Written in 2010
The Large and Spacious Building
Lehi and Nephi were both blessed with visions in which they saw a large and spacious building: “and it stood as it were in the air, high above the earth.” (1 Nephi 8:26) But this building was not alone. It stood in juxtaposition and opposition to another image, the tree of life. The point of the vision of these two images was that people have a choice. They may strive to obtain the tree of life, whose fruit represents the love of God, or they may try to gain entrance into the large and spacious building which represents the pride of the world. The attaining of either goal is not assured in the visions, for many are lost in the quest. What is assured is the freedom to choose which one to try to attain. The tree of life is attained only by assiduously clinging to the iron rod, which represents the word of God and leads one along the narrow path which leads one to eternal life, which is to know the full love of God. The large and spacious building is attained by following a broad path which leads through very dangerous territory. Both ways are obscured by the mists of darkness, which represent the temptations of Satan. The mists of darkness are not a hindrance to those who seek the tree of life, for they need but cling to the iron rod. But the mists of darkness distress many in the broad path, and as they seek the large and spacious building, they are drowned in the depths of the water they encounter or are lost in strange roads. (See 1 Nephi 8:32)
Some noteworthy items about the image of the large and spacious building are the following:
1. The large and spacious building has no foundation, for it is high in the air. No foundation suggests that the pride of the world is based solely upon human imagination and has no warrant in reality.
2. The building is filled with many people, old and young, male and female. Pride is possible for everyone.
3. The people in the building are dressed in very fine attire. This suggests the very basis for pride is having something special, not available to everyone. Clothing is the only distinguishing element mentioned, but is an obvious one for human beings, and is representative of other bases of pride such as wealth, power, fame, prowess, intelligence, etc.
4. The people in the large and spacious building point the finger of scorn at those who worship Christ. In their self-appointed self-sufficiency, they mock those who humble themselves before the Savior and serve others.
The way to both the tree of life and to the large and spacious building passes by filthy waters, which represent the depths of hell. Some who seek the tree of life forget that they must hold fast to the iron rod lest they leave the narrow path and fall into forbidden ways. Pride causes a person to let go of the iron rod, and that pride destroys them just as it destroys those who seek and obtain the large and spacious building. Many who seek to be proud deliberately break the commandments of God to find some worldly advantage, such as wealth or power, and sell themselves to Satan in the process, assuring their tenancy in the depths of hell as a guest of their master, the father of all lies and of worldly pride.
Thus the images represent our human opportunity, either to choose the way of life and the tree of life, or to choose the way of worldly pride and spiritual death. Let us contrast these two goals, the love of God and the pride of the world. The basic contrast is that of being an appreciative child of God on the one hand, and taking glory in the achievements of men on the other hand.
Those of the world who are rich tend to think that they came by those riches because they deserve them, either because of their own cleverness or the astuteness of someone who cares for them. In any case, they are proud to be rich and disdain those who are poor. The servants of Christ, on the other hand, know that any riches they might have are a gift from God. They see their riches as a stewardship, and their responsibility in that stewardship is to share their wealth intelligently and spiritually with others as God directs. They refrain from making a show of riches, preferring to appear like their brethren and sisters of lesser substance. In that modesty and generosity they find that which they seek: the love of god, which then shines through them to bless their less blessed brothers and sisters.
Those of the world who are good-looking or are strong and healthy tend to think that these blessings are due to good fortune or chance, or perhaps to the fact that they are rich and can buy help to attain good looks and a special physique. They tend to see their bodies as their own, as a resource to be prized and a way to show that they are better than those less gifted. The servants of Christ on the other hand know that the physical body they inhabit is not their own but is a “loaner,” a gift from God to see how well they can care for this temporary body and to see if they will give the glory to God for any special physical blessing they enjoy, such as good looks, physical strength, stamina and health. They again see these blessings as stewardship in which they are given these blessings both to pass them on to their posterity and to be able to labor with and in behalf of others to share the physical burdens of their neighbors.
Those of the world who are intelligent or learned see these things as very fortunate assets which enable them to distinguish themselves, to be set above others by titles and distinctions, by vestments and pomp, by notoriety and fame, which show how much better they are than most of their fellowmen. The servants of Christ see being intelligent or learned as God-given assets by which they are able to reach out to their fellow-men and enable them also to be intelligent and learned, that they all might serve God and their fellow-men more effectively in the pure love of Christ.
