1 Nephi 22: 25

25 And he gathereth his children from the four quarters of the earth; and he numbereth his sheep, and they know him; and there shall be one fold and one shepherd; and he shall feed his sheep, and in him they shall find pasture.

This continues the thought started in verse 24 about the protections given by the Lord to those in his fold. Then it adds the idea of gathering his children from “the four quarters of the earth,” which points to our day. The idea that “he numbereth his sheep, and they know him” is reinforced or exemplified in Mosiah 6: 1–2. This is where King Benjamin took the names of all those who had entered into a covenant with the Lord. The statement that “there shall be one fold and one shepherd” seems to indicate that at the last there really will be only two churches. Right now there are so many churches claiming to be Christian that confusion rules. I think there will come a time that it will be very clear which church is the Lord’s, and sincere seekers of truth and righteousness will be very limited in their choices of where to find it. Our society and world is becoming increasingly polarized, and I suppose there will come a time that denominations of Christian churches will no longer be able to confuse matters. In fact, it is happening now, as some churches embrace positions that cannot be supported by the Bible to which they claim to adhere and in which they claim to believe. For example, a branch of Lutherans recently voted to accept gay marriage, which caused a break with those who could not accept that position, based on tradition and their understanding of the Bible. I think the time is coming that people will have to choose between the traditions of their fathers, which have become corrupted, and the fold of the Savior, where they can find pasture.

As I think about it, this is really no different than it ever has been. Mankind has always needed to make a choice of who to serve, and that is perhaps the biggest choice of mortality. I’m reminded of Joshua in the Old Testament. In the last couple of chapters of Joshua is recorded a kind of pep talk he gave to his people before he died, encouraging them to continue to worship the Lord (Jehovah). Some of my favorite verses in scripture come from Joshua 24: 14–15. It’s a challenge that could, and maybe should be accepted by Christians today. He says they should “put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve…the Lord.” I have often thought the flood, as mentioned here, could refer to baptism for those who have taken that covenant, or to being born again in general. There are many people who claim to have been born again Christians, yet have a hard time giving up old habits, or “the gods” they served before the conversion. Then Joshua challenges them to make up their minds. He says if you don’t want to worship our God (Jehovah), then make a decision who you will serve, whether it’s the gods you served before your conversion (the other side of the flood), or the gods of the Amorites (people Joshua had defeated a couple of times in battle through the Lord’s strength (see Joshua chapter 10)). Then he tells the people in no uncertain terms that regardless of who they choose to serve, he and his house would serve the Lord. This is a decision that each of us must make. I hope that we always have the strength to serve the Lord, regardless of what others choose around us.

• Joshua 24: 14–15
• Mosiah 6: 1–2

1 Nephi 22: 24

24 And the time cometh speedily that the righteous must be led up as calves of the stall, and the Holy One of Israel must reign in dominion, and might, and power, and great glory.

The phrase, “the righteous must be led up as calves of the stall,” catches my attention in this verse. One of the provided cross-references takes us to Malachi 4: 2, and the other goes to 3 Nephi 25: 2, which quotes the Malachi verse. The fist thing I find interesting is that these prophets, separated by great distance and about 140 years (see Bible Dictionary: Malachi), used the same phrase. And apparently these are the only places in scripture that use this phrase in this kind of context. So it may have just been a common phrase in the Jewish traditions or culture, but if so, it wasn’t commonly used in scripture. To me it is evidence of the common source of all scripture.

So what does it mean? To me it refers to humility and compliance. The righteous are led by the Lord, who owns them (see 1 Corinthians 6: 19–20). He takes care of His people, as a farmer takes care of his calves, making sure they are fed and taken care of. There is safety and security in this arrangement for the calf.

Contrast this with the wild animals that are not compliant. They have no master, nobody to feed and care for them. Their source of nourishment is uncertain, as is their safety. They could be compared with the natural man, which is an enemy to God (see Mosiah 3: 19). Where the calves of the stall are able to receive constant and regular nourishment and protection, so those who enter into a covenant with God receive regular spiritual nourishment, wild animals, or the natural man, does not receive this spiritual nourishment and protection (see 1 Corinthians 2: 14), and suffer as a result. Those who are not calves of the stall “are as a wild flock which fleeth from the shepherd, and scattereth and are driven, and are devoured by the bests of the forest” (Mosiah 8: 21). They don’t have the protection of the Master Shepherd.

