Mormon - the Philosophical Soldier

"Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God ..." - Mormon

The ancient prophet and historian Mormon's life was dominated by war and destruction, most of which he spent on the front lines. He lived to see and document the genocide of his people. I see his life as parallel to Isaiah, Daniel, Ezekiel and other Biblical prophets who foresaw the destruction of their people. His life also reminds me of Noah who also preached in vain and saw his people destroyed.

Mormon maintained an intense focus on his connection with God through many years of war. Looking at his biography, I see that he was a brilliant war commander who attracted national attention at the age of 16.  I think Mormon's major life lessons include:
     1.  When society is going down the tube, we can still firmly hold our own values.
     2.  War is awful.
     3.  Christ gives us hope for a better world and shows us how to get there for ourselves.
Mormon also compiled the history of about 19 generations into what we know as the Book of Mormon summarizing their accomplishments and weaknesses, their triumphs and struggles. He did this by etching the words into metal plates, as shown in this first picture.

I wouldn't put it past him to be more technically savvy though, and use a type set or other simple machine for the engraving instead of just using his hands.

Biography:
310 AD born in the Land Northward, his father's name was Mormon, a descendant of Nephi.
10 yrs old - As Mormon started school, the prophet Ammaron called him to be the nation's historian and spiritual leader.
11 yrs old - moved to Zarahemla with his father, a much larger city than his birth town.
15 yrs old - visited of the Lord and knows the goodness of Jesus, but is forbidden to preach
16 yrs old - leads the Nephite armies into war, humbling citing his stature as the reason for selection
40 yrs old - preaches repentance in vain
52 yrs old - resigns from service, disgusted by the Nephites' blood lust
65 yrs old - resumes service
75 yrs old - one of 24 soldiers surviving from an army of 230,000
soon after - killed by the Lamanites

Mormon's age during Nephite war years: 16-20,  35-40,  50 - 57,  65 - 75

This picture is just awesome. I imagine their armor and war decorations would have been a lot more unique and intense, but it gets the general feeling about right. 

Confounding Antichrists

ANTICHRIST  -  (See also Devil)   Anyone or anything that counterfeits the true gospel plan of salvation and that openly or secretly opposes Christ. John the Revelator described the antichrist as a deceiver (1 Jn. 2:18–22; 4:3–6; 2 Jn. 1:7). The great antichrist is Lucifer, but he has many assistants, both spirit beings and mortals. 

-- The Guide to the Scriptures

There are three Antichrists mentioned in the Book of Mormon by name: Sherem, Nehor, and Korihor.  This post focuses on what we know about Sherem (all found in Jacob 7). I hope that it will help you and me to identify similar teachings we may encounter.

Image from LDS.org

Sherem
Sherem's Doctrine (Jacob 7)

1. The law of Moses is the right way to worship God (v7)

2. There shall never be a Christ (v9)

3. No man knoweth of things to come (v7)

4. God does not communicate with man through the Holy Ghost (implied in v13)

Sherem seems to be a bit confused and has some contradicting opinions. He says no one can know of things to come, but he knows there will never be a Christ. He says the law of Moses is the right way, but doesn't believe in a Messiah. This is kind of like believing the Bible is true including Christ's Resurrection, but not believing in the Second Coming.

Here are some doctrines similar to Sherem's
- salvation comes by works
- God does not communicate with man today
- the future is not predictable or knowable

Lessons Learned

Jacob son of Lehi responded to Sherem like this:
1. Do you deny the Christ? (v9)
2. Do you believe the scriptures? (v10)
3. The scriptures testify of Christ. (v11)
4. I am a personal witness of Christ. (v12)
Jacob uses the first two questions to anchor his last two statements. I wonder if the exchange was really as short as these verses show, or if this is just a summary of the exchange. In my experience, interpreting scripture and establishing such opposing views from the scriptures requires much more discussion than we have in Jacob 7:6-14. We can respond to confrontations similarly - first asking questions to establish a starting point, then sharing our perspective, and finally giving the reason why we believe one way or the other.

Sherem's Biography

Sherem's begins teaching and laboring diligently to lead the people by "much flattery and much power of speech." Sherem persuades "many hearts" and then seeks out Jacob as the prophet and spiritual leader to try and shake his faith in Christ. The discussion doesn't go Sherem's way, as he ends up demanding a sign from Jacob of the Holy Ghost. The power of The Lord comes upon Sherem and he falls to the earth and is nourished for the space of many days. He knows he is going to die and calls the people together to speak to them. From his deathbed he spoke of a bunch of spiritual topics, in contrast to his earlier teachings about the law of Moses and his comment about the Holy Ghost.

