BITS AND SNIPPETS OF THINGS TO COME

WHO WAS CORIANTUMR?

Just as the Nephites discovered the Mulekites in Zarahemla, they heard, from the Mulekites, of the existence of another people in ancient America.  When the Mulekites arrived, they found what must have by then been an old man.  He told the people that he was the last survivor of a group that were brought to these shores by the hand of the Lord following the fall of the Tower of Babel.

Of this man, Amaliki wrote:

And it came to pass in the days of Mosiah, there was a large stone brought unto him with engraving on it; and he did interpret the engravings by the gift and power of God.  And they gave an account of one Coriantumr, and the slain of his people.  And Coriantumr was discovered by the people of Zarahemla; and he dwelt with them for the space of nine moons. (Omni 1: 20-21)

Stele

Later in the Book of Mormon we learn more about this man and his people when the writings of the prophet Ether are discovered and translated.  I find it interesting that in the writings of one Nephite, Amaliki, we find these little snippets of information foreshadowing what would be written later.  Joseph Smith was not an educated nor a sophisticated man.  As a 20 year old 19th century farm boy it would have been impossible for him to have crafted such an internally consistent document as the Book of Mormon.

Mesoamerican archaeologists have located dozens of large stones with engravings upon them in Central America.  These stones record important events and people and are call stele.

WHO WAS KING BENJAMIN?

Behold, I, Amaleki, was born in the days of Mosiah; and I have lived to see his death; and Benjamin, his son, reigneth in his stead. (Omni 1: 23)

Ameliki was growing old and knew it was time to pass on the stewardship for the plates to another.  He had no children of his own, which created in him a desire to find one worthy to take on the responsibility.   After much prayer and pondering, he chose to give the plates to King Benjamin because, as he said, I knew him to be a just man before God. (Omni 1:25)

WHO ARE THE PEOPLE WHO LEFT ZARAHEMLA?

Amaliki left one final note: a small group of people led by a strong and mighty man decided to leave Zarahemla and return to the Land of Nephi.  We learn much more about these people later in the Book of Mormon.  Amaliki includes the reference here because his own brother was among the group that left.  He never saw his brother again.

I received my testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon when I was 18 years old.  I took Moroni's challenge to read with real intent and then pray to know if what I was reading was true (Moroni 10:4)  I was blessed with that affirmation through the Holy Ghost.  Since that time, my testimony has never wavered.  I have read the Book of Mormon many times and have studied it in some depth.  I never ceases to amaze me how many things testify of its truthfulness from archaeological finds, scholarly studies, and the Book of Mormon itself. 

I know that a 19th century American farm boy could have written it.  It took J.R.R. Tolkien decades to create the world of Middle Earth, and he was a highly educated scholar.

The cultures and characters in the Book of Mormon are as rich and complex as anything Tolkien created. Spiritually, they are of far more value, for they were created by God.

© March 2020 Dr. Kathleen Rawlings Buntin Danielson

WHO WERE THE MULEKITES?

It was about 600 B. C.  Judah had been a vassal state of Assyria. After the fall of Assyria, Judah became a vassal of Babylonia.  When Josiah was king, Judah was somewhat stable.  But when Josiah was killed in battle with the Egyptians, things fell apart quickly.  Josiah's son, Jehoahaz was crowned the king.  He reigned for less than a year.  He was followed by Jehoiakim, who reigned until 598.  Zedekiah became king under Babylonian rule.

Some of the brightest young men in Judah were taken captive into Babylon at that time, men like Daniel who was of royal lineage.  Many prophets saw what was coming and knew it was just a matter of time before Babylon would take them all.  Lehi was one of those prophets. We know that it was when Zedekiah was King of Judah, that Lehi and his family left Jerusalem as directed by the Lord. In that way, the Lord preserved the line of Joseph.

Olmec sculpture of a young child.

