Book of Mormon 27 - “All Things Denote There Is a God”

The scriptures in Alma 30 focus on an Anti-Christ, Korihor, and his teachings. In The Keystone of Our Religion, President Ezra Taft Benson (Ensign, Jan. 1992) suggested that in order to effectively study the Book or Mormon, “We should constantly ask ourselves, “Why did the Lord inspire Mormon (or Moroni or Alma) to include this in the record? What lesson can I learn from that to help me live in this day and age?” So, I thought a lot about that question. Korihor’s teachings are allied closely to the modern philosophical tenets of Naturalism. Naturalism is “the philosophical belief that everything arises from natural properties and causes, and supernatural or spiritual explanations are excluded or discounted” (Google definition). These scriptures give us details of Korihor’s doctrines but they also give us Alma’s responses, i.e. how to counter Naturalist claims and assert our own beliefs.

Korihor by James Faulkner

The following chart summarises some Naturalist tenets, Korihor’s teachings, and Alma’s statements.

Naturalist Philosophies	Teachings of Korihor	Teachings of Alma
·               Statements of fact should be based on observation, not on unsupported authority ·               The Scientific Method is followed - all conclusions must be based upon public, repeatable observations using the natural senses  - this automatically cuts out personal revelation or revelation coming to us from God through prophets & scriptures	·                "For no man can know of anything which is to come" (Alma 30:13) ·                The prophecies are "foolish traditions of your fathers" (Alma 30:14) ·                "Ye cannot know of things which ye cannot see" (Alma 30:15) ·                He claimed that we cannot know that there is a God ·                Korihor demands a sign, i.e. he asks for observable evidence	·                  Alma told Korihor that he had put off the Spirit of God (Alma 30:42) ·                  He had the testimony of his brethren, the testimony of the holy prophets, & the testimony of the scriptures (Alma 30:44) ·                  God is the source of all truth & knowledge -  "...and all things denote there is a God” (Alma 30:44)
·               The inanimate world is a self-acting, self-perpetuating system, in which all changes conform to natural laws -eliminates the concept that God has any power to direct or control matter ·               Man is controlled by natural law -  no room for a spirit within the physical body to interact with the body & influence its actions, i.e. no agency ·               Motivation based on survival of the fittest, both physically and mentally	·                There is nothing wrong with living in wickedness - "...when a man was dead, that was the end thereof" (Alma 30:18) ·                One could feel free in committing sin because all existence ended with death - no place for such things as God's law given by holy prophets ·                Denies the necessity of Christ as there is no sin or spiritual death; therefore, no need for an atonement (Alma 30:16-18)	·                  Testified that observation of the natural world is a testimony of God and his hand in the natural world (Alma 30:44) ·                  Motivation stems from fear & love of God
Based on information in Brother Bill Beardall’s Lesson 27, http://beardall2000.com/bm/bom27.htm

Alma confronts Korihor

In Countering Korihor’s Philosophy, Gerald N. Lund (Ensign, July 1992) made some remarkable suggestions regarding the value of learning about Korihor in the Book of Mormon. He makes the following points:

• Alma does not get into an argument or a philosophical debate with Korihor. The lesson is, “We combat false philosophies with revelation and true doctrine, not academic debate.”
• Alma exposes Korihor as a liar, who is inconsistent in his own arguments. Korihor teaches that we know things that we can see. Korihor claims there is no God but has no empirical evidence for his claim. “Korihor will consider only evidence that can be gathered through the senses. In such a system, it is much easier to prove there is a God than to prove there is not a God. To prove there is a God, all it takes is for one person to see, hear, or otherwise have an experience with God, and thereafter the existence of God cannot be disproved.”
• No matter how sophisticated and intelligent an anti-Christ appears to be, the philosophies expounded will be riddled with contradictions and errors. The gospel is always true.
• Korihor demands a sign before he will believe. He is struck dumb. He ends up begging for his living and dies at the hands of the Zoramites, a people who practise the beliefs he previously expounded. “And thus we see the end of him who perverteth the ways of the Lord; and thus we see that the devil will not support his children at that last day, but doth speedily drag them down to hell” (Alma 30:60).

Gerald N.Lund

Gerald Lund concludes with the following statement, “The philosophy Korihor taught, so pervasive among us today, leads to a dead end. This is undoubtedly why, under the power of inspiration, Mormon gave his detailed account of Korihor and his false teachings – so that we today may more easily distinguish between Christ and anti-Christ, between eternal life and spiritual death.”

