| Part of a series on the |
| Book of Mormon |
|---|
 |
In the Book of Mormon, Shiz ( /ʃɪz/ [1] ) is a Jaredite military leader who was beheaded by Coriantumr. Since the nineteenth century, the account of Shiz's death in the Book of Ether has been claimed by critics to be an error in the Book of Mormon. [2] However, a Mormon Apologist neuropathologist has argued that the statement is physiologically accurate. [3]
An army led by Shiz (the brother of Lib) pursued an army led by Coriantumr, in the process destroying many cities and killing all their inhabitants. The struggle between the two armies became so protracted "that the whole face of the land was covered with the bodies of the dead." [4] Nevertheless, Shiz continued to fight, having sworn to avenge the death of his brother. Shiz pursued Coriantumr to the seashore where their troops fought a three-day battle. Coriantumr's troops twice defeated the troops of Shiz, but in the third encounter, Shiz wounded Coriantumr severely, giving him many deep wounds. Coriantumr was "carried away as though he were dead," but Shiz had lost so many people that he ordered his army not to pursue the rival army. [5]
After two million of Coriantumr's people had been killed, Coriantumr offered his throne to Shiz in exchange for peace. Shiz responded that he would only stop the bloodshed if Coriantumr allowed Shiz to kill him. The two sides attacked each other once again, and the final battle was fought at the hill Ramah (Cumorah), [6] where every Jaredite joined in the battle except for the prophet Ether. The people fought each other many days with neither side prevailing. [7] In the end all the Jaredites were killed except for Coriantumr and Shiz. Shiz fainted from the loss of blood, and Coriantumr cut off his head. [8]
The Book of Mormon concludes the story of Shiz's death at the hands of Coriantumr with the words: "And it came to pass that after he [Coriantumr] had smitten off the head of Shiz, that Shiz raised up on his hands and fell; and after that he had struggled for breath, he died." [9]
Concerning the description of Shiz's death, the Mormon Foundation for Apologetic Information & Research argues that, based on modern neuroanatomy, the account of Shiz's death is actually "a realistic touch" and represents "a phenomenon that went unrecognized in the medical literature of the modern era until 1898. It is one more mark of the Book of Mormon's status as genuine history." [10]
When Shiz's head was cut off, he propped himself up and struggled before falling limp; Gary M. Hadfield, a Latter-day Saint professor of neuropathology at Brigham Young University, publishing in a Mormon Apologist journal, concludes that this is because Coriantumr probably did not cut his head clean off, leading to a contraction of the nerves. This would have caused his body to move, even after he was dead. [11] Protestant John Thomas points out that the circumstance of two beheadings in the Book of Ether, one at the beginning and one at the end, is a literary device called an inclusio. [12]
The Book of Ether is one of the books of the Book of Mormon. It describes the Jaredites, descendants of Jared and his companions, who were led by God to the Americas shortly after the confusion of tongues and the destruction of the Tower of Babel. Ether consists of fifteen chapters.
According to most adherents of the Latter Day Saint movement, the Book of Mormon is a 19th-century translation of a record of ancient inhabitants of the American continent, which was written in a script which the book refers to as "reformed Egyptian". This claim, as well as all claims to historical authenticity of the Book of Mormon, are rejected by non-Latter Day Saint historians and scientists. Linguistically based assertions are frequently cited and discussed in the context of the subject of the Book of Mormon, both in favor of and against the book's claimed origins.
The Jaredites are one of four peoples that the Latter-day Saints believe settled in ancient America.
Cumorah is a drumlin in Palmyra, New York, United States, where Joseph Smith said he found a set of golden plates which he translated into English and published as the Book of Mormon.
According to the beliefs of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Zarahemla refers to a large city in the ancient Americas which is described in the Book of Mormon. Archaeologists and historians have not been able to archaeologically verify a location for any such city.
