1 And now it came to pass after some years had passed away, there came a man among the people of Nephi, whose name was Sherem.
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And now it came to pass that the people of Nephi ... began to ... indulge themselves somewhat in wicked practices, such as like unto David of old desiring many wives and concubines. 1:15
1 And now it came to pass after some years had passed away, there came a man among the people of Nephi, whose name was Sherem.
There once was a man named Sherem, [1]
2And it came to pass that he began to preach among the people, and to declare unto them that there should be no Christ. And he preached many things which were flattering unto the people; and this he did that he might overthrow the doctrine of Christ.
3 And he labored diligently that he might lead away the hearts of the people, insomuch that he did lead away many hearts; and he knowing that I, Jacob, had faith in Christ who should come, he sought much opportunity that he might come unto me.
who said that there'd be no Christ.
4 And he was learned, that he had a perfect knowledge of the language of the people; wherefore, he could use much flattery, and much power of speech, according to the power of the devil.
He was learned, had perfect knowledge, and was a good speaker, according to the power of the devil.
5 And he had hope to shake me from the faith, notwithstanding the many revelations and the many things which I had seen concerning these things; for I truly had seen angels, and they had ministered unto me. And also, I had heard the voice of the Lord speaking unto me in very word, from time to time; wherefore, I could not be shaken.
He tried to shake my faith, but I'd seen angels and had heard God's voice, so I couldn't be shaken.
6And it came to pass that he came unto me, and on this wise did he speak unto me, saying: Brother Jacob, I have sought much opportunity that I might speak unto you; for I have heard and also know that thou goest about much, preaching that which ye call the gospel, or the doctrine of Christ.
7 And ye have led away much of this people that they pervert the right way of God, and keep not the law of Moses which is the right way; and convert the law of Moses into the worship of a being which ye say shall come many hundred years hence. And now behold, I, Sherem, declare unto you that this is blasphemy; for no man knoweth of such things; for he cannot tell of things to come. And after this manner did Sherem contend against me.
8 But behold, the Lord God poured in his Spirit into my soul, insomuch that I did confound him in all his words.
This is what he said to me:
Brother Jacob, it's blasphemy for you to say that someone will come many hundred years from now, when you know that no one could know that any such thing is true.
9 And I said unto him: Deniest thou the Christ who shall come? And he said: 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.
I said to him, "Do you deny that Christ will come?"
"If he came, I wouldn't deny it," he said.
" But there is no Christ. There never was and there never will be."
So I said, "Do you believe the scriptures?"
He said, "Yes."
11 And I said unto him: Then ye do not understand them; for they truly testify of Christ. Behold, I say unto you that none of the prophets have written, nor prophesied, save they have spoken concerning this Christ.
"Then you don't understand them," I said.
"Because they and all the prophets testify of him."
12 And this is not all -- it has been made manifest unto me, for I have heard and seen; and it also has been made manifest unto me by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, I know if there should be no atonement made all mankind must be lost.
"Plus, it's been shown to me by the power of the Holy Ghost.
So I know it's true."
13And it came to pass that he said unto me: Show me a sign by this power of the Holy Ghost, in the which ye know so much.
"Okay," he said.
"Show me a sign by the power of the Holy Ghost."
14 And I said unto him: What am I that I should tempt God to show unto thee a sign in the thing which thou knowest to be true? Yet thou wilt deny it, because thou art of the devil. Nevertheless, not my will be done; but if God shall smite thee, let that be a sign unto thee that he has power, both in heaven and in earth; and also, that Christ shall come. And thy will, O Lord, be done, and not mine.
I said, "No, I won't tempt God by asking for a sign.
You don't believe because you are of the devil.
But maybe if God killed you, that would be a sign for you."
15And it came to pass that when I, Jacob, had spoken these words, the power of the Lord came upon him, insomuch that he fell to the earth. And it came to pass that he was nourished for the space of many days.
After I spoke these words, he fell to the earth. [2]
16And it came to pass that he said unto the people: Gather together on the morrow, for I shall die; wherefore, I desire to speak unto the people before I shall die.
