To watch the video presentation on YouTube, go to: https://youtu.be/fqK8Qcd8hWM
NOTE:
This week, the manual has us covering Mosiah 18-24, but if you remember how I explained it last time, we will be covering the message Abinadi and then Alma at the waters of Mormon this week. So we’ll actually spend most of our time in Mosiah 12-18. Hopefully, that’s ok, I just felt that was a good way to break it up.
ICEBREAKER
Take off your shoes and socks and show them your feet.
Ask them if they know how to get beautiful feet. It’s not by painting your toenails or filing down calluses, or even keeping them washed and moisturized. No, there is a much better way, and Abinadi is going to teach us how.
QUESTIONING THE SEERS
Verse 19 tells us that they begin to “Question”, “Cross”, and “Accuse” him.
And here I believe we have an excellent example of how people even today try to discredit the words of the prophets. If I’m not doing what I should, if I don’t particularly like the message the prophets are giving me, their counsels interfere with my social life or my political persuasions, or my worldly desires. I might try to find a way to question, to cross, or to accuse the prophets. And if I’m successful, then I can feel justified in not listening to them. That’s what I feel is going on here.
Q: Have you ever found yourself doing these same things when the words of the prophets challenge you?
Q: Mosiah 12:20-24 Why do you think they quote this particular prophecy in the context of questioning Abinadi?
So what do you think? Why quote this to Abinadi? This is an accusatory question, a confrontational question. These verses speak about how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth peace, and telling people to rejoice. Why might they say that? Because they are trying to discredit his message. They’re saying Abinadi, your message of condemnation and punishment just doesn’t seem to match up with what the scriptures are saying here. These aren’t good tidings of good. You’re supposed to be giving us good news, and peace, salvation, and joy—not all this reproof and repentance. Therefore, we can dismiss your words.
Tactic #1 Discredit the Message
Do people still use this tactic today? You bet. The Church of Jesus Christ can’t be true because of this particular passage in the Bible that clearly contradicts your doctrine. So we don’t have to listen to you. Your message isn’t progressive enough, it’s too old fashioned, therefore, we don’t have to listen to you. Your message isn’t popular, therefore, we don’t have to listen to you. Your message is confrontational and difficult to accept, therefore, we don’t have to listen to you. There are lots of ways people without and even within the church may try to discredit a prophet’s message.
But this is what I love about Abinadi. His response is so good and so bold and in their face. It’s almost as if he’s saying, oh really, you, you want to try and use the scriptures against me. You wanna go there. You want to understand that verse? I’ll tell you the meaning of that verse and while I’m at it, I’ll fulfill that prophesy right here and now, and I’ll even use it to condemn you. You like Isaiah huh, I’ll give you some Isaiah. And then oooh, he just lets them have it. It’s really kind of fun to watch.
Read Mosiah 12:25-27
And that’s the real problem, isn’t it? They have not applied their hearts to understanding. They are cherry-picking verses that seem to support their words and condemn Abinadis. They are wresting the scriptures as Alma says in Alma 13:20. That’s a caution to us as well. As we study the scriptures or listen to the living prophets, or follow the counsel of loving parents and church leaders, we can be careful not just look for what we want to hear and disregard the rest. We’ve got to apply our hearts to understanding. There are things that our minds, or our bodies, or our natural man might want to understand, but in our hearts, we know they’re wrong. Be sure to seek truth with an understanding heart. Don’t seek to discredit their message or make them an offender for a word.
Well, Abinadi ends that verse with “What teach ye this people?” You know, if you don’t understand that verse, what in the world are you teaching?
Their answer, the law of Moses.
And Abinadi is like, "Really, the law of Moses”. Oh ok. Vs. 29 And again he said unto them: If ye teach the law of Moses why do ye not keep it? Why do ye set your hearts upon riches? Why do ye commit whoredoms and spend your strength with harlots, yea, and cause this people to commit sin, that the Lord has cause to send me to prophesy against this people, yea, even a great evil against this people?
And in vs. 31
31 And it shall come to pass that ye shall be smitten for your iniquities, for ye have said that ye teach the law of Moses. And what know ye concerning the law of Moses? Doth salvation come by the law of Moses? What say ye?
So I love that. Do you really think you’re teaching the law of Moses? I’m pretty sure there’s a little part of that law called uh, the Ten Commandments, and as far as I can see, you’re breaking every single one. So let me do you a little favor. I’m going to teach you the Ten Commandments. So he starts in on them in verse 34. And he only gets through two before they command him to be killed.
