The Deceived Becomes the Deceiver (2022/12/30)

In the Book of Jacob we meet a man named Sherem. He has a standard belief and witness of the scriptures. (Jacob 7:10 ...Believest thou the scriptures? And he said, Yea)

He may have started out somewhat ordinary, as verse two says he "began to preach among the people." It possibly was just someone sharing their opinions, testing how others will respond to their ideas. 

Verse four says he flattered the people. It sounds like he had a natural ability for being persuasive with people. He was likely naturally charismatic. His social status was positioned advantageously enough it allowed him to become well educated.  

Jacob 7:4 ...he was learned, that he had a perfect knowledge of the language of the people; wherefore, he could use much flattery, and much power of speech, according to the power of the devil.

As he found his natural talent for influencing others convinced some people, I expect he experienced what many people do. He let his success "go to his head." As the people believed his flattery, it fed his self-importance cycle. People believed him and looked to him as a source of truth. A natural conclusion for him to have drawn was that he was important. In fact, the story implies he began to believe he was more important than others. He was a voice of authority. 

Whether it was with the intention to magnify his importance, or if that was just a natural consequence, the cycle emboldened him to spread his influence further

and to "labor diligently" to spread his new believed truth, i.e. the lie he believes. 

Jacob 7:2-3 ...And he preached many things which were flattering unto the people; and this he did that he might overthrow the doctrine of Christ.

3 And he labored diligently that he might lead away the hearts of the people...

He was no longer someone just sharing his beliefs and getting his ego stroked. He was specifically setting out to affect as many people as possible and to become a centeral figure in his culture. It was strong enough that he attempted to win a debate with the publicly recognized person in authority, Jacob.  The following verses from Jacob 7 demonstrate this in the bolded words. 

5 And he had hope to shake me from the faith, notwithstanding the many revelations and the many things which I had seen concerning these things;... 

[Sherem presumed his revelations and logic are enough to dissuade the prophet of his own revelations]

6 And it came to pass that he came unto me, and ... did he speak unto me, saying: Brother Jacob, I have sought much opportunity that I might speak unto you; [He has actively been trying to have this confrontation.] for I have heard and also know that thou goest about much, preaching that which ye call the gospel, [He belittles the teachings of the prophet, as if the prophet is the presumptive one changing religious beliefs] or the doctrine of Christ.

7 And ye have led away much of this people [direct accusation of the prophet's infractions] that they pervert the right way [Another direct accusation of the falseness of Jacob's teachings] of God, and keep not the law of Moses which is the right way; and convert the law of Moses into [he appeals to the common denominator they have to pursuade Jacob of the validity of his views] the worship of a being which ye say shall come many hundred years hence. And now behold, I, Sherem, declare [here reveals he believes he is the voice of authority] 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. 

We learn at the end of the chapter that he didn't make up his beliefs by himself. He didn't even logic them out by himself. He was deceived by the devil. 

Jacob 7:18 And he spake plainly unto them, that he had been deceived by the power of the devil...

So originally he was deceived. Then he believed it enough that combined with over-inflated self importance, he began to intentionally deceive others.   

This shows some parallel to people in general. 

People become deceived on mulltiple subjects all the time. Being deceived away from what we know is correct is not a totally passive sin. We have to agree to accept a lie. But it is a self-contained sin in that it basically only affects us. It is a sin of small, one-person impact.

When we believe the lie enough that we forget we are believing a lie, we can sin to a greater degree that has larger consequences when we try to convince others of the same lie. Our sin changes from a passive sin that effects only ourselves to an active sin that affects others. Greater negative consequences will naturally result. 

The antidote? 

Perhaps it is humility. Believe both your strengths and  your weaknesses. That will make it harder for you to be deceived, and it will discourage you from becoming overly self-important.