An angel showed Nephi the future and showed him the formation of a “great” “abominable” “church,” and said it was founded by the devil. The desires of this church would be: gold, silver, silks, scarlets, fine-twined linen and clothing, and many harlots
1 And it came to pass that the ANGEL spake unto me, saying: Look! And I looked and beheld many nations and kingdoms.
2 And the angel said unto me: What beholdest thou? And I said: I behold many nations and kingdoms.
3 And he said unto me: These are the nations and kingdoms of the Gentiles.
4 And it came to pass that I saw among the nations of the Gentiles the FORMATION of a GREAT CHURCH.
5 And the ANGEL SAID unto me: Behold the FORMATION of a CHURCH which is MOST ABOMINABLE ABOVE ALL OTHER CHURCHES, which SLAYETH THE SAINTS of God, yea, and TORTURETH them and BINDETH them down, and YOKETH them with a YOKE OF IRON, and BRINGETH THEM DOWN INTO CAPTIVITY.
6 And it came to pass that I BEHELD THIS GREAT AND ABOMINABLE CHURCH; AND I SAW THE DEVIL THAT HE WAS THE FOUNDER OF IT. (1 Nephi 13)7 And I also saw GOLD, and SILVER, and SILKS, and SCARLETS, and FINE-TWINED LINEN, and ALL MANNER OF PRECIOUS CLOTHING; and I saw MANY HARLOTS.
8 And the ANGEL SPAKE unto me, SAYING: 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. (1 Nephi 13)
He was shown a book of scripture going forth by the hands of that church, and that “covenants,” “plain” and “precious parts” were removed from the Gospel of Jesus:
26 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.
27 And all this have they done THAT THEY MIGHT PERVERT THE RIGHT WAYS OF THE LORD, that they might blind the eyes and harden the hearts of the children of men.
28 Wherefore, thou seest that after the book [Bible] hath gone forth THROUGH the HANDS OF the GREAT and ABOMINABLE CHURCH, that there are MANY PLAIN and PRECIOUS THINGS TAKEN AWAY FROM THE BOOK, which is the book of the Lamb of God. (1 Nephi 13)
The angel said that the Church of the Devil would be in all nations, but so would the Church of God (albeit smaller in number):
3 And that great pit, which hath been digged for them by that GREAT and ABOMINABLE CHURCH, which was FOUNDED BY THE DEVIL AND HIS CHILDREN, that he might lead away the souls of men down to hell—yea, that great pit which hath been digged for the destruction of men shall be filled by those who digged it, unto their utter destruction, saith the Lamb of God;
9 And it came to pass that he said unto me: Look, and behold that GREAT and ABOMINABLE CHURCH, WHICH IS THE MOTHER OF ABOMINATIONS, WHOSE FOUNDER IS THE DEVIL.
10 And he said unto me: Behold there are save TWO CHURCHES ONLY; the one is the church of the Lamb of God, and the other is the CHURCH OF THE DEVIL; wherefore, whoso belongeth not to the church of the Lamb of God belongeth to that GREAT CHURCH, which is the MOTHER OF ABOMINATIONS; and she is the WHORE OF ALL THE EARTH.
11 And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the WHORE OF ALL THE EARTH, and she sat upon many waters; and she had dominion over all the earth, among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people.
12 And it came to pass that I beheld the church of the Lamb of God, and its numbers were few, because of the WICKEDNESS and ABOMINATIONS of the WHORE who sat upon many waters; nevertheless, I beheld that the CHURCH OF THE LAMB, WHO WERE THE SAINTS OF GOD, were also upon all the face of the earth; and their dominions upon the face of the earth were small, because of the wickedness of the great whore whom I saw.
13 And it came to pass that I beheld that the GREAT MOTHER OF ABOMINATIONS did gather together multitudes upon the face of all the earth, among all the nations of the Gentiles, to fight against the Lamb of God.
14 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the power of the Lamb of God, that it descended upon the saints of the church of the Lamb, and upon the covenant people of the Lord, who were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and they were armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory.
15 And it came to pass that I beheld that the wrath of God was poured out upon that GREAT AND ABOMINABLE CHURCH, insomuch that there were wars and rumors of wars among all the nations and kindreds of the earth. (1 Nephi 14)
The question of when the Church of God became corrupted is a good question. The shift appears to have started with the Donation of Sutri.
“The Donation of Sutri was an agreement reached at Sutri by Liutprand, King of the Lombards and Pope Gregory II in 728. At Sutri, the two reached an agreement by which the city and some hill towns in Latium (like Vetralla) were given to the Papacy, ‘as a gift to the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul’ according to the Liber Pontificalis.
“The pact formed the first extension of papal territory beyond the confines of the Duchy of Rome and was the first of two land transfers from Liutprand to the Church of Rome.”
“The LOMBARDIC donations of the first castles in the 8th century, including Sutri, formally intended ‘for the Apostles Peter and Paul’, took place IN RECOGNITION of the CONSOLIDATED POLITICAL ROLE OF THE CHURCH, which the LOMBARD KINGS saw as a POWER in the POLITICAL EQUILIBRIUM of the Italian peninsula.
“That belief was STRENGTHENED BY the traditions of PAPAL PRIMACY and APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION—the PAPACY’S MORAL AUTHORITY had come to be RECOGNIZED even by the Germanic peoples: the FRANKS, the VISIGOTHS of Spain, the BURGUNDIANS, the ANGLO-SAXONS of England, and the LOMBARDS THEMSELVES.” (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donation_of_Sutri)
And, the fraudulant Donation of Constantine.
“The Donation of Constantine (Latin: Donatio Constantini) is a forged Roman imperial decree by which the 4th-century emperor Constantine the Great supposedly transferred authority over Rome and the western part of the Roman Empire to the Pope. Composed probably in the 8th century, it was used, especially in the 13th century, in support of claims of political authority by the papacy.”
“[Pope] Sylvester and his apostolic successors were REWARDED in the DONATION of Constantine with temporal powers never in fact exercised by the historical Bishops of Rome under Constantine.” (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donation_of_Constantine)