And you can understand why right? This is pretty in your face, isn’t it? These are the priests of the people. The religious leaders, and here Abinadi has the audacity to teach THEM the 10 commandments; the most basic, fundamental part of the law of Moses.
So here we see the second tactic people use to discredit prophets. They haven’t succeeded in discrediting the message. He soundly defeated them on that front and called them out for their disobedience to the very law they profess to teach.
So what tactic do they use this time?
13:1 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.
They are so outraged that they call him mad, (of course, that’s the only possible explanation, I don’t like what he’s saying about me, so he must be crazy, yeah, that’s it, he’s crazy)
So what is tactic #2?
Tactic #2: Discredit the Messenger.
If I can’t discredit the message, then maybe I can discredit the messenger. There is something about him, his character, his manner, his background that I can point to that allows me to dismiss him.
Do people still use that tactic today against our modern church leaders? They're too old, therefore, I don’t have to listen to them. They're too politically conservative, therefore, I don’t have to listen to them. They’re unlearned, they’re self-interested, they have this or that personality flaw, this particular thing happened in their past, or one of a billion other reasons, the conclusion is the same. Therefore, I don’t have to listen to them. Hopefully, we’ll never find ourselves using these tactics to question or dismiss a prophet or his message.
Well, they demand that he be killed but Abinadi is fearless. And though he stands there as a prisoner, at the mercy of the most powerful people in his society, he gives an order with an authority far greater than the Kings, and commands:
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.
And you know, perhaps a quick truth here. Sometimes we may wonder why God saves some prophets from death and not others. Why does Abinadi eventually burn, but God saves Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from the fiery furnace. Why is Samuel the Lamanite spared the rocks and arrows, but Paul is beheaded. Why do Joseph Smith and Hyrum die in Carthage, but John Taylor and Willard Richards are spared? Good question, right? I believe the answer lies in that verse.
God will not suffer that I shall be destroyed AT THIS TIME, for I have not delivered the message which the Lord assent me to deliver.
And then in verse 9. 9 But I finish my message; and then it matters not whither I go, if it so be that I am saved.
So God does spare Abinadi for a time as he does other prophets. But why? So he can finish his message. So he can accomplish his work. God honors agency, even if it means the pain and death of his servants. But man cannot frustrate the works of God. So sometimes he steps in and suspends agency for a time. But after his servants have completed their work, their lives are at the mercy of their enemies.
GOD HIMSELF SHALL COME DOWN
So with the temporary protection of God from their agency, Abinadi continues. He finishes teaching them the 10 commandments in verse 12-24. All 10. And then he explains why the law of Moses was given and what it was really all about in vs. 25-33. That it was just a shadow or a type, a symbol of something far greater to come. Now you’ll sense a shift in Abinadi’s message. He’s going to transition into answering their question about those verses in Isaiah. He’s going to actually give them the good tidings of good that they were asking about earlier. Instead of just the shadow, he’s going to give them the being that casts the shadow. Instead of just giving them the symbol, he’s going to teach the reality of the symbolized.
So let’s pick it back up in vs. 34. And this is an important verse because this is the teaching they’re actually going to condemn him for.
34 Have they (the prophets) not said that God himself should 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?
So, priests, you’ve missed the whole point of the Law of Moses. It was sent to point to and testify of Jesus Christ.
And then he’s going to quote some of his own Isaiah verses. He’s going to respond to their Isaiah verses with Isaiah chapter 53 and he’s going to quote it in its entirety. And personally, I love this chapter. It’s perhaps one of the most beautiful and poetic descriptions of Christ’s atonement we find anywhere in the Bible. And it was written hundreds of years before Jesus was ever born. They wanted some Isaiah, so Abinadi is going to give them some Isaiah.
And I’d like to walk you through this chapter verse by verse if you don’t mind. Because Isaiah is sometimes a little hard to understand, I want to give you some practice in interpreting him. I’ve put together 12 different verse summaries and mixed up their order. I want you to study Mosiah 14 and match the verse with the statement that best summarizes its meaning. Then we’ll go through it together. I’ll create this as a handout and make it available for download at https://www.etsy.com/shop/TeachingWithPower.
