The Fatherhood of Christ

Handel’s Messiah made several scriptures especially memorable; one of them is Isaiah 9:6 (also 2 Nephi 19:6):

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

It is hard for fans of Handel’s Messiah to read these words without singing them. The part we’ll focus on is “The everlasting Father.” How is Christ the Father? Although Isaiah called Christ “the everlasting Father,” we must turn to restoration scriptures and modern prophets to fully understand what Isaiah meant.¹ President Joseph F. Smith and his counselors in the First Presidency (Anthon H. Lund and Charles W. Penrose²) and the Twelve Apostles published a Doctrinal Exposition in 1916 entitled “The Father and the Son.”³ In it, they described three ways that Christ can be called the Father:

Father of Heaven and of Earth

First, in a phrase that I have found is exclusive to the Book of Mormon, Christ is the Father (creator) of heaven and earth (2 Nephi 25:12; Mosiah 3:8; 15:4; Alma 11:39; Helaman 14:12; 16:18; Ether 4:7)⁴. This is significant but, in this article, we won’t spend many more words on it.

Father of Saints Who Take Upon Themselves His Name

Second, He is the Father of those who repent and take upon them His name through baptism—and they become His spiritual children.⁵ The Book of Mormon excels the Bible in teaching this truth, although other restoration scriptures are also helpful. (The closest the Bible comes is Ephesians 1:5—“Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will.” Let’s look at two of the most explicit:

King Benjamin proclaimed:

And now, because of the covenant which ye have made ye shall be called the children of Christ, his sons, and his daughters; for behold, this day he hath spiritually begotten you… therefore, ye are born of him and have become his sons and his daughters. (Mosiah 5:7)

The premortal Christ told Jared’s brother:

Behold, I am Jesus Christ. I am the Father and the Son. In me shall all mankind have life, and that eternally, even they who shall believe on my name; and they shall become my sons and my daughters. (Ether 3:14) (See also: Mosiah 15:11-12; 27:25*; Alma 5:14*; 3 Nephi 9:17*; Moroni 7:19; D&C 25:1; 34:3; and others, as cited in the Exposition—see the attached endnote. Those with asterisks refer to becoming children of God generally, not of Christ specifically.)⁶

Mortal fathers provide DNA to their offspring; since mortal matters are but a reflection of heavenly situations, I have proposed that becoming Christ’s sons and daughters involves receiving in our spirits His “spiritual DNA” and that it is delivered to us by the Holy Ghost. This “spiritual DNA” helps us acquire Christ’s characteristics and thus is the means of our sanctification; and this explains the Holy Ghost’s role in our sanctification and why the gift of the Holy Ghost is required for our salvation in the celestial kingdom.⁷

Christ had to first be God’s Son in the flesh in order to accomplish His atonement, and thus to become our spiritual Father. So, by His atonement, He went from Son to Father; and in the temple, He invites us to do likewise: All of humanity are spirit sons and daughters of Heavenly Parents; at our baptism, we are adopted as sons and daughters of Christ; and in the temple, we take upon Christ’s name more fully,⁸ and are adopted into God’s celestial family in a higher way than our original relationship with God.⁹ Finally, we are given the power to become eternal fathers and mothers. So, in the temple, following Christ’s example, we also progress from son/daughter to future eternal father/mother, assuming we keep our covenants.

Father by Divine Investiture of Authority

Finally, the 1916 First Presidency coined the term “divine investiture of authority” to describe that Christ as God has inherited Fatherly qualities and is so one with the Father that we can also call Christ the Father, even though Christ is not the literal father of our spirits. I believe that this phrase is implied in several restoration scriptures. (In addition to those quoted below, see Moses 1:6 in which Christ speaks to Moses as if He were Heavenly Father.)¹⁰

The most explicit of these scriptures was given in this dispensation to Joseph Smith:

The Father and I are one—the Father because he gave me of his fulness, and the Son because I was in the world and made flesh my tabernacle, and dwelt among the sons of men. (D&C 93:3-4; italics added.)

So, receiving the Father’s fullness allows Christ to be called the Father. Christ received the Father’s fullness in at least two ways:¹¹ first, through Christ’s firstborn birth, in which He received the birthright and became the “crown prince” among the rest of us, who are also spirit children of God—princes and princesses—but only One could be the “crown prince.” Second, He was the Only Begotten of the Father—the only spirit child of God whose mortal body was sired by God. Thus, He inherited Godly genes. These gifts—coupled with His excruciating atonement—enabled Him to become the second type of Father, the father of covenanting Saints who take His name upon them. And as covenanting Saints, we can inherit through Christ His special blessings, even the ability to be “crown princes” and “crown princesses” who can grow up to be kings and queens, although Christ will always be the “king of kings” (1 Timothy 6:15; Revelation 17:14 and 19:16). This is what it means to be “joint-heirs” with Christ (Romans 8:16-17).

The night before He was born, Christ reassured Nephi₃ that He was, in fact, coming:

Behold, I come unto my own, to fulfil all things which I have made known unto the children of men from the foundation of the world, and to do the will, both of the Father and of the Son—of the Father because of me, and of the Son because of my flesh. (3 Nephi 1:14)

“Of the Father because of me.” The Father’s will is the Son’s will. Having become exactly like His Father, Their wills are the same. Speaking of 3 Nephi 1:14, Joseph Fielding McConkie, Robert L. Millet, and Brent L. Top explain that

Of course, we know that they, Jehovah and Jesus, are one and the same being. At the same time, this statement dramatizes the separate and severable roles that would be played by the Master, that of the Holy One of Israel (premortal) and that of Jesus of Nazareth (mortal). There is a sense, then, in which we might speak of the Lord Jehovah, acting always under the direction of Elohim, our Heavenly Father, as the one who sent Jesus Christ into the world.

(Also, notice that only five verses before Ether 4:12, a different Fatherhood was mentioned, Father of heaven and earth [v. 5].) In a similar vein, Christ told Moroni¹²:

And whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do good is of me; for good cometh of none save it be of me. I am the same that leadeth men to all good; he that will not believe my words will not believe me—that I am; and he that will not believe me will not believe the Father who sent me. For behold, I am the Father, I am the light, and the life, and the truth of the world. (Ether 4:12)

This is striking: The word Father has two meanings in this verse. This is clearly Christ talking; and He refers to the Father who sent Him, and then immediately proclaims that He, Christ, is the Father! No, He did not mean that they are one being. Rather, this is a case of divine investiture of authority; Christ has the same attributes as His Father, and in the same sense as in 3 Nephi 1:14, Christ, as the Father, sent Himself.

Abinadi’s Masterful Teaching

Now let’s look at Abinadi’s remarkable and deep teaching in Mosiah 15, in which he describes all three ways that Christ is the Father. No other chapter in scripture describes all three ways (although all three are found in Ether 3-4).

In verses 1-5 and 7, we see two types of Fatherhood: divine investiture of authority (italics) followed closely by Father of heaven and earth (bold italics). On divine investiture, this scripture is like 3 Nephi 1:14 (above) in that being conceived by God the Father, Christ inherits Godly qualities—but a caution: Christ was tempted (Hebrews 2:18; 4:15) and He still had agency. Being righteous wasn’t any easier for Him than it is for us; in fact, it was harder. He chose successfully, without exception, to be righteous anyway.