There were others who could see what was coming, but the king and his counselors wouldn't listen.  They ultimately paid the price of their wickedness when Nebuchadnezzar' army destroyed Judah and the temple and took the Jews to Babylon, including their king, Zedekiah.  Zedekiah had several sons. In the Old Testament, we hear only about his older sons who were all slain by the Babylonians.  Zedekiah was forced to watch before they blinded him and took him away in chains. However, we learn from the Book of Mormon that not all of Zedekiah's sons were killed.  He had one son who was most likely a young child or even an infant who was not in the public eye. He survived because trusted escorts were able to spirit him out of Judah before the conquest.  Their goal was  to preserve King David's line.  

That boy's name was Mulek.  These Jews saved the kingly line, but they left in such haste that they weren't as prepared as Lehi and his family had been.  Most importantly, in the chaos, they didn't take any scriptures with them.  As a result, their language became corrupted, they lost the Law of Moses and the value system of the Jews.  

An archeological find in Central America seems to link the Olmecs to Mulek. It was found in 1997 and bears the name, in ancient Hebrew of a man name Malkiyahu, son of the king.  LDS scholars believe this is a reference to Mulek. 


Fast forward to about 200 B.C.  The people of Mulek left the place of their first landing and settled in a fertile Valley that may have been located in what is now Central Mexico.  They were led by a man named Zarahemla, who may well have been a descendant of Mulek.  The central city and all of the land round about it was called Zarahemla.

The Nephites under King Mosiah I. found the Mulekites in their city.  The Book of Mormon tells us there was great rejoicing. The Nephites were able to teach the Mulekites their language and much of their culture.  They also returned to them their worship and scriptures.  Ultimately, because they had no prophets of prophecy, they named the Nephite King, Mosiah I. King over all of the land.

© March 2020 Dr. Kathleen Rawlings Buntin Danielson

FEASTING ON THE WORDS

As I have committed to feast and not nibble, I am almost overwhelmed by the amount of significant material I am finding.  I find myself wanting to say, "When did they put that in the Book of Mormon?!"  For example, this week our Come Follow Me lesson is about the Book of Mormon scriptures dealing with the Savior's atonement, death, and resurrection. Next weekend is General Conference and we have been asked to prepare by studying the restoration.  And, as for me, I still have things to cover in the short books before I move on! What a quandary!

While I will likely cover all three before the week is out, for the Covenant Keepers blog, I want to continue with the small books.  I will focus on the Easter scriptures the week just before Easter (the Sunday following conference.)  I want to put together some primary lessons about the restoration for my great grandchildren.  It will be a "thronged" week, in the words of Catherine Marshall.

t

There are is great resources for teaching children about the First Vision.  Search Yahoo or Google images and find many coloring pages like this one.  There are videos and stories on YouTube such as those found on a site called Latter-day Kids. 

A Story About Sincere Prayer

Of course, the Church website is full of resources. www.churchofjesuschrist.org 

I also am attaching a link to a new group of pictures that are special to me because of the artist.  The artwork was done by a young friend of mine, Judy Lou Bloomfield.  I've watched Judy grow from a little girl who loved to doodle to a lovely, mature young woman with an incredible talent.  Her style has become recognizable to me and I frequently see her family posts on Facebook.

The first vision

--------------------------------------

OK, back to the small books. Amaleki, the last of the small book writers, introduced us to King Mosiah I., the king of the Nephites.  Warfare had become such a constant under continued Lamanite attacks that Mosiah was warned of the Lord that he should flee out of the land of Nephi. (Omni 1:12) He took as many of the Nephites who would follow him, and followed the Lord's counsel.  They were led by the Lord down out of the mountains and into the valley where they came upon a civilization living in a land which they called Zarahemla.  

There are many opinions as to where the sites in the Book of Mormon are located.  I found at least 3. I have chosen the map at the left because it comes closest to what the majority of book of Mormon scholars say fits the clues in the Book itself. The Church has never taken a stand on this issue, so this map is just for comparison purposes.   Suffice it to say that the Land of Nephi was in a Mountainous region and the Land of Zarahemla was is in a Valley separated by a wilderness area.

