Korihor Teaches False Doctrine
Event 96
Reference: Alma 30:6-60
But it came to pass in the latter end of the seventeenth year,there came a man into the land of Zarahemla, and he wasAnti-Christ, for he began to preach unto the people againstthe prophecies which had been spoken by the prophets,concerning the coming of Christ. 7 Now there was no lawagainst a man’s belief; for it was strictly contrary to thecommands of God that there should be a law which shouldbring men on to unequal grounds. 8 For thus saith thescripture:MormonLand ofZarahemla75 B.C.Choose ye this day, whom ye will serve.Scripture9 Now if a man desired to serve God, it was his privilege; orrather, if he believed in God it was his privilege to servehim; but if he did not believe in him there was no law topunish him. 10 But if he murdered he was punished untodeath; and if he robbed he was also punished; and if he stolehe was also punished; and if he committed adultery he wasalso punished; yea, for all this wickedness they werepunished.Mormon11 For there was a law that men should be judged accordingto their crimes. Nevertheless, there was no law against aman’s belief; therefore, a man was punished only for thecrimes which he had done; therefore all men were on equalgrounds. 12 And this Anti-Christ, whose name was Korihor,(and the law could have no hold upon him) began to preachunto the people that there should be no Christ. And afterthis manner did he preach, saying:13 O ye that are bound down under a foolish and a vain hope, whydo ye yoke yourselves with such foolish things? Why do ye lookfor a Christ? For no man can know of anything which is to come.14 Behold, these things which ye call prophecies, which ye say arehanded down by holy prophets, behold, they are foolish traditionsof your fathers. 15 How do ye know of their surety? Behold, yecannot know of things which ye do not see; therefore ye cannotknow that there shall be a Christ. 16 Ye look forward and say thatye see a remission of your sins. But behold, it is the effect of afrenzied mind; and this derangement of your minds comes becauseof the traditions of your fathers, which lead you away into a beliefof things which are not so.Korihor17 And many more such things did he say unto them, tellingthem that there could be no atonement made for the sins ofMormon men, but every man fared in this life according to themanagement of the creature; therefore every man prosperedaccording to his genius, and that every man conqueredaccording to his strength; and whatsoever a man did was nocrime. 18 And thus he did preach unto them, leading awaythe hearts of many, causing them to lift up their heads intheir wickedness, yea, leading away many women, and alsomen, to commit whoredoms—telling them that when a manwas dead, that was the end thereof.MormonLand ofZarahemla75 B.C.19 Now this man went over to the land of Jershon also, topreach these things among the people of Ammon, who wereonce the people of the Lamanites. 20 But behold they weremore wise than many of the Nephites; for they took him,and bound him, and carried him before Ammon, who was ahigh priest over that people.Land of Jershon21 And it came to pass that he caused that he should becarried out of the land. And he came over into the land ofGideon, and began to preach unto them also; and here hedid not have much success, for he was taken and bound andcarried before the high priest, and also the chief judge overthe land.Land of Gideon22 And it came to pass that the high priest said unto him:Why do ye go about perverting the ways of the Lord? Why do yeteach this people that there shall be no Christ, to interrupt theirrejoicings? Why do ye speak against all the prophecies of the holyprophets?Giddonah23 Now the high priest’s name was Giddonah. And Korihorsaid unto him:MormonBecause I do not teach the foolish traditions of your fathers, andbecause I do not teach this people to bind themselves down underthe foolish ordinances and performances which are laid down byancient priests, to usurp power and authority over them, to keepthem in ignorance, that they may not lift up their heads, but bebrought down according to thy words. 24 Ye say that this people isa free people. Behold, I say they are in bondage. Ye say that thoseancient prophecies are true. Behold, I say that ye do not know thatthey are true. 25 Ye say that this people is a guilty and a fallenpeople, because of the transgression of a parent. Behold, I say thata child is not guilty because of its parents.Korihor26 And ye also say that Christ shall come. But behold, I say that yedo not know that there shall be a Christ. And ye say also that heshall be slain for the sins of the world— 27 And thus ye lead awaythis people after the foolish traditions of your fathers, andaccording to your own desires; and ye keep them down, even as it were in bondage, that ye may glut yourselves with the labors oftheir hands, that they durst not look up with boldness, and thatthey durst not enjoy their rights and privileges. 28 Yea, they durstnot make use of that which is their own lest they should offendtheir priests, who do yoke them according to their desires, andhave brought them to believe, by their traditions and their dreamsand their whims and their visions and their pretended mysteries,that they should, if they did not do according to their words,offend some unknown being, who they say is God—a being whonever has been seen or known, who never was nor ever will be.KorihorLand of Gideon75 B.C.29 Now when the high priest and the chief judge saw thehardness of his heart, yea, when they saw that he wouldrevile even against God, they would not make any reply tohis words; but they caused that he should be bound; andthey delivered him up into the hands of the officers, andsent him to the land of Zarahemla, that he might be broughtbefore Alma, and the chief judge who was governor over allthe land.MormonLand ofZarahemla30 And it came to pass that when he was brought beforeAlma and the chief judge, he did go on in the same manneras he did in the land of Gideon; yea, he went on toblaspheme. 31 And he did rise up in great swelling wordsbefore Alma, and did revile against the priests and teachers,accusing them of leading away the people after the sillytraditions of their fathers, for the sake of glutting on thelabors of the people. 32 Now Alma said unto him:Thou knowest that we do not glut ourselves upon the labors of thispeople; for behold I have labored even from the commencement ofthe reign of the judges until now, with mine own hands for mysupport, notwithstanding my many travels round about the land todeclare the word of God unto my people. 