Ways to respond to malicious attacks by modern anti-Christs of the same type as Korihor were suggested by Elder Carlos E. Asay of the Presidency of the Seventy as he addressed October 1981 general conference. He suggested:
"1. Avoid those who would tear down your faith. Faith killers are to be shunned. The seeds which they plant in the minds and hearts of men grow like cancer and eat away at the spirit. True messengers of God are builders, not destroyers. . . ."2. Keep the commandments. President Brigham Young promised, `All we have to do is to go onward and upward, and keep the commandments of our Father and God; and He will confound our enemies. . . .' Moreover, obedience ensures us of the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
"3. Follow the living prophets, as we have been admonished. . . . We walk in uncharted mine fields and we place our souls in jeopardy when we receive the teachings of anyone except he that is ordained of God.
"4. Do not contend or debate over points of doctrine. The Master warned that `the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil.' (3 Ne. 11:29.) We are inconsistent if we resort to satanic tactics in attempting to achieve righteous ends. . . .
"5. Search the scriptures. Few of us would go astray or lose our way if we regarded the scriptures as our personal guide or compass.
"6. Do not be swayed or diverted from the mission of the Church. There are those who would draw you off course and cause you to waste time and energies. . . . The Savior's decisive response, `Get thee hence, Satan,' (Matt. 4:10) is a proper example for all of us.
"7. Pray for your enemies. Christ said to the Nephites, `Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them who despitefully use you and persecute you." (3 Ne. 12:44.)
"8. Practice `pure religion.' Involve yourselves in Christian service. Succor the needs of the sick and poor; visit the fatherless and widows, and be charitable to all whether in the Church or out of the Church.
"9. Remember that there may be many questions for which we have no answers and some things have to be accepted on faith. . . . Faith is the first principle of the gospel; it is a principle of progress."
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Willfully sinning is enmity to God
"Who - understanding the facts - would dare to become an enemy to God?" asked Elder Mark E. Petersen during an address in the April 1982 general conference.
"Yet if we lie and cheat, defraud, or seduce others and lead them into sin, to that extent we do become His enemies.
"Since Christ stands for righteousness in all things, what is our position before Him if we renounce His teachings by our evil acts? . . .
"Think of the deception under which Korihor denied the Christ. After it was all over and he was brought down to the dust, he confessed:
" `I . . . knew that there was a God.
" `But behold, the devil hath deceived me. . . .' " (Alma 30:52.)
Korihor's blunt denial of the very existence
Korihor's blunt denial of the very existence of God led to his deceiving many people.
Later, he admitted that he himself had been deceived by an angel of darkness. Alma announced that Korihor was possessed of a lying spirit. Alma said that even though Korihor was struck dumb by the power of God, he still retained an evil inclination to fight against God.
Korihor admitted that he knew all along that God existed even though this knowledge did nothing to improve his spirituality. And, according to Alma, even Korihor's being struck dumb did nothing to reduce his will to wage frenzied combat against a force he could never defeat. (Alma 30:42-53.)
President N. Eldon Tanner offered insight on the nature of Korihor's distorted belief when he observed that "belief in the fact that God exists is of first importance, but it is not all that is necessary in order to exercise an intelligent faith that will lead us back into His presence for eternal life with Him."
Speaking in the October 1978 general conference, President Tanner, first counselor in the First Presidency, said that "in addition to a belief in the existence of God, we must know something of His character and attributes or our faith will be imperfect and unfruitful. Faith will avail us nothing unless it is based on true principles. . . .
"In addition to history and tradition, human reason declares the existence of God. We find this confirmed in nature all around us. . . .
"With all this evidence it is hard to understand how some can doubt the very existence of God. The early scriptures do not attempt to demonstrate God's existence or to argue on the sophistries of atheism, so it seems that the errors of doubt crept in at some later time. With the death of Christ and the apostles, and during the period of apostasy when revelation ceased, the simple, consistent and authentic doctrine about the character and attributes of God became distorted, and numerous theories and dogmas of men appeared, many of which are utterly mystical and incomprehensible."
President Tanner concluded his remarks with his personal expression of faith that God indeed exists.
"As a special witness for Christ, I bear solemn witness that God lives; that we are His spirit children; that Jesus Christ is His Only Begotten Son in the flesh, and is the Savior of us all."