When Mosiah and his people arrive, they find the area already populated by another group of people similar in features.  These people called themselves Mulekites.  I'll talk more about them in a later post, but even though they had disparate languages and cultures, there were enough similarities that the people of Zarahemla welcomed the newcomers.  There was great rejoicing in both groups (see Omni 1:14) Even the leader of the Mulekites, a man named Zarahemla, rejoiced at being found by the Nephites.  The people of Zarahemla accepted Mosiah I. as the king over them all, which leads me to believe that this Mosiah must have been an impressive man.

© March 2020 Dr. Kathleen Rawlings Buntin Danielson

INCREASING WARS, WEAPONS, AND FORTIFIED CITIES

Warfare in the Book of Mormon:

 War Against Christianity

One thing I noticed yesterday when I listed the key topics of each of the writers of the small books was the mention of the increase in warfare and its changing nature. Each writer in the Book of Omni mentions this topic. Given that these books were short, sometimes only one verse long, the mention of war as a key topic leads me to believe that it was important and marked a fundamental change in the battle between good and evil.  

While there had been enmity between the Nephites and the Lamanites from the beginning, Omni, son of Enos, mentioned that the Lamanites began to attack the Nephites more frequently and with greater vengeance during his lifetime. As long as the Nephites kept the Covenant, they were protected in these attacks.  When they didn't, things went poorly for them.

By the time Jarom passed the records to his son, Omni, it seemed as if war had become a way of life.  The first thing Omni wrote was the he, himself, had fought with the sword to preserve . . . the Nephites from falling into the hands of their enemies, the Lamanites. (Omni 1:2) Because of this, Omni described himself as a wicked man who had not kept the Covenant as he ought to have done.

He went on to say that there had been some seasons of peace, but many seasons of serious war and bloodshed. (Omni 1:3)  Perhaps these writers were so consumed with war and self-preservation that they had neither the time nor the spirituality to write prophetically. This war between good and evil had begun in heaven before the foundation of the world and it continued to plague mankind  even up to today.

By the time his son, Amaron, wrote on the plates, the wars had become so horrific that the more wicked part of the Nephites were destroyed. (Omni 1: 5) Remember the terms of the Covenant with God were that He would protect them if they kept the commandments.  Omni admitted that he hadn't kept the commandments, even though he was a leader among people. 

God allows for defensive warfare which, apparently this was - at least in the beginning.  However,  by its very nature, warfare changes people.  Hundreds of veterans today suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, what our grandfathers called shell shock due to the dehumanizing effects of war.  Amaron's brother, Chemish, kept the records and didn't mention war, although I have little doubt that it had become, by then, a way of life. There were minimal records kept on the plates and no revelations nor prophecies in those years. (See Omni 1:

Abinadom, Chemish's son, wrote that he, like his uncle, had taken up the sword against the Lamanites (see Omni1: 10) and admitted to have taken the lives of many. . . 

Someone once said that war never changes, but something had changed.  The Nephites began to make a career of warfare.  They fortified their cities.  They developed industry for the making of weapons, sharp arrow, spears and javelins.  The Scholars at Book of Mormon Central have compiled evidence of this early warfare.  I invite you to listen to their ideas.  One of the facts is that description of warfare in the Book of Mormon have been studied by military experts and found to be consistently accurate in portraying warfare in Mesoamerica, increasing around 400 B.C.  

Early Book of Mormon Warfare

I have a testimony that Joseph Smith translated the Book from ancient records. Findings like this support that testimony in that the closest warfare in Joseph's day had been the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812.  Nothing in his experience or family memory could have given him insights into this kind of warfare. As the modes of warfare changed in the Book of Mormon, so, too, did the styles of warfare in Mesoamerica change.  That is not a coincidence, but internal evidence of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon.

© March 2020 Dr. Kathleen Rawlings Buntin Danielson

JAROM AND OMNI

I recently heard someone say that you don't have to pay much attention to Enos, Jarom, Omni, because none of them say anything worth studying.  I'm embarrassed to admit that I once thought that, too. I thought that perhaps they weren't faithful or that they were lazy.  I no longer think that.

After spending time studying Enos, I have come to love and respect him and I can relate to his wrestling with God and himself.  I was also pleased that he reached out in prayer on behalf of his brethren and even his enemies.  He shared his testimony and became a prophet in his own right.  When he was old and knew he would soon die, he gave the Nephite records to his son, Jarom, with the admonition that he and his descendants should keep the records safe. 

