Welcome back, everyone.

This is week 20 of Our Mothers Knew It, and this week we get to go

solidly into the story of Abinadi.

You're going to cover his whole story in this week's chapters.

So you go from Mosiah 11, all the way through Mosiah 17.

And it's awesome.

A good block of study.

Not just for the story itself, a story that's compelling and will get your kids

excited to get into their scriptures, but also for the doctrine that he teaches.

It's just rich and nuanced and full of application for our day.

I think you're going to love this week's study.

For me, one of the things I loved the most about studying

Abinadi was seeing his poise.

I think, I've always loved that talk from Elder Bragg last year where

he spoke about Christ like poise.

And I think you see that in Abinadi this week.

He is just steady and grounded and tethered to a rock that no matter

what is happening around him, whether he's on the streets being grabbed

by people or in front of King Noah's court or even when he's got a church.

You know, bundles of sticks pressed against his skin, he is steady,

and he will get his message out.

I just feel like, when we hear President Nelson talk about grabbing hold of the

power that God wants us to have, that choosing to live our lives differently

so that we can access that power, Abinadi is your example of what that looks like.

Not just in his face that shines out, but in his steadiness amidst all of this.

all of the circumstances around him.

It's just awesome to me.

In fact, I loved in Elder Bragg's talk, he compared Peter and the Savior.

Remember, it's right outside the Garden of Gethsemane.

So you have to almost imagine what the Savior has been through in the last 12,

24 hours and the exhaustion he must feel.

And in that moment when the guards come and Peter cuts off the ear of

the The Savior, in his poise, heals.

I'm sure he could have done a number of other things, but in that moment, he

does what is right and what is needed.

And that is remarkable to me.

That's what you're going to see in Abinadi this week.

He is someone who chooses to act rather than be acted upon.

And it is awesome.

Trust me, you're going to love this week's study.

Grab your scriptures.

Grab your notes.

It's time to get started.

In case you're new here, let me explain what we do.

Basically, I'm going to give you a 3 3 3 approach.

So, three sparks, three ideas that came to mind or things that I found

myself studying as I tried to approach these chapters with fresh eyes.

Then three good questions.

Things that will help you get curious, get into your scriptures,

and hopefully have good conversations with the people around you.

And then we'll do a separate video of three object lessons.

So that you can take what you're learning and what you're excited about

and find a way to kind of pass that to the next generation, ideally so that

they can learn it and then teach it to others, whether they're, you know,

teaching their classes or their quorums.

I hope, I hope these tools help.

Okay, so since we have so many chapters to cover, I thought it would be good

to give you a summary of each as we head in so that you at least know

what ground is covered this week.

So just so you get your bearings, we're about 150 years before the

Savior comes among the Nephites.

It's been 30 to 40 ish years since King Benjamin gave his message, but

you want to remember that Benjamin and Noah are in different lands, right?

Benjamin's people are up in Zarahemla, Noah's people are down in the land

of Nephi where the Lamanites are, and it's just different places,

but they kind of happen similarly.

In Mosiah 11, that's where we This is where you learn How

King Noah handles his kingdom.

We left last week with this kind of high, right?

His dad, Zenith, had fought his whole life to protect his people.

He's using the strength of the Lord to win battles, even though they're in

this place that I don't think the Lord wanted them to go in the first place.

You get, you're on this high.

And then the torch is passed to Noah and we take a very rapid descent.

A lot of that you're going to see in chapter 11.

This is when you learn what kind of king Noah is and what's going on with

his priests and his people and you see why a prophet needed to be sent.

And so at the beginning or the end of 11 you'll see Abinadi come into town.

Then in Mosiah 2 you get two years later.

So this is when Abinadi comes back again.

The first time he came with warnings and the second time he comes

with stronger warnings and bigger consequences because they continue

to choose to turn against God.

So that you'll see in 12.

When you go into 13, this is when Abinadi has been grabbed and he is now testifying

in front of the court of King Noah.

These are the chapters you just want to take your time to because this is

Abinadi with his face shining out.

This is him testifying of things like the Ten Commandments and teaching them about

the Law of Moses and how it can't save.

This is rich.

Good doctrine.

