The Great and Abominable Church: Part 1

In some of the earliest chapters of the Book of Mormon, Nephi sees in vision the formation of the church of the devil. He uses various names to describe this organization including the church of the devil, the great and abominable church and the whore of all the earth. He goes into great detail when speaking about this organization. Nephi includes this vision in his record for our benefit. His people never had the Book of Mormon. He knew it would be critical for us to recognize and avoid deception at the hands of all entities which comprise the church of the devil. If we are unable to do so, we will be grasped with the devil's awful chains. (2 Nephi 28:22) One way that Nephi helps us to recognize and understand the church of the devil is to explain its goals. Understanding the goals of this organization is a key to combating it. Nephi explains its goals as follows:

• To torture and slay the saints of God (1 Nephi 13:5) 
• To yoke the saints and bring them into captivity (1 Nephi 13:5) 
• Material gain (1 Nephi 13:8) 
• Sexual sin (1 Nephi 13:8) 
• Praise of the world (1 Nephi 13:9) 

Over the next few days we will take a closer look at each of these goals and the means used by the devil to accomplish them. Doing so will arm us against the deceptions that, if not identified, will surely lead to our destruction.

Torture and Slaying of the Saints

The physical oppression, torture and martyrdom of those who try and follow the Savior, both in ancient and modern times, is a historical fact. We have record of these occurrences and will continue to see the fulfillment of this prophecy in the future. Now is the great day of the devils power and as the gulf dividing evil from good continues to grow ever wider, the persecutions against the humble followers of Christ will increase in intensity. Elder Bruce R McConkie has taught in his work Mormon Doctrine that, "where the gospel is, there will be opposition and persecution, for Lucifer will not stand idly by while the work of God rolls forward. Hence, the saints have been tormented, pushed about, persecuted, reviled."

Physical death and other forms of persecution however, are not the most terrible threats facing us. The Savior himself taught, "He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it." (Matt 10:39) Speaking of the martyrs at Ammonihah, Alma teaches that, "the Lord receiveth them up unto himself, in glory; and he doth suffer that they may do this thing, or that the people may do this thing unto them, according to the hardness of their hearts, that the judgments which he shall exercise upon them in his wrath may be just; and the blood of the innocent shall stand as a witness against them, yea, and cry mightily against them at the last day." (Alma 14:11) The Lord also has promised us that , "it shall come to pass that those that die in me shall not taste of death, for it shall be sweet unto them; And they that die not in me, wo unto them, for their death is bitter." (D&C 42: 46-47)

One of the tools used by Satan to thwart our progress is fear. This fear takes many forms. Fear of death, fear of those we deem our enemies and many other manifestations. Our own self love can be a hindrance and a sin if not kept in the proper perspective. The Lord however, has prepared us to withstand the buffetings of the adversary and maintain faith in the face of the terrors and persecutions that will be unleashed by the acolytes of the church of the devil. What are some of these terrors? The Lord has said that, "the enemy in the secret chambers seeketh [our] lives." (D&C 38:28) Citing this verse during the October general conference in 1946, Elder Joseph L Wirthlin explained the following:

I am sure that this revelation, brothers and sisters, pertains to this day and to this time. While our attention is attracted to foreign countries where there have been wars and where there are still wars, there are within the very borders of this great republic those who would change our form of government and who would force upon us the same type of government that Lucifer advocated in the councils of heaven.

One of the ways the members of the church of the devil will try to destroy us is through the force of government. Governments have been responsible for more deaths throughout history than any other organization. It is naive to believe that Satan has abandoned this method of wreaking havoc in the lives of God's children. Those who have been to the temple should know better. The Lord clearly explains, "I tell you these things....that you might escape the power of the enemy...wherefore...you shall be endowed with power from on high." (D&C 38:30-32) Those who have been endowed with power from on high should not be deceived by the cunning wiles of the devil in this regard.