I would that ye should understand that God himself shall come down among the children of men, and shall redeem his people. And because he dwelleth in flesh he shall be called the Son of God, and having subjected the flesh to the will of the Father, 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 Son—And they are one God, yea, the very Eternal Father of heaven and of earth. And thus the flesh becoming subject to the Spirit, or the Son to the Father, being one God, suffereth temptation, and yieldeth not to the temptation, but suffereth himself to be mocked, and scourged, and cast out, and disowned by his people. …Yea, even so he shall be led, crucified, and slain, the flesh becoming subject even unto death, the will of the Son being swallowed up in the will of the Father. (Mosiah 15:1-5, 7; italics added.)

Abinadi’s statements have dual meaning: his statement that the Father and Son “are one God” could refer either to Jesus and Elohim being one with each other, which They are, or to Jesus (the Son) being the same person as Jesus (the Father).¹³ Abinadi’s statements that the Son was subject to the Father, or that the will of the Son was swallowed up in the will of the Father, could refer either to Jesus submitting to Elohim, or to Jesus submitting His mortal will and His bodily appetites to His own divine will. Similar to 3 Nephi 1:14, in which the Father sent the Son, but the Son, as the Father also sent Himself, the beauty of Abinadi’s statement is that both meanings are correct.

We’ll return to that theme; but let’s get to the third type of Fatherhood Abinadi discusses, still in the same chapter: Christ is the spiritual Father of the faithful, who are called His “seed” (offspring):

Behold I say unto you, that whosoever has heard the words of the prophets, yea, all the holy prophets who have prophesied concerning the coming of the Lord—I say unto you, that all those who have hearkened unto their words, and believed that the Lord would redeem his people, and have looked forward to that day for a remission of their sins, I say unto you, that these are his seed, or they are the heirs of the kingdom of God. For these are they whose sins he has borne; these are they for whom he has died, to redeem them from their transgressions. And now, are they not his seed? (vs. 11-12)

Christ’s Multiple Roles in Animal Sacrifice Symbolize His Multiple Roles in His Atonement

The animal sacrifices of the Law of Moses, especially the burnt offerings, and the animal sacrifices that predated the Law of Moses were made in similitude of Christ’s sacrifice.¹⁴ These animal sacrifices were a special function of the priesthood. Four beings were connected with each sacrifice: First, the person who offered his animal to be sacrificed. Second, the priest who had the authority to slay and burn the animal. As with all ordinances, animal sacrifice was only recognized by God if it was performed by proper authority. Third, the animal itself, which symbolically took the sins of the person offering it upon itself. Of course, the animal represented the Savior, and the animal’s death represented the Savior’s death. And Fourth, God, who accepted the sacrifice.

When Jesus Christ made the ultimate sacrifice, to which all the previous animal sacrifices pointed, He obviously played three of these roles. First, He offered the sacrifice. (It may also be properly said that God the Father offered His Son to be sacrificed, but this does not remove the condition of Jesus’ self-offering). Second, He was the Priest. He not only held the priesthood as many of us do, but He held the fulness of it; and He was, under the Father, its source. (It is called The Holy Priesthood After the Order of the Son of God [D&C 107:3]. In reality, Christ didn’t hold Melchizedek’s priesthood; rather, Melchizedek held a portion of Christ’s priesthood.) And third, He was the sacrificial victim. These multiple roles of Jesus are alluded to in the epistle to the Hebrews:

For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s: for this he did once, when he offered up himself. (Hebrews 7:26-27)

But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come… by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us…. How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? (Hebrews 9:11-14)

But Christ also played the fourth role: the acceptor of the sacrifice. Recall that as the God of the Old Testament, Jesus was the immediate God who accepted the animal sacrifices which prefigured His own atonement. (Certainly, God the Father accepted them as well.) And based on scriptures such as Mosiah 15:1-5,7 and 3 Nephi 3:14 (above), we can see how even though God the Father (Elohim) is the ultimate acceptor of Jesus’ offering, that because Jesus is one with His Father, and has the same will as His Father, that Jesus in His role as Father could also accept the atonement made in His role as Son. Thus, in this limited sense, Jesus was all four beings involved in both animal sacrifices and in His own Great Sacrifice.

Christ is indeed our “elder brother,” but He is also our God. Even premortally, His high status, power, and perfection are difficult to comprehend. Let’s remember, however, that Jesus is and will always be subject to His Father, who is the ultimate object of our worship, the original author of the plan of salvation, and the only literal father of our spirits. Also, despite Jesus’ oneness with the Father in the premortal existence and during His mortal life, Jesus did not receive ultimate, absolute perfection until His resurrection.

References

1 Of course, our Christian friends who don’t accept restoration scriptures or living prophets nevertheless accept Christ as “the everlasting Father,” but most of them believe that Christ and the Father are the same being anyway.

2 https://history.churchofjesuschrist.org/training/library/general-authorities-of-the-church/list-of-presidents-of-the-church-and-their-counselors?lang=eng

3 “The Father and the Son,” proclamation of the First Presidency and Council of the Twelve Apostles, 30 June 1916; originally published in the Improvement Era, August 1916, pp. 934-942.

https://archive.org/details/improvementera19010unse/page/934/mode/2up but now more easily accessible as an appendix in the Encyclopedia of Mormonism, or as republished in Ensign, April 2002.

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2002/04/the-father-and-the-son?lang=eng

4 The scriptures cited in the Doctrinal Exposition to illustrate Christ as the “Father of heaven and earth” are: Mosiah 15:4; Alma 11:38-39; and Ether 4:7. My list includes all of these, and in addition, 2 Nephi 25:12; Mosiah 3:8; Helaman 14:12, and 16:18. My lists come from books I’ve previously published; I did my own scripture searching for those books, and later compared to the Proclamation’s scriptural citations. See The Heart of the Gospel: Explorations into the Workings of the Atonement (2013) p. 23 note 7; p. 36 note 9; and p. 160 note 12; God’s Organizing Power: Explorations into the Power and Blessings of the Priesthood (2014), p. 21 note 7; and Who is the Holy Ghost? (2024), p. 6 note A. (All published by Eborn Books, Salt Lake City.)

5 The Doctrinal Exposition’s term for this category of fatherhood is “Father of those who abide in His gospel.”

6 The scriptures the Exposition cites to illustrate Christ as our spiritual Father are: Mosiah 15:10-13; D&C 9:1; 25:1; 34:3; 39:1-4; 121:7. It also cites D&C 11:28-30; 35:1-2; 45:7-8, although these refer to “sons of God” and not explicitly to the Fatherhood of Christ. (Note that some of the other D&C scriptures, such as D&C 34:3, listed above, also refer to “sons of God,” but go on to say something like “Wherefore, you are my [Christ’s] son.” So, all the scriptures in the first list are indeed about sons of Christ.

My list, compiled from lists in books I’ve previously published (see list in previous endnote, in the Father of Heaven and Earth section), and for which I did my own scripture searching prior to comparing to the Doctrinal Exposition’s scriptural citations, include Mosiah 15:11-12 (similar to Mosiah 15:10-13 used in the Exposition) as well as D&C 25:1 and D&C 34:3; but my list is heavier on additional Book of Mormon scriptures.

7 See essay #2, “The Holy Ghost’s Roles in the Godhead and in Our Sanctification and Sealing,” in Richard D. Gardner, Who is the Holy Ghost (Salt Lake City, UT: Eborn Books, 2024).

The Exposition quotes D&C 93:21-22 (“And all those who are begotten through me are partakers of the glory of the same, and are the church of the Firstborn”) and then states: “For such figurative use of the term “begotten” in application to those who are born unto God, see Paul’s explanation: ‘For in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel” (1 Corinthians 4:15). An analogous instance of sonship attained by righteous service is found in the revelation relating to the order and functions of priesthood, given in 1832:

“…They become the sons of Moses and of Aaron and the seed of Abraham, and the church and kingdom, and the elect of God” (D&C 84:33-34 [I’ve only quoted v. 34 here]).