Then 14 and 15, he amplifies it because he focuses our attention on

the Savior, and he's going to teach us the meaning behind Isaiah's words.

The priests try to trip him up with their questions about Isaiah's words,

and he just can't be tripped up.

You know, he's like the Savior in that respect.

He knows who he is, and he knows who the Savior is, and he will testify.

And so he answers their questions.

expertly.

He almost turns the tables on them.

So where they were questioning him, he shifts and he starts questioning them.

And it's just awesome.

He teaches about the suffering servant and the kind of God that they

should anticipate coming and what that God will do when he comes and

takes on this tabernacle of flesh.

So you'll see that between 14 and 15.

Mosiah 16 to me is almost like he's saying your time is almost up.

It's like he's trying to emphasize that you don't have

forever to make this decision.

You have been sent a prophet and I have taught you truth and

now you need to make the call.

And let me tell you what happens if you choose option A or if you choose option

B and he lays them out really clearly so that they have to make a choice.

And then 17 is where you see what choice.

they make.

That's when you see Abinadi's execution happen, you hear his

testimony ring out through the flames, and you feel the repercussions of

Abinadi's testimony just begin.

Almost the way like if you see a pebble tossed into the water and the ripples

start out really small and then over the course of time they grow big and

large and wide and that's what you see with the end of this week's study.

You see Abinadi's message just create that initial ripple and then in

the subsequent weeks we're going to see how far those ripples spread.

It's rich and good and you're going to love it.

Time for spark number one.

I call this one Abinadi's Tower, because I really loved the stark

contrast between what we studied with King Benjamin's Sermon and

what you see with Abinadi's Sermon.

Their messages are actually really similar, it's just their audience and

their setting that is so vastly different.

Where King Benjamin is someone who, You know, he invites people

to come hear him speak, and so many come, they can't count them.

And so many want to hear him, that he erects a tower so

that more people can hear him.

And so many still want to hear him, that he has his words written down so that

they can study them and take them home.

Like, he has this incredible prophetic experience up in Zarahemla.

And Abinadi, who is his contemporary of sorts, even though, you know,

there's a few decades between them, he is someone who has a very

different prophetic experience.

And I think this teaches you something about prophets.

Prophets.

Go where the Lord needs them to go, no matter what those circumstances are.

And Abinadi's road is, is a hard one.

In fact, the people he teaches are hard.

Where King Benjamin's people were faith filled to the degree that they came, and

then were so enriched by the Spirit that they wanted to make covenants with God.

Like, they were ready for something big.

Abinadi's group that he teaches, are cold, they're hard, they reject, they

turn away from any inkling of the spirit that they get in these moments.

And it must be so hard to be Abinadi.

But what I love about Abinadi is he's poised, right?

He is focused and he will get his message out.

What I thought was really interesting is he goes twice.

You know, he goes the first time, he teaches what the Lord needed him

to teach and people reject it and he's kind of pushed out of the city.

And then he comes back two years later.

And I found myself wondering like, Why does he have to go back?

You know, like, he did his job.

He did what the Lord needed him to do.

They made their choice.

Why does he have to go back?

And I think the answer you can find when you get into Nephi's writings.

So back in 2 Nephi, we studied this before, but there was something new

that popped out at me this time.

And it helped me answer why God sends prophets to people who are hard.

This is in 2 This is the second half of the verse.

He inviteth all to come unto him and partake of his goodness.

He denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female.

He remembereth the heathen, and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile.

I think this is the Book of Mormon's way of saying that God is in relentless

pursuit of all of his children.

You know, just like Elder Kieran taught us, he is, he does not give up and he

will send prophets to inspire and to reclaim if people will hear and listen.

And I think that's.

Abinadi's message.

What I thought was interesting about that verse this time, I'd never

read it this way before, but I've always pictured bond and free as

something that's like slavery, right?

Something related to being a slave.

And although I think it does apply there, I think there are

lots of other kinds of bondage.

In fact, you're going to see a lot of other kinds of bondage

in the chapters of Mosiah.

Bondage comes when you are Doing anything that tries to lean

into the natural man, right?

I think anytime, anything that's difficult to escape, addictions or

habits or tendencies or, you know, entanglements that you get into,

those are all a form of bondage.

