What 2 Nephi 28 Tells Us

            The collective membership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has been cursed for the majority of the church’s existence. The Lord first warned the church that it was under his condemnation for treating lightly the message contained in the Book of Mormon in 1832 (See D&C 84:54-58). Ezra Taft Benson reminded the church of this condemnation in 1989 and Gordon B. Hinckley challenged the members to all read the Book of Mormon again in 2005. However, that curse still has not been rescinded and with good reason: The church does not understand the warnings contained in the book or recognize that the warnings are specific for all Mormons.

            As many members will agree, the book was written for our day, but that is not all; because the records in the book focus on the Lord’s covenant people in the last days, they are also warning the people to not fall into the same traps that the Nephites did. These include polygamy, idolatry, pride, the taking of oaths, the unrighteous influence of lawyers and attorneys, the dangers of wicked rulers, the Lord’s stance on offensive wars, and many others. But the main theme I wish to focus on this time is the collective warnings in 2 Nephi 28 and Mormon 8 wherein Nephi and Moroni warn about the conditions of churches in the last days. The official church interpretation assumes that these churches refer to other Christian faiths, but the writers in the Book of Mormon paid almost no attention to them. Since the book was written to, for and about the Lord’s restored church, it is warning us about what would happen to that same church.

            In order to help the readers to better understand just how the warnings in these two chapters apply to the Mormon Church and not necessarily other Christian faiths, I will proceed to do a verse-by-verse commentary of the two chapters. Due to the lengths of each chapter, I’ll be separating the commentaries into two posts.

2 Nephi 28

 1 And now, behold, my brethren, I have spoken unto you, according as the Spirit hath constrained me; wherefore, I know that they must surely come to pass.

            While indirect, this is the first reference in the Book of Mormon that applies the teaching in D&C 100:6, “For it shall be given you in the very hour, yea, in the very moment, what ye shall say,” as Nephi is teaching his people exactly what the spirit tells him at that very moment. His brother Jacob and Samuel the Lamanite specifically mention this application later on. Also as Nephi has just finished quoting Isaiah, he is adding his second witness to Isaiah’s words.

 2 And the things which shall be written out of the book shall be of great worth unto the children of men, and especially unto our seed, which is a remnant of the house of Israel.

            Of course “the book” refers to the coming forth of the Book of Mormon as that is the prophecy from Isaiah that Nephi just quoted. It will be a great worth to the children of men due to its teachings of God and teaching the descendants of the Lamanites that they are of the house of Israel as Mormon later says in Mormon 7:2. However, because of free agency there would be no guarantee that the Lamanites would accept the record. When Joseph Smith sent Oliver Cowdery, Parley P. Pratt and others on a mission to the Lamanites, they had more success in Kirtland, Ohio than with the Native Americans.

 3 For it shall come to pass in that day that the churches which are built up, and not unto the Lord, when the one shall say unto the other: Behold, I, I am the Lord’s; and the others shall say: I, I am the Lord’s; and thus shall every one say that hath built up churches, and not unto the Lord—

            Here is the first instance wherein reading at face value will cause one to interpret these churches as other Christian faiths who were claiming to be the Lord’s true church at the time of Joseph Smith’s first vision. However, the wording implies that the churches won’t be built up until after “that day” of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. The Catholics, Protestants, Baptists, Methodists, etc. all already existed prior to that time. The alternate interpretation of this relates to the various split branches of the Church of Christ after Joseph Smith’s death. The Utah branch, the Strangites, the Reorganized Church, and numerous others all claim to be the Lord’s church.  However the foundations of their claims all stem from the original succession crisis after Joseph Smith’s death and not from the desire to keep the baptized members united under the order established by God.

 4 And they shall contend one with another; and their priests shall contend one with another, and they shall teach with their learning, and deny the Holy Ghost, which giveth utterance.

Just in the recent October 2011 General Conference, M. Russell Ballard supported this notion by denying any relationship to the Fundamentalist LDS church while laying claim that the Utah LDS church was the “one true” church. Conference time is also a wonderful example wherein the church leaders “teach with their learning, and deny the Holy Ghost,” as every talk must be pre-approved and heavily edited well in advance. The talks are not given by the spirit but, for most of the speakers, are read from a teleprompter while the messages themselves are often the speakers glorifying themselves over their worldly accomplishments.

