These three chapters are the final words of Abinadi where he shares simple and essential doctrine regarding Christ's role in the Plan of Salvation. I feel like this is summed up in Mosiah 15:9, "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." There are no words that justly express my gratitude for my Savior and all He has done for me, repentance, growth, change, forgiveness, and resurrection are all possible because of Christ's loving Atonement so I hope as you study these verses you slow down and underline or mark all the things the Savior has done for you and what gifts He offers to you.
I want to shift gears now to one thing that always stands out to me about Abinadi. From my view point of a reader of The Book of Mormon Abinadi seems like an incredibly powerful teacher who faced scary circumstances to make sure God's will was know to the people. Yet despite teaching with "power and authority from God (Mosiah 13:6)" he didn't appear to have hardly any impact on anyone. How often do you feel like your efforts to share the gospel result in nothing? Perhaps your efforts just fuel the people against you?
I can tell you I was in the a job interview once when I lived in Missouri and during the course of the interview and reading of my resume the interview panel realized I was from Utah. They then questioned me about my religion (HR violation somewhere I am sure) and then as I bravely stood there in front of this panel I share my thoughts and answers to their questions. As I answered it seemed like it just added fuel to their fire and they began to laugh and mock me. I remember walking out of the interview knowing that 1) I was not going to get nor wanted to get that job and 2) my efforts to be brave had done nothing.
I can't imagine Abinadi's feelings of discouragement and despair when he realized his efforts had only changed one man, Alma (Mosiah 17:2). Now we get the beauty of knowing what happened with Alma and the courage, determination, and faith he exercised but I often wonder when Abinadi was being scouraged (whiped and beat) with faggots (bundle of sticks or twigs that are on fire, meaning he was probably poked with these burning things until he died, awful) if he knew his efforts paid off.
There is a rather famous story told by President James E. Faust and it goes like this:
"Many years ago an elder who served a mission in the British Isles said at the end of his labors, “I think my mission has been a failure. I have labored all my days as a missionary here and I have only baptized one dirty little Irish kid. That is all I baptized.”
Years later, after his return to his home in Montana, he had a visitor come to his home who asked, “Are you the elder who served a mission in the British Isles in 1873?”
“Yes.”
Then the man went on, “And do you remember having said that you thought your mission was a failure because you had only baptized one dirty little Irish kid?”
He said, “Yes.”
The visitor put out his hand and said, “I would like to shake hands with you. My name is Charles A. Callis, of the Council of the Twelve of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I am that dirty little Irish kid that you baptized on your mission.”15
That little Irish boy came to a knowledge of his potential as a son of God. Elder Callis left a lasting legacy for his large family. Serving as a mission president for 25 years and in his apostolic ministry for 13 years, he blessed the lives of literally thousands. I feel privileged to have known this great Apostle of the Lord when I was a young man.
If we are constantly aware of the seeds of divinity in us, it will help us rise above earthly challenges and difficulties." ("Them That Honour Me I Will Honour," James E. Faust, April 2001 General Conference)
From this story from President Faust and the life of Abinadi I think we can see an important reminder to have courage when it comes to sharing our testimony, beliefs, and knowledge of the gospel. I can tell you that sometimes as a seminary teacher some days I walk out of the classroom wondering if I did anything right or helped my students really #HearHim that day. But you guys, it only takes one. If our efforts, persistence, courage, and willingness only helps one person, it is enough.
A few questions to ponder:
I want to shift gears now to one thing that always stands out to me about Abinadi. From my view point of a reader of The Book of Mormon Abinadi seems like an incredibly powerful teacher who faced scary circumstances to make sure God's will was know to the people. Yet despite teaching with "power and authority from God (Mosiah 13:6)" he didn't appear to have hardly any impact on anyone. How often do you feel like your efforts to share the gospel result in nothing? Perhaps your efforts just fuel the people against you? I can tell you I was in the a job interview once when I lived in Missouri and during the course of the interview and reading of my resume the interview panel realized I was from Utah. They then questioned me about my religion (HR violation somewhere I am sure) and then as I bravely stood there in front of this panel I share my thoughts and answers to their questions. As I answered it seemed like it just added fuel to their fire and they began to laugh and mock me. I remember walking out of the interview knowing that 1) I was not going to get nor wanted to get that job and 2) my efforts to be brave had done nothing.
I can't imagine Abinadi's feelings of discouragement and despair when he realized his efforts had only changed one man, Alma (Mosiah 17:2). Now we get the beauty of knowing what happened with Alma and the courage, determination, and faith he exercised but I often wonder when Abinadi was being scouraged (whiped and beat) with faggots (bundle of sticks or twigs that are on fire, meaning he was probably poked with these burning things until he died, awful) if he knew his efforts paid off.
There is a rather famous story told by President James E. Faust and it goes like this:
"Many years ago an elder who served a mission in the British Isles said at the end of his labors, “I think my mission has been a failure. I have labored all my days as a missionary here and I have only baptized one dirty little Irish kid. That is all I baptized.”
Years later, after his return to his home in Montana, he had a visitor come to his home who asked, “Are you the elder who served a mission in the British Isles in 1873?”
“Yes.”
Then the man went on, “And do you remember having said that you thought your mission was a failure because you had only baptized one dirty little Irish kid?”
He said, “Yes.”
The visitor put out his hand and said, “I would like to shake hands with you. My name is Charles A. Callis, of the Council of the Twelve of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I am that dirty little Irish kid that you baptized on your mission.”15
That little Irish boy came to a knowledge of his potential as a son of God. Elder Callis left a lasting legacy for his large family. Serving as a mission president for 25 years and in his apostolic ministry for 13 years, he blessed the lives of literally thousands. I feel privileged to have known this great Apostle of the Lord when I was a young man.
If we are constantly aware of the seeds of divinity in us, it will help us rise above earthly challenges and difficulties." ("Them That Honour Me I Will Honour," James E. Faust, April 2001 General Conference)
From this story from President Faust and the life of Abinadi I think we can see an important reminder to have courage when it comes to sharing our testimony, beliefs, and knowledge of the gospel. I can tell you that sometimes as a seminary teacher some days I walk out of the classroom wondering if I did anything right or helped my students really #HearHim that day. But you guys, it only takes one. If our efforts, persistence, courage, and willingness only helps one person, it is enough.
A few questions to ponder:- What do you feel like you can do to be better prepared to share like Abinadi?
- Is there someone who came to mind as you thought about sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ?
- When is a time you shared courageously? What did that experience do for you?
- Do you see some similarities between Abinadi's life and the life of Christ? Could Abinadi be a type or shadow of Christ?
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