There's this beautiful talk from President Oaks from maybe 10 years ago where he

basically talked about this and here's two of the ways he described bondage.

He said, Bond includes those who are held down by traditions or customs

contrary to the commandments of God.

And finally, Bond also includes those who are confined within the

boundaries of other erroneous ideas.

I think this is the kind of bondage they're in.

There's this false religion that's being preached.

There's, you know, this lavish lifestyle by their king.

These heavy taxes.

They're, they're swimming in.

Ideas that are erroneous, and they have, that's a kind of bondage.

And basically, when the Lord sends a prophet, it is to liberate those captives.

I think the prophet sees them as bound up by this sin, and the

circumstances of their lives, and he wants to liberate them.

In fact, in that same talk from President Oaks, he quoted Joseph

Smith, who basically said that we preach to liberate the captives.

That's why we teach the gospel of Jesus Christ, because it frees men from bondage,

spiritual bondage, physical bondage.

It opens up those gates.

And Abinadi's work is basically to do that.

What's ironic about Abinadi to me is, in order to liberate those who think

they are free, but really are in chains, he has to let himself be chained.

It's, he offers himself in order to help them see how

heavy their chains really are.

What's interesting is what he teaches.

It's so similar to King Benjamin.

In fact, I found myself stacking their sermons against each

other to see the similarities.

And they're everywhere.

I wish I could go through them here with you verse by verse, but

for example, you'll see both men teach about the nature of Christ

and what his atonement really is.

With King Benjamin, he talked about the atonement and then how we need it for

salvation, and you get that same message when you hear it from Abinadi's words.

He's going to talk about Christ as the Father and the Son and

the gift of the atonement.

You also hear both of them speak about salvation and redemption,

where that comes from, what it means.

In King Benjamin's sermon, he talks about how it comes only

through the name of Christ.

And Abinadi will reiterate that, but he'll say something more specific

about salvation not coming through anything except repentance and

faith on the Lord Jesus Christ.

It's almost as if you can hear echoes, right, where we heard King Benjamin's

story coming from this beautiful tower.

You hear Abinadi's sermon coming from a whole different angle.

In fact, the two contrasting images for me were powerful.

Where Abinadi gives his sermon, he's at essentially the lowest part, right?

He, in the place where they are, it sounds like they're in

the temple that Nephi built.

I don't know that for certain.

Maybe it was rebuilt over time.

But remember how the verses talk about how King Noah deliberately built

inside their ways for the priests to be elevated so that King Noah was elevated

and the priests are elevated and they can lounge and Listen, in fact, if you

watch the Book of Mormon video You'll see this where Abinadi is deep down in

this pit almost when he's preaching this sermon and it is this vivid contrast to

King Benjamin on his tower But because their messages are so much the same

and so much about Jesus Christ and the salvation he offers I feel like they both

have towers They look very different.

But they are standing on this tower of faith and it is commanding.

It is rich.

Both of them will talk about the natural man.

King Benjamin will urge us to set down the natural man and try to

become a saint through Christ.

Abinadi will teach something really similar.

He doesn't use the phrase natural man, but he teaches us about the risks of sin and

how we need a transformation to happen.

You're going to see that in the verses.

Both of them Show service and love.

King Benjamin speaks about it, how they should serve and give,

and I feel like Abinadi lives it.

He demonstrates it for the people by offering himself almost as a sacrifice

in order to get this message across.

And then I think they both talk about accountability and judgment.

Both of them emphasize that this is a probationary time and you

need to make the right call.

They both speak about the final judgment, about the resurrection.

This week in Abinadi's sermon, you're going to hear him talk about the first

resurrection and how all of us are going to stand eye to eye with the Savior

and need to account for our choices.

There is this weight in both of their sermons.

They just have very, very different circumstances.

Honestly, I think the results of their two sermons are really similar.

I think they look different on the surface, but they're not different.

I think King Benjamin's sermon created thousands and thousands

of converted hearts, and Abinadi's sermon does the same.

It takes another generation or so for that to fully take effect, but thousands

come to the gospel because of Abinadi's message, just like thousands came to

the gospel because of King Benjamin.

Amen.

That's how prophets teach.

That's the effect they have on the people, no matter where they are

and what their circumstances are.