Our trust in government at times becomes reckless and idolatrous. Our fear of those we call enemies clouds our judgment to the point we loose sight of the real enemies of God and allow our diligence in building up the kingdom of God to slacken in order to pursue foreign wars and other ill-advised policies. The Lord stresses the idea that we should worry more about our own beams, and less about the motes of his other children when he says, "ye hear of wars in far countries, and you say that there will soon be great wars in far countries, but ye know not the hearts of men in your own land." (D&C 38:29) President Kimball forcefully taught this on one occasion declaring that,

We are a warlike people, easily distracted from our assignment of preparing for the coming of the Lord. When enemies rise up, we commit vast resources to the fabrication of gods of stone and steel -- ships, planes, missiles, fortifications -- and depend on them for protection and deliverance. When threatened, we become antienemy instead of pro-kingdom of God; we train a man in the art of war and call him a patriot, thus, in the manner of Satan's counterfeit of true patriotism, perverting the Savior's teaching:

'Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven' (Matthew 5:44-45)

We forget that if we are righteous the Lord will either not suffer our enemies to come upon us -- and this is the special promise to the inhabitants of the land of the Americas (see 2 Nephi 1:7) -- or he will fight our battles for us (Exodus 14:14; D&C 98:37, to name only two references of many). (The False Gods We Worship, Ensign, June 1976)

He continues by asking us to forsake our fear and do the Lord's work:

What are we to fear when the Lord is with us? Can we not take the Lord at his word and exercise a particle of faith in him? Our assignment is affirmative: to forsake the things of the world as ends in themselves; to leave off idolatry and press forward in faith; to carry the gospel to our enemies, that they might no longer be our enemies. 

The whole article is worth reading and can be found here.

So government is one of the main vehicles that has been used by the devil, and will continue to be used by the devil to torture and slay the saints of God, along with other innocents. Government was the force used to murder millions of dissidents in the Soviet Union and Mao's China. Government was the force used to murder millions of Jews during Hitler's rule in Nazi Germany. Government was the force used to crucify the Savior, slay the innocent in Ammoniah, create an extermination order against the saints in Missouri and  will continue to be used by the adversary as he attempts to supplant agency with tyranny.

Do we always recognize luciferian principles being advocated by our own government? When we speak of our constitutional government, we tend to compare ourselves with Captain Moroni and his people or the sons of Helaman, but the reality is that we have far more in common with the people of King Noah who were, incidentally, responsible for the torturous slaying of the prophet Abinadi.

The people of King Noah became idolatrous because they were misled by their leaders:

Yea, and they also became idolatrous, because they were deceived by the vain and flattering words of the king and priests; for they did speak flattering things unto them. (Mosiah 11:7)

They were taxed heavily, and their taxes were used to support iniquity:

And he laid a tax of one fifth part of all they possessed, a fifth part of their gold and of their silver, and a fifth part of their ziff, and of their copper, and of their brass and their iron; and a fifth part of their fatlings; and also a fifth part of all their grain.

Yea, and thus [the rulers] were supported in their laziness, and in their idolatry, and in their whoredoms, by the taxes which king Noah had put upon his people; thus did the people labor exceedingly to support iniquity. (Mosiah 11: 3,6)

The people engaged in all manner of sexual sin and substance abuse:

For behold, he did not keep the commandments of God, but he did walk after the desires of his own heart. And he had many wives and concubines. And he did cause his people to commit sin, and do that which was abominable in the sight of the Lord. Yea, and they did commit whoredoms and all manner of wickedness.

And it came to pass that he planted vineyards round about in the land; and he built wine-presses, and made wine in abundance; and therefore he became a wine-bibber, and also his people. (Mosiah 11: 2, 15)

The people prepared for war, delighted in bloodshed and boasted of their strength:

And king Noah sent guards round about the land to keep them off; but he did not send a sufficient number, and the Lamanites came upon them and killed them, and drove many of their flocks out of the land; thus the Lamanites began to destroy them, and to exercise their hatred upon them.

And it came to pass that king Noah sent his armies against them, and they were driven back, or they drove them back for a time; therefore, they returned rejoicing in their spoil.