Verse 1
1 Yea, even doth not Isaiah say: Who hath believed our report, and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?
When you reveal your arm, what does that suggest? If you saw me roll up my sleeves, what am I communicating to you? I’m about to go to work. So God is going to go to work now. What’s God’s work? To bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. So the answer is F. The Lord will accomplish his work for all those who believe. How does he do that? He’s going to send somebody.
Verse 2
2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground; he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him there is no beauty that we should desire him.
So how will God accomplish his work? By sending his son. And his son will grow up as a tender plant. Christ will not come as a conquering warrior. But like a seed pushing its leaves through the soil. Jesus was born in a manger to a poor Judean couple as a helpless child. He grew up rather normally, became a carpenter and spent most of his ministry teaching the poor and the downtrodden. And there is no beauty that we should desire him. That doesn’t mean he was ugly, but that people aren’t going to follow him because of his looks or his charisma. It won’t be about the outward appearance. He’ll be very average looking. If we were to live at that time, He probably wouldn’t stand out in a crowd. Like our prophets today, they’re very normal-looking men. I can see an investigator to the church saying, “This older man in a suit and tie is a prophet?, I pictured a regal Charleton Heston type in a robe with a flowing white beard and clutching a staff”. But you know, this is how God usually works— through ordinary people who do extraordinary things. So the answer is C.
Verse 3
3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
The answer is I. Here we find that many will reject Jesus Christ. Not everybody is going to listen to him. He’ll not be esteemed. And then those phrases that he is a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, I’ve struggled with that a little. Was Jesus a mournful, sad, solemn person. I don’t think so. If wickedness never was happiness, but righteousness is, then Jesus, as the most righteous person to ever live must have also been the happiest. I imagine him laughing, smiling, playing with children, and being a very pleasant person to be around. So why does Isaiah describe him as a man of sorrows and grief? I think the next verse holds the answer.
Verse 4
4 Surely he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
The answer is E. So it's our griefs that he's bearing and our sorrows that he carries, that's why he's a man of grief and sorrows. And here we get the beginning of our atonement phrases. There are many in this chapter. Multiple ways that he expresses the idea that Jesus will take upon himself our sins and sorrows.
Verse 5
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
So our answer is A.
Allow me to go ahead and give you the rest of them in this chapter.
:6 the Lord hath laid on him the iniquities of us all
:8 for the transgressions of my people was he stricken
:11 he shall bear their iniquities
:12 he bore the sins of many
:12 made intercession for the transgressors
That is the miracle of the atonement. That he takes upon himself my sins and sufferings to satisfy the demands of justice. The opposites are humbling. His grief grants our relief, his sorrow brings us joy, his wounds heal ours, his bruises bring us wholeness, his chastisement brings us peace, his stripes(or whippings) bring us freedom from punishment, his back bears the load of our iniquities so that we may walk uprightly, his being stricken makes us complete, his intercession makes saints out of transgressors.
Verse 6
Unfortunately, how do many react to that blessing though? Verse 6
6 All we, like sheep, have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquities of us all.
So what do we do? We turn to our own way. We say: "I want to do my own thing, I can do whatever I want, you’re not the boss of me, it’s a free country. The compelling thing though, is that he compares that attitude with sheep. Do sheep do their own thing? Maybe they think they are, but they all do their own thing, the same way. What’s the creed of the world: I want do be different, just like everybody else”. I think it’s fascinating that most people who want to rebel against societal norms, usually do it in the same way. The same look, the same fashions, the same lifestyle. The answer is H.
Verse 7
:7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb so he opened not his mouth.
An whether this is meant to be encouraging or not, he also compares himself to a sheep in this verse. And how was Jesus Christ like a sheep? He's often referred to as the Lamb of God. He was God’s sacrifice for the world. But he also very humbly accepted that sacrifice, he didn't resist it. He completely submitted to his father’s will. It makes me think of that moment with Pontius Pilate, where the crowds are shouting for his crucifixion, with all the power in the world to save himself, to call down legions of angels to protect him, still, he stands meekly and takes it. He allows them to crucify him, even though at any moment he had the power to stop it. The answer is J.
Verse 8
Now in verse 8, a very significant question is asked.
8 He was taken from prison and from judgment; and who shall declare his generation? For he was cut off out of the land of the living; for the transgressions of my people was he stricken.
