Tuesday, June 14, 2022

Rejecting the Coming of Messiah and Embracing Evil: A Modern-day Korihor

Commenting on Korihor, Reynolds and Sjodahl commented that

 

He denied the coming of the Messiah, and ridiculed prophecy and revelation. He asserted that it was impossible for men to know the future. Korihor also inveighed against the Atonement of the Redeemer as a foolish superstition, and taught, instead of the unchanging truths of the Everlasting Gospel, the theory that every man fared in this life according to the judicious use of the means at the "creature's" hands; a man, he said, prospered according to his genius, and conquered according to his strength. Further, he announced that whatsoever a man did was no crime, for that when a man was dead, there was an end thereof.

 

It is almost needless to say that those who accepted such dogmas gave way to all manner of evil doing. They became overbearing to others, exceedingly keen in business transactions, were full of covetousness, duplicity, and lasciviousness, and indulged in various wanton practices and pleasures. Their motto might be said to have been: "Let us eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die; and what we do here will not be brought against us hereafter." (George Reynolds and Janne M. Sjodahl, Commentary on the Book of Mormon, 7 vols. [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 1977], 4:65)

 

Proving the Book of Mormon speaks to our day, note the following from a “Ted Talk” by an ex-Mormon:

 

Then 6 years ago our 22 year old son came out to us as gay. In my Church the only valid paths for him would be to live a completely celibate life, painfully absent comprehensive love, or to live in a mixed-orientation marriage, also without full capacity for comprehensive love for him or his wife. Deep in my heart, the God that I knew wouldn't want my son to live a life painfully absent the kinds of comprehensive love that my wife and I shared. I couldn’t metaphorically shelf that depth of cruelty as coming from that God I knew. (Anthony Miller)