The great and abominable church

Over the years, I’ve heard several descriptions of who or what is the “great and abominable church” — it is much like trying to identify the  “Abominable Snowman.”

Where did this phrase come from — the great and abominable church?

Nephi wanted to see the same things that his father Lehi had seen in his vision of the tree of Life.  And when Nephi  sat pondering about this (1 Nephi 11:1) he was caught away in the spirit of the Lord unto an exceedingly high mountain. This is when the Spirit says “Look” and shows him various things. He sees the nations of the Gentiles and that they cross the waters and come over to the promised land where Lehi’s descendants are living. Hugh Nibley explained it thus:

Now in 1 Nephi 13 of the Book of Mormon the panorama unfolds here. This is the worldwide view of it, the modern world. He beheld many nations and kingdoms.

Verse 3:

“These are the nations and kingdoms of the Gentiles…. I saw among the nations of the Gentiles the formation of a great church.”

Now, what is this church? I just said that the great apostasy came in the second century; the scriptures were completely corrupted by then. This is long before the Roman [Catholic] church became the leading church. The Roman church was “small potatoes” at that time. It wasn’t until the fourth century that they took over. You must not identify this just with the Roman Catholic Church. People do because that’s a simplistic answer. But there [was] a lot going on in the world that we don’t know anything about. That’s what this chapter tells us, all the way through. Don’t oversimplify. Don’t try to figure it out, as far as that goes. 1 Nephi 13:6 Here’s what goes on; it tells us here. Verse 6:

“I beheld this great and abominable church.”

Revelation [18] says that the abominable church is Babylon. He describes in chapter 18 the people who set their hearts on these things. Verse 8:

“Behold the gold, and the silver, and silks, and scarlets, and fine-twined linen.”

In the Book of Revelation John describes this [see Revelation 18:12]. Remember, he [Lehi] says the book he saw was John. John is the only New Testament character [writer] mentioned in the Book of Mormon. But he describes these things in terms of a great department store. He goes down the departments—the linens, the fine things, and the slaves. Everything is for sale. It’s quite a brilliant display, and these are the things that make Babylon. This is the “great and abominable.” …What we have here, you see, is a complex. It’s an ecumenical thing, and it certainly is here. (Nibley’s Commentary On The Book of Mormon, Volume One, (Kindle Locations 1605-1613). Kindle Edition.)

The abominable church is Babylon and all that it incorporates. Zion is on the other side. You could be a member of a church and really be part of Babylon:

“He that fighteth against Zion, both Jew and Gentile, both bond and free, both male and female, shall perish; for they are they who are the whore of all the earth” (2 Nephi 10:16). Those who fight against Zion, in other words—whatever name they go by—belong to the great and abominable church of the devil, which “fight[s] against the Lamb of God” (1 Nephi 14:13). (Gileadi, Newsletter, Will Many Mormon Gentiles End up Fighting against Zion? Feb 17, 2018)

The church of the devil is Babylon and they will fight against the church of God which is Zion. I guess you could say that those who fight against Zion will be those of Babylon and thus make up the great abominable church (though not really a church as we understand that word — we should not get hung up on the word “church”.) And we should not get hung up on the word “whore” as only meaning what we think today. The Lord uses the word “whore” in the scriptures to describe people who have left or cheated on the bridegroom (Christ). It doesn’t have anything to do with sex. The word, “whore” is a metaphor.

“Blessed are the Gentiles, they of whom the prophet [Isaiah] has written; for behold, if it so be that they shall repent and fight not against Zion, and do not unite themselves to that great and abominable church, they shall be saved; for the Lord God will fulfil his covenants which he has made unto his children; and for this cause the prophet has written these things. Wherefore, they that fight against Zion and the covenant people of the Lord shall lick up the dust of their feet; and the people of the Lord shall not be ashamed” (2 Nephi 6:12–13; emphasis added). Jacob here differentiates between two kinds of Gentiles Isaiah speaks of: (1) those who repent and act as saviors to the house of Israel at the time God bares his arm; and (2) those who unite with the great and abominable church… (ibid.)

We may be surprised to see who makes up the Abominable Snowman — we may be surprised to see who fights against Zion, for it will come from within and from without. We need to repent and stay close to the Lord, to read the scriptures and the book of Isaiah, so we do not become confused and fight against the right arm of God. I wish it did not have to be so confusing — but that’s the way it has been. The Jews were confused and did not recognize the messiah, and we may wonder, looking back, how could that happen? Now it’s our turn.