I think you'll love studying it.

Spark number two, I call The Boy Who Lived, and there's all kind of Harry

Potter references in here, and I hope it doesn't come off as irreverent, but

honestly, you guys, my understanding of Harry Potter helped me think about how

I could teach these chapters to my kids.

Because they get Harry Potter, and I'm hoping by understanding these

key things about him, that They'll understand the Savior better as well.

Let me tie things together for you.

Basically, what Abinadi teaches gets a little bit murky in the middle.

Because he speaks about Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, coming

and being the Father and the Son.

And it gets a little hard to understand, because he makes

them sound like they are one.

And most of us think about the Father being the Eternal Father, Elohim.

And what he's referencing in these chapters is not so much God the

Father as this divine part of himself.

Basically, what you're gonna find in these chapters is Abinadi is trying to explain

to them that Christ is going to come in flesh, just like we heard King Benjamin

speak about this tabernacle of clay.

That's kind of what the message here is.

He's trying to help them understand the kind of God who will come and save the

people, that he won't look like what they anticipated a God will look like.

He is someone who will come and look very different and have incredible power.

This is Elder McConkie speaking.

So he said, God, Jehovah, will become a man, Jesus.

Spirit and flesh shall be brought together in the form of one God, who is

the Eternal Father of heaven and earth.

It's these two sides of the Savior, the mortal man side that he inherited

from his mother, Mary, that will allow him to feel pain and hunger and thirst

and fatigue, that will allow him to ultimately experience death, and then

there is this father side of him, this divine investiture he has from

the father that gives him the power to overcome those things, the power

to overcome death and to rise again.

He's got both of these sides.

The reason that applies to Harry Potter for me is I feel like

you see that to some degree.

with the character of Harry Potter.

He is someone who, on the surface, looks sort of vulnerable and even weak at times.

He experiences a lot of heartache and pain and struggle and being

cast out from a lot of places.

Like, he is not someone who is respected, except for he has this other side of him.

That is this prophecy that he will eventually, you know, Conquer all evil.

And what makes those books compelling is that Harry has to

wrestle with those sides of him in which he's going to let dominate.

In fact, almost every single book, the reason there is this rejoicing at

the end is because Harry has chosen to believe the prophecy side about him

rather than what is on the surface.

What he thinks he is, he sets that down and chooses to lean into what

he could be and what people have told him he is from the very beginning.

And that's essentially what happens.

with the Savior in these writings of Abinadi.

Well, I guess it's Alma that writes them, but what Abinadi teaches is that

the Savior experienced all those hard things, but he does not give in to them.

He never lets the mortal side of him that allows him to be compassionate and feel

all the things that we feel, he doesn't ever let that dominate the father side

of him that is divine, that is holy.

You know, he can choose which side he's going to let dominate and with

the Savior in his perfect life He always lets the father side of him

dominate the son flesh side of him.

That's what Abinadi is trying to teach us So let me give you some examples in

the verses This is Mosiah 15 1 through 3 and now Abinadi said unto them I would

that you should understand that God himself shall come down among the children

of men, and shall redeem his people.

God, meaning Jehovah, will come down.

And because he dwelleth in the flesh, he shall be called the

Son of God, that mortal side.

And having subjected the flesh to the will of the Father, the power of God's

side, being the Father and the Son.

The father, because he was conceived by the power of God, and the

son, because of the flesh, thus becoming the father and the son.

He is both.

The same way Harry Potter is both, right?

He is this weak, young, little, aspiring wizard, and he is this wizard

that is bound to conquer all evil.

He is both.

And what makes his story compelling is he has to choose to let

one side dominate the other.

I just think that's what you see in Harry Potter.

In the Savior's story, especially as told by Abinadi, because he

speaks about his suffering and the hardship that he experiences.

Like if you look in verse 7 of 15, Yea, even so he shall be led, crucified,

and slain, the flesh becoming subject even unto death, the will of the

Son, that mortal side of him, being swallowed up in the will of the Father.

That divine, That divine eternal side of him.

It swallows up all of those mortal Experiences and allows him to do

something remarkable and that remarkable thing is voiced in eight And thus God

breaketh the bands of death having gained victory over death giving the

Sun power to make intercession for the children of men And this is nine.

