In Alma 30 Korihor, the anti-christ, in his argument with Alma the Younger, says some things about the church of the day that I thing is very revealing. Korihor says the following in verse 27-28: And thus ye lead away this people after the foolish traditions of your fathers, and according to your own desires; and ye keep them down, even as it were in bondage, that ye may glut yourselves with the labors of their hands, that they durst not look up with boldness, and that they durst not enjoy their rights and privileges. Yea, they durst not make use of that which is their own lest they should offend their priests, who do yoke them according to their desires, and have brought them to believe, by their traditions and their dreams and their whims and their visions and their pretended mysteries, that they should, if they did not do according to their words, offend some unknown being, who they say is God—a being who never has been seen or known, who never was nor ever will be.
In verse 32 - 35, Alma responds only to Korihors accusation of glutting themselves on the labors of the people but surprisingly remains silent regarding the people not enjoying their rights and privileges and not making use of that which is their own. Here's what Alma says:
32 Now Alma said unto him: Thou knowest that we do not glut ourselves upon the labors of this people; for behold I have labored even from the commencement of the reign of the judges until now, with mine own hands for my support, notwithstanding my many travels round about the land to declare the word of God unto my people. 33 And notwithstanding the many labors which I have performed in the church, I have never received so much as even one senine for my labor; neither has any of my brethren, save it were in the judgment-seat; and then we have received only according to law for our time. 34 And now, if we do not receive anything for our labors in the church, what doth it profit us to labor in the church save it were to declare the truth, that we may have rejoicings in the joy of our brethren? 35 Then why sayest thou that we preach unto this people to get gain, when thou, of thyself, knowest that we receive no gain? And now, believest thou that we deceive this people, that causes such joy in their hearts?
Alma could have said, the people can do whatever they want with that which is their own. But, at least in this record, he didn't. When these verses are juxtapositioned against earlier verses in the chapter where Mormon explains Korihor's doctrine, one can see why Korihor has such contempt for the church. In verse 17, Korihor preached:
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.
Korihor taught that everyone fared in this life according to their own abilities. The greater a person capacity for creating wealth, etc., the more was his increase. It was his to do as he wished. Looking at this doctrine, Korihor's accusation of the people not enjoying their rights and privelges to use that which is their own and Alma's silence on the matter, I conclude that what Korihor was asserting about the people (of the church) was very close to the truth. The church wasn't just a congregation of believers meeting together oft but an organization that was involved in creating temporal equality through the redistribution of the wealth of its members. Whether the people feared offending their priest or God or voluntarily contributed is where Korihor probably got it wrong. Like any organization, there will always be some who are not as strong as others. But, it definite was a Christian tenant of the time that everything is held in common in the church.
I like to look at opposites. Mormon decried the Korihor doctrine of every man faring according to the management of the creature, thus prospering according to his genius. The opposite of this would be that everyone fares collectively based on individual management and genius. We all prosper equally together! I would even go as far and say the ability create wealth or manage a business or see profit making potential is just another gift of God. These gifts are used like all other gifts in the service of others. We, today, are believing false paradigms taught us by our fathers. We can't even imagine a better way. They true of living together seen down right foolish! I made my money so it is mine!
What's amazing is the miraculous blessing bestowed from heaven when everyone chooses to live equally temporally. The people are prospered beyond their wildest imaginations by the Lord. I bet many social ills would be remedied. The stress level exhibited by most people would just disappear. It would be an amazing world to live in.
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