1st Nephi Chapter 14:10 Church of the devil

[a-train]

Originally Posted by Hemidakota

We have a bigger problem within for our own 'wolfs' in sheep clothing. This was a major problem to those in the BOM.

You've got THAT right! The greatest problem we face today is at home. The wolves have been gathering and they continue to gather. But what they do not understand is that our LORD is a mighty and terrible God. The afflictions they bring in upon us are nothing compared to the pains they will inflict upon themselves. God help us bring them to Zion.

-a-train

[THIRDpersonviewer]

After a lot of doctrinal studying and also a fair amount of McConkie, I came to this conclusion as I happened to be reading it last night. I read 1 Nephi 11-14 straight through and it is interesting what each chapter represents. Chapter 11 is an overview of the plan of Salvation, as we know. Chapter 12 is the prophecy of his seed and their dwindling in unbelief. Chapter 13 is a prophecy of the world during the apostasy to the second coming of Christ. Chapter 14 is, in effect, prophecy of the times and its relevance to the members of the church in terms of our spiritual war. It also establishes the stewardship of John the Beloved for the prophecy's of our time.

I will focus on chapter 13 which is the first appearance of "great and abominable church." Chapter 13 completely speaks in specifics. They are listed in this fashion:
-nations and kingdoms -various groups of people on Earth
-formation of great and abominable church -Catholic Church(see below)
-waters separate seed from gentiles -Atlantic Ocean
-man finds promised land -Christopher Columbus
-oppressed leave captivity -Pilgrims leave Europe
-oppressed prosper in new land -English grow to main power
-fight mother nation -Colonists fight England
-God helps oppressed agianst enemies -Influence of God seen through founding fathers
-oppressed carry a book -Bible
-book is a record from the Jew and the fullness of gospel -word and power of God unto Salvation
-book is pure until formation of church -Nicene creed
-book then proceeds forth to all nations -Bible is spread over all Earth
-book becomes stumbling block for many -works of men confuse unlearned and results in multiple denominations
-oppressed will not completely destroy mixture of seed -Native Americans not wiped completely away
-Oppressed(gentiles) are in a state of blindness -absent of the Holy Ghost, not knowing where to turn, men are lost without a restoration of the gospel
-Lamb will be merciful unto gentiles -promise of love(his word and gifts) given to gentile
-much of the gospel comes forth by power of God -Book of Mormon translated but parts remained sealed
-writings of nephi and others to come forth -Book of Mormon from hill cumorah
-written is the gospel -truth as a standard is established
-seek to bring forth Zion and we are saved in celestial inheritance -Celestial Law given, wanting to do all righteousness for the glory of God and not personal vainglory.
-Books come forward to testify of the Lamb and his disciples -standard works and works of apostles and prophets as written under influence of the Spirit
-doctrine of Christ established -3 nephi 11
-These books become one as the Word of God -standard works
-He comes to manifest himself to Jews and gentiles -1st coming
-He comes again to manifest to gentile and Jew -2nd coming

Now I am sure if you read the part above you will have taken some offense to the labeling of the Catholic Church as the "Great and Abominable Church." What is important to remember about the scriptures is just because it says one word in one book, doesn't men that it will mean exactly the same thing in another book.(Isaiah) The account of Abraham ch.3 27-28 says:
27 And the Lord said: Whom shall I send? And one answered like unto the Son of Man: Here am I, send me. And another answered and said: Here am I, send me. And the Lord said: I will send the first.
28 And the second was angry, and kept not his first estate; and, at that day, many followed after him.
The Lord in this instance is God our Heavenly Father. I think you will agree with me though that most other instances it would reference the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now, establishing that point. Let's look at the reference of "great and abominable church" in chapter 13(at least vs. 4-9). It says the founder of the church is the devil. What are the teachings of Christ...TRUTH! And ONLY truth. He does not lie, he does not create false doctrines or lead men away from salvation. Salvation is in Christ. Salvation is in truth. The devil is the father of ALL lies. He takes the opinions and interpretations of men and uses them to deceive. Exactly what happened in the Nicene Creed. What church was formed from this creed and the others. The Catholic Church. A couple of the verses state that the word was full and pure before the formation of the church.(vs.25-26) The formation of the church was in the false creeds which was based on the interpretations of men and their opinions. Certain truths were lost, most notably the nature and kind of being that God is.

