Mosiah 15:19-23

19  For were it not for the redemption which he hath made for his people, which was prepared from the foundation of the world, I say unto you, were it not for this, all mankind must have perished.
20  But behold, the bands of death shall be broken, and the Son reigneth, and hath power over the dead; therefore, he bringeth to pass the resurrection of the dead.

Mosiah 15:19-20 (Emphasis mine)

We see Abinadi in transition again.  He reminds us that all would perish without the atonement.  This was so important, it was "prepared from the foundation of the world." (v19) The Son will bring the resurrection of the dead.  Death would finally be defeated.  It no longer would have its eternal hold on mankind.  Through the resurrection, we would live forever.

Todd Parker writes (concerning v20):

"Now, you have to ask yourself ... [h]ow does Abinadi do this? This is a masterful discourse. He didn't know what scripture they were going to bring up. They brought up this thing from Isaiah, and he carefully weaves Isaiah, the law, the fulfillment, the prophesy—all of his message—together, under the threat of death. He really has access to all the prophets, so who is he going to go to? Isaiah, the prophet of prophets. Isaiah is the prototype. Abinadi could have used Zenock, Zenos, or any of these prophets, but he goes to Isaiah, because Isaiah's the main prophet. Abinadi is obviously in a transfigured state to be able to do this ... This is the first time the word resurrection comes up. It gets more complex as the book goes on. It is barely mentioned in 1 Nephi (where it just says, 'Jesus arises from the dead'); in 2 Nephi, it teaches that we will all rise from the dead; but here in Mosiah 15 is the first time the word resurrection is mentioned." (Emphasis mine)

Abinadi: The Message and the Martyr, Todd B. Parker, Maxwell Institute, accessed July 6, 2011. 

21  And there cometh a resurrection, even a first resurrection; yea, even a resurrection of those that have been, and who are, and who shall be, even until the resurrection of Christ—for so shall he be called.
22  And now, the resurrection of all the prophets, and all those that have believed in their words, or all those that have kept the commandments of God, shall come forth in the first resurrection; therefore, they are the first resurrection.
23  They are raised to dwell with God who has redeemed them; thus they have eternal life through Christ, who has broken the bands of death.

Mosiah 15:21-23 (Emphasis mine)

Who will be a part of the first resurrection?  It will be those who lived before the actual resurrection.  Abinadi tells us that "... all the prophets, and all those that have believed in their words, or all those that have kept the commandments of God..." (v22) These are those who will participate in the first resurrection.  They will have eternal life because Christ broke the bands of death.

8  He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it.

Isaiah 25:8 (Emphasis mine)

17  Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.
18  No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself.  I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.  This commandment have I received of my Father.

John 10:17-18 (Emphasis mine)

14  But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets:
15  And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.

Acts 24:14-15 (Emphasis mine)

14  For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which asleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
15  For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
16  For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

1 Thessalonians 4:14-16 (Emphasis mine)

Verses 20-23 show a unique form of Hebrew writing called chiasmus.  Some information about chiasmus:

 

"Chiasmus consists of patterns of words, thoughts, or concepts that lead to a central point of emphasis and then repeat in reverse order ... BYU professor John Welch, who first discovered chiasmus in the Book of Mormon while serving a mission in Germany and who later became the first to publish on that topic, writes, 'Basically chiasmus is inverted parallelism.' He further explains, "The word "chiasmus" itself stems from the Greek word chiazein, meaning to mark with or in the shape of a cross.' David Noel Freedman concurs,  'The basic figure of chiasm simply involves the reverse of the order of words in balancing clauses or phrases.' " (Emphasis mine)

Forms of Parallelism, Hugh W. Pinnock, Maxwell Institute, accessed July 6, 2011

Let's look at verses 20-23, laid out as chiasmus.

Another chiasm in the book of Mosiah teaches about the resurrection:

A But behold, the bands of death
	B shall be broken,
		C and the Son reigneth,
			D and hath power over the dead;
				E therefore, he bringeth to pass the resurrection of the dead.
					F And there cometh a resurrection,
						G even a first resurrection;
							H yea, even a resurrection of those that have been, and who are, and who shall be,
								X even until the resurrection of Christ—for so shall he be called.
							H And now, the resurrection of all the prophets, and all those that have believed in their words, or all those that have kept the commandments of God,
						G shall come forth in the first resurrection;
					F therefore, they are the first resurrection.
				E They are raised to dwell with God who has redeemed them;
			D thus they have eternal life
		C through Christ,
	B who has broken
A the bands of death.
(Mosiah 15:20—23) (Emphasis in original)

Forms of Parallelism, Hugh W. Pinnock, Maxwell Institute, accessed July 6, 2011

As you read verses 20-23, you see A-H, then X.  Then we continue with the chiasmus in the H-A order.  The is where the reverse parallelism comes in.  Pinnock wrote:

"Because chiasms, like the letter x, contain a well-defined crossing structure, the reversal of words, concepts, or phrases found in the second half of a chiasm renders the form quickly identifiable"

 

Verses 20-23 follow the traditional style and order of chiasmus.  Again, quoting Pinnock: 

 

"Perhaps the most exciting and interesting of all Hebrew writing forms is chiasmus. ... Named after the letter x (chi), the twenty-second letter in the Greek alphabet, chiasmus is found extensively in certain ancient writings."  (Emphasis mine)

What does chiasmus mean to the Book of Mormon?  Jeff Lindsey discussed this topic.

"John Welch offers the following analysis in his classic 1969 BYU Studies paper (PDF file), p.75: 

 

'[T]here exists no chance that Joseph Smith could have learned of this style [chiasmus] through academic channels. No one in America, let alone in western New York, fully understood chiasmus in 1829. Joseph Smith had been dead ten full years before John Forbes' book was published in Scotland.'

 

"Chiasmus in the Book of Mormon is evidence of an ancient origin, not conclusive proof. It is just one of several complex forms of literary parallelism that are common to other ancient Semitic writings. If these examples are real and nonrandom, then it becomes increasingly probable that the Book of Mormon is not a nineteenth century writing, but is a translation of an ancient text representing, at least in part, a highly developed literary tradition. Chiasmus is part of the intellectual evidence for accepting or believing in an ancient origin to the text. For some critics, it is so convincing that they must resort to arguing that Satan inspired the chiasmus in the text in order to deceive people...

 

"[Critic Loftes] Tryk argues that the only reasonable explanation is supernatural origin - but he ascribes that supernatural power to Satan. I find that a pretty wild argument, especially when much of the chiasmus - like the Book of Mormon itself - is designed to focus our attention on Christ as the Redeemer and Savior. Look at Alma 36, for example. What honest Christian can help but rejoice to see the forgiving power of Christ so beautifully taught and so majestically crafted into poetry? The Book of Mormon is a Christ-centered book, teaching us to look toward Christ - the Christ that we read of in the Bible, not "some other Christ" as critics often try argue - for salvation, for grace, for forgiveness, to be baptized in His name and follow Him. I don't think anyone can honestly read the Book of Mormon without realizing that it confirms the Bible and teaches of Christ."

Chiasmus in the Book of Mormon, Mormon Answers, accessed July 6, 2011.

As Jeff Lindsay says, chiasmus is not proof of the authenticity of the Book of Mormon.  This is just one of many evidences that point to the genuineness of the Book of Mormon. 

I'll continue looking at Abinadi's teachings about the resurrection in my next post.