Korihor claimed we cannot know there is a God, while Alma claimed God is the source of all light and knowledge. This made me think of a story I read online about The Atheist Professor vs the Christian Student. Although the logic in this story is not flawless, it is definitely food for thought! I also thought about Alma’s wonderful statement about all things denoting there is a God. I feel this so strongly. An incredibly faith-promoting talk, a BYU devotional address, Our God Truly is God by Elder Douglas L. Callister of the Seventy (Jan. 2008) provides incredible examples of the evidence of God in all creation. The entire talk is superb. Just some snippets include:

• “With its 107 million cells, connected to the brain by over 1 million neurons, the eye is more perfect than any camera ever invented.”
• “Seventy muscles contribute to hand movements. Much of the rest of the body is devoted to optimizing the complex function of the hand. There are no muscles in the fingers. The sole purpose of the forearm, its muscles and bones, is to move and position the hand.”
• “Your miraculous thumb is controlled by nine individual muscles and three major hand nerves. Sir Isaac Newton is reported to have said: “In the absence of any other proof, the thumb alone would convince me of God’s existence” (see above)
• “They (speaking of the education of physicians) learned of over 150 trillion cells within the body. If set end-to-end, these cells would encircle the earth more than 200 times…more than 1 billion miles (1.6 billion km) of DNA in one human body…a brain that continually receives signals from 130 million light receptors in the eyes, 24,000 hearing receptors in the ears, 10,000 taste buds, and hundreds of receptors in the skin, with specialised commissions to recognise touch, vibration, cold, heat, and pain.”
• “This earth departs from its orbit of the sun by only one-ninth of an inch (2.82 mm) every 18 miles (29 km). If, instead, it changed by one-tenth of an inch (2.54 mm) every 18 miles, we would all freeze to death. If it changed by one-eighth of an inch (3.18 mm), we would all be incinerated.”
• “The evidence of Heavenly Father’s existence is everywhere: in every newborn babe and in every system, part and parcel of the unending and orderly universe, including our own bodies. He is evidenced in every sunset, work of art, and passage of music.”

In Alma 31 we read of the perversion of the Zoramites. Alma went on a mission to the Zoramites. These people had separated themselves from the Nephites, under their leader, Zoram. We are told that the Zoramites had fallen into great errors. Alma believed that a strong missionary effort, from himself and his companions, would lead to a change in the lives of these people. In Alma 31:5, we read “…the preaching of the word had a great tendency to lead the people to do that which was just – yea, it had had a more powerful effect upon the minds of the people than the sword, or anything else, which had happened unto them – therefore Alma thought it was expedient that they should try the virtue of the word of God.” The quote from Elder Boyd K. Packer (below) emphasises this point.

The Zoramites were doing many things that were perversions of gospel truths: failure to observe the law of Moses; forsaking the practise of daily prayer; worshiping only once a week; everyone offering the same prayer, on a prayer stand, the Rameumpton; claiming God to be a spirit and Nephite beliefs to be false; and, preaching that there would be no Christ. The prayer that was offered, once a week, from the Rameumpton, illustrated their pride, vanity, and level of self-deception. This prayer went along the lines of  “Holy, holy God…thou wast a spirit…and wilt be a spirit forever…we do not believe in the tradition of our brethren…thou hast selected us to be thy holy children…thou hast elected us that we shall be saved, whilst all around us are elected to be cast by the wrath down to hell…we thank thee, O God, that we are a chosen and a holy people” (Alma 31:15-18). I have heard some deep, spiritual, sweet, heart-felt prayers in my time – this is not one of them! It is impossible for spirituality and vanity to co-exist. Spirituality and humility go hand-in-hand. 

In contrast to the prayer of the Zoramites, Alma’s prayer is humble, yearning, and poignant. He prayed for strength as his heart was in pain because of the wickedness of the people. He prayed for patience and success for the missionary efforts of himself and his companions. “Behold,O Lord, their souls are precious, and many of them are our brethren; therefore, give unto us, O Lord, power and wisdom that we may bring these, our brethren, again unto thee” (Alma 31: 35).

I hope that we may all keep the efforts of our full-time missionaries in our thoughts and prayers. I know I am so grateful for all the Lord has done for me. I pray that I may be humble enough to follow His direction and live with an attitude of gratitude and a desire to serve others.