Having ascended into heaven, having the bowels of mercy being filled with

compassion towards the children of men, standing betwixt them and justice,

having broken the bands of death, taken upon himself their iniquity and their

transgressions, having redeemed them and satisfied the demands of justice.

The Savior never flinches.

He never doubts.

He never has these insecurities that conquer his ability to like, You know,

to be that stoic, strong representative for God the Father, he always allows

that side of him to dominate whatever his natural man experiences are.

He chooses to live humbly and accept any hardship that comes his way, but he

doesn't let those hardships dominate.

You see this a little bit more in 14.

This is like two to four.

I won't read each verse, but this is where they talk about him having no form or

comeliness that people would desire him.

He's despised and rejected of men.

He's acquainted with grief.

In fact, it was that word.

that kind of kicked off this idea, this spark in me.

I love that he says he's acquainted with grief because I think that's

what the Savior chooses to do.

He came to experience this mortal life so he could become acquainted

with sorrow, acquainted with grief, acquainted with pain, acquainted with

all of those hard parts of this fallen mortal world, but he doesn't let those

Dominate him or control him he chooses to experience them and to transcend

to let that divine eternal side of him Overpower everything else which allows

him to bear our griefs and carry our sorrows With his stripes, we are healed.

That's what Abin and I teaches us in these chapters.

My favorite quote about this, and you can go on the notes and get the full

quote, but this is Elder Holland.

He said, no one's eyes were more penetrating than his, and much

of what he saw pierced his heart.

Surely his ears even heard cries of distress in every sound of

want and despair to a degree far more than we will ever understand.

He was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.

Indeed, to the layman in the streets of Judea, Christ's career must have

seen a failure, a tragedy, a good.

Man, totally overwhelmed by the evil surrounding him

and the misdeeds of others.

He was misunderstood and misrepresented, even hated from the beginning.

No matter what he said or did.

His statements were twisted.

His actions suspected his motives impugned in the entire history of the world.

No one has ever loved so purely or served so, so, so selflessly and had been

treated so diabolically for his effort.

Yet nothing could break his faith in his father's or his father's

plan or his father's promises.

Even those darkest hours at Gethsemane and Calvary he pressed on, continuing

to trust in the very God whom he whom he momentarily feared had forsaken him.

That's the God we worship.

That's what he offers us.

That's why he is this pillar of an example for us of conquering the natural man.

That's what he did here, and he gave us this beautiful path to follow.

One of my favorite verses on this came from Elder Holland's address.

This is Psalm 34, 18, and 22.

The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, and saveth

such as be a contrite spirit.

The Lord redeemeth the soul of his servants, and none of them that

trust in him shall be desolate.

That's his promise.

Because of what he experienced, and how he chose to experience

it, no one is desolate.

No one need be left behind.

Spark number three I call, Oh death, where is thy sting?

Because one of the things I think is so remarkable about Infiniti is he doesn't

seem to be afraid of death, at least not the way Noah expects him to be.

Noah keeps kind of throwing that out, right?

You'll see it throughout the chapters when he first encounters King Noah,

that's the first thing Noah wants to do.

He wants to have him killed, or he wants to slay him himself, like he

threatens this all the time, but Abinadi doesn't seem to be concerned.

When he's testifying before the court of King Noah, knowing that the words

he's saying could inflame them and cause his execution, Abinadi speaks anyway.

He just doesn't care.

have fear.

This is in Mosiah 13 verses 6 through 9.

And he spake with the power and authority of God, from God,

and he continued his words.

This is when the guards have tried to grab him while he's in King Noah's court

and he's testifying and they can't.

And this is what he says, Ye see that ye have not power to slay

me, therefore I finish my message.

Yea, I perceive that it cuts in To your hearts because I tell you the

truth concerning your iniquities.

Yay.

And my words fill you with wonder and amazement and with anger.

But I finished my message and then it matters not whether I go,

if it's so be that I am saved.

This to me is what we saw in the Old Testament with Shadrach,

Meha, and Mego stepping into that fiery furnace when they say.

Our God can save us.

But if not, you know, and they're just, they're okay with whatever comes next.

I think it's because of what they know.

