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JON - I need scriptures and hopefully from D&C and JSH and Joseph Smith Papers, saying there will be a last try for Satan to establish a man(anti-Christ?) who will lead the hearts of people astray. Members of my family are reading stuff of great worth, but being led away cunningly by a person who believes in Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon but saying the current church is on the wrong path. I need to use those sources to get them to see that just because it Looks, Good, Sounds Good, and Looks Like a Prophet or Messenger it is not, and to watch for it in the last days.
JOEL - There are legends and tradition among other Christians about one anti-Christ who will come to lead people astray. Elijah and Enoch will serve a special mission in the last days in which they will be killed by the anti-Christ and will then be resurrected three days later. One source states that Elijah and Enoch will be put to death on an altar by the anti-Christ and then will be raised again by two angels who are identified as Michael and Gabriel and will thus be able to continue the fight against the anti-Christ. It has been rumored that the anti-Christ will come from the tribe of Dan, probably because Dan is not listed with the other tribes in Revelation 7:5-8. After Elijah and Enoch have killed the anti-Christ and banished evil forever, Elijah will ceremoniously anoint Christ, the long-awaited Messiah.
This is not doctrine. As far as we know for sure, the anti-Christ will not be one single person who will come to lead people away from the true gospel. An Anti-Christ can be anyone identified as having the following characteristics:
1. They deny the need for Jesus Christ.
2. They use flattery to win disciples
3. They accuse the Brethren of teaching false doctrine
4. They have a limited view of reality.
5. They have a disposition to misread and thereby misrepresent the scriptures
6. They are sign seekers.
These characteristics are common among the three anti-Christs mentioned in the Book of Mormon: Sherem, in Jacob 7; Nehor in Alma 1:2-15, and Korihor, in Alma 30:6-21.
If the person you are talking about demonstrates any of these characteristics, he is someone to avoid.
Elder Carlos E. Assay said:
"Many anti-Christs are still among us. . . . These faith-killers and testimony-thieves use personal contacts, the printed word, electronic media, and other means of communication to sow doubts and to disturb the peace of true believers." To avoid being deluded by anti-Christs, Elder Assay counseled members to:
1. Avoid those who would tear down your faith. "The seeds which they plant in the minds and hearts of men grow like cancer and eat away the Spirit. . . ."
2. Keep the commandments. "Obedience ensures us of the guidance and protection of the Holy Spirit."
3. Follow the living prophets. "We walk in uncharted mine fields and place our souls in jeopardy when we receive the teachings of anyone except he that is ordained of God. (See D&C 43:2-7; 52:9.)
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.)"
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." (See Alma 37:44.)
6. Do not be swayed or diverted from the mission of the Church. "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. "There are many who are kept from the truth—not because they don't want it, but because they know not where to find it."
8. Practice pure religion. "Involve yourself 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." (See James 1:27 and Alma 1:30.)
9. Rely on faith. "Faith is the first principle of the gospel; it is a principle of progress."
Joseph Smith's inspired translation of the Bible tells us:
"For in those days there shall also arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders, insomuch, that, if possible, they shall deceive the very elect, who are the elect according to the covenant." (Mat 1:22 JST)
"For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect." (Mat 24: 24 JST)
The Apostle Paul warned of such individuals: "For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them." (Acts 20:29-30.)
President Harold B. Lee, commented on the wolves among us: "There are some as wolves among us. By that, I mean some who profess membership in this church who are not sparing the flock. And among our own membership, men are arising speaking perverse things. Now perverse means diverting from the right or correct, and being obstinate in the wrong, willfully, in order to draw the weak and unwary members of the Church away after them." (Ensign, January 1973, p. 105)
Elder Harold B. Lee also warned:
"There are those among us who would set themselves up as critics of the Church, saying that the Church has gone out of the way. Some splintered apostate clans even from the beginning of this dispensation have made fictitious claims to authority. We should warn these, as well as those who are in danger of being led astray, of what the Prophet [Joseph Smith] predicted. He said, 'That man who rises up to condemn others, finding fault with the Church, saying they are out of the way, while he himself is righteous, then know assuredly that that man is [on the way] to apostasy; and if he does not repent, [he] will apostatize, as God lives.' [TPJS, pp. 156-57.]" (CR, October 1965, pp. 129-30.)
So there's something from Joseph Smith himself addressing the activities of these people and what they say.
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