Abinadi: Prioritizing the Eternal over the Temporal - Book of Mosiah, Chapter Fifteen (Mosiah 15)

You can access the entire chapter at the following link: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/mosiah/15?lang=eng

In the last chapter, Abinadi used the words of Isaiah to remind Noah and his priests that righteous messengers of God with power to help save people from their sins often aren’t physically appealing, nor do they use flattering words of false praise when they speak to the people. Whether the righteous messengers are prophets or the Savior Jesus Christ Himself, they come in all shapes, sizes and appearances, and they share the truth because they want people to be able to prepare themselves to meet God while there is still time in mortal life.

In this chapter, Abinadi builds on the previous chapter by focusing on (1) the power of Jesus Christ to save, (2) the superiority of truth over flattery, and (3) the real consequences Noah, his priests and all of us face from whether we accept or reject Jesus and His teachings. In doing so, Abinadi puts the finishing touches on the stinging rebuke he has for those of Noah’s priests who claimed that his words were not the “good tidings” Isaiah spoke of. In fact, Abinadi shows that the tidings he brings are the best there could possibly be because they provide real opportunity for change (repentance) before it’s too late.

In doing so, Abinadi powerfully relates who Jesus is and what He will do. Through His willing, sinless sacrifice, and the fact that He is the physically begotten Son of the Father, Jesus will become so united with the Father that they will be indistinguishable. In fact, Jesus is so devoted to His Father and so focused on becoming exactly like Him that Jesus will take on the Father’s name and full power and authority (verses 2-9). And that is so significant to us because through Jesus we can then become heirs to all the same promises. As verse 11 says, if we hearken to the words of the prophets who testify of the Savior, we become the literal seed of the Savior. As Jesus assures of our resurrection, we rejoice in the knowledge that following the gospel path leads to eternal life (verses 23-24). Eternal life is more than simply living forever. It is living forever in a fullness of joy, hand in hand with the Father and Son as we learn to feel and practice love as they do, radiating the blessings of that love as widely to others as we can imagine. It is indescribably wonderful. Abinadi wants his audience to understand that eternal consequences of obedience or disobedience to God’s plan ultimately matter far more than whatever they decide to do within their comparatively small circles of earthly power.