2008 Gospel Doctrine Lesson Lesson 10: “He Inviteth All to Come unto Him”, Book of Mormon Class Member Study Guide, 7

Link to Lesson

Comments

[Stan]

2 Nephi 28 talks about the "great and abominable church," which some readers have interpreted very literally to refer to a specific religion. But when you read it in the context of the chapter, I think it is pretty clear that what is being referred to here is not a specific religion, but instead any doctrine or teaching or way of life that is opposed to or leads away from the doctrine of Christ. The "great and abominable church" is really a belief system (or lack thereof) based on any false doctrine, such as those outlined in chapter 28, including:

--denying the Holy Ghost (verse 4)
--denying that God can speak to us today (verse 5)
--denying that there can be miracles today (verse 6)
--attempting to justify our sins can harm us and others (verse 8)

I think this section makes it clear that even those who believe they are followers of Christ by virtue of their membership in a particular religion (including the LDS Church) instead could actually belong to the "great and abominable church" by virtue of their beliefs. Verse 21 describes how Satan could pacify people by telling them all is well in Zion, and who would he say this to other than an inhabitant of Zion, or a member of the church? Being a follower of Christ is more than merely being a member of a particular church. It involves also having correct beliefs and following them.

An example of an area where many of us may fail to be followers of Christ is found in verse 13, which describes people who "rob the poor because of their fine sanctuaries; they rob the poor because of their fine clothing..." This verse suggests that merely by being wealthy and using that wealth to purchase and wear "fine clothing" and living in a "fine sanctuary" (aka an excessively large and expensive home) -- we actually rob the poor!

This is why the word of God is so critical in our lives (1 Nephi 15:24). This is why being open to the spirit and to its teaching as we learn "here a little and there a little" is so critical (2 Nephi 28:30). Why searching the scriptures diligently is critical (Alma 17: 2-3). Why learning to judge doctrines by the light of Christ (which leads men to believe in and follow Christ) is such an important concept (Moroni 7: 1-19). And why having and listening to the modern prophet is so critical in helping us understand when and how to be followers of Christ (D&C 21: 1-7).

2 Nephi 29:4-14 describes why it is important to read the Book of Mormon. The most critical reason appears to be described in verse 11, which says that we will be judged out of the books that shall be written. In other words, he has given us all these scriptural books as guides and tools to help us learn how to follow Jesus, and our failure to study these things diligently is almost certainly going to mean that we are going to end up NOT properly understanding how to do this and end up, at least in part, pursuing a life based on some false doctrines.