1. Mosiah 9-17
Abinadi
He is the first Nephite of whom we have record to die as a martyr.
He confronted the wicked establishment single-handily.
So far as we know, he converted one man; yet one man, Alma, became the progenitor of a posterity that kept the sacred records and served the Nephites as their ecclesiastical leaders (and sometimes their political leaders) for the remainder of their history, a period of well over 400 years.
We first hear of Abinadi’s teachings and martyrdom in Mosiah 7:26-28.

3. Arnold Freiberg has given us an outstanding painting that depicts Abinadi as an old man, thin and weather-beaten. And it may very well be so.
But there is nothing in the record to indicate whether he was old or young, large or small.
There seems to be a parallel between Abinadi and the New Testament prophet John the Baptist for the following reasons:
1. Both were lone preachers of righteousness.
2. Both encountered wicked kings.
3. Both spoke of the sinful practices of the king and his people.

4. He was probably not burnt at the stake
4. Both testified of the coming of Christ.
5. Both were martyred.
He was probably not burnt at the stake
The scriptures teach that he “suffered death by fire” (Mosiah 17:20).
Mosiah 17:13 catches our attention. He was bound, and scourged with faggots, yea even until death.
Faggots are a bundle of sticks or twigs used for fuel.
This passage seems to be teaching that Abinadi’s tormentors took burning torches and poked him with them, therefore burning his skin until he died.
Mosiah 17:20 reads, “He fell, having suffered death by fire.”

5. What is the first and second resurrection referring to?
Obviously Mormon had a more complete record of Abinadi’s words than we have.
Abinadi is the first in the Book of Mormon to describe and use the phrase first resurrection.
What is the first and second resurrection referring to?
Ever present in Abinadi’s ministry is his awareness that he was a witness for the Lord Jesus Christ.
First: He spoke in great plainness and with much energy and total commitment.
Second: His words were filled to the letter.
Third: Abinadi was fierce and strong, a terror to evil-doers.

6. Mosiah 9-17 Mosiah 9 = A flashback of approximately 80 years.
Zeniff Noah Limhi
Mosiah 13:2-3
God will not suffer that I shall be destroyed at this time (D&C 5:22 and D&C 6:30, D&C 122:9).
Joseph Smith said, “I know what I say, I understand my mission and business. God Almighty is my shield and what can man do if God is my friend. I shall not be sacrificed until my time comes, then I shall be offered freely (Teachings, 274).

7. Significant Journeys in the Book of Mormon

8. “No righteous man is taken before his time” (Ensign, Dec. 1971, 10).
At the funeral of Elder Richard L. Evans, (a member of the Twelve Apostles) President Joseph Fielding Smith said,
“No righteous man is taken before his time” (Ensign, Dec. 1971, 10).

9. Mosiah 11:26
This was not the first time Abinadi’s life had been spared.
Mosiah 13:2-3
“Touch me not…for I have not delivered the message.”
“Hold on thy way…for their (the enemy’s) bounds are set, they cannot pass. Thy days are known, and thy years shall not be numbered less” (D&C 122:9).

10. Mosiah 13:11
What happens when the commandments are “written in (our) hearts?”
“When we know who we are and what God expects of us --- when his ‘law (is) written in (our) hearts’ --- we are spiritually protected. We become better people” (Russell M. Nelson, Ensign, May 1995, 34).
Mosiah 13:15
How do people today take the name of the Lord in vain?
1. We may take the name of God in vain by profane speech.

11. (James E. Talmage, Conference Report, Oct. 1931, 53).
2. When we swear falsely, not being true to our oaths covenants and promises.
3. In a blasphemous sense when we presume to speak in that name without authority.
4. And when we take his name in vain whenever we willfully do aught that is in defiance of his commandments, since we have taken his name upon ourselves.
(James E. Talmage, Conference Report, Oct. 1931, 53).

12. Mosiah 14:2
How was Jesus “a tender plant” and “a root out of dry ground?”
“He was ‘tender’ in at least two ways --- he was young, pure, innocent, and particularly vulnerable to the pain of sin all around him, and he was caring, thoughtful, sensitive, and kind --- in short, tender… He was to anchor himself and become a mighty root” (Jeffrey R. Holland, Christ and the New Covenant, 90).

13. “He hath no comeliness… no beauty that we should desire him
“He hath no comeliness… no beauty that we should desire him.” The Messiah grew up and lived as other men live, subject to the ills and troubles of mortality…
“There is no mystique, no dynamic appearance, no halo around his head, thunders do not roll and lightnings do not flash at his appearance… He is a man among men, appearing , speaking, dressing,… as they are” (Bruce R. McConkie, Promised Messiah, ).

14. Elder Holland explained the significance of Isaiah 53 as a witness of the Savior’s role:
“Surely the most sublime, the lengthiest and most lyrical declaration of the life, death, and atoning sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ is that found in the 53rd chapter of Isaiah, quoted in its entirety in the Book of Mormon by Abinadi as he stood in chains before King Noah” (Christ and the New Covenant, 89).

