There is tragedy in this section of Jaredite history. Omer, the fifth descendant of the first Jared, saw a time of strife, bloodshed, and almost incredible wickedness. His reign was actually the beginning of the end.
Jared II was the son of Omer. Not satisfied with his position as a prince, he became possessed by an uncontrollable craving for more power and glory, and set about to dethrone his father. As a beginning he went to the Land of Heth. Here he began his agitation for followers and, by means of the contemptible tricks known to deceivers of the easy-going masses, including, no doubt, tom-toms, feasts, and above all, bold misstatements concerning the past and present and hypocritical promises for the future, he succeeded in securing fifty percent of the voters of the kingdom for his plans. People do forget that one who is a traitor to his own kin, cannot be trusted to be loyal to either God or anybody else.
Having secured a following, Jared now attacked his father with a military force. The king, unaware and unprepared, or perhaps unwilling to see his natural son slain, was captured and made a prisoner of war.
But the apparent success of Jared did not last. Two younger sons of Omer, Esrom and Coriantumr, raised an army, defeated Jared in battle and threatened to end his life. At this turn of his fortune, he proved himself a craven at heart, as tyrants generally are. He begged that his worthless life be spared. His pitiful pleas were granted, and their father, Omer, was again seated on the throne.
Jared was still a rebel. The advantages he possessed as a prince seemed to be insignificant when compared with his boundless ambitions. He became gloomy and morose, and, no doubt, made life miserable to his family.
Jared had a daughter who is described as exceedingly expert; that is, clever and well informed. Also, she was exceedingly fair, the Sacred Record informs us. When she learned the cause of her father's trouble, she made an astounding proposition. She suggested a banquet in honor of a friend named Akish. At that function, she said, she would dance and display her feminine charms. The guest of honor would, perhaps, be fascinated and would desire her for a wife. Jared could then ask for his father's head as the price of the bride.
Akish was an old friend of the house, perhaps a trusted confederate in the first rebellion. The expert daughter may have had a secret, tender, reason for her own villainous plot.
The preparations for the murder of Omer were carefully designed and very elaborate. Akish founded a secret society, the members of which were held together by contempt for, and repudiation of, all moral law and order, it being understood that they were at liberty to murder and rob, to lie and to welter in the malodorous pools of passion, while at the same time, they were bound by oath on the pain of death, not to reveal the crimes of their fellow-criminals. He, naturally, felt sure that the prospect of plunder in the royal house would, under the circumstances, appeal to these licensed assassins. Akish got the daughter for wife. Jared got the throne, but not his father's head.