A Little Help With Sherem....

[thatjimguy]

Hey all. Reading my daily and came across this;

 

 19 And he said: I fear lest I have committed the unpardonablesin, for I have lied unto God; for I denied the Christ, and said thatI believed the scriptures; and they truly testify of him. Andbecause I have thus lied unto God I greatly fear lest my case shallbe awful; but I confess unto God.

 

This is where Sherem was struck down and he knew he was only going to live a day, so he preached and renounced his anti-stance. 

 

My question is about the unpardonable sin. I thought this was about having a "perfect knowledge" of God and then rebelling. I don't think Sherem was in that category. 

 

Any helpola?

 

[USU78]

Let's start with his name, Sherem, presumably spelled shin + resh + mem.  No such name appears to be probable in NW Semitic or later Hebrew dialects, as far as I can tell.

 

Jacob, however, is the temple priest, probably the high priest, and the one entitled to give the priestly benediction of Numbers 6:24-26, "The LORD bless you and keep you . . . etc."

 

The last word in the first line of the blessing is shemer, spelled shin + mem + resh.  If the name Sherem is an inversion or perversion of the last word of the priestly benediction, then it is surely a dysphemistic appellation, placing Sherem in apposition to Jacob . . . the false speaker of lies vs the righteous speaker of truth.

 

Sherem is thus, upon introduction, a liar and a false priest.

 

He is, perhaps significantly, not renamed like the later anti-Nephi-Lehites, but rather retains his unfortunate name.

 

Do I think this means he is doomed to outer darkness?  Perhaps, perhaps not:  you don't give somebody such a significantly awful nickname if he's just a smart-aleck.  On the other hand, given what we're told of such things, the true sinner against the Holy Ghost is a rare bird indeed.

[pogi]

Hey all. Reading my daily and came across this;

 

 19 And he said: I fear lest I have committed the unpardonablesin, for I have lied unto God; for I denied the Christ, and said thatI believed the scriptures; and they truly testify of him. Andbecause I have thus lied unto God I greatly fear lest my case shallbe awful; but I confess unto God.

 

This is where Sherem was struck down and he knew he was only going to live a day, so he preached and renounced his anti-stance. 

 

My question is about the unpardonable sin. I thought this was about having a "perfect knowledge" of God and then rebelling. I don't think Sherem was in that category. 

 

Any helpola?

 

I think that he was being dramatic in fearing that he had committed the unpardonable sin.  What he was guilty of in this specific passage, was reading the scriptures in a way which suited him and his beliefs.  At the time, all he had was something akin to the old testament (brass plates), probably similar to Jewish scripture which probably never mentioned "the Christ" specifically.  He would be no more guilty of the unpardonable sin for doing this than any Jew would be.  Of course, I think he took his persecution and anti-Christ tactics to a level much higher than the common Jew.   

Edited March 24, 2014 by pogi

[teddyaware]

Hey all. Reading my daily and came across this;

 

 19 And 

he said: I fear lest I have committed the unpardonablesin, for I have lied unto God; for I denied the Christ, and said thatI believed the scriptures; and they truly testify of him. Andbecause I have thus lied unto God I greatly fear lest my case shallbe awful; but I confess unto God.[quote}

 

This is where Sherem was struck down and he knew he was only going to live a day, so he preached and renounced his anti-stance. 

 

My question is about the unpardonable sin. I thought this was about having a "perfect knowledge" of God and then rebelling. I don't think Sherem was in that category. 

 

Any helpola?

The answers you're looking for are there right in Jacob 7.

But first: If the Books of Moses and Abraham in the Pearl of Great Price are indicators (which I believe they most certainly are), it's very likely the brass plates had many more references to the Messiah (Christ) than the Old Testament as we have it today. We know the Nephites had the writings of Moses and if the brass plates' version of Moses was anything like the version of Moses we have, at least in part in the Pearl of Great Price, then the Nephites would have known much about the Messiah and His earthly mission even without the Christ-centered visions and preacings of Lehi, Nephi and Jacob that are recorded in the Book of Mormon.

Take some time to read the Book of Moses and the Book of Abraham to see just how Christ-centered the Patriarchal Era Prophets and Old Testament Prophets were in their theology and doctrine. The reason why our King James Old Testament seems to speak of the Messiah in mostly obscure or veiled terms is because the texts were tampered with by wicked and designing men who were very likely antichrist in disposition. The Lord warned Moses that important parts of his writings would be removed by corrupt men, but not without also promising that Moses' writings would be restored again to the earth in their original Christ-centered purity. The Lord said unto Moses:

40 And now, Moses, my son, I will speak unto thee concerning this earth upon which thou standest; and thou shalt write the things which I shall speak.

41 And in a day when the children of men shall esteem my words as naught and take many of them from the book which thou shalt write, behold, I will raise up another like unto thee (Joseph Smith); and they shall be had again among the children of men—among as many as shall believe. (Moses 1)

With reference to your question, it's critical to note that Sherem's contemporary, the Prophet Jacob, knew that the writings of the prophets contained on the brass plates testified plainly of Jesus Christ and this is why Jacob solemnly testified to Sherem as follows:

10 And I said unto him: Believest thou the scriptures? And he (Sherem) said, Yea.

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.

If one reads Jacob 7 with insight, it's made quite clear that before Sherem was beguiled by the devil into believing antichrist doctrines he knew by the revelation that Jesus was the Christ. This is why after Sherem was brought low in humility by the power of God he made the following frank admission:

17 And 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.

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.

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.

The foregoing makes it clear that after his humiliation by the power of the Spirit Sherem knew he was actually lying when he said there would be no Christ (for how can one lie unless he knows the truth -- in this case that Jesus is the Christ -- and then goes ahead and speaks falsely about what he knows to be true anyway). Jacob 7 makes it clear that before he had gone over to the dark side Sherem knew Jesus was the Christ, and he even knew Jesus was the Christ as he vocally denied him.

So Sherem had a very serious situation before God because he had come nigh unto committing the unpardonable sin. But the account gives us strong hope that in the end all will turn out well for Sherem because before his death his testimony to the Nephites indicates he repudiated his false teachings and confessed with deepest sincerity and conviction that Jesus is the Christ. The fact that the account also tells us that he was "nourished for many days" and that he testified to the reality of ministering angels also gives us great hope for him.

Edited March 25, 2014 by teddyaware

[cdowis]

Sounds like something JS and Martin Harris said when they lost the 116 pages.  They defied God and were fearful of the consequences.  This was not a theological statement (outer darkness, son of perdition) but a cry of despair, fearing the ultimate punishment.

Edited March 25, 2014 by cdowis

[BookofMormonLuvr]

If you fear that you have committed it, you haven't committed it. Those who do, know, and are so rebellious they don't care or fear. They will hate, blame and accuse God even while suffering in the very midst of their eternal torment.

[The Nehor]

Sherem was pathetic. Nehor is where it is at.

[thatjimguy]

Thanks for all your replies. Yeah I think it does make sense that if someone is going to outer darkness they would not care anymore (which is the point of rebelling with a perfect knowledge anyway right?) Either way, he is some deep water.