Come Follow Me (1 Nephi 11-15 Part 2)
The panorama of Nephi’s vision continues in 1 Nephi 13 - amazing prophecy where Nephi is shown many future events that are our history:
- Christopher Columbus - a righteous man (verse 12 - take that, history revisionists)
- the settling of the colonies (verse 13-16)
- the Revolutionary War (verse 17)
- a record of the Jews not as big as the brass plates (verse 23 - and we thought the Old Testament was big)
Chapter 13 is the first time the idea of a great and abominable church is introduced. Nephi is told the devil is the founder of this church (verse 6).
With every reading of this incredible book, my understanding deepens as to what this church is - and what it isn’t.
Interestingly, the people of this church are described in much the same way the people are described who inhabit the great and spacious building. Expensive fabrics, expensive jewelry, ornate trappings.
And then… harlots. Nephi mentions seeing many harlots with this observation:
“…the angel spake… Behold the gold, and the silver, and the silks… and the precious clothing, and the harlots, are the desires of this great and abominable church.
“And also for the praise of the world do they destroy the saints of god, and bring them down into captivity.” (verses 8-9)
Harlot was a slightly more polite way to describe a prostitute, and is considered - by the world who embraces them - to be an archaic, prudish word. But to have harlots included in the description of well-dressed people with expensive trappings is important because harlots are people who have intimate relations without the benefits of a covenant relationship. Harlots don’t tie themselves to what they consider the restrictions of a husband.
A Bridegroom.
The great and abominable church is peopled by those who view covenants as binding, in the sense of no freedom. Satan has seduced the world to believe that freedom is outside the bounds of covenants with God. The great and abominable church - his church - receives the praise of the world because in destroying God’s church, it destroys the voice of conscience in the world.
The church of God is the last holdout voice in a world that has embraced a life of no accountability. If you don’t want accountability a conscience is simply pesky. A church that authentically teaches the word of God has the audacity to teach that there is such a thing as absolute good and absolute evil.
If you want to be a law unto yourself (D&C 88:35), the last thing you want is for someone to tell you there are laws which can’t be disobeyed with impunity.
Even the existence of other humans believing there is such a thing as sin is going to feel uncomfortable which will also feel like a restriction to such a person who has carefully practiced living a life with “no divine limits on their behavior” (Dallin H. Oaks, “Kingdoms of Glory,” General Conference, October 2023).
Those voices which even suggest the idea of the reality of boundaries on behavior must be silenced. Hence - the great and abominable church fights against God by fighting against the agency of man.
No wonder this is seen by Nephi as taking plain and precious truths away from the gospel! Forget about leaving only the message of salvation in scripture and deleting the message of exaltation - the whole purpose of the additional testimony from the Book of Mormon. The most plain and precious truth is that there is eternal law which defines good and evil.
While in the scriptures of every major religion, this simple eternal truth is glaringly absent from the gospel of Satan and his church. Why?
“And all this have they done that they might pervert the right ways of the Lord, that they might blind the eyes and harden the hearts of the children of men.” (1 Nephi 13:27)
Why would men want to blind other men’s eyes and harden their hearts? To rule over them.
When men have correct principles they can govern themselves. Not only can they, but they want to.
If men need correct principles to govern themselves, that means they must be taught incorrect principles for someone to rule over them. Talk about fighting the agency of man.
The principles that define God’s “church” are unmistakable in their authenticity. God honors agency, which includes accountability for its use. He provided a Savior to provide a way to be clean after the earthly experience of practicing self-government goes so horribly awry, you can’t imagine being able to ever fix it and go home again, reconciled to your beloved Father.
The principles that define Satan’s “church” are equally unmistakable in their imitative counterfeit. Satan wants to destroy agency to stunt any growth towards God. He obfuscates accountability by preaching freedom from divine limits and consequences. And no need for a savior - mankind can elevate itself to utopia - an ordered society of forced compliance rather than chosen obedience and discipline.
Only two churches (1 Nephi 14:10). Zion teaches discipline to train chosen obedience. Babylon teaches no restraints which leads to forced compliance.
As things continue to shake out in this crazy world, the time for choosing one or the other feels like it’s looming larger than ever. It’s impossible to choose both.
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