I have speculated in Essay #2 in Who is the Holy Ghost? (referenced above) that this figurative use of “begotten” might not be as figurative as we’ve imagined; perhaps we can receive in our spirits not only Christ’s, but also Moses’ and Aaron’s, and Abraham’s spiritual DNA—which is some actual substance (see D&C 131:7)—as well as that of our ancestors to whom we are sealed.

8 Just as young children have their father’s name but do not yet have his authority or powers, upon our baptism we are “babes in Christ” (1 Peter 2:2; 1 Corinthians 3:1). By taking Christ’s name more fully in the temple, we “grow up” in Him. As I’ve said elsewhere, “Exaltation is more than living in the celestial kingdom. It is even more than justification and sanctification. It is to be like God, full of priesthood power and the ability to procreate eternally. It means to not only be a son or daughter of Christ, but to “grow up” in Christ, because although sons and daughters inherit, a full inheritance comes only for ‘adults in Christ.’” As Paul said, “Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all” (Galatians 4:1). See Richard D. Gardner, Who is the Holy Ghost? (Salt Lake City: Eborn Books, 2024), p. 173.

On this subject, then-Elder Oaks said, “It is significant that when we partake of the sacrament we do not witness that we take upon us the name of Jesus Christ. We witness that we are willing to do so. (See D&C 20:77.) The fact that we only witness to our willingness suggests that something else must happen before we actually take that sacred name upon us in the most important sense. What future event or events could this covenant contemplate? The scriptures suggest two sacred possibilities, one concerning the authority of God, especially as exercised in the temples, and the other‚—closely related‚—concerning exaltation in the celestial kingdom.” Dallin H. Oaks, “Taking Upon Us the Name of Jesus Christ,” Ensign, May 1985. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1985/05/taking-upon-us-the-name-of-jesus-christ?lang=eng

9 Elder Bruce R. McConkie explained: “Those accountable mortals who then believe and obey the gospel are born again…They become members of another family, have new brothers and sisters, and a new Father. They are the sons and daughters of Jesus Christ… Thereafter, through celestial marriage, they are adopted into the family of God the Father, becoming his sons and daughters. In this sense, they are brothers, not sons, of Christ; they become heirs of God; they are joint-heirs with Christ. … Those who are sons of God in this sense are the ones who become gods in the world to come.” Bruce R. McConkie. Doctrinal New Testament Commentary (Salt Lake City, Utah: Bookcraft, 1973) 2: 471-472. (See also p. 474.) See also Bruce R. McConkie. “Sons of God” in Mormon Doctrine (Salt Lake City, Utah: Bookcraft, 1979), p. 745.

10 I used mostly Book of Mormon scriptures (3 Nephi 1:14; Ether 4:12; and Mosiah 15:1-7; as well as D&C 93:3-4) to illustrate divine investiture of authority, as I have done in books previously published (see previous endnote, in the Father of Heaven and Earth section). I don’t know anyone else who used these scriptures to illustrate this concept in particular, although someone might have. I also cited Moses 1:6, which shows Christ speaking to Moses as if Christ were the Father. The main scriptures listed in the Doctrinal Exposition to illustrate divine investiture of authority are those declaring the Father and the Son as one. The scriptures listed are: John 10:30; 17:11,22; 3 Nephi 20:35; 28:10; and D&C 50:43. The Exposition’s authors also note by analogy that the John’s revelation was given to him by an angel (Revelation 1:1) but the angel spoke in Christ’s name: “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last” (Revelation 22:12-13). Nevertheless, we know it was still the angel speaking, because John, who fell down to worship, was told, “See thou do it not; for I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God” (Revelation 22:9).

11 Two additional ways that Christ received the Father’s fulness are that 1) The priesthood and gospel were named after Christ, and Christ became the direct source of our priesthood (The Holy Priesthood after the order of the Son of God—D&C 107:3); and 2) Christ inherited Fatherly qualities from His Father, enabling Christ to be our Father in the ways detailed here.

12 Joseph Fielding McConkie, Robert L. Millet, and Brent L. Top, Doctrinal Commentary on the Book of Mormon (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1992), 4:7; italics added.

13 This paragraph is from Richard D. Gardner, The Heart of the Gospel: Explorations into the Workings of the Atonement (Salt Lake City: Eborn Books, 2013), p. 147.

14 These paragraphs comparing Christ’s sacrifice and animal sacrifices are taken from Richard D. Gardner, The Heart of the Gospel: Explorations into the Workings of the Atonement (Salt Lake City: Eborn Books, 2013), p. 142-143.

A Stack of Invitations from the Book of Mormon

Several years ago, I gave a copy of the Book of Mormon to one of my best friends. After a few days, I asked her what she thought. She said that she started to read, but it was difficult to understand, and she had stopped. I was shocked. My friend was well-educated. She had a master’s degree and taught English at the local college. Nevertheless, I sympathized with her.

The first several times I read the Book of Mormon, I struggled to keep track of the logistics. Who left the land of Nephi and who returned, and how did they all end up in Zarahemla? Why are there two Ammons, and which one cut off the robbers’ arms?

In pondering a newbie’s attempt to understand the Book of Mormon, I have found it meaningful to worry less about the logistics and to view it as a collection of invitations. Virtually every story in the book tells us what happens when someone accepts the invitation to come unto Christ and what happens when they don’t.

Consider the major prophets of the Book of Mormon who extend an invitation to repent and come unto Christ:

1. Lehi invites the people of Jerusalem to repent and come unto Christ.
2. Lehi invites his sons, Laman and Lemuel, to repent and come unto Christ.
3. Nephi invites his brothers Laman and Lemuel to repent and come unto Christ.
4. Jacob invites the people of Nephi to repent and come unto Christ.
5. King Benjamin invites his whole kingdom to repent and come unto Christ.
6. Abinadi invites Noah to repent and come unto Christ.
7. Ammon invites Limhi to repent and come unto Christ.
8. Alma invites the people of Zarahemla, Gideon, Melek, and Ammonihah to repent and come unto Christ.
9. Alma invites the apostate Zoramites to repent and come unto Christ.
10. Ammon invites King Lamoni to repent and come unto Christ.
11. Aaron invites King Lamoni’s father to repent and come unto Christ.
12. Alma invites his son Corianton to repent and come unto Christ.
13. Nephi, son of Helaman, invites the Nephites to repent and come unto Christ.
14. Samuel the Lamanite invites the Nephites to repent and come unto Christ.

At this point in the story, Christ comes and himself invites the people to repent.

A book that extends the same invitation over and over again may sound boring. However, the story becomes very compelling when we consider what happens to those who accept the invitation to come unto Christ and those who don’t.

We witness miracles that bless the lives of those who accept the invitation to repent. Nephi is led to the brass plates, finds food in the wilderness, and is taught to build a ship. Alma is led out of bondage when the city’s guards mysteriously fall asleep. Moroni defeats an army twice his size (and twice as mean) due to a prophet’s inspiration. The walls of the prison fall down, kill their tormenters, and Alma and Amulek escape unharmed. Throughout the book, the hardest of hearts are softened.

Equally compelling are the stories of those who don’t accept the invitation to repent. Laman and Lemuel receive an electrical shock, get caught in a raging storm, and are cut off from their parents. Noah refuses to repent and is burned at the stake by his own priests. The city of Ammonihah is destroyed in a single day, leaving a scent so noxious that it takes years before anybody can go near the land. Nephi, son of Helaman, invites the people of Nephi to repent, and when they refuse, they experience war and famine.

