11 And now king Noah
was about to release him, for he feared his word; for he feared that the judgments
of God would come upon him.
12 But the priests
lifted up their voices against him, and began to accuse him, saying: He has
reviled the king. Therefore the king was
stirred up in anger against him, and he delivered him up that he might be
slain.
13 And it came to pass
that they took him and bound him, and scourged his skin with faggots, yea, even
unto death.
14 And now when the
flames began to scorch him, he cried unto them, saying:
15 Behold, even as ye
have done unto me, so shall it come to pass that thy seed shall cause that many
shall suffer the pains that I do suffer, even the pains of death by fire; and
this because they believe in the salvation of the Lord their God.
16 And it will come to
pass that ye shall be afflicted with all manner of diseases because of your
iniquities.
17 Yea, and ye shall
be smitten on every hand, and shall be driven and scattered to and fro, even as
a wild flock is driven by wild and ferocious beasts.
18 And in that day ye
shall be hunted, and ye shall be taken by the hand of your enemies, and then ye
shall suffer, as I suffer, the pains of death by fire.
19 Thus God executeth vengeance
upon those that destroy his people. O
God, receive my soul.
20 And now, *when
Abinadi had said these words, he fell, having suffered death by fire; yea,
having been put to death because he would not deny the commandments of God,
having sealed the truth of his words by his death.
Mosiah 17:11-20
Having had his say after Noah pronounced sentence, the words
of Abinadi began to cause him to have second thoughts. What if Abinadi was right? He was ready to let Abinadi go free.
But, the priests would have none of this. They began to make accusations against
Abinadi. “He has reviled the king.” They
succeeded in angering the king and he forgot about his fears. Abinadi must die.
While Noah appears to be in charge
of the court, functioning as its sole voice and ultimate decision maker, in the
end he was deeply influenced by the opinions of the priests (Mosiah 17:11–12).
The role of these priests was not merely advisory. They were actively involved
in the trial, conducting the direct examination of the accused (12:19–20) and
seeking a basis whereby "they might have wherewith to accuse
him" (v. 19; emphasis added) … “[Noah] said unto him: Abinadi, we have
found an accusation against thee" (17:6–7; emphasis added). After Abinadi
rebuffed that charge, Noah himself was "about to release" Abinadi,
but it was the priests who "lifted up their voices against [Abinadi]” … Ultimately,
it was the priests themselves who fashioned and conducted the execution of
Abinadi … In the end, therefore, it was "the priests who caused that he
should suffer death by fire" (Alma 25:9). They were the more blameworthy
(Mosiah 7:28) after Noah released Abinadi and "delivered him up [to the
priests] that he might be slain" (17:12).[1]
“And whoso falleth not
down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning
fiery furnace” (Daniel 3:6).
10
Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for
an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.
11
Behold, we count them happy which endure.
Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord;
that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.
James 5:10-11
“They don't really burn him at the stake, as I see it. It
says in Mosiah 17:13 that they scourge him with faggots, which
probably means they have burning sticks with which they jab him. And then he
falls to the earth and suffers death by fire.”[2]
Having been condemned to death, Abinadi was bound and scourged
with faggots. This would end in his
death.
What is a faggot? “Death
by burning, [figuratively] referred to by the faggots which fuel the fire.”[3] “They don't really burn him at the stake, as
I see it. It says in Mosiah 17:13 that they scourge him with faggots,
which probably means they have burning sticks with which they jab him. And then
he falls to the earth and suffers death by fire.”[4]
Royal Skousen raises questions about the use of “scourged.” Abinadi being scourged (beaten with whips)
does not fit in with the verse as well as the remaining scriptures in Mosiah
17. He has identified possible errors
made by Oliver Cowdery during transcription.
The solution to these problems is
to emend the word scourged in Mosiah 17:13 to scorched.
In the very next verse (Mosiah 17:14), the text specifically refers to the
flames scorching Abinadi ("the flames began to scorch him"). In fact,
the word scorch is precisely in accord with Book of Mormon
usage. This verb is always used to refer to burning the surface of something.[5]
Abinadi called out as he was dying. He made the following prophesies before he
died.
- Their descendants will cause others to suffer death by fire because of their faith.
7
And it came to pass that those rulers who were the remnant of the children of Amulon
caused that [Lamanites who accepted the gospel] should be put to death, yea,
all those that believed in these things.
8
Now this martyrdom caused that many of their brethren should be stirred up to
anger; and there began to be contention in the wilderness; and the Lamanites
began to hunt the seed of Amulon and his brethren and began to slay them; and
they fled into the east wilderness.
9
And behold they are hunted at this day by the Lamanites. Thus the words of Abinadi were brought to
pass, which he said concerning the seed of the priests who caused that he
should suffer death by fire.
Alma 25:7-9
- They will be afflicted with diseases because of their sins.
- They will be scattered and driven “to and fro.”
- They will suffer pains of death by fire.
“And
[Noah] commanded them that they should not return; and they were angry with the
king, and caused that he should suffer, even unto death by fire” (Mosiah 19:20).
“And
behold they are hunted at this day by the Lamanites. Thus the words of Abinadi were brought to
pass, which he said concerning the seed of the priests who caused that he
should suffer death by fire”
(Alma 25:7-9).
Having said his last words, he died. Mormon tells us, “And now Abinadi was the first that suffered death by fire because of
his belief in God; now this is what he meant, that many should suffer death by
fire, according as he had suffered” (Alma 25:11).
[1] The
Trial of Abinadi, Maxwell Institute, accessed October 19, 2014.
[2] Abinadi:
The Message and the Martyr (Part 2), Todd Parker, Maxwell Institute,
accessed October 19, 2014.
[3] Wikipedia, Faggot, accessed October
19, 2014.
[4] Abinadi:
The Message and the Martyr (Part 2), Todd Parker, Maxwell Institute,
accessed October 19, 2014.
[5] 'Scourged'
vs. 'Scorched' in Mosiah 17:13, Royal Skousen, Maxwell Institute, accessed October
19, 2014.
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