From the time of Cain down to the flood, there's terribly little recorded in the Bible or the Pearl of Great Price concerning the manner of how wickedness and abominations ended up prevailing, save that we've been made aware that the roots of this evil sprung from secret combinations/societies starting with Cain.
After Chapter 5, the Book of Moses focuses upon Adam's posterity, upon the experiences of Enoch, and on the preaching of Noah before the flood.
In Genesis chapter 6, however, there are ambiguous references to the vices that were universally prevalent before the flood. Verses 1 through 6 read:"
And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
There's a tremendous amount of speculation concerning what is meant by the above underlined terms: sons of God, giants, and mighty men.
“Sons of God” have been speculated to refer to angels, fallen angels, or “of the council of gods.”
The King James Bible Version term “giants” in this verse translates from the Hebrew term “Nephilim” – which root meaning is the plural of “fallen” or “fallen ones.”
“Mighty men” also has no shortage of interpretations.
There are three books in Apocryphal writings (the books of Jasher, Jubiliees, and Enoch) that also mention Nephilim and “sons of God” and so forth in conjunction with this antediluvian (pre-flood) time frame. Also, there's some mention of these things in the Dead Sea Scrolls. The problem is, there's a tremendous amount of debate and varying conclusions as to what it all means.
Some conclude that this passage refers to fallen angels who got mortal women pregnant, and their offspring were giant men – which, they argue, explains the phrase “There were giants [Nephilim] in the earth in those days; and also after that” – demonstrating how and why giant humans like Goliath came into existence, that they existed both before and after the flood. (How the race of giants managed to survive the flood is up for debate.)
Some argue that the offspring of Nephilim were half-human/half-animal monstrosities; others argue that these “sons of God” were what some people refer to as “watchers” (i.e. the little gray / green colored “alien” beings), and so forth. There's also speculation that these giants (or whatever they were) were the product of DNA experimentation, brought about by secularly-powerful men (famous, well-known, wealthy men), possibly instructed in how to do so by the guidance of “fallen sons of God” (i.e. Satan and his followers). This last theory seems to be the most plausible.
However, the bottom line is this: the Spirit hasn't confirmed any of these theories to me. Therefore, unless someone authorized to do so can make sense of these verses, we are left without a reliable account as to exactly what constituted the abominations, wickedness, apostasy, and degeneration of the antediluvian era just before the flood. According to scripture, this era was so horrendous as to warrant physically removing a massive city of righteous people from the earth (the prophet Enoch and his people), and wiping out all but a handful of those remaining on the earth, approximately 1500 years after Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden of Eden. The era was so evil as to cause the Lord to weep and cry out to Enoch that “among all the workmanship of mine hands there has not been so great wickedness as among thy brethren.” (Moses 7:36)
The antediluvian era will be mentioned again later in this book from the perspective of modern secret societies.
Post Flood
After the flood, the secret oaths and pacts with Lucifer were resumed in every culture and society, starting in Babylon and then to Egypt and other locations where the people split off after the Tower of Babel incident where the people's language was confused. In the Book of Mormon's Book of Ether, the foundation of secret society among the Jaredites is chronicled, which group originally branched off from the Tower of Babel incident. The 8th chapter of Ether gives an account of who resurrected the Satanic oaths and rituals among the Jaredites several generations after they established themselves on the North American continent:
Now the daughter of Jared was exceedingly fair. And it came to pass that she did talk with her father, and said unto him: Whereby hath my father so much sorrow? Hath he not read the record which our fathers brought across the great deep? Behold, is there not an account concerning them of old, that they by their secret plans did obtain kingdoms and great glory?…
And it came to pass that Akish gathered in unto the house of Jared all his kinsfolk, and said unto them: Will ye swear unto me that ye will be faithful unto me in the thing which I shall desire of you?
And it came to pass that they all sware unto him, by the God of heaven, and also by the heavens, and also by the earth, and by their heads, that whoso should vary from the assistance which Akish desired should lose his head; and whoso should divulge whatsoever thing Akish made known unto them, the same should lose his life.
