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1. Dennis Horne says

   January 18, 2024 at 10:48 am

   See also Elder Bruce R. McConkie (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary vol. 3):

   Devil Formeth a Great and Abominable Church

   Lo, Lucifer formeth his own church over which he reigneth from eternity to eternity!

   And from time to time the Lord giveth those with understanding a glimpse of one part or another of this great and abominable church—this church founded, guided, and upheld by that fallen angel whose misery is complete and who seeketh to make all men miserable like unto himself.

   But the views seen and the visions unfolded are not always the same; nor do the revelations poured forth always relate to the same portion of that kingdom which is designed to destroy the souls of men and lead them carefully down to hell.

   Nor are all parts of the devil’s kingdom equally evil; one part is more abominable than another; and the degeneracy and wickedness of the various, shall we say, stakes of Satan, varies from age to age. What the Lord unfolds and what his prophets proclaim at one time or another is what mankind of that era needs to know. The warning voice always identifies those evils from which the hearers must flee.

   Let us, then, treading lightly and carefully, and walking in the course set by revelation, learn what the Lord has revealed about the church of the enemy of all righteousness.

   The Church and the Plan of Salvation

   To know what is meant by the church of the devil, we must first believe that God is our Father; that he ordained and established the plan of salvation whereby his spirit offspring might advance and progress and become like him; that his plan called for an infinite and eternal atoning sacrifice to be made by the Son of God; and that those who believe and obey shall gain eternal life.

   The plan of salvation is the gospel of Jesus Christ, and it alone enables man to return to the presence of God and be like him. This plan is administered by the Church of Jesus Christ and includes all of the laws, rites, ordinances, truths and powers by conformity to which salvation is gained. Thus the Lord’s Church is the repository of the laws and powers whereby salvation comes.

   To know what is meant by the church of the devil, we must also known that Satan stands in opposition to God; that he sought to change the Father’s plan of salvation so as to force salvation upon all mankind; that his offer was rejected; that he then rebelled and led one-third of the hosts of heaven in a war against God; that he was cast down to earth, where he continues his war of rebellion, and seeks to lead men away from salvation and to damnation with him in his kingdom. His plan (if such it may be called) is administered by the church of the devil and consists of any and every course which keeps men from being saved and therefore prepares them to be damned. There was thus a church of the devil in pre-existence. Lucifer was its head, and at that day many followed after him.

   The Church of the Devil from Adam to Christ

   There has always been a church of the devil on earth. Speaking of the Church as the kingdom of God on earth, the Prophet Joseph Smith said: “In relation to the kingdom of God, the devil always sets up his kingdom at the very same time in opposition to God.” (Teachings, p. 365.) Thus when Adam and Eve taught the gospel to their children, “Satan came among them, saying: I am also a son of God; and he commanded them, saying: Believe it not; and they believed it not, and they loved Satan more than God. And men began from that time forth to be carnal, sensual, and devilish.” As a consequence, Cain said: “Who is the Lord that I should know him?. . . And Cain loved Satan more than God. And Satan commanded him, saying: Make an offering unto the Lord.” (Moses 5:13-18.)

   And thus it was from Adam to Christ. Indeed, was it not one of the most wicked branches of the church of unrighteousness that brought about the crucifixion of Him whose Church is the sole repository of saving truth and power? Surely the church of the evil one has exerted a great influence in the world! And it is not strange to find Paul speaking of sacrifices made “to devils, and not to God” (1 Cor. 10:20), and of the Beloved Revelator himself writing of the “worship” of devils. (Rev. 9:20.)

   The Church of the Devil after Our Lord’s Ministry

   It is easier for us to use divine standards in measuring the churches and systems of the past than to apply the same rules of judgment to those organizations which touch our lives. Providentially Nephi recorded in a plain and clear manner much of the same data summarized by John in his vision of the church of the devil. Nearly 600 years before the Christian Era that Nephite seer saw in vision the mortal ministry of Christ, including his death upon the cross. (1 Ne. 11:26-33.) Then he beheld “the world” all of it, including “the house of Israel”—in its warfare against “the twelve apostles of the Lamb,” and the Church of Jesus Christ over which they presided. (1 Ne. 11:34-36.)