What's he asking here? He's asking who shall declare his generation. Who is going to be Christ's children? Who will carry on his name? Because he was cut off out of the land of the living so young. Before he could have children. In biblical times, this was a really big deal. Not to have a male heir to carry on your family name was considered tragic. Even today we can kind of understand this. When I was born, my grandpa was very relieved. He had two daughters and one son, my dad. And then my dad's first two children were girls. So he was somewhat worried that his family name might not be passed on to the next generation. But when I was born, he was grateful to have an heir to continue the Wilcox family name through his line. But this is an even bigger concern in biblical days. So, I ask you, is Christ going to have a posterity, a heritage, his seed. That’s Isaiah’s question or concern.
We'll continue with that thought in a minute. But the answer to this verse is G.
Verse 9
9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no evil, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
So, we know that Christ was crucified between two thieves, and was buried in a rich man's tomb. The answer then: D.
Then verse 10 is going to answer our question of whether Christ will have seed.
10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief; when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
So Jesus will have children, he will have posterity. And he will see them when his soul is made an offering for sin. After he has completed his atonement, then he will see his seed, his heirs. The answer is K.
And how will he feel about that sacrifice when it's over?
11 He shall see the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied; by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
The answer is L. Fascinating. What's he comparing his atonement to? What’s the metaphor? Travail, or the labor of childbirth. Now I’ve never given birth before but I’ve been present for the births of each of my four children. I can attest that there is a lot of pain and discomfort, and agony associated with giving birth. Jesus felt that was the closest thing he could compare the pains of his atonement to. You mothers out there have a unique and special understanding of this metaphor that men will never truly comprehend. And mothers, do you remember how you felt at the end of all that pain? SATISFIED? When that precious little infant is placed in a mother’s arms, how do they most often react? All that pain and discomfort is forgotten. All that sacrifice and hardship was worth the blessing of holding that innocent precious soul. I mean, how many mothers can you imagine out there looking down at their newborn child and saying “Well that wasn’t worth it”. No, they coo and cuddle and gaze at their child with immeasurable love. Christ felt the same way at the end of his atonement. And when he accomplished it, he saw his children also. His children were placed into his arms, so to speak.
Who are these children? Abinadi will help us understand that in the next chapter. But let’s finish Isaiah’s prophecy with verse 12
12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death; and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bore the sins of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
So, he will be greatly glorified because of his sacrifice. He shall divide his spoils with the strong, What is his victory? His victory over death and sin. What are the spoils of that victory? Forgiveness, and the resurrection. What will he do with them? Share them, divide them among the strong or the righteous. Our final answer then is B.
MOSIAH 15
So now Abinadi is going to give his commentary on these Isaiah verses in chapter 15.
In verse 1 he reiterates the fact God himself, or Christ, a member of the godhead, would eventually condescend and come down among the children of men.
And then we have these somewhat difficult verses where it seems like Abinadi is teaching the doctrine of trinitarianism, which is the belief that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are all one entity. But he’s not. I won’t spend a lot of time on this. We could go into great depth. But basically he’s saying that Christ had two parts to himself that made the atonement possible. It was something that only he was uniquely qualified to perform because of his dual nature as both God and Man, deity, and mortal. If that confused you, don’t worry too much about it. We have modern prophets to help us understand the true nature of the Godhead and they have explained it very clearly to us.
THE GOOD TIDINGS OF GOOD
But remember that Abinadi’s major goal here is to tell us the good news. The good tidings of good. He’s shared them in Isaiah’s words and now he’s going to do it with his own. And for the remainder of the lesson, we are going to answer these three important questions about the Good Tidings.
What are they? Mosiah 15:8-9
Who has them? Mosiah 15:10-19
How are they shared? Mosiah 18
First. What are the good tidings? Here’s Abinadi’s version of Isaiah’s prophecy: Mosiah 15:8-9
The good news is that Christ came down to overcome death and sin. But that’s not all. He CAME to do those things, but what did he LEAVE with? He ascended into heaven having the bowels of mercy, being filled with compassion towards the children of men. That’s good news. We often focus so much on what he came to do that sometimes we forget the importance of what he gained by doing it. Mercy and compassion—a deep understanding and empathy for the sufferings and sorrows of mankind. And thank heaven for that.
