Korihor the Anti-Christ
READ Alma 30:7-11
What does it mean to be on “equal
grounds”?
There is a “divine law of equality” that “in the first place” all
of God’s children started “on the same standing” with each other (see Alma 13:5).
It is a corollary law to God not being a respecter of persons and
ascending to the place where He is now: a just, holy, perfect and unchangeable
being (see LoF 3; LoF 5:2).
How would forbidding some beliefs
be contrary to the divine law of equality?
It is our agency and how we choose to act (in accordance with
eternal law or out of alignment with it) which differentiates us (see Alma
13:4) – after all of the gifts and mercy from God, our agency is what truly
defines us – it is the manifestation of the true being regardless of the rest:
we have to decide what to do with the time that is given us.
We all have an equal right to choose – all have agency given to
them, in fact, it’s how we exist, otherwise we’d be agents to be acted upon and
not to act (see D&C 101:78; Moses 4:3; 2 Nephi 2:14, 26-27).
Constraining beliefs with “creeds” or correlation departments,
particularly with excommunication and its threat of damnation, destroys agency
and is Satanic (see TPJS 321:3).
When reading Korihor’s arguments against God, it may be useful to
understand the philosophical principles upon which he is basing his
thinking…
Metaphysics deals with the nature
of reality; what question does it try to answer?
“What is real?”
Is there some reality higher than the natural world – a
“supernatural” reality that we can’t see but still exists?
Axiology deals with ethics and
values; what question does it try to answer?
“What is good or right?”
Is there an eternal “right and wrong” that is absolute or are
these things subjective elements derived from cultures here in mortality?
Epistemology deals with
knowledge; what question does it try to answer?
“How do you know what is real or what is good?”
Where, how or from whom are you obtaining or deriving your
knowledge and understanding?
How do you know the truth?
What are the primary ways that
people obtain or derive knowledge or truth?
Authoritarianism: truth is derived from experts or authorities in
a given body of knowledge – it is from scholarship and its rules.
Rationalism: truth is derived through logical processes like
deduction or induction to see if it makes rational sense.
Pragmatism: truth is derived from whether or not something works –
it is about utility or whether something produces the desired results or not.
Empiricism: truth is derived through observation or experience –
it is the scientific method of hypothesis, controlled experimentation,
observation and proof or measurable evidence.
Revelation: truth is derived directly from God through
communication with Him – it comes through direct manifestations of heavenly
personages to man and/or through the mind of God (Holy Spirit).
But in revelation, God uses elements of the other worldly ways: He
will reason together with us and lay out His truth in a logical process; He
will say “prove me know herewith” to show us that He is no respecter of persons
and what will pragmatically work for one will work for all; He will reveal the
“tools” through which mankind can empirically prove His truths – including the
tokens He retains in His body to this day which prove that He is who He says He
is by the mortal senses for all who come and see; and He gives truth to seekers
and then asks them to risk everything by sharing their experiences and the
message He has given them with those who will likely reject them violently –
the authority is the message and the light from God, not the man. But most of all, He desires us to know Him in
the flesh, because this is Eternal Life – to reveal Himself unto us that we
might make the most glorious discovery and receive eternal certainty (see LOF
2:56).
READ Alma 30:12-18
What does Korihor believe about what
is real?
You cannot know what you cannot see or
experience.
So
the only things that are “real” are those things which are observable or
measurable by the tools of this world.
No other “dimension” exists – no God,
angels, Spirit.
There is nothing beyond this
life/reality and when you are dead, you are done; he believes in “Naturalism” –
that this natural world is all there is – there is no "supernatural"
reality.
So, what is the implication with
regard to how we should live our lives?
People fare by their own management.
Success depends on one's strength and
genius.
Human beings
are the supreme reality in this natural world.
Korihor believes in “Humanism” -
humans are the supreme reality – there is no god.
What does Korihor believe about how we
can derive truth?
Through
what we can observe and measure (empiricism).
Through
logic based on what makes sense, given what we can see and measure
(rationalism).
What does Korihor believe about what
is good or right?
Given that there is no God and humans
are the supreme reality…
There is no divine set of laws - no
ultimate or absolute right or wrong.
Whatever people do is not a crime.
Morals and
values come only from human experience - they are contextual to the culture and
situational in the circumstances of the moment.
Korihor believes in “Relativism” – he
denies the existence of absolute truth - it's all situational.