   Then Nephi was shown the events destined to occur among the ancient inhabitants of America from about 600 B. C. to 34 A. D.—that is, until the time of the crucifixion of our Lord and of his resurrected ministry among the Nephites. (1 Ne. 12:1-10.) Then he beheld the next three generations of Father Lehi’s descendants, and part of the fourth, dwelling in righteousness upon their promised land (1 Ne. 12:11-12), which brings us in point of time to 200 A. D. (4 Ne. 24.)

   In 201 A. D., following a glorious era of near perfect righteousness, the Nephite people “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. And it came to pass that when two hundred and ten years had passed away there were many churches in the land; yea, there were many churches which professed to know the Christ, and yet they did deny the more parts of his gospel, insomuch that they did receive all manner of wickedness, and did administer that which was sacred unto him to whom it had been forbidden because of unworthiness. And this church did multiply exceedingly because of iniquity, and because of the power of Satan who did get hold upon their hearts. And again, there was another church which denied the Christ; and they did persecute the true church of Christ, because of their humility and their belief in Christ; and they did despise them because of the many miracles which were wrought among them.” (4 Ne. 26-29.)

   Thus, apostasy, rebellion, wickedness, and great abominations of every manner and form overran the Nephite people and became part of their worship. Satan, in other words, was setting up his church again among them. And he did the same thing, in manner and form, in the Old World when the descendants of the saints of Jesus’ day began to depart from the revealed moorings.

   With apostasy comes war and destruction; and so, continuing the divine chronology, Nephi was shown the destruction of the people who bore his name, and the dwindling in unbelief of his Lamanite kin, until they became “a filthy people, full of idleness and all manner of abominations.” (1 Ne. 12:13-23.)

   This brings us, historically speaking, to the day when the American continent was to be again discovered, as it were, by the people of the Old World. At this point, the angelic ministrant who was opening the future to the Nephite seer, turned the scene back again to the Old World. Nephi saw the Gentile nations among whom the apostles from Jerusalem ministered. He even had John the Revelator identified for him by name, and was told that John and he would see these same things in vision; and Nephi was given instructions as to the things both he and John should record and as to the other parts of the vision left to the literary devices of each of them individually. (1 Ne. 14:18-28.)

   Thereupon Nephi saw—and we are following a chronological series of events!—the formation of that church of the devil which grew out of the apostasy in the Old World. (1 Ne. 13:1-3.) And as it was with the apostasy on the American continent, there were many churches comprising Lucifer’s earthly kingdom, one of which churches was more abominable than all the rest. Indeed, the mere fact that there are more churches than one in the kingdom of the enemy of all righteousness is of itself sufficient proof that all are not equal and that some are better, some worse, than others.

   In its chronological setting, 1 Ne. 13:4-9 covers events from the day of Peter and Paul to the discovery of America by Columbus. The church of the devil there described is the same one shown to John, and both revelators record their visions in substantially the same language, except that clarifying phrases inserted by Nephi, coupled with the chronological data set forth so well in the Book of Mormon account, enable us to understand with certainty the true meaning of John’s accounts.

   It should he noted that during this period of the dark ages; this era of about a millennium and a half; this succession of generations that looped down to and included the discovery of America by Columbus; during all these centuries; during all this expanse of time; though there were many apostate churches, there was one in particular that troubled Nephi (and John).

   And so Nephi speaks of “the foundation”—the founding, the creating, the originating—of “a great church” “among the nations of the Gentiles.” This specific church was “most abominable above all other churches,” and Satan “was the foundation” of “this great and abominable church.” (1 Ne. 13:4-8.)

   Next comes the vision of the discovery of America by Columbus, as he was guided by the light of Christ; of the peopling of this New World; and of the Revolutionary War that freed its inhabitants from the dominion of “their mother Gentiles.” (1 Ne. 13:10-19.)

