Interesting Comparison

Apostates are an interesting breed. Their behavior is extremely predictable and has been for millennia. Ironically, every time they say something, they are fulfilling prophecy and validating the scriptures almost verbatim.

Alma 3:18 "Now the Amlicites [Apostates] knew not that they were fulfilling the words of God... nevertheless they had come out in open rebellion against God"

Here are just a few examples from my recent experience with an apostate. First I will cite the Scripture which quotes an apostate from millennia ago. Then I will cite the parallel quote from a modern-day apostate directly from e-mails I have received from them. The similarities are eerie.

1-- King Noah speaking to his priests about Abinadi: Mosiah 13:1 "...Away with this fellow, and slay him; for what have we to do with him, for he is mad."

Abinadi replying to King Noah: Mosiah 13:4 "...because I have told you the truth ye are angry with me. And again, because I have spoken the word of God ye have judged me that I am mad."

Korihor -- an Anti-Christ -- speaking to the people of Zarahemla,: Alma 30:16 "... But behold, it is the effect of a frenzied mind; and this derangement of your minds comes because of the traditions of your fathers, which lead you away into a belief of things which are not so."

And here's a direct quote from a modern-day apostate: "You are [expletive] crazy." One of many similar quotes.

If I had a dollar for every time an apostate called someone crazy -- I would have more money than Donald Trump, Bill Gates, and Warren Buffett combined.  :-) 

Calling people crazy seems to be a favorite pastime of apostates.  Any time they feel like someone has wronged them in any way -- especially someone they perceive as religious -- they will call them crazy.  Very predictable behavior.  It's been done for millennia.

2-- An Amalekite [apostate] speaking to Aaron [son of Mosiah, missionary] Alma 21:8 "...We do not believe in these foolish traditions. We do not believe that thou knowest of things to come, neither do we believe that thy fathers and also that our fathers did know concerning the things which they spake, of that which is to come."

Korihor again: Alma 30:14 "Behold, these things which ye call prophecies, which ye say are handed down by holy prophets, behold, they are foolish traditions of your fathers."

Korihor continuing: Alma 30:16 "...and this derangement of your minds comes because of the traditions of your fathers, which lead you away into a belief of things which are not so."

Korihor speaking to Giddonah [a high priest]: Alma 30:23... And Korihor said unto him: Because I do not teach the foolish traditions of your fathers..."

And the direct quote from a modern-day apostate: "the false traditions that were passed down to me from my ancestors"

It’s uncanny how close the modern-day apostate’s words are to the many references in Scripture.

3-- Jacob 7:7 "And now behold, I, Sherem [An apostate], 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 [Jacob, brother of Nephi].

Jacob 7:9 "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."

Alma30:12 "And this Anti-Christ, whose name was Korihor,... began to preach unto the people that there should be no Christ. And after this manner did he preach, saying:

Alma 30:13 "O ye that are bound down under a foolish and a vain hope, why do ye yoke yourselves with such foolish things? Why do ye look for a Christ? For no man can know of anything which is to come."

Alma 30:15 "How do ye know of their surety? Behold, ye cannot know of things which ye do not see; therefore ye cannot know that there shall be a Christ."

Alma 30:17 "And many more such things did he say unto them, telling them that there could be no atonement made for the sins of men, but every man fared in this life according to the management of the creature; 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."

Modern-day apostate: "If that means going to church and trusting in a savior that you are in need of, ok! I choose to believe that nobody is responsible for my happiness but me. No church leader, no family member, no savior, nobody at all. I am."

How convenient.  If there is no God, there are no commandments, no judgment, no accountability.  It makes the bitter pill of sin easier to swallow. That Satan is a brilliant fellow.  Convince people there is no God and therefore there are no consequences to sin.  Eat drink and be merry for all is well – that seems to be his anthem.  I just can’t believe people actually fall for it.

4-- Alma 30:18 "And thus he [Korihor] 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."

Modern-day apostate (paraphrasing from an oral conversation): "There is no life after death.  This life is it."

Convenient philosophy for someone who doesn't want to face their maker on judgment day. Also goes along with the "eat, drink, and be merry" philosophy as stated above.

2 Nephi 28:7 "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."

5-- Isaiah 65:5 "Which say, ...come not near to me; for I am holier than thou...."

Modern-day apostate: "...stop with your holier than thou attitude."

Classic case of projection.  Apostates like to see themselves as above everybody else.  As is evident in the above scriptural quote.  When in reality they have low self worth as a consequence of their continual poor choices.

"You cannot do wrong and feel right. It is impossible!...Satan would have you believe that happiness comes only as you surrender to his enticements, but one only needs to look at the shattered lives of those who violate God’s laws to know why Satan is called the Father of Lies."  -- Ezra Taft Benson, October 1977

6 -- Alma 21:5 "...behold there arose an Amalekite [Apostate] and began to contend with him [Aaron], saying: ...Behold are not this people as good as thy people?"

Alma 21:6 “Thou also sayest, except we repent we shall perish. How knowest thou the thought and intent of our hearts? How knowest thou that we have cause to repent? How knowest thou that we are not a righteous people?..."

Alma 21:7 “Now Aaron said unto him: Believest thou that the Son of God shall come to redeem mankind from their sins?”

Alma 21:8 “And the man said unto him: We do not believe that thou knowest any such thing. We do not believe in these foolish traditions....”

Alma 21:10 “And it came to pass as he began to expound these things unto them they were angry with him, and began to mock him..."

In the above scriptures the apostates are saying to the missionary, in essence, "we are as good as you" -- obviously feeling inferior --and then asking, "how do you know we need to repent?"  "You don't know the intent of our hearts" so the missionary asks them "do you believe in Christ, the Savior of mankind?"  And the apostates said, "no, that is foolish." Proving that the missionary was right to call them to repentance. Then the apostates get angry and mock because they know they are wrong. 

