Nephi’s vision continues.
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 nations 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 Gentiles the formation of a great church.
5. And the angel said unto me: Behold the formation of a church which is most abominable above all other churches, which slayeth the saints of God, yea, and tortureth them and bindeth them down, and yoketh them with a yoke of iron, and bringeth them down into captivity.
6. And it came to pass that I beheld this great and abominable church; and I saw the devil that he was the founder of it.
I’ve seen people try, unsuccessfully, to pin this description on churches currently organized. This isn’t accurate, however – the scripture doesn’t refer to an actual church in and of itself, but rather, this is a symbolic church, meaning, anyone who listed to obey the evil one and to follow after things which are evil. There is no one sect meant by this passage.
7. And I also saw gold, and silver, and silks, and scarlets, and fine-twined linen, 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 desires of this great and abominable church.
9. And also for the praise of the world do they destroy the saints of God, and bring them down into captivity.
They not only destroy the saints, but they put God to mock, and anything that is righteous, pure and holy, they scorn. They criticize those who choose to follow the commandments and they participate in one of Satan’s most insidious plans – that of spreading lies and half-truths about the importance of adherence to the commandments.
10. And it came to pass that I looked and beheld many waters; and they divided the Gentiles from the seed of my brethren.
11. And it came to pass that the angel said unto me: Behold the wrath of God is upon the seed of thy brethren.
12. And I looked and beheld a man among the Gentiles, who was separated from the seed of my brethren by the many waters; and I beheld the Spirit of God, that it came down and wrought upon the man; and he went forth upon the many waters, even unto the seed of my brethren, who were in the promised land.
I had the chance to take an institute class from David Ridges, now a prominent LDS doctrinal author, and he says that verse twelve refers to Christopher Columbus and his interactions with the Native Americans. He says that we should find it highly significant that Columbus was wrought upon by the Spirit to undertake his journey. He also recounted the difficulty Columbus had in getting funding for his trip – no one believed him, and it was only after talking to many people that he finally bent the ear of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain to invest in him.
13. And it came to pass that I beheld the Spirit of God, that it wrought upon other Gentiles; and they went forth out of captivity, upon the many waters.
14. And it came to pass that I beheld many multitudes of the Gentiles upon the land of promise; and I beheld the wrath of God, that it was upon the seed of my brethren; and they were scattered before the Gentiles and were smitten.
This refers to the way that the Native Americans were scattered before the settlers when they came, and the slaying that took place amongst the natives.
15. And I beheld the Spirit of the Lord, that it was upon the Gentiles, and they did prosper and obtain the land for their inheritance; and I beheld that they were white, and exceedingly fair and beautiful, like unto my people before they were slain.
At first, the Gentiles were blessed and were allowed to take over the land. This is because of their humility, as we’ll see in the next verse.
16. And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles who had gone forth out of captivity did humble themselves before the Lord; and the power of the Lord was with them.
17. And I beheld that their mother Gentiles were gathered together upon the waters, and upon the land also, to battle against them.
England is the mother Gentile spoken of here, and the battle referred to is the Revolutionary War.
18. And I beheld that the power of God was with them, and also that the wrath of God was upon all those that were gathered together against them to battle.
19. And I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles that had gone out of captivity were delivered by the power of God out of the hands of all other nations.
The Lord blessed America so that it might become and remain a free country, dependent upon righteousness. Next time, we’ll read more about Nephi’s vision, the Bible, and the things that will happen when those who possess the land of America cease to be righteous.
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