Lessons from the Book of Mormon Antichrists

About three years ago Jen and I were reading about Korihor in Alma 30 and one of us asked, “I wonder why Mormon was so detailed in describing Korihor’s teachings? Is it because Satan teaches the same things today and he wants to give us a hint of how he works?” That question led us to study some of the other major “bad guys” in the Book of Mormon and then compare their teachings and see what they had in common. Our thinking was that if we could learn how Satan influenced the Nephites, we could learn what teachings and actions we should avoid in our day.

I have studied the antichrists in detail ever since that time. I think I have searched every verse of the Book of Mormon looking for antichrist doctrines. I am finishing a paper on what I have found that will be published for other seminary teachers, and wanted to put up my outline so you could read it (please give any feedback or additional insights if you have any!).

Lessons from the Book of Mormon Antichrists

The most widely used definition of antichrist in the Church comes from the Bible Dictionary, which says that an antichrist “Is anyone or anything that counterfeits the true gospel or plan of salvation and that openly or secretly is set up in opposition to Christ. The great antichrist is Lucifer, but he has many assistants both as spirit beings and as mortals.” It then lists a few scriptures that teach about antichrists, including three from the Book of Mormon: Sherem, Nehor, and Korihor. I have read a lot of articles and papers about antichrists, and every single one of them only mentioned one or more of those three men.

However, in my studies I found that the Book of Mormon has at least eight antichrist men or groups who fit that definition:

Antichrist                              Chapters Referenced

·   Sherem                                               Jacob 7

·   Amulonites                                         Mos. 9-24, Alma 21-25

·   Nehor and Amlici and the Amalekites  Alma 1-3, 21-24, 43

·   People of Ammonihah                         Alma 8-15

·   Korihor                                               Alma 30

·   Zoramites                                            Alma 31-35, 43

·   Amalickiah and Ammoron                    Alma 46-51, 54, 62

·   Pre-Christ Gadianton Robbers             Hel. 1-16; 3 Ne. 1-8

As I read through those chapters, I charted each doctrine they taught and each characteristic they portray. Interestingly, most of the antichrists and their stories have much in common with each other. My paper is on eight lessons we can learn about Satan from the characteristics they share. Here is what I found:

       1. Antichrists Teach that we do not need a Messiah

a.  There is no such thing as God 

                            i. People can’t know of things to come, so prophets can’t teach about a Christ

b.  There is a God, but a Christ is not needed

                            i.   God will save all mankind

                            ii.  There is no sin

                            iii. There is no Atonement because sinful actions are not a crime

                            iv. There is no afterlife

c.  Antichrists know the gospel

                            i.   Most, it not all, of them are former church members who later grossly harden their hearts against the church

      2. They attack church doctrines and church leaders

a.  Believing in Gospel traditions is foolish

                            i.   We are bound down by a foolish and vain hope of Christ

                            ii.   Prophecies are fake because we can’t know if things to come

                            iii.  Looking forward to a remission of sins is the effect of a frenzied mind

                            iv.  Do whatever you want because death is the end

                            v.   Church membership does not free people, but binds them down with commandments

                            vi.   We are not guilty (fallen) because of the transgression of a parent (Adam and Eve)

b.  “Church leaders are leading you into ignorance and bondage”

                            i.   Leading people away down foolish paths

                            ii.  A prophet has no power over you

                            iii. Leaders usurp power over the people and keep them in ignorance by teaching them to blindly obey

                            iv. They don’t allow members to think for themselves

                            v.  They take money from members and glut on their money and labor

                            vi. They threaten members by telling them their actions will offend God

                            vii. They don’t really have prophecy

        3. Their teachings cause great wickedness

a.  People can do what they want because there are no penalties for sin

b.  They teach carnally pleasing doctrines

c.  People gain in life through wisdom and strength

           4. Antichrists are smart, cunning, and subtle in their crafts

a.  They lie, cheat, and trick people to get what they want

b.  They use flattering words

c.  Secrecy abounds in their works

           5. Antichrists love money, power, and authority

a.  Priestcraft

b.  They desire to be kings and rulers

           6. They separate themselves

a.  Book of Mormon antichrists split themselves off from the Nephites

                            i.  Most of them are Nephite Dissenters                  
                            ii. Settle new cities

b.  Antichrists have an elitist attitude

                            i.  They reject the poor and needy.

           7. Antichrists turn to violence and anger

a.  They get offended and angry when people tell them to repent

b.  They turn to bloodshed and start wars

                            i.  All major wars in Alma are started by dissenting Nephite antichrists

           8. Antichrists have bad endings

a.  Satan does not support his followers at the last day

                            i.  Sherem, Nehor, Amlici, Amulonites, Amalickiah, and Ammoron are all killed

b.  Some antichrists are even killed by fellow antichrists
          i.  Korihor, People of Ammonihah, Gadianton Robbers

I would highly recommend letting my people go...

I learned so much from studying the story of Moses and Pharaoh this week! Unfortunately, I couldn't figure out how to share it other than in a chart. But I still feel I need to give a little background to ensure that it makes sense. So here it goes... 

