Thou hast declared unto us hard things

This writing is focused on the precept found in Nephi’s response to Laman and Lemuel following their question and answer session described in 1 Nephi 15. Laman’s and Lemuel’s response to Nephi’s answers was simply tragic, “Thou hast declared unto us hard things, more than we are able to bear” (1 Nephi 16:1). Nephi’s response is part of a larger Book of Mormon message about truth and hearts, “I knew that I had spoken hard things against the wicked, according to the truth.” However, Nephi explains that “the righteous [he had] justified, and testified that they should be lifted up at the last day” (1 Nephi 16:2).

The Book of Mormon offers some perspective on the important precept of “hard things” being said and received. For example, toward the end of his life Nephi noted that “there are many that harden their hearts against the Holy Spirit, that it hath no place in them; wherefore, they cast many things away which are written and esteem them as things of naught” (2 Nephi 33:2). In other words, hard hearts make the things of God hard to understand and apply for the hard hearted. Indeed, God’s truth “speaketh harshly against sin, according to the plainness of the truth; wherefore, no man will be angry at the words which I have written save he shall be of the spirit of the devil” (2 Nephi 33:5).

Hard heartedness will be particularly acute in the latter-days when the rebellious “will not hear the law of the Lord.” Instead, they will “say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits.” In a further demonstration of their hard heartedness, they will even tell God’s prophets to “get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us” (Isaiah 30:8-13). Prophets can be so annoying when they are so plain spoken about our efforts to blaze our own path through life. An astonishing display of hard hearted arrogance! Lest we think membership in Christ’s latter-day church immunes us from such hard heartedness toward His prophets, soberingly, Nephi was shown in vision that in the latter-days “the house of Israel” would be “gathered together to fight against the twelve apostles of the Lamb” (1 Nephi 11:35).

Interestingly, Enos, Nephi’s nephew, observed that “nothing short of...exceedingly great plainness of speech,” which included “exceeding harshness, preaching and prophesying of wars, and contentions, and destructions, and continually reminding” his people “of death, and the duration of eternity, and the judgments and the power of God, and all these things—stirring them up continually to keep them in the fear of the Lord...would keep them from going down speedily to destruction” (Enos 1:23). A sad commentary on the nature of the hard hearted natural man.

Additionally, while describing King Benjamin’s early days as king, Mormon notes that he and those who served with him “did use much sharpness because of the stiffneckedness of the people” (Words of Mormon 1:17). It would appear that the Book of Mormon antidote to stiffneckedness—another Book of Mormon word for hard heartedness or pride—is sharpness, meaning precision. No wonder the people plead for prophets to speak smooth things, because sharp things cut so deep when a heart is so hard. Indeed, as Nephi explains to Laman and Lemuel, “the guilty taketh the truth to be hard, for it cutteth them to the very center.”

Contrariwise, a positive example of someone accepting hard words, even when undeserved, is that of Pahoran when undeservedly rebuked by Captain Moroni as described in Alma 59-61. Captain Moroni saw the Nephite army being weakened by the government not providing any reinforcements or provisions to sustain them. In anger, he wrote a stinging letter of censure to the Chief Judge Pahoran accusing him of not doing his job and threatening to gather an army to remove him from office. To this factually unjustified rebuke and threat, Pahoran responded with the following meek reply, “you have censured me, but it mattereth not; I am not angry, but do rejoice in the greatness of your heart” (Alma 61:9). The chief civil authority dealt with an ill informed and threatening military officer without anger. He not only was not angry, he rejoiced in the greatness of Moroni’s heart. What a contrast to Laman and Lemuel.

The reality is, when we choose to be faithful, “it is as easy to give heed to the word of Christ, which will point to [us] a straight course to eternal bliss, as it was for [Nephi and Lehi] to give heed to [the Liahona], which would point unto [us] a straight course to the promised land” (Alma 37:44).

In summary, Nephi provides one of the most concise and powerful statements of the nature of the true disciple that exists in scripture. As a student of logic, 1 Nephi 16:3 is simply elegant, inspired reasoning. It might be helpful for those untrained in logic to see the verse presented in a common logic structure:

If 

ye were

righteous

and 

willing to hearken to the truth

and 

give heed unto it

that 

ye might walk uprightly before God

then 

ye would not

murmur because of the truth

and 

say: Thou speakest hard things against us.

Nephi’s summary is as incredibly elegant and succinct logic as it is true. The Lord provides a wonderful definition of what it means to “walk uprightly before God” while instructing the Prophet Joseph. In what some might consider hard language, the Lord commands Joseph “to repent and walk more uprightly before me.” He then, with sharpness (precision) adds, “and to yield to the persuasions of men no more” (D&C 5:21). Joseph was yielding to the persuasions of men rather than the revelations from God. 1 Nephi 16:3 contrasts divine logic with the logic of men. At the heart of discipleship is a willingness to hearken to (accept) God’s word and give heed to (apply) it and to not yield to the “persuasions of men.” This is actually a test of whether or not we are hard hearted—choosing the persuasions of men over the word of God, which can sometimes be hard or sharp, particularly when we need it most.

Nephi is offering a complementary teaching to the Apostle Paul:

For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart (Hebrews 4:12)

The word of God’s precision (sharpness) helps us discern our own thoughts and intents of our hearts. If we reject the word our hearts are hard. Furthermore, accepting and applying God’s truth is the great antidote to murmuring. As noted in another writing (http://www.themostcorrectbook.org/2017/07/murmuring.html):

Murmuring is a slippery spiritual slope that all too often leads to mocking, anger, and even violence against, prophets and believers alike. The antidote to murmuring is submissiveness, seeking to know the dealings of God with his children at large and with us personally. Seeking God softens our hearts towards his prophets and believers when we seek after him. We will see this contrast illustrated again between Nephi and Laman and Lemuel later (1 Nephi 15:1-9) and throughout the rest of The Book of Mormon. The fundamental issue with murmuring is that, left unchecked, murmuring goes well beyond the dictionary definition of “a subdued or private expression of discontent or dissatisfaction” and becomes mocking, anger, or violence toward God and his servants and disciples at large.

Like his father (see 1 Nephi 8:37), Nephi “did exhort [his] brethren, with all diligence, to keep the commandments of the Lord.” In what proved to be a momentary display of submissiveness, Laman and Lemuel “did humble themselves before the Lord.” Ever hopeful, Nephi “had joy and great hopes of them, that they would walk in the paths of righteousness” (1 Nephi 16:4-5). As we will see, the humility was transitory and they soon returned to their hard heartedness.

The precept to be derived from this is that inspired teachers are often required to speak “hard things” (see Jacob 2:6-11 as an example). For the disciple the choice is rather straightforward—will we harden our hearts and choose to be offended by the word of God and view it as “more than we are able to bear,” or will we soften our hearts and choose to welcome the instruction and apply it. Interestingly, for those with hearts to receive, “hard things” means the instruction is durable and dependable. Its effect is to strengthen the heart to trust in God rather than harden the heart and trust in self.

Have ye inquired of the Lord

Among the more tragic and instructive accounts in the Book of Mormon is Nephi’s experience with his brothers following his own revelatory experience learning the meaning of Lehi’s dream. As Nephi rejoins his family he finds his brothers “disputing one with another concerning the things which [their] father had spoken unto them” (1 Nephi 15:2). It seems this would have likely been quite a jolt to see his brothers behaving so. Having just enjoyed a magnificent spiritual experience, he is brought back to earth, so to speak, by the disputing of his brothers. Clearly, a behavior that is not inspired of God and foreign from what he had experienced with the Holy Ghost (see 3 Nephi 11:28-29).

Nephi acknowledges that Lehi’s words “were hard to be understood,” unless “a man should inquire of the Lord.” However, Nephi provides this inspired, yet tragic, explanation regarding his brothers’ behavior - “they being hard in their hearts, therefore they did not look unto the Lord as they ought” (1 Nephi 15:3). Notice, their is no exclusion of Sam in this explanation. Hard heartedness is Book of Mormon speak for pride. Hard hearts resist the promptings of the Spirit, while soft hearts receive the Spirit’s promptings. Therefore, a precept to be derived is that when we have prideful hard hearts we do not look to the Lord for understanding as we should for guidance and direction. As a result, we do not receive answers to the questions with which we are struggling.

At this point in the story we get a glimpse into Nephi’s character as it develops through the various refining experiences with which he is confronted. Instead of anger or frustration, Nephi explains he “was grieved.” To be grieved is to feel grief. Grief is defined as “deep sorrow, especially that caused by someone's death.” Assuming Nephi’s choice of the word “grieved” was deliberate, Nephi seems to have felt as though someone died. Why? First, “because of the hardness of [Laman and Lemuel’s] hearts.” How could you not feel deep sorrow over Laman’s and Lemuel’s hearts? While Nephi was seeing and hearing so much, Laman and Lemuel were seeing and hearing so little. Like Lehi, Nephi wanted Laman and Lemuel to partake, just like he had. Such feelings accompany the sincere disciple.

The second reason may have been a greater source of deep sorrow - “because of the things which I had seen, and knew they must unavoidably come to pass because of the great wickedness of the children of men” (1 Nephi 15:4). Nephi had just witnessed for himself the future of humanity which included significant death and destruction because of pride. The revelation he had received was the same as that of John recorded in the book of Revelation in the Holy Bible (see 1 Nephi 14:18-30). Both saw the depth of humanity’s latter-day wickedness and the resulting destruction and suffering. Seeing such things regarding our own posterity, any of us would feel a profound grief.

Understandably, this was all overwhelming. Nephi explains, “I was overcome because of my afflictions, for I considered that mine afflictions were great above all, because of the destruction of my people, for I had beheld their fall” (1 Nephi 15:5). This whole experience drained him physically and spiritually. Nevertheless, “it came to pass that after [Nephi] had received strength,” further evidence of the depth of his pain, Nephi “spake unto [his] brethren, desiring to know of them the cause of their disputations” (1 Nephi 15:6). Determined discipleship includes reaching out to others to see if they can help.

His brothers answered, “Behold, we cannot understand the words which our father hath spoken concerning the natural branches of the olive tree, and also concerning the Gentiles” (1 Nephi 15:7). This suggests yet another precept to be derived - prideful lack of understanding a prophet’s words contributes to disputations, including disputations about the gospel and the Lord’s revelations. Furthermore, understanding the things of God does not come of disputation but of revelation - not just to the original receiver of revelation, but to all who seek to understand and apply it.

Given this situation and personal experience with coming to understand the word of the Lord, Nephi asks the question for the ages, “Have ye inquired of the Lord?” (1 Nephi 15:8). As is often the case, an inspired question brings everything into focus. This is a question we can and should ask of ourselves whenever we find ourselves struggling to understand the words of a prophet. It serves as a precept to which we can adhere and thereby draw closer to God.

As inspiring and instructive as Nephi’s question is, his brothers’ answer is equally depressing - “We have not; for the Lord maketh no such thing known unto us” (1 Nephi 15:9). This is an error of judgment of such consequence the significance of their error cannot be overstated. The message of the Book of Mormon is just the opposite. The promise is that if we will ask God will reveal the “truth of all things” (Moroni 10:4-5).

In response to their uninspired conclusion, Nephi asks three fabulously instructive principles from which we can derive critical precepts:

• How is it that ye do not keep the commandments of the Lord?
• How is it that ye will perish, because of the hardness of your hearts?
• Do ye not remember the things which the Lord hath said?—If ye will not harden your hearts, and ask me in faith, believing that ye shall receive, with diligence in keeping my commandments, surely these things shall be made known unto you.

Gospel understanding comes of obedience to God’s law, humility, and asking inspired and sincere questions. Why is this so? It is because understanding and knowing the things of God requires much more than cognition. It requires application to truly know. As Neal A. Maxwell taught:

Therefore, gaining knowledge and becoming more Christlike “are two aspects of a single process” (Warner, Encyclopedia of Mormonism, vol. 4, p. 1490). This process is part of being “valiant” in our testimony of Jesus. Thus, while we are saved no faster than we gain a certain type of knowledge, it is also the case, as Richard Bushman has observed, that we will gain knowledge no faster than we are saved (Teachings, p. 217). So we have a fundamentally different understanding of knowledge and truth—behaving and knowing are inseparably linked.

So defined, the gospel is inexhaustible because there is not only so much to know, but also so much to become! The vital truths are not merely accumulated in the mind but are expressed in life as well.

Intelligence is “the glory of God,” as we all know. It is defined as “light and truth” (D&C 93:36). The revelations also inform us that if we have “more knowledge and intelligence in this life,” we will have “so much the advantage in the world to come” (D&C 130:18–19). I do not pretend to be able to be definitive with regard to this last verse, but, clearly, what we carry forward, brothers and sisters, involves developing our capacity for cognition as well as application. This sets us apart from the world. I hope we understand some of the implications of all these things. Certainly, what we will carry forward is more than what we now term as IQ or databases. It is the entire being of the individual. Hence our approach to knowledge, truth, and wisdom is markedly different (https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/neal-a-maxwell_inexhaustible-gospel/).

Nephi’s questions to his brothers adds further light to an earlier precept regarding murmuring and not understanding the things of God (1 Nephi 2:12). Laman’s and Lemuel’s lack of knowing the things of God was the result of disobedience, pride, and not asking God. By not knowing the things of God, murmuring is the natural outgrowth. Left unchecked, these circumstances compound and a downward cycle toward destruction commences. As Alma explains later in the Book of Mormon,

And they that will harden their hearts, to them is given the lesser portion of the word until they know nothing concerning his mysteries; and then they are taken captive by the devil, and led by his will down to destruction. Now this is what is meant by the chains of hell (Alma 12:11).

In summary, the precepts to be derived are that obedience, humility, and sincere seeking result in understanding the words of prophets. Without all three we simply will not come to understand the things of God. Instead of becoming more Christlike we become more Laman/Lemuellike -  murmuring, mocking, and abusing the faithful. This has been my experience. When I sincerely strive to obey, to be humble, and to sincerely seek to understand the word of God through his prophets he is generous in helping me understand and apply his word. Sometimes this requires sustained effort over an extended period of time. For me, at times, it has required decades of searching and learning to apply. Generally, these extended periods of learning and applying are the result of my disobedience, pride, and insincere seeking. But as my obedience, humility, and sincerity improve, unlike Laman’s and Lemuel’s belief, God does make such things known!

Neat and comely

In the Book of Mormon clothing and appearance are frequently used to describe both the rebellious and the striving disciple. The contrast is proximate and stark in Alma chapter 1.

At the beginning of the chapter we read of the antichrist Nehor, who was so successful in delivering his deceitful message (see Alma 1:3-4) that his followers gave him money. As a result “...he began to be lifted up in the pride of his heart, and to wear very costly apparel” (Alma 1:6). In contrast, toward the end of this same chapter, the humble faithful are described with these words:

...they did impart of their substance, every man according to that which he had, to the poor, and the needy, and the sick, and the afflicted; and they did not wear costly apparel, yet they were neat and comely (Alma 1:27).

The word comely is not commonly used today. It is defined as “pleasant to look at; attractive.” At the heart of this proximate contrast regarding clothing are two dimensions:

• The cost of the apparel
• The purpose of the apparel

In the case of Nehor, his preaching was a means of getting money for himself which was used to acquire costly apparel, which was a manifestation of his pride. In the case of the faithful, they were generous with the poor, needy, sick and afflicted. Unlike Nehor, they did not wear costly apparel, yet they were pleasant to look at and attractive (comely).

Other examples of references to clothing include Lehi’s dream. While Lehi was describing the occupants of the great and spacious building, he noted:

...it was filled with people, both old and young, both male and female; and their manner of dress was exceedingly fine; and they were in the attitude of mocking and pointing their fingers towards those who had come at and were partaking of the fruit (1 Nephi 8:27).

It is reasonable to link the exceedingly fine dress with the attitude of mocking others - particularly mocking those who don’t give heed to those with the exceedingly fine dress (1 Nephi 8:33). The proud hate to not be noticed. The symbolism seems to associate prideful mocking of others with excess in appearance. This could reasonably include anyone who uses clothing to distinguish themselves in a wide variety of ways. In Lehi’s dream there is no mention of the attire of those who were on the path or at the tree partaking of the fruit. Could it be that the “neat and comely” appearance of those on the path or at the tree was simply not noteworthy because they were focused on more important things?

There are other examples in the Book of Mormon in which clothing and appearance are used to describe the rebellious. One of the more detailed descriptions is in Nephi’s account of the “great and abominable church” (see http://www.themostcorrectbook.org/2017/09/the-great-and-abominable-church.html for insight regarding the great and abomniable church). While being shown this church in vision, Nephi explains:

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. 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. And also for the praise of the world do they destroy the saints of God, and bring them down into captivity (1 Ne. 13:5-8).

A key part of Nephi’s description is that the gold, silver, silks, scarlets, fine-twined linen, precious clothing, and “harlots” (or those who sell themselves for whatever purpose), are “the desires of this great and abominable church.” Their focus was on appearance, pleasure, and praise, which they felt justified their seeking to “destroy the saints of God, and bring them down into captivity.” There is an ominous message to the latter-day saints of God in the description “for the praise of the world do they (those belonging to the great and abominable church) destroy the saints of God, and bring them down into captivity.” The word “captivity” can be interpreted in a variety of ways - not just physical bondage as in the days of ancient Rome. There are a wide variety of ways by which people are held captive today. For example, many today are held captive politically, intellectually, socially, or economically. In fact, fashion can be a means of captivating another. When we allow others to limit our choices we are allowing ourselves to become captive.

Another example regarding apparel. As Jacob addressed the people at the temple to confront them regarding their sins. He observed:

the hand of providence hath smiled upon you most pleasingly, that you have obtained many riches; and because some of you have obtained more abundantly than that of your brethren ye are lifted up in the pride of your hearts, and wear stiff necks and high heads because of the costliness of your apparel, and persecute your brethren because ye suppose that ye are better than they (Jacob 2:13).

There it is again, the role of apparel as a descriptor of the rebellious and proud who look down on others. Notice the association Jacob makes, prosperity results in abundance, which results in pride. This pride is manifest in “the costliness of your apparel.” This leads to “persecution” of others. Why? Because we think we are better than another because of how we appear? I deliberately use the pronoun we, lest we think we are immune from such feelings and behavior. This prideful disdain for others can result in the impoverished being refused access to places of “worship”, as with the case of the Zoramites, “because of the coarseness of their apparel” (Alma 32:2). The faithful must guard against any such exclusions - whether explicit or implicit.

Lest we think this is a problem in the past, Moroni, after having experienced the destruction of his people, writes:

Behold, I speak unto you as if ye were present, and yet ye are not. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me, and I know your doing. And I know that ye do walk in the pride of your hearts; and there are none save a few only who do not lift themselves up in the pride of their hearts, unto the wearing of very fine apparel, unto envying, and strifes, and malice, and persecutions, and all manner of iniquities; and your churches, yea, even every one, have become polluted because of the pride of your hearts. For behold, ye do love money, and your substance, and your fine apparel, and the adorning of your churches, more than ye love the poor and the needy, the sick and the afflicted (Mormon 8:35-37).

The love of money, substance, fine apparel, adorning of “churches” (which are not necessarily religious structures or organizations) is more important than the love of the poor, needy, sick, and afflicted. Does that describe us? An important question to ask ourselves, and answer, regularly.

When Alma decided to relinquish his judgeship and devote himself to the ministry, he wrote that  the people of the church:

...began to wax proud, because of their exceeding riches, and their fine silks, and their fine-twined linen, and because of their many flocks and herds, and their gold and their silver, and all manner of precious things, which they had obtained by their industry; and in all these things were they lifted up in the pride of their eyes, for they began to wear very costly apparel” (Alma 4:6).

Not only can our apparel manifest our pride, it can also feed our pride.

Obviously, there is nothing inherently evil in cloth. As with everything in this world, most substances can be used for good or evil. Unfortunately, the substance cloth can be used by an individual to appear superior to another. We should remember that among the things God hates “a proud look” is first on the list (Proverbs 6:16-19).

In contrast, there is a consistent description of how the faithful disciples regard the role of clothing:

While describing the efforts of his people to provide for themselves, King Zeniff instructed his people to make “cloth of every kind, that [they] might clothe [their] nakedness” (Mosiah 10:5)

During a period of particular righteousness, almost identical language of that describing Zeniff’s people is used to describe the Nephites - they “did make all manner of cloth, of fine-twined linen and cloth of every kind, to clothe their nakedness” (Hel. 6:13).

The Jaredites also described the making of apparel with similar language, “And they did have silks, and fine-twined linen; and they did work all manner of cloth, that they might clothe themselves from their nakedness” (Ether 10:24).

These accounts connote interest in simply covering their bodies rather than trying to appear superior to another. This seems very much in the spirit of what the Apostle Paul taught his young Timothy, that he encourage “that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array” (1 Timothy 2:9). Today, the same would apply to men as well.

But why all the concern over appearance? The Apostle Peter provides a wonderful answer:

...let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price (1 Peter 3:3-4).

“A meek and quiet spirit” should be interpreted as “a gentle, mild, forgiving spirit.” This does not describe those in the great and spacious building who wore exceeding fine dress and were mocking those on the path or partaking of the fruit. Remember the Lord’s instruction to Samuel when he was searching for who the Lord had called to be King of Israel? “The Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). Shouldn’t that be our nature as well, to look upon the heart and not the appearance? Are we like the Zoramites and exclude people from our lives and love because of their appearance?

What is the precept to be derived from all this? It seems that a focus on appearance, particularly costly clothing, is a reliable sign of pride and can also feed our pride. It appears to be a predictable characteristic of those who pridefully look down on others and can lead us to abuse and and captivate others. Contrariwise, the gospel message is to focus on “the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.” The issue is not so much what is worn, but why it is worn. Disciples are to be neat and comely - “pleasant to look at; attractive.” Therefore, it is not likely a disciple will win any fashion shows. Rather, their clothing’s primary purpose is to “cover their nakedness”, not to draw attention to themselves or appear superior to others. Their personality is not defined or shaped by what they wear. Rather, their ornamentation is inside - a gentle, mild, forgiving spirit instead of a boastful or mocking spirit. While their modesty may elicit  mocking and laughter from the proud, it draws praise from He who matters most, and those striving to be like Him. 

My experience is that when I focus too much on appearance, if I am honest with myself, I too often look down on others. When I focus on being gentle, mild, and forgiving I learn from others - often from those who are looked down on by society. When I simply try to be “neat and comely,” to simply appear appropriate in a way that is unremarkable, I am more likely to view others as equal, to serve with and learn from them. More importantly, I seem to spend time and energy on more important issues that are central to becoming a disciple. A quote that seems to capture the essence of the issue is “I say, beware of all enterprises that require new clothes, and not rather a new wearer of clothes” (Henry David Thoreau - https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/h/henrydavid103696.html). It has long been instructive to me that in the temples of the Lord, there is a wonderful democracy of dress in which fads and fashions are not to be found, thereby reducing the risk of prideful comparing and turning the focus on the Lord. So it should be in our daily walk of life, and not just in the holy temples.

Thou knowest that I believe

As Nephi’s own revelatory experience to understand his father’s dream began, Nephi was asked by the Spirit of God, “Behold, what desirest thou?” Nephi responded, “I desire to behold the things which my father saw.” It is instructive that Nephi’s experience begins with the Spirit inquiring about his desires. Our desires lie at the heart of our discipleship. The choosing of what we desire is likely the most fundamental expression of our agency. Our desires seem to be fundamental to the final judgement (Alma 41:3).

The Spirit then asked a second question, “Believest thou that thy father saw the tree of which he hath spoken?” To desire to know is one thing, to choose to believe is critical to coming to know. While desire may be the trigger to discipleship, belief is the catalyst. These two principles were linked by the prophet Alma when he taught every soul who searches the Book of Mormon:

if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words (Alma 32:27).

The result of sincere desire and the choice to believe results in yet another blessing. Nephi found himself face to face with the Holy Ghost, a member of the Godhead, and is asked whether or not he believes what his father had said. There is no hiding from this eternal being who can discern our thoughts and desires. In response to the Spirit’s question “believest thou” Nephi responds, “Yea, thou knowest that I believe all the words of my father” (1 Nephi 11:2-5). What an impressive response to a searching question! Because Nephi’s desire was pure, his choice to believe was also pure. Therefore, he was able to speak boldly, and confidently, to a member of the Godhead, “thou knowest that I believe.” What a wonderful example of confidence in the presence of God, which is available to any of God’s children (D&C 121:45).

In response to Nephi’s declaration, “the Spirit cried with a loud voice, saying: Hosanna to the Lord, the most high God; for he is God over all the earth, yea, even above all. And blessed art thou, Nephi, because thou believest in the Son of the most high God; wherefore, thou shalt behold the things which thou hast desired” (1 Nephi 11:6).

The precept which we may abide is that we can have confidence, even in God’s presence, when we truly desire to see, hear, and know truth and choose to believe. I have found it particularly helpful to ask myself the two questions Nephi was asked of the Spirit:

What desirest thou?

Believest thou?

When I sincerely ask myself these two questions the Lord helps me understand what I truly desire and believe. The purer my desire and belief the greater my confidence. While some may believe that this is simply deluding oneself, my experience is just the opposite. The choice to desire to see, hear, and know the things of God coupled with the choice to believe in truth that is not seen (see Alma 32:21) results in a quiet, yet deep, confidence. This is a special form of peace that is promised to the faithful (John 14:27). This is my experience.

The "great and abominable church"

For years I puzzled over the term used by Nephi during his own revelatory experience early in the Book of Mormon - the great and abominable church - as used in 1 Nephi 13-14 and 1 Ne. 22:13–14.