I have noted that he did not say, "And write on the plates prolifically." Jarom kept his promise to his father, as did Omni, Amaron, Chemish, Abinadom, and Ameliki. They kept the records safe.  The recorded that they were of the genealogical line of Lehi, and said a few things they felt were important.  That they were following Lehi, Nephi, Jacob, and even Enos, meant that they read the scriptures and the prophets just mentioned and didn't feel that there was anything of great spiritual worth that needed to be added.  Remember, others were keeping the historical records and Mormon gives us what was important at the time in his subscriptio* to the Small Plates

Small book prophets of the Book of Mormon from Enos to Words of Mormon 

Jarom gives his purposes for writing as he was

1. keeping his genealogy (like a Book of Remembrance) 
2. reminding his readers the promise of the Book of Mormon: inasmuch as ye will keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land. (Jarom 1: 9). Jarom teaches us that in the beginning, the Nephites did keep the commandments and did prosper.  The Lamanites did not and did not overrun the Nephites, even though they outnumbered them. 
3. discussing warfare which began to arise as the Lamanites attacked, but the Nephites prevailed as long as they were righteous. He mentioned that more complete records of the warfare were to be had on the large plates.
4. giving a calendar: it had been 238 years since Lehi left Jerusalem.

Omni

1. Obeyed his father in keeping the genealogy
2. Reported the escalation of warfare and how he had personally fought with the sword
3. Confessed that he had not been faithful in keeping God's commandments
4. 282 years** had passed with seasons of peace followed by seasons of war (Omni 1: 3)

Amaron

1. Received the records of his father
2. 320 years had passed
3. Warfare had wiped away many of the more wicked Nephite
4. Righteous Nephites were spared 

Chemish 

1. Amaron's brother Wrote on the plates the day he received them then didn't write more.  
2. Kept the plates safe

What you might find in the authors of the small books

Abinidom 

1. Chemish's son 
2. Warfare increased
3. Abinidom admits to slaying many Lamanites in defense of the Nephites.  Realized that he could add nothing to what was already on the plates. 

Amaleki

1. Abinidom's son
2. Introduces us to King Mosiah the first

It really helped me to spend some time with these recordkeepers.  Even though they wrote very little, they did preserve the plates and keep the genealogy and calendar. Tomorrow, I want to spend some time looking more closely at the writings of Amaleki because he tells us, in a few short verses, some important facts: King Mosiah; the move to Zarahemla; the Mulekites; King Benjamin; a small group returns to the Land of Nephi.

I can't wait to dig in!

© March 2020 Dr. Kathleen Rawlings Buntin Danielson

* A Hebrew literary practice of given an introduction to a section of writing at the end of the writing rather than the beginning.  Words of Mormon is a subsciptio, as if the introductory page to the Book of Mormon, which Joseph Smith found on the last page of the plates and which he placed on the first page, which is a more common English writing tradition.

** Just FYI, it has been only 244 years since the signing of our Declaration of Independence.  Keeping things in perspective!

WRESTLING WITH GOD

While on a hunting trip, Enos becomes concerned for the welfare of his soul and for his challenge of following in his father's footsteps. Enos described this event:

And I will tell you of the wrestle which I had before God, before I received a remission of my sins. Behold, I went to hunt beasts in the forest; and the words which I had often heard my father speak concerning eternal life, and the joy of the saints, sunk deep into my heart. And my soul hungered; and I kneeled down before my Maker, and I cried unto him in mighty prayer . . . all the day long did I cry unto him; and when night came I did still raise my voice high that it reached the heavens. (Enos 1: 2-4)

There is an ironic juxtaposition between this story and the story of his ancestor, Jacob.  Enos' father was named after this great patriarch. (The story of this Jacob's wrestle with God is found in the Book of Genesis, chapter 32.)

