2 Nephi 28:1-4

Chapter 28

Many false churches shall be built up in the last days—They shall teach false and vain and foolish doctrines—Apostasy shall abound because of false teachers—The devil shall rage in the hearts of men—He shall teach all manner of false doctrines. About 559–545 B.C.

1 And now, behold, my brethren, I have spoken unto you, according as the Spirit hath constrained me; wherefore, I know that they must surely come to pass.

2 And the things which shall be written out of the book shall be of great worth unto the children of men, and especially unto our seed, which is a remnant of the house of Israel.

3 For it shall come to pass in that day that the churches which are built up, and not unto the Lord, when the one shall say unto the other: Behold, I, I am the Lord’s; and the others shall say: I, I am the Lord’s; and thus shall every one say that hath built up churches, and not unto the Lord—

4 And they shall contend one with another; and their priests shall contend one with another, and they shall teach with their learning, and deny the Holy Ghost, which giveth utterance.

Nephi begins by testifying that the words he has spoken “must surely come to pass” (2 Nephi 28:1).  A book will come forth.  This book will be of great value to the gentiles, but “especially unto our seed, which is a remnant of the house of Israel” (2 Nephi 28:2).

Nephi was referring to what he had seen in his vision before they arrived in the Promised Land. 

”And it came to pass that I beheld the remnant of the seed of my brethren, and also the book of the Lamb of God, which had proceeded forth from the mouth of the Jew, that it came forth from the Gentiles unto the remnant of the seed of my brethren.

“And after it had come forth unto them I beheld other books, which came forth by the power of the Lamb, from the Gentiles unto them, unto the convincing of the Gentiles and the remnant of the seed of my brethren, and also the Jews who were scattered upon all the face of the earth, that the records of the prophets and of the twelve apostles of the Lamb are true” (1 Nephi 13:38-39).

The day will come when churches are built up.  “Scholars estimate that more than 10,000 such [New Religious Movements] may have formed in the developing world in the past century, totaling more than 12 million members.”[1] (One observation – I am using this quote to show how many churches have been built up over the years.  I make no judgment about these New Religious Movements.)

Many of these churches will not be built up “unto the Lord” (2 Nephi 28:3).  Talking to his brethren after they arrived in the Promised Land, Nephi told them:

“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).

Paul dealt with this same challenge in the early Christian Church.

“Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

“For it hath been declared unto me [concerning] you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.

“Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.

“Is Christ divided?  was Paul crucified for you?  or were ye baptized in the name of Paul” (1 Corinthians 1:10-13).

The same problem also arose among the Nephites two centuries after Christ’s ministry to the Nephites.  “And they began to be divided into classes; and they began to build up churches unto themselves to get gain, and began to deny the true church of Christ.” (4 Nephi 1:26). 

The churches will not only be set up to get gain, but they will “contend one with another … and they shall teach their learning and deny the Holy Ghost” (2 Nephi 28:4).  Jacob would describe these people.

“O that cunning plan of the evil one!  O the vainness, and the frailties, and the foolishness of men!  When they are learned they think they are wise, and they hearken not unto the counsel of God, for they set it aside, supposing they know of themselves, wherefore, their wisdom is foolishness and it profiteth them not.  And they shall perish” (2 Nephi 9:28).

Dennis Largey sums up what the Book of Mormon teaches about true religion.

“Through story, prophecy, and sermon, the Book of Mormon denounces paid clergy (Alma 1:3, 20:2 Nephi 26:31); infant baptism (Moroni 8); systems of religion that deny miracles, revelation, and prophecy (2 Nephi 28:4—6; 3 Nephi 29:5,6); systems that preach salvation based exclusively upon the law (Mosiah 13:27—37); being saved by grace alone (2 Nephi 25:23); and the philosophy that mercy can rob justice (2 Nephi 28:7, 8). The Book of Mormon also denounces religion that restricts God to a single book of scripture (2 Nephi 29).”[2]

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[1] New religious movements meet widely varied needs, William Hamblin and Daniel Peterson, for the Deseret News, Saturday, Nov. 16 2013 .

[2] The Book of Mormon, an Interpretive Guide to the New Testament, Dennis Largey, Maxwell Institute .