In the tumultuous period leading to the end of the Jaredite civilization, the high priest plays a notable, albeit brief, role within the political machinations and incessant bloodshed that typified the era. His exact name, origins, and the length of his service are not preserved in the records. However, his actions marked a significant moment in the Jaredite narrative. Appointed under the warrior Gilead, who had seized the throne from King Coriantumr, the high priest engaged in the prevalent secret combinations that were undermining the moral fabric of Jaredite society. These secret combinations, a system of oaths and covenants designed to protect their participants in their iniquities, usurpations, and power struggles, were particularly rife among the ruling classes of the Jaredites, contributing to their eventual downfall.
The high priest’s tenure came to a violent end when he murdered Gilead while he occupied the throne, an act emblematic of the chaotic state of leadership and the cyclical vengeance that defined the times (Ether 14:9). In a poetic twist of fate emblematic of the treacherous culture in which he lived, the high priest himself was then slain in a secret pass by Lib, another member of the compacts who would go on to assert control over the kingdom (Ether 14:10). This oscillation of power through bloodshed illustrates the level to which the Jaredite society had fallen, eventually leading to its total destruction as prophesied by Ether, a prophet and final record keeper of the Jaredites.