Chapter 16
God redeems men from
their lost and fallen state—Those who are carnal remain as though there was no
redemption—Christ brings to pass a resurrection to endless life or to endless
damnation. About 148 B.C.
1 AND now, it came to
pass that after Abinadi had spoken these words he stretched forth his hand and
said: The time shall come when all shall see the salvation of the Lord; when
every nation, kindred, tongue, and people shall see eye to eye and shall
confess before God that his judgments are just.
2 And then shall the
wicked be cast out, and they shall have cause to howl, and weep, and wail, and
gnash their teeth; and this because they would not hearken unto the voice of
the Lord; therefore the Lord redeemeth them not
3 For they are carnal
and devilish, and the devil has power over them; yea, even that old serpent
that did beguile our first parents, which was the cause of their fall; which
was the cause of all mankind becoming carnal, sensual, devilish, knowing evil
from good, subjecting themselves to the devil.
4 Thus all mankind
were lost; and behold, they would have been endlessly lost were it not that God
redeemed his people from their lost and fallen state.
5 But remember that he
that persists in his own carnal nature, and goes on in the ways of sin and
rebellion against God, remaineth in his fallen state and the devil hath all
power over him. Therefore, he is as
though there was no redemption made, being an enemy to God; and also is the
devil an enemy to God.
6 And now if Christ
had not come into the world, speaking of things to come as though they had
already come, there could have been no redemption.
7 And if Christ had
not risen from the dead, or have broken the bands of death that the grave
should have no victory, and that death should have no sting, there could have
been no resurrection.
8 But there is a
resurrection, therefore the grave hath no victory, and the sting of death is
swallowed up in Christ.
9 He is the light and
the life of the world; yea, a light that is endless, that can never be
darkened; yea, and also a life which is endless, that there can be no more
death.
10 Even this mortal
shall put on immortality, and this corruption shall put on incorruption, and
shall be brought to stand before the bar of God, to be judged of him according
to their works whether they be good or whether they be evil—
Mosiah 16:1-10
Continuing, Abinadi proclaimed the day will come when all
the world will see and understand that salvation comes through Christ.
“And moreover, I
say unto you, that the time shall come when the knowledge of a Savior shall
spread throughout every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.
“And behold, when
that time cometh, none shall be found blameless before God, except it be little
children, only through repentance and faith on the name of the Lord God
Omnipotent” (Mosiah 3:20-21).
The day will come when all the world will confess His
judgments are just. Alma2
proclaimed the same principle after awakening from blackout. “Yea, every knee shall bow, and every tongue
confess before him. Yea, even at the
last day, when all men shall stand to be judged of him, then shall they confess
that he is God; then shall they confess, who live without God in the world,
that the judgment of an everlasting punishment is just upon them; and they
shall quake, and tremble, and shrink beneath the glance of his all–searching
eye” (Mosiah 27:31). The Lord revealed
to Joseph Smith, “And this shall be the sound of his trump, saying to all
people, both in heaven and in earth, and that are under the earth—for every ear
shall hear it, and every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess, while
they hear the sound of the trump, saying: Fear God, and give glory to him who
sitteth upon the throne, forever and ever; for the hour of his judgment is
come” (D&C 88:104).
At that time, the wicked will be cast out. He Lord said:
“Yea, verily, to
seal them up unto the day when the wrath of God shall be poured out upon the
wicked without measure—
“Unto the day when
the Lord shall come to recompense unto every man according to his work, and
measure to every man according to the measure which he has measured to his
fellow man” (D&C 1:9-10).
There will be the weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth
among the wicked. What is meant by the gnashing of teeth? It is a figurative
term for a “show of anger or dismay; angry complaining.” [1]
“The Son of man
shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all
things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
“And shall cast
them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew
13:41-42).
This is all brought upon themselves because they refused to
accept the word of the Lord.
The wicked become carnal and devilish. They allow the devil to have power over
them. “For the natural man is an enemy
to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever,
unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the
natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and
becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing
to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a
child doth submit to his father” (Mosiah 3:19).
The “old serpent” that caused Adam and Eve to fall now has
power over them. They are subjecting
themselves to the devil.
“Therefore, if a
man bringeth forth good works he hearkeneth unto the voice of the good
shepherd, and he doth follow him; but whosoever bringeth forth evil works, the
same becometh a child of the devil, for he hearkeneth unto his voice, and