Abinadi continues. “Standing betwixt them and justice”. That’s a striking image. Where does Christ stand? Betwixt us and justice. There we are, helpless and vulnerable to justice, subject to both sin and death. They are making their way over to finish us off, when who appears? Christ. He steps forward and positions himself between us and them. He looks death and justice in the eye, and says, your fight is with me, not them. I will take their griefs, their sorrows, their stripes, their iniquities, their wounds, their death and free them from your powers. Remember Christ is the great monster slayer of 2 Nephi 9. The monster attacks and Christ suffers incredibly at the force of his claws. But in the end, Christ is victorious, and the monster falls dead at the feet of love, mercy, and everlasting life.
Those are the good tidings.
But, the next question. Who has them? Who bears these good tidings? In a word, his children, his seed, his generation. But remember The one Isaiah asks? Who shall declare his generation? Who shall be his seed? Who is going to pass on the story of his victory to future generations, to preserve the heritage and name of the family of Christ?
The answer is verse 11.
Who are Christ’s children? All those who hear, hearken, believe, and look forward. That’s how we become children of Christ. And it makes sense, doesn’t it? We always talk about baptism as being a rebirth right? We are being reborn, and we picture ourselves as newborn children, starting a new life. But do we focus so much on that aspect of the metaphor that we forget the other side of that image? There is no rebirth without a parent. There is no child that comes into this world without travail, or labor and that labor is a painful, difficult, and agonizing experience. Christ performed that labor in Gethsemane and on Calvary. But as we already discussed, when he completed that labor, his children were laid in his arms, and he was satisfied. You were worth it, you were worth the atonement, the greatest suffering that any being has ever experienced, an unfathomable suffering. And as he holds his children in his arms with great love, all that pain and anguish is forgotten and swallowed up in his love for us, making it possible for us to return to our father in heaven regardless of death and sin. We are his seed.
In vs 13, he includes the prophets as his seed and then, what I feel is the climax of his speech. It’s as if at this point Abinadi looks into the eyes of Noah and the wicked priests and says, “Now, I’m ready to answer your question, now that you have the proper background, let me explain those verses you asked me about 4 chapters back about beautiful feet.
Now Abinadi lived in a time before cell phones and CNN and FedEx. And in ancient times, when important news needed to be delivered and delivered fast, messengers or runners were tasked with conveying that news as quickly as they could. And it was considered a great honor to bear a critical or celebratory message, like a great victory in battle.
There’s the famous story from Greek history where the Greeks were terribly outnumbered in a battle with the Persians on the plains of Marathon. And they win! So a young runner by the name of Pheidippides is given the privilege of bearing the news of that great victory back to Athens roughly 26 miles away. And he runs with such fervor and speed and exertion that after he runs up the steps of the Acropolis to the King and shouts out his message “Rejoice, we conquer” he dies right there of exhaustion.
Both Isaiah and Abinadi are going to draw on that imagery of messengers here in vs. 14
So wicked priests, these are the good tidings of good that you were asking about. I have just declared them to you. Therefore, my words do match that prophesy, I have fulfilled them this day in your ears. Why are their feet beautiful? Because they carry the most important message that can be borne. “Rejoice, Christ conquers”.
So for you and I, if you want to beautify your feet, forget the toenail polish and the lotion, share the good news of Christ’s gospel to all you can far and wide. And O how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of those who share it.
I would love to have seen Abinadi’s feet. They certainly must have been beautiful. As are the feet of all those who have shared, who do share, and will share that message have beautiful feet. From Adam to Peter to Joseph Smith to Russell M. Nelson. Every prophet, every missionary, every convert, every faithful child, every disciple of Jesus Christ the world over have these beautiful feet.
But Abinadi has one more pair of beautiful feet to talk about though. Verse 18-19
So here we have the most beautiful pair of feet ever to walk the earth. And those are the feet of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The feet that walked the dusty roads of Palestine healing and teaching, the feet that stood atop the waves of the Sea of Galilee, and the feet that bear the scars of sacrifice and the lesions of love, as Elder Holland so eloquently puts it. One day I hope to kneel at those feet, and O it will be wonderful, wonderful to me.
Watch “I Stand All Amazed” at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9L_qPCVxTFY
ABINADI’S MARTYRDOM
Well, there is more to Abinadi’s sermon to Noah and the wicked priests, but for time’s sake, I’m going to let you finish the remainder of that message in Mosiah 15 and 16 on you own. In summary, they are mainly words of warning to Noah and his priests. An explanation that this good news applies to the righteous—that the wicked, who refuse to repent, will be cast out, turn themselves into enemies to God and become subject to the devil.