In Exodus Chapter 3, Moses asks Jehovah what to tell the people when they ask who sent him. Jehovah responds: "Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me." A very odd name, you might ask? I think a little Spanish lesson comes in to play here. The Spanish verb 'estar' translated into English means 'to be.' In the every day usage of the Spanish language, the verb endings change to reflect whether or not the verb is referring to the past, present, or future, but the root word "est-" always stays the same. Now back to Moses. If God was speaking Spanish, I think he would have said something like this: "Tell them that 'estar' sent you." I think He would have used the non-conjugated verb, demonstrating the word's capacity for past, present, and future tenses. The English translation? "Tell them that 'I was, I am, and I will be' sent you." I think He's preparing the people to understand His eternal nature, as well as the role that He has played in their past (the Creator), His relationship to them in the present (their Savior), and the significance of His existence to their future (their Salvation)!

Keeping this is mind, I then did a study on the meaning of the 10 plagues. I mean, God could have chosen anything, so why lice and boils? To sum up my study (and the chart below), I discovered that Jehovah both defied Egypt's powerless Gods AND testified of Himself as the true omnipotent Creator and Savior through the use of those specific plagues. 

God is amazing! But that shouldn't surprise anybody. 

I recognize there are holes and stretches below, so any insight and thoughts would be helpful!

**A cleaner copy of this chart can be downloaded from Dropbox:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/taihles5l32tr4d/Plagues.docx

Plagues	Egyptian Gods Defied	Symbolism of the Savior	The Creation “Undone”	Further Witnesses of the Savior for the Hebrews
Nile turned to blood	Apis- God of the Nile	Living Water Blood of Atonement	Day 2- Separation of water from land	Moses gets water for the thirsty Hebrews from a Rock
Frogs	Heqet- Frog-headed God of birth/fruitfulness	JESUS AS CREATOR =>	Day 5- Creatures of the sea
Lice/Gnats	Geb- God of Earth	JESUS AS CREATOR =>	Day 5&6- Every living thing
Flies	Re/Uatchit- depicted as flies Khepri- God of rebirth & Creation	“You must be born again” Jesus created the earth (See the section to the right for more thoughts)	Day 5&6- Every living thing (Note that man is given dominion over animals after the creation, but that man obviously has no control over the animals during these plagues)
Death of Livestock	Hathor/Apis- depicted as cattle	LIVESTOCK- Food=Bread of Life Beasts of burden=”Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden…”	Day 6- Land animals	The Hebrews are fed “bread of life” thru manna while in the wilderness
Boils	Sekhment, Sunu, Isis- Gods of Health and Disease	Jesus heals all manner of disease (Matt. 4:23-24)	Day 6- Man	Those who look on the raised up brass serpent are healed (Note that the Lord commanded Moses to turn his rod into a serpent before the 1st plague)
Hail/Thunder/Fire	Nut- Sky Goddess Set- Storm God	JESUS AS CREATOR =>	Day 3- Dry land and plants	Led by God in a pillar of cloud by day
Locusts	Osiris- God of crop fertility Serapia- Protector from locusts	JESUS AS CREATOR =>	Day 3- Plants
3 days of darkness	Re- The Sun God (also a symbol of Pharoah)	Light of the World; 3 hours of darkness associated with crucifixion	Day 1&4- Light from darkness; sun, moon, stars	Led by God in a pillar of fire by night (I also love how it says they had light in their houses during these 3 days of darkness)
Death of 1st Born	Isis- Protector of children	Heavenly Father sacrificed His first born son to save the rest of His children	Day 6- Man	Unblemished lamb’s blood saved the Hebrews

Comic Con with Chad :)

The "Whee" Farm - Wheeler Farm

Coming to Yourself vs Becoming for Yourself

Two similar lines from the scriptures really struck me this week. They are both happening at the same time (one in the Americas and one in Israel), and both are about teenagers. In the Book of Mormon, the Nephites are turning to complete wickedness before Christ comes, even though they can see many miracles and signs from heaven. 3 Nephi 1:29 says that the people turned to wickedness because the rising generation (dang teenagers!) "became for themselves."

In the New Testament (in a parable), Christ tells about the other teen. He had left home, with his inheritance, after coming of age. He spends it all in riotous living and then, after living without food among the pigs, decides to go home.  Jesus says tells us the reason he wanted to return home: he returned back to the faith and to his family because he “came to himself” (Luke 15:17).

He "Came to Himself" vs. They "Became for Themselves" . . . 

How can those two little words (to and for) lead to such different outcomes?! The prodigal son coming to himself lead to a change of heart and complete repentance, while the rising generation becoming for themselves lead them to wilfully rebel against God (3 Nephi 6:18). 

This week I want to ponder to myself a little more and take time for myself a little less!

The Secret Life of Danielle Lyons

So life has been really, really fun lately. Instead of daydreaming about spontaneous fun things, I have actually been doing them. No, I'm not chasing volcanoes or hiking the Himalayas... yet, but here are just some of the highlights.

In no particular order:

Llamas at the Questival 

 Some free music at the Questival 

Midnight Swimming Run

Hiking the Y

The Festival of Colors 

This is Payson for you... Tutus and headbands made out of plastic 

An old cop car with the license plate.... ex cop car (No mom, I'm not driving)

Swinging at the park after eating waaaay too much Cafe Rio