Chapter 14
An angel tells Nephi
of the blessings and cursings to fall upon the Gentiles—There are only two
churches: the Church of the Lamb of God and the church of the devil—The saints
of God in all nations are persecuted by the great and abominable church—The
apostle John shall write concerning the end of the world. About 600–592 B.C.
1 And it shall come to pass, that if the Gentiles shall
hearken unto the Lamb of God in that day that he shall manifest himself unto
them in word, and also in power, in very deed, unto the taking away of their
stumbling blocks—
2 And harden not their hearts against the Lamb of God,
they shall be numbered among the seed of thy father; yea, they shall be
numbered among the house of Israel; and they shall be a blessed people upon the
promised land forever; they shall be no more brought down into captivity; and
the house of Israel shall no more be confounded.
3 And that great pit, which hath been digged for them by
that great and abominable church, which was founded by the devil and his
children, that he might lead away the souls of men down to hell—yea, that great
pit which hath been digged for the destruction of men shall be filled by those
who digged it, unto their utter destruction, saith the Lamb of God; not the
destruction of the soul, save it be the casting of it into that hell which hath
no end.
4 For behold, this is according to the captivity of the
devil, and also according to the justice of God, upon all those who will work
wickedness and abomination before him.
5 And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me,
Nephi, saying: Thou hast beheld that if the Gentiles repent it shall be well
with them; and thou also knowest concerning the covenants of the Lord unto the
house of Israel; and thou also hast heard that whoso repenteth not must perish.
6 Therefore, wo be unto the Gentiles if it so be that
they harden their hearts against the Lamb of God.
7 For the time cometh, saith the Lamb of God, that I will
work a great and a marvelous work among the children of men; a work which shall
be everlasting, either on the one hand or on the other—either to the convincing
of them unto peace and life eternal, or unto the deliverance of them to the
hardness of their hearts and the blindness of their minds unto their being
brought down into captivity, and also into destruction, both temporally and spiritually,
according to the captivity of the devil, of which I have spoken.
8 And it came to pass that when the angel had spoken
these words, he said unto me: Rememberest thou the covenants of the Father unto
the house of Israel? I said unto him, Yea.
9 And it came to pass that he said unto me: Look, and
behold that great and abominable church, which is the mother of abominations,
whose founder is the devil.
10 And he said unto me: Behold there are save two
churches only; the one is the church of the Lamb of God, and the other is the
church of the devil; wherefore, whoso belongeth not to the church of the Lamb
of God belongeth to that great church, which is the mother of abominations; and
she is the whore of all the earth.
11 And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the whore
of all the earth, and she sat upon many waters; and she had dominion over all
the earth, among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people.
Nephi continues discussing the gentiles at the beginning of chapter 14. The gentiles that listen to Christ when He reveals himself in word and power will have the stumbling blocks take away. “For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake” (1 Thessalonians 1:5).
Elder Neal A. Maxwell comments on the removal of stumbling
blocks.
“Nephi wrote of how the Lord would, ‘in word, and also in
power,’ remove stumbling blocks in order to help some people believe
(1 Nephi 14:1). In our time, the prevailing intellectual pattern is
secular, and an ‘exceedingly great many do stumble’ over and experience
difficulty in accrediting and taking seriously revelations and sacred records
(1 Nephi 13:29). Nephi also advised that the Lord will stir, even ‘shake,’
the kingdom of the devil in order to help bring some therein to repentance
(2 Nephi 28:19).”[1]
If they do not harden their hearts and ignore Christ’s
words, they will be numbered among the house of Israel.
A pit will be dug by the great and abominable church,
founded by the devil and his children, where they would lead the souls of men
to hell. Eventually, the pit will be
filled by those who dug it, leading to their destruction. They will become a captive of the devil, according
to the justice of God.
If the gentiles repent, “it shall be well with them” (1 Nephi 14:5). But, those who do not repent will
perish. “[W]o be unto the gentiles if it
so be that they harden their hearts against the Lamb of God” (1 Nephi
14:6). Nephi would later write, “Wo be
unto the Gentiles, saith the Lord God of Hosts!
For notwithstanding I shall lengthen out mine arm unto them from day to
day, they will deny me; nevertheless, I will be merciful unto them, saith the
Lord God, if they will repent and come unto me; for mine arm is lengthened out
all the day long, saith the Lord God of Hosts” (2 Nephi 28:32).
The day will come when the Lord will do a marvelous work and
a wonder among the people. “Therefore,
behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a
marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish,
and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid” (Isaiah 29:14).
