Chapter 17
Alma believes and
writes the words of Abinadi—Abinadi suffers death by fire—He prophesies disease
and death by fire upon his murderers. About 148 B.C.
1 AND now it came to
pass that when Abinadi had finished these sayings, that the king commanded that
the priests should take him and cause that he should be put to death.
2 But there was one
among them whose name was Alma, he also being a descendant of Nephi. And he was a young man, and he believed the
words which Abinadi had spoken, for he knew concerning the iniquity which
Abinadi had testified against them; therefore he began to plead with the king
that he would not be angry with Abinadi, but suffer that he might depart in
peace.
3 But the king was
more wroth, and caused that Alma should be cast out from among them, and sent
his servants after him that they might slay him.
4 But he fled from
before them and hid himself that they found him not. And he being concealed for many days did write
all the words which Abinadi had spoken.
5 And it came to pass
that the king caused that his guards should surround Abinadi and take him; and
they bound him and cast him into prison.
6 And after three
days, having counseled with his priests, he caused that he should again be
brought before him.
7 And he said unto
him: Abinadi, we have found an accusation against thee, and thou art worthy of
death.
8 For thou hast said
that God himself should come down among the children of men; and now, for this
cause thou shalt be put to death unless thou wilt recall all the words which
thou hast spoken evil concerning me and my people.
9 Now Abinadi said
unto him: I say unto you, I will not recall the words which I have spoken unto
you concerning this people, for they are true; and that ye may know of their
surety I have suffered myself that I have fallen into your hands.
10 Yea, and I will suffer
even until death, and I will not recall my words, and they shall stand as a testimony
against you. And if ye slay me ye will
shed innocent blood, and this shall also stand as a testimony against you at
the last day.
Mosiah 17:1-10
When Abinadi finished his words, the king and priests were
angry. Noah ordered that Abinadi be put to death. Abinadi’s situation was similar to that of
Jeremiah. He was tried, and “[t]hen spake the priests and the prophets
unto the princes and to all the people, saying, This man is worthy to die; for
he hath prophesied against this city, as ye have heard with your ears” (Jeremiah
26:11). It would seem Abinadi’s words
had fallen on deaf ears.
In fact, he had changed the future of the Nephite
civilization with one covert. “Alma1 … was the young priest in the
court of king Noah who attempted a peaceful release of the prophet Abinadi. For
that action, Alma incurred royal vengeance, banishment, and threats upon his
life. He had been impressed by Abinadi's accusations of immorality and abuses
within the government and society and by his testimony of the gospel of Jesus
Christ (Mosiah 17:2).”[1]
Alma rose in defense of Abinadi. He accepted his words and knew his charges
were true. He began defending Abinadi
against the charges and asked he be allowed to depart in peace.
The most potent legal aspect of
Alma's defense of Abinadi was that it forced King Noah to drop the charge that
Abinadi had lied about the king. Although the text is silent on this point, it
appears that Alma spoke out boldly and irrefutably concerning the iniquities of
Noah and his priests (who otherwise would not have sought to kill Alma). If so,
Alma's argument probably stressed the truthfulness of what Abinadi had said
about the king and his government, for Alma "knew concerning the iniquity
which Abinadi had testified against them" (Mosiah 17:2). By emphatically
corroborating the truth of Abinadi's words, Alma effectively negated and
refuted the charge that Abinadi had lied.
As a further consequence of his
bold statement, Alma's defense of Abinadi effectively took the matter out of
the king's jurisdiction and left standing only the false-prophecy charge, over
which the priests had primary responsibility.[2]
Noah, with Alma’s defense of Abinadi ringing in his ears,
became even angrier with him. He was
cast out and servants were sent to kill him.
Alma was able to successfully elude the servants. He hid himself and began to write down the
words of Abinadi.
The amazing thing about this young
priest named Alma is that he stood before King Noah, begging him to spare
Abinadi's life and allow him to leave. Now, Alma must have known Noah quite
well, known him as a pompous, sinful, demanding, if sometimes cowardly,
magistrate who would not look kindly on insubordination among his paid yes-men.
Yet, risking his own life, Alma dared challenge the king's command that Abinadi
be executed. Not only was Alma cast out, but orders were issued for his capture
and execution. Alma was able to escape and hide, and most certainly under the
influence of the Spirit, he wrote "all the words which Abinadi had
spoken" (Mosiah 17:4). Abinadi would die for his testimony, but his words
would be preserved intact and then taught by one man whose heart was changed by
them. That one man was Alma.[3]
Unlike his son, Alma1 received no vision nor
heard the words of the Lord from an angel.
“The conversion of Alma1 is closer to the kind
experienced by most people who join the Church (Mosiah 17:2—4; 18:1). When
Abinadi called him and the other priests of the wicked king Noah to repentance,
Alma1 knew in his heart that Abinadi spoke the truth. He
repented of his sins and began to keep the commandments, with which he was
already basically familiar. This wrought a significant change in his life.”[4]
Have gotten rid of Alma, Noah had Abinadi bound and put in
prison. He and the priests discussed the
matter and, after three day, he had Abinadi brought before him. The king informed him “we have found an accusation against thee, and thou art worthy of
death.
This charge was blasphemy.
“[T]hou hast said the God himself
should come down among the children of men.”
Then, Noah offers Abinadi a way out.
“[R]ecall all the words which thou
has spoken evil concerning me and my people.”
“This is a curious plea bargain for Noah to offer. Why should the
crime of offending God be dropped if the offender withdraws his words not
against God but against the king and his people?”[5]
Abinadi refused. He
informed them that he had allowed himself to fall into their hand. He was prepared to suffer death rather than
recall his words. These words will stand
a testimony against him and, should he be killed, this action will also stand
as a testimony against Noah at the last day.
[1] To
All the World – Alma1, L. Gary Lambert, Maxwell Institute,
accessed October 17, 2014.
[2] The
Trial of Abinadi, Maxwell Institute, accessed October 17, 2014.
[3] The
Book of Mormon: Passport to Discipleship, Marilyn Arnold, Maxwell
Institute, accessed October 17, 2014.
[4] To
All the World – Conversion, Kay H. Smith, Maxwell Institute, accessed October
17, 2014.
[5] The
Trial of Abinadi, Maxwell Institute, accessed October 17, 2014.
No comments:
Post a Comment