This is also very prevalent in weekly church meetings as well. Lessons are dictated by a manual written through a top-down correlation process and teaching by the spirit is heavily discouraged. In some cases, Sacrament Meeting talks are no better as not only are people given assigned topics, but in many cases those topics/talks end up just being re-hashed versions of recent Conference talks.

 5 And they deny the power of God, the Holy One of Israel; and they say unto the people: Hearken unto us, and hear ye our precept; for behold there is no God today, for the Lord and the Redeemer hath done his work, and he hath given his power unto men;

            I’m going to be blunt: The church members worship “the brethren” as gods. The members believe that the church leaders hold all of the power and authority of God in their hands while discounting God themselves. The members believe in the philosophy of “the prophet will never lead you astray” and that all of the brethren are “prophets, seers and revelators” despite having never shown the fruits of such callings or the fact that the Apostle Paul taught that an apostle is greater than a prophet.

 6 Behold, hearken ye unto my precept; if they shall say there is a miracle wrought by the hand of the Lord, believe it not; for this day he is not a God of miracles; he hath done his work.

The first part of the sentence refers back to the learned man telling people to only listen to him. The members rely on the church leaders to tell them what to do for everything and, when engaged in conversation, will tell people that their opinion on something is based on “what the leaders have said on the issue.” The members also believe that the words of the brethren spoken over the pulpit are not only revelation or scripture, but automatically supersede any previous revelation despite Joseph Smith’s teaching that true revelation will never contradict a previous revelation. Members are also told to never seek for information from anything outside of “official” church channels.

The rest of the sentence refers to the fact that the gifts of the spirit are no longer manifest within the church. Early church history is full of records of members and apostles healing the sick, casting out devils, Parley P. Pratt restoring sight to a blind lady, and even accounts of raising the dead. Accounts of these miracles are not given today because they simply no longer happen. The spirit of the Lord is not with the LDS church!

There is also one more connotation to this verse that relates back to the members believing that only the church leaders can perform miracles based on their elite positions. If someone called of God was to perform a miracle by the spirit, the membership would claim that he is a deceiver simply for the reason that he comes from outside of the established church hierarchy. Abinadi and Samuel the Lamanite proved themselves to be called of God because the entire hierarchy at the time was corrupt and someone from outside needed to call them to repentance.

 7 Yea, and there shall be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die; and it shall be well with us.

            The church’s teachings towards the members do not focus on the doctrine taught by Christ: repent and be baptized. Members are kept pacified with various ward activities and other events such as camps, pioneer treks, and parades that showcase the wealth, grandeur and pride of the corporate church without actually spreading the gospel or preaching Christ’s doctrine. The members of the church are making the same mistakes that the Jews at the time of Jesus Christ did: they believe that they, as the covenant people, are infallible and the Lord will always side with them regardless of their own wickedness. In addition, the church keeps members so busy with callings, assignments, and obligatory meetings that the people do not contemplate the teachings and meaning of the scriptures and become puffed up in all that they do. The carrot of earning a “calling and election made sure” reward from fallible leaders, causes members to also be lulled into false security. 

 8 And there shall also be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry; nevertheless, fear God—he will justify in committing a little sin; yea, lie a little, take the advantage of one because of his words, dig a pit for thy neighbor; there is no harm in this; and do all these things, for tomorrow we die; and if it so be that we are guilty, God will beat us with a few stripes, and at last we shall be saved in the kingdom of God.

            This is one of the LDS “scripture masteries” that gets touted in seminary. Of course the official interpretation is that the church believes that other faiths and the world will use methods of deceit and false doctrines to lure people away from the gospel or that people will be saved by just professing to believe in Jesus. Of course while people have these kinds of attitudes in the world today, the church needs to look inward on the matter. We have the responsibility and the liability.  And we have been warned since these words apply directly and specifically to us.

            Throughout church history there have been numerous incidents wherein the leadership taught the membership to disregard their original values in a manner of the ends justifying the means. Some of these are the more-commonly known ideas of “lying for the Lord,” blood atonement, and members being encouraged to report the sins of their neighbors. However there are lesser-known practices that are just coming to light such as the church’s participation in the MKUltra mind control program, satanic ritual abuse of children, and other abominations that Nephi foresaw and led him to name the corporate church as the most great and abominable church. The following verses explain why this is the case.