And now, because of this great victory they were lifted up in the pride of their hearts; they did boast in their own strength, saying that their fifty could stand against thousands of the Lamanites; and thus they did boast, and did delight in blood, and the shedding of the blood of their brethren, and this because of the wickedness of their king and priests. (Mosiah 11: 17-19)

So what are we to do? We need to stop supporting the goals of the great and abominable church and spread the gospel more vigorously. (Alma 31:5) We need to focus on the conversion of our enemies as the sons of Mosiah did. We need to be politically active, always making sure to understand and support correct principles of government. We need to avoid the mistakes made by the people of Noah and support righteous leaders. (D&C 98:9)

We must recognize agency as a sacred gift from God and do all in our power to avoid participating in the tyrannical abuse of another's agency. That is Satan's plan. It has not changed from his rebellion at the council in Heaven. Only now, instead of using force to reclaim us, he desires to use force to destroy us. Let us make sure we are not inadvertently worshiping at the alter of force in the devil's church. Let us remember Moroni's stark warning to us:

Wherefore, O ye Gentiles, it is wisdom in God that these things should be shown unto you, that thereby ye may repent of your sins, and suffer not that these murderous combinations shall get above you, which are built up to get power and gain—and the work, yea, even the work of destruction come upon you, yea, even the sword of the justice of the Eternal God shall fall upon you, to your overthrow and destruction if ye shall suffer these things to be.

Wherefore, the Lord commandeth you, when ye shall see these things come among you that ye shall awake to a sense of your awful situation, because of this secret combination which shall be among you; or wo be unto it, because of the blood of them who have been slain; for they cry from the dust for vengeance upon it, and also upon those who built it up.

For it cometh to pass that whoso buildeth it up seeketh to overthrow the freedom of all lands, nations, and countries; and it bringeth to pass the destruction of all people, for it is built up by the devil, who is the father of all lies; even that same liar who beguiled our first parents, yea, even that same liar who hath caused man to commit murder from the beginning; who hath hardened the hearts of men that they have murdered the prophets, and stoned them, and cast them out from the beginning. (Ether 8: 23-25)

It's not too late.  We can learn from past mistakes.  We can avoid participation in any of the schemes of the devil's church and his secret combinations. If we do nothing, or unknowingly build up and support such evil, the blood of those martyred by these combinations will cry for vengeance against us. 

In part two of this series we will discuss the second goal of the church of the devil as witnessed by Nephi. The goal of yoking the saints and binding them down in captivity.

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Is It Such A Fast I Have Chosen?

Often the word fasting conjures memories of growling stomachs, odd testimonies we’ve heard on the church’s monthly version of open-mike night, or the petitions we’ve occasionally offered in unison with family or ward members for some mutual desire. Even when we focus on the generally taught and accepted purposes of fasting, we still miss the point of this beautiful church ordinance. Yes. I said ordinance.

As a missionary I heard it taught that prayer was like sending a letter to God while fasting was like sending a telegram (or to modernize, an email). Over the years, I’ve also heard fasting presented as a means of self-mastery, a way to make learn to control appetites and passions by subjecting the body to the will of the spirit. But treating a fast as little more than a hunger strike to get God’s attention or an effort to exert willpower, it still underselling this powerful act. And more importantly, it isn’t what God asks.

Like many modern Christians, ancient Israel had trouble understanding the concept of fasting. Thankfully, the words of the Lord to Isaiah offer a clarity that is just as profound today as it was then.

Let’s take a look at Isaiah 58:

1 Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.

The voice of the Lord commands the prophet to show Israel her transgression. Did you realize that improper fasting was a transgression? Kind of makes you want to know a little bit more about how to fast correctly, doesn’t it?

2 Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God.

There are several interesting points in this verse. First the Lord explains that Israel delights to know the ways of God and to know of Him as if they were a righteous nation. In other words, her rabbis studied the law, her priests performed the ordinances, and from the outside everything looked like they were on the right path. They even kept the ordinance of fasting and took pleasure in approaching God or looking like God’s people. But we know from verse 1, that they have transgressed. Let’s see how:

3 Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours.