Perhaps the ultimate and most devastating source of worldly pride is the supposition that one has a corner on “the truth” while others wallow in misinformation. This is especially true about those who think they have a corner on religious truth, the truth about God. This worldly pride is the impetus for persecution, for war, for despising others and for many varieties of inhuman treatment of other human beings. The servants of Christ know that their testimonies of Christ and of His true Church and of His true doctrines are something personal to themselves and cannot be given to anyone else. It is true that a servant of Christ may bear his testimony to another person, but will do so in all humility, knowing that only the Holy Ghost can vouchsafe a true testimony of Christ to anyone. He knows that a testimony of Christ is a precious thing, and tries to share his testimony with others, knowing however that it is up to his hearers to desire and receive a personal testimony of the truth for themselves. Meanwhile, the true servant of Christ shows by his actions of service to his fellow humans that he really does believe in Christ and in His message.
We turn now from consideration of the large and spacious building to the revelations about the great and abominable church found in the Book of Mormon.
The Great and Abominable Church
Any discussion of the great and abominable church is fraught with the danger of being deadly wrong. Many persons have opined as to what that church is in the real world, and I will here add another opinion. It seems that the course of wisdom is to let each person discover and identify for himself or herself just what the Lord wants him or her to think is the great and abominable church.
We note that to say that church is “great” is to say that it is large. To say that it is “abominable” is to say that it has departed from the revelations of God. “Ab” is the Latin word meaning from or away from. The word “omen” is a word which means disclosure or revelation. Putting the two together we get “ab-omen,” which means away from or not according to the revelation, meaning here the revelations of the true and living God. So that which is “abominable” is something other than that which God has ordained. We thus see that many things in this world are abominable, most of which are not also “great.” But this particular “great and abominable” has taken on a life of its own because of the mention it receives in both the Book of Mormon and the Bible.
Nephi is introduced to this bit of prophecy/history about the great and abominable church by references to the Bible which he saw would be in the hands of the Gentiles who would come to Lehi’s promised land, the Americas, to inherit it. Nephi sees that these Gentiles had been in captivity, but have been delivered from that bondage by the power of God. He sees that they prosper in this land given to Lehi, and that they overcome the remnant of the seed of Lehi whom they encounter on this continent. He also sees that they carry a book, which book is the Bible.
The angel who explains the vision to Nephi tells him that the book he sees came from the Jews and contains the covenants which God made with the House of Israel, and it also contains many prophecies. It is like the record which Lehi has on the plates of brass, except this book does not have as many records as do the plates of brass. Because of the covenants found in this book, the Bible, it is of great worth to the Gentiles.
The angelic messenger explains to Nephi that the record or book which the Gentiles have once contained the fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the testimonies of the twelve apostles of Christ. The book went forth in purity unto the Gentiles, containing the truth from God. But after the book went forth from the Jews to the Gentiles, a great and abominable church was founded which took control of this record from the Jews and removed from the book many parts which were plain and precious. After these plain and precious parts were removed from the Bible, that book went forth to all other nations of the Gentiles.
And while the Gentiles were and are greatly blessed by the truths still contained in this book, the Bible, Nephi was shown that they would also stumble exceedingly because of the loss of the plain and precious parts which had been removed from it. In their stumbling because of not having the full picture of the Gospel of Christ, Satan had advantage over the Gentiles and gains power among them. Part of that power has been the inability of the Gentiles to agree on fundamental aspects of salvation through Jesus Christ.
Lacking the fulness of the Gospel of Christ, the Gentiles do stumble, but also are very blessed by what truth they do know. Nephi is shown that God will not leave the Gentiles on this promised land forever in blindness. God will bless these Gentiles with a new revelation of the fulness of the Gospel of Christ, restoring those plain and precious parts which were removed by the great and abominable church. This restoration will take place through the instrumentality of the seed of Lehi. For God will cause the righteous children of Lehi to keep a record of his dealings with them. This record will contain a fulness of the Gospel of Christ, and will be revealed to the Gentiles in the latter days of the earth to further bless the Gentiles and also to bless anyone who will receive that record, believe in Christ, and become faithful to Christ. Not only will this record from the children of Lehi come forth, but other records also, and all these records will bless mankind with truth and with accurate instruction as to how to have full faith in Jesus Christ.