Jacob had been born a twin.  Through subterfuge and with his mother's help, Jacob tricks his father Isaac into giving him the birthright blessing instead of his brother Esau, who was the first to be born. The fact that Esau had lost the right to have the birthright through marrying out of the covenant and being casual with his adherence to God's laws, he was still very wroth at his brother, Jacob, calling him a thief and swearing to kill his brother.*

Jacob fled his home to escape Easu and went to live with his mother's brother. While there, Jacob married his wives Leah and Rachel and his wives' handmaidens, Zilpah and Bilhah. These women bore him 11 sons, but after 20 years, Jacob wanted to be independent of his father-in-law, so he sought to return home..

But Esau heard and was coming with 400 men! When Jacob realized this, he was terrified.** He prayed mightily, just as he descendent Enos would do thousands of years later. He described his ordeal as wrestling with God. In the process, Jacob's hip was dislocated and he walked with a limp from then on, but the Lord did bless him and renewed His covenant as he had with Abraham and Issac.  To honor this renewal of the covenant, God changed Jacob's name from deceiver to Israel, one who struggles with God.

I like this portrayal of his struggle by Rembrandt. Most pictures show Jacob in mortal combat with an angel, full of malice on both sides.  In this portrayal, I can see that the angel is, in reality, supporting Jacob as he wrestled. I believe that Jacob was really wrestling with himself; his own natural man and his sins. 

Likewise, when Enos wrestled in mighty prayer, he was also confronting his fears and his weaknesses.  He went to the forest to kills beasts and ended up slaying the beast of his own natural man.  He was likewise blessed by God.  He later wrote: 

And there came a voice unto me, saying, Enos, thy sins are forgiven thee, and thou shalt be blessed. And I, Enos, knew that God could not lie; wherefore my guilt was swept away. (Enos 1: 5, 6)

Have you struggled with God?  I certainly have, and like Rembrandt's angel, He has supported me through it all, even when I felt angry with Him.  I have had times when I have thrown a tantrum like a little child.  Because I am by nature as loving and nurturing person, when that happens it really upsets the people around me.  It helps me to have a diagnosis that allows me to see increasing tantrums in light of what is happening in my brain.  

I cannot tell you what a relief it has been to let go and let God.  I have been assured of His love, His compassion and mercy, His everlasting grace. Someone once said that justice is when we get what we deserve; mercy is when we don't get what we deserve; and grace is when we receive what we do not deserve, such as Jesus Christ's unconditional love and infinite atonement.  I have been humbled by my struggles of the past few years, and in that humility, I have found grace and peace.  I am grateful beyond words. I am also amazed.

I Stand All Amazed

© March 2020 Dr. Kathleen Rawlings Buntin Danielson

*When  Jacob was born, it is said that, as Esau left their mother's womb, Jacob grabbed his foot.  Names are important in Hebrew culture.  Therefore, he was named Jacob because that word derived from the Hebrew or deceiver or grabber. 

* (For the full story of Jacob at this point in his life, I refer you to:

Jacob Wrestling With God

A STRUGGLE AND AN ANSWER: ENOS AND ME

I have been struggling for several years now with a malady that is physical, mental, and spiritual.  I've been to countless doctors and had almost every test known to mankind.  Yesterday, I saw yet a new neurologist.  He looked at the MRI I had done 18 months ago and knew instantly what was wrong.  He did some other simple tests and then gave me a diagnosis that is right on point.  

I am so relieved to finally know what is happening to me physically because the physical distress has made me feel out-of-control of my own life.  It has caused frustration, depression, and anxiety.  It has altered my personality in some pretty fundamental ways.  A natural optimist, encourager, and lover (in the non-physical sense) I have become angry, frustrated, and cynical.  

It has also been a spiritual struggle as if I am cramming for the finals with God.

I found out that this disorder - normal pressure hydrocephalus -  is not life-threatening.  It takes awhile, but it can be treated with a medication developed for another condition.  The medication, in some cases, can alleviate most of the symptoms that have so disrupted my life.  They have another medication they can substitute if that doesn't work.  

The next step, before surgery, is a spinal tap.  Not something I would look forward to having!

Worst case scenario would be surgery, but given my age, I am praying to avoid that.