Reading the Book of Mormon through the lens of invitations can make the story exceptionally meaningful in our lives. Consider the beauty of some of the invitations in the Book of Mormon:

“I speak by way of invitation, saying: Come and be baptized unto repentance, that ye also may be partakers of the fruit of the tree of life.” (Alma 5:62)

“Remember, remember my son, that it is on the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation;” (Helaman 5:12)

“Awake, my sons, put on the armor of righteousness.” (2 Nephi 1:23)

“If ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?”(Alma 5:26)

We don’t have to completely understand who begat whom or who conquered whom to benefit from The Book of Mormon. Studying the different stories allows us to consider each invitation as if we, personally, were the recipients of the invitation.

The stories we read aren’t always a simple A leads to B. Sometimes, the consequences of obedience or disobedience in The Book of Mormon aren’t revealed for several chapters. Sometimes the people who do repent go through a period of hardship or trial before they receive blessings.

Nevertheless, as we read, we recognize that we also might experience hardship before we are delivered from our trials, that the repentant can be unjustly imprisoned, or beaten, slain, or burned, that the Lord sometimes allows the righteous to suffer so he can justly judge the wicked. The invitations in the Book of Mormon demonstrate that trials will test our faith, but ultimately, those who accept the invitations are blessed.

JeaNette Goates Smith is the author of Side by Side: Supporting a Spouse in Church Service, published by Deseret Book. She has taught seminary and institute, and at BYU Education Week. She and her husband, Bret, recently returned from serving as mission leaders in the Dominican Republic.

How Was Abinadi a Prophet “Like unto Moses”?

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Come, Follow Me Podcast #20: “A Light … That Can Never Be Darkened”, Mosiah 11-17

Maurine

There are many times in our lives when we just have to stand up for the truth and, sometimes we stand alone. Has that ever happened in your life?  Has it happened in the lives of your ancestors or the lives of your children?  President Nelson said recently: “Why do we need such resilient faith? Because difficult days are ahead. Rarely in the future will it be easy or popular to be a faithful Latter-day Saint. Each of us will be tested.” (Nelson, Russell M., The Future of the Church: Preparing the World for the Savior’s Second Coming, Ensign, April 2020.)

This week’s material is a great lesson on boldness, standing up for the truth and being faithful when it is not too popular.

Scot

Hello dear friends, we are Scot and Maurine Proctor, and this is Meridian Magazine’s Come Follow Me Podcast.  This week’s lesson covers Mosiah, chapters 11-17 and includes one of your favorite stories from the Book of Mormon.  The title of this lesson is “A Light … Than Can Never Be Darkened.”  The hero of this story stands boldly before a wicked king—and for telling the truth and testifying of the Savior, he is burned to death.  Let’s see what we can learn from all this.

Maurine

Let’s start with the name of our hero this week. Scot, how do you say his name?

Scot

I thought you’d never ask.  You know, with a name like Scot I’m very sensitive to correct spelling and pronunciation.  My name is Scot–with one t–and so many people pronounce it Scot-t. Ha!  No, how about our hero today?  A-bin-ah-dee’!  It’s very possible that that’s how he heard his name in his day.  We don’t have a recording of the names of all the characters in the Book of Mormon.  We say them traditionally, Nephi, Lehi, Ammon, Helaman and Abinadi.  But it might be that they heard their names as Nay-fee, Lay-he, Am’-moan, Ha-el-aman and Ab-in-ad-ee’!  Whenever we’re in the Arabian Peninsula and talking about Lehi or Nephi, we always use their pronunciation of Lay-he and Nay-fee. That is because Semitic names usually put the emphasis on the last syllable. (the em-phaw-sis on the last syll-a-bull) But, let’s just refer to our hero today as Abinadi.

We learn this from Dr. Todd Parker, Professor of Ancient Scripture at BYU:  “The name “Abinadi” (see Mosiah 11:20) appears to be symbolic. In Hebrew, ab means “father,” abi means “my father,” and nadi is “present with you,” so the name Abinadi may reflect his mission; it may mean something like “my father is present with you.” In the Book of Mormon account, the alleged reason for killing him was because Abinadi claimed that God would come down and would be with man (see Mosiah 15:1-7). That was the charge of blasphemy they finally used to put him to death (see Mosiah 17:8).” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abinadi)

Maurine

That is fascinating.  And Abinadi is truly a bold and amazing prophet.  But we don’t know a lot about him.  We know a lot about the setting, however.  The story takes place in the land or city of Lehi-Nephi—that’s the first place Nephi settled after he separated from his brethren about 385 years earlier.  Zeniff had died and he conferred his kingdom upon Noah, “one of his sons.” (See Mosiah 11:1).  That line has always gotten me—“one of his sons.”  What if Zeniff had turned the kingdom over to a much more trustworthy, faithful son?  Was Noah just the oldest or was he closest to his father and just a big smoozer? Or was he the best of the lot?  How is it that he was made king?  We really don’t know from the record.  But we do know a great deal about Noah himself.

Scot

We certainly do.  1.  He didn’t keep the commandments of God. 2. He walked after the desires of his own heart. 3. He practices apostate polygamy and added to that many concubines. 4. As king he caused the people to also follow his example and commit sin and do abominable things, including whoredoms and “all manner of wickedness.” (see Mosiah 11:2)

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Well, this is not all.  5.  He laid a one-fifth tax on all that the people possessed.  That means that if you had your established home and belongings and flocks and herds and wealth, the initial tax was 20% of everything you then owned—all your gold and silver and ziff, and copper and brass and iron—and a fifth part of all their fatlings and all their grain.  He took all this just to support his riotous living and to support his tremendous building program. 6.  He was given to drink—he was a winebibber.

Scot

That’s right, and we can’t forget that Noah also had wicked priests who surrounded him who also lived the same lifestyle—and they, too, were supported by this tax of the people.  Noah had gotten rid of all the priests that his father, Zeniff, had serving in his court—and he obviously put in his cronies, his buddies, his pals, all who were lifted up in the pride of their hearts as he was. (See Mosiah 11:5). He sought the comfort of being surrounded with people who were just like him.  We also know that Noah was lazy, idolatrous and committed whoredoms.  So, all the people are laboring exceedingly—or we might say, working their guts out to support iniquity. (See Mosiah 11:6)

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But this is not all.  With all this seizing of the people’s possessions and wealth, Noah started a very aggressive building program.  He built many elegant and spacious buildings “and he ornamented them with fine work of wood, and of all manner of precious things, of gold, and of silver, and of iron, and of brass, and of ziff, and of copper” (see Mosiah 11:8) – the very things he had taken away from the people!  And, of course, Noah built a spacious palace for himself with a very amazing throne which was ornamented with gold and silver and precious things. (See Mosiah 11:9)

Just a footnote here, Scot, since you and I love studying everything in the Book of Mormon.

Ziff is only mentioned two times in the Book of Mormon text—and it’s right here in Mosiah chapter 11—verses 3 and 8.  Since it is in that list with other precious metals—it is likely that ziff is the transliteration of the Nephite word for this alloy of precious metals. Ziff is the probably the same as tumbaga—used throughout pre-Columbian Mesoamerica.  Tumbaga is an alloy of gold and copper.  “Tumbaga was widely used by the pre-Columbian cultures … to make religious objects. Like most gold alloys, tumbaga was versatile and could be cast, drawn, hammered, gilded, soldered, welded, plated, hardened, annealed, polished, engraved, embossed, and inlaid.” (Wikipedia: Tumbaga) That description fits perfectly for what Noah used it for.

