We Need to Talk about The Abominable Church

This year my baptism anniversary fell on Columbus Day. I was feeling pretty raw about it.

Some time ago my mother's cousin did our family history work and made a shocking discovery. He was looking for the Spaniard who traveled to Mexico and from whom we inherited our family name, but we never found him. Instead, our line proved to be purely indigenous to the Americas, all the way back to a grown man living in the early 1500s who was renamed Felix Moreno (we have no idea what he was called at birth). Felix Moreno literally translates to Lucky Brown Man. Was that name given in mockery? Did some Europeans think he was fortunate to not be killed, and apparently allowed to reproduce and/or keep his offspring (and not have them thrown to the dogs, as Columbus was known to do)? I was simultaneously proud to be detached* from such atrocities and hurt to think about my ancestors being subject to them.

This was not my favorite chapter

So as I reflected on my Church membership this time I couldn't find peace. I felt dumb, even traitorous to my roots as I felt the weight of 1Nephi13 on me. That chapter has always been there, causing me to ache, and serving as an immediate stumbling block to my progression in reading the Book of Mormon. As you can see from the screenshot above, it's about the "discovery and colonization of America," a scriptural embodiment of Manifest Destiny. Almost everyone who's ever read it understands the following verse to be a reference to Christopher Columbus:  "...and I beheld the Spirit of God, that it came down and wrought upon the man; and he went forth upon the many waters, even unto the seed of my brethren, who were in the promised land." Inspired by God, eh? Divine enslavement, rape, and torture? No, I couldn't get behind this. The chapter heading has a large X on it in my scriptures, encouraging me to look past it.

And yet, I felt impressed to face my stumbling block head on. Then and there. Of course I didn't want to, but the Spirit was nudging me. Plus, if there was any possibility I could bury this issue I thought I ought to go for it. So I did. And it was painful.

I re-read the whole chapter, and as Enoch once said, I "refus[ed] to be comforted... but the Lord said unto [me]: Lift up your heart, and be glad; and look." And verily I say onto you that I did see a few things, but the trick about seeing is that you perceive without understanding. At least at first. What I saw were many chapters in the Book of Mormon about war, and these reports stood as a witness to why God's anger had been kindled. After accepting this I felt permitted, even blessed to cast aside the 1Nephi13 verses that started with "I beheld." (Part of me even wondered if this was Joseph Smith's interpretation of what Nephi saw in a vision.) From there another strong impression came:

The Abominable Church is founded by Satan, the father of lies... and white male supremacy. 

In an instant I became aware of a historical dichotomy, as outlined below:

And you know what? This lines up with 1Nephi13, especially as you focus on the verses spoken by the angel, who instructs Nephi,

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.(1Nephi13:7)

I always thought this was a jab at the early Catholic Church. But having been raised Catholic, I know that the men and women who toiled away at making and preserving illuminated manuscripts, who lived chaste and simple lives, preached the Gospel, and took care of the poor (including animals) did not deserve to be lumped into this group. I understand now that they never were. What I believe these verses want us to comprehend is that white male supremacy thrives on gold and silver obtained by the shedding of innocent blood, and by the bitter fruit of human trafficking ye shall know them. This does well to describe the Inquisition, of which God does not approve. The Inquisition was Satan's counterfeit missionary work.

The angel also asks Nephi to behold the wrath of God, as it rains upon his own brethren (verse 11). In my previous ward I was told this meant the bloody massacre of my people was ordained by God, which bothered me to say the very least. But if you think about it, that's not really how He operates. When Moses needed his people freed, for example, God worked through plagues and finally a destroying angel as a last resort. I am willing to accept that the multitude of diseases European immigrants brought with them could be a form of God's wrath for things well-documented in the Book of Mormon and beyond. Fine. But war is never God's modus operandi. Does he suffer it to be so? Sure, we're even told later on in Mormon 4:5 that "it is by the wicked that the wicked are punished." And why does God permit this? Because being a covenant people does not mean everything you do is blessed by the Lord, rather it means God will often stay His hand because He needs you to preserve or even restore His Word.

In 1Nephi13:29 we read,

And after these plain and precious things were taken away it goeth forth unto all the nations of the Gentiles; and after it goeth forth unto all the nations of the Gentiles, yea, even across the many waters which thou hast seen with the Gentiles which have gone forth out of captivity, thou seest—because of the many plain and precious things which have been taken out of the book, which were plain unto the understanding of the children of men, according to the plainness which is in the Lamb of God—because of these things which are taken away out of the gospel of the Lamb, an exceedingly great many do stumble, yea, insomuch that Satan hath great power over them.

This is a reminder that even though the Gentiles (in and out of the Abominable Church) do terrible things, God must have a level of mercy for them that relates to their actions occurring in a time when His Gospel is not fully on the earth. In other words, they will be judged on an incomplete law. But note here again that this is not saying the Gentiles are inspired as a group in all things, in fact just the opposite. This verse is reminding us that "an exceedingly great" number of white Americans will do awful things, often in His name. This concept is especially hard to grasp for those who believe the USA's origins are entirely divine. And yet...

