Alma 30:1-11

Chapter 30

Korihor, the antichrist, ridicules Christ, the atonement, and the spirit of prophecy—He teaches that there is no God, no fall of man, no penalty for sin, and no Christ—Alma testifies that Christ shall come and that all things denote there is a God—Korihor demands a sign and is struck dumb—The devil had appeared to Korihor as an angel and taught him what to say—He is trodden down and dies. About 76–74 B.C.

1 BEHOLD, now it came to pass that after the people of Ammon were established in the land of Jershon, yea, and also after the Lamanites were driven out of the land, and their dead were buried by the people of the land—

2 Now their dead were not numbered because of the greatness of their numbers; neither were the dead of the Nephites numbered—but it came to pass after they had buried their dead, and also after the days of fasting, and mourning, and prayer, (and it was in the sixteenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi) there began to be continual peace throughout all the land.

3 Yea, and the people did observe to keep the commandments of the Lord; and they were strict in observing the ordinances of God, according to the law of Moses; for they were taught to keep the law of Moses until it should be fulfilled.

4 And thus the people did have no disturbance in all the sixteenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi.

5 And it came to pass that in the commencement of the seventeenth year of the reign of the judges, there was continual peace.

6 But it came to pass in the ^*latter end of the seventeenth year, there came a man into the land of Zarahemla, and he was Anti–Christ, for he began to preach unto the people against the prophecies which had been spoken by the prophets, concerning the coming of Christ.

7 Now there was no law against a man's belief; for it was strictly contrary to the commands of God that there should be a law which should bring men on to unequal grounds.

8 For thus saith the scripture: Choose ye this day, whom ye will serve.

9 Now if a man desired to serve God, it was his privilege; or rather, if he believed in God it was his privilege to serve him; but if he did not believe in him there was no law to punish him.

10 But if he murdered he was punished unto death; and if he robbed he was also punished; and if he stole he was also punished; and if he committed adultery he was also punished; yea, for all this wickedness they were punished.

11 For there was a law that men should be judged according to their crimes.  Nevertheless, there was no law against a man's belief; therefore, a man was punished only for the crimes which he had done; therefore all men were on equal ground

Alma 30:1-22

The Ammonites have been settled in the land of Jershon.^[1]  The Lamanites, who had followed the Ammonites and attacked the Nephites, have been defeated and driven out of the land.^[2]  The dead were buried.

Sadly, the number who died was so large they were not counted.  After the Nephite dead were buried, they were days of fasting, prayer, and mourning for what had occurred.  This began a time of peace. They kept the commandments and were faithful in the following the Law of Moses. 

We now meet a character we have seen before, the Anti-Christ.  What is an Anti-Christ?  The word, “anti,” has different meanings based on its context.  It can mean against.  If we refer to someone as an “anti,” we are saying the person is against something.

In science, “anti” has a different meaning.  It is used to mean “opposite of.”  We know about matter; but, in the universe, there is anti-matter.  What is meant in this context is “the opposite of.”  So, anti-matter is the opposite of matter. 

In Korihor’s case, either usage can apply.  He is against Christ; yet, he also offers a philosophy opposite of Christ’s.  In this case, I look at him as more an “opposite” of Christ as his philosophy is opposite of Christ. 

We are warned against the coming of the Anti-Christ.  Paul warned us, “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition” (2 Thessalonians 2:3).[3]  In his epistles, John warns us, “Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time” (1 John 2:18); “Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ?  He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son” (1 John 2:22). “Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them” (Acts 20:30);

Nephite society had freedom of religion.  A person was allowed to preach according to their beliefs.[4]  Paul warned us, “Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them” (Acts 20:30) an[5]d “As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:9).

It is ironic that [Alma₂’s] encounter with Korihor is immediately preceded by his wish to have the same power of language and speech of the angel who had called him to repentance: “O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people! Yea, I would declare unto every soul, as with the voice of thunder, repentance and the plan of redemption” (Alma 29:1–2). Alma’s use of identical language and imagery to describe the person he would like to be and to describe the angel who rebuked him so many years before (“voice of thunder,” “shake the earth”) seems intentional. The narrator signals with this repetition his design to link the two experiences and to prepare the reader for the narrative of Korihor that immediately follows.[6]

If someone desired to serve God, it was a privilege to serve Him.  If a person did not want to serve God, or didn’t believe in God, that person was free to do so.  But, if a person committed a crime, they were punished. “And they durst not steal, for fear of the law, for such were punished; neither durst they rob, nor murder, for he that murdered was punished unto death” (Alma 1:18).

People were punished for their crimes. “And there was a strict command throughout all the churches that there should be no persecutions among them, that there should be an equality among all men” (Mosiah 27:3).  In King Mosiah’s farewell sermon, he emphasized equality before the law.  “And now I desire that this inequality should be no more in this land, especially among this my people; but I desire that this land be a land of liberty, and every man may enjoy his rights and privileges alike, so long as the Lord sees fit that we may live and inherit the land, yea, even as long as any of our posterity remains upon the face of the land” (Mosiah 29:32).

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[1] “And it came to pass that it did cause great joy among them.  And they went down into the land of Jershon, and took possession of the land of Jershon; and they were called by the Nephites the people of Ammon; therefore they were distinguished by that name ever after” (Alma 27:26).

[2] “And now it came to pass that after the people of Ammon were established in the land of Jershon, and a church also established in the land of Jershon, and the armies of the Nephites were set round about the land of Jershon, yea, in all the borders round about the land of Zarahemla; behold the armies of the Lamanites had followed their brethren into the wilderness. And thus there was a tremendous battle; yea, even such an one as never had been known among all the people in the land from the time Lehi left Jerusalem; yea, and tens of thousands of the Lamanites were slain and scattered abroad. Yea, and also there was a tremendous slaughter among the people of Nephi; nevertheless, the Lamanites were driven and scattered, and the people of Nephi returned again to their land” (Alma 28:1-3).

[3] “Let no man deceive you by any means: [JST 2 Thes. 2:3 ... for there shall come] a falling [GR apostasy, defection] away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition” (2 Thessalonians 2:3).

[4] “Nevertheless, they durst not lie, if it were known, for fear of the law, for liars were punished; therefore they pretended to preach according to their belief; and now the law could have no power on any man for his belief” (Alma 1:17).

[5] Critics of the Church love to use this scripture as proof against the Church.  Their arguments are meaningless.  They ignore this scripture is a two edge sword.  They assume they are right and we are wrong.  They never consider the fact this scripture is a two edge sword.  The never think Paul could be referring to them and their beliefs.

[6] Irony in the Book of Mormon, Robert A. Rees, Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 12/2 (2003): 29.