It's not that they have this stoicism that makes them unafraid of death, I think

that's part of the natural man experience.

But they also know so profoundly about the Savior and what He

offers that death has no steam.

Almost the same way like if you.

If you pictured being around a hornet's nest and that panic that sets in, you

know, we had a hornet's nest somewhere around our backyard because anytime

we stepped outside last summer, these hornets would swoop in and it made me stay

inside a lot of times because I couldn't figure out where they were coming from.

But if someone had told me, oh Maria, those hornets actually have no sting.

Like they can't actually do anything to you.

They, they're just going to be a nuisance.

Then I would have gone out and just kind of, you know, swatted

them away or sprayed or something.

But because I knew they could hurt me, I cowered and I feel like that's.

What he's trying to teach us, when he says death has no sting,

he's saying, yes, death is hard, but death is not the worst thing.

The worst thing is dying unrepentant, or willfully rebelling

against God, and then dying.

That's the worst thing.

Death itself, there's no sting there.

We all will be resurrected.

He teaches them about the first resurrection, and those who are included

in the first resurrection, that it will be the prophets, and those who

listen to the prophets, and those who would have accepted the gospel had

they heard it in their mortal life.

Little children, like he teaches them how raw that first resurrection is.

But then he testifies that there will be a time when all are resurrected and all must

stand before Jesus Christ to be judged.

And he warns what that will feel like if you have an unrepentant heart.

I think in his moment of testifying, Abinadi's not worried about himself dying.

I think he's terrified for all the people around him dying because he knows

what their experience will be like.

He teaches us about it in the verses.

So, for example, he says, this is 15 verse 16, But behold, and fear and tremble

before God, for you ought to tremble.

For the Lord redeemeth none such that rebel against him and die in their sins.

Yet even all those who have perished in their sins, ever since

the world began, that they have willfully rebelled against God.

And have known the commandments of God, and would not keep them.

These are they that have no part in the first resurrection.

Therefore ought ye to tremble, for salvation cometh to none such, for

the Lord hath redeemed none such.

Yea, neither can the Lord redeem such, for he cannot deny himself, and he cannot

deny justice when it has its claim.

This is Mosiah 16, 5.

Or two, sorry.

And when they shall, when then shall the wicked be cast out, and they shall have

cause to howl and weep and wail and gnash their teeth, and this because they would

not hearken unto the voice of the Lord.

Therefore the Lord redeemeth them not.

They will be resurrected eventually, but they cannot be exalted

because they chose to rebel.

They had knowledge in front of them.

They had a prophet of God teach, and they rejected it.

They knew the commandments.

That's what Abinadi's version of hell is.

It's not death, that's not what he fears.

It's this experience, what happens when you cross over.

And so he teaches and testifies that the Savior's atonement neutralizes that sting.

It neutralizes the sting of death and hell.

It removes that sharp, localized pain and allows it not to travel through

your body, like that sting that comes from a scorpion or from a hornet.

He, he pulled all that away so that you won't experience it.

What I really like is, I was listening to Jan Martin, she's a BYU scholar.

And her words reminded me a lot of the Because of Him campaign from a few Easters

ago where she basically mentioned that Christ doesn't just conquer mortal death,

like the physical death of the body.

He also conquers every other kind of death.

You know, He is someone who, because of Him, sorrow dies.

Because of Him, disappointment dies.

Unfairness dies.

Darkness and confusion die because of Him.

He is what ties us to this infinite hope.

So knowing that, We don't need to be afraid.

I really loved, there was a talk that I listened to, I don't know if

you've heard Melissa in a way, she passed away recently from cancer,

but she's this beautiful scholar and philosopher, and I've been reading more

of her words lately after her passing.

And she said this.

Death is not the worst thing.

The worst thing is to live life in a way that requires no transformative struggle

for ourselves and that makes no difference for the good in the lives of others.

I thought that was such a great way to sum up what makes a good life.

You go in this process, you struggle in order to transform yourself and

Put down the natural man and become something greater through Christ.

And you seek to do good in the lives of others.

That's a good life.

And that's why Abinadi is not afraid of death.

And it's driving Noah crazy.

The same way I think it made Herod crazy and Pilate crazy that when the Savior

was brought before them, he didn't cower and he didn't plead for his life

and he didn't beg for deliverance.

