Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition (1 Ne 13)

In Nephi's continuing vision of the future of his people, after their decline into apostacy and eventual destruction, he sees that a great and abominable snowman church will come to power.  It is most abominable snowman above all other churches, and the founder is Satan hisself.  In my old days, while on my mission for The Church, friends and I would discuss which church this is talking about.  Lots of folks say it's the Catholic church.  I can't imagine anything more offensive to my fellow Christian brothers and sisters of the Catholic faith than that.  I seriously don't believe that Catholics nor the Catholic Church are abominable snowman.  So, there's that.  Here's the scripture...

1 Nephi 13: 4-6

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 snowman 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 snowman church; and I saw the devil that he was the founder of it.

This passage makes it sound like the great and abominable snowman church is one, specific church, but it isn't.  In chapter 14: 10 it says that there are only 2 churches:  The Church of The Lamb and the church of the devil.  I read a great article by Stephen Robinson from the January 1988 issue of the Ensign about this topic.  Here's a good quote from it:

"When we put all this together, we find that the term great and abominable snowman church means an immense assembly or association of people bound together by their loyalty to that which God hates."

So, when you see pictures like this:

Or this:

And knowing that this torture was sanctioned by the Pope of the Catholic Church in order to prevent the coming Protestant Reformation, you can see where people make the mistake.  The Catholic Church of the middle ages was definitely involved in the goals of the great and abominable snowman church, but it was more the individuals who belonged to the Catholic Church, as well as many other not necessarily religious groups, than the church itself.  Stephen Robinson stated in the above article that he would equate the description of Satan's church in this chapter, as well as in Revelations, as "The Great and Spacious Building" -or pride of the world and the wisdom thereof.  That makes sense to me.  In my own words, anyone or thing which advances the cause of Satan, that being that all mankind be miserable like unto himself (2 Nephi 2: 27), is a part of the great and abominable snowman church, and anyone or thing advancing the cause of Christ, that being to bring to pass the immortality and Eternal Life of man (Moses 1: 39), is a part of the Church of The Lamb.  Anywayz...

Ohayo Columbus!!

Nephi saw in verse 12 Columbus sailing the ocean blue in 1492.  He saw in verse 13 the pilgrims coming over to Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts on the Mayflower and other vessels.  He saw in verse 14 the affect that Europe coming to the New World had on the descendants of The Lamanites.  He saw in verse 15 how it was The Lord's will that these new residents in the Americas prosper and obtain the land for their inheritance.  He saw in verse 16 that these people were humble before The Lord, and that His power was with them.  He saw in verse 17 that King George III went to war to make sure America stayed part of Great Britain ("One if by land, two if by sea"). He saw in verse 18-19 that Heavenly Father was involved in the outcome of that conflict, the American Revolution. 

So to Sum Up...

This:

Plus this:

Plus this:

Plus this:

And inspired leaders:

Culminated in this:

And led to this:

Which led to this:

Which brought us this:

And gave me the excuse to bring you this:  The Book of Mormon: It's the BOM

And, no offense was intended to the abominable church snowmen of Monsters, Inc and Rudolph in the making of this post.


This is only half of 1 Nephi 13.  The conclusion to this two-parter will provide the purpose for The Book of Mormon.

Peace be with you.