Nephi would write:
“BUT behold, there shall be many—at that day when I shall
proceed to do a marvelous work among them, that I may remember my covenants
which I have made unto the children of men, that I may set my hand again the
second time to recover my people, which are of the house of Israel;
“And also, that I may remember the promises which I have
made unto thee, Nephi, and also unto thy father, that I would remember your
seed; and that the words of your seed should proceed forth out of my mouth unto
your seed; and my words shall hiss forth unto the ends of the earth, for a
standard unto my people, which are of the house of Israel” (2 Nephi 29:1-2).
This work will be everlasting. It will either lead the gentiles to peace and
eternal life. If they harden their
hearts and ignore these things, they will be led into captivity and suffer the
captivity of the devil, both spiritually and temporally.
Lehi would prophesy:
“And the Messiah cometh in the fulness of time, that he may
redeem the children of men from the fall.
And because that they are redeemed from the fall they have become free
forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not to be acted
upon, save it be by the punishment of the law at the great and last day,
according to the commandments which God hath given.
“Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all
things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and
eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and
death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that
all men might be miserable like unto himself.
“And now, my sons, I would that ye should look to the great
Mediator, and hearken unto his great commandments; and be faithful unto his
words, and choose eternal life, according to the will of his Holy Spirit;
“And not choose eternal death, according to the will of the
flesh and the evil which is therein, which giveth the spirit of the devil power
to captivate, to bring you down to hell, that he may reign over you in his own
kingdom” (2 Nephi 2:26-29).
After Zeezrom began to inquire sincerely of Alama2,
he was taught:
“It is given unto many to know the mysteries of God;
nevertheless they are laid under a strict command that they shall not impart
only according to the portion of his word which he doth grant unto the children
of men, according to the heed and diligence which they give unto him.
“And therefore, he that will harden his heart, the same
receiveth the lesser portion of the word; and he that will not harden his
heart, to him is given the greater portion of the word, until it is given unto
him to know the mysteries of God until he know them in full.
“And they that will harden their hearts, to them is given
the lesser portion of the word until they know nothing concerning his
mysteries; and then they are taken captive by the devil, and led by his will
down to destruction. Now this is what is
meant by the chains of hell” (Alma 12:9–11).
The angel asks Nephi if he remembers the covenants God made
with Israel. He was told to look and he
saw the great and abominable church. Its
founder is the devil. It becomes clear
there are only two churches. One is
Christ’s church and the other is the devils.
If you don’t belong to Christ’s church, you belong to the church of the
devil.
“For the time
speedily shall come that all churches which are built up to get gain, and all
those who are built up to get power over the flesh, and those who are built up
to become popular in the eyes of the world, and those who seek the lusts of the
flesh and the things of the world, and to do all manner of iniquity; yea, in
fine, all those who belong to the kingdom of the devil are they who need fear,
and tremble, and quake; they are those who must be brought low in the dust;
they are those who must be consumed as stubble; and this is according to the
words of the prophet” (1 Nephi 22:23).
“And the Gentiles
are lifted up in the pride of their eyes, and have stumbled, because of the
greatness of their stumbling block, that they have built up many churches;
nevertheless, they put down the power and miracles of God, and preach up unto
themselves their own wisdom and their own learning, that they may get gain and
grind upon the face of the poor” (2 Nephi 26:20).
“Yea, it shall come
in a day when the power of God shall be denied, and churches become defiled and
be lifted up in the pride of their hearts; yea, even in a day when leaders of
churches and teachers shall rise in the pride of their hearts, even to the
envying of them who belong to their churches” (Mormon 8:28).
“Wherefore, he that
fighteth against Zion, both Jew and Gentile, both bond and free, both male and
female, shall perish; for they are they who are the whore of all the earth; for
they who are not for me are against me, saith our God” (2 Nephi 10:16).
The church of the
devil is the “mother of abominations; and she is the whore of all the earth” (1
Nephi 14:10).
“With whom the
kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth
have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
“So he carried me
away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet
coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
“And the woman was
arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones
and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness
of her fornication:
“And upon her
forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS
AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH” (Revelation 17:2-5).
Mack Stirling
writes:
“Nephi describes
the division of mankind into two churches: the church of the Lamb of God,
composed of the saints of God, and the great and abominable church of the
devil, composed of everyone else (see 1 Nephi 14:10–12). The church of the
devil is an enemy to the church of the Lamb (see 1 Nephi 13:4–9, 26–28; 14:3,
12–14). Its members are undoubtedly the natural men described by King Benjamin
as enemies to God and, by extension, to the church of the Lamb … It follows
that the church of Christ consists of those who hearken to the voice of Christ
and the church of the devil consists of the natural men who hearken to the
voice of the devil.”[2]
[1] King Benjamin’s Sermon: A Manual for
Discipleship, Neal A. Maxwell, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute.
[2] The Way of Life and the Way of Death in the
Book of Mormon, Mack C. Stirling, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute.
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