Then he said to the people, "I'm going to die tomorrow.
I'd like to speak to before I do."
17And it came to pass that on the morrow the multitude were gathered together; and he spake plainly unto them and denied the things which he had taught them, and confessed the Christ, and the power of the Holy Ghost, and the ministering of angels.
So the next day the people gathered, and he spoke plainly to them, denying the things he had taught, confessing Christ and the power of the Holy Ghost.
18 And he spake plainly unto them, that he had been deceived by the power of the devil. And he spake of hell, and of eternity, and of eternal punishment.
He said he was deceived by the devil and spoke about hell and eternal punishment.
19 And he said: I fear lest I have committed the unpardonable sin, for I have lied unto God; for I denied the Christ, and said that I believed the scriptures; and they truly testify of him. And because I have thus lied unto God I greatly fear lest my case shall be awful; but I confess unto God.
Then he said, "I fear that I have committed the unpardonable sin, for I have lied to God and denied Christ."
20And it came to pass that when he had said these words he could say no more, and he gave up the ghost.
21 And when the multitude had witnessed that he spake these things as he was about to give up the ghost, they were astonished exceedingly; insomuch that the power of God came down upon them, and they were overcome that they fell to the earth.
After saying these things, he fell to the earth and died.
22Now, this thing was pleasing unto me, Jacob, for I had requested it of my Father who was in heaven; for he had heard my cry and answered my prayer.
Now this pleased me, [3]
because I had asked God to kill him.
23And it came to pass that peace and the love of God was restored again among the people; and they searched the scriptures, and hearkened no more to the words of this wicked man.
After that, there was peace and all the people loved God.
They searched the scriptures and rejected the words of this wicked man.
24And it came to pass that many means were devised to reclaim and restore the Lamanites to the knowledge of the truth; but it all was vain, for they delighted in wars and bloodshed, and they had an eternal hatred against us, their brethren. And they sought by the power of their arms to destroy us continually.
We encouraged the Lamanites to accept the truth, but they hated us and delighted in wars and bloodshed. [4]
25 Wherefore, the people of Nephi did fortify against them with their arms, and with all their might, trusting in the God and rock of their salvation; wherefore, they became as yet, conquerors of their enemies.
So we fortified ourselves against them.
26And it came to pass that I, Jacob, began to be old; and the record of this people being kept on the other plates of Nephi, wherefore, I conclude this record, declaring that I have written according to the best of my knowledge, by saying that the time passed away with us, and also our lives passed away like as it were unto us a dream, we being a lonesome and a solemn people, wanderers, cast out from Jerusalem, born in tribulation, in a wilderness, and hated of our brethren, which caused wars and contentions; wherefore, we did mourn out our days.
I was getting old and was ready to die.
27 And I, Jacob, saw that I must soon go down to my grave; wherefore, I said unto my son Enos: Take these plates. And I told him the things which my brother Nephi had commanded me, and he promised obedience unto the commands. And I make an end of my writing upon these plates, which writing has been small; and to the reader I bid farewell, hoping that many of my brethren may read my words. Brethren, adieu.
Notes
Sherem, the first freethought martyr in the Book of Mormon [see the story of Korihor for another (Alma 30)], tells Jacob he is misleading the people in by telling them (ca. 500 BCE) that Christ will be coming "many hundred years hence."
Now you might think that there wouldn't be much "doctrine of Christ" in North America 500 years before Jesus was born. But if so, you haven't read (or don't entirely believe) the Book of Mormon.
Jacob said that he was pleased with the whole thing, as was, no doubt, God.
You see, God doesn't mess around in the Book of Mormon. Believe whatever the church leaders tell you, without evidence, without a sign. Because if you ask for a sign, God will give you one, all right. The sign of Sherem.
After God killed Sherem, things got back to normal. The Nephites were righteous and the Lamanites were wicked. So the Nephites built up their military to fight the Lamanites.
The last word that Jacob engraved on his plates was a strange one for a 6th century BCE North American Israelite writing in reformed Egyptian to use: Adieu.