Page 13 - Insights Into The Scriptures - The Jaredites

seem like someone who has lost his grip on reality. He is in the midst of a
huge city, surrounded by thousands, if not millions, of people. Just below
the balcony on which he stands is the emperor's army. This does not sound
to us like what he describes, fallen walls and cities. But to Shan Yu, with
the emperor standing before him as a prisoner, the statement is very real. If
Shan Yu controls the emperor, he controls China.

Mulan Concept 4
Bow in Captivity or Die

Shan Yu, holding the emperor as his prisoner, now commands the
emperor to bow to him. Every indication is that if the emperor bows, his
life will be spared, and he will be Shan Yu's captive. In this situation, if
the emperor does bow and is put in captivity, the people will submit to the
authority of Shan Yu.
However, the emperor refuses to bow. It is at this point that Shan
Yu is going to kill the emperor. Through the movie, Shan Yu shows total
disregard for the lives of soldiers and ordinary people. But when it comes
to the emperor’s life, Shan Yu is willing to spare his life and take him
captive if the emperor will bow. It is only when the emperor will not bow
that Shan Yu chooses to take his life. (Spoiler alert for those who haven’t
seen the movie. Mulan helps save the emperor. I just saved you eight
dollars having to see the movie at the movie theater.)

This shows Shan Yu’s desire to have the emperor as a captive over
killing him. This is very much like the book of Ether, where the Jaredite
kings tend to spare the life of the enemy leader, but not the lives of other
people. Remember in Ether 8, King Jared’s army is destroyed but his life
is spared.

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