According to the Book of Mormon, King Benjamin, son of King Mosiah the first, was the second Nephite king to rule over Zarahemla. An account of his life and teachings are recorded in both the Words of Mormon and the Book of Mosiah. He was considered a king and a prophet, and was the spiritual and governmental leader of his people. He is believed to have been born roughly 190 BC.
In the Book of Mormon, the Brother of Jared is the most prominent person in the account given in the beginning 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.
Mulek, according to the Book of Mormon, was the only surviving son of Zedekiah, the last King of Judah, after the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem. The Book of Mormon states that after escaping from Judah, Mulek traveled to the Americas and established a civilization there.
According to the Book of Mormon, Ether is a Jaredite prophet, one of the last surviving Jaredites, and primary author of the Book of Ether.
In the Book of Ether in the Book of Mormon, Jared was the primary ancestor of the Jaredites. He is not to be confused with another Jared, a later Jaredite king who dethroned his father, Omer.
Moroni, according to the Book of Mormon, was the last Nephite prophet, historian, and military commander who lived in the Americas in the late fourth and early fifth centuries. He is later known as the Angel Moroni, who presented the golden plates to Joseph Smith, who translated the plates upon which the Book of Mormon was originally written.
Mormons have experienced significant instances of violence throughout their history as a religious group. In the early history of the United States, violence was used as a form of control. Mormons faced persecution and forceful expulsion from several locations. They were driven from Ohio to Missouri, and from Missouri to Illinois. Eventually, they settled in the Utah Territory. These migrations were often accompanied by acts of violence, including massacres, home burnings, and pillaging.
Moron is the name of a location and a king in the Book of Ether in the Book of Mormon. They are both connected with the Jaredite people.
Jaredite kings are a series of monarchs described in the Book of Mormon, comprising chapters 6:22-15 of the Book of Ether. As death was approaching Jared and his brother, gathered together the Jaredite people to ask them what they desired of them before they died. The people then requested that they anoint one of their sons as king. This was grievous to them, and the brother of Jared remarked that "surely this thing leadeth into captivity." Despite his brother's misgivings, Jared pressed him to allow the establishment of a Jaredite kingship at which suggestion the brother of Jared yielded.
According to the Book of Mormon, the Jaredites are a people who lived in ancient America shortly after the confounding of the languages at the Tower of Babel and are written of principally in the Book of Ether. The Lineage of the Ether is written in The Book of Ether, chapter 1 verses 6-33. Most individuals are only briefly mentioned in the narrative of the Book of Ether. Each is notable in that he is a descendant of Jared, an ancestor to Ether, and most were also Kings of the Jaredites.
Coriantumr (/ˌkɒriˈæntəmər/) son of Omer is a Jaredite prince and one of three Coriantumrs mentioned in the Book of Mormon. His account is found in chapter 8 of the Book of Ether. The account tells the story of how Coriantumr and his brother rescue their father, Omer, from captivity and restore the throne. They then show mercy toward the brother who brought Omer into captivity.
In the book of Ether found in the Book of Mormon, King Coriantumr (/ˌkɒriˈæntəmər/) was the last Jaredite along with the prophet Ether. He and his family lived wickedly, rejecting Ether's invitation to change their ways. Over the course of his reign, many people try to take the kingdom from Coriantumr. In an effort to preserve his kingship, he wages war with the men who desire his sovereign position, including Shiz. The two men participate in a great last battle with their armies at the Hill Ramah, where Coriantumr decapitates his enemy. With the armies annihilated and only two Jaredites left alive, himself included, Coriantumr wanders through the land and is discovered by the people of Zarahemla, who are a remnant of the Mulekites. He lives the rest of his life in Zarahemla, dying shortly thereafter.
According to the Book of Mormon, Coriantumr (/ˌkɒriˈæntəmər/) was a Nephite dissenter and Lamanite captain. Coriantumr led the Lamanite armies against the Nephites in an attempt to conquer the land. He was countered by Moronihah and Lehi, eventually dying in battle.