15. Abinadi Type/Shadow Christ Mosiah 11:20 Called to preach Matt. 9:13
Consider these foreshadowing links and parallel possibilities between Abinadi, the first Book of Mormon martyr, and Christ, the great and last sacrifice.
Abinadi Type/Shadow Christ
Mosiah 11:20 Called to preach Matt. 9:13
repentance to those
sinning
Mosiah 11:21-23; To deny message Matt. 23:
12:1-8 was to be afflicted , 24:
by the hand of enemies
and brought into bondage

16. Abinadi Type/Shadow Christ
Mosiah 11: Denounced un believers Matt. 23:13-
in public discourse 29
Mosiah 12:9 Stood alone against Matt. 26:56
accusers
Mosiah 12: Bound and taken before John 18:12-
religious priests and 40
Mosiah 12:19 Cross-examined Matt. 26:
Mosiah 13:1 Dismissed as mad John 10:20
Mosiah 13:6 Spoke with power Matt. 7:28-29
and authority

17. Abinadi Type/ Shadow Christ
Mosiah 13: Could not be slain John 10:17-18
until message/ mission
was completed
Mosiah 17: Three-day imprisonment Luke 24:4-8, 46
(entombment)
Mosiah 17: Condemned for blasphemy Matt. 26:63-66
Mosiah 17: Would not recall words Matt. 27: 12-14
Mosiah 17: Innocent blood Matt. 27:24
Mosiah 17: Leader tempted to release John 18:4-25
him but yielded to detractors
and delivered him to be slain

18. Abinadi is the most extensively developed prophetic pre-figuration of Christ in the Book of Mormon and one of the most conspicuously developed types in any of the scriptures.

19. Mosiah 15:2-5 How Christ is both the Father and the Son?
1. He is the creator of heaven and earth.
2. He is the Father of all who accept His Atonement.
3. He is the Father by “divine investiture of authority,” the Savior is fully authorized and commissioned to be the representative of the Father.
(Articles of Faith, James E. Talmage, )

20. How are the Father and Son “One God?”
“In the exalted family of the Gods, the Father and the Son are one. They have the same character, perfections, and attributes. They think the same thoughts, speak the same words, perform the same acts, have the same desires, and do the same works. They possess the same power, have the same mind, know the same truths, live in the same light and glory. To know one is to know the other; to see one is to see the other; to hear the voice of one is to hear the voice of the other. Their unity is perfect. The Son is in the express image of his Father’s person; each has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s” (Bruce R. McConkie, Promised Messiah, 9).

21. Mosiah 15:7
What kind of sacrifice is it to let our will be “swallowed up in the will of the Father?”
“The submission of one’s will is placing on God’s altar the only uniquely personal thing one has to place there. The many other things we ‘give’ are actually the things He has already given or loaned to us. However, when we finally submit ourselves by letting our individual wills be swallowed up in God’s will, we will really be giving something to Him! It is the only possession which is truly ours to give” (Neal A. Maxwell, If Thou Endure it Well, 54).

22. How can Christ have both mercy and justice?
Mosiah 15:9, 19
How can Christ have both mercy and justice?
“In his love and in his mercy, a gracious God seeks the salvation of all his children. But he cannot save the righteous without damning the wicked; he cannot reward the obedient without condemning the rebellious; he cannot fill the hearts of the righteous with unmeasured blessings without pouring out his wrath upon the wicked” (Bruce R. McConkie, Millennial Messiah, 499).

23. Mosiah 15:10-13 “The Seed of Christ”
While serving as Presiding Bishop, Elder Merrill J. Bateman described how Jesus would see His seed:
In the garden and on the cross, Jesus saw each of us and not only bore our sins but also experienced our deepest feelings so he would know how to comfort and strengthen us” (Conference Report, Apr. 1995, 15-16).

24. Mosiah 15:25 (Moroni 8:9 and D&C 137:10) Mosiah 16:4, 13-15
“One person makes a difference!” or “Righteous Reflexes!”
Abinadi may have felt he was a failure as a missionary. He converted only Alma. Then Alma the Younger, (1st chief judge) Helaman, son of Helaman, and his great, great, great grandson – Nephi, a disciple of Christ!

25. Much refining needs to occur
Much refining needs to occur. Unless we endure it well, we will not have the right reflexes needed for the rest of eternity, reflexes we ourselves can trust completely and upon which others also can safely rely forever (Neal A. Maxwell, If Thou Endure it Well, 8).

26. There was a missionary who filled a mission in Ireland
There was a missionary who filled a mission in Ireland. In his homecoming speech he said, “Brothers and sisters, I think my mission was a failure. I labored all my days and I only baptized one little Irish kid.” Years later Brother George A. Callis, a member of the Council of the Twelve Apostles learned where that missionary was living and went to visit him. He asked him, “Do you remember having said that you thought your mission was a failure because you had only baptized one dirty little Irish kid?” The man said, “yes,” Brother Charles A. Callis of the Council of the Twelve of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said, “I am that little Irish kid you baptized” (Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley, ).

27. “Be strong --- in standing for the right.
Mosiah 17:3, 8-10, 20
Abinadi said, “I will not recall (my) words.”
“Be strong --- in standing for the right.
We live in an age of compromise and acquiescence. In situations with which we are daily confronted, we know what is right, but under pressure from our peers and the beguiling voices of those who would persuade us, we capitulate. We compromise… We must cultivate the strength to follow our convictions” (Gordon B. Hinckley, Teachings, 135).

28. Mosiah 17: “Martyrdom”
Martyrdom is the voluntary acceptance of death at the hands of wicked people rather than forsaking Jesus Christ and His gospel. It is the supreme earthly sacrifice in which a man certifies to his absolute faith and to the desires for righteousness and for eternal life which are in his heart (Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, 469).

29. Elder Robert D. Hales emphasized:
“Let us follow the example of our Lord Jesus Christ and His prophets, past and present. It may not be required of us to give our lives as martyrs, as did many of the prophets. What is required is our obedience to the Lord’s commandments and our faithfulness to the covenants we have made with Him” (Conference Report, Apr. 1996, 49).