And does this message work? Do Noah and the priests repent and change? No, except one. A priest by the name of Alma stands up for Abinadi. But he is ordered out of the judgment hall and Noah sends servants to kill him, but he gets away. Abinadi is thrown back into jail and three days later (and I have to say, it took them 3 days to come up with this charge?) he is brought back for his sentencing. His crime? Saying that God himself will come down.
So we know what it’s really all about. They’re not at all concerned about God’s good name or his doctrine, they’re just mad that Abinadi had the boldness to confront their wickedness. They have dismissed both message and messenger.
Abinadi refuses to recall his words and both he and his beautiful feet are burned at the stake.
MOSIAH 18
But there was one question on our list that hasn’t been answered yet. How are those good tidings shared? How do we publish peace as his messengers? Instead of Abinadi giving us that one, we are going to let Alma answer that question, Abinadi’s one convert. After escaping Noah’s court, Alma goes secretly among the people teaching Abinadi’s words. He leads a small group of believers out to a place called the waters of Mormon and there he teaches them and us how to share the good tidings. And by doing the things that he teaches, we find in verse 22 that “thus they became the children of God”. Alma must have been touched by Abinadi’s teachings of becoming the seed of Christ. Therefore, he goes out and helps people to become those children. How are they going to do it? How do they become the children of Christ? The key phrase I feel is found in verse 9:
18:9
9 Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as
witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life—
We need to share by standing as witnesses. But I feel that that is so much more than just vocally. I think we often focus on the missionary aspect of standing as witnesses, and that certainly applies here. We do stand as witnesses by serving missions, bearing our testimonies, and teaching the gospel, but there’s more to it. And if you search this chapter, you’ll find what it means to stand as a witness of God.
STAND AS WITNESSES CROSSWORD
Across
3. willing to ___________ with those that _________ (same word in both blanks). Mourn v. 9
5. And thus they should impart of their ____________ of their own free will. Substance v. 28
7. having their hearts _______ together in unity and love one towards another. Knit v. 21
Down
1. _______________ to one another both temporally and spiritually. Imparting v. 29
2. ___________ those that stand in need of _________ (same word in both blanks). Comfort v. 9
4. there should be no ________________ among them. Contention v. 21
5. ________ him and keep his commandments. Serve v. 10
6. ________ one another's burdens, that they may be light. Bear v. 8
What I really love about that list, is that it is full of things that we do for each other. Standing as witnesses of Christ isn’t so much about talking about the gospel or even believing in something, though both of those matter. It’s about being a certain kind of person.
How will people know that we are disciples of Christ? By the way we treat each other. We comfort one another, we mourn with each other, we bear one another’s burdens, we impart of our substance, our hearts are knit together in unity and love. That is perhaps the greatest testimony we will ever bear to the world. Our character, our community, the way we act towards one another, that’s what will attract people most to the gospel. Remember what Jesus said at the last supper "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” John 13:35. Our love is what defines us as disciples of Christ. We can be the type of people that cause others to say “Wow, look at those Christians! Look at those members of the Church of Jesus Christ”, I may not understand all their doctrines or beliefs, but they are such good loving people. Look at how they treat each other! Look at how they serve and help one another, look at how they live their religion, surely God must be here”. And maybe, they will become so curious or desirous of those same blessings, that one day they too will wish to hear the message as well.
LIKENING THE SCRIPTURES
Are you a child of Christ? Do you hear, hearken, believe, and look forward to the day of the remission of your sins?
How beautiful are your feet? What can you do to more actively share the good tidings of good?
How does your understanding of the atonement of Jesus Christ make you feel? What is your testimony of the atonement?
What will you do to truly “stand as a witness of God at all times, in all things, and in all places” by showing love for your fellow man?
CONCLUSION
Well, I hope that Abinadi and Alma’s teachings have impacted you as deeply as they’ve impacted me. I testify to you that Christ’s atonement is real and that to Him, you were worth all the travail and labor he endured. That we will hearken to the words of the prophets instead of seeking to dismiss them. I hope that all of us can sincerely become and act as the children of Christ. That we will run as messengers with joy and enthusiasm, declaring the good tidings of good to all that we encounter through our words but also through our love. Let’s keep our feet beautiful by truly standing upon them as witnesses of God at all times, in all things, and in all places.
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