Identifying the Great and Abominable Church in the world today.
As you are probably aware, identifying the Great and Abominable Church is a task fraught with difficulty and risk. For a review of many of the hypotheses of identification already put forth in this dispensation, I refer you to Michael Ash, who has the article entitled “Is Roman Catholicism the Great and Abominable Church,” in which he reviews many of the conjectures which have been put forth by members and authorities of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as to its identity (1). I will spend my time here reasoning for a new interpretation, a new conjecture as to what the great and abominable church was and is, and I ask you to select for yourself the hypothesis which seems best to you.
My conclusion: The great and abominable church of the devil is the institution known by some in the world today as Humanism. Humanism is the belief that there is no God or spiritual realm in the universe, that humans are the highest form of intelligent existence, and that the smartest humans ought to be the leaders and rulers in human society. Humanism is the worship of human intelligence.
The first challenge and question about this hypothesis is the question, Is Humanism a religion and a church? I would assert that it is indeed a religion and even may be said to have a church. A religion is a pattern of belief and action. Every adult human being has a pattern of belief and action, and thus has a religion. Humanism is a pattern of belief and action.
The great and abominable may also be said to be a church. As a church, it has the following aspects of churches. A) It has a theology. That theology identifies the god of Humanism as human intelligence, has a specific epistemology (science), has a specific salvation (delivery from menial work, want, ignorance, and pain). In this theology or metaphysics, there is no supernatural, no spiritual realm, no gods, angels or spirits, and when humans die that is the end of their existence. B) Humanism has a priesthood. The priesthood is defined by those Humanists who have advanced college degrees, honorary or earned. That priesthood has its own vestments in the robes, caps and tassels of academia. Admission to that priesthood is gained by satisfying the requirements for advanced degrees at some accredited university. C) Humanism has its own rituals. The rituals are “scripture study,” which is poring over the works of the great masters; examinations, the proving that one knows and understands the theology and the works of the masters, and the admission task, the writing of one’s own contribution to the theology. The ordinance of conferring of degrees is the token that one has “arrived” in this religion and is ready to be a contributor in this religion. D) This church of Humanism has its own form of excommunication. When a person egregiously violates the tenets of this religion, they often are vigorously attacked by other members in good standing and are denied the benefits of worthy members, which are tenure, grants, and publication in the journals of prestige. E) Humanism has its own moral code, which is to defy the moral scruples of traditional religions, especially Christian religions, and to give allegiance only to those modalities of action which produce great science, great art, or great social accomplishment, the latter especially in the realm of politics. In the realm of sexual morality, there are no crimes between consenting adults. Humanism is clearly a religion and may also be denominated as a church.
It may sound as if I am equating Humanism with academia. I am not. But academe is used by Humanism to promote its cause, and some of the participants in the realm of academia are devotees of the religion of Humanism.
Correlation with key scriptures of the Book of Mormon:
Let us now turn to Nephi’s account of the great and abominable church in the Book of Mormon to see how this hypothesis fits with some key passages.
24 And the angel of the Lord said unto me: Thou hast beheld that the book proceeded forth from the mouth of a Jew; and when it proceeded forth from the mouth of a Jew it contained the fulness of the gospel of the Lord, of whom the twelve apostles bear record; and they bear record according to the truth which is in the Lamb of God.
25 Wherefore, these things go forth from the Jews in purity unto the Gentiles, according to the truth which is in God.
26 And after they go forth by the hand of the twelve apostles of the Lamb, from the Jews unto the Gentiles, thou seest the formation of that great and abominable church, which is most abominable above all other churches; for behold, they have taken away from the gospel of the Lamb many parts which are plain and most precious; and also many covenants of the Lord have they taken away.
27 And all this have they done that they might pervert the right ways of the Lord, that they might blind the eyes and harden the hearts of the children of men. (1 Nephi 13:24–27)
This passage shows us that the great and abominable church was formed about the second century A.D., for that is when the New Testament passed from the hands of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ into the hands of others. I maintain that there was a concerted effort on the part of persons of humanist persuasion to emasculate this new religion which Christ had restored to the earth by changing the scriptures in a humanist direction. These changes were made possible by the loss of the authority of the Holy Priesthood, for after the departure of John the Beloved there was no longer a legal administrator with the keys of the priesthood to prevent the changes. Christianity was captured by humanist influence, and the following changes were made, among others:
The temple ordinances were taken away.
