The Inquisitive Christian

I just returned from a medical missions trip to a communist third world country. I gave wound care, medical supplies, and all the energy I could muster within my exhausted frame for one main purpose: to fulfill the Great Commission, which is found in Matthew 28:18-20. It reads, “Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded of you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’” I won’t deny that I receive a substantial amount of praise for my work, but that isn’t at all why I do it. I want to point people to Christ and inspire them to choose him every day of their lives. I watched a woman to whom I provided care on this trip renounce witchcraft and give her life to Jesus. I author this blog for the very same reason. I want people to read their Bibles, weigh the evidence, and abandon any belief that stands between them and a relationship with Jesus. I’m not dismantling a group’s sacred text for kicks and giggles here. Believing in the Book of Mormon and listening to Joseph Smith’s teachings has eternal consequences. As we will see in today’s reading, he appears to broaden his definition of the “great and abominable church” to include any church that isn’t LDS. Therefore, according to him, I’m working for Satan.

1 Nephi 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 will write concerning the end of the world. About 600-592 B.C.

1: “And it shall come to pass, that if the Gentiles shall harken 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.”

I’ve mentioned it before, but I think it bears mentioning again that the word “church” did not exist during the Old Testament period. “Church” is an exclusively Christian concept. When ancient Hebrews gathered together, they were referred to as “the assembly” or “the congregation.” While it would be interesting for me to delve into the Hebrew words for these, I’m afraid it wouldn’t do much good in this context, because Joseph Smith claimed the Book of Mormon was written in what he called “Reformed Egyptian,” a language that isn’t recognized by any scholar anywhere.

Verses 4 through 8 can be summarized by stating that anyone who repents will be saved, but those whose hearts remain hardened will be brought down to destruction.

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 all abominations; and she is the whore of all the earth.”

Here is where it appears Smith has broadened his definition of the “great church, which is the mother of all abominations” to include any church that isn’t his. The Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox churches would have to be included in this definition since he makes it clear there are only two churches. If the Book of Mormon is correct and the LDS church is the only true church, then that would mean all Christians throughout history would have taken the expressway straight to hell. That would beg the question of why God would not reveal a key and necessary truth for about 1,800 years. It makes no theological sense. We know that God is merciful (See Ephesians 2:4-5, Psalm 103:8, Lamentations 3:22-23, Micah 7:18, Hebrews 4:16, Romans 12:1, and James 2:13). We know that God is righteous (See Psalm 119:137, Deuteronomy 32:4, Psalm 48:10, Psalm 97:2, Isaiah 45:21, and John 17:25, for a few of MANY examples). We know that He is just (See Deuteronomy 32:4 again, Psalm 89:14, Isaiah 30:18, Micah 6:8, Proverbs 29:26). A merciful, righteous, and just God is not going to hide the key to salvation for centuries upon centuries then reveal it to one person on plates that He then supposedly took back to heaven, thereby removing all evidence for said key.

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.”

12: “And it came to pass that I beheld the church of the Lamb of God, and its members were few, 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.”

More and more, we are seeing Smith’s “us vs them” mentality. He clearly hated Christians. What’s incredibly interesting, then, is the modern LDS insistence that they also be labeled as Christians. If they indeed believe they are the one true church, then why would they want to label themselves as something their own book condemns? Why would they want to identify themselves with a group that, by Joseph Smith’s insistence, was founded by Satan himself? For all the differences between Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox Christians, the one thing we all affirm is the beliefs laid out in the Nicene Creed. Mormons do not.

I will admit here that there are quarrels within Christianity between primarily Catholics and Protestants, which have been happening for centuries, and with deadly consequences. One doesn’t even have to look at history to see that. Just go to the comments section on social media and see Catholics and Protestants practically brawling on the sidewalk while the Orthodox Christians peer through their miniblinds in a house across the street to watch. I am of the opinion that the infighting is completely counterproductive and needs to stop. There are false doctrines in this world that are preventing people from walking with Jesus. We need to be educating ourselves on these doctrines and doing our best to lead by example and teach Biblical truths instead of wasting our time verbally slapping each other around.

The next several verses describe the “great and abominable church” gathering forces to fight against the Mormon church, or the “church of the Lamb of God,” as Smith chooses to describe it. He also makes ample use of colorful language to describe the Christian church as we have seen in previous verses. These verses also talk about how God is going to punish the Christian church with “wars and rumors of wars.” I particularly enjoy verse 17, which really drives home Smith’s hatred of Christians:

17: “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 founder 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.”

Seems like a perfectly nice guy.

18: “And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me, saying: Look!”

19: “And I looked and beheld a man, and he was dressed in a white robe.”

20: “And the angel said unto me: Behold one of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.”

21: “Behold, he shall see and write the remainder of these things; yea, and also many things which have been.”

There are no prophecies anywhere in the Old Testament concerning any specific apostle, so it makes no sense there would be one in the Book of Mormon, either. As explained earlier, God is not going to reveal key truths then keep them hidden from everyone else. The Bible is the only Word of God. There is no other. The next several verses go on to describe what this apostle will write. Then there’s this:

25: “But the things which thou shalt see hereafter thou shalt not write; for the Lord God hath ordained the apostle of the Lamb of God that he should write them.”

In other words, Nephi is going to see all the same things John prophesies, but God only wants John to write about them. There is not a single instance of this in the Bible, and it makes no sense to even bring it up if he isn’t supposed to be writing about those things. He goes on to specifically name John as the apostle and reiterates that he (Nephi) will see things that he isn’t allowed to write about. It closes out with verse 30.

30: “And now I make an end of speaking concerning the things which I saw while I was carried away in the Spirit; and if all the things which I saw were not written, the things which I have written were true. And thus it is. Amen.

You will not find verses in the Bible that declare itself to be true. This is because it doesn’t need to. A good man doesn’t need to declare to you that he is good; he simply is. An honest man doesn’t need to keep telling you he is honest; he is simply honest, and the truth of his words is observed. The truth of the Bible does not need to be declared in itself; its truth is inherent.

Stay tuned for more, ladies and gents.