Do This, or Do That, and It Mattereth Not

When Korihor was among the Nephites, he taught this doctrine that is very prevalent today: “Therefore every man prospered according to his genius, and that every man conquered according to his strength; and whatsoever a man did was no crime.”  This “anything goes” kind of philosophy, the idea that nothing is a crime, was what he used to convince the people to commit moral transgression: “And thus he did preach unto them, leading away the hearts of many, causing them to lift up their heads in their wickedness, yea, leading away many women, and also men, to commit whoredoms—telling them that when a man was dead, that was the end thereof” (Alma 30:17-18).  Though Nehor believed in an afterlife, his message about our actions in this life was essentially the same: “He also testified unto the people that all mankind should be saved at the last day, and that they need not fear nor tremble, but that they might lift up their heads and rejoice; for the Lord had created all men, and had also redeemed all men; and, in the end, all men should have eternal life” (Alma 1:4).  In other words, he taught that we shouldn’t worry about sin here on earth, that God will save us no matter what we do.  One of the messages of the Book of Mormon is that Korihor and Nehor’s teachings are simply untrue—what we do does matter, sin is real, and there are serious consequences for individuals and societies who violate God’s laws.

               Several passages in the Book of Mormon work to refute this “anything goes” claims of Nehor and Korihor.  Moroni saw our day and said this, “Yea, it shall come in a day when there shall be great pollutions upon the face of the earth; there shall be murders, and robbing, and lying, and deceivings, and whoredoms, and all manner of abominations; when there shall be many who will say, Do this, or do that, and it mattereth not, for the Lord will uphold such at the last day. But wo unto such, for they are in the gall of bitterness and in the bonds of iniquity” (Mormon 8:31).  In the midst of lying and deceivings and whoredoms that are so prevalent today, the world’s general attitude is “Do this, or do that, and it mattereth not.”  But for the Lord, sin does matter because it separates us from Him.  Alma in his final words put it his way, “Thus saith the Lord God—Cursed shall be the land, yea, this land, unto every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, unto destruction, which do wickedly, when they are fully ripe; and as I have said so shall it be; for this is the cursing and the blessing of God upon the land, for the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance” (Alma 45:16).  Though He has perfect love for all His children, He cannot look upon sin with permissiveness; as He stated in His preface to the Doctrine and Covenants, “For I the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance” (1:31). 

              Another famous passage from the Book of Mormon gives a related description from Nephi of the permissive attitude of the last days: “Yea, and there shall be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die; and it shall be well with us. And there shall also be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry; nevertheless, fear God—he will justify in committing a little sin; yea, lie a little, take the advantage of one because of his words, dig a pit for thy neighbor; there is no harm in this; and do all these things, for tomorrow we die; and if it so be that we are guilty, God will beat us with a few stripes, and at last we shall be saved in the kingdom of God.”  But this too is a “false and vain and foolish doctrine” and Nephi gave a stark warning against this kind of attitude: “All those who commit whoredoms, and pervert the right way of the Lord, wo, wo, wo be unto them, saith the Lord God Almighty, for they shall be thrust down to hell!” (2 Nephi 28:7-8, 15)  No matter what the world teaches or how it entices us like Korihor and Nehor to commit sin, we must hold fast to this great Book of Mormon principle: “wickedness never was happiness”  (Alma 41:10).