And it came to pass that thus they did agree with Akish. And Akish did administer unto them the oaths which were given by them of old who also sought power, which had been handed down even from Cain, who was a murderer from the beginning.
And they were kept up by the power of the devil to administer these oaths unto the people, to keep them in darkness, to help such as sought power to gain power, and to murder, and to plunder, and to lie, and to commit all manner of wickedness and whoredoms.
And it was the daughter of Jared who put it into his heart to search up these things of old; and Jared put it into the heart of Akish; wherefore, Akish administered it unto his kindred and friends, leading them away by fair promises to do whatsoever thing he desired.
And it came to pass that they formed a secret combination, even as they of old; which combination is most abominable and wicked above all, in the sight of God;
And now I, Moroni, do not write the manner of their oaths and combinations, for it hath been made known unto me that they are had among all people,” (emphasis added)
Notice that this daughter of Jared (who was a multi-generational descendant of the original Jared whom these people were named after) states that the records which the Jaredites brought with them — which had origins in ancient Babylon, gave accounts of secret oaths, pacts, and combinations. It was from these records that these Jaredites were able to pursue creating their own branch of Babylon's ancient secret society. Also, notice how Moroni mentions that the initial members of this combination consisted only of two families, or two households: those of Akish and Jared. This handful of Jaredites formed a secret combination “even as they of old” – and generations later, this secret society was the driving factor of the entire destruction, the wiping out, and the genocide of the Jaredite people."
The Mystery Schools and Mystery Babylon
In the cases of ancient Babylon, Sumeria and Egypt, these civilizations were dominated and ruled by families and men who had not only taken secret Satanic oaths, but also through these oaths they obtained profound arcane knowledge, mathematics, science, technology and various other teachings directly from Lucifer. Additionally, they were educated in manners and techniques in manipulating masses of people, in the human psyche, and taught how to predict and redirect the reactions and choices of the people. Those who were initiated into these groups by blood oaths and obtained these secret teachings referred to themselves as the “adepts,” or experts who considered themselves capable and worthy enough to be entrusted with and utilize this knowledge and power. They saw themselves as highly elite beings, far beyond their lowly human peers. They referred to themselves as “illuminated” or “illumined,” the natural leaders and shepherds of the masses. They also referred to themselves as the “Guardians of the Secrets of the Ages.” All those who were not initiates were considered lesser forms of life than they themselves, no better than beasts of burden who are easily manipulated with a bit of money, or lying, or flattery, or semblance of power (such as public office or academic recognition), or stoking of pride. All such persons were (and still are) referred to as “profane.” These people are suckered, fooled, and coaxed into wittingly or unwittingly carrying out the will and agenda of the initiates.
The adage “knowledge is power” is incredibly true, and such adepts understood that to disseminate any secret knowledge and teachings to the profane would be akin to surrendering their power and influence over them. Due to their highly sensitive nature, most of these teachings were rarely, if ever, written down, despite these civilizations possessing systems of writing. Formal and elaborate ceremonies (and, in some cases, rigorous tests) were established to initiate individuals they considered worthy enough to join their ranks. A system of training and tutoring was established to progress members to higher levels (or degrees) of “illumination,” and also to pass on profoundly hidden knowledge they referred to as “mysteries”. These secret occult teachings and works, and the educational system in which they were passed on have generally been referred to throughout history as the “Mystery Schools.” Throughout history, within nearly every single nation and culture, there has been the establishment of at least one secret mystery school. And in every known instance, even down to today, these mystery schools have been branches of other schools – all of them eventually revealing in their disclosed writings that their practices, philosophies, doctrine, worship, and ceremonies can be traced back to ancient Egypt and Babylon. Each of these schools are, in fact, deeply religious in structure and organization with established roles, hierarchies and duties of members. They are nothing short of branches of an unseen religion – literally the Church of Lucifer – one major branch of which Nephi witnesses in his vision detailed in 1 Nephi, chapters 13 and 14:
And it came to pass that [the angel] said unto me: Look, and behold that great and abominable church, which is the mother of abominations, whose founder is the devil. 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. 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.
