To better understand the evils of lying, Robert J. Matthews, a former dean of religion at BYU, explained that “the seriousness of lying is not measured only in injury or pain inflicted on the one deceived. Lying has a devastating effect also on the perpetrator. It robs the liar of self-respect, and deadens his ability to recognize the difference between truth and error. When a lie is told often enough, even the one who knowingly spread it may begin to believe it. This was the case with the antichrist Korihor in the Book of Mormon (see Alma 30:52–53)” (“Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness,” Ensign, Oct. 1994, 56).
The Prophet Joseph Smith spoke of the tragedy of individuals like Korihor: “Nothing is a greater injury to the children of men than to be under the influence of a false spirit when they think they have the Spirit of God” (History of the Church, 4:573).