Scot

And I love the detail the record goes into here.  Mormon, the great abridger of all the records of the Nephites, goes out of his way to let us see this setting and paint the great need for repentance of this people.  He goes into great detail even about the places where the priests sat:

“And the seats which were set apart for the high priests, which were above all the other seats, he did ornament with pure gold; and he caused a breastwork to be built before them, that they might rest their bodies and their arms upon while they should speak lying and vain words to his people” (Mosiah 11:11). And you can bet that there is some ziff thrown in the mix here for these fancy-pants seats. Here they are called priests, but they lie to the people. A glimpse in a snapshot of their condition.

That is quite the scene, isn’t it?  And wonderful artists like Arnold Friberg, Jeremy Winborg, James Fullmer and Andrew Bosley have helped us to imagine this great contrast between evil and good in their paintings of this. As a child, the thing I remembered most about Arnold Friberg’s depiction of Abinadi, was the two jaguars that were looking up at the prophet and growling!  Aren’t we grateful for these talented artists?

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They have certainly blessed our lives.  Now, back to our scene here of pure wickedness.  What happens when the people, especially a people who have once had the gospel among them, turn from the Lord and begin to embrace such wickedness?  When there is imminent spiritual destruction, the Lord, in His goodness and generosity and love, sends a prophet to call the people to repentance.  And in the ancient world, the prophets usually did not come with an envoy.  They came alone.  They stood alone.  They boldly bore their testimonies to the wicked, called them to repentance and pled with them to turn to the Lord. Such was Abinadi’s mission.

Scot

We see from the record that Abinadi comes twice.  He first comes and cries repentance to the people and he is completely rejected.  The people are all a reflection of the king’s wickedness.  Abinadi gives them a stern warning that if they do not repent of their iniquities, the people will be delivered up to their enemies and will be smitten and be taken in to bondage.  As we’ve talked before—bondage and deliverance are two of the great messages of the Book of Mormon.  How do we get out of bondage and Who is our Deliverer?  And I love the last verse of Mosiah 11, verse 29:

29 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.

There are two things that strike me about that verse:  Blindness and the hardening of the heart.

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We were just talking about blindness the other day on our walk, Scot.  Blindness is fascinating.  It’s one of Satan’s greatest tools.  He loves to create blind spots in our vision or give us blindness in certain areas.  This tool is very effective, because when you are blind, well, obviously you can’t see.  And, if you cannot see your own weaknesses or failings or sins or fallacies of thinking—you are miserably blind.  Make no mistake in verse 29 where it says, “Now the eyes of the people were blinded”—there is a direct inference that they were blinded by something or someone.  That someone is Satan.  He uses the same technique in our world today, he used the same technique after the great sign of the birth of Christ—when nearly everyone initially believed.  He blinded their minds and he blinded their eyes and even led them to believe that “the doctrine of Christ was a foolish and a vain thing.” (See 3 Nephi 2:1-2)

Scot

And Satan hardens our hearts.  Does this mean hardening of the arteries as in arteriosclerosis?  Well, not really—but that could also play a role.  The heart is always symbolic of the center of our emotions and feelings.  If Satan can harden our hearts—make those flexible parts of us to become inflexible and hardened, or obdurate or unmoving—he can keep us from feeling anything from the Spirit.  He can harden our hearts so that we will not be able to receive revelation.  He can harden our hearts and blind our minds so as to destroy our relationships with the those we love the most and with the Lord Himself.  Blindness and hardness of hearts are really powerful tools of Satan—and we see it so clearly in the court of wicked King Noah and among his people.

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We certainly see all the wicked priests of Noah protecting their jobs as they bring Abinadi before the king.  After reporting to the king all the evil that Abinadi has spoken against him, the priests question in Mosiah chapter 12, verses 13 and 14:

13 And now, O king, what great evil hast thou done, or what great sins have thy people committed, that we should be condemned of God or judged of this man?

14 And now, O king, behold, we are guiltless, and thou, O king, hast not sinned; therefore, this man has lied concerning you, and he has prophesied in vain.

Isn’t that the perfect view of blindness and hypocrisy?

Scot

Job security is a huge issue for these wicked priests.  And isn’t it so significant that these priests could quote scriptures, even from Isaiah, and did not understand them at all?  These priests were so into their wickedness they were now past feeling.  Abinadi summarized their condition in verse 27 of chapter 12:

27 Ye have not applied your hearts to understanding; therefore, ye have not been wise…

This idea of applying our hearts to understanding is really critical.  Let us be so careful that we are not just “reading” our scriptures, or “studying” our manuals and lessons, or “talking” about these eternal truths without applying them to our hearts to understanding.

We might ask these questions as we delve into the scriptures:

What is the Lord trying to say to me personally here?
How do I apply this teaching to my life and current situation?
How do I hear Him?  (Does that one sound familiar?)
How can I draw closer to Him by applying these truths in my life?
Is there something the Lord wants me to understand right here, right now?

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And what would the Lord have me do?

How do I take these teachings and apply them to action?

Based on the things that I am reading, what can I do to serve my fellowmen more than I am now?

I’m always thinking what are the actionable items for me in the messages of the scriptures?

Clearly the wicked priests of Noah, and Noah himself were not willing to process any of these questions because of their blindness and their hard hearts.

Scot

But I do love Abinadi’s discerning of their hearts in the midst of this initial exchange.  He asks them in verse 30 of chapter 12:

30 Know ye not that I speak the truth? Yea, ye know that I speak the truth; and you ought to tremble before God.

He knew that that they knew that what he was saying to them was true.  I think at this point, the one wicked priest by the name of Alma, started reconsidering his ways.

But the King responded to Abinadi’s accusations and truths this way:

1 And now when the king had heard these words, he said unto his priests: Away with this fellow, and slay him; for what have we to do with him, for he is mad. (Mosiah 13:1)

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We mentioned that Abinadi came alone, but clearly the Lord is with him, so, he is really not alone. But there he is boldly standing before King Noah, the winebibber, adulterer, whoremonger, sinner king. And he calls him and all the priests to repentance.  His message is clear and they get it right away and decide to take him away.  But, before they can even touch him to drag him off, Abinadi is filled with the Spirit of the Lord:

2 And they stood forth and attempted to lay their hands on him; but he withstood them, and said unto them:

3 Touch me not, for God shall smite you if ye lay your hands upon me, for I have not delivered the message which the Lord sent me to deliver; neither have I told you that which ye requested that I should tell; therefore, God will not suffer that I shall be destroyed at this time. (Mosiah 13: 2-3)

Scot

And I love how the Spirit of the Lord comes upon Abinadi.  The record says:

5 Now it came to pass after Abinadi had spoken these words that the people of king Noah durst not lay their hands on him, for the Spirit of the Lord was upon him; and his face shone with exceeding luster, even as Moses’ did while in the mount of Sinai, while speaking with the Lord.

6 And he spake with power and authority from God … (Mosiah 13: 5-6)

This experience of the prophet’s face shining with exceeding luster is fascinating.  We have about a dozen accounts of this happening in history.  You’re familiar with most of them.

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That’s right.  When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, having spoken face to face with Jehovah, the scriptures record:

“…that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him.