- 1 Nephi 14:9-11 – emphasis added
The angel states unequivocally that whosoever is not baptized by authority into the Church of Jesus Christ belongs to (i.e. – is subject to, manipulated by, unwittingly supports) the Church of Lucifer.
The religion of secret societies, the Luciferian doctrine, lies at the core of all these secret mystery schools – and since the times of ancient Egypt and Babylon, it has been referred to (even amongst themselves) as “Mystery Babylon.”
And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.
- Revelation 17:1-6 – written by John the Beloved, the closest of Christ's apostles – emphasis added
One can't help but wonder if the comma between Mystery and Babylon was erroneously added by translators or transcribers. “The inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk.” We are all drunk – all of us. We are in a perpetual stupor under the influence of Mystery Babylon. To become fully aware of the root and permeation of this influence, to awaken to the realization that the entire secular world and all secular and religious institutions, corporations, philosophies, morals and ethics, media outlets, and all religions other than the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints are wholly under the control and manipulation of Mystery Babylon – this is exactly what Moroni meant when he commanded us to “awake to a sense of your awful situation” (Ether 8:24).
Esoteric and Exoteric
It is important to understand the concepts of esoteric and exoteric. They are defined as follows:
- Exoteric – 1) suitable for or communicated to the general public. 2) not belonging, limited, or pertaining to the inner or select circle, as of disciples or intimates. 3) popular; simple; commonplace. 4) pertaining to the outside; exterior; external. Origin: Late Latin exōtericus. Refers to knowledge that is outside of and independent from anyone's experience and can be ascertained by anyone. Relates to "external reality" as opposed to one's own thoughts or feelings. It is knowledge that is public as opposed to secret or cabalistic. It is not required that exoteric knowledge come easily or automatically, but it should be referenceable or reproducible. Antonym: esoteric.
- Esoteric – 1) understood by or meant for only the select few who have special knowledge or interest; recondite: poetry full of esoteric allusions. 2) belonging to the select few. 3) private; secret; confidential. 4) (of a philosophical doctrine or the like) intended to be revealed only to the initiates of a group (example: the esoteric doctrines of Pythagoras.) Origin: Greek esōterikós. Synonyms: abstruse, arcane, cryptic, enigmatic. That which is preserved or understood by a small group or those specially initiated.
In order for the mystery schools to keep secret knowledge hidden from the uninitiated, yet perceivable and fully understandable to the initiated and adepts, everything has both an esoteric and exoteric interpretation. The general public, the “profane,” are fed the exoteric, the myths, the sometimes bizarre or disjointed stories of gods and heroes, and are given simplistic explanations to symbols and symbolism used. However, the initiates and the adepts are provided the esoteric explanations to the symbols and myths – they are given to know exactly what the gods and heroes represent in those strange old stories, because the characters often don't actually represent any kind of person, deity or being at all – they typically represent concepts. Therefore, symbolism becomes a major factor in the worship, religion, beliefs and communication of the adepts of mystery schools. Whatever the general public makes of these exoteric things, whatever conclusion they wish to come to about what the symbols mean, the adepts and initiates of the mystery schools don't care. The use of arcane or strange symbolism is merely a system in which to simultaneously cover up their actual beliefs, secret knowledge, and object of worship from the knowledge of the profane, while providing the ability to communicate the esoteric meanings with other adepts.
Symbolism is used by the Lord to provide a deeper, more visceral meaning to His teachings – such as in parables, in allegories, in visions and dreams, and in comparisons. However in Mystery Babylon, symbolism is used to create layers of deception over the actual esoteric meanings, while also being used as a manner of communicating with other initiates. The “profane” are merely given erroneous and superficial explanations to these things in order to placate or deflect them.