He had this poise and this presence and he, he was unafraid.

I just think it's remarkable to watch.

You can see more in the verses and go in the notes, and you

can see a little bit more.

But I love that what Abinadi teaches is why there is hope.

He says this in 8 and 9.

But there is a resurrection.

Therefore the grave hath no victory, and the sting of death

is swallowed up in Christ.

He is the light and life of the world.

Yea, a light that is endless, that can never be darkened.

Yea, and also a life which is endless, that there can be no more death.

Even this mortal shall put on immortality, this corruption shall put on incorruption,

and shall be brought to stand before the bar of God, to be judged of him

according to their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil, and

if they be good, to the resurrection of endless life and happiness.

That's what Abinadi knows.

That's why he can look Noah and all of his threats, he can look him straight

in the eye and say, I am unafraid.

In fact, I guess the more I thought about it, I think Abinadi still does

fear, but what he teaches us in these verses, I think every one of us fears

death to some degree, but I think his fear is swallowed up in this gift

of the atonement of Jesus Christ.

He knows.

That's what Christ's offering will do.

And he knows the life he's lived so far.

And so he, although he might be, he might be nervous in this

moment and uncomfortable due to the pain, he is not afraid.

His pain is swallowed up in the atonement of Christ.

And that's a powerful example for all of us.

Time to head into our questions.

Okay, question number one.

This is framed around the question that the priest had for Abinadi.

When he comes, one of the first things they ask him is

what these scriptures mean.

They recite some of Isaiah's passages about prophets, you know, being

these messengers who send good news out, you know, that they have these

beautiful feet on the mountains and they call out the Spirit.

Beautiful message, and it seems as if they're saying basically,

you don't sound like this.

What, what does this passage mean to you?

Because you're giving us a message of doom and gloom.

And what you hear from Avenidae over the course of a few chapters,

and by the end he answers them in chapter 15, is he's trying to help

them understand what beautiful feet upon the mountains really look like.

That beautiful feet are not people who offer kind, happy words, you know, they

don't just tell you what you want to hear or condone your wicked lifestyle.

They're people who teach truth, and they teach it unvarnished.

And so to me, beautiful feet are like Savior's feet.

They are wounded trying to teach and help others.

know the truth.

So then I was able to look back at people like King Benjamin and think

about what kind of beautiful feet he had.

You know, feet that were probably weathered in the service of his fellow men

and that were shaking up on that tower, but those are beautiful feet because

they were given in the service of God.

Abinadizer is similar, right?

He's, I imagine, a lot younger, but he's somebody who Spent these

last days of his life probably without anything on his feet.

They're probably dusty and dirty.

In fact, eventually they're charred.

Like that, those are beautiful feet.

And they cry out from the tops of the mountains because they teach truth.

So my question for you related to these verses is, when have you

seen beautiful feet upon mountains?

Like theirs, like Benjamin's, like Abinadi's, like the Savior's,

when have you seen a person who has beautiful feet and what

message of peace did they publish?

I hope you'll think about it, stew on it, and if you have a chance, share

some thoughts with me in the comments.

Question number two comes from Mosiah 15, this is verse 23.

This is when Abinadi is teaching about who's going to come forth

in the first resurrection.

And we went through this in the insights, but he has all these people who, you know,

will get, be greeted by the Savior and they'll come and they'll rise with him.

And I think there's this interesting word choice.

He basically says that they are raised to dwell with God.

And that visual was, caught my eye.

I don't know why it caught me this time, but I think we often think about coming

into God's presence as just a stepping forward, almost like we're on this

Same plane and we just stepped forward.

I really like the idea of being raised to see God I don't think

this is just about being raised from death like our bodies rising again.

I think there's something I haven't figured it all out yet, but in my

mind, I think there's something there.

So my question to you is this, how does it change your perspective, your perspective

to think about being raised in this way?

And how does it relate to ever overcoming the fall?

I think there's more there.

I just haven't sorted it all out just yet.

Okay.

This is question number three.

Mosiah 17, 13 through 19.

I think Abinadi is a very obvious type of Christ, right?

