Provo, Utah . . 1995 . 0884949745 . 32500560 .
• Book: Garrett, H. Dean . http://rsc.byu.edu/archived/book-mormon-fourth-nephi-through-moroni-zion-destruction/7-light-our-vessels-faith-hope-and . Light in Our Vessels: Faith, Hope, and Charity . 81–93 . Fourth Nephi, From Zion to Destruction . Nyman . Monte S. . Monte S. Nyman . Charles D. Jr. . Tate . Provo, Utah . . 1995 . 0884949745 . 32500560 .

External links

• Henry B. Eyring, "The Brother of Jared: An Expert at Learning", Ensign, July 1978
• Book of Mormon Seminary Student Study Guide (2000)
• Chapter 48, Book of Mormon Student Manual (1996)

Notes and References

1. Cowdery . Oliver . Oliver Cowdery . . . 1 . 7 . 112 . April 1835 . "the Lord showed the brother of Jared [Moriancumer] all things which were to transpire from that day to the end of the earth...".
2. Underwood . Grant . Grant Underwood . The Earliest Reference Guides to the Book of Mormon: Windows into the Past . . 1985 . 12 . 87–88 n.71 . 23285890.
3. https://onoma.lib.byu.edu/onoma/index.php/MORIANCUMER Moriancumer
4. [Daniel H. Ludlow]