I was thinking about Ether’s prophecy that the Jaredite king Coriantumr would survive all his people and witness their entire destruction, and I realized it was a type of Christ. Except it is sort of a what-if type that reveals the eternal consequences of not repenting.

Ether requires the king to repent to save the whole kingdom, so it is as if the king is responsible for all the sins of his people.  We know personal responsibility is not like that, so it should tip us off that it is a type of how Christ was required to take all the sins of the world upon himself to save them from destruction.

In the Jaredite story, Coriantumr chooses to not repent, so everyone else ends up dead except for him, and this shows us that if Christ had not taken our sins upon him, He would be the only alive one and everyone else would be dead forever.  (That's where the what-if part comes in. It's a "What if Christ hadn't died for us?" type that shows us what would have happened.)

On the way to Jaredite destruction, there is another incident where Coriantumr’s enemy Shiz offers him a chance to save the people if he will only give up his own life. (Coriantumr again refuses.) The type represented in Shiz’s offer is a little more obvious.

I think the type in the Jaredite destruction helps increase our gratitude for the Atonement of Christ.

 

Thank goodness for it!