 9 Yea, and there shall be many which shall teach after this manner, false and vain and foolish doctrines, and shall be puffed up in their hearts, and shall seek deep to hide their counsels from the Lord; and their works shall be in the dark.

            This is Nephi’s roundabout way of saying that those who teach these doctrines can be considered to be a part of secret combinations that the Book of Mormon warns so heavily about. In fact, Nephi has already said that secret combinations will exist in the latter days back in 2 Nephi 26:22—and his brother Jacob mentioned them even before that in 2 Nephi 9:9. The corrupt leaders and teachers know what they have done, but they will not come forth and repent of those things. This is because a corrupt leadership that is exposed can try to rally the blindly obedient to side with them, whereas if they came forth and truly confessed, their followers would abandon them and their legacy would be shattered. 

Due to the deceit of the corrupt leaders, members have foolishly taken oaths of secrecy as required in all LDS Temples. This violates the teachings of Christ as he taught us to never take an oath as it comes from evil. Preemptive false teachings and indoctrination inflate egos with the sacredness of the temples. No one dares to question the LDS Temple Masonic rituals, complete with secret handshakes, names, blood oaths, and penalties of death to “suffer my life to be taken” if the secrets are told. The pantomimed actions of slitting the throats, cutting out the hearts and intestines were taken out in 1990 but remain, hidden as penalties still “assumed” today. The vanity of being called to be “gods and goddesses, priests and priestesses” certainly fosters this blind obedience and foolishness. These are, of course, actual quotes from the LDS temple ceremony.

 10 And the blood of the saints shall cry from the ground against them.

            By “saints” Nephi refers to the true followers of Christ that the corrupt church has wronged or even killed in its crusade to maintain the facade over their works of darkness as described in verse 9.  

One example of this comes with the pure words of Ann Eliza Young speaking to us from the dust in her 1875 witnessed account of her life in polygamy as one of Brigham Young’s wives.  Ann Eliza Young wrote, Wife No. 19 or The Story of a Life in Bondage, and despite her ordeal, defended the goodness of the early church before the infiltration of polygamy and the secret combinations of Masonry.  Ann’s words confirm the evil teachings of Blood Atonement which mocks the atonement of Christ and the “abomination” of polygamy (Jacob 2:23-24, 3) which never made any woman happy as expounded over the pulpit by both Jedidiah Grant and Brigham Young (Journal of Discourses, 4:49-51, 215-221). 

 11 Yea, they have all gone out of the way; they have become corrupted.

            All means all. There are no exceptions to what Nephi says here. Thus it’s safe to say that the LDS church is just as corrupt as any other established religion. He goes on to further explain why in verse 12.

 12 Because of pride, and because of false teachers, and false doctrine, their churches have become corrupted, and their churches are lifted up; because of pride they are puffed up.

            In 1989, Ezra Taft Benson delivered his famous talk on pride. While there are numerous types of pride, the most dangerous of course is the form in which one person feels that they are entitled to have more than the next person. This can be due to wealth, belongings, birth, church position or social status. While the members of the church are prideful in knowing they are of the “one true” church of God, it is again the corrupt leadership and its own pride in being part of the “elite hierarchy” that is the main problem.

Because the leadership is literally placed on a pedestal, there is no doubt that the leaders have big egos in relation to being where they are. According to D. Michael Quinn, David O. McKay absolutely reveled in his “celebrity” status. Even though the leaders are supposed to be the servants, they have flaunted their supposed authority and expected menial tasks of the membership multiple times. This can range from the general authorities expecting preferential treatment at Mormon-run businesses to expecting the members to all stand for them when they enter a room. And if the “brethren” aren’t shown the proper respect, they will retaliate.

 13 They rob the poor because of their fine sanctuaries; they rob the poor because of their fine clothing; and they persecute the meek and the poor in heart, because in their pride they are puffed up.

            Members are expected to pay a full tithe on all of their income regardless of their financial positions, and then aren’t told exactly what that money is used for. This money is used to build chapels, temples, great and spacious buildings, commercial enterprises, and currently a $3+ billion mall in downtown Salt Lake City. Despite the claim to not have a paid clergy, the general authorities each have a “living allowance” paid for by the members despite the fact that they are paid board members/chairmen of companies and have active stock portfolios even after being called. Those members who can’t pay a full tithe are, of course, shunned and told they are “not faithful enough.”