30 And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him.” That’s in Exodus 34: 29-30.

Scot

And remember that Jesus face was filled to on the Mount of Transfiguration:

And [Jesus] was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. (see Matthew 17: 1-2)

And we have people in Church History who saw this same thing happen to the Prophet Joseph Smith.  Anson Call recorded this when Joseph Smith saw the Rocky Mountains appear before him in vision:

“… and now [I] saw, while he was talking, his countenance change to white, not the deadly white of a bloodless face, but a living, brilliant white. He seemed absorbed in gazing upon something at a great distance and said, “I am gazing upon the valleys of those mountains.”” (https://www.fairmormon.org/answers/Joseph_Smith/Prophet/Rocky_Mountain_prophecy)

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Wilford Woodruff recorded:

“His face was clear as amber. The room was filled with consuming fire.” (http://www.ldschurchnewsarchive.com/articles/30867/Conference-moments-With-Spirit-and-power.html)

Philo Dibble reported:

“[Joseph] seemed to be dressed in an element of glorious white, and his face shone as if it were transparent” (https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/m-russell-ballard_came-kirtland/)

Lorenzo Snow said:

“At times [Joseph] was filled with the Holy Ghost, speaking as with the voice of an archangel, and filled with the power of God; his whole person shone and his face was lightened until it appeared as the whiteness of the driven snow.” (http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865663550/What-pioneers-wrote-of-their-impressions-of-the-Prophet-Joseph-Smith.html)

Scot

And one of my favorites is from Mary Rollins Lightner.  She is the same person, who as a young girl rescued the signature sheets from the Book of Commandments in 1833 when a mob was destroying the press.  She recorded of this experience in Kirtland about the Prophet Joseph:

“Joseph looked around very solemnly. It was the first time some of them had ever seen him.  “Said he, “There are enough here to hold a little meeting.” They got a board and put it across two chairs to make seats. Martin Harris sat on a little box at Joseph’s feet. They sang and prayed. Joseph got up and began to speak to us. As he began to speak very solemnly and very earnestly, all at once his countenance changed and he stood mute. Those who looked at him that day said there was a search light within him, over every part of his body. I never saw anything like it on the earth. I could not take my eyes off him; he got so white that anyone who saw him would have thought he was transparent. I remember I thought I could almost see the cheek bones through the flesh. I have been through many changes since but that is photographed on my brain. I shall remember it and see in my mind’s eye as long as I remain upon the earth.” (https://www.familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/932967)

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I love Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner. And there are other of these accounts about Joseph Smith and about David O. McKay that we have record of.  Why is this even important to note?  I think it shows us a number of things.

One. We are never completely alone.  The Lord and His Spirit are always near as we live the commandments and strive to stay close to Him.

Two. The Lord can show forth great power so that the people who witness it can understand that the Lord is near.  This is the case with Moses, with Abinadi, with Joseph Smith and others.

Three. That physical witness that the people can see is binding upon them and can either serve to help convert them to the truth—as we will see in this story with Abinadi—or it will stand as a sure witness against those who see, but will not see.

Scot

And I think, Four. We realize that our body is just an instrument in the Lord’s hands.  When Moses had been talking with the Lord face to face and the Lord withdrew from him, he fell to the earth and was quite unable to do anything for many hours.  This caused Moses to say, “Now, for this cause I know that man is nothing, which thing I never had supposed.” (See Moses 1:10) And I think this shows, five, that the spirit and the body are separate and the Lord’s influence can light up our spirit so that they shine forth as nothing early can. And six, that when we are filled with this light we can speak with power and authority.

This scene was powerful with Abinadi, because he was now absolutely protected by the power of God and he then delivered the full message that he was called to deliver to Noah and the wicked priests.

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And I love how he taught them the Ten Commandments as part of his core message and he told them that boldly that they were breaking these commandments and they needed to repent.  “For,” said Abinadi, “I perceive that they are not written in your hearts.” (Mosiah 13:11). That begs the question for each of us: Are the commandments and laws of God written upon our hearts?  That is worth some deep pondering.

Abinadi asked the wicked priests—almost as a test—if they thought salvation came by the law of Moses.  They said they thought it did.  Then Abinadi taught them this:

28 … I say unto you, that salvation doth not come by the law alone; and were it not for the atonement, which God himself shall make for the sins and iniquities of his people, that they must unavoidably perish, notwithstanding the law of Moses. (See Moses 13:28)

Scot

Abinadi testifies boldly that God Himself, the Messiah, will come down among the children of men “and take upon him the form of man, and go forth in mighty power upon the face of the earth.” (Mosiah 13:34). Remember, this testimony and prophecy is given about 148 years before Christ’s birth.  Then Abinadi reminded the wicked priests and King Noah that all the prophets since the beginning have testified of this same Jesus Christ—the Messiah.

And to make it perfectly clear, Abinadi quotes the entire 53^rd chapter of Isaiah to his reluctant yet captive audience—this is one of the greatest Messianic chapters in all of holy writ.  You know it perfectly well, with language like:

He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief…

Surely he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows…

But he was wounded for our transgressions…and with his stripes we are healed. (see Mosiah 14: 3-5)

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I love that fact that in the midst of this pure wicked group he draws from this intimate and powerful witness of the Messiah Who will come.  Abinadi is doing all he can to try to convince them and convert them to the true Messiah and to keep his commandments.  You see him here as a Prophet of compassion and love as he stands alone, boldly testifying of Jesus to these 24 high priests and one wicked king.

Are we willing to stand alone, to boldly testify of what we know or stand firm in the truth in the midst of persecution or ridicule?

Scot

I love this story that President Monson told from his life some years ago:

“I believe my first experience in having the courage of my convictions took place when I served in the United States Navy near the end of World War II.

“Navy boot camp was not an easy experience for me, nor for anyone who endured it. For the first three weeks I was convinced my life was in jeopardy. The navy wasn’t trying to train me; it was trying to kill me.

“I shall ever remember when Sunday rolled around after the first week. We received welcome news from the chief petty officer. Standing at attention on the drill ground in a brisk California breeze, we heard his command: “Today everybody goes to church—everybody, that is, except for me. I am going to relax!” Then he shouted, “All of you Catholics, you meet in Camp Decatur—and don’t come back until three o’clock. Forward, march!” A rather sizeable contingent moved out. Then he barked out his next command: “Those of you who are Jewish, you meet in Camp Henry—and don’t come back until three o’clock. Forward, march!” A somewhat smaller contingent marched out. Then he said, “The rest of you Protestants, you meet in the theaters at Camp Farragut—and don’t come back until three o’clock. Forward, march!”

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“Instantly there flashed through my mind the thought, “Monson, you are not a Catholic; you are not a Jew; you are not a Protestant. You are a Mormon, so you just stand here!” I can assure you that I felt completely alone. Courageous and determined, yes—but alone.

“And then I heard the sweetest words I ever heard that chief petty officer utter. He looked in my direction and asked, “And just what do you guys call yourselves?” Until that very moment I had not realized that anyone was standing beside me or behind me on the drill ground. Almost in unison, each of us replied, “Mormons!” It is difficult to describe the joy that filled my heart as I turned around and saw a handful of other sailors.

“The chief petty officer scratched his head in an expression of puzzlement but finally said, “Well, you guys go find somewhere to meet. And don’t come back until three o’clock. Forward, march!”

Scot

“As we marched away, I thought of the words of a rhyme I had learned in Primary years before:

“Dare to be a Mormon;
Dare to stand alone.
Dare to have a purpose firm;
Dare to make it known.

“Although the experience turned out differently from what I had expected, I had been willing to stand alone, had such been necessary.

“Since that day, there have been times when there was no one standing behind me and so I did stand alone. How grateful I am that I made the decision long ago to remain strong and true, always prepared and ready to defend my religion, should the need arise.” (Monson, Thomas S., Dare to Stand Alone, General Conference, October 2011)

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I love that story from President Monson.

