1 Nephi 14:12

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.

It seems like the good guys are always outnumbered. Not only is it a favorite theme in fiction, it’s also the case in real life. The church of God is fewer in number than the church of the devil. It is, however, spread upon the whole earth, and like the fiction stories, will finally prevail. The cause is better, and the support is better than that which is given by the devil to his church. When you have the Lord on your side, you are always in the majority.

• Matthew 7:14
• Jacob 5:70
• 3 Nephi 14:14
• D&C 90:11

1 Nephi 14:11

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.

Nephi is seeing many of the same things that John the Revelator saw and recorded in the book of Revelation in the New Testament. In John’s revelation he is told, “The water which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and the multitudes, and nations, and tongues.” (Revelation 17:15) So I assume the same is true in Nephi’s vision.

Naming the church of the devil as “the whore of all the earth” is an interesting term. Men go to whores to get sexual gratification outside the covenant of marriage. The Lord has often compared His relationship with His covenant people to a marriage covenant. In that imagery, any time men go to the church of the devil for spiritual satisfaction, they are going to a poor substitute. (see comments to verse 10 for a discussion of the church of the devil) Just as men mistake sexual gratification for love, or go to prostitutes simply as an outlet for their lusts, many people mistake emotional gratification for spirituality, or they participate in priestcrafts to gratify their lust for power. Unfortunately, the whore of all the earth can be very seductive, and many sincere people get drawn into her influence. They are deceived and think they have the fullness of the relationship with Christ. So they stop short of the fullness of the gospel, which is the marriage covenant with God. They settle for the whore.

• Revelation 17:15

1 Nephi 14:10

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.

This verse is more complex than it seems on the surface. Then again, maybe it isn’t. I studied and pondered this one for a couple of weeks before writing this entry. The scripture says there are only two churches: “the church of the Lamb of God,” and the church of the devil. If you don’t belong to one, then you belong to the other by default. I like that. Nice, neat compartments. Either you get baptized with proper authority, or you don’t. If you do, you made the right choice; if you don’t, you made the wrong choice.

Then I started thinking about all the sincere believers of Christ who belong to churches without proper authority. How could they be considered to belong to the church of the devil? I found some interesting scriptures, many of which make this same statement, that you’re either on the right hand or on the left hand of God. But I think there is a lot of evidence to show that belonging to one or another of these churches has less to do with what denomination one belongs to than where he puts his trust.

2 Nephi 10:16 defines those who are the whore of all the earth (church of the devil) are those who fight “against Zion, both Jew and Gentile” without regard for lineage or religious affiliation. This verse ends by saying, “…they who are not for me are against me, saith our God.” The interesting thing about that statement is that Christ taught his disciples that the flip side of that statement is also true. Mark 9:38–40 (also Luke 9:49–50) says that John told Christ they saw a man casting out devils in Christ’s name, but they stopped him because he wasn’t one of His followers. Christ’s response, as recorded in the Mark account was, “Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me. For he that is not against us is on our part.” Lukes’s version is even more straightforward: “…he that is not against us is for us.”

That takes me to D&C 18:20: “Contend against no church, save it be the church of the devil.” Contrary to what Nephi recorded, this makes it sound as if there were more than “two churches only.” How does that fit into the black and white, binary statement previously discussed? It seems to me that they are all true, but they are talking aobut different things. The D&C verse, as well as Mark and Luke possibly, seem to be talking about congregations of sincere believers in Christ, but that don’t have authority to perform the saving ordinances. Nephi seems to refer to actual beliefs and attitude. A person can belong to the right church, but still follow the wrong church. In other words, he could even be baptized with proper authority, but through his actions and pride, belong to the church of the devil. After all, 2 Nephi 10:16 made it very clear that anybody can fight against Zion, both Jew and Gentile. So anyone can belong to the church of the devil, no matter what other church they may belong to. Likewise, I think it may be true that a person can belong to the church of God, no matter what other church they may belong to. Else why would Christ not forbid people from invoking His name in casting out devils, even though they may not follow Him. Moroni 7:16–17 says that “every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ…is of God. But whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do evil, and believe not in Christ, and deny him, and serve not God, …is of the devil…” Again, no mention of any particular church, but here’s that binary again.

I realize the flip side of my argument is stated clearly by Paul in Ephesians 4:4–6, where it talks about “one body [church], one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” But don’t forget the next verse: “But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.” That tells me that some need more grace and help than others. So I am not saying belonging to the true church is the same as any other church. Everyone needs to accept saving ordinances by proper authority, but that’s a major reason why we have temples. There are a lot of Christians out there who would accept those ordinances if they knew where to find them, or they had not been deceived by those belonging to the church of the devil. I’m not referring to those who will qualify for exaltation. There is a very narrow definition of people who qualify for that. I’m talking about friends of Christ and enemies of Christ.

So I believe 1 Nephi 14:10 is referring to our beliefs, attitudes, and actions instead of any actual church. That’s why everyone belongs to one or the other of these two churches, whether they have joined a church or not.

• Mark 9:38–40
• Revelation 17:15 (5, 15)
• 1 Nephi 13:4 (4–6)
• 1 Nephi 22:23
• 2 Nephi 6:12–13
• 2 Nephi 10:16
• Mosiah 5:7–10
• Alma 5:38–39
• 3 Nephi 27:8–11
• Moroni 7:16–17
• D&C 18:20 (sounds like soncere believers in Christ, even those who are not baptized with authority are not part of the church of the devil)

1 Nephi 14:9

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.

