1st Nephi Chapter 14:10 Church of the devil

[HoosierGuy]

One of the things that stood out to me when I was reading 1st Nephi for the first time back in December, was the Church of the Lamb of God
and the church of the devil. I particularly remember this:


1st Nephi chapter 14:10

10 And he said unto me: Behold there are save atwo churches only; the one is the church of the Lamb of God, and the bother is the church of the cdevil; wherefore, dwhoso 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 ewhore of all the earth.

11 And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the whore of all the earth, and she sat upon many awaters; and she had dominion over ball 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 numbers were afew, 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 ball 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.



What exactly is the church of the devil? Back in December when
I read it, I took the above as - if you are not in the right church (lds)
then you are automatically in the wrong (devil) church. Even if you
don’t' go to church you are automatically in the church of the devil.
That's how I felt after reading it.

What's the correct interpretation of the above verses?

[skalenfehl]

It's a very black and white scripture. Bruce R. McConkie gave a very bold explanation a long time ago in a book that he published, but that particular edition was never republished. I completely understand why.

D&C 123: 12

12 For there are many yet on the earth among all sects, parties, and denominations, who are blinded by the subtle craftiness of men, whereby they lie in wait to deceive, and who are only kept from the truth because they know not where to find it—

[fallen_angel]

i don't know. i think it could be interpreted in a more metaphorical sense. the "church of the lamb" being those people who are faithful, pure in heart, and follow christ to the best of their understanding, no matter what actual "church" they belong to. i don't think merely being a member of the LDS faith makes one a member of the "church of the lamb" in that sense. there are many outside the LDS church who live better than many mormons, and vice versa.

[skalenfehl]

Planet LDS Bruce R McConkie

[fallen_angel]

Originally Posted by skalenfehl

Planet LDS Bruce R McConkie

The titles church of the devil and great and abominable church are used to identify all churches or organizations of whatever name or nature - whether political, philosophical, educational, economic, social, fraternal, civic, or religious - which are designed to take men on a course that leads them away from God and his laws and thus from salvation in the kingdom of God."

i take issue with anything that comes from mcConkies book "mormon doctrine"..any edition...however, this statement from the link u provided, to me, does not mean ALL other churches are part of the "church of the devil" (something that seems wrong & offensive to imply) but rather those that are blatantly leading people away from God...

[skalenfehl]

Hence the scripture I quoted in my first post. By the way, McConkie did state that the book reflected his own words and not necessarily the church's official position. This is why that edition was never republished.

[WillowTheWhisp]

Originally Posted by fallen_angel

The titles church of the devil and great and abominable church are used to identify all churches or organizations of whatever name or nature - whether political, philosophical, educational, economic, social, fraternal, civic, or religious - which are designed to take men on a course that leads them away from God and his laws and thus from salvation in the kingdom of God."

i take issue with anything that comes from mcConkies book "mormon doctrine"..any edition...however, this statement from the link u provided, to me, does not mean ALL other churches are part of the "church of the devil" (something that seems wrong & offensive to imply) but rather those that are blatantly leading people away from God...

Could somebody please explain to me why there is this attitude towards Bruce R. McConkie? Did he commit some awful sin of which I am unaware? All I can recall of him is of a deeply spiritual man who knew his Saviour and was not afraid to look forward to meeting him face to face.

[skalenfehl]

Bruce R. McConkie was not evil, did not commit some awful sin or was a horrible man. He was a very humble person, loving father and husband, devout member of the church and devoted member of the Quorum of the Twelve and bore his testimony plainly.

His last talk.

[a-train]

Originally Posted by WillowTheWhisp

Could somebody please explain to me why there is this attitude towards Bruce R. McConkie? Did he commit some awful sin of which I am unaware? All I can recall of him is of a deeply spiritual man who knew his Saviour and was not afraid to look forward to meeting him face to face.

He, like Brigham Young, Joseph Smith, John the Baptist, and so many others, called 'em like he saw 'em and that is difficult for some to swallow.

Jesus called 'em like He saw 'em and nations have found Him difficult to swallow: 'they [are] all wrong...all their creeds [are] an abomination in [my] sight...those professors [are] all corrupt...: “they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof.”'

I have family that attend many different Christian sects. Are they members of the Church of the Devil? If they are attending for nothing more than to be seen of men, with their hearts far from the LORD, then yes. What about Mormons who are unfaithful? Certainly. What does the LORD intend to do about it? Is He going to simply destroy them?

You and I have had our share in that Church. We have lied before, or harbored hatred or bitterness. We've allowed pride to enter our hearts and enjoyed public approval without regard to our standing with the LORD. Some of us have been downright wicked. Are we finished? Hell and a lake of fire and brimstone for us, right?

What is the LORD doing about all this?

'And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me, Nephi, saying: Thou hast beheld that if the Gentiles repent it shall be well with them; and thou also knowest concerning the covenants of the Lord unto the house of Israel; and thou also hast heard that whoso repenteth not must perish.' (1 Nephi 14:5)

The LORD is calling us out of Babylon. He has prepared the way of salvation. He has brought forth a great and marvelous work in the Restoration, 'either to the convincing of them unto peace and life eternal, or unto the deliverance of them to the hardness of their hearts and the blindness of their minds.'

It IS black and white. There is nothing we can do to be neutral. 'I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.' (Rev. 3:15-16)

The ARE only two Churches, two kingdoms, two powers of influence on the earth: that of God, and that of the devil.

Mormons and non-Mormons for their various reasons want to believe that a person having not been baptized in the LDS Church can be a member of the Church of the Lamb. A person cannot serve the LORD in His kingdom in ignorance. Except they be born of water and of the Spirit, they cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

Those that have not been spiritually born again, who cannot see the kingdom of God, how can they enter? How can they function as a member of a body they have not entered?

There are many who have lived and died wanting to enter, but who could not find the kingdom of God. Are these lost? We know they are not.

We need not be bashful nor ashamed. The LORD has restored the only true and living Church upon the face of the whole earth and it is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. And the Church of the Devil, what is it? It is the vast kingdom all around us of many sects, creeds, political sciences, philosophies, doctrines, and ideas. All of which are the commandments of men.

-a-train

[Flyonthewall]

Unfortunately, because of BRM's claim in Mormon Doctrine, there were a lot of members that took it that way, and may not have heard or heard about his retraction. So there still may be a few older members who still have this outlook, but the official stance of the church repudiates that outlook.