• Malachi 4: 2
• Mosiah 8: 21 (for contrast)
• 3 Nephi 25: 2

1 Nephi 22: 23

23 For the time speedily shall come that all churches which are built up to get gain, and all those who are built up to get power over the flesh, and those who are built up to become popular in the eyes of the world, and those who seek the lusts of the flesh and the things of the world, and to do all manner of iniquity; yea, in fine, all those who belong to the kingdom of the devil are they who need fear, and tremble, and quake; they are those who must be brought low in the dust; they are those who must be consumed as stubble; and this is according to the words of the prophet.

I have written about the church of the devil before in this journal (see entry for 1 Nephi 14: 10). Now, in this verse Nephi gives us a good working definition of what qualifies a church to be a church of the devil. The verse goes into greater detail than this but it could be simplified into saying that if a church’s purpose is to gain or bestow temporary reward (as opposed to eternal reward) it is the church of the devil. Satan cannot grant eternal rewards. This is his kingdom; he is the “prince of this world,” or the “god of this world” (see John 12: 31; John 14: 30; 2 Corinthians 4: 4, etc.). This is where his domain is, and this is where he has power to reward or punish, not in the eternities. So if a church, organization, or individual is has the purpose of gaining earthly rewards of money, power, popularity, lusts of the flesh, etc. while promising eternal rewards, it is the church of the devil, no matter what else it teaches. That’s why there are only two churches. Either you are trying to help people earn a kingdom of glory or eternal salvation, or you are using people for these earthly, temporary rewards. Satan has no power to grant eternal rewards. So shepherds of churches who “feed themselves” instead of feeding the sheep are the ones who should really fear (see Ezekiel 34: 2–3). I don’t think it really matters as much what your message is, but what your intent is. The implication here is that belonging to a church of the devil is not necessarily system-wide throughout a church, or even necessarily congregation-by-congregation, but individual-by-individual. The scary thought is that with this definition, individual members of Christ’s church could also qualify, theoretically at least, as belonging to the church of the devil, a sort of dual citizenship. But the scriptures teach us time and again you cannot belong to both the Church of God and the church of the devil. “No man can serve two masters,” Christ taught, “for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other” (Matthew 6: 24). By having a lay ministry we minimize that particular earthly reward, but what about those who get in a leadership position and start to crave the perceived popularity that they feel? There are even cases, however rare they may be, where ecclesiastical leaders have taken advantage of members of their congregation in various ways to satisfy their own desires. This would be a temporal reward, not an eternal one, so they would qualify as belonging to the church of the devil, even if they belong to another church, including, unfortunately, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

• Ezekiel 34: 2–3
• Matthew 6: 24)
• Luke 6: 26
• 2 Timothy 4: 3–4
• 1 Nephi 13: 6
• 1 Nephi 14: 10 (9–10)
• 2 Nephi 26: 20
• 2 Nephi 28: 19
• Alma 1: 3

1 Nephi 22: 22

22 And the righteous need not fear, for they are those who shall not be confounded. But it is the kingdom of the devil, which shall be built up among the children of men, which kingdom is established among them which are in the flesh—

In reference to Christ executing judgment in righteousness, as stated in verse 21, “the righteous need not fear.” The stated reason they do not need to be afraid of righteous judgment is because they will not be confounded. “Confounded” is an amazing word to use here. We typically use this word to indicate confusion or bewilderment. In that definition the reason the righteous don’t need to fear Christ’s judgment is because they will not be confused by the efforts of Satan to lead them astray. In terms of Lehi’s dream, they will cling to the rod of iron and not stray from the path leading to the Tree of Life. That use of the word is plain, and certainly works. Webster’s New World College Dictionary (1997) provides other definitions as well that add a richness to this phrase that I had not considered before.

The first definition, and kind of the meaning that closely refers to its Latin root, confundere, is “to mix up or lump together indiscriminately; confuse.” In this definition the righteous need not fear Christ’s righteous judgment because they will not be lumped together with everyone else. Judgment is an individual process, happening one-by-one. “We believe men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s [or anyone else’s] transgression” (Article of Faith 1: 2, emphasis and commentary mine).