Baptism was changed from a covenant made by a consenting agent and done by immersion to a sprinkling given to a little child.
Personal morality in keeping the Ten Commandments and the celestial injunctions of the Sermon on the Mount were changed to emphasize orthodoxy in believing and teaching only the doctrines approved by the “authorities.” The importance of a faithful, pure life was changed to emphasis on supporting “the faith” intellectually.
Repentance, the actual turning from evil action to obeying the commandments of God, was changed to penance, the paying for sins.
Reality was changed from being the physical world in which we live and move to being an intellectual realm of ideas.
The nature of God was changed from personal beings of flesh and bone to a spirit, and from three persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, into a single essence which could not be known or defined.
The structure of the church was changed from a first presidency of three, a quorum of twelve apostles, and of the seventy, all holding the Melchizedek Priesthood, to a hierarchy of bishops, which is an office of the Aaronic Priesthood.
Interpretation of scripture was no longer to be one by each individual in accordance with the gift of the Holy Ghost, but was to be made only by those properly educated in humanism, who would make pronouncements to be accepted and believed by the lay members of the church.
These changes did not take place all at once, but the ground was laid for each of them in the second century. These are some of the plain and precious parts of the work of Jesus Christ which were changed and eliminated by the great and abominable church.
It is important to note here that the so-called “Christian” churches of today were all formed after the changes listed above were made by those of the great and abominable church, and thus all of the Christian churches of today were and are heirs to all of the problems and deficits created in the second century. (The exception being the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.)
Nephi also tells us that the true and full Gospel of Jesus Christ will be restored in the latter days, and all who accept that restoration will be able to avoid that great pit which the great and abominable church will prepare to destroy all mankind:
1 AND it shall come to pass, that if the Gentiles shall hearken 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— …
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.
4 For behold, this is according to the captivity of the devil, and also according to the justice of God, upon all those who will work wickedness and abominations before him. (1 Nephi 14:1, 3–4)
I submit to you that the great pit which the great and abominable church digs for mankind is hell and the subjection to Satan which humanism engenders. By poisoning the minds of people against spirituality and against the existence of God and pretending that there is no such thing as sin, those who promote the great and abominable church hope to prevent any human being from accepting the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ in these last days. By encouraging people to sin, they entice them onto that slippery slope of breaking God’s commandments which leads straight into hell. Those who dig this pit will fall into it themselves. As they convince themselves and some others that there is no God and no sin and no salvation and break the commandments of God at will, they will find themselves in hell at the final day.
Some members of the great and abominable church may be better off than the leaders of that church. Some persons whom the leaders convince to be humanist in this world will be able to be converted to Christ in the spirit world after they leave this mortality, will accept the atonement of Christ, and will be spared the punishments of hell and will inherit the terrestrial kingdom. But those leaders of the great and abominable church who knowingly pretend that there is no God and that there is no need to repent will fall into the pit of hell and they need to pay for their own sins, the very pit into which they tried to lure all mankind.
Nephi gives an interesting analysis of the latter days when he relates what the angel told him:
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 abominations; and she is the whore 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 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 numbers 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. (1 Nephi 14:10–12)
We will examine the four principal aspects of this scriptural prophecy:
1. The idea that there will be only two churches in the last days.
2. The idea that the church of Satan will be the whore of all the earth.
3. The idea that the church of Satan sits upon many waters, among all peoples.
4. The idea that the church of Jesus Christ will be relatively few in number, but scattered upon all the earth.
Aspect 1. Nephi is here seeing the earth in the last days. At the end there will be only two churches in existence: the great and abominable church of the devil and the restored Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This is to say that every person will either find themselves a member of the true church of Jesus Christ, or they will be in a social situation which is ruled over by the great and abominable church of Satan. There will be no middle ground. To put the matter another way, every person on earth who is accountable will have to make a decision as to where to put his or her trust in the living God who speaks to them through the Holy Spirit, or they will put their trust in persons of humanist persuasion who do not acknowledge the real existence of God and the necessity to obey God.
