Great and abominable church

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In Mormonism , the Great and Abominable Church (also called the Great Whore of all the earth ) is a church mentioned in the Book of Mormon and the Revelations of Joseph Smith . The great and abominable church is used as a synonym for the whore Babylon . This is spoken of in the book of Revelation in chapter 17. Although many Mormons view the Roman Catholic Church as the great and abominable Church, this interpretation is rejected in the official publications of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints .

Use in the Book of Mormon

The main characteristics of the Great and Abominable Church, according to the Book of Mormon, are :

  1. She persecutes, tortures and slaughters the saints of God ( 1 Ne. 13: 5 )
  2. She gathers wealth and luxury ( 1 Ne. 13: 7-8 )
  3. It is characterized by sexual immorality ( 1 Ne. 13: 7 )
  4. She made important and valuable things disappear from the scriptures ( 1 Ne. 13: 26-29 )
  5. She has power over the whole earth, all countries, languages ​​and people ( 1. Ne. 14:11 ) and
  6. Your fate will be decided in a world war. When the nations who incite them to war against the saints fight themselves among themselves. (see 1. Ne. 22: 13-14 )

The Great and Abominable Church is often compared to Babylon. The first five characteristics also apply to Babylon. These are listed in the book of Revelation in chapter 17.

  1. Babylon is drunk with the blood of the saints ( Rev 17.6  EU )
  2. She is known for her great luxury and wealth ( Rev 17.4  EU )
  3. She has no sexual morality ( Rev 17 : 1-2  EU )
  4. She has power over all nations ( Rev 17:15  EU )
  5. Their fate will be decided by the kings who wage war against the Lamb ( Rev 17 : 14-16  EU )

LDS Church publications

An official LDS Church article reports that no church fulfills all of the requirements to be the Great and Abominable Church. Rather, this role has been taken over by various organizations and ideologies.

“It has often been interpreted that the Roman Catholic Church is the Church that was recorded in Nephi 13. This is also untenable because the Catholic Church did not even exist at the time Nephi describes the crimes. In fact, the name Roman Catholic only made sense in NC 1054. From this time onwards it was used to distinguish the Latin-speaking, Western and Bishop of Rome churches from the Eastern, Greek-speaking and Orthodox churches following the Bishop of Constantinople. ... Even if we use the term Catholic for the church that Constantine made the state religion in 313. The New Testament was already widespread at that time. The important and precious texts were already removed. The view that some monks have rewritten the scriptures is unfair and narrow-minded. We owe these monks gratitude that something was secured at all. "

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The Encyclopedia of Mormonism argues similarly . She points out that many Protestants see the Catholic Church as "a great and abominable church". However, this is wrong because the term refers to earlier apostasy in the Jewish and Christian traditions.

In the canon of scripture belonging book Doctrine and Covenants , the "great and abominable church" is called the "Church of Satan".

Other Mormon publications

In the first edition of the Book of Mormon Doctrine by the Apostle Bruce R. McConkie , the Catholic Church is described as the Great and Abominable Church. When the book became known, the apostle had to change this text under pressure from the Church. In the next few editions, only general reference was made to a great and abominable church. Many organizations and people belonged to this.

Individual evidence

  1. Jump up ↑ Doctrine and Covenants Chapter 86: 3
  2. ↑ a b c d Stephen E. Robinson , "Warring Against the Saints of God" , Ensign , Jan. 1988th
  3. ↑ Dennis A. Wright, "Great and Abominable Church" ( Memento of the original from March 19, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Encyclopedia of Mormonism ( Daniel H. Ludlow ed.) (Macmillan: New York, 1992). @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / eom.byu.edu
  4. Jump up ↑ Doctrine and Covenants 18:20
  5. ^ A b Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research , "Book of Mormon / Great and abominable church" .

Further literature