We are still examining the vision Nephi had when he inquired of the Lord as to the meaning of the dream his father had. This section has taken us a long time to study, but it’s got so much good information in it, it’s impossible to just skim over it.
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.
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.
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.
As we discussed previously, it’s what resides in the heart of a person that determines which of these two churches they belong to. People from every religion around the world belong to the church of the Lamb, while people from every religion belong to the church of the devil, as well. You can’t take an entire congregation and know that they will all belong in one place or another. Many exist among us who have turned their hearts toward evil, but they still interact with their church on an active and regular basis. In fact, oftentimes, they themselves don’t know they have turned away from light and truth because they justify their actions and believe they are doing fine.
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.
Again, this is a worldwide problem. It’s not just in America or some country in Europe—people all over the world are being faced with that most crucial of decisions: do we follow the Lord, or do we choose another way? No one will be immune to the temptings of the devil, just as no one will be overlooked by the whisperings of the Holy Ghost. We are all enticed by one side and then the other, and we all must choose who to listen to.
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.
Right now, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has thirteen million members, which is a relatively small number. But keep in mind what I said – there are those who are Mormon who have not fully turned their hearts to the Lord, and are sitting on the fence with their devotion. Meanwhile, there are countless righteous people who do not belong to the church who certainly claim Christ as their own. There is no way to even guess as to the percentage of the followers of Christ compared to the followers of the devil. We’ll have to use our imaginations on that one.
From today’s reading: In what aspects of the Gospel are we sitting on the fence? We need to decide once and for all where we stand. What can we do to make our stance stronger?
Related Blogs: