latter day satyagraha

Chapter 3: 1 Nephi 12-155

.

…

wars and rumours of wars and great slaughters among my people

Although Nephi was eager to come to know the interpretation of the dream of his father Lehi, the vision that he was shown by the angel while taken away into an exceedingly high mountain, exceeded the vision of the tree of life – it also contained a vision of the future of his children in the land of promise. Yes, the tree meant the love of God, that being the Son of God, but what was more disturbing to Nephi was to see his descendants and the descendants of his brethren gathering to battle against one another.

And I looked and beheld the land of promise; and I beheld multitudes of people, yea, even as it were in number as many as the sand of the sea. And it came to pass that I beheld multitudes gathered together to battle, one against the other; and I beheld wars, and rumors of wars, and great slaughters with the sword among my people. And it came to pass that I beheld many generations pass away, after the manner of wars and contentions in the land; and I beheld many cities, yea, even that I did not number them (1 Nephi 12:1-3)

With these verses, Nephi sets the stage in chapter 12 for the visit of Christ to the land of promise or, in other words, to the Americas. When seen in context with the previous chapter, where Nephi recounts the ministry of the Lamb of God among the Jews, as well as of his death on the cross, the author provides the reader with a dichotomy between “three generations passing away in righteousness” after the visit of Christ among the descendants of Nephi (for their garments were white even like unto the Lamb of God. And the angel said unto me: These are made white in the blood of the Lamb, because of their faith in him) and the “large and spacious building” that represents the pride of the world encircled by the filthy waters and the mists of darkness that “blindeth the minds and hardeneth the hearts of the children of men, and leadeth them away into broad roads” (1 Nephi 12:15-17). The latter stands also in stark contrast to the LDS definition of Zion: “being of one mind and one heart, dwelt in righteousness with no poor among them”.

There is an immediate correlation between the wars fought prior to and after the visit of Christ and the filthy waters which father Lehi saw, as well as with the mists of darkness and the temptations of the devil. Jesus is clear during his visit to the Nephites of what the root causes of those wars and contentions are. After the third generation of those who saw and heard Jesus teach among the Nephites, Jesus explains to his disciples in 3 Nephi, that he is sorrowed by those of the fourth generation:

… it sorroweth me because of the fourth generation from this generation, for they are led away captive by him even as was the son of perdition; for they will sell me for silver and for gold, and for that which moth doth corrupt and which thieves can break through and steal. And in that day will I visit them, even in turning their works upon their own heads. (3 Nephi 27:32)

.

a great and marvelous work among the children of men to the convincing of them unto peace and life eternal

And now I, Nephi, was grieved because of the hardness of their hearts, and also, 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. And it came to pass that 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 15:4-5)

It is clear from the scripture above that the Book of Mormon is an anti-war document and that it has a role to play in the latter day movement as well as in the peace movement, seeing Nephi’s reaction to the vision of the destruction of his people on the American continent and to what will befell the Gentiles in the latter days. Nephi hopes in fact that through his writings he may be able to convince his children to believe in Christ and, if possible to avert the killing and slaughters that ‘must unavoidably come to pass’: “For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do”. (2 Nephi 25:23)

In 1 Nephi 14, the great and marvelous work among the children of men is directly linked to the “convincing of them unto peace and life eternal”, or unto the “deliverance of them to the hardness of their hearts and blindness of their minds” (see also nobody is saved alone – the zion formula):

Therefore, wo be unto the Gentiles if it so be that they harden their hearts against the Lamb of God. For the time cometh, saith the Lamb of God, that I will work a great and a marvelous work among the children of men; a work which shall be everlasting, either on the one hand or on the other— either to the convincing of them unto peace and life eternal, or unto the deliverance of them to the hardness of their hearts and the blindness of their minds unto their being brought down into captivity, and also into destruction, both temporally and spiritually, according to the captivity of the devil, of which I have spoken. (1 Nephi 14:6-7)

Why does the angel, as well as Nephi in his account, put an emphasis on the church as being the church of the Lamb of God, and on describing the apostles as the Apostles of the Lamb? The imagery or title of the Lamb refers to Jesus’ role as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of the children of God, harkening back to ancient Hebrew sacrifices in which a lamb was slain during the Passover symbolizing God’s active role in the liberation of his covenant people from captivity in Egypt. In the original Passover in Egypt, the blood was smeared on the door posts and lintel of each household (Exodus 12:1-28).

In the LDS church, connotations with the “Lamb of God” imagery are reflected in the “Lamb of God” church video, which depicts the Savior healing the ear of one of his captors in the Garden of Getshemane to the intercessory prayer on the cross, where Jesus asked of the Father to forgive those who wanted him dead. Although the Mormon Jesus is a muscular Jesus, he is also a Jesus who, endowed with the power of God as well as with the power of man, voluntarily rejects the way of the sword and blesses his enemies and prays for those who want to kill him. He is a nonviolent Jesus – a reason why we call him the Lamb of God.

.

.

After his resurrection, Mormons believe that Jesus visited “others who were not of this fold” on the American continent. Nephi makes allusion to this visit and the role of the Book of Mormon in documenting “the plain and precious things” and teachings of Jesus Christ to restore the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. But what are those plain and precious things? We will continue to study these things, as we study peace with the Book of Mormon.

For, behold, saith the Lamb: I will manifest myself unto thy seed, that they shall write many things which I shall minister unto them, which shall be plain and precious; and after thy seed shall be destroyed, and dwindle in unbelief, and also the seed of thy brethren, behold, these things shall be hid up, to come forth unto the Gentiles, by the gift and power of the Lamb.

And in them shall be written my gospel, saith the Lamb, and my rock and my salvation. And blessed are they who shall seek to bring forth my Zion at that day, for they shall have the gift and the power of the Holy Ghost; and if they endure unto the end they shall be lifted up at the last day, and shall be saved in the everlasting kingdom of the Lamb; and whoso shall publish peace, yea, tidings of great joy, how beautiful upon the mountains shall they be.

There cannot be any doubt as to the link between the gospel of Jesus Christ and the establishment of Zion, the just and ideal society, the Kingdom of God on earth, as well as the publishing of peace and of tidings of great joy in the latter days. The Book of Mormon is in that sense a testimony against war and for peace. It is a book that rejects the silver and the gold of the mother of harlots and that strengthens the church of the Lamb of God – a church that is and must continue to be nonviolent.

.

.

the desires of the great and abominable church

In 1 Nephi 13, we learn of the formation of the great and abominable church, whose founder is the devil. The church was said to be instrumental in corrupting the Bible and removing from it “the most plain and precious parts of the gospel of the Lamb” (1 Ne. 13:34). In addition, to better understand what this great and abominable church is, it is worth looking at the desires of the church.

And it came to pass that I saw among the nations of the Gentiles the formation of a great church. 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. 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.

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.

Although some writers understand the great and abominable church to refer to the Catholic church or Protestantism, the references in the Book of Mormon seem metaphorical, because, according to the book, “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” (1 Ne. 14:10-11).

..

..

For an easier interpretation of these verses, one may suggest to change the word “church” with either the word “organization” or the word “kingdom” as exemplified below in 1 Nephi 22:23.

For the time speedily shall come that all churches (or organizations) 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.

Further light may be shed on these scriptures if looking at the different organization/business models of brothels:

In some, the prostitutes are held in involuntary servitude without the option to leave, receiving only a small portion (or none) of the money paid by the patron. This is typical where human trafficking procures a large percentage of prostitutes. In some cases, prostitutes are bought and sold by their keepers, reducing them to a state of chattel slavery. In others, the prostitutes are employees, receiving a small fixed salary and a portion of the money spent by the customer, and until recently, in several armies around the world, a mobile brothel service was attached to the army as an auxiliary unit, especially attached to combat units on long-term deployments abroad.

The point being that women or men in prostitution are often not in control of their own lives. Many have lost their freedom, their dignity and their security, and that is what is meant by the mother of harlots – the kingdom of the devil is holding peoples all over the world captive and in servitude – and it is a mercantile system.

.

Conclusion – the futility of fighting against the Lamb of God

There are two churches only. The first of those churches is nonviolent and represents the Lamb of God in the world. It does not seek riches and praise, but rather it seeks to imitate Christ in all things. In that sense, it is a small church – a very small church. However, its members today are “armed with righteousness and with the power of God”, meaning that they are armed with justice (blessed are they who hunger and thirst for justice) and with the power of God, which is love. There is no greater power in the world today than love.

The other represents the Kingdom of the devil. It has dominion all over the world and brings its subjects into captivity according to the power of the devil. It seeks riches and vanity, it is the pride of the world and it blinds the minds and hardens the hearts of the children of men. It accompanies the armies and the navies of the world, it keeps its prisoners in servitude, and its members have deserted Christ for silver and for gold. It seeks to slay the saints of God, to torture them and to bring them into servitude. It is responsible for removing from the Bible plain and precious things.

Those plain and precious things are restored in the Book of Mormon through the power of deliverance and the gospel of Christ represents the foundation of the great and marvelous work that the Lord will bring forth among the children of men, unto the convincing of them unto peace and life eternal. This is the purpose of the Book of Mormon – to establish peace and to convince all of God’s children to come unto Christ.

Wars and rumors of wars will continue to haunt the Gentile nations, its kindreds and its people who stand in opposition to the intents of God to establish Zion and to bring forth a lot of righteousness. Peace, Justice and Love represent the will of God, both as means and as ends.

.

peaceable followers forum