The Israelites saw fasting as a means to get God’s attention and they see fasting as a means of afflicting their souls for righteousness sake. Is any of this sounding uncomfortably familiar? Then they want to know why God is “seeing” these acts of tummy-rumbling sacrifice and rewarding them with the fulfillment of their petitions.

4 Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high.

Beginning in verse 3, the Lord explains the flaws in their fasts. First, they pleasure in their fast, or in other words, they fast for their own righteousness sake. Second, they exact all their labors. In this sense, exacting means that they inflict travail on others or exact all that they believe is their just due from others. They are unmerciful lords and unjust stewards. The condemnation continues in verse 4, where the Lord explains that they fast for strife and debate and to smite the fist with wickedness. These are acts to be seen of men, ordinances to be explored and dissected in theological debate. They are not true fasts. Finally, the Lord says that fasting is not for the purpose of making your voice heard on high. We do not fast so God will give us what we want!

5 Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord?

These kinds of fasts are not what the Lord desires. He never intended our fasts to be hunger strikes or acts of public suffering and contrition. His questions here are haunting. How dare we call this a fast.

6 Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?

And now that we have been humbled by His condemnation of our flawed ritualization of the ordinance of fasting, He tenderly explains the law. His fast, He says tenderly, is to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo heavy burdens, to free the oppressed, and to break every yoke.

We loose the bands of wickedness when we free those whom we oppress by our need for justice. When we forgive those who’ve offended. We undo heavy burdens when we care for the poor, the needy, the mourning, the afflicted, the imprisoned. We break yokes, when we abandon the unrealistic expectations we bind to each other and allow the atonement free reign in our lives. This is the Lord’s fast. “To preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.” (Isaiah 61:1-3)

Is your fast an effort to reconcile all men to God through the atonement of Christ? Who have you forgiven before you approach the Lord with an empty stomach? Who have you comforted? Relieved? Freed? Fed?

7 Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?

Is your fast an act of pure religion or is paying a fast offering an afterthought? Does it go without thought at all, a mere administrative act of religiosity carried out with pen and grey enveloped form? Does it hurt? Is it a true sacrificial offering? Is your fast about counting the pennies that you would actually use for two meals or do you count it a divine privilege to consecrate a meaningful donation to feed the hungry and clothe the naked? And do you use this fast to draw close to your family and relatives? Do you offer comfort and aid to those in your own house who are captive temporally and spiritually?

A different fast emerges as we analyze Isaiah’s words. A tender fast. A consecrated fast. A fast that seeks to exalt others at the abasement of the individual. Indeed, this is the fast that the Lord designed. When such a fast is offered, as it was in Gethsemane and on Golgatha, the blessings rain down upon us unrestrained.

8 Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy reward.

The Lord’s fast exalts the individual and brings health. These promises are eternal and relate to the blessings of godhood. As we receive “health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones” (Proverbs 3:8), we become as our Father in Heaven. The lifeless idols of this world have mouths, but speak not: and having eyes, see not: having ears and noses, hear not nor smell. Their hands do not handle, their feet do not walk and their throat allows for no speech. (Proverbs 115:5-7) By contrast, those who live the Lord’s fast of freely forgiving, charitably giving, and consecrating their lives to the salvation of God’s children enjoy eternal life or as Job describes it “bones moistened with marrow”. (Job 21:24)

9 Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;

Only this kind of fast promises the Lord’s quick response. When we do His will and work for His glory, He unfailingly responds. If we refuse to burden our brethren with our own need for justice and stop pointing fingers to satisfy our vain need for compensation when we’ve been injured but instead work to save all men, even those who would crucify us, then “the LORD shall answer”!

10 And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday:

When we live the Lord’s fast and follow His selfless example, descending to be raised up, freely imparting of our substance, and making all men our joint-heirs, we are filled with eternal and endless light. Truth and knowledge, the light of God, is our holy habitation.

