W of all the earth
I'm reading in 2 Nephi chapter 10, one verse at a time, because I have a raging headache and didn't sleep as solidly as I would have liked. One verse at a time is as much as I can handle this morning, right?
So in verse 3 Jacob says Christ will come among the Jews, "among those who are the more wicked part of the world; and they shall crucify him--for thus it behooveth our God, and there is none other nation on earth that would crucify their God."
4 "For should the mighty miracles be wrought among other nations they would repent, and know that he be their God."
5 "But because of priestcrafts and iniquities, they at Jerusalem will stiffen their necks against him, that he be crucified."
Jacob goes on to say that because of their iniquities they will suffer plagues and be destroyed and scattered all over the world. But when they return to Christ, then God has covenanted to restore them "unto the lands of their inheritance." (verse 7)
I pondered on priestcrafts; elsewhere in the Book of Mormon priestcraft is defined as being paid to preach, such that the payment becomes the motivator, not saving souls. (2 Nephi 26:29) We've seen corporations and individuals try to feed us horrible filth, because they can earn more money from encouraging addiction, titillating and sensational news, time-wasting, colorful, flashy, keeping us busy but not leading to God.
Jacob says this land, the Americas, will be a land of liberty, with no kings, fortified against all other nations. In verse 13 he adds, "And he that fighteth against Zion shall perish, saith God."
But Zion is not everybody in this land. Zion is defined in scripture as "the pure in heart," which is a much smaller group of people. (Moses 7:18) Christ's real followers are not perfect, far from it; they put their faith in one who can help them become pure in heart. But we tend to conflate Zion with America, and no kings with having a president, without taking into account our own behavior.
In verse 15 God says He must destroy "the secret works of darkness, and of murders, and of abominations."
16 "Wherefore," (wherefore means because, so because God must destroy wickedness), "he that fighteth against Zion, both Jew and Gentile, both bond and free, both male and female, shall perish; for they are they who are the whore of all the earth; for they who are not for me are against me, saith our God."
I read verse 16 several times, thinking it through: he that fighteth against Zion (Zion=pure in heart), whoever it is that is fighting, whether the opponents of God are Jew or Gentile or slave or free or male or female, doesn't matter: if they're fighting against God, or against the work of God, then they must be destroyed.
Alternately, also, and besides: he that fighteth against Zion, whoever it is that is pure in heart, whether those on the side of God are Jew or Gentile or slave or free or male or female, doesn't matter: he that fighteth against the pure in heart (and I would include he that fighteth against those genuinely trying to become pure in heart, since God forgives generously and lets people try again and again), he shall perish.
"For they (the people fighting against the pure in heart) are they who are the whore of all the earth; for they who are not for me are against me, saith our God." (verse 16)
I've heard the phrase, "whore of all the earth", multiple times in scriptures, and it's never been explained. In context it seems to mean those whose focus is on sexual sin, or those who want wealth and power and sex and who hurt others to get these things. But when I read it today, the meaning changed in my mind.
God made this earth so we could live on it, not permanently, but long enough to gain a body and to gain experience of both good and bad, and then to decide whether we will do good or do bad, whether we will choose to hurt people or help people. God knew we would do badly and He made a plan for us to both gain the necessary experience and be redeemed from our bad choices, if we choose to accept redemption. He's not forcing us to repent; he offers it freely, without making us pay money for it. But it's not free, in the sense that we can't just say the name of God and be saved. We have to choose to follow Him, and show to Him that we're trying to change. We don't have to be successful at making all the changes. We do have to want to repent, want forgiveness, and choose to forgive others. We show our willingness by taking action: by asking God for forgiveness, by changing our behavior as best we are able, and repenting and trying again every day. It's very much a work in progress, never completed in this life.
We're here together to give each other experience: the child who clobbers his friend to see what happens, is not condemned. Hopefully the adults around him teach him not to clobber people. The adults who clobber each other are held responsible by God for their choices, and God takes into account the circumstances.
Where "the whore of all the earth" comes in, is those people who actively work to undermine God's plan of happiness. There is real joy in forgiving and being forgiven, and there are people who don't want that for you. The desire for payment rather than Godliness, the desire for wealth, power, position, the desire to cause and increase anger, the desire to war and invoke wars, the desire to prevent people from seeing each other as children of a loving and merciful God, these are the desires of the whore of all the earth.
There is a power opposing God. That power wants to sour the whole experience of being on earth, because he can't have it. Satan does not have a physical body and cannot get one; he will never have the experience of loving someone wholly and forever, physically and mentally. Rather than leaving us to God, Satan envies us, hates us, persuades us to hurt each other more. There are people who serve Satan's ends without ever recognizing that he exists, just as there are people who are pure in heart who don't know Jesus Christ. The action is louder than the stated belief.
You and I get to choose who we will follow, who we will try to be like. We all start out children of God, and all different: age, size, gender, color, circumstances, education, opportunities, ancestry, nationality, interests, strengths, weaknesses. The promise of God is that Zion, the pure in heart, the people trying earnestly to love and help each other, will be blessed above measure, in all things closer to God. And those who fight against the pure in heart will be destroyed. (2 Nephi 10:13)
We don’t have to fight each other. We don’t have to argue or hate or tear down each other. We do need to defend ourselves, but that’s not the same thing; if our enemies sue for peace and lay down their arms, we need to let them. We need to choose not to flare up in anger first, but seek calm and try to understand and come to agreement, if possible, without fighting. God will do the destroying; elsewhere He says, “Vengeance is mine and I will repay.” (Romans 12:19) Let go of anger and let God work.