What does Korihor believe about
revelation as a way to obtain truth and the belief in a Christ?
You cannot know what you cannot see or
experience.
Thus, there is no such thing as
revelation.
Thus, you cannot know the future.
Thus, prophecies of the future can't
be true.
Thus, you
can't know of a Christ.
Korihor uses empiricism (scientific
method) and rationalism (logical processes, i.e. deduction).
READ
Alma 30:22-29
What does Korihor say about those who
have faith in God?
They have been brainwashed by 1)
foolish traditions of their fathers/religious upbringing and/or 2) religious
leaders whose true motives are power and gain.
This results in psychological
problems: "frenzied minds" or mental derangement.
Why is Korihor’s argument (that God
does not exist because He’s never been seen or known) an effective argument,
and what is wrong with the argument?
Effective
because: he has never seen God – and no one has ever been able to produce God
when challenged to do so; without being in God’s presence and obtaining
physical proof (something as ephemeral as the “Holy Spirit” that cannot be seen
or measured in the physical world, so it does not count), Korihor’s
epistemology will require that he reject the notion that such a being exists;
and anyone who has said that they’ve seen God but cannot produce Him is
immediately suspect and discounted as a liar, insane or seeking for power.
Wrong
because: limiting his criteria to that which can be seen is foolish, as humans
can only see a limited light-band, they cannot see microscopic organisms or
into their own cells (let alone the quantum world), they can only hear things
at certain frequencies, they cannot see the whole universe at once so cannot
prove that God is not there somewhere, etc.
There are way too many unaccounted variables to be able to say “never
has been seen or known, who never was nor ever will be” because it implies a
certainty which Korihor’s argument cannot deliver.
So what is Korihor's bottom line
message to the people?
We can live as we please without fear
of "eternal" consequences - take pride in who you "really"
are! ("I'm free, to do what I want, any old time…”).
Why?
Because there is no God, no absolute truth/right, man is supreme, all
guilt is caused by not living up to OTHERS’ values and designs.
READ
Alma 30:31-35
Can Alma prove that Korihor is lying
about “glutting himself on the labors of the people”?
Yes.
All
he has to do is make the financial records of the Church public and it will
show that he has not received one senine for his labor.
The
financial records will also show that all his income has come from traditional
labor he has performed in his job (probably manual, as he says “with mine own
hands”).
What is Alma’s strategy in dealing
with Korihor’s philosophical debate and accusatory claims?
Alma doesn't get into a philosophical
debate as Korihor has defined the boundaries.
Alma goes after Korihor's personal
integrity directly - showing that his criticism is a blatant lie; Korihor has
accused Alma of being in the Order of the Nehors = priestcraft, glutting himself
on the people (30:31-34) - Alma can prove that this is not the case.
And if he lied about this (that Alma
was a Nehor), then what of the rest of his argument? You cannot trust it.
Why is this strategy fair?
Because
Korihor muddied his philosophical argument by bringing the accusation of graft
into it.
He
opened the door for Alma to switch from philosophical argument to personal
attack, by doing the same to Alma first.
READ
Alma 30:37-45
How does Alma trap Korihor in his own
argument?
If
people can only believe what they see and can prove to be true, they can't
prove that there isn't a God because they would have to be infinite (a
God) themselves to prove it conclusively.
How does Korihor know there isn’t a
God?
Korihor's evidence that there is no
God is down to his own word only (30:40).
How has Alma beaten Korihor in getting
him to admit that his argument is based on his (Korihor’s) own personal
testimony?
Alma has already shown him to be a
liar.
By making this statement Korihor is exercising
“faith” in his own atheist beliefs – even though he says he'll only believe
what he can see and experience.
What sign does Alma give Korihor of
the existence of God?
His
own testimony based on his personal experience, which are naturally anecdotal –
but Alma has not been proven to be a liar, so you have to consider them, at a
minimum.
The
testimony of other prophets in his community.
The
testimonies of all the prophets in the scriptures.
The
earth and everything upon it, including mankind (especially when you get in to
the underlying principles of quantum theory and the Observer whose attention
must stop the creation from devolving into chaos).
The
heavens.
Why won’t Korihor believe the signs?
He
is possessed of a lying spirit.
Since
he is a liar himself, he believes that everyone else are also liars.