Now, Abinadi testifies “that God himself shall come down among the children of men, and shall redeem his people.” (Mosiah 15:1). This plays into the meaning of Abinadi’s name:  “My father is present with you.”  This chapter 15 can sometimes be confusing for people as Abinadi teaches the concept of Christ being the Father and the Son.

What did Abinadi mean? He taught that God the Son—Jehovah—would be the Redeemer (see Mosiah 15:1), dwelling in the flesh, becoming part man and part God (Mosiah 15:2-3).

He will completely subject Himself to the will of God the Father (Mosiah 15:5-9).

And because of this, Jesus Christ is both the Son of God and the perfect earthly representation of God the Father (see John 14:6-10).  We can look to Jesus Christ to understand in every way the Father, His love, His compassion, His long-suffering, His mercy, His tender care, His awareness of the widow and the wealthy, His knowing us by name.  All these characteristics of Jesus are the perfect reflection of the characteristics of the Father.

Scot

And Abinadi continued by explaining that Jesus Christ is also the Father in the sense that when we accept His redemption, we become “his seed” (Mosiah 15:11-12). In other words, we become spiritually reborn through Him (see Mosiah 5:7) and He becomes our spiritual Father.

Abinadi closes his witness with a powerful testimony of the ministry, mission, atonement, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  He testified:

“He is the light and the 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.” (Mosiah 16:9)

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Now, with all this powerful testimony, there is one solitary soul among all the wicked who is moved and touched by Abinadi’s words.  His name was…Alma.  He knew that Abinadi’s words were true.  He knew that they were living in sin. And he began to plead with the king that he would not be angry with Abinadi and not harm him.  But the king now turned on Alma and sent his servants to slay him.  But Alma ran from this setting and went and hid and wrote down all the words of Abinadi.

Scot

Through all of this, Noah is given one more chance.  Abinadi is accused of saying that God himself will come down and be with us and for this cause he is deemed worthy of death.  How ironic!  The very thing that can save this wicked king and these wicked priests is the thing he is condemned for.  He testified that he is innocent and that if they slay him they will be slaying an innocent man and the judgements of God will come upon the king.  King Noah nearly released him (see Mosiah 17:11) but then all the wicked high priests reviled against Abinadi and said, “He has reviled the king.” (Mosiah 17:12)

This is a perfect picture of peer pressure, pride, hardening of the heart and blindness.

The king gives the order and Abinadi is burned to death.  Even as he is in the flames he testifies that this same thing will happen to King Noah.

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Scot, it appears that evil triumphed in this story—the prophet of God is burned to death and wicked King Noah and the wicked priests go free.  But wait, Abinadi did have one convert.  His name, of course, is Alma, and through him the entire course of religious history for the Nephites and the Lamanites will be changed.  Abinadi’s mission was a success!

Scot

That’s all for today.  Thank you for joining us.  We love you and we love studying with you.  Next week’s lesson will cover Mosiah, chapters 18-24 and is entitled “We Have Entered into a Covenant with Him.”  Special thanks to Paul Cardall for the beautiful music that opens and closes this podcast and thanks to Michaela Proctor Hutchins for producing this show.  Have a wonderful week, be safe and see you next time.

Why Did Abinadi Use a Disguise?

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View the article on Book of Mormon Central

“And it came to pass that after the space of two years that Abinadi came among them in disguise, that they knew him not, and began to prophesy among them.”
Mosiah 12:1

The Know

When Abinadi first preached repentance unto the people of King Noah, they were “wroth with him, and sought to take away his life” (Mosiah 11:26). After hearing reports of Abinadi’s prophecies, King Noah also sought to slay Abinadi, but the “Lord delivered him out of their hands” (v. 26). Two years later, Abinadi again preached unto the people, but this time he “came among them in disguise, that they knew him not” (Mosiah 12:1). Angered by Abinadi’s prophecies of impending captivity, afflictions, and destruction, the people bound and carried him before King Noah for judgment (vv.1–9).

Some have found Abinadi’s use of a disguise rather puzzling, seeing that he sought to conceal his identity while at the same time openly preaching among the people.[1] It’s possible that the disguise was merely used to gain entrance to the city, and that after he was among the people it was no longer needed.[2] Yet when this story is compared to biblical stories which also deal with prophetic messengers, kings, and disguises,[3] it seems that there is likely more to Abinadi’s disguise than initially meets the eye.

Biblical scholar Richard Coggins has explained that in these types of biblical narratives, “one of the parties disguises himself (or in one case herself), but the disguise is penetrated, and God’s will is conveyed in a form which is liable to be quite unacceptable to the one seeking it.”[4] Coggins also argued that the appearance of prophetic disguises in several Old Testament stories, all from the same historical period, is “surely not simply a matter of coincidence.” Rather, with the use of a prophetic disguise, “a theological point is being made.”[5]

These stories typically depict a contest or conflict between God and an earthly king. As Alan Goff has noted, “All of the kings or their heirs in the biblical disguise stories meet with brutal deaths, and in each case the dynasty fails.”[6] The same outcome befell King Noah, who was burned to death by his own people and whose dynasty ended after the reign of his son (Mosiah 19:20).

As for the disguise itself, it’s notable that right before it is mentioned in the text, the narrator reported that the “eyes of the people were blinded” (Mosiah 11:29).[7] This suggests that the disguise typifies the inability of wicked people to discern between truth and error.[8] King Noah himself arrogantly asked, “Who is Abinadi, that I and my people should be judged of him, or who is the Lord, that shall bring upon my people such great affliction?” (Mosiah 11:27). Although Noah’s question was surely meant to be rhetorical, it ironically demonstrates his personal lack of spiritual perception. He could discern neither the Lord nor his prophetic servant.

Interestingly, Noah’s statement is hauntingly similar to Pharaoh’s challenge to Moses: “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go?” (Exodus 5:2).[9] There are other important connections to Moses as well. It was Moses who revealed the Ten Commandments to Israel, and Abinadi severely rebuked King Noah and his priests for neither teaching nor keeping these commandments (Mosiah 13:11–26).[10] When Moses returned from the presence of the Lord, “the skin of his face shone; and [the people] were afraid to come nigh him” (Exodus 34:30). For this reason, Moses “put a veil on his face” when speaking with the Israelites (v. 33).[11]

The symbolism of the veil—and its connection to a disguise—may be especially significant. It’s possible that King Noah and his people didn’t initially identify Abinadi as the man who had previously preached among them. Even after the people apprehended Abinadi, they repeatedly referred to him as “a man” or “this man” or, in the words of King Noah, as a “fellow” who was “mad.”[12] The record never once mentions that they recognized him.

Their eyes were surely opened, though, when Abinadi’s disguise (whatever its physical nature) was symbolically unveiled and “his face shone with exceeding luster, even as Moses’ did while in the mount of Sinai” (Mosiah 13:5). Whether or not they had already identified him as Abinadi the preacher, there would have been no question at this point that they were dealing with Abinadi the prophet. The people “durst not lay their hands on him,” and King Noah himself was so disturbed that he “was about to release him, for he feared his word” (Mosiah 17:11). Tragically, Noah’s priests persuaded him to knowingly execute a true prophet of God, and in the process, seal his own terrible fate.[13]

The Why

Centuries earlier, Isaiah prophesied that the Lord had poured out a “spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered” (Isaiah 29:10). By using a disguise to literally cover or obscure his identity, Abinadi symbolically demonstrated the spiritual blindness of the people—especially their inability to recognize a true prophet.[14] They may have outwardly accepted Moses and the laws that he revealed, but as Abinadi declared, “I perceive that they are not written in your hearts” (Mosiah 13:11). When it came to the things of God, they were spiritually asleep.

