When Korihor, the
infamous anti-Christ in the Book of Mormon, began to speak publicly among the
Nephites he sought to attack, not just what people believed, but what they thought about what they believed. He accused
the people of being "bound down under a foolish and a vain hope" and
asked them, "why do ye yoke yourselves with such foolish things?" He
attacked their trust in prophets, saying that "[the] things which ye call
prophecies, which ye say are handed down by holy prophets, behold, they are
foolish traditions of your fathers." He derided their hope in Christ by
saying that their beliefs were "the effect of a frenzied mind" and
that "this derangement of your minds comes because of the traditions of
your fathers, which lead you away into a belief of things which are not
so" (Alma 30:13-16).
Placing the filter
of modern language on Korihor's statements his attacks begin to sound very
familiar…
- You are so tied to your beliefs that you can't see the truth.
- You belief hurts you and hurts others; stop being so bigoted.
- You are ignorant of (insert historical, political, or social detail) and only believe because you're so naïve.
- Faith only works for those who aren't interested in facts.
- Don't you see how ridiculous your beliefs are?
- You simply believe in your Church because you were raised that way.
Have you ever heard
any of those statements?
It is,
unfortunately, a hallmark of our day that simple trust and faith is derided by
those who view themselves more informed. Many times these individuals have only
the whispers of details or the rumors of facts but with those whispers and
rumors claim the superiority of knowledge and the ensuing right to degrade
those who base their life on belief and faith. They claim that you are
brainwashed and that if you only knew what they knew you too would doubt,
discourage, and despair.
To those voices, we
can respond like Alma did. Despite Korihor's attempts to "rise up in great
swelling words [and] revile" (v. 31) against the prophet and priests, Alma
responded with bold, direct, simple statements: "For behold, I say unto
you, I know there is a God, and also that Christ shall come" (v. 39). When
pressed by Korihor to defend his belief, Alma stated four foundations of
testimony which, if applied in our lives, can be four pillars of our own faith
in God, His Christ, and His prophets. We can support our choice to believe with
(v. 44)
- "the testimony of all these [our] brethren" - the spoken and written experiences of family, friends, and fellow Church members
- "the holy prophets" - the teachings and testimonies of living prophets
- "the scriptures" - the multitude of voices calling from scriptural history
- "all things" - the very world in which we live and the fruits of belief we see in our own life
It is ironic that
those who have left activity in the gospel and the Church, often based on
twisted, wrested, or even falsified information, turn their scorn at their
former associates and accuse them of being brainwashed. At the end of his
discussion with Alma, Korihor admitted that he "always knew that there was
a God" and preached the adversary's words because they was "pleasing
unto the carnal mind" and continued because he had "much
success" until eventually he, himself, "believed that they were
true" (v. 53). Far be it for me to guess at people's motives, but I have
wondered how many of those clambering and complaining against the Church today
do so because their alternate teachings are easier to swallow than Church
doctrine, because they are successful and have a following, and have, through
repetition, brainwashed themselves into their own beliefs.
In the face of such
opposition Church leaders have taught repeatedly that membership in the Church
and activity in the gospel is a choice to be converted not a result of
brainwashing. Many have seen and continue to see this teaching in their own
lives. They choose to live their lives according to gospel principles taught by
the Savior and His servants in antiquity and modernity. Their choice brings an
almost innumerable array of spiritual proofs which convince of the power of
covenanting with God. Because of that conviction, they continue to choose
belief and continue to receive proof. This isn't brainwashing, it's conversion!
- 10:25 PM
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