He
is a sign-seeker; he wants to see some big miracle not anecdotal testimonies –
but he won’t believe a big sign anyway and will say it is a trick – that Alma
is deceiving him.
READ
Alma 30:46-50
What is the irony in the additional
sign that the Lord gives Korihor?
He is struck dumb and deaf, so that he
can no longer preach his "word".
There is no way he can refute what
happened to him – in part because he can’t speak.
READ Alma 30:51-53
Can we believe Korihor’s story about
his previous experience?
He’s possessed of a lying spirit so it’s really hard to believe
him.
Is he just trying to say something that he thinks will cause Alma
to have mercy on him and reverse the curse?
Or is he really a liar on a whole different level than we might
have suspected – if this story about a supernatural angel is true?
How does Korihor’s story about an
“angel” appearing to him change the philosophical beliefs upon which he based
his initial argument to Alma?
If he is telling the truth – that an angel came to him and
deceived him because it was dark (a devil) - he believes in a supernatural
world because he has interacted with it directly, so he actually believes in
the principle of revelation directly from the supernatural.
He has been taught by a spiritual entity that to have success
preaching and gaining a following (who would in some way support him), he
should teach them a humanistic, naturalistic, relativistic philosophy which
would enable them to sin without guilt – all of which he knew was a lie because
a spiritual entity was the one teaching him the doctrine that no spiritual
entities exist!
He was taught that there was no “god” but there are clearly
spiritual entities with power who can enable mankind to gain power over each
other; if there is one, there are likely more and who is to say there are not
some with Godlike power?
He may have promised to save Korihor or teach him how he could be
saved because the possibility of an after-life had to have been broached by the
existence of the spiritual entity; unless he was told that spirits are
different from mankind and that he exits immortally but man will die and that
will be the end for them?
READ Alma 30:59-60
Why does the devil not support
his children at the last day?
He hates all those who chose to follow Jehovah – he has not
forgotten that rejection and delights in their misery in the end.
He knows God’s work and glory and sets himself against it –
knowing that any of God’s children that he can influence to disqualify
themselves from God’s blessings will hurt God.
What is the major flaw
in Korihor’s argument?
You CAN experience God in this life; just because Korihor and
people like him have not experienced God with mortal senses doesn’t mean that
it can’t be done – it only means they have not done it.
In fact, you MUST know God in this life or you will have to
admit that Korihor might be correct; you MUST come unto Christ to be saved (see
Ether 3:13-18).
There is a reason that the Son of God bears physical tokens
in His body – proof in this world, to any mortal who touches them, that the man
standing before you has received death wounds (the spear wound in His side,
which is the first wound you feel in the Ceremony of Recognition, see 3 Nephi
11:14) – and yet He is there to be touched, clearly living, before you!
Korihor and the world may attempt to discredit you but they
cannot disprove you because by their own measures, YOU HAVE TACTILE,
EXPERIENTIAL KNOWLEDGE WHICH PROVES THE EXISTENCE OF GOD and that He is who He
says He is! (see 3 Nephi 11:14-15)
The Zoramites: An Anti-Christ Society
Read Alma 31:1, 8-11, 5
Why is the preaching of
the "word" in power more effective than the sword or anything else?
Think of the power of
the word of God as delivered directly by Him - speaking God's word with the
"tongues of angels" by the power of the Holy Ghost partakes of the
same spirit that God speaks with (as they are one) - there is a difference one
can feel, compared to one who doesn’t speak with the tongue of angels.
The word heals the
wounded soul (Jacob 2:8), provides spiritual nourishment (Moroni 6:4), is the
foundation for faith (Alma 5:5-13) and directs the seeker back to Christ
(Helaman 3:27-30).
Ultimately, the Word
is Christ Himself (see John 1:1).
How is the book of Alma a
testimony to the power of the “word of God”?
Chapters 1-16: Alma
seeks to reform the Church by preaching the word of God.
Chapters 17-29: The
sons of Mosiah convert the Anti-Nephi-Lehies with the word of God.
Chapter 30: Alma uses
the word of God to silence Korihor and the word of the devil.
Chapters 31-35: Alma
and Amulek teach the Zoramite poor the process of conversion through planting
the word of God in their hearts.
Chapters 36-42: Alma
teaches his sons with the word of God to prepare them to teach it themselves.
READ Alma 31:12-22
Are the Zoramites
religious?
Yes, very; they have built beautiful church buildings, attend
Church each week and are actively involved.