I am so grateful that the Lord led me to this neurologist who was able to diagnose in a few minutes a malady that has eluded everyone (including me) for almost 2 years.  In fact, the doctor says I have probably had this for several years which, in hindsight, helps me understand a lot of other physical and emotional symptoms I have had.

I acknowledge the Lord's hand in my life.  I believe that this delay was to allow me to become more humble and teachable and reliant on God.  I have developed more patience in longsuffering.  I have learned to endure with grace and serenity.

Enos prayed to know Jesus Christ and to know forgiveness for his shortcomings. God could have zapped him with testimony and assurance, but He didn't.  Enos had to wrestle with mighty prayer and tears for hours.  When the answer did come, Enos was ready to hear it.

Sometimes God zaps us with an immediate answer; sometimes He  requires us to wait in order that we might learn a lesson necessary for our spiritual health and healing.  It happened that way for Enos.  It happened (and is happening) that way for me.

I know that I have a Father in Heaven Who loves me.  I know that His Son, Jesus Christ, came to earth to teach and exemplify and then to die on the cross for me and all mankind.  I know that because He was resurrected, I will be too.  I need not fear either death or hell because Jesus Christ holds the keys to both and He is my advocate with the Father and with all mankind. I humbly repent of anything I said or did to hurt anyone, even inadvertently, because of this physical condition and my not knowing what it was.  I pray that they can forgive me.  There are times in the past four years when I have not been myself.  I have missed the person that I have strived all my life to become.  I pray for the strength - now that I know what is going on in my brain - that I can once again become the loving, patient, and hopeful person I once was.

In this time of crisis in the world because of the pestilence known as COVID-19, I find great comfort in knowing that Jesus Christ is the God of this nation and of the world and that He is in charge. He has restored His gospel in these latter days and is reaching out, like the Master of the Vineyard, to gather all of Israel to the Tree of Life before the finale of the world.

I leave you this testimony in the name of Jesus Christ, Creator and Redeemer, Amen.

© March 2020 Dr. Kathleen Rawlings Buntin Danielson

THY FAITH HATH MADE THEE WHOLE

Some years ago, while I was working as a counselor, I went to a professional development workshop.  The speaker spoke on the etymology of the words whole, heal, holy. He said that the three shared the same roots.  I found that interesting in light of the above quote. 

When I hear thy faith hath made thee whole, I think first of the woman who touched Jesus' robe, but Jesus said it to others He had healed and He said it to Enos.  

A quick look at the topical guide in the scriptures shows that whole and healing are cross-referenced to one another. So often, when we require a physical, mental, or spiritual healing, we go to people who treat us as if we were compartmentalized. But we were not created of little compartments: God created us whole, in His own image.

Enos had big shoes to fill.  His grandfather was the great Prophet and Patriarch, Lehi.  His uncle was the Prophet Nephi and his father, Jacob, was the Prophet and keeper of the sacred records.  Just before he died, Jacob gave his son, Enos, stewardship over those records.  I can just imagine how Enos must have felt! I don't get the sense that he was a wicked man, but he was certainly an overwhelmed man.  His grandfather had seen Jesus Christ in vision.  So had his uncle and his father.  He had not had such a vision. He was like most of us: struggling to have faith when he, like Thomas the doubting apostle, had not seen.

The Savior did heal Enos, but it wasn't instantaneously.  Enos wrestled and prayed for many hours for the peace and testimony he received. I  find a great lesson in this story of Enos.

I became very ill in 2016.  I retired (a second time) from the career as an educator.  I had committed to serve three years as founder and principal of George Washington Academy in Arizona, but by the end of the second year, my health had deteriorated to the point where I could no longer do the job and survive.  I recognized immediately that my health issues were mental and emotional as well as physical. I struggled for many years before I came to understand that they were also spiritual. 

Wholeness didn't come in an instant. For the past two years, I have worked on all three, praying and struggling, and crying.  Finally, I found peace.  I am still physically ill, but I have the spiritual and emotional strength now to deal with my limitations.

Fred Rogers of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood fame once wrote a little song, Everything Grows Together.*  In his reassuring way, Mr. Rogers helps young children understand the concept of wholeness. Until one comes to recognize the need for wholeness one cannot experience healing. 

