Sometimes the idea of an anti-Christ seems so foreign and
complicated. But really, it was preaching against the coming or divinity of
Christ. It feels like, really, a lot of the world is anti-Christ right now. And
that is very sad.
First trick of anti-Christ, call believing foolish and try
to make you feel dumb for being traditional.
Second trick, ask for proof.
Third trick, call believers crazy (fanatics).
Then, after making you feel dumb and foolish, get you on
their side by telling you it’s not your fault, you were deceived (by your
parents, by the church….)
Next he gets into moral relativism and no absolute right and
wrong, and what you get in this life you get by your hard work (pride vs.
gratitude and acknowledging God in all things).
Another lie, when you die that is all there is—so why worry
about being good. Enjoy it while you’ve got it.
I appreciate that many women, and men, were committing
whoredomes, and that for God it isn’t just the women, but when men do it, it is
abominable, too.
I love that the answer is why do you interrupt their
rejoicings. I feel like a lot of time that is what people forget when they are
choosing whether or not to be believers. They let Satan deceive them and then
they miss out on the rejoicing and the peace and love that comes with the
gospel. And when people fight against other people believing, that is what I
always think… why do you want to take away their peace and faith? Let them
rejoice.
And then comes another lie of Satan in verse 23, that
obedience to the commandments brings us down and doesn’t lift up our heads,
puts us into bondage and lets people have power of us. When in reality, the
opposite is true.
And then Satan does what he does and twists the truth about
the fall saying we teach we are guilty because of Adam’s fall, when in reality
we teach we are guilty for own sins and the fall gave us the chance to choose
to sin or not.
And let’s not leave out the dichotomy of how could you know
the will of God to tell people what to do, and also there is no God.
It is also interesting to me that he had to make up a reason
why the leaders would lead the people away, saying it was so they could live
rich off of them, even though it was completely untrue—they worked for their
own living. I have noticed this a lot in politics and at school, and in social
policy arguments lately, that people say things that are totally untrue, and
people just believe them without knowing the facts. It allows the argument to
be completely skewed.
It is beautiful that the strength of Alma’s conviction
prevents him from feeling foolish or even being caught into argument about the
gospel. He just knows—and lives his life in such a way that the Holy Ghost can
constantly reveal the truth of God to him through every piece of the world and
his life.
As I read I also appreciate for the first time that Alma was
not contentious with Korihor. He kept talking to him, and didn’t withhold any
part of the truth, even that it was better to lose his soul than a bunch of
people’s, but he just said it like it was, with no malice or fighting. There
are a lot of situations lately, where I have been trying to just calmly talk
about what I thought was true instead of getting worked up and emotional. I
think I am learning that is the Lord’s way—and he is line upon line teaching me
how to school my emotions while still standing for the right. I have a long way
to go, but I can see that it is so much better.
The part where Korihor talks about an angel coming to him to
tell him there is not God always seems so silly to me. Where do angels come
from then? But when I think about it, a lot of the worldly stuff I hear makes this
little sense. And it really doesn’t matter if it makes sense, people believe what
they want and what they are ready for. Arguing won’t change a heart that doesn’t
want to hear.
The thus we see from this chapter has always stuck out to me.
The devil will not support his children, but speedily drags them down to hell. He
was only ever using Korihor, and once he had lost his usefulness he was on his own.
And that is how it will always be.
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