Mosiah 12:25-37

25 And now Abinadi said unto them: Are you priests, and pretend to teach this people, and to understand the spirit of prophesying, and yet desire to know of me what these things mean?

26 I say unto you, wo be unto you for perverting the ways of the Lord!  For if ye understand these things ye have not taught them; therefore, ye have perverted the ways of the Lord.

27 Ye have not applied your hearts to understanding; therefore, ye have not been wise.  Therefore, what teach ye this people?

28 And they said: We teach the law of Moses.

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?

30 Know ye not that I speak the truth?  Yea, ye know that I speak the truth; and you ought to tremble before God.

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?

32 And they answered and said that salvation did come by the law of Moses.

33 But now Abinadi said unto them: I know if ye keep the commandments of God ye shall be saved; yea, if ye keep the commandments which the Lord delivered unto Moses in the mount of Sinai, saying:

34 I am the Lord thy God, who hath brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

35 Thou shalt have no other God before me.

36 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing in heaven above, or things which are in the earth beneath.

37 Now Abinadi said unto them, Have ye done all this?  I say unto you, Nay, ye have not.  And have ye taught this people that they should do all these things?  I say unto you, Nay, ye have not.

Mosiah 12:25-37

Abinadi is standing before the priests of Noah.  They have been given the authority to question him.  They decided they would try to trip him up in his answers.  They’ve asked him the meaning of Isaiah 52:7-10.  Abinadi responded to the priests.

You claim to be priests, you pretend to teach the people, and you don’t know what this means?  Instead of teaching the people, they pervert the ways of the Lord.  “For if ye understand these things ye have not taught them; therefore, ye have perverted the ways of the Lord.”

Abinadi then asks the priests, “[W]hat teach ye this people?”  Why, the priests replied, we teach them the Law of Moses!

Although he had become lax in his commitment to follow the law of Moses as the law was understood by Abinadi, as it had been taught by the prophets Nephi and Jacob, and as dictated by any sensible understanding, Noah and his priests still purported to teach and presumably abide by the law of Moses (Mosiah 12:28), at least as they understood it. One must wonder, at the outset, how much of the Torah Noah and his priests had in written form.[1]

If that were true, Abinadi asks, why don’t you keep the Law?  You lust after riches and women and cause the people to commit sin.  In fact, things are so bad, I was sent by the Lord to call you and this people to repentance!

Then, Abinadi lets them know he knows what’s in their hearts.  “Yea, ye know that I speak the truth.”  They will suffer for their sins. 

The priests claim to have taught the Law of Moses, yet he questions what they know about the Law of Moses.  He asks, “Doth salvation come by the law of Moses?”  The priests answer it does.

Book of Mormon prophets made it clear to the people how salvation came to the people.  No doubt Abinadi knew the answer, but they didn’t have access to the words of King Benjamin.  “And many signs, and wonders, and types, and shadows showed he unto [His people], concerning his coming; and also holy prophets spake unto them concerning his coming; and yet they hardened their hearts, and understood not that the ^claw of Moses availeth nothing except it were through the atonement of his blood” (Mosiah 3:15).

We also learn that the Lamanites converted by the sons of Mosiah, understood the purpose of the Law of Moses. “Now they did not suppose that salvation came by the law of Moses; but the law of Moses did serve to strengthen their faith in Christ; and thus they did retain a hope through faith, unto eternal salvation, relying upon the spirit of prophecy, which spake of those things to come” (Alma 25:16).

Abinadi responded if they keep the commandments of God, they would be saved.  He quoted the words the Lord spoke to Moses.

I am the Lord thy God, who hath brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

Thou shalt have no other God before me.

Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing in heaven above, or things which are in the earth beneath.

Mosiah 12:34-36

Then he challenges the priests.  Have you done this?  Have you taught the people all these things?  Abinadi answers for them, “Nay, he have not.”

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[1] The Trial of Abinadi, Maxwell Institute, accessed September 26, 2014.