The Jaredites are a people written of in the Book of Mormon, principally in the Book of Ether. In the Book of Ether, the Jaredites are described as the descendants of Jared and his brother, at the time of the Tower of Babel.

Summary of Book of Mormon narrative

Book of Ether

According to the Book of Mormon, the Jaredites are the descendants of Jared, his brother and their immediate family and friends. (Joseph Smith Jr. later identified the brother of Jared as Mahonri Moriancumer.) At the time of the Tower of Babel, when the tongues of all nations were confounded, the Lord acceded to the desires of Jared and his brother so that their language, as well as that of their families and friends, was not confounded, and they

According to the narrative, the people were guided by God through the wilderness, and were eventually directed to cross the sea in

Ether is the last in the royal line that began with one of the sons of Jared. From the time of the first king to the destruction of the Jaredites, there were only occasional times of peace and prosperity. These times of peace were interrupted by intrigue to the throne, civil war, and the accession of wicked kings. Thus the history of the Jaredites proved the fear of Jared and his brother that a monarchy would lead to captivity.

The Jaredites finally destroyed themselves about the time Lehi and the other refugees from Jerusalem arrived in America (see also , Lamanites, and ). A by Ether is fulfilled, and the last Jaredite king, Coriantumr, lives both to see the total destruction of his people and the arrival of another people to inherit the land.

Other references

Besides the Book of Ether history of the Jaredites, elsewhere in the Book of Mormon relates that Coriantumr was found by the Mulekites. The Nephites later discovered the Mulekites and taught them the Nephite language. The Mulekites

Jaredites as descendants of Ham

Some individual Mormons have suggested that the Jaredites may have been descendants of Ham, Noah's son who according to the Pearl of Great Price married Egyptus, a Canaanite woman. A number of studies by those within the Latter Day Saint movement have suggested the following evidence:

• The Jaredites had oaths "handed down even from Cain." (Ether 8:16) Some believe that this hints that they were part of the family of Cain.
• They came from the valley of Nimrod, who was a Hamite.
• There are no priesthood ordinations mentioned in the book, which hints that they may have been prevented from having the priesthood due to their heritage. Until 1978, those of black descent were generally prevented from holding the priesthood in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. See Curse and mark of Cain and Curse of Ham.
• Parley P. Pratt, one of the original Mormon Apostles, wrote that the genealogy of the Jaredites goes "back to Ham the son of Noah" (Pratt to Van Cott, LDS Church Archives)
• Many Jaredite names are supposedly Hamitic.
• Many Mormons believe that the Jaredites could be the Olmecs of Mesoamerica, due largely to similarities between archeological evidence and the recorded history of the Jaredites. It has been suggested that the Olmecs may have been of black African descent, because of the physiognomies on the ancient giant Olmec stone heads. However, this view is not accepted by most archaeologists.
• According to Carlos de Siguenza y Gonorra (1645-1700) there were ancient Mayan records that claimed that the original settlers of Mexico sailed there from the Tower of Babel (The Jaredites Were Black by David Grant Stewart, 1978, p.22)

This speculation has not been commented on by leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

See also

• Mahonri Moriancumer
• Book of Ether