Actual Scriptures
Chapter 13
1 And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me, saying: Look! And I looked and beheld many nations and kingdoms.
2 And the angel said unto me: What beholdest thou? And I said: I behold many anations and kingdoms.
3 And he said unto me: These are the nations and kingdoms of the Gentiles.
4 And it came to pass that I saw among the nations of the aGentiles the formation of a bgreat church.
5 And the angel said unto me: Behold the formation of a achurch which is most abominable above all other churches, which bslayeth the saints of God, yea, and tortureth them and bindeth them down, and yoketh them with a cyoke of iron, and bringeth them down into captivity.
6 And it came to pass that I beheld this agreat and babominable church; and I saw the cdevil that he was the founder of it.
7 And I also saw agold, and silver, and silks, and scarlets, and fine-twined blinen, and all manner of precious clothing; and I saw many harlots.
8 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 adesires of this great and abominable church.
9 And also for the apraise of the world do they bdestroy the saints of God, and bring them down into captivity.
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 aGentiles shall hearken unto the Lamb of God in that day that he shall manifest himself unto them in word, and also in bpower, in very deed, unto the ctaking away of their dstumbling 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 anumbered among the house of Israel; and they shall be a bblessed people upon the cpromised 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 apit, 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 bhell which hath no end.
4 For behold, this is according to the acaptivity of the devil, and also according to the justice of God, upon all those who will work wickedness and abomination before him.
5 And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me, Nephi, saying: Thou hast beheld that if the Gentiles repent it shall be awell with them; and thou also knowest concerning the covenants of the Lord unto the house of Israel; and thou also hast heard that whoso brepenteth not must perish.
6 Therefore, awo be unto the Gentiles if it so be that they harden their hearts against the Lamb of God.
7 For the time cometh, saith the Lamb of God, that I will work a great and a amarvelous work among the children of men; a bwork which shall be everlasting, either on the one hand or on the other—either to the convincing of them unto cpeace and dlife eternal, or unto the deliverance of them to the hardness of their hearts and the blindness of their minds unto their being brought down into captivity, and also into destruction, both temporally and spiritually, according to the ecaptivity of the devil, of which I have spoken.
8 And it came to pass that when the angel had spoken these words, he said unto me: Rememberest thou the acovenants of the Father unto the house of Israel? I said unto him, Yea.
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 adevil.
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.
13 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 afight against the Lamb of God.
14 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 aarmed with brighteousness and with the cpower of God in great glory.
15 And it came to pass that I beheld that the wrath of God was apoured out upon that great and abominable church, insomuch that there were wars and rumors of wars among all the bnations and kindreds of the earth.
16 And as there began to be awars 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—
17 And when the aday cometh that the bwrath 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 cwork of the Father shall commence, in preparing the way for the fulfilling of his dcovenants, which he hath made to his people who are of the house of Israel.
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 aone of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
21 Behold, he shall asee and bwrite the cremainder of these things; yea, and also many things which have been.
22 And he shall also write concerning the end of the world.
23 Wherefore, the things which he shall write are just and true; and behold they are written in the abook which thou beheld proceeding out of the mouth of the Jew; and at the time they proceeded out of the mouth of the Jew, or, at the time the book proceeded out of the mouth of the Jew, the things which were written were plain and pure, and most bprecious and easy to the understanding of all men.
24 And behold, the things which this aapostle of the Lamb shall write are many things which thou hast seen; and behold, the remainder shalt thou see.
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 awrite them.
26 And also others who have been, to them hath he shown all things, and they have awritten them; and they are bsealed up to come forth in their purity, according to the truth which is in the Lamb, in the own due time of the Lord, unto the house of Israel.
27 And I, Nephi, heard and bear record, that the name of the apostle of the Lamb was aJohn, according to the word of the angel.
28 And behold, I, Nephi, am forbidden that I should write the remainder of the things which I saw and heard; wherefore the things which I have written sufficeth me; and I have written but a small part of the things which I saw.
29 And I bear record that I saw the things which my afather saw, and the angel of the Lord did make them known unto me.
30 And now I make an end of speaking concerning the things which I saw while I was acarried away in the Spirit; and if all the things which I saw are not written, the things which I have written are btrue. And thus it is. Amen.
Come Follow Me Manual
What is the “great and abominable church” that Nephi saw?
Elder Dallin H. Oaks explained that the “great and abominable church” described by Nephi represents “any philosophy or organization that opposes belief in God. And the ‘captivity’ into which this ‘church’ seeks to bring the saints will not be so much physical confinement as the captivity of false ideas” (“Stand as Witnesses of God,” Ensign, Mar. 2015, 32).
For Further Study:
Seminary Manual
1 Nephi 13:1–9
Nephi sees the great and abominable church
Circle any of the following sports you have played or watched, and add to the list any other sports you have played or watched:
- Soccer
- Cricket
- Basketball
- Baseball
- Table Tennis
- Tennis
- Rugby
- Ice Hockey
- Volleyball
- American Football
In professional sports, teams often study their opponents’ past games and strategies before they compete. Understanding an opponent’s purpose, methods, and strategies can help us prepare to defend ourselves against them.
In 1 Nephi 13, Nephi described what he saw about those who would oppose the Church of God in the latter-days. Read 1 Nephi 13:1–6, and identify what Nephi saw that would be formed among the Gentiles and what the angel said about it.
This “great and abominable church” that Nephi saw does not represent one particular group, denomination, or church. Elder Bruce R. McConkie of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles defined it as “all … organizations of whatever name or nature … which are designed to take men on a course that leads away from God and his laws and thus from salvation in the kingdom of God” (Mormon Doctrine, 2nd ed. [1966], 137–38). You may want to write Elder McConkie’s definition next to 1 Nephi 13:4–6.