33 And notwithstandingthe many labors which I have performed in the church, I havenever received so much as even one senine for my labor; neitherhas any of my brethren, save it were in the judgment-seat; and thenwe have received only according to law for our time.Alma34 And now, if we do not receive anything for our labors in thechurch, what doth it profit us to labor in the church save it were todeclare the truth, that we may have rejoicings in the joy of ourbrethren? 35 Then why sayest thou that we preach unto this peopleto get gain, when thou, of thyself, knowest that we receive nogain? And now, believest thou that we deceive this people, thatcauses such joy in their hearts?36 And Korihor answered him,MormonYea.Korihor37 And then Alma said unto him:Mormon Believest thou that there is a God?AlmaLand ofZarahemla75 B.C.38 And he answered,MormonNay.Korihor39 Now Alma said unto him:MormonWill ye deny again that there is a God, and also deny the Christ?For behold, I say unto you, I know there is a God, and also thatChrist shall come. 40 And now what evidence have ye that there isno God, or that Christ cometh not? I say unto you that ye havenone, save it be your word only. 41 But, behold, I have all things asa testimony that these things are true; and ye also have all things asa testimony unto you that they are true; and will ye deny them?Believest thou that these things are true? 42 Behold, I know thatthou believest, but thou art possessed with a lying spirit, and yehave put off the Spirit of God that it may have no place in you; butthe devil has power over you, and he doth carry you about,working devices that he may destroy the children of God.Alma43 And now Korihor said unto Alma:MormonIf thou wilt show me a sign, that I may be convinced that there is aGod, yea, show unto me that he hath power, and then will I beconvinced of the truth of thy words.Korihor44 But Alma said unto him:MormonThou hast had signs enough; will ye tempt your God? Will ye say,Show unto me a sign, when ye have the testimony of all these thybrethren, and also all the holy prophets? The scriptures are laidbefore thee, yea, and all things denote there is a God; yea, even theearth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and itsmotion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regularform do witness that there is a Supreme Creator. 45 And yet do yego about, leading away the hearts of this people, testifying untothem there is no God? And yet will ye deny against all thesewitnesses?AlmaAnd he said:MormonYea, I will deny, except ye shall show me a sign.Korihor46 And now it came to pass that Alma said unto him:MormonBehold, I am grieved because of the hardness of your heart, yea,that ye will still resist the spirit of the truth, that thy soul may bedestroyed. 47 But behold, it is better that thy soul should be lostthan that thou shouldst be the means of bringing many souls downto destruction, by thy lying and by thy flattering words; therefore ifthou shalt deny again, behold God shall smite thee, that thou shaltbecome dumb, that thou shalt never open thy mouth any more, thatthou shalt not deceive this people any more.Alma48 Now Korihor said unto him:Mormon I do not deny the existence of a God, but I do not believe that thereis a God; and I say also, that ye do not know that there is a God;and except ye show me a sign, I will not believe.KorihorLand ofZarahemla75 B.C.49 Now Alma said unto him:MormonThis will I give unto thee for a sign, that thou shalt be struckdumb, according to my words; and I say, that in the name of God,ye shall be struck dumb, that ye shall no more have utterance.Alma50 Now when Alma had said these words, Korihor wasstruck dumb, that he could not have utterance, according tothe words of Alma. 51 And now when the chief judge sawthis, he put forth his hand and wrote unto Korihor, saying:MormonArt thou convinced of the power of God? In whom did ye desirethat Alma should show forth his sign? Would ye that he shouldafflict others, to show unto thee a sign? Behold, he has showedunto you a sign; and now will ye dispute more?Chief Judge52 And Korihor put forth his hand and wrote, saying:MormonI know that I am dumb, for I cannot speak; and I know thatnothing save it were the power of God could bring this upon me;yea, and I always knew that there was a God. 53 But behold, thedevil hath deceived me; for he appeared unto me in the form of anangel, and said unto me:KorihorGo and reclaim this people, for they have all gone astray afteran unknown God.The DevilAnd he said unto me:KorihorThere is no God;The Devilyea, and he taught me that which I should say. And I have taughthis words; and I taught them because they were pleasing unto thecarnal mind; and I taught them, even until I had much success,insomuch that I verily believed that they were true; and for thiscause I withstood the truth, even until I have brought this greatcurse upon me.Korihor54 Now when he had said this, he besought that Almashould pray unto God, that the curse might be taken fromhim. 55 But Alma said unto him:MormonIf this curse should be taken from thee thou wouldst again leadaway the hearts of this people; therefore, it shall be unto thee evenas the Lord will.Alma56 And it came to pass that the curse was not taken off ofKorihor; but he was cast out, and went about from house tohouse begging for his food. 57 Now the knowledge of whathad happened unto Korihor was immediately publishedMormon throughout all the land; yea, the proclamation was sent forthby the chief judge to all the people in the land, declaringunto those who had believed in the words of Korihor thatthey must speedily repent, lest the same judgments wouldcome unto them.MormonLand ofZarahemla75 B.C.58 And it came to pass that they were all convinced of thewickedness of Korihor; therefore they were all convertedagain unto the Lord; and this put an end to the iniquity afterthe manner of Korihor. And Korihor did go about fromhouse to house, begging food for his support.59 And it came to pass that as he went forth among thepeople, yea, among a people who had separated themselvesfrom the Nephites and called themselves Zoramites, beingled by a man whose name was Zoram—and as he wentforth amongst them, behold, he was run upon and troddendown, even until he was dead.Land of Antionum60 And thus we see the end of him who perverteth the waysof the Lord; and thus we see that the devil will not supporthis children at the last day, but doth speedily drag themdown to hell.