Jacob and Enos - Methuselahs of the Book of Mormon

Life Overview of Jacob son of Lehi
600 BC - 592 BC born while his family journeys in the wilderness.
570 BC has already seen the glory of God and been ordained a priest and teacher.
544 BC takes responsibility for the plates, leads the church.
___ BC confounds Sherem the Anti-Christ

Life Overview of Enos son of Jacob
___ BC   prays and receives forgiveness of his sins
___ BC   leads unsuccessful missions to the Lamanites
420 BC records his life story in the small plates, passes them to his son Jarom

The incredible thing about Jacob and Enos is their longevity. Jacob was born as Lehi was wandering in the wilderness. 180 years later, Jacob's son Enos finishes his entry in the plates. On the news today there are stories of men up to age 96 fathering children. To put these stories in perspective, Gordon B Hinckley was 97 years old when he died, and he was born in 1910. If is father had been born in the 1820's it would have made the same collective 180 year span between father and son.

This also provides an interesting context for Enos' story about receiving a remission of his sins. Enos learned his father's language and remembered his words. Enos promised obedience to keeping the plates for his father before he passed away. Enos says he remembered "the words which I had often heard my father speak concerning eternal life and the joy of the saints." Enos was hunting, and it seems likely that his father had passed away while Enos was young. Enos was likely remembering his deceased father's words. I think this makes Enos situation more poignant and desperate than if his father was 20 years older than him and living.

I also wonder how old Enos was when he received responsibility for the plates. Mormon was 10 years old when he knew he would receive the plates, but that was in a time where the majority of the Nephite civilization was turning to wickedness. Mormon was told by Ammaron to wait to take the plates until he was "about twenty and four years old." If Enos was at least that age when he took the plates, it only makes his and his father's longevity all the more impressive!

Lehi and his son Nephi Life Overviews

Life Overview of Lehi
born and lives in Jerusalem "all his days"
?? BC commanded to preach repentance to the Jews
600 BC flees Jerusalem with his family, leads and prepares family for time in the wilderness
592 BC reaches the land Bountiful
591 BC gets in the boat Nephi built with his brothers
589 BC arrives in the promised land
588 - 570 BC leads his family and prevents extreme hostility, after providing final teachings he dies and is buried (no specific year provided)

How old were Lehi and Sariah?
We don't have a lot of clues about Lehi's exact age. His age might have been a factor in assigning his sons to go back to Jerusalem, but it could have to do with the fact that people there wanted to kill him. Nine years into the story, both Lehi and Sariah were "stricken with years" and that their grey hairs were about to lie low in the dust (notice that they weren't stricken with grey hairs...). I'm sure eight years wandering in the wilderness aged them too, but they weren't young parents when they left. Without any clues that the birth of Jacob and Joseph were miraculous or that they were born to a different mother, Sariah was probably close to 40 about 592 BC. If Lehi lived as long as his son Nephi, he would be born 658 - 640BC, making him at least 48 and at most 66 when he was in the boat. Because of the phrases "stricken with years" and "grey hairs lying low" I think he was closer to 66 when the family got on the boat. Lehi doesn't participate in any hunting, nor in the boat building. However, his words and presence kept the family together when they landed in the new world.

Life Overview of Nephi son of Lehi
born in Jerusalem (best guess 615 BC)
600 BC leaves Jerusalem with his parents and siblings
592 BC reaches the land Bountiful and builds a boat
589 BC arrives in the promised land
588 BC begins making records on plates of metal
~570 BC separates from his brethren "not many days after the death of his father" with all who believed in the revelations of God. They live in the Land of Nephi. The activities mentioned:
- sow seed, reap in abundance, raise herds of animals
- make swords for defense, build buildings, work in wood and metals (2 Ne 5:15)
- build a temple
~560 BC already had wars and contentions with the Lamanites. Nephi didn't want to be king, but he is referred to as the king by his brother.
544 BC gives plates to Jacob, appoints the first (or next) king, dies.

How old was Nephi at death?
Nephi tells us he was exceedingly young when his family left Jerusalem. Alma was 25 as a young man, and Mormon was young at age 16. In general, Jews became of age to preach at 30 years, which seems consistent through the Book of Mormon. I would guess exceedingly young means a teenager in this context. Laman and Lemuel had to use a rod to beat him up, and he was able to keep a grown man from running. If Nephi was 15 when he left Jerusalem, he would be 71 years old at death, which is quite old for a soldier and king.