Prophets warned that a “great famine” would come if the people did not repent. However, Heth himself encouraged the people to reject the prophets, instead persecuting them and casting them out. As predicted, “there began to be a great dearth upon the land … for there was no rain upon the face of the earth.” In the midst of the great famine, an interesting series of events followed. First, the land was infested by “poisonous serpents,” which “did poison many people.” Next, “flocks began to flee” southward, and the serpents followed the flocks (Ether 9:31). The serpents then stopped pursuing the flocks and “hedge[d] up the way,” preventing people from passing into the land southward (Ether 9:33).
As strange as this series of events may seem, the details are ecologically sound. In times of drought, snakes will often migrate to populated areas in search of water or prey. As the population of snakes increases, and if the snakes are venomous, there is greater likelihood that people will be bitten and poisoned by the snakes. If the drought does not subside, the snakes, as well as other animals, will continue to migrate in search of water. In addition, animals will migrate to escape the infestation of the snakes and also the drought, with some perishing as they flee (Ether 9:32). This could explain what Ether referred to as the flocks “flee[ing] before the poisonous serpents” (Ether 9:31).
Ether’s record states that when the people had eventually suffered enough to repent and the famine ceased, the serpents were no longer a threat. This is likely the result of two things. First, as rain showered on the land (Ether 9:35), snakes and other animals would return to their natural habitats and populations would be more evenly distributed. Second, eventually the bird populations would recover and begin to regulate snake populations, reducing them to normal levels. Thus, the serpents would no longer pose a barrier to the land southward.
Once again, we see that what may, at first glance, appear to be an unbelievable description of events in the Book of Mormon, actually contains truth when investigated further. This narrative can also be used as a parable, showing that real repentance can end a spiritual famine and tear down the barriers that keep us from returning to the Lord. There is no barrier so great that the Atonement cannot overcome.
Book of Mormon Central, “Why Did Snakes Infest Jaredite Lands During a Famine? (Ether 9:31),” KnoWhy 243 (December 1, 2016).
Jerry D. Grover Jr., Geology of the Book of Mormon (Vineyard, UT: Grover Publications, 2014), 206–210.
Brant A. Gardner, Second Witness: Analytical and Contextual Commentary on the Book of Mormon, 6 vols. (Salt Lake City, UT: Greg Kofford Books, 2007), 6:265–267.
John A. Tvedtnes, “Notes and Communications—Drought and Serpents,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 6, no. 1 (1997): 70–72; republished as “Drought and Serpents,” in Pressing Forward with the Book of Mormon: The FARMS Updates of the 1990s, ed. John W. Welch and Melvin J. Thorne (Provo, UT: FARMS, 1999), 262–265.