18 And behold, I say
unto you, this is not all. For O how
beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings,
that is the founder of peace, yea, even the Lord, who has redeemed his people;
yea, him who has granted salvation unto his people;
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.
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.
24 And these are those
who have part in the first resurrection; and these are they that have died
before Christ came, in their ignorance, not having salvation declared unto
them. And thus the Lord bringeth about
the restoration of these; and they have a part in the first resurrection, or
have eternal life, being redeemed by the Lord.
25 And little children
also have eternal life.
26 But behold, and
fear, and tremble before God, for ye ought to tremble; for the Lord redeemeth
none such that rebel against him and die in their sins; yea, even all those
that have perished in their sins ever since the world began, that have wilfully
rebelled against God, that have known the commandments of God, and would not
keep them; these are they that have no part in the first resurrection.
27 Therefore ought ye
not to tremble? For salvation cometh to
none such; for the Lord hath redeemed none such; yea, neither can the Lord
redeem such; for he cannot deny himself; for he cannot deny justice when it has
its claim.
28 And now I say unto
you that the time shall come that the salvation of the Lord shall be declared
to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.
29 Yea, Lord, thy
watchmen shall lift up their voice; with the voice together shall they sing;
for they shall see eye to eye, when the Lord shall bring again Zion.
30 Break forth into
joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem; for the Lord hath comforted
his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem.
31 The Lord hath made
bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth
shall see the salvation of our God.
Mosiah 15:18-31
Abinadi continues preaching to the priests of Noah.
Christ will bring the good tidings of peace. “Behold upon
the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth
peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts,
perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly
cut off” (Nahum 1:15). The Lord will
save and redeem His people. “These
things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but
be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
Christ’s redemption was “prepared for the foundation of the
world.” Were it not for this, we would
have perished. Jacob taught, “Wherefore,
it must needs be an infinite atonement—save it should be an infinite atonement
this corruption could not put on incorruption.
Wherefore, the first judgment which came upon man must needs have
remained to an endless duration. And if
so, this flesh must have laid down to rot and to crumble to its mother earth,
to rise no more” (2 Nephi 9:7).
Christ will break the bands of death, “and the Son
reigneth.” “Abinadi took Isaiah's
declaration ‘Thy God reigneth!’ (Isaiah 52:7) and shifted it to read ‘the
Son reigneth’" (Mosiah 15:20; emphasis added), meaning that the Son
had power over death (emphasis in original).”[1]
He will have power over death. Through
Him, there will be a first resurrection.
Alma2 explained this to Corianton.
“And behold, again
it hath been spoken, that there is a first resurrection, a resurrection of all
those who have been, or who are, or who shall be, down to the resurrection of
Christ from the dead.
“Now, we do not
suppose that this first resurrection, which is spoken of in this manner, can be
the resurrection of the souls and their consignation to happiness or
misery. Ye cannot suppose that this is
what it meaneth.
“Behold, I say unto
you, Nay; but it meaneth the reuniting of the soul with the body, of those from
the days of Adam down to the resurrection of Christ.
“Now, whether the
souls and the bodies of those of whom has been spoken shall all be reunited at
once, the wicked as well as the righteous, I do not say; let it suffice, that I
say that they all come forth; or in other words, their resurrection cometh to
pass before the resurrection of those who die after the resurrection of Christ.
“Now, my son, I do
not say that their resurrection cometh at the resurrection of Christ; but
behold, I give it as my opinion, that the souls and the bodies are reunited, of
the righteous, at the resurrection of Christ, and his ascension into heaven.
“But whether it be
at his resurrection or after, I do not say; but this much I say, that there is
a space between death and the resurrection of the body, and a state of the soul
in happiness or in misery until the time which is appointed of God that the
dead shall come forth, and be reunited, both soul and body, and be brought to
stand before God, and be judged according to their works” (Alma 40:16-21).
All who believe in the words of the prophet and kept God’s
commandments will come forth in the first resurrection.
Those who are a part of the first resurrection will dwell
with God. They will have eternal life
through Christ.