© March 2020 Dr. Kathleen Rawlings Buntin Danielson

*You may want to listen to Mr. Rogers:

Everything Grows Together

SHEREM: EXPOSING AN ENEMY OF CHRIST

Who is the antichrist?  Most Christians speak of the antichrist to come as prophesied in the Book of Revelation.  He will certainly be one, but there are others.  The Apostle John later wrote: Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now there are many antichrists (1 John 2: 18)

In this, we come to know that there is more than one antichrist.

So the better question is "What is an antichrist?"  Again, John answers that an antichrist is he who is a liar [and one] that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist that denieth the Father and the Son. (1 John 2:22) 


President Benson taught that one of the ways that the Book of Mormon teaches about us about Christ is by exposing His enemies, i.e., antichrists.  Antichrists take many forms. As John says, everyone who denies Christ is antichrist. But I think it goes deeper than that.  Based on the antichrists mentioned in the Book of Mormon, an antichrist isn't just a person who doesn't believe in Christ, but one who preaches against Christ and denies Him publicly with the goal of justifying his own beliefs and behaviors, leading others astray in the process.  The antichrists of the Book of Mormon all teach false doctrine.  A careful reading of the letters of John in the New Testament show that the Apostle was warning the Saints of his day about just such false teachers.  

The first antichrist mentioned in the Book of Mormon was a man named Sherem. Sherem preached in direct opposition to the teachings of the Prophet Jacob. His primary theme was that there would be no Messiah and that no man could no of something happening so far in the future, not even Jacob.  The implication was that there is no such thing as prophecy and therefore, Jacob was not a prophet. 

Sherem was a well-educated and charismatic man and many of the Nephites were led away by his sophistry.  When he had sufficient celebrity, he confronted Jacob personally.  He told him that he was a liar, teaching people of a coming Christ was leading them away from the Law of Moses (which in itself was a lie since Jacob and the Nephites were living the Law of Moses.) 

When Jacob corrected Sherem's errors, he confounded him at every turn.  He finally asked Sherem point blank if he denied the coming of Christ.  Sherem answered that if there should be a Christ, I would not deny him: but I know that there is no Christ, neither has been, nor ever will be.(Jacob 7:9)

What Sherem was trying to do, among other things, was to discredit Jacob as a prophet.  This would give him carte blanche to do his evil and build up a church unto himself for profit.  He must have felt he was on safe ground because, under the law of witnesses, the proof of the truthfulness of a prophet is that his prophecies come true.  Since Jacob's prophecies were hundreds of years in the future, there was no way, Sherem thought, that this test of proof could be achieved.  Then he made his big mistake; he asked Jacob to show him a sign that Jacob's source of information - the Holy Ghost - was a reality.

Jacob refused to tempt God but he told Sherem that if he (Sherem) was struck down, he could take it as a sign from God. No sooner had Jacob finished speaking than Sherem fell to the ground, struck down by the power of God. One thing I noticed that I hadn't before is that Sherem was cared for and fed, etc., by the people for many days!  Talk about ministering! Sherem ultimately confessed that he had lied and acknowledged both God and his prophet before he died.  A lesson here is to be careful what you wish for!

Jacob was firmly established as a prophet, and by recording this story on the plates, he added credibility to other Nephite prophets who would follow him.

I am grateful to have a living prophet at the head of this Church today.  I believe that this current pestilence was known to God and that through a prophet and apostles, God prepared us for the necessary social distancing more than a year before we would need it.  I am looking forward to a Church service with my family and a lesson on the Parable of the Olive Tree given by my son.  I have prepared a primary lesson for my great-grandchildren.  Because we've been doing this since January 1919, it is no great challenge to continue to do it now. If there are any Sherems out there who require a sign as to the validity of Russel M. Nelson's prophecies, he need look no further than the state of the world today.  Remember: if we are prepared, we have no need to fear, no matter what else is happening in the world.

Ye Shall Not Fear

© March 2020 Dr. Kathleen Rawlings Buntin Danielson