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Book of Mormon Commentary
Mosiah Chapter 7
7:39 King Noah commanded that Abinadi be brought before him that I may slay him" (42). But the Lord
protected his servant, and "after the space 200 of two years, ...Abinadi came among them in disguise"
and prophesied that King Noah's people would "be brought into bondage" (48). They should be slain and
left for vultures, dogs, and wild beasts to devour (49). Noah's life should "be valued as a garment in a
hot furnace" (50).
Mos 7:52 Yea, and I will cause that they shall have burdens lashed upon their backs; and they shall be
driven before, like a dumb ass.
7:52 God's love for his children is such that he gives them ample warning of their fate. "Except they
repent, I will utterly destroy them from off the face of the earth" (55). Amos declared, "Surely the Lord
God will do nothing, until he revealeth the secret unto his servants the prophets" (Amos 3:7). The
purpose of such revealment is to get the wicked to return to the ways of righteousness (Ezek. 18:23 ff.).
Abinadi ends this part of his prophecy with a promise that "they shall leave a record behind them, and I
will preserve them for other nations" (Mos. 7:56).
THE PROPHET IS QUESTIONED BY THE COUNCIL VER. 59-99
Mos 7:66 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.
7:66 This is poor logic, for they assumed the thing which they were expected to prove. However, it is the
kind of thing which the craven king wanted to hear. Upon such shallow testimony, the king imprisoned
Abinadi. Then he called a council and asked "what he should do with him" (70). The king was a dictator
and should have accepted the responsibility for making the decision.
The council asked for the privilege of questioning the prisoner . They were seeking for some cause to
condemn him. He was able to confound them with forthright answers. One, who was like Alma (Mos.
9:28), quoted from Isaiah 52:7-10 and asked, "What meaneth the words which are written?" (Mos. 7:76).
Abinadi threw the question back at them, "Are you priests, and pretend to teach this people... and yet
desire to know of me what these things mean?" (81). "What teach ye this people?" (83).
The prophecy of Isaiah is beautiful, but its significance in this situation may escape us. The Jews failed
to see its later and broader application to the gospel and the Prince of Peace. Their concern was for the
national glory of Israel and Jerusalem. Salvation to them probably meant a cessation of tribulation rather
than the redemption of the human soul. Samuel's story of the watchman and the messenger who came
with good news (II Sam, 18: 24-28) illustrates the joyful news that they expected for "tidings of good”,
(Mos. 1:77). They could not see ahead to that which Jesus brought.
Mos 7:84 And they said, We teach the Law of Moses.
7:84 Abinadi replied, "Why do ye not keep it?" (85). He then listed some of their sins in the form of
questions: “Why do ye set your hearts upon riches?" (86), “Why do ye commit whoredoms?" (87), Then
he asked, “Doth salvation come by the law of Moses?" They said it did. He quoted some of the
Decalogue and asked, “Have ye done all this?”
THE POWER OF GOD PROTECTS ABINADI, VER. 100-124
Mos 7:102 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.