It is important to note that the great and abominable church is not a church in the ordinary sense. It is a meta-church. It is the organization and philosophy which in these latter days will come to govern all churches as well as governments and educational institutions which are not governed by faithful covenant servants of Jesus Christ. The very purpose of the founding of the great and abominable church in the first place was to thwart the salvation of souls in the New and Everlasting Covenant. That covenant is the only means by which any human being has any opportunity to inhabit the celestial kingdom or to gain exaltation in the world to come. So at the last day there will be only two churches: the church of those who put their trust in the Lord Jesus Christ through the Everlasting Covenant, and all other organizations and peoples who trust in the arm of flesh.
It is also noteworthy that membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does not save anyone. There are members of the church who have partaken of the New and Everlasting Covenant, but who do not put their trust in Christ. Rather, they trust in the arm of flesh, the intelligence of man, either their own intelligence or that of some other human being or group of human beings, and thus they actually belong to the great and abominable church of the devil.
For a scriptural classic example of the kind of thinking which characterizes those who put their trust in the arm of flesh see Isaiah 10:14–16 for a description of the king of Assyria who glories in his own strength, in his own prudence and astuteness, in the arm of flesh. This application of the arm of flesh to spoiling others is only one way to apply the arm of flesh. That arm of flesh may also be applied to attempt to help others, to rescue nations and civilizations, to try to create “heaven on earth.” This leads us to see that the division between the true church of Jesus Christ and the great and abominable church is not a question of goals or ends. Some very sincere Humanists in this world are also trying to help to save mankind. The difference is in the means. The crucial factor which separates the righteous from the wicked is that the righteous put their trust in Christ and humbly obey Him, carrying out His program for the salvation of mankind, whereas the wicked put their trust in their own wisdom to solve all the problems of mankind. It is noteworthy that the word “wicked” comes from the Anglo-Saxon word “wikke,” which means witch, one who is in league with the devil. The wicked persons of this world include those who think they are very astute in trusting in the wisdom and abilities and strength of human beings and in rejecting the living Christ.
One significant gospel truth is that no human being is alone. Every one of us is accompanied at all moments by the spirit of Christ or the spirit of Satan, and if we do not hearken to the voice of Christ, we automatically back ourselves into the arms of Satan and serve him. Our personal astuteness trying to be independent of Christ turns out simply to be taking delight in following the whisperings of the adversary, Satan, as we learn in the Pearl of Great Price:
3 Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him, and also, that I should give unto him mine own power; by the power of mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should be cast down;
4 And he became Satan, yea, even the devil, the father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not hearken unto my voice. (Pearl of Great Price Moses 4:3–4)
Thus it is in the last days that there will be only two churches, because there will be only two kinds of people: the righteous who hearken to the voice of Christ through the Holy Spirit, and the wicked who listen instead to the enticings of Satan. The Doctrine and Covenants spells out this division very clearly:
54 And until that hour there will be foolish virgins among the wise; and at that hour cometh an entire separation of the righteous and the wicked; and in that day will I send mine angels to pluck out the wicked and cast them into unquenchable fire. (Doctrine and Covenants Section 63:54)
The scriptures also clearly describe what it takes to be among the righteous:
56 And at that day, when I shall come in my glory, shall the parable be fulfilled which I spake concerning the ten virgins.
57 For they that are wise and have received the truth, and have taken the Holy Spirit for their guide, and have not been deceived—verily I say unto you, they shall not be hewn down and cast into the fire, but shall abide the day.
58 And the earth shall be given unto them for an inheritance; and they shall multiply and wax strong, and their children shall grow up without sin unto salvation. (Doctrine and Covenants Section 45:56–58)
Aspect 2. The great and abominable church is the whore of all the earth because those who belong to it take the blessings God has given them and use them for their own personal gain and pleasure, neither acknowledging the source of those blessings nor using them for what they were intended.
