“No Atonement Made”

Ed J. Pinegar, Richard J. Allen

Anti-Christs like Korihor teach deluded doctrines such as these: there should be no Christ, hope is in vain, there can be no prophecy, righteous traditions are foolishness, we cannot know things that we cannot see, we are of a frenzied mind because of the traditions of our fathers, there can be no Atonement, we fare according to our own strength, whatever we do is not a crime, and when we die it is the end of our existence. Through inspiration and sound reasoning, we can recognize that anti-Christs are servants of the devil and seek to make us miserable like the devil. They seek to destroy our faith in Christ by placing doubt in our hearts. Let us cleave to the word of God from our living prophets and the scriptures.

Modern prophets have repeatedly warned us against the assaults of anti-Christ aggression. Here are a few examples:

• Hugh B. Brown: “We declare that God has intervened in the affairs of men in anticipation of the final struggle against the hosts of hades, the anti-Christs, who are organized and marshalled for war against religion and God and all the principles of freedom, justice, love, and tolerance for which the Savior died” (Continuing the Quest [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1961], 218).
• Marion G. Romney: “This is a day of great conflict between truth and error. Satan is having a field day with the souls of men. Anti-christs stalk the earth in all lands, including our own. False philosophies and doctrines emanating from the prince of darkness are being presented in such appealing manner as almost to deceive the very elect. There is only one sure way to divine truth from error. That is to learn the mind and will of the Father on these matters and then do it” (Learning for the Eternities [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1977], 108).
• Spencer W. Kimball: “It is a real travesty today when we hear the voices of the atheist, the godless, and the anti-Christ who would deny us the right of public expression of our worship of the Master. First they moved against the long-established institution of prayer in our public schools. They would remove any vestige of Christianity or worship of the Savior of mankind in our public gatherings; they would remove the long-established tradition of prayer in our Congress, remove the ‘In God We Trust’ insignia from our nation’s emblems and seals and from our national coins.
“The latest move of these anti-Christs would prohibit our own children from singing the beautiful and inspiring Christmas carols, relating to the Savior’s birth or divinity, or ‘the heavenly angels singing’ from our public schools” (The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, ed. Edward L. Kimball [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1982], 411–412).
• Ezra Taft Benson: “Certainly spirituality is the foundation upon which any battle against tyranny must be waged. And because this is basically the struggle of the forces of Christ versus anti-Christ, it is imperative that our people be in tune with the supreme leader of freedom—the Lord our God. And men only stay in tune when their lives are in harmony with God. For apart from God we cannot succeed, but as a partner with God we cannot fail” (The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1988], 413).

Commentaries and Insights on the Book of Mormon, Vol. 2

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