Those who die without a knowledge of Christ will also have
part in the first resurrection. These
are those who died before Christ’s ministry.
Little children also have eternal life.
Jacob, teaching about the atonement, told the Nephite
congregation,
“Wherefore, he has
given a law; and where there is no law given there is no punishment; and where
there is no punishment there is no condemnation; and where there is no
condemnation the mercies of the Holy One of Israel have claim upon them,
because of the atonement; for they are delivered by the power of him.
“For the atonement
satisfieth the demands of his justice upon all those who have not the law given
to them, that they are delivered from that awful monster, death and hell, and
the devil, and the lake of fire and brimstone, which is endless torment; and
they are restored to that God who gave them breath, which is the Holy One of
Israel” (2 Nephi 9:25-26).
In this
dispensation, the Lord revealed to Joseph Smith, “But behold, I say unto you,
that little children are redeemed from the foundation of the world through mine
Only Begotten” (D&C 29:46). “And I
also beheld that all children who die before they arrive at the years of
accountability are saved in the celestial kingdom of heaven” (D&C 137:10).
Abinadi warns the
priests, telling them they should “fear and tremble before God.” “Know ye not that if ye will do these things,
that the power of the redemption and the resurrection, which is in Christ, will
bring you to stand with shame and awful guilt before the bar of God” (Jacob
6:9). They rebel against God. “Destroy thou them, O God; let them fall by
their own counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions; for
they have rebelled against thee” (Psalms 5:10).
They do not want to rebel against God and die in their sins. A good example of those who rebel against God
are Laman and Lemuel. Nephi warned them,
“Wherefore, if they should die in their wickedness they must be cast off also,
as to the things which are spiritual, which are pertaining to righteousness;
wherefore, they must be brought to stand before God, to be judged of their
works; and if their works have been filthiness they must needs be filthy; and
if they be filthy it must needs be that they cannot dwell in the kingdom of
God; if so, the kingdom of God must be filthy also” (1 Nephi 15:33). As he finished the record of the Book of
Mormon, Moroni gave a similar warning.
“And wo unto them who shall do these things away and die, for they die
in their sins, and they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God; and I speak it
according to the words of Christ; and I lie not” (Moroni 10:26).
If you willfully
rebel against God, and have no part of His commandments, they will have no part
in the first resurrection.
Salvation will not
come to these people; they will not be redeemed by the Lord. Justice will make its claim on the
sinner. Therefore God gave unto them
commandments, after having made known unto them the plan of redemption, that
they should not do evil, the penalty thereof being a second death, which was an
everlasting death as to things pertaining unto righteousness; for on such the
plan of redemption could have no power, for the works of justice could not be
destroyed, according to the supreme goodness of God” (Alma 12:32).
“And thus he shall
bring salvation to all those who shall believe on his name; this being the
intent of this last sacrifice, to bring about the bowels of mercy, which
overpowereth justice, and bringeth about means unto men that they may have
faith unto repentance.
“And thus mercy can
satisfy the demands of justice, and encircles them in the arms of safety, while
he that exercises no faith unto repentance is exposed to the whole law of the
demands of justice; therefore only unto him that has faith unto repentance is
brought about the great and eternal plan of redemption” (Alma 34:15-16).
“The hallmark of
the way of death is to refuse to hearken to the voice of the Lord. This
response is characterized by following one's own (carnal) desires, rebelling
against God, and persisting in the carnal nature. Evil works are brought forth.
Redemption is not possible, being inconsistent with the nature of God
(see Mosiah 15:27), and the unrepentant are claimed by justice. These
people come forth after the first resurrection in the resurrection of
endless damnation and are delivered to the devil. Their own choices—refusal to
hearken to the voice of God—have placed them in the power of the devil.”[2]
The day will come
that the gospel and salvation will be declared unto all people. The Lord will “lift up their voice … [and
they] shall sing.”
[1] The
Trial of Abinadi, Maxwell Institute.
[2] The
Way of Life and the Way of Death in the Book of Mormon, Mack C. Stirling,
Maxwell Institute.
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