In verse eight the angel reminds Nephi (and us) of the responsibility that comes with the Abrahamic Covenant. Now he points out this great and abominable church, whose founder is the devil. It’s as if he’s saying, “You know you are under covenant to do missionary work. Here’s a group of people who need the Gospel. Now, what are you going to do about it?” It’s kind of like a mom who points out a dirty room to her children. Now the kids need to understand that it’s their responsibility to clean up the mess. I suspect that, just like the kids, Nephi is getting the message. And so should we. As ones who have entered into the Abrahamic Covenant ourselves we have the obligation to try and rescue these members of the great and abominable church.

• 1 Nephi 15:35
• D&C 1:35

1 Nephi 14:8

8 And it came to pass that when the angel had spoken these words, he said unto me: Rememberest thou the covenants of the Father unto the house of Israel? I said unto him, Yea.

Here the angel reminds Nephi of the Abrahamic Covenant, apparently to get him thinking about it in terms of what he will say next. A major component of this covenant is that the seed of Abraham will be a blessing to all the families on the earth. What will the blessing be? The Gospel. The good news of the atonement. Those who take on the covenant of Abraham have a covenant obligation to bless the world with the gospel. In other words, missionary work. This is important to us because those accepted by baptism are entering into this same covenant and inherit this same obligation.

• Abraham 2:8–11

1 Nephi 14:7

7 For the time cometh, saith the Lamb of God, that I will work a great and a marvelous work among the children of men; a work which shall be everlasting, either on the one hand or on the other—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 unto their being brought down into captivity, and also into destruction, both temporally and spiritually, according to the captivity of the devil, of which I have spoken.

There is lots of evidence in the scriptures showing the polarizing effect the gospel has on those who hear it. For example, Christ told his disciples that he would “set a man at variance against his father…a man’s foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me…” (Matthew 10:32–39) There really is very little middle ground or gray area when it comes to the Kingdom of God. In a couple of verses, Nephi will polarize all the churches into two: the church of the Lamb of God, and the church of the devil (vs. 10). We are told several times in the scriptures that no unclean thing can dwell in the Kingdom of God. This doesn’t leave much room for gray area. You are either clean or you’re out, which is why the Atonement is so critical.

Verse 7 tells us that in the latter days the Lord “will work a great and a marvelous work among the children of men” that will once again polarize people. This great and marvelous work is the restoration of the gospel in the latter days. The coming forth of the Book of Mormon is certainly a central feature of that restoration. It takes somewhat of a leap of faith to accept that Joseph Smith experienced the First Vision as he described, but the Book of Mormon is tangible evidence that must be dealt with. You can’t just ignore it and say it never happened. Once you read it, you either accept or reject it. The doctrines and gospel contained therein are powerful enough and plain enough that to even remain indifferent would be the same as rejection. So you either accept it as the word of God, or reject it as fraud. If the gentiles accept this Restoration (i.e. they enter into covenants with God) they are rewarded with “peace and life eternal.” If it is rejected, they are delivered by their own hardness of heart and blindness of mind into captivity and destruction. There really is no middle ground or gray area. I can’t think of anything in the scriptures that condones mediocrity or gray area. The Lord loves his people; He doesn’t just like them. He rejects the lack of commitment (Rev. 3:15–16). So we see how the restoration of the Gospel separates the wheat from the tares.

• Isaiah 29:14
• Matthew 10:32–39
• John 16:33
• 1 Nephi 13:35
• 1 Nephi 22:8
• 2 Nephi 29:1 (1–2, and really the whole chapter, 1–14)
• 2 Nephi 30:10
• 3 Nephi 21:9 (9–24)
• D&C 4:1
• Moses 1:39

1 Nephi 14:6

6 Therefore, wo be unto the Gentiles if it so be that they harden their hearts against the Lamb of God.

If the gentiles “harden their hearts against the Lamb of God” the wo comes because they have nothing else with which to save themselves, or in other words, return to Heavenly Father. As noted in verse 5, the Lord made covenants with Israel, and descendents of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob fall under the covenant as a natural result of their blood lineage. Similarly, when a couple is sealed in the temple, their children born to them after that sealing are born in the covenant, while those born before the sealing need to go through that sealing ordinance personally (or through proxy after they die) in order to be sealed to their parents. Gentiles, in order to receive the benefit of the Israelite covenants needed to perform the ordinances necessary, such as circumcision, otherwise there was no way for them to have a covenant relationship with God. The same is true today now that we have the new and everlasting covenant. Those who wish to have any kind of covenant relationship with God must soften their hearts toward the Lamb of God. It’s the only way. There is no other way to return to Heavenly Father except through the Savior’s Atonement, and those who harden their hearts against Him are lost because they won’t accept it.

1 Nephi 14:5

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 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.

This seems to be a summary of what Nephi has learned about the relationship between the Gentiles and the house of Israel. The whole thing hinges on repentance. The Lord has made covenants with Israel, and only those who enter into covenants with the Lord are eligible for exaltation. As the Gentiles repent and enter into those covenants, starting with baptism, the blessings that are available to Israel are made available to them. If they do not repent and make these covenants they must perish.