Nephi continues to rail against the sins of the future churches who propose to teach the way of the Lord, but which have become corrupted. In verse 11, he says that they “have all gone out of the way.” This may allude to Isaiah 3:12, quoted in 2 Nephi 13:12: “they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths.”
Nephi contrasts the pride and worldliness of the churches with the more egalitarian principles that he is teaching his people.
A mention should be made of the harsh condemnation that Nephi extends to the churches. This should not be taken as a blanket condemnation of all churches, nor of all non-Latter-day Saint leaders of churches. Prophecy often has a tendency to condense grays into the more easily understood blacks and whites. These condemnations should be seen as a condemnation of the principles that are antithetical to God’s true gospel, not as a suggestion that no other church might contain good, or truth.