1 Nephi 14:21–22

21 Behold, he shall see and write the remainder of these things; yea, and also many things which have been.

22 And he shall also write concerning the end of the world.

I think this is an interesting indication or piece of evidence that each prophet has a specific purpose, calling, or assignment. In this case, Nephi is told about and shown another prophet, John, who is called to prophesy and write about many of the same things Nephi wrote about, plus some things that Nephi was told not to write about even though they were shown to him. I wonder what determines when a prophet is called to be on the earth? Is it personality traits along with specific strengths that will help that prophet be most effective at that time and in those unique circumstances? Or could one prophet do just as well as another in a setting. In other words, could someone like, say, Isaiah have done what Joseph Smith did, and visa versa? Would they have done as well? Clearly, in this case, John will have the responsibility to write about these things, including the end of the world. That was John’s job, not Nephi’s, even though Nephi saw those same things. Interesting question to ponder.

• 1 Nephi 13:24

1 Nephi 14:18–20

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 one of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

I just find it most interesting how aware the Book of Mormon prophets were of events in the “Old World,” and how unaware the people of Jerusalem were of the “New World.” Of course there are references in the Bible to Lehi’s group, but they are fairly cryptic. Here we have Nephi recording that he saw not only an event, but a specific person, Including a name for that person (see vs. 27), who would come along in the far future. For sure, “all things are present before [the Lord’s] eyes” (D&C 38:2) for Him to reveal or not, according to His will.

• 1 Nephi 11: 29

1 Nephi 14:17

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.

This verse kind of caught me off guard a little. When I think of the last days I don’t have to imagine, because I’m living them. Sometimes I forget that the “last days” went way back to the Restoration and Joseph Smith. So when this verse describes conditions with the “mother of harlots, which is the great and abominable church of all the earth, whose founder is the devil,” I think the reference is to today. Then this verse said, “at that day, the work of the Father shall commence,” and I stopped. That work commenced with Joseph Smith. This verse and others like it paint a pretty grim picture of this time when the work will commence. How far have we gone down the road of “the mother of harlots” since Joseph Smith’s time? How much worse are conditions now than they were then? That really gives me something to think about. How much worse does it need to get before the real end comes? Things are pretty bad now. How bad does it need to get before it’s bad enough?

• 1 Nephi 22:16 (15–16)
• 3 Nephi 20:20 (19–21)
• 3 Nephi 21:26 (7, 20–29)

1 Nephi 14:16

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—

Once again we have the statement that in the latter days the wicked will be the ones punishing themselves. And all God has to do is let it happen. There will be natural disasters as well, but the real wrath of the Lord will be evident through the actions of others. A statement made at the end of both the Jeredite and Nephite civilizations was that the Spirit of the Lord had ceased striving with the people (see Ether 15:19 and Moroni 9:4). When that happened, in both civilizations it was a rapid drop to the bottom. There was nothing or nobody that could constrain the people. They became “drunken with anger, even as a man who is drunken with wine.” (Ether 15:22) They were so angry that they had “no fear of death; and they have lost their love, one towards another; and they thirst after blood and revenge continually.” (Moroni 9:5) This is where our world is heading right now, I’m afraid. It will get much worse before it gets much better. The parallels between these Book of Mormon accounts and us are just too compelling to ignore.

• 1 Nephi 22:13 (13–14)

1 Nephi 14:15

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.

There are many references in the scriptures to how God punishes the wicked by the wicked. The latter days will be no exception. When it comes time for the Lord to pour out His wrath on that great and abominable church, wars will be a major part of it. Remember that the members of that church are the proud and insincere, without regard to church affiliation (see comment to 1 Nephi 14:10). The proud are jealous and cannot handle the idea of anyone else having more than they do. This pride leads to wars and rumors of wars as one faction tries to exert dominance over another. And, in His wrath, the Lord will let it happen. He will not have to do much, just stand back and watch the church of the devil tear itself apart. And the devil will just laugh.

• Ether 15:19
• Moroni 9:4
• D&C 45:62–71
• D&C 115:6 (5–6)

1 Nephi 14:14

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.

Even though the saints of the church of the Lamb of God are few compared with the hosts of the whore of all the earth, they are not left defenseless. Not only is the armor of righteousness strong enough to defend against the enemies of God, the saints are given the “power of God in great glory.” The Lord will fight the battles of the righteous—His sincere followers.

• Psalm 3:3
• Ephesians 6:11–18

1 Nephi 14:13

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.

What I find interesting here is that the verse specifies that the great mother of abominations would gather her multitudes among the nations of the Gentiles. As I understand it, the European nations (then spilling over to America) are generally considered the Gentile nations. (Any nation besides the covenant Israel could be considered “gentile,” but it’s particularly interesting to look at this verse with at European slant.) This makes sense when you couple it with verse 11. The European nations are generally and traditionally considered “Christian” nations. Here we go again with the counterfeit covenants referred to symbolically as the “whore.” As noted in verse 11, this is not the true covenant because there is no authority, due to apostasy. It is a substitute, and now she is fighting against the Lamb of God. Is it a physical or spiritual war? Probably some of both. There definitely has been violence against sincere seekers of truth. Now the war seems to be more spiritual, undermining people’s faith. In many ways secularism, by creating such conflict in vying for membership, has killed the faith or spirit of many people.

• 1 Nephi 13:5