He is despised and rejected among his own countrymen, he is cast out, he's

in bonds, he's executed unfairly, all these ways he is a type of Christ.

So by the time we got to the end of his story, I kind of expected one

of those phrases like the Savior offers of, Father forgive them

for they know not what they do.

You know when the Savior says that so powerfully from the cross.

I sort of anticipated that Abinadi being this really bright,

vibrant type of Christ, that there would be something like it.

And there isn't really.

In fact, it's, it's really different.

When Abinadi is being executed, he calls out prophecy, and he calls out truth.

warnings, almost what I would call it cursing, like he's, it's a prophecy.

I don't think he is cursing them.

What he is prophesying is the hard that will come to them.

And it's fascinating to me.

So in 19, he says this, well, he first, he talks about the diseases

that they're going to suffer, that they're going to be scattered

and smitten and even hunted down.

And then in 19, he says, thus, God executed the vengeance upon

those that destroy his people.

Oh God, receive my soul.

So before Abinadi.

chooses to die in this moment or experiences death, he almost curses,

you know, it's just very different.

Here's my question.

Why does a loving God ever execute vengeance?

Why is this a fitting warning for this particular group and how are they

different than the Roman soldiers?

Remember, this is a different circumstance, and I think the

circumstance matters a lot.

So I'm hoping you can set those two thoughts side by side and

see what the Spirit teaches you.

If you want some hints, at least where I'm going next, where I found some

good conceptual understanding, there's a BYU speech from 2012, and it's from

Elder Rasband, not the Apostle Elder Rasband, but another, and it's called

The Faiths to Forgive Grievous Harms.

I think it's James Rasband.

And he teaches a little bit about how the Atonement offers forgiveness.

Recompense.

Like it helps in other ways than we tend to articulate it and I think

it will help us understand how God can choose to cause vengeance.

Anyway, I'm curious about your thoughts.

We're going to head into the object lessons here in just a

second, but I wanted to leave you with one last little thought.

We often get to the end of Abinadi's story and we wonder if he knew.

Right?

Did he know that Elmo was going to take his words and write them all down and

share them with hundreds of others?

And did he know that he made an impact?

And I think those are fun thoughts to have.

I just, the more I studied the Benedict, the more I think, I

don't think he cared about that.

Not that he doesn't care that the work goes on, but all he cares about, I think

in these moments is that, is God pleased?

Did he do the work he was sent to do?

And I think because he knows that, He doesn't worry about the rest.

He doesn't have to worry about Getting feedback from others this horizontal

feedback that tells him that he did a good job or that his time was well spent

or that His sacrifice was worth it.

He's not worried about pleasing men even men like Alma He's just worried

about pleasing God and I think because he knows he delivered the message he

was sent to deliver he can be at peace.

In fact, I was prepping for my YSA lesson this week and came across this

verse about the Lord speaking to Joseph Smith and I felt like it could have

easily been said to Abinadi with that same tone of love and compassion.

It's this, D& C 122 verse 9, Therefore hold on thy way, and the priesthood

shall remain with thee, for their bounds are set they cannot pass.

Thy days are known, and thy years shall not be numbered less.

Therefore, fear not what man can do, for God shall be with you forever and ever.

That's the message God gives to his prophets.

They don't need to worry about what happens next, or if their words

are going to be cherished or not.

They simply have to worry if God is pleased with their efforts.

And if, if they can feel that, then I think they can be at peace.

President Kimball has this beautiful talk about martyrs, and I have the full link

in the notes if you want to go find it.

Here's just a little snippet of what he had to say.

In the final hours of the life of a martyr comes a calm serenity

that baffles all human explanation.

But martyrs do not die.

They live on and on.

Amen.

When the Savior said it is finished, he referred to his mortal experience,

for his crucifixion marked but a milepost in his ever expanding power.

Hundreds of millions had been influenced for good by his

perfect life and martyr's death.

He had said himself, And whoso layeth down his life in my cause for my

name's sake shall find it again.

His work continues to spread to this day.

The blood of martyrs is the seed of the church.

This is a milepost in Avinidi's progression, not the end.

And his work carries on.

In fact, as you and I study it and revere it and teach it to our kids, that

light that he carried, it, it continues.

So I think it's our job to hold it and cherish it and push it forward.