Credit Arlen Parsa on this thread

Above we see the Founding Fathers, where those who owned and exploited slaves (that's White Male Supremacy in case you missed it) have their faces covered by a red dot. Those who managed not to stumble and held to pure Christianity (which abhors enslavement) were few indeed.

And if the Book of Mormon is written for our day, which I believe it is, then we really ought to think about what the Abominable Church is up to now and who is falling for it. We should seek to identify the false priests who oppress. And oppose white male supremacy. In fact we must.

Right now I feel a good sense of relief from a testimony standpoint, but one of the hardest things lately is sharing my revelations about this chapter with white Mormon Americans who are, "happy for [me]." Happy for just me? Why hasn't this bothered YOU? Are we so accustomed to indigenous people being used and abused that we're cool with planting these pain-inducing verses –for they are easily misused– in their lives and walking away? No. I need white members of the Church to try and feel what I feel, and go about correcting our discourse on 1Nephi13. Think of it as manifesting a new destiny.

*I'm actually equal parts indigenous and Iberian on genetic testing. Life is complex.

The Cycle of Prosperity and Persecution: Where are We Now?

If you had to summarize the Book of Mormon, you'd probably say something about Christ appearing on the American Continent and the many cycles of war and peace upon the land. The people of God are blessed, they prosper, they become prideful, wealth disparities occur, then war ravages them until they reach humility, after which they return to God's favor. Play on repeat.

Right now many members of the Church claim that we are in the war segment of such a cycle. They're saying we're being attacked, persecuted at every turn, not unlike the Mormon pioneers of old. They are using the recent ruling by the SCOTUS supporting marriage-equality as proof of this. Now, me personally, I take that word 'persecution' pretty seriously. Its mention conjures up images of the Saints being forced out of Nauvoo during winter, the slaughter of Muslims in Srebrenica, and a whole host of other terrible tragedies targeting those whose religious beliefs were found unpalatable by the masses. So when this judicial ruling didn't invalidate my marriage, nor prevent me from attending church as I normally do on Sundays, I felt that perhaps our take on this moment in history was perhaps a little off.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all about ensuring religious freedom, I sustain the union of man and woman as divine, and so on. I'm just not so sure that the broadening of civil liberties in America constitutes an assault on all we hold sacred and dear. Admittedly, I'm also a little uncomfortable by all the us vs. them rhetoric I've been hearing from the pulpit lately. I've always liked my testimonies solid and on point, not relying on comparisons to a perceived "other."

What exactly got us into combat-mode?

I think part of it has to do with our (cultural) Mormon identity. We've been the underdog, the peculiar people, the outcast for so long that it's just kinda our thing. And yet, lately we've had several prominent LDS politicians in the spotlight, the name of our unique scripture is plastered across Broadway, our celebrity members shine, and both temple ad meetinghouse growth is booming. Our Church has basically undergone a She's All That moment and perhaps we're afraid to walk across that stage and accept our prom queen crown for fear of losing ourselves.

So instead we're going on the defense, battening down the hatches on everything that makes us unique in this lone and dreary world. Gonna defend that Proclamation so hard your great-grandkids are going to feel nurtured.

Because the other factor I think is at play here is an unwillingness to acknowledge privilege. -- Oh, there's that word again. -- To accept that, all things considered, Latter-day Saints are actually living in the times of plenty is to bring upon ourselves an obligation to do something with our riches. And to be sure, the Church's humanitarian arm has done and continues to do many great things in this regard. But now, if the Book of Mormon is any indication (and I believe that it is), that change is going to have to occur on an individual scale in order to quell the wave of pride that is surely threatening us.

How is this to be done?

Last week, after the SCOTUS ruling, I received a notification about a conference on religious freedom to be held at BYU. I asked on the open forum if there would be discussion of what is currently happening among historically African-American churches, namely that they are under threat of arson. The organization behind the post would not reply to me, but another member of the Church took it upon himself to "inform" me that such churches already have legal protections. (A lot good those laws are doing as 5-6 churches have since gone down in flames.) The discussion then returned to describing a sense of persecution among Church members, especially as they feared loss of tax-exempt status. The take-home message, for me at least, was that we are at war! This is a time to focus inward! But in contrast to that inwardness, a beautiful act was demonstrated by our Islamic brothers and sisters. Despite their own struggles, a group of American Muslims reached out to raise tens of thousands of dollars during Ramadan to rebuild the destroyed churches. Why? First, because charity is pleasing to God, especially as it unites His faithful. Second, these Muslims saw that they were in a position to help those who are literally under attack, specifically African-Americans. In other words, they acknowledged their own wealth (figurative or otherwise) and felt compelled to address a disparity, just as we're admonished to do in the Book of Mormon. I am so grateful for that example, and I hope others look to it, as well.

Closing thoughts...

Am I being ignorant to the threats made to my religious freedom today? That's possible. But what I do know is that playing the victim doesn't empower me. Gratitude does. Seeing where I've been richly blessed gives me a duty to share with others and I find that to be more helpful than being focused on, even paralyzed by fear of persecution. That choice is our to make, no man-made law could ever change that.