God blesses men so that they, being empowered, can bless each other. But an evil person will take those God-given blessings and powers and use them selfishly, and to oppress their neighbors. God would have all men love him and thus get their bearings on what life is all about, then he would have them love their neighbors, which is to be more concerned about the needs of our neighbors than about our own needs. A true servant of Christ knows that because he is faithful to Christ, our Master will see that his own personal needs are taken care of and that he can focus on ministering to the needs of his fellow beings without special concern for the meeting of his own needs. Satan encourages the opposite tack. Satan teaches each human being to be selfish, to be concerned first, foremost and always about meeting his or her own personal needs and desires, taking advantage of an ill-using other human beings without second thoughts or remorse. This device of Satan is prostitution: the taking of a God-given gift and using it only for personal gain. The great and abominable church propounds the idea of “me first,” and thus entices all human beings to participate as part of the whore of all the earth. And we must mention that all of this supports and abets actual sexual prostitution in all of its forms.
Aspect 3. The great and abominable church sits upon many waters, among all kindreds, tongues, and peoples. If there is anything pervasive in this world, it is the influence of Satan. That influence is widespread by design, the design of the Father when this world was created and Adam was induced to partake of the forbidden fruit and to fall from his celestial origins. Satan has a mission allowed by God: to be among every people, enticing every soul to be selfish and to prostitute his or her God-given gifts. Satan does his work very well, making sure that every accountable human being has the full opportunity to be devilishly selfish. Humanism is one of his prime instruments to do this, but only one of them. But Father also makes sure that every one of his accountable children has an opposing opportunity, for He gives each the light of Christ so that each will know that it is not necessary to be selfish and to prostitute one’s God-given gifts. That gift of the light of Christ will not enable a person to make up for past mistakes, but it does give each the opportunity to choose to be unselfish and to do good things. To make up for past mistakes, a person must be taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ and partake of the atonement of Christ through the ordinances of the Gospel. But until they are taught the Gospel of Christ, they are helpless and cannot be saved from their past sins or be completely saved from sinning in the present.
The present burden of teaching everyone in this world the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ rests upon the Latter-day Saints. This work is not done until every soul hears the Restored Gospel and thus has the opportunity to accept Christ and the redeeming power of Christ through the ordinances. Thus it is expedient that the Church of Jesus Christ also be upon the earth, so that the work of giving each person an alternative to the great and abominable church will be complete, that God might be fair to each person and give each person the opportunity to choose not to be part of that great and abominable church at His coming.
Aspect 4. The members of the true Church of Christ, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will be few in number in the last days compared with the adherents of the great and abominable church of the devil. The fewness is a testimony to the power of Satan to mislead human beings. But this fewness is also a measure of the greatness of what Father is trying to do for His human children. Father desires to exalt, to make as He Himself is, as many of His human children as He can. The opportunities of exaltation are so great, and the responsibilities of exaltation are so heavy that Father cannot give that blessing to any but the most valiant of His children. Only those who can be full of righteous love and never buckle under the pressure to sin for any reason can be trusted with His full priesthood and the powers of exaltation. Apparently among those of Father’s children who inhabit this earth there are but few who could stand to be exalted. And thus the number of the true servants of Christ will be small when Christ comes in the Second Coming.
It is obvious that not every participant in the great and abominable church of Satan is equally wicked. Some are simply unable to keep the commandments of Christ under Satan’s unrelenting pressure to be selfish. Those participants in the great and abominable church who willingly delight in breaking the ten commandments to consume others in their lusts will be burned at the Second Coming and will eventually be inhabitants of the Telestial Kingdom. Those who willingly and knowingly defy the Father and Christ to promote the work of Satan will also be burned up at the Second Coming. They are the sons of perdition, those who know Christ and reject Him, preferring the leadership of Satan. They will be rewarded with being subject to Satan for the rest of eternity, in outer darkness, even as they chose. But those who are basically good people and go along with the great and abominable church because they are deceived will be spared the burning at the Second Coming and will eventually be inhabitants of the terrestrial kingdom.
Another particular prophecy of Nephi about the great and abominable church is of special importance to us who are Latter-day Saints:
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 fight 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 armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory.
15 And it came to pass that I beheld that the wrath of God was poured out upon that great and abominable church, insomuch that there were wars and rumors of wars among all the nations and kindreds of the earth. (Book of Mormon 1 Nephi 14:13–15)
We learn from this scripture that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its members will come under direct attack by the organized forces of the great and abominable church in the last days. This attack will probably not be military at first, though it might well culminate in a military attack towards the end, just before the Second Coming of the Savior. It seems likely that the attack will begin as a challenge to the moral standards of the Savior’s church. Such things as abortion, gay rights, and laws governing obscenity will be and are initial points of focus and confrontation. The elimination of tax deductions for some charitable organizations will likely be another. The teaching of organic evolution as a “proved fact” in preference to all other possibilities is already in place. Soviet style incarceration of persons who are “religious” on grounds that they are mentally incompetent is a real possibility. One main tactic will be the pointing of the finger of scorn at those who abide Judeo-Christian moral standards.