What kind of church
meeting do the Zoramites hold each week?
A "testimony" meeting, of sorts.
Why do the people all
bear the same testimony/prayer?
It is a creed or brief summary of the articles of their faith
which are professed.
Why do churches use
creeds?
To efficiently summarize beliefs for church members and
proselytes.
To define what beliefs are legitimate and which are apostate
- to define orthodoxy.
To control thinking; anything outside of the orthodox creed
is not taught and is discouraged by its absence.
To easily identify for "correction", up to and
including excommunication, all those who do not profess the creed or who
believe and teach outside of it or contrary to it.
What is the doctrine of
the Zoramites?
They believe in God.
They believe God is a
spirit.
They believe God is a
holy being.
They believe God is
unchangeable; He is the same yesterday, today and forever.
They believe they are
the chosen people of God.
They have been
elected or predestined to be saved while all others will be thrust down to hell.
They believe there is no
need for a Savior because: 1) God has decreed them saved. 2) Sins &
behavior don't figure into the calculation about who is elected. So, 3) there
is no need to repent (and be bound down to the tradition of a Christ who
requires the sacrifice of one's whole soul). Hence, 4) there is no need for a
Christ or Savior.
They also believe
that the worship of a Christ leads the worshipper away from loving God -
"that their hearts were... stolen away". This is interesting because there are some
that believe that the Book of Mormon teaches an earlier (and true)
understanding of the Godhead where there is one God – not a Father and Son but
that Christ is both (and is a reason why the 1832 version of Joseph Smith’s
First Vision written in his own hand doesn’t mention two personages), but that
Joseph Smith apostatized later by introducing the concept of multiple Gods and
eventually theosis. But the Book of
Mormon itself warns those who believe this that it is the Zoramites who do not
believe in multiple Gods – which would give me pause if I believed as some do…
The Zoramites believe
in revelation, but only theirs; for example, they have been told by God that
there shall be no Christ (v16, 29); either they believe in the need for only
limited revelation in that they do not know of things to come and don't believe
it is important to know of those things, or they believe that God only reveals
the truth to them and that those who believe in a Christ know nothing about
things to come - the language is difficult to decipher (v22), But like Korihor, it seems like “angels”
(dark entities disguised) have been busy again among the people, teaching them
falsehoods.
READ Alma 31:23-29
How do these beliefs
translate into behavior?
Theirs is a Sunday
only religion - they enshrine the “Sabbath day” thereby enabling them to feel
religious the rest of the week without guilt; they are hypocrites.
Extreme pride - they
are the "chosen people".
Very materialistic -
God's favor is proved by the bounteous quantities of their material
"blessings", the size of their conference center, etc…
How are Korihor and the Zoramites both examples of
“Anti-Christ’s”?
They deny the need for Christ,
albeit in different ways.
Korihor is an anti-Christ because
he taught that there was no afterlife, so there was no need for redemption
because at death existence is over; but while alive, mankind is the supreme
being.
The Zoramites are anti-Christ
because they proposed an alternative way to salvation which does not require
Christ and His doctrine; they believe in election directly by God because they
are special or chosen.
Satan has his own "word,"
which, when presented by the sophisticated or charismatic, appeals to the
natural man in the same way that the word of God engages the light of Christ.
Why did Mormon include this
account of the Zoramites in a book written for our day?
There are some interesting parallels between the Zoramites and the
Gentile Church in the last days.
Having once received the Fullness of the Gospel, some apostatize
and lift themselves up in pride above all other people, thinking they are
“chosen” (see Alma 31:8-25; 3 Nephi 16:10; 3 Nephi 20:28;) and lose the fullness
of the priesthood (see D&C 124:28);
God’s emissaries bring them the word of God in truth and power
(see Alma 31:5-7, 36-38; 3 Nephi 21:9-11; 3 Nephi 26:6-11);
Some receive God’s word, repent and are numbered among His people
(see Alma 35:6-9; 1 Nephi 14:1-2; 3 Nephi 16:13); while many reject it and are
cut off (see Alma 35:10; 1 Nephi 22:19-20; 3 Nephi 21:9).
There occurs a “great division” among the people which results in
an entire separation of the righteous and the wicked – this was also prophesied
to happen before Christ’s Second Coming (see 2 Nephi 30:10; D&C 63:54; 1
Nephi 14:6-7).
