Allegory of Jaredites by Eleazar, December 2006

Jaredites are named after Jared in the same way the Nephites are named after Nephi. Appropriately, Jaredites and Nephites are said to no longer exist on this land and that the people who remain are remnants of the Lamanites. This is a metaphor. Who are we? Allegorically, we are the Lamanites. Yet at the same time, we are also the Jaredites and the Nephites. Passing away is a symbol for our spiritual death. These symbols convey our state as a spiritually dead people. At the same time, there is a promise which is recorded in the preface to the Book of Mormon, message written unto the Lamanites (us). The message is that we can emerge from our state of spiritual corruption by remembering who we are.

It might be noticed that Jared came forth from the tower (of Babel) and supposedly traveled to a promised land. Did it really happen? No, it didn't happen for the same reason that Nephites didn't get to the promised land. Some of the nuances in those last sentences are intended. Allegorically speaking, Jared and his families never made it; it didn't happen. We might say that the Jaredites (and Nephites) are us. We are those who don't understand. 

The allegory about leaving the Tower embodies the same meaning with the allegory of Lehi leaving his worldly riches behind in corrupt Jerusalem. These metaphors are personally relevant to us in the present time and place. The Jaredites represent us in our failure to see (understand) what it's about. Rather than give up our carnal and worldly being, we mistakenly believe that the story of Jared applies to someone else. We fail to see ourselves in the world that is about us. 

When Jared became afraid that their language would be confounded, he went to his brother, a man, to ask God on his behalf to not confound their language. That's and interesting scenario, isn't it? Speaking through an intermediary, and intercessory or go between, almost always results in confusion, does it? We, as devout Mormons, do the same as Jared because we are not only Mormons, but Jaredites as well as Lehites, Nephites, Lamanites, and Israelites. We revere our brother as our intercessory to God. Joseph Smith, Gordon B. Hinckley, or Moses, it doesn't matter who it is. To lessen confusion in our minds, we Jaredites might call of them by single name: "Brother of Jared".

MISSING THE BOAT

There is an important theme that emerges in the allegory-parable of Jaredites that might be worth mentioning, so we will do it here. The Jaredites build barges and travel upon their way to the (supposed) promised land where they set up camp (Ether 2:6). They mistakenly think they have arrived at the promised land (Ether 2:13), evidenced by their failure to continually call upon God (v. 14). What are they to do? They are to build more barges and cross another sea (v. 16). But, then after they arrive at the new place, what do they (Jaredites) do? They stay there and die there. The question that remains is if there are another sea for the Jaredites to cross.

Interestingly, Mormon, who is writing this narrative, proclaims that the Lord would not suffer that the Jaredites should stop beyond the sea in the wilderness (Ether 2:7). We might notice that stopping beyond the sea is exactly what the Jaredites did (cf. Ether 2:13). That is what we do, for this is about us. Stopped beyond the sea is where we are now, living in the (allegorical) wilderness. Metaphorically speaking, we have not yet arrived at the promised land we yearn for, yet never seem to find. These parables tell why it's so. We have been searching for the wrong things in the wrong places and trying to be perfectly obedient to laws that we don't comprehend. 

This narrative has, at best, only provide a briefest of glimpses into allegories of the Jaredites. But now you may be able to go back and look at these Book of Mormon stories again with newer perspectives.

Eventually, we will learn how re-examining the scriptures is missing another boat, so to speak. To find what is meant, we must go beyond the symbol which means going beyond the scriptures to find what it is that they represent. 

End.

This is a really brief video with just a handful of Jaredite names used today. The information comes from a larger scholarly writing from AAF called "118 Jaredite names used today". Between this and the last few short videos (see Unpopular LDS Evidence) the word "coincidence" is just not going to cut it when comparing the Jaredites to the Olmec (pure speculation/not proven). What's also not going to cut it when talking about Joseph Smith and "lucky guesses". How many lucky guesses and coincidences does it take to rule out lucky guesses and coincidences??

Click here if video doesn't work: Jaredite Names