Another, more archaic definition of confound is, “to defeat or destroy.” In this sense the righteous do not need to fear righteous judgment because they will not be defeated or destroyed. They can be confident of the outcome that they will be on the winning side. This is a great promise to the righteous, especially in these days of great wickedness when so many are being confounded, or in other words, confused and defeated.

The last definition from the dictionary, which also has interesting implications for this verse, is also an archaic one. It is, “to abash.” This is interesting because abash is “to make embarrassed and ill at ease; make self-conscious; discontent.” This could apply to the righteous person’s standing in the world, but I like to think of it more in relation to a person’s standing with God. I believe that when our pre-veil knowledge is restored we will feel pretty embarrassed about our sins, or at least our unrepented sins. The righteous, or repentant, will not experience that huge embarrassment that the rebellious will feel as “their iniquities shall be spoken upon the housetops, and their secret acts shall be revealed” (D&C 1: 3).

A graphic example of this is Alma. When telling his conversion story to his son, Helaman, he said that he remembered all his sins and iniquities, and “the very thought of coming into the presence of my God did rack my soul with inexpressible horror. Oh, thought I, that I could be banished and become extinct both soul and body, that I might not be brought to stand in the presence of my God, to be judged of my deeds.” After continuing in that condition for three days, his mind finally caught hold on the atonement of Christ, and he repented. After his repentance he thought he saw God sitting up on his throne. He then says that his “soul did long to be there” (Alma 36: 14–15, 22 (5–24)). Before his repentance Alma had great need to fear righteous judgment because he was seriously confounded in every definition of the word. After his repentance, not only was he no longer afraid of judgment, but he actually longed to be in God’s presence. That is a major difference between the righteous and unrighteous: their comfort with the thought of being in God’s presence.

Do righteous people have need to fear unrighteous judgment that could only happen in this mortal life? Not really. At least not in the eternal scheme of things. The biggest fear the righteous might have from unrighteous leaders is the loss of their own personal rights and property, and possibly their mortal bodies. On the eternal scale though, these things are not too important. Losing their lives at the hands of unrighteous judgment might also be a concern in some cases, but really, the biggest fear the righteous should have from unrighteous judges is the generally negative effect they can have on society and a generally righteous population. We see that in our current society of the United States. For one example among many that could be noted, the ruling that abortions are legal took away one major reason preventing women from seeking to have them. That has led to millions of unnecessary abortions, and I believe it has contributed to unrighteousness in our day.

• Alma 36: 14, 22 (5–24)

1 Nephi 22: 21

21 And now I, Nephi, declare unto you, that this prophet of whom Moses spake was the Holy One of Israel; wherefore, he shall execute judgment in righteousness.

In case there was any doubt as to who this prophet is that is spoken of by Moses, Nephi testifies in no uncertain terms that He is the Holy One of Israel, Jesus Christ. All mystery is stripped away on this point. There is no excuse for misunderstanding, or not understanding.

Alma testified to Korihor that all things testify of God and Christ (see Alma 30: 41 (39–41)). Moses himself was told that he was in the similitude of Christ (see Moses 1: 6). And most important, Christ identified himself as the prophet spoken of by Moses (see 3 Nephi 20: 23). So some testimonies of Christ are quite specific, such as Nephi’s and Christ’s. Other testimonies, like Alma’s, may take some leaps of faith and even some imagination to see as testimonies of Christ. Of course, that is where the Holy Ghost comes in and testifies. Then the thing that is testified to the individual is clear and unmistakable, even if they can’t share it in all its strength. I’m sure Moses could not express the full power and conviction that he was in the similitude of the God of this earth. Even if you knew that without a doubt, how could you adequately express it or testify of it to others? It’s just too big. I’m a believer in simple, straightforward testimony, as express here by Nephi.

• Deuteronomy 18: 15 (15–19)
• Psalm 98: 9
• Acts 3: 22 (20–23)
• 1 Nephi 10: 4
• 3 Nephi 20: 23
• Moses 1: 6