In the thirteenth chapter of the book of Ether, Moroni records a prophecy of Ether concerning the Jerusalems in both the Old World and the New World. This prophecy covers from verse 4 to verse 12, and among other things, tells the reader that "a New Jerusalem should be built upon this land [of the New World], unto the remnant of the seed of Joseph, for which things there has been a type" (Ether 13:6).
According to Verneil Simmons, this prophetic message is especially interesting, for Ether was not of the house of Israel and had no part in the heritage received through Abraham, father of the Hebrews. His priesthood lineage stemmed from an earlier time than Abraham's. It is apparent that Ether had access to a record brought from the Old World by his ancestor, Jared. Is it possible to identify this record? And does possession of this record have any relation to the house of Israel?
In the Inspired Version of the Bible we find this story:
And then began these men [Adam, Seth, Enos] to call upon the name of the Lord; and the Lord blessed them; and a book of remembrance was kept in the which was recorded in the language of Adam, for it was given unto as many as called upon God, to write by the Spirit of inspiration; and by them their children were taught to read and write, having a language which was pure and undefiled . . . . And a genealogy was kept of the children of God (Genesis 6:5-9,see also Genesis 6;47, I.V.)
What these men received by inspiration was to be written and taught to their children and we find Enoch, then Noah, prophesying, preaching the gospel, and teaching all things from the beginning. This period of time from Adam to Noah, covered at least ten generations, and we know that keeping a record was a necessity. Presumably the record passed from Noah into Shem's line. From there we can only guess who took charge of it. Usually, the birthright of the eldest son entitled him to keep the "family tree" or genealogical records; however, the Bible gives us a genealogy line from Noah to Abraham through Shem's fourth son, Arphaxad (see illustration).
It is interesting to note that the original book of remembrance had apparently disappeared before the day of Moses, for the Lord instructed Moses to make another account, beginning with Adam on down, from the revelations which He gave him.
Some record containing information very similar to what we would expect to find in the original book of remembrance came with Jared's colony (Ether 1:3). Due to the age of this record, we would expect it to have been inscribed on metal plates. If Jared's people were really the last to keep their language "undefiled" at the time of the "great tower," then they alone could continue to read the record. Did the original book of remembrance come with the brother of Jared to the New World? [Verneil W. Simmons, Peoples, Places and Prophecies, pp. 48, 51-52] [See the commentary on Ether 1:3; 2:1]
Ether 13:5 Ether spake concerning the house of Israel ([Illustration]): Chart #2: The Genealogy of Shem. [Verneil Simmons, Peoples, Places and Prophecies, p. 51]
Ether 13:5 After Jerusalem should be destroyed it should be built up again, a holy city ([Illustration]): Jerusalem. Ether prophesied that after Jerusalem would be destroyed it would "be built up again, and become a holy city of the Lord." Artist: Robert T. Barrett. [Thomas R. Valletta ed., The Book of Mormon for Latter-day Saint Families, 1999, p. 639]