Nephi gives us a good description of the challenges of the latter days:
12 Because of pride, and because of false teachers, and false doctrine, their churches have become corrupted, and their churches are lifted up; because of pride they are puffed up.
13 They rob the poor because of their fine sanctuaries; they rob the poor because of their fine clothing; and they persecute the meek and poor in heart, because in their pride they are puffed up.
14 They wear stiff necks and high heads; yea, and because of pride, and wickedness, and abominations, and whoredoms, they have all gone astray save it be a few, who are the humble followers of Christ; nevertheless, they are led, that in many instances they do err because they are taught by the precepts of men.
15 O the wise, and the learned, and the rich, that are puffed up on the pride of their hearts, and all those who preach false doctrines, and all those who commit whoredoms, and pervert the right way of the Lord, wo, wo, wo be unto them, saith the Lord God Almighty, for they shall be thrust down to hell!
16 Wo unto them that turn aside the just for a thing of naught and revile against that which is good, and say that it is of no worth! For the day shall come that the Lord God will speedily visit the inhabitants of the earth; and in that day that they are fully ripe in iniquity they shall perish. (Book of Mormon 2 Nephi 28:12–16)
This scene of wickedness which Nephi describes will be and is the result of the work of Satan to destroy the saints of God, and doubtless will be the kind of result which the forces of the great and abominable church of Satan desire to achieve, for the goal is to bring all human beings, especially those who belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, down into the pit of hell where he, Satan, can rule over them.
But Satan and the great and abominable church which he promotes will not be entirely successful in destroying the work of Christ. The valiant servants of Christ will proclaim the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth, to every nation, kindred, tongue and people, that every soul who desires to be rescued from the power of Satan will know how to be so rescued and how to do what is necessary to be rescued. The work of Christ will triumph over all the work of the adversary until it is finished, as declared the Prophet Joseph Smith:
22 Brethren, shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. Courage, brethren; and on, on to the victory! Let your hearts rejoice, and be exceedingly glad. Let the earth break forth into singing. Let the dead speak forth anthems of eternal praise to the King Immanuel, who hath ordained, before the world was, that which would enable us to redeem them out of their prison; for the prisoners shall go free.
23 Let the mountains shout for joy, and all ye valleys cry aloud; and all ye seas and dry lands tell the wonders of your Eternal King! And ye rivers, and brooks, and rills, flow down with gladness. Let the woods and all the trees of the field praise the Lord; and ye solid rocks weep for joy! And let the sun, moon and the morning stars sing together, and let all the sons of God shout for joy! And let the eternal creations declare his name forever and ever! And again I say, how glorious is the voice we hear from heaven, proclaiming in our ears, glory, and salvation, and honor, and immortality, and eternal life; kingdoms, principalities, and powers! (Doctrine and Covenants 128:22–23)
It is heartening to have the assurance that the work of the adversary will not triumph in the end, but that the love of Christ will reach out and eventually save all but the Sons of Perdition from the eternal pit into which Satan tries to draw all men.
One final point from Nephi’s description of the great and abominable church: He says:
15 And it came to pass that I beheld that the wrath of God was poured out upon that great and abominable church, insomuch that there were wars and rumors of wars among all the nations and kindreds of the earth.
16 And as there began to be wars 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 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. (Book of Mormon 1 Nephi 14:15–17)
When war is poured out upon all the nations of the earth, which is the wrath of God upon the mother of harlots, that great and abominable church, the work of the Father will commence in restoring all the house of Israel. The question is, is that time of commencement past, present or future for us in our time? My answer is that it is all three. The work of the Father began with the Reformation, which made possible the founding of a free nation, the United States of America. The formation of the United States made it possible for the restoration of the full Gospel of Jesus Christ and its ordinances. The kingdom of Christ has been growing and prospering for one hundred and eighty years now, offering rescue to captive souls through the Atonement. Both of those events came in times of wars and rumors of wars. But the climax of this great work of Christ in restoring Israel is yet to come. For it will involve the restoration of the Ten Tribes, the establishment of Zion on this the American continent, and the restoration of all the works of scripture written by the prophets of God in every dispensation. My guess is that the climax of this restoration will come like a great burst of fireworks very close to the time of the actual second coming of the Savior to the earth in the clouds of glory to bless all the peoples of the earth. And doubtless this climax will come in a time of war.