Ironically, the apostates accuse others of the very thing they are guilty of.

Modern-day apostate: "I only wish I could attain that level of holiness so that I too could sit on my high horse and make accusations and judge others in the same way."

"judgmental like all you jaded holier than thou Christians"

"sit around judging others for the way they choose to live theirs."

"think you are in a position to judge me because of your perceived level of superior spirituality"

More projection.  Apostates tend to anger very easily and mock and persecute those who they perceive as spiritually superior to them. Especially when being called to repentance.

7-- Alma speaking to the people of Ammonihah calling them to repentance. Alma 9:32 “And also because I said unto them that they were a lost and a fallen people they were angry with me, and sought to lay their hands upon me, that they might cast me into prison.”

Alma 21:10 “And it came to pass as he [Aaron] began to expound these things unto them they were angry with him, and began to mock him; and they would not hear the words which he spake.”

The Prophet Abinadi speaking: Mosiah 13:4 “…and because I have told you the truth ye are angry with me…”

Mosiah 11:26 “Now it came to pass that when Abinadi had spoken these words unto them they were wroth with him, and sought to take away his life…”

Alma 9:31 “Now it came to pass that when I, Alma, had spoken these words, behold, the people were wroth with me because I said unto them that they were a hard-hearted and a stiffnecked people.”

Modern-day apostate: “Am I angry?  Absolutely.”

This is one of the hallmarks of apostates – quick to anger.  There are many more examples from Scripture but I just quoted a few.  Apostates don’t like being told the truth and despise being called to repentance.

The Prophet Nephi: 1 Nephi 16:2 “And it came to pass that I said unto them that I knew that I had spoken hard things against the wicked, according to the truth; and the righteous have I justified, and testified that they should be lifted up at the last day; wherefore, the guilty taketh the truth to be hard, for it cutteth them to the very center.”

Quoting the Prophet Abinadi: Mosiah 13:7-8 "Yea, and I perceive that it cuts you to your hearts because I tell you the truth concerning your iniquities. 8 “Yea, and my words fill you with wonder and amazement, and with anger.”

I’ve seen firsthand how quick to anger apostates become when you speak the truth to them.  It’s a sad way to live.  Always on the defense.  To quote one of my favorite country songs, “I don’t know why you’ve got to be angry all the time.”

All of that anger leads to mocking and persecution.

8-- Followers of Nehor another apostate Anti-Christ: Alma 1: 19 “But it came to pass that whosoever did not belong to the church of God began to persecute those that did belong to the church of God, and had taken upon them the name of Christ.”

Alma 1:20 “Yea, they did persecute them, and afflict them with all manner of words..."

Amulon, wicked priest of King Noah: Mosiah 24:8  "...and began to persecute him, and cause that his children should persecute their children."

4 Nephi 1:29 "And again, there was another ...which denied the Christ; and they did persecute the true church of Christ, because of their humility and their belief in Christ; and they did despise them"

Modern-day apostate: "Your religion is crap. You were born into it, you have latched onto it, and you follow it like a blind little sheep."

"Your faith in your religion is just as blinding to you as any other religions are to their followers."

"There is no way to reason with someone who is that brainwashed by any religion."

Speaking of children: "Religion hasn't brainwashed them with intolerance and hatred yet."

“a bs religion.”

“your mind is being controlled by a certain set of beliefs you have allowed yourself to be controlled by.”

Just to quote a few of the persecutory statements directed towards me by an apostate. All because I speak the truth.  I guess I should feel privileged to be in elite company such as the prophets and others who have been persecuted for speaking the truth.

The thing about the truth is that it is constant whether you believe it or not.  There is a God.  He has given us commandments that He expects us to obey.  There are consequences for breaking His commandments. The consequences are eternal if we do not repent.  There will be a final judgment where we will be held accountable for our choices and actions.

Whether you choose to believe it or not is your prerogative. The consequences are the same regardless.  Truth is truth whether you believe or not.

It’s very interesting to compare the words of apostates from millennia ago to apostates now.  Their philosophies and arguments are so eerily similar they are almost verbatim.

Satan has been doing his gig since the pre-mortal existence and he is very skilled at it.  It’s very interesting that his philosophies and lies and deceptions remain unchanged.  It’s because he doesn’t need to change them, they are very effective.

It’s amazing to me that people who are so seemingly intelligent are so easily deceived by the same lies that have been told for millennia.  Why people allow themselves to be completely controlled by Satan is beyond me.

In fact one of Satan’s lies he uses to deceive is that following him brings freedom and following the Lord brings bondage.  Obviously the opposite is true.  Following Satan brings nothing but bondage and chains and following the Lord’s commandments brings freedom and happiness.

Alma 12:6 “And behold I say unto you all that this was a snare of the adversary, which he has laid to catch this people, that he might bring you into subjection unto him, that he might encircle you about with his chains, that he might chain you down to everlasting destruction, according to the power of his captivity.”

2 Nephi 2:27 “Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.”

It all comes down to agency.  We choose our own destiny.  Why anyone would allow Satan to take away their agency by believing his lies and letting him completely control their lives is baffling to me.  But that’s exactly what apostates have done. They have chosen captivity and death over liberty and eternal life.  Ironic isn’t it?

To any apostate who may read this blog post I echo Alma’s words to Korihor:

Alma 30:46 “And now it came to pass that Alma said unto him: Behold, I am grieved because of the hardness of your heart, yea, that ye will still resist the spirit of the truth, that thy soul may be destroyed.”

That’s my two cents.