I am deeply indebted to Brother Stephen Robinson, who I met years ago at Brigham Young University, for his scholarship on the meaning of the great and abominable church. I strongly encourage you to read the entire article, but let me call special attention to the beginning of the article in hopes it will entice you to study the entire article. I have found the article to be  particularly useful in understanding Nephi’s use of the term “great and abominable church.”

In 1 Nephi 13–14, [1 Ne. 13–14] the prophet Nephi relates a vision in which he saw the future of the world and its kingdoms as it related to his posterity. Nephi’s vision is the type of revelation known in biblical literature as apocalyptic, a type represented in the New Testament most fully by the Revelation of John. The two revelations have more in common, though, than apocalyptic form, for they both deal in part with an often misunderstood concept, the great and abominable church of the devil. The visions together give us prophetic information about the matter.

Before proceeding further, however, we must define some of the terms that bear upon the two visions. The Greek word apostasia (apostasy, falling away) means rebellion or revolution. It conveys the sense of an internal takeover by factions hostile to the intentions of the previous leaders. I personally prefer the translation mutiny, as it suggests that unauthorized members commandeer a ship and take it where the ship is not supposed to go. Since early Christians often thought of the church as a ship, I think mutiny conveys the sense of what Paul and others meant by the term apostasia. (See 2 Thes. 2:3.)

The word great in the phrase great and abominable church is an adjective of size rather than of quality and, like the Hebrew gadol or the Greek megas, informs us of the great size of the abominable entity. Secondary meanings might refer to great wealth or power.

The term abominable is used in the Old Testament to describe what God hates, what cannot fail to arouse his wrath. In Daniel, the abomination of desolation is that thing so hateful to God that its presence in the temple causes the divine presence to depart, leaving the sanctuary desolate. In the Old Testament, the terms translated into English as abominable or abomination (Hebrew roots shiqqutz, ta’ab, piggul; Greek Septuagint and New Testament bdelugma) are usually associated with idolatrous worship or gross sexual immorality.

The word church (Hebrew qahal or edah; Greek ekklesia) had a slightly broader meaning anciently than it does now. It referred to an assembly, congregation, or association of people who bonded together and shared the same loyalties. Thus, the term was not necessarily restricted to religious associations; in fact, in Athens the Greeks used the term to denote the legislative assembly of government.

Originally, the term ekklesia, formed from two words meaning call and out,referred to those citizens whom heralds called out or summoned to public meetings. Thus, it was an ideal word to represent the body of individuals whom God “calls out” of the world through the Holy Ghost. The civil dimension of the word appears in Acts 19:32, where assembly in the KJV is a translation of the Greek ekklesia. We must, however, remember that we don’t know the original word on the gold plates that Joseph Smith translated as church. Whatever it was, the Prophet chose to translate it as church instead of as assembly.

When we put all this together, we find that the term great and abominable church means an immense assembly or association of people bound together by their loyalty to that which God hates. Most likely, this “church” is involved specifically in sexual immorality, idolatry (that is, false worship), or both. While the book of Revelation does not use the exact phrase “great and abominable church,” both John and Nephi use a number of similar phrases to describe it. They call it the “Mother of Harlots, and Abominations,” “mother of abominations,” and “the whore that sitteth upon many waters.” (Rev. 17:1, 5; 1 Ne. 14:10–11.)

The major characteristics of the great and abominable church described in 1 Nephi may be listed as follows:

1. It persecutes, tortures, and slays the Saints of God. (See 1 Ne. 13:5.)
2. It seeks wealth and luxury. (See 1 Ne. 13:7–8.)
3. It is characterized by sexual immorality. (See 1 Ne. 13:7.)
4. It has excised plain and precious things from the scriptures. (See 1 Ne. 13:26–29.)
5. It has dominion over all the earth, among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people. (See 1 Ne. 14:11.)
6. Its fate is to be consumed by a world war, when the nations it incites against the Saints war among themselves until the great and abominable church itself is destroyed. (See 1 Ne. 22:13–14)  (see https://www.lds.org/ensign/1988/01/warring-against-the-saints-of-god?lang=eng).

This scholarship fundamentally changed my understanding of the term “great and abominable church” as used by Nephi. Frankly, it is simply the tip of the iceberg of what Brother Robinson explains. Again, I encourage you to study the full article. I believe it is fundamental to understanding what Nephi writes regarding his vision and subsequent writings regarding the latter-days in which we live.