 14 They wear stiff necks and high heads; yea, and because of pride, and wickedness, and abominations, and whoredoms, they have all gone astray save it be a few, who are the humble followers of Christ; nevertheless, they are led, that in many instances they do err because they are taught by the precepts of men.

            A friend of mine said that the stiff necks come from wearing overly-tight neckties and having to look down on the “lowly” church members as they preach from their high places. However, I believe the common necktie is the “flaxen cord” in 2 Nephi 26:22 as the standard dress code for all church leaders and member males is the suit and tie uniform of the world. However, as Nephi says here, there are a few within the corrupt church who are true followers of Christ, but are ignorantly deceived due to the influence of the corrupt leaders above them. It is ironic that in the LDS temple endowment, Satan tells Adam that his religion consists of “the philosophies of men mingled with scripture” and yet this is very much what Nephi implies that is causing the followers of Christ within the church to err.

 15 O the wise, and the learned, and the rich, that are puffed up in the pride of their hearts, and all those who preach false doctrines, and all those who commit whoredoms, and pervert the right way of the Lord, wo, wo, wo be unto them, saith the Lord God Almighty, for they shall be thrust down to hell!

            At this point Nephi stops his elaboration of the conditions of the corrupt church in the last days to tell the people exactly what they can expect from their works of darkness. Interestingly enough, the list of preaching false doctrine, committing whoredoms, and perverting the right way of the Lord are all part of the list of follies and abominations that the LDS church as a whole needs to repent of: masonry, polygamy and altering the Book of Mormon. By saying “wo” three times, he is delivering maximum condemnation to those who are a part of the corruption. 

 16 Wo unto them that turn aside the just for a thing of naught and revile against that which is good, and say that it is of no worth! For the day shall come that the Lord God will speedily visit the inhabitants of the earth; and in that day that they are fully ripe in iniquity they shall perish.

            The first sentence in the verse of course casts condemnation upon those people who reject those who are truth seekers that seek to bring justice upon the corrupt leadership. But, again, because those truth seekers aren’t part of the established hierarchy, they are ignored. Not only are they ignored, but often times cast out, ostracized, slandered, even targeted and labeled as “apostates.” The second sentence in the verse of course refers to the Lord taking action against those who don’t repent, but the Lord will also bide His time in doing so in order to make sure that those who are guilty have been given enough rope to hang themselves.

 17 But behold, if the inhabitants of the earth shall repent of their wickedness and abominations they shall not be destroyed, saith the Lord of Hosts.

            Whereas the Lord will give the unrepentant enough rope to hang themselves with when the time is right, He also always have a window of escape open and available to those who do come and repent.

 18 But behold, that great and abominable church, the whore of all the earth, must tumble to the earth, and great must be the fall thereof.

            Because the corrupt corporate LDS church is the most great and abominable church and the whore of all the earth- as evidenced by their actions through what Nephi said they’ve done in the preceding verses- what he’s saying now is that it is damned beyond repentance. Even if all of the leaders come forth and repent, that will not change the fact that they have committed numerous grievous sins and, in many cases, it is impossible for them to repent because they have no way of making proper restitution to those they’ve wronged simply because many of those people are already dead. When the truth of the corruption of the corporate LDS church comes to light for everyone to see, it will be one of the biggest shake-ups in history.

 19 For the kingdom of the devil must shake, and they which belong to it must needs be stirred up unto repentance, or the devil will grasp them with his everlasting chains, and they be stirred up to anger, and perish;

            When Lucifer- who was Heavenly Mother aka “Father of all lies”- rebelled, she sought to overthrow God and usurp His honor, which is His power (D&C 29:36), and for that she was cast out. Despite that, Lucifer has established numerous false gods to call the people to follow them and they will be saved. Those who follow such teachings and practices are those who consist of “the kingdom of the devil.” And the LDS church is a part of it due to its message of, “follow the prophet, he will not lead you astray,” or in other words, the prophet will save you. The LDS church worships Lucifer!

            When church members begin to wake up and realize just how much the corrupt church has deceived them, often for their entire lives, many of them will cast the church and the gospel aside and end up in the muddy waters of Lehi and Nephi’s vision of the tree of life while those who do wake up but do not throw the baby out with the bath water (i.e.: those who reject the corrupt leadership while still holding to the iron rod) are those who are fully stirred up to repentance. Meanwhile, those who do not awaken at all are the ones still living in deception will be the ones grasped in the devil’s everlasting chains.

