Mormon withholds the name of the man, Korihor, until verse 12. Korihor is said to come to the land of Zarahemla, much as Sherem was said to have come to the land of Nephi (Jacob 7:1). As with Sherem, no place of origin, and no lineage connection is given. We simply have the man appearing. What is important in this recounting is not where he came from, but his religious (and thus political) affiliation is given. Korihor is “Anti-Christ.” This designation requires some explanation:
“By Joseph Smith’s day the idea of an antichrist had evolved into the idea of an Anti-Christ. The word antichrist is the Bible term for the false teachers in the Church who taught a false Christ instead of a true Christ. the Greek preposition anti, roughly translated, means instead of. It also carries the meaning of “face to face” or mirror image. The image in the mirror, looking back at you, is face to face with you. It looks like you. Yet it has no substance. It is a counterfeit of you, in a sense. It only appears to be you. So when John in his epistles spoke of antichrists, he was speaking of the belief of the Gnostics that God is a substanceless spirit rather than a resurrected being. (See 1 Jn. 2:18-22; 1 Jn. 4:1-3; 2 Jn. 1:7.) Such a god is like the image in the mirror--really nothing, a counterfeit. Through the centuries thereafter, the term antichrist became Anti-Christ, and by Joseph Smith’s day it referred to those who opposed Christ.” (Glenn L. Pearson and Reid E. Bankhead, Building Faith with the Book of Mormon [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1986], 74 - 75.)
In the case of Korihor, we appear to have someone who most clearly fits the definition of one “who opposed Christ” that will be the centerpiece of the theological conflict between Korihor and Alma. Another well organized mode of thought that was Anti-Christ was the order of Nehor. Korihor does not appear to be associated with the order of Nehor, even though he shares a denial of the Atoning Messiah with them. Korihor’s denials appear to extend even further, however, and Korihor may not have been a believer in any of the traditions of the Nephites, including the law of Moses. It is quite possible that Korihor has accepted one of the religions of the land, and therefore comes to combat against the entire Nephite religio-political spectrum.