This post is a summary of the article “Did Korihor Usurp the Words of Zeniff?” by Elliott Jolley in Volume 62 of Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship. All of the Interpreting Interpreter articles may be seen at https://interpreterfoundation.org/category/summaries/. An introduction to the Interpreting Interpreter series is available at https://interpreterfoundation.org/interpreting-interpreter-on-abstracting-thought/.
The Takeaway
Jolley argues that Korihor expropriates the words of Zeniff in an attempt to undermine the people’s trust in the legitimate priests of the church, suggesting that they, like the Lamanites in Zeniff’s day, sought to glut themselves on the labors of the people.
The Summary
In this article, Elliott Jolley analyzes a notable instance of intertextuality in the narrative of Korihor, focusing on the shared language between Mosiah 9:12 and Alma 30:27. In that passage, Korihor references Zeniff’s description of the Lamanites, who took advantage of Zeniff’s people after allowing them to live in the Land of Nephi. Specifically, Zeniff notes that “they were desirous to bring us into bondage that they might glut themselves with the labors of our hands”. This language was passed down across several generations via the plates of Limhi, which would have been included in the records delivered to—and extensively cited by—Alma the Younger. That Korihor would usurp a passage from those records has an appropriate note of irony—he repurposes the theme of bondage to undermine the Nephite priests, implying that they use belief in Christ to oppress and manipulate the people for their own gain.
In addition to Korihor borrowing (and Mormon choosing to highlight) language from Zeniff—including the unique word “glut”—Jolley notes a few other interesting intertextual connections. He suggests that Korihor may be referring to the Lamanites’ feasting on the Nephite flocks when he says the people “durst not make use of that which is their own”—a potential reference to offerings required by the Law of Moses. Also, Korihor’s teaching the people to defiantly “lift up their heads” may be a contrast to the same phrase used in the context of hope and comfort during the subjugation of the people of Alma. It’s perhaps of little surprise that the people of Gideon, where the people of Limhi may have settled, had such little patience for Korihor’s rhetoric.
As Jolley concludes:
“Korihor usurped Zeniff’s words for his own purposes, which was to convince the people that they were in a type of bondage; to denounce the Nephite priests just as Zeniff denounced the Lamanites… This is more than just shared language; it makes narrative sense that he would attempt to reinforce his message by an appeal to the people’s recorded history… All this adds together as another evidence that the Book of Mormon is an ancient and authentic text, not a creative work of Joseph Smith.”
The Reflection
Jolley highlights for us a fact for which we should be well prepared—those who work against the Church and against God often know their scriptures and are unafraid to use it in the service of their own ends. They’re well aware of the emotional power those sacred words hold and the legitimacy they carry. We’ve been adequately warned that scripture can be freely mingled with secular philosophy, and it’s something of which saints in all eras have had to beware. May we summon a bit of the spirit of Gideon the next time we face such scriptural admixture—facing it with courage, and placing our trust in Christ and his inspired leaders.