20 For behold, at that day shall he rage in the hearts of the children of men, and stir them up to anger against that which is good.

            Lucifer knows that she will be bound during the Millennium and she is not going to take it lightly. I often tell people that Lucifer’s war against Heavenly Father and His followers is the biggest temper tantrum of eternity as it is still ongoing today. Lucifer will do everything to make a last stand and try to gain one final hurrah before the secrets that she has influenced are exposed and truth is shouted from the rooftops, leaving her bound and unable to take any sort of action.

 21 And others will he pacify, and lull them away into carnal security, that they will say: All is well in Zion; yea, Zion prospereth, all is well—and thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell.

            This has been the theme of every General Conference for as long as I can remember. The speakers love to tout the church’s growth and accomplishments while failing to remind them that the church has been cursed for the majority of its existence after the first Restoration. Thus the members are not made aware of the deceit that they live in and are worshipping Lucifer for as long as they do not take action to wake themselves up.  

 22 And behold, others he flattereth away, and telleth them there is no hell; and he saith unto them: I am no devil, for there is none—and thus he whispereth in their ears, until he grasps them with his awful chains, from whence there is no deliverance.

This goes back to what I said regarding the church’s attitude about the ends justifying the means of the leaders’ actions. There are seriously leaders and members within the church who believe that, so long as they are doing what is titled “God’s work,” then they are immune from the consequences of their actions. Meanwhile, Lucifer watches them commit those sins and laughs heartily, knowing she has got them wrapped around her finger.

It should also be noted that federal agencies such as the FBI and CIA love to hire Mormons that have graduated from BYU for the sole purpose that those new recruits will be blindly obedient so long as they believe that they’re doing God’s work. Several church members have also been responsible for some of the most harmful attacks on the civil rights and liberties of Americans in the past decade. The most harmful of these is no doubt the legalization of torture written by church member Judge Jay Bybee and other Mormons in prominent government positions.

 23 Yea, they are grasped with death, and hell; and death, and hell, and the devil, and all that have been seized therewith must stand before the throne of God, and be judged according to their works, from whence they must go into the place prepared for them, even a lake of fire and brimstone, which is endless torment.

            Nephi is being plain and simple here in regards to what awaits those who do not wake up from the deceit of the corrupt church and repent. The Lord will hold them accountable for not seeking His truth and allowing themselves to be lead away; because omission is worse than commission. With the information of the truth readily found for those who seek it, God will not excuse those who do not search simply because “the prophet” said not to. Nephi says more on that in verses 26 and 31.

 24 Therefore, wo be unto him that is at ease in Zion!

            To all church members: Do not allow yourselves to become complacent and think that everything is well with the church! Here Nephi is plainly pronouncing woe upon those with that attitude, because of the circumstances that the members are placed in as explained in the previous few verses.

 25 Wo be unto him that crieth: All is well!

            Gordon B. Hinckley literally fulfilled this scripture in his April 1996 conference talk. The actual words of him saying, “All is well in Zion,” were subsequently edited out of the printed and video versions of the talks. However, many witnesses, including Karen Davis, distinctly remember hearing him say that and the spirit telling them that Hinckley had just fulfilled this verse. In fact, after Gordon B. Hinckley proclaimed the prophetic words of “all is well in Zion” a careful cover-up occurred through video tape and Ensign editing. (You may research another example of this LDS editing phenomena with the significantly altered talk of Seventy member Ronald E. Poelman in the October General Conference of 1984 on http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2600407/posts. However, in Poelman’s case, he was not fulfilling this sort of scripture but rather actually telling the truth that the rest of the brethren didn’t want people to hear.) 

And while the words are no longer literally spoken in General Conferences, the church leaders instill the sense that “All is well” upon the church members. And the members, because they are blindly obedient, believe what they are told simply because “the brethren” said so.

 26 Yea, wo be unto him that hearkeneth unto the precepts of men, and denieth the power of God, and the gift of the Holy Ghost!

            This is a call of condemnation upon those who hearken to the voice of “the prophet” rather than the spirit of God. This is also a chiasm that refers back to verses 5 and 6, thus nothing more needs to be said on the matter.