   Our inspired author then sees the Bible brought from Europe to America, and the angel tells him this sacred book once “contained the plainness of the gospel of the Lord”; that it had been written “in purity”; and that thereafter—after the whole Bible was written!—there came into existence “a great and abominable church, which is most abominable above all other churches,” which church then deleted from and made changes in the Bible. (1 Ne. 13:20-28.)

   This incomplete and inaccurate Bible “goeth forth unto all the nations of the Gentiles,” and is brought to America to the seed of Lehi, and “because of the many plain and precious things which have been taken out of the book, . . . an exceeding great many do stumble, yea, insomuch that Satan hath great power over them.” (1 Ne. 13:29.)

   Now Nephi’s vision comes to the Spring of 1820 and the ushering in of a new and glorious gospel dispensation. He is told that “because of the most plain and precious parts of the gospel of the Lamb which have been kept back by that abominable church, which is the mother of harlots,” that the Lord “will be merciful unto the Gentiles in that day,” insomuch that he “will bring forth unto them” his gospel, “which shall be plain and precious.” (1 Ne. 13:30-34.) The great restoration takes place; truth is restored; the Lord’s work rolls on, and the power of “that great and abominable church, which was founded by the devil and his children” begins to wane. (1 Ne. 13:35-42; 14:1-9.)

   Truly Nephi saw and described “that great and abominable church, which is the mother of abominations, whose foundation is the devil,” as that organization existed during the dark ages. (1 Ne. 14:9.) But now the scene changes. He views our day; the restoration is past; the great day is at hand for the restored gospel to be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations. Now the entire concept of the church of the devil changes; now the great and abominable church is not one among many, but it is all the forces of evil linked together; as the scene is set for the final warfare between the saints and the world, we find “there are save two churches only”—the Lord’s and the devil’s. All men are in one camp or the other; those who are not for the Lord are against him.

   In other words, the church of the devil is the world; it is all the carnality and evil to which fallen man is heir; it is every unholy and wicked practice; it is every false religion, every supposed system of salvation which does not actually save and exalt man in the highest heaven of the celestial world. It is every church except the true church, whether parading under a Christian or a pagan banner. As Moroni will say in a later era of Nephite history, and as we shall ascertain in our evaluation of Rev. 18:1-24, it is “secret combinations,” oath-bound societies, and the great world force of Godless communism. (Ether 8:14-26.)

   And in these last days it is spread upon all the earth—the Americas, Europe, Asia, India, the islands of the seas. It is the combined forces of the ungodly. It is Babylon the great which shall fall. “I beheld the church of the Lamb of God, and its numbers were few,” Nephi says of our day, “because of the wickedness and abominations of the whore who sat upon many waters; nevertheless, I beheld that the church of the Lamb, who were the saints of God, were also upon all the face of the earth; and their dominions upon the face of the earth were small, because of the wickedness of the great whore whom I saw.” (1 Ne. 14:12.)

   1, 15. In Rev. 12:1 the woman (a faithful wife living in lawful wedlock) is “the church of God”; here the great whore (an unfaithful woman living the life of a harlot, in lust and debauchery) is the church of the devil. “Behold there are save two churches only,” the angel said to Nephi, “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. 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.” (1 Ne. 14:10-11.)

   1. The judgment of the great whore] The fall of Babylon. See Rev. 18:1-24.

   2. With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication] To a greater or lesser degree, as the case may be, all of the governments of the earth are in league with the great whore in that, from time to time, they do such things as:

   Prohibit the worship of God;

   Enact laws defining religious beliefs and prescribing forms of worship;

   Maintain state-supported, false systems of religion;

   Deny freedom of religious belief to all their citizens;

   Impose the religious beliefs of conquerors upon conquered people;

   Permit the mingling of religious influence with civil government;

   Foster one religious society and proscribe another;

   Deny to men their inherent and inalienable rights;

   Fail to guarantee the free exercise of conscience, the right and control of property, and the protection of life;

   Enact laws which curtail the agency of man;

   Require the teaching of false principles in their educational systems;

   Deny the representatives of certain churches the right to teach their doctrines or proselyte among their people; and

   Fail to punish crime and protect the rights of their citizens, particularly unpopular minority groups.