11 And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.

And we will walk with God. He will guide us, satisfy us, nourish us, until like He, we become a well of living water which never fails.

12 And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.

The Lord's final promise is perhaps the most beautiful of all. Our efforts to magnify His work and glory, to save and serve, to feed and comfort, to lift our brethren will rebuild the waste places. This telestial wasteland will again bloom into a garden sweet, a godly paradise is created by those whose lives are offered in a godly fast. Our true fast raises up generations as we create dominion through virtue and love unfeigned, through pure religion and undefiled, and we are called the repairer of the breach.

A breach is a gulf and there is one that is fixed between God and the wicked. Repairing that breach, becoming the one through whom others find salvation, being a savior on Mt. Zion to the living and the dead exalts the one who lives a true fast. As we restore the path for others, those who walk the paths we restore and cross the breach we repair will rise up and call us Blessed. This is the creation of everlasting dominion described in the last few verses of D&C 121. A true fast is the path to godliness!

Just as tithing foreshadows consecration, our current practice of fasting is only a type and shadow of a beautiful principle eternal principle. May skipping two meals and a meager donation to the poor suffice only to remind us of the true fast we strive to live every day of our lives.

Catherine Larsen

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Snippets

I've decided that I want to keep track of my daily scripture study, so I'm going to start a sort of study log under the label "Snippets". I'll spend the next few days commenting on themes developed in 1 Nephi chapters thirteen and fourteen, because that is where I am currently reading in the Book of Mormon. In particular I would like to take a closer look at the great and abominable church.

What are it's goals? What means does it use to accomplish those goals? And most importantly, how can we recognize and combat this organization?

If you are interested in taking a detailed look at the Book of Mormon, chapter by chapter, then snippets is the label for you.

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What is Church Ball?

It is four, six minute quarters played according to high school rules. It is a group of generally overweight, overly geared, and overly hairy men attempting to show everyone else exactly why they were selected for the Junior Jazz all star team way back in sixth grade. The cliche often used to describe Church sponsored basketball is, "the brawl that starts with a prayer". Yes, men tend to take their Church ball seriously. Emotions run high when one is vying for stake and region dominance.

However, despite it's well earned reputation as an outlet for old burnouts to relive the glory days of their youth (you know, when they should have made the high school team if it wasn't for all the "politics"), there is something else going on underneath the surface of Church basketball. Something wonderful..

Take my team for example. So far this season we have lost all four games we have played. Well actually, a better description would be that we have been demolished in all four games by upwards of thirty points. Now anyone who knows me is well aware of the fact that I don't like to lose, and if I lose it better not be by a thirty point margin. Couple this with the painful remembrance that two years ago we fielded one of the best teams in the stake, routinely beating our opponents by thirty points a night and you may understandably ask, why do I keep going back when I know a good drubbing awaits?

The truth is I go back because I have discovered the wonderful secret behind Church Ball. The secret is that it exists to bring people to Christ.

Allow me to explain.

If you take a quick glance at our team roster you will find the names of four inactive brethren (two are prospective elders) and one non-member. I challenge you to name any other meeting or activity in the entire Church where that same demographic can be found. I bet you can't find even one. So although two years ago our team might have been one of the best in the stake, that team consisted of only active brethren. As far as I am concerned the trade off is a good one.

So again let us reconsider the question, what is Church ball? It is an opportunity to participate in the mission of the church, perfecting the saints and proclaiming the gospel. It is a chance to form friendships and build trust with individuals that might not have any other contact with the Church. It is a chance to exemplify what it means to be a priesthood holder and a disciple of Christ.

Sure there will always be the showboaters and guys yelling at the referees. There will always be those that take the game far too seriously. On the other hand though, there will always be opportunities to reach out to our brethren and fellowship them as Christ would. So the next time you find yourself suited up in your Micheal Jordans and sweat bands, throwing elbows in the middle of a rugby-esque scrum for the ball, remember what the purpose of Church ball really is, and try not to draw any blood.

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