Jacob 7:16-21

16 And it came to pass that he said unto the people: Gather together on the morrow, for I shall die; wherefore, I desire to speak unto the people before I shall die.

17 And it came to pass that on the morrow the multitude were gathered together; and he spake plainly unto them and denied the things which he had taught them, and confessed the Christ, and the power of the Holy Ghost, and the ministering of angels.

18 And he spake plainly unto them, that he had been deceived by the power of the devil.  And he spake of hell, and of eternity, and of eternal punishment.

19 And he said: I fear lest I have committed the unpardonable sin, for I have lied unto God; for I denied the Christ, and said that I believed the scriptures; and they truly testify of him.  And because I have thus lied unto God I greatly fear lest my case shall be awful; but I confess unto God.

20 And it came to pass that when he had said these words he could say no more, and he gave up the ghost.

Jacob 7:16-20

Sherem confronted Jacob and demanded a sign be given him.  He received his sign and he was struck down.  He was unable to care for himself and the Nephites provided the needed care.

After a time, Sherem asked the people to come together the next morning.  He wanted to speak to the people.  He knew he was dying and wanted to say things before he did.

That morning, people gathered to hear Sherem’s words.  “[H]e spake plainly unto them and denied the things which he had taught them.”  He then “confessed the Christ, and the power of the Holy Ghost, and the ministering of angels.

Sherem continued his confession admitting he had been deceived by the power of the devil.  Writing to the Galatians, Paul asked:

1 O FOOLISH Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?

2 This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

3 Are ye so foolish?  having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?

4 Have ye suffered so many things in vain?  if it be yet in vain.

Galatians 3:1-4

“Although it would become clear in the end that Sherem was mistaken and ‘deceived’ (Jacob 7:18), these legal provisions and religious obligations in the books of Moses probably ensured that, at the outset, Sherem was taken seriously; he would have been perceived by people in his day as being serious and sincere, as well as religiously and rationally motivated.”[1] Sherem also “spake of hell, and of eternity, and of eternal punishment.

Sherem was fearful of facing God.  “I [fear I] have committed the unpardonable sin, for I have lied unto God.”  Jacob had warned the people about sin and guilt.  “Know ye not that if ye will do these things, that the power of the redemption and the resurrection, which is in Christ, will bring you to stand with shame and awful guilt before the bar of God?” (Jacob 6:9).  Abinadi taught, “[B]ehold, and fear, and tremble before God, for ye ought to tremble; for the Lord redeemeth none such that rebel against him and die in their sins; yea, even all those that have perished in their sins ever since the world began, that have wilfully rebelled against God, that have known the commandments of God, and would not keep them; these are they that have no part in the first resurrection” (Mosiah 15:26).

What is meant by the unpardonable sin?  Mack Stirling explains:

It is essential to grasp precisely whom the Book of Mormon is describing as sons (and daughters) of the devil and recipients of endless torment and the second death. This state comes upon all who do not receive forgiveness for their sins. The Book of Mormon prophets do refer to a concept of unpardonable sin, that of denying the Holy Ghost when "it once has had place" in us (Alma 39:6; see Jacob 7:19). Those who commit this unpardonable sin are doomed to the second death or everlasting destruction, having lost all possibility of repentance, forgiveness, and mercy.[2]

Sherem is confessing and retracting his previous words. 

In this confession, Sherem spoke plainly, clearly retracted his past erroneous assertions, and made an affirmative declaration embracing Jacob's theology. This fits the prototypical form of the ancient confession; the typical options open to an accused in a juridical proceeding who wished to confess his guilt were (1) to make an outright confession; (2) to say, "I have sinned"; or (3) to declare, "You are (in the) right."⁶⁹ Interestingly, Sherem's confession reflects all three of these conventions: He made an explicit confession, saying "I confess unto God" (Jacob 7:19); he openly "denied the things which he had taught" and admitted that he had "lied" and sinned (vv. 17–19); and he "confessed," even echoing Jacob's oath-bound word truly (v. 11) in affirming that the scriptures truly testify of Christ (v. 19) … By confessing, even a convicted murderer hoped that his standing might be better before God. Surely Sherem hoped that his death would constitute an expiation of his sins before God, although he still knew he would die and he still feared the worst, for his sin was not only against man but also against God (Jacob 7:19).[3]

Following his confession, Sherem died.  Another sign-seeker, Korihor, the Anti-Christ, would demand a sign from God and it would lead to his death.  “ And it came to pass that as he went forth among the people, yea, among a people who had separated themselves from the Nephites and called themselves Zoramites, being led by a man whose name was Zoram—and as he went forth amongst them, behold, he was run upon and trodden down, even until he was dead” (Alma 30:59).

This punishment fell under accepted precepts.

In the end, Sherem died. The plain meaning of the English text is that he died without human intervention: "When he had said these words he could say no more, and he gave up the ghost" (Jacob 7:20).⁸⁵ While this result may seem extremely harsh to modern readers, it was within normal expectations under ancient legal and religious precepts.⁸⁶ … Often, "divine punishment is expressed in terms of simple death (e.g., Numbers 18:7) as well as of 'bearing one's iniquity.'"⁸⁹ And thus it was in the case of Sherem, who in the end was called a "wicked man" (Jacob 7:23), a flagrant false accuser who bore the punishment for his wrongdoing.[4]

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[1] The Case of Sherem, Maxwell Institute, accessed May 14, 2014.

[2] The Way of Life and the Way of Death in the Book of Mormon, Mack C. Stirling, Maxwell Institute, accessed May 14, 2014.

[3] The Case of Sherem, Maxwell Institute, accessed May 14, 2014.

[4] Ibid.