   The inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk] There is apostasy from the truth everywhere. “They are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink. For the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered.” (Isa. 29:9-10.)

   3-4. “And I also saw gold, and silver, and silks, and scarlets, and fine-twined linen, and all manner of precious clothing; and I saw many harlots,” Nephi said. “And the angel spake unto me, saying: Behold the gold, and the silver, and the silks, and the scarlets, and the fine-twined linen, and the precious clothing, and the harlots, are the desires of this great and abominable church.” (1 Ne. 13:7-8.)

   3, 7-18. These passages dealing with the beast upon which the woman sat, and of the relationship of various kingdoms to the events seen, is a perfect illustration of what the Prophet had in mind when he said: “Whenever God gives a vision of an image, or beast, or figure of any kind, he always holds himself responsible to give a revelation or interpretation of the meaning thereof, otherwise we are not responsible or accountable for our belief in it. Don’t be afraid of being damned for not knowing the meaning of a vision or figure, if God has not given a revelation or interpretation of the subject.” (Teachings, p. 291.) Until such time as further revelation is received it is fruitless to speculate on the detailed meaning of these things. Brief commentary will be made only of those portions where an inspired interpretation has been made or where the meaning is clear because of other revealed truths.

   3. He carried me away in the spirit] See Rev. 21:9-27.

   5. To Nephi the angel said: “Look, and behold that great and abominable church, which is the mother of abominations, whose foundation is the devil.” (1 Ne. 14:9.) Also: “Behold, the wrath of God is upon the mother of harlots.” (1 Ne. 14:16.)

   5. Mystery] How much of false religion is deliberately designed to be an unknown mystery, and to leave men with the idea they have neither the need nor the ability to comprehend the things of God, as for instance the nature and kind of Being he is!

   Babylon the Great] The church of the devil; the world with all its false doctrines and carnal lusts. See Rev. 18:1-24.

   The Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth] It seems clear that if the great whore, which is the church of the devil, has daughters who are harlots, the interpretation of this expression is that false churches beget false churches, that the sponsor of one set of abominations begets sponsors of others.

   6. “And the angel said unto me: Behold the foundation of a church which is most abominable above all other churches, which slayeth the saints of God, yea, and tortureth them and bindeth them down, and yoketh them with a yoke of iron, and bringeth them down into captivity. . . . And also for the praise of the world do they destroy the saints of God, and bring them down into captivity.” (1 Ne. 13:5-9.) See Rev. 6:9-11.

   8. Book of Life] See Rev. 3:1-6; 20:11-15.

   9. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth] This seems to be a clear allusion to Rome, the city founded on seven hills, as the headquarters of that branch of Satan’s kingdom which was persecuting and slaying the saints in John’s day.

   14. “And it came to pass that I beheld that the great mother of abominations did gather together multitudes upon the face of all the earth, among all the nations of the Gentiles, to fight against the Lamb of God. And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the power of the Lamb of God, that it descended upon the saints of the church of the Lamb, and upon the covenant people of the Lord, who were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and they were armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory. And it came to pass that I beheld that the wrath of God was poured out upon the great and abominable church, insomuch that there were wars and rumors of wars among all the nations and kindreds of the earth. And as there began to be wars and rumors of wars among all the nations which belonged to the mother of abominations, the angel spake unto me, saying: Behold, the wrath of God is upon the mother of harlots; and behold, thou seest all these things—And when the day cometh that the wrath of God is poured out upon the mother of harlots, which is the great and abominable church of all the earth, whose foundation is the devil, then, at that day, the work of the Father shall commence, in preparing the way for the fulfilling of his covenants, which he hath made to his people who are of the house of Israel.” (1 Ne. 14:13-17.)

2. Dennis Horne says

   January 18, 2024 at 2:25 pm

   See also, Pres. Harold B. Lee, “The Iron Rod”:
   https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1971/04/the-iron-rod?lang=eng