Redaction: Here we have the only guaranteed words of Ether. Moroni very specifically introduces this statement as being written by Ether. This very introduction reinforces the fact that it would be Moroni’s retelling that would require that when a citation is made, that it should be noted. These words would have made a great impression upon Moroni. Compare them to Moroni’s words as he begins to complete his father’s record:
Mormon 8:5
5 Behold, my father hath made this record, and he hath written the intent thereof. And behold, I would write it also if I had room upon the plates, but I have not; and ore I have none, for I am alone. My father hath been slain in battle, and all my kinsfolk, and I have not friends nor whither to go; and how long the Lord will suffer that I may live I know not.
Both men are alone, and neither knows as they write how long they will be on the earth. We do not know why Moroni was the one to tell the story of the Jaredites and Ether’s record, but perhaps it was this very personal empathy of the surviving record keeper of the Nephites had for the surviving record keeper of the vanished Jaredites.
Textual: This is the end of the chapter and book of Ether.