Mosiah 15:1-8

Chapter 15

How Christ is both the Father and the Son—He shall make intercession and bear the transgressions of his people—They and all the holy prophets are his seed—He bringeth to pass the resurrection—Little children have eternal life. About 148 B.C.

1  AND now Abinadi said unto them: I would that ye should understand that God himself shall come down among the children of men, and shall redeem his people.
2  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—
3  The Father, because he was conceived by the power of God; and the Son, because of the flesh; thus becoming the Father and Son—
4  And they are one God, yea, the very Eternal Father of heaven and of earth.
5  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.
6  And after all this, after working many mighty miracles among the children of men, he shall be led, yea, even as Isaiah said, as a sheep before the shearer is dumb, so he opened not his mouth.
7  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.
8  And thus God breaketh the bands of death, having gained the victory over death; giving the Son power to make intercession for the children of men—

Mosiah 15:1-8 (Emphasis mine)

After having quoted the words of Isaiah, Abinadi continues teaching about the atonement.

He teaches that God will come to Earth in the flesh,becoming the Son, subject to temptation, but not yielding to temptation.  He will be rejected by his people and crucified, becoming subject to death.  By doing this, the Son is doing the will of the Father.  His intercession will give us the victory over death.

What does Abinadi mean when he says that the Father and the Son are one?  Let's look at the words of Hugh Nibley:

"[Chapters 15 and 16] are the most important and the most condensed because here we are going to find the fullness of the gospel message that we need to be saved ... If we take these things seriously, we are really in for it. You've got to make a decision here. If it's all or nothing, if it's that important, you just can't fool around with it. By seriously, I mean viewing the whole discourse as factual ... And yet if these things are not real, there is nothing. They are mere words ... 

"[These people] had a setback, a fall. We are [subject to] the Fall and must be redeemed and brought back. To do that he [the Father] doesn't just send an angel, or a dream, or raise up a leader because the leader would be just as fallible as anybody else. No, it is God himself that comes down, and that is really something. And while he is here dwelling in our kind of vulnerable flesh ... The Son is not second rate. He is as close as you can be without being identical [with the Father]...

"'And they are one God, yea, the very Eternal Father of heaven and of earth.' That's a very thrilling statement to make—that we are in on that. Then the next verse tells us that the flesh is to the spirit as the Son is to the Father, or the Father is to the Spirit as the Son is to the flesh. It's exactly alike. They both belong to the spiritual order of things. The flesh is not against the spirit but 'subject to the Spirit,' we are told. When mortals become totally subject to God, they will have passed the test and are ready to go on. You have to be subject—that's the thing. '. . . the flesh becoming subject to the Spirit, or the Son to the Father, being one God, suffereth temptation, and yieldeth not to the temptation.' This is saying that you belong to this same category. He came to the same category as you. He was tempted just as much as you are, etc. You don't have to give in, but we all do because that was the Fall. That's where Adam did give in. This is necessary for experience, knowing the good from the evil." 

Lecture 35 - Mosiah 15-16, Hugh Nibley (Emphasis mine), Maxwell Institute website, accessed July 2, 2011.

Robert L. Millet wrote:

"Jesus Christ is also known by the title of Father. The meaning of scriptures using this nomenclature is not always immediately clear, primarily owing to the fact that Christ and his Father are virtually inseparable in purpose, testimony, glory, and power. In most cases, however, the scriptural usage can be explained in several ways:

Christ is sometimes called Father because of his role as Creator from the beginning. Before his mortal birth, and acting under the direction of the Father, Jesus was Jehovah, the Lord Omnipotent, through whom God created worlds without number (Moses 1:33; 7:30; John 1:1—3; Heb. 1:2) ...

"Jesus Christ is also known as Father through the spiritual rebirth of mankind (see Born of God). As the foreordained Redeemer, he became the 'author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him' (Heb. 5:9). He is the Savior. (John 14:6; Acts 4:12; Mosiah 3:17). Those who accept the gospel of Jesus Christ and receive its saving covenantal ordinances, living worthy of its sanctifying and enlightening powers, are 'born again' unto Christ and become known as the children of Christ, 'his sons and his daughters,' his 'seed' (Mosiah 5:5—8; 15:10—13; 27:25—26; Alma 5:14). Christ thus becomes the Father of their salvation, the Father of life in the Spirit, the Father of the new birth ...

"Furthermore, Jesus is called Father because of the authority God gave him to act for the Father. He explained in Jerusalem: 'I can of mine own self do nothing . . . I am come in my Father's name' (John 5:30, 43). Latter-day Saints [believe] that, except when introducing the Son, God always acts and speaks to mankind through Jesus Christ. Accordingly, the Father has placed his name upon the Son, authorized and empowered him to speak even in the first person for him, as though he were the Father ... 

In addition, Christ is Father in that he literally inherited attributes and powers from his Father (Elohim). From Mary, his mother, Jesus inherited mortality, the capacity to die. From God, his Father, Jesus inherited immortality, the capacity to live forever: 'As the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself' (John 5:26; cf. Hel. 5:11) ...

"Christ is also Father in that he spiritually received all that the Father has. 'I am in the Father, and the Father in me, and the Father and I are one—The Father because he gave me of his fulness, and the Son because I was in the world' (D&C 93:3—4).

"Other explanations are likewise possible. All persons have multiple roles in life. A man can be a father, son, and brother; a woman can be a mother, daughter, and sister. These titles describe roles or functions at a given time, as well as relationships to others. For Latter-day Saints, this is so with the Christ. He has many names and titles. He ministers as both the Father and the Son. 

Jesus Christ, Fatherhood and Sonship of - Robert L. Millet (Emphasis mine), Maxwell Institute website, accessed July 2, 2011.

Through the words of Nibley and Millet, we learn what Abinadi meant when he said the Father and the Son are one.

Other scriptures record:

16  And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

1 Timothy 3:16 (Emphasis mine)

27  My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
28  And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
29  My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.
30  I and my Father are one.

John 10:27-30 (Emphasis mine)

8  Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.
9  Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip?  he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?
10  Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me?  the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.
11  Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake.

John 14:8-11 (Emphasis mine)

55  O death, where is thy sting?  O grave, where is thy victory?
56  The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
57  But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:55-57 (Emphasis mine)

These eight verses give us some very important gospel principles.  The words of Abinadi help us better understand the mission of Christ and just how important it is that we accept Him and His sacrifice.  Once again, I would like to quote from Hugh Nibley:

"If we take these things seriously, we are really in for it. You've got to make a decision here. If it's all or nothing, if it's that important, you just can't fool around with it. By seriously, I mean viewing the whole discourse as factual ... And yet if these things are not real, there is nothing. They are mere words ... "