The Prophet Abinadi, Part 4, Conclusion

The Prophet Abinadi, Part 4, Conclusion

“Now the eyes of the people were blinded; therefore they hardened their hearts against the words of Abinadi, and they sought from that time forward to take him.  And king Noah hardened his heart against the word of the Lord, and he did not repent of his evil doings” (Mosiah 11:29).

King Noah chose not to repent after hearing the Lord’s invitation.  Though he may have almost been persuaded, it is more difficult to do what is right when supported by “friends in iniquity” (Mosiah 17:11; 29:22-23).  To trample under-foot the commandments of God is a fearful thing to undertake in solitude, so the coward seeks to be upheld by a support group.

The king and his people had at least a couple of years to think about Abinadi’s initial message (Mosiah 12:1).  Because they “hardened their hearts against my words,” the Lord commanded Abinadi to return again and prophesy to the people (ibid). 

God calls king Noah and his people “this my people” two times (vv. 1, 4).  We tend not to think about them this way when we read and tell the story.  What does it mean that the Lord called them “this my people?”  Does it mean that they were chosen?  What about the people of the kingdom under Zeniff?  Were they a chosen people?  If chosen, and if the Lord’s people, what lessons can we learn from them?  The Lord has also called the latter-day saints “my people” throughout our revelations (D&C 105:6; 119:3; 124:92, and many more).  What does it mean to be the Lord’s people?       

The things covered in a short four-part series on Noah and then on Abinadi only begin to investigate the text in an honest way.  There is much more to the story we have left unexamined. 

Chapters 12, 13, 14, and 15 are far more doctrinally rich than the few verses we’ve looked at in chapter 11.  In chapter 12, Abinadi begins teaching them of Isaiah’s writings, and warns them about setting their hearts on riches.  In 13 we see God’s messenger speak with “power and authority from God,” and how the hand of the Lord protects those who have a divine commission, or “keys,” to bring a message of repentance until they’ve done all that is asked of them.  He teaches them of the Ten Commandments, because they need reminding on what it really means to live them.  Chapters 14 and 15 are rich in Christological content. 

On the whole, this story is a Godsend for us who inherit the book in the latter days.  God desires “this my people” to understand how to come unto Christ and be saved.  Christ warned us to “beware of false prophets,” and has given to us in the Book of Mormon tools by which we may discern true prophets (3 Ne. 14:15).  They preach repentance, just as Christ invited all to repent and come unto him.  Abinadi is a prototype prophet because he is a type of Christ.  What is it that you can learn from him?              

The people of king Noah’s kingdom had not applied their hearts to understanding, and therefore lacked wisdom (Mosiah 12:27).  Shall we not apply our hearts to understanding the great message of the Book of Mormon?

The Prophet Abinadi, Part 1

The Prophet Abinadi, Part 1

“And it came to pass that there was a man among them whose name was Abinadi; and he went forth among them, and began to prophesy, saying: Behold, thus saith the Lord, and thus hath he commanded me, saying, Go forth, and say unto this people, thus saith the Lord – Wo be unto this people, for I have seen their abominations, and their wickedness, and their whoredoms; and except they repent I will visit them in mine anger” (Mosiah 11:20).

Implicit in the phrase “thus saith the Lord” is the idea that the words Abinadi gives the people in his message are not his own but the Lord’s.  He had no need to form the message in his own mind, or to prepare his remarks, because the message was given to him.  He was in fact “commanded” to say the things that he said. 

Notice in this verse that a part of the commandment that came from the Lord to Abinadi was that he use the phrase “thus saith the Lord.” 

“He commanded me, saying, Go forth, and say unto this people, thus saith the Lord…” 

This is a pattern that we see most prolifically in the Old Testament.  The phrase is used there over 400 times by prophet-writers.  Many of our revelations as contained in the Doctrine and Covenants use this phrase. 

The prophets are conscientious and deliberate when attesting to the truthfulness of their message by invoking the name of the Lord.  To use this phrase without authority and without an authentic message from God would be to take the name of the Lord in vain.  This kind of authoritative message, spoken by a messenger who received that message directly from God, is the type of message to which the Lord was referring when he closed his “Preface” to the Doctrine and Covenants:

“What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same” (D&C 1:38).

“It is the same” because his sent servants neither add to, nor do they take from the message that was given to them from the Lord, but deliver it according to the will of the Lord.  We've superfluously applied this verse to mean the Lord will stand by anything that is spoken "in general conference," for instance, or anything that is in the Ensign magazine, or anything the Bishop said, for "whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same."  This is wrong, and the Lord has never promised to stand by all such messages.  The Lord "excuses not" himself.  The philosophies of men, regardless of the calling or office of the man who utters them, and no matter how sincere he may be in his attempts to impart them, cannot save you and do not originate with the Lord.  Any such message is not the same as His "own voice."  God's voice is truth (D&C 88:66).  The sent servant does not fear the consequences of delivering a message of truth because he knows the Lord, and is his friend.  The servant understands that since the Lord excuses not himself, it is not his prerogative to excuse the Lord. 

The Lord is very clear in his message to King Noah’s people that he has seen “their abominations, and their wickedness, and their whoredoms.”  There is nothing that escapes his all-searching eye (Mosiah27:31).  Even the most secretive acts of men are not secret, and will all be revealed.  You have a false sense of privacy that is only illusory.  The day is soon coming when the secret acts of all men will be revealed (D&C 1:1-3).

In mercy, the Lord commissioned Abinadi to bring a message of repentance to the people.  It was a message they were not accustomed to hearing.  Noah’s people enjoyed hearing “flattering” words, because they were able to cloak themselves with a false security in their sinful lives.  Because their minds and hearts were conditioned to believe that “vain and flattering words” were of God, they had a very difficult time recognizing the Lord’s messenger when he preached to them an authentic message.  Because Abinadi preached repentance to them, telling them of their sins, the Spirit of the Lord struck their hearts with dread, being convicted under a consciousness of their guilt.  To them, this feeling was not of God.