Conclusions
One conclusion is that the great and spacious building which Lehi and Nephi saw is one manifestation of the great and abominable church. It seems to me that they are not identical, for not every participant in the work of the great and abominable church lives in finery. I do assume that participants in the work of the great and abominable church desire to live in finery and to have the honors of men, but it is obvious that all do not succeed. Those who do not succeed in attaining the large and spacious building while serving Satan are lost in strange roads and are swallowed up in the depths of the filthy waters which Lehi and Nephi saw, which filthy waters are the depths of hell. And the depths of hell are also the eventual destination for all persons found in the large and spacious building. It is just that those of the large and spacious building get a day of worldly glory in riches, power and honors before they make their descent into the pit at their mortal death.
It is also important to note that the house of Israel is scattered among all the nations, and these persons are influenced by the great and abominable church wherever they are. There are people of good will, of the house of Israel and also not of Israel, who would unite with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints if only they knew about it. Satan has done his work well to keep many from knowing about true salvation. I refer you to D&C Section 123:7–14.
I also conclude that the great and abominable church is a specific organization of men and women, but is semi-secret. It works behind the scenes in every government, business, institution of learning, social enterprise and church to promote moral relativity, confusion about the truth of the human situation, falsification of history and the reports of current events, etc., all in the attempt to confuse the people of this world about the truth of Jesus Christ and his salvation and to shame those who are attracted to the Savior and try to become His disciples. It works through educational systems, in businesses, in churches, in the arts, and in politics. It is everywhere.
Please note that there are four groups of people who relate to these matters. There are the faithful servants of Christ who have taken the Holy Spirit for their guide who inherit the celestial kingdom; these will be caught up to meet the Savior at His Second Coming. There are the honorable men of the earth who have been deceived into sinning by the craftiness of men and the workings of the great and abominable church in these last days, who will receive Christ in the spirit world and who will inherit the terrestrial kingdom; these remain alive on the earth at the Second Coming. There are those who take personal delight and pleasure in breaking the commandments of God and accept the teachings of the great and abominable church because they think I justifies them. They will be burned up at the Second Coming and will inherit the telestial kingdom after they have paid for their sins in hell. And there are those who partake of the New and Everlasting Covenant and then knowingly turn and serve Satan and promote his great and abominable church; these are the sons of perdition who remain in the pit forever. These are also burned at the Second Coming when the Savior begins the cleansing of the earth in his temple.
The beauty of it all is that because Christ does His work so well, and because Satan does his work so well, especially through the instrumentality of the great and abominable church, each of us is free to choose eternal life through Jesus Christ or eternal damnation through following Satan. We each control our own personal destiny. And a loving Father has made it all so.
Endnotes
1. www.mormonfortress.com, go to About Mike, under Bibliography find the work by the given title: “Is Roman Catholicism the Great and Abominable Church.”
2. For further information about Humanism, see the following:
- The Philosophy of Humanism, Corliss Lamont (1902–1995), New York, Continuum Publications, 1990, ISBN0804463794.
- Encyclopedia Britannica, 15th Edition, Chicago, 2010. The article Humanism discusses mostly the literary humanism of the Renaissance. Almost nothing about 20th century humanism.
- Encyclopedia Americana, Danbury, CT, 2006. The article Humanism focuses on literary humanism.
- Wikipedia article Humanism. This article gives a good historic overview of the use of the word “humanism” and the principal applications today. Links are provided to Humanist Manifesto I (1933), Humanist Manifesto II (1973), A Secular Humanist Declaration (1980), Amsterdam Declaration (2002), and Humanist Manifesto III (2003). Each of these latter works are worth reading to enlarge one’s understanding of Humanism.
- For a comparison of the basic ideas of Humanism contrasted with the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ, see my book Think Independently, Chauncey C. Riddle.