 27 Yea, wo be unto him that saith: We have received, and we need no more!

            Church members basically refuse to accept anything new unless it comes through the official church channels. Members have been told to stay away from reading the Dead Sea Scrolls, Nag Hammadi scriptures, and other ancient records that have come forth and been translated. I believe that when Lehi’s prophesy of the brass plates coming forth is fulfilled, they will be found by someone outside of the church hierarchy and the church members will reject them for that very reason.

 28 And in fine, wo unto all those who tremble, and are angry because of the truth of God! For behold, he that is built upon the rock receiveth it with gladness; and he that is built upon a sandy foundation trembleth lest he shall fall.

            Here Nephi is speaking to those members who are in the muddy waters. Because not only have they escaped the great and spacious building, they still spurn those who hold to the iron rod. What’s important here is that those in the muddy waters will be angry with both sides because of their own unsure, or sandy, foundation. However, they still do have the opportunity to repent and climb back up to hold to the rod. Finally, those who have always had the pure gospel of Christ as their foundation will be those who awaken to the corrupt church’s deception and receive the truth with gladness rather than anger.

 29 Wo be unto him that shall say: We have received the word of God, and we need no more of the word of God, for we have enough!

            Not only does this refer back to verse 27, but it also carries the attitude of the “All is well in Zion” spoken of by church leaders in Conference. Members are actually content with hearing the same messages repeated over and over every six months without anything new being presented or- God forbid- revealed through the Spirit.

 30 For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have.

            We as humans simply cannot handle too great an influx of information at once. I have even told people that if I had encountered Steve and Karen Davis even a few months before I did (December 2010), I also would have rejected what they’ve taught me as “apostate,” but I had met with other people who were also asking questions and I was able to prepare to receive even more knowledge and, even more importantly, witness their fruits!

This has been God’s approach to teaching people from the beginning: allow them to learn at their own pace, in their own language, and to the degree of their own understanding. Those who hearken to the teachings and continue to search will receive more while those who refuse to learn more are not only damned, but their talents and knowledge will be taken away.

 31 Cursed is he that putteth his trust in man, or maketh flesh his arm, or shall hearken unto the precepts of men, save their precepts shall be given by the power of the Holy Ghost.

            Nephi makes it plain and simple here: Do not listen to “the prophet” or “the brethren” simply because of their hierarchical positions within the church. If any church leader teaches anything contradictory to established scripture and revelation, they are false witnesses and need to be called to repentance. We can only trust their words if they are given by the power of the Holy Ghost and, more importantly, we receive a second witness of their messages.

 32 Wo be unto the Gentiles, saith the Lord God of Hosts! For notwithstanding I shall lengthen out mine arm unto them from day to day, they will deny me; nevertheless, I will be merciful unto them, saith the Lord God, if they will repent and come unto me; for mine arm is lengthened out all the day long, saith the Lord God of Hosts.

            Who are the Gentiles? They are those for whom the Book of Mormon was written. They are those who have been deceived by Lucifer and have fallen into her trap of worshipping her through a dissolved corporation that pretends to be the Lord’s church and thus they will deny the one, true God. They are the members of the church! Nevertheless, Nephi’s final sentence is reassuring in that he is once again reminding the people that while the Lord has given everyone ample time to hang themselves with their own rope, there is always a window open for repentance. He will not stop reaching out to anyone until the day is over and it is His hope that those who wake up to their awful situation will take that outstretched hand.

Conclusion

            I do not claim to be a scholar, but I am a truth seeker and one of those who have erred due to the precepts of men as described in verse 14. I relied heavily on spiritual guidance as I read and re-read this chapter. Every single time I did so I could feel the interpretations of each verse coming into my head. However, I have indeed mentioned numerous specifics examples of the church’s involvement in numerous abominations based upon my own knowledge and research. I invite those who read this to do their own research on the claims I’ve made and seek the answers for themselves. Much of what I learned came from the treasure trove of hidden knowledge at http://www.mormonstruth.org and its various sister sites, but the most comprehensive and extended information can be found there as a starting point.

            While Mormon 8 is a longer chapter in terms of the number of verses, the portion that deals with the conditions of the corrupt church today is only covered near the end. Nonetheless it is the second witness to Nephi’s words in this chapter and my next post/essay will be my commentary for it because of one great important question that Moroni asks to the church; one that offers the other half of the explanation as to why the church has been cursed by God for treating lightly the Book of Mormon.