Taylor Halverson remarked, “For the priests of Noah who held Moses in the highest esteem, it is incredible that they were impervious to a prophet who came in the name of Lord with a face that did shine like unto Moses. If they truly followed Moses, why weren’t they willing to follow a prophet who looked like and taught like Moses?”[15]

In some ways, Abinadi’s disguise may also be symbolic of Jesus Christ and His earthly ministry.[16] To King Noah and his priests, Abinadi quoted prophecies that the Messiah Himself would be unrecognizable to His people because He would appear as an ordinary man. He would have “no form nor comeliness” or “beauty that we should desire him” (Mosiah 14:2; cf. Isaiah 53:2). Instead, he would be “despised” because the people “esteemed him not” (v. 3).[17] As recorded in the gospel of John, Jesus Christ “was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not” (John 1:10, emphasis added). Similarly, Abinadi “came among [the people] in disguise, that they knew him not” (Mosiah 12:1, emphasis added).

Hugh Nibley explained, “God had visited the earth in remote times; he had spoken to Abraham and to Moses. … But to ask men to believe that that same God had spoken in their own day, and to a plain man who walked their streets—that was simply too much to take! … It was a test that few have ever passed: the humiliating test of recognizing a true prophet and taking instruction from the weak and humble things of the earth.”[18]

The world today is undergoing this same test. True prophets and apostles are among the people, and yet they mostly remain “hid from the world” (Doctrine and Covenants 86:9).[19] As in times past, modern prophets may look like ordinary men and talk like ordinary men, but their prophetic keys and inspired teachings transcend mortal wisdom and authority.[20]

Among all of King Noah’s priests, Alma alone “believed the words which Abinadi had spoken” (Mosiah 17:20), and through him the church of God was established among the Nephites (Mosiah 18:17–18). Those who similarly awaken themselves to the influence of the Holy Ghost will discern the voice of the True Shepherd speaking through His modern prophets and apostles (see John 10:27).[21] And like Alma, those who recognize these true messengers for who they really are must sometimes “dare to stand alone” in defense of their teachings.[22]

Further Reading

Taylor Halverson, “Mosiah 12–16. Martyr in Disguise,” The Interpreter Foundation, May 11, 2016, online at mormoninterpreter.com.

Alan Goff, “Abinadi’s Disguise and the Fate of King Noah,” Insights 20, no. 12 (2000): 2.

Alan Goff, “Uncritical Theory and Thin Description: The Resistance to History,” Review of Books on the Book of Mormon 7, no. 1 (1995): 170–207.

[1] See Matthew Roper, “Abinadi: Master of Disguise (Howlers #3),” at Ether’s Cave: A Place for Book of Mormon Research, June 13, 2013, online at etherscave.blogspot.com.

[2] The story of Samuel preaching from the city wall is another example where a prophet had to find an unusual way to gain access to the people in order to preach his message (see Helaman 13:2–4).

[3] These stories include the following narratives: (1) King Saul disguising himself in order to receive guidance from the witch of Endor (1 Samuel 28), (2) a prophet disguising himself in order to condemn King Ahab for not executing a Syrian King (1 Kings 20), (3) an Israelite king disguising himself to avoid harm in battle, only to be slain by an archer (1 Kings 22), (4) Josiah disguising himself in order to meet with an Egyptian Pharaoh (2 Chronicles 35; 2 Kings 23), and (5) Jeroboam’s wife disguising herself to visit a blind prophet concerning her son’s illness (1 Kings 14). For detailed summaries of each of these stories, see Richard Coggins, “On Kings and Disguises,” Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 50 (1991): 56–59; Alan Goff, “Uncritical Theory and Thin Description: The Resistance to History,” Review of Books on the Book of Mormon 7, no. 1 (1995): 194–196.

[4] Coggins, “On Kings and Disguises,” 55.

[5] Coggins, “On Kings and Disguises,” 55.

[6] Alan Goff, “Abinadi’s Disguise and the Fate of King Noah,” Insights 20, no. 12 (2000): 2.

[7] For an analysis of the source documents and narrative layers of this story, see John W. Welch, The Legal Cases in the Book of Mormon (Provo, UT: BYU Press and the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, 2008), 140–145.

[8] See Goff, “Abinadi’s Disguise and the Fate of King Noah,” 2 for further discussion of symbolic blindness.

[9] Goff, “Uncritical Theory and Thin Description,” 193 made this connection, noting that “Abinadi’s vocabulary doesn’t invoke just the prophet-king confrontations from the Deuteronomistic history but also that between Moses and Pharaoh.”

[10] See Book of Mormon Central, “Did Abinadi Prophesy During Pentecost? (Mosiah 13:5),” KnoWhy 90 (May 2, 2016).

[11] For more on the use of veils in the Bible and the ancient Near East, see Stephen D. Ricks and Shirley S. Ricks, “‘With Her Gauzy Veil before Her Face’: The Veiling of Women in Antiquity,” in Bountiful Harvest: Essays in Honor of S. Kent Brown, ed. Andrew S. Skinner, D. Morgan Davis, Carl W. Griffin (Provo, UT: Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, 2011), 347–352.

[12] See Mosiah 11:9, 13–14; 13:1.

[13] See Book of Mormon Central, “Why Was Abinadi Scourged with Faggots? (Mosiah 17:13),” KnoWhy, 96 (May 10, 2016); Welch, Legal Cases, 201–205.

[14] Although the specific details of Abinadi’s disguise are absent from this narrative, it’s possible that he used ashes to cover his face. In the Old Testament, ashes were often connected with mourning or destruction (see Jeremiah 6:26; 25:34), and using ashes to obscure identity was a method of disguise used by a prophet in 1 Kings 20:38–41. Considering that Abinadi was prophesying of impending calamities and destruction, it would be symbolically appropriate for him to have used ashes as part of his own disguise.

[15] Taylor Halverson, “Mosiah 12–16. Martyr in Disguise,” The Interpreter Foundation, May 11, 2016, online at mormoninterpreter.com.

[16] Jesus was the great Jehovah of the Old Testament, the “God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth” (3 Nephi 11:14), and yet He condescended to dwell among men in a tabernacle of flesh (Doctrine and Covenants 93:4). In a sense, then, his mortal body itself can be seen as a disguise or covering for His divine nature.

[17] See Book of Mormon Central, “Why Did Abinadi Talk about the Suffering Messiah? (Mosiah 14:4),” KnoWhy 91 (May 3, 2016).

[18] Hugh Nibley, The World and the Prophets, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, Volume 3 (Salt Lake City and Provo, UT: Deseret Book and FARMS, 1987), 7.

[19] See Boyd K. Packer, “The Twelve,” Ensign, May 2008, online at lds.org.

[20] See David A. Bednar, “‘Chosen to Bear Testimony of My Name,’” Ensign, November 2015, 129, online at lds.org: “These ordinary men have undergone a most extraordinary developmental process that has sharpened their vision, informed their insight, engendered love for people from all nations and circumstances, and affirmed the reality of the Restoration.” See also, Boyd K. Packer, “The Mantle Is Far, Far Greater Than the Intellect,” BYU Studies 21, no. 3 (1981): 1–18.

[21] For the imperative to awaken oneself to the glorious truths of the Restoration, see Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Are You Sleeping through the Restoration?” Ensign, May 2014, 59, online at lds.org.

[22] Thomas S. Monson, “Dare to Stand Alone,” Ensign, November 2011, 60–67, online at lds.org. See also, Carol F. McConkie, “Live according to the Words of the Prophets,” Ensign, November 2014, 77–79, online at lds.org.