Read 1 Nephi 13:8–9, and identify the desires and motivation of the great and abominable church.
- Answer the following question in your scripture study journal: Why do you think it is important to know that Satan organizes his forces to lead us away from God and His laws?
As you study 1 Nephi 13 further, you will see one way the great and abominable church has tried to block those seeking the Savior.
1 Nephi 14:1–17
Nephi sees the battle between the great and abominable church and the Church of the Lamb of God
In 1 Nephi 14 we read about a battle between the great and abominable church and the Church of the Lamb of God. Read 1 Nephi 14:10–13, and identify which side would have more people. Notice in 1 Nephi 14:12 why the number of people supporting the Church of the Lamb would be few and why the great and abominable church was able to gather together multitudes.
How would you feel if you were outnumbered and fighting in a war? Read 1 Nephi 14:14, and underline phrases that identify the help “the saints of the church of the Lamb” and “the covenant people of the Lord” will receive as they fight against evil.
An important gospel principle taught in 1 Nephi 14:1–17 is as we live righteously and keep our covenants, the power of God will help us triumph over evil.
- Write a short paragraph in your scripture study journal explaining how being one of “the covenant people of the Lord” and being “armed with righteousness” (living righteously) have helped you triumph over temptations that could lead you away from God and His laws.
Nephi saw that in the last days those who support the great and abominable church will meet “their utter destruction” (1 Nephi 14:3). You can have confidence that God’s kingdom will triumph in the last days.
Institute Manual
1 Nephi 13:1–9. The Great and Abominable Church
- “In relation to the kingdom of God, the devil always sets up his kingdom at the very same time in opposition to God” (Joseph Smith, in History of the Church, 6:364).
- Elder Bruce R. McConkie (1915–85) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles defined the great and abominable church: “The titles church of the devil and great and abominable church are used to identify all … 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 away from God and his laws and thus from salvation in the kingdom of God” (Mormon Doctrine, 2nd ed. [1966], 137–38).
- One commentator explained that the great and abominable church consists of more than one entity:“Actually, no single known historical church, denomination, or set of believers meets all the requirements for the great and abominable church: it must have formed among the Gentiles; it must have edited and controlled the distribution of the scriptures; it must have slain the Saints of God, including the Apostles and prophets; it must be in league with civil governments and use their police power to enforce its religious views; it must have dominion over all the earth; it must pursue great wealth and sexual immorality; and it must last until close to the end of the world. No single denomination or system of beliefs fits the entire description. Rather, the role of Babylon has been played by many different agencies, ideologies, and churches in many different times. …“Can we, then, identify the historical agency that acted as the great and abominable church in earliest Christianity? Such an agent would have had its origins in the second half of the first century and would have done much of its work by the middle of the second century.“This period might be called the blind spot in Christian history, for it is here that the fewest primary historical sources have been preserved. We have good sources for New Testament Christianity; then the lights go out, so to speak, and we hear the muffled sounds of a great struggle. When the lights come on again a hundred or so years later, we find that someone has rearranged all the furniture and Christianity has become something very different from what it was in the beginning” (Stephen E. Robinson, “Warring against the Saints of God,” Ensign, Jan. 1988, 38–39).
1 Nephi 14:7. “A Great and a Marvelous Work”
- The scriptures describe the Restoration of the gospel and the organization of the Church as “a great and a marvelous work” (1 Nephi 14:7; 3 Nephi 21:9). In this context, the word great means significant and meaningful, while marvelous means wonderful and incomprehensible. Work speaks of an act or accomplishment that is everlasting.Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles explained that the significance of the Church is two-fold: “This church, the great institutional body of Christ, is a marvelous work and a wonder not only because of what it does for the faithful but also because of what the faithful do for it. Your lives are at the very heart of that marvel. You are evidence of the wonder of it all” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1994, 42; or Ensign, Nov. 1994, 32).
1 Nephi 14:14. Armed with Righteousness and Power
- Elder Neal A. Maxwell (1926–2004) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles explained that righteousness will be the power of the Lord’s people: “So let us look at ourselves. For the Church, the scriptures suggest both an accelerated sifting and accelerated spiritual numerical growth—with all this preceding the time when the people of God will be ‘armed with righteousness’—not weapons—and when the Lord’s glory will be poured out upon them (1 Nephi 14:14; see also 1 Peter 4:17; D&C 112:25). The Lord is determined to have a tried, pure, and proven people (see D&C 100:16; 101:4; 136:31), and ‘there is nothing that the Lord thy God shall take in his heart to do but what he will do it’ (Abraham 3:17)” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1988, 8; or Ensign, May 1988, 8).
- Elder Maxwell further explained that honoring our covenants is vital to the reception of this promise: “Church members have a special rendezvous to keep, brothers and sisters. Nephi saw it. One future day, he said, Jesus’ covenant people, ‘scattered upon all the face of the earth,’ will be ‘armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory’ (1 Nephi 14:14). This will happen, but only after more members become more saintly and more consecrated in conduct” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1991, 43; or Ensign, Nov. 1991, 32).
1 Nephi 14:18–30. The Record of John the Revelator
- Verses 18–30 in 1 Nephi 14 refer to the book of Revelation, the last book in the New Testament, written by the Apostle John. Nephi saw the events of our day but was not allowed to write them because it was John’s responsibility. Verse 26 could have reference to the portion of the Book of Mormon that was sealed. (For further information about the sealed portion, see 2 Nephi 27:7; 3 Nephi 26:7–11; Ether 4:7.)
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