And after they go forth by the hand of the twelve apostles of the Lamb, from the Jews unto the Gentiles, thou seest the formation of that great and abominable church, which is most abominable above all other churches; for behold, they have taken away from the gospel of the Lamb many parts which are plain and most precious; and also many covenants of the Lord have they taken away. 1 Nephi 13:26
And every nation which shall war against thee, O house of Israel, shall be turned one against another, and they shall fall into the pit which they digged to ensnare the people of the Lord. And all that fight against Zion shall be destroyed, and that great whore, who hath perverted the right ways of the Lord, yea, that great and abominable church, shall tumble to the dust and great shall be the fall of it. 1 Nephi 22:14
This great and abominable church prophesied in 600 BC:
- will remove parts of the Bible
- will remove certain laws and covenants
- will go to war with itself
- is run by Satan
He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Matthew 16:15-18
Jesus told Peter that if the church believe Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God then hell could never prevail against the church.
Will the church over the last 2,000 years have its problems and disagreements? YES, it's run by human beings and human beings are corrupt, but the true test of the validity of the Gospel is that while it stumbles at times, the church remains intact while other religions have come and gone.
This great and abominable church cannot be the Christian church.
NOTE: The word "church" in Greek is ekklesia and it does not appear until the New Testament time. Nephi would not know that word in 600 BC.