1 Nephi 14:12-25

Nephi, having seen the wicked on the earth, next saw the church of the Lamb of God.  Compared to the wicked, its numbers were much smaller.  The wickedness of the great and abominable church had become widespread upon the land.

It’s not surprising to see that wickedness was so widespread.  “Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it”

(Matthew 7:14).  Quoting Zenos, Jacob wrote, “And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard sent his servant; and the servant went and did as the Lord had commanded him, and brought other servants; and they were few” (Jacob 5:70).  In his vision, President Joseph F. Smith saw, “notwithstanding his mighty works, and miracles, and proclamation of the truth, in great power and authority, there were but few who hearkened to his voice, and rejoiced in his presence, and received salvation at his hands” (D&C 138:26).  Though they were few, the righteous were spread across all the world.

Nephi saw the great and abominable church organized multitudes throughout the world to fight against Christ.  Though they were numerous, the power of God descended upon the saints and they were “were armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory” (1 Nephi 14:14).  Prior to His ascension, Christ told his apostles, “And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued [OR clothed, invested] with power from on high” (Luke 24:49).

Reminding the Nephites of Zenos’ words, Jacob taught, “And the day that he shall set his hand again the second time to recover his people, is the day, yea, even the last time, that the servants of the Lord shall go forth in his power, to nourish and prune his vineyard; and after that the end soon cometh.  And how blessed are they who have labored diligently in his vineyard; and how cursed are they who shall be cast out into their own place!  And the world shall be burned with fire”  (Jacob 6:2 - 3).

Because of the wickedness of the people, the wrath of God was poured out upon them and the church of the devil.  There arose wars and rumors of wars.  “And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows” (Mark 13:7 - 8).

When the wrath of God is poured out on the wicked, this will mark the beginning of the Lord the fulfilling His covenants with the house of Israel.

Nephi next saw a man dressed in a white robe.  The angel announced he was one of the twelve apostles of Christ.  He will write the things that Nephi had seen.  “The Revelation of John, a servant of God, which was given unto him of Jesus Christ, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass, that he sent and signified by his angel unto his servant John, Who bore record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. Blessed are they who read, and they who hear and understand the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein, for the time of the coming of the Lord draweth nigh” (JST Revelation 1:1 - 3).

The things seen by John will become a part of the Bible.  Plain and precious things that were in John’s revelation will also be lost along with others in the Bible.

Nephi was commanded not to write these things, for God had ordained John to write them. 

And then shall my revelations which I have caused to be written by my servant John be unfolded in the eyes of all the people.  Remember, when ye see these things, ye shall know that the time is at hand that they shall be made manifest in very deed.

Ether 4:16

And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:

But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

John 20:30 - 31

And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written.  Amen.

John 21:25

1 Nephi 13:1-9

Chapter 13

Nephi sees in vision: the church of the devil set up among the Gentiles; the discovery and colonizing of America; the loss of many plain and precious parts of the Bible; the resultant state of gentile apostasy; the restoration of the gospel, the coming forth of Latter-day scripture, and the building up of Zion. About 600–592 B.C.

Having seen the destruction of his people, Nephi was shown many nations and kingdoms.  These, the angel told him are the nations of the gentiles.   Among the gentiles, Nephi saw the formation of a church.  The angel described this church as being “most abominable above all other churches” (1 Nephi 13:5). 

The church tortures and kills the saints of god.  They are bound with a yoke of iron that brings them into captivity.  Jacob would tell the Nephites, “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). 

Nephi saw the great and abominable church and the devil was its founder.  “And another angel shall sound his trump, saying: That great church, the mother of abominations, that made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, that persecuteth the saints of God, that shed their blood—she who sitteth upon many waters, and upon the islands of the sea—behold, she is the tares of the earth; she is bound in bundles; her bands are made strong, no man can loose them; therefore, she is ready to be burned.  And he shall sound his trump both long and loud, and all nations shall hear it.” (D&C 88:94). 

What and who is the great and abominable church?  Noel Reynolds examines a myth.

Myth 3: The Roman Catholic Church specifically is the great and abominable church spoken of in Nephi's vision.

Given the dependence of the early LDS writers on Protes­tant historians, who were themselves often anti-Catholic in orientation, it is not surprising that Latter-day Saints tended to interpret Nephi's vision in this way. The Protestant focus on the corruption in medieval Christianity naturally suggested the Catholic Church as the "church of the devil" described by Nephi in his vision. But if we look more closely at these scriptures, we will see that the church of the devil arose centuries before the Catholic Church was established with Rome as its acknowledged head, and we will see that it includes much more than just one such organization. There is much more to it.[1]

The great and abominable church is made up of those who oppose Christ.  They (those who oppose Christ) may claim to be believers or may reject the existence of God.  What they share in common is their opposition to the gospel and church of Christ.  They are fighting righteousness and serve their master, the devil.

These people have set their hearts on the things of the world.  They want riches and fine clothing.  They are struck with the Nephite disease, pride.  Mormon wrote to us, seeing our day:

Behold, I speak unto you as if ye were present, and yet ye are not.  But behold, Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me, and I know your doing.

And I know that ye do walk in the pride of your hearts; and there are none save a few only who do not lift themselves up in the pride of their hearts, unto the wearing of very fine apparel, unto envying, and strifes, and malice, and persecutions, and all manner of iniquities; and your churches, yea, even every one, have become polluted because of the pride of your hearts.

For behold, ye do love money, and your substance, and your fine apparel, and the adorning of your churches, more than ye love the poor and the needy, the sick and the afflicted.

O ye pollutions, ye hypocrites, ye teachers, who sell yourselves for that which will canker, why have ye polluted the holy church of God?  Why are ye ashamed to take upon you the name of Christ?  Why do ye not think that greater is the value of an endless happiness than that misery which never dies—because of the praise of the world?

Why do ye adorn yourselves with that which hath no life, and yet suffer the hungry, and the needy, and the naked, and the sick and the afflicted to pass by you, and notice them not?

Yea, why do ye build up your secret abominations to get gain, and cause that widows should mourn before the Lord, and also orphans to mourn before the Lord, and also the blood of their fathers and their husbands to cry unto the Lord from the ground, for vengeance upon your heads?

Behold, the sword of vengeance hangeth over you; and the time soon cometh that he avengeth the blood of the saints

Mormon 8:35 – 41

For the praise of the world, the great and abominable church will “destroy the saints of God, and bring them down into captivity” (1 Nephi 13:9).

And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast?  who is able to make war with him?

And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.

And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.

And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.

Revelation 13:4 – 7

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[1] Introduction: What Went Wrong for the Early Christians? Noel B. Reynolds, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed February 20, 2013.