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.