So, what am I trying to say. Simply, I see where Elder McConkie was coming from. However, looking at the next chapter(14), the reference to the "great and abominable church" is the church consisting of the followers of the devil, while the church of the Lamb of God is the followers of Christ.

Now to clarify my view on the Catholic Church. I view it respectfully and hold it in no manner of condemnation. Besides all that is referenced anyways in the Book of Mormon is the formation of it. But as we know the church is an institution, whether it be by God or whether it be by man. We have the right and freedom to choose what to believe because of agency. However, Salvation comes in and only through the Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the laws, and terms, and conditions of Salvation are instituted on this Earth by the power and authority of the Holy Priesthood and by the atoning power of his great and infinite sacrifice.

We choose to believe in Christ. People who believe in Christ are looking for His church. They are looking for the church, or institution, that teaches of Christ and administers His blessings and ordinances to us. There is no condemnation in any way, shape or form for those believing in a false church, if they innocently believe it to be true. However there is condemnation if the believer knows it not to be true and continues to believe in that non-truth. It is a sin against the light. But to what degree? We don't know. Only Jesus Christ, who has commanded us not to be the judge of others, knows.

I don't say this to throw a sucker punch or a blindsided hit. I just say it to present another view that is entirely plausible.

[PastorBob]

This is a topic often discussed, and insisted upon with my congregation.

Let us turn to 2nd Corinthians:

13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.

14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

In traditionalist satanism, to obtain the second degree, the satanist must have obtained a good reputation as a pious Christian, and for their third, they must have obtained a position of leadership. It does not matter which church it is especially; they prefer the most common one in the area. Only the teenage dabblers actually act rebellious, and show according behavior - the true satanist is invariably well groomed, community respected, and makes a point of his good works being known - a pretty face is their obession, and their weakness to ensure all around them see them as a good person. See Jesus's words about whitened seplechures, which are clean without, but filthy within.

They use deceit to guide those around them in the same way the serpent in the garden of Eden did, first, by teaching them to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil (conscience) then putting on a fig leaf apron (ego), which is the common man's way of entering into a pact. The outer rite is different, but the result is quite identical, the larger the ego adopted to fend off conscience, the more material rewards, position, a good wife, a good reputation, yet the same afterlife as one who ceremonially entered into a pact with the devil, like David Bowie, or Gene Simmons.

Their key to their survival and secrecy is hypocrisy, pushed to the furthest extent. They make it a point to know the scriptures better than their enemies, the servants of Christ, and to try and outdo them at acts of charity, etc, so that they are never suspected if their crimes are uncovered.

If you read verse 15 of 2nd Corinthians, you will note that their end shall be according to their works; over the past 20 years, I have noticed that cancer and/or an accident is common.

It is perfectly impossible to commit sin without the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil - the evil man's conscience tells him that he is weak, that he has been tricked, that he has not stolen enough, raped enough, hurt enough, rebelled enough. And the good man is tormented by his telling him that he has not done enough, helped enough, been humble enough, etc. If we look at the root words from which conscience is derived, co (dual), and science, we get the science of duality, or voice of satan, which was derived from the latin "diable," or devil. One must by-and-by replace it with compassion as our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ taught us, or spit out the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, to partake of the tree of life, or unity.

The church of satan aims at making someone fight with the branches of evil while totally ignoring the root cause, and of course, it turns into a life-long battle that cannot be won, because they are ignoring the root from which the evil is really springing. It is like treating a symptom and ignoring the disease.

They like to get you to attempt to suppress things, so that they gather strength and overwhelm you with a problem.

We tend to be distracted by worldly issues and try and pretend that the church of satan does not exist, but it most assuredly does, and must be avoided.

Proverbs 14:12 There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.

[spiritseeker]

Perhaps I am naive but this whole thread seems pretty simple to me. There is only one church which is in possesion of the priesthood and the saving ordinances of God. It was restored to earth by a Prophet of God in the early 1800's. Namely The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints..... And that's the truth and I think it's sad that people who speak the truth boldly such as BRM are singled out for speaking the truth. What has become of the boldness of the Saints??? As one who has come out of the world, I know of the need for the Saints to preach this gospel boldly... they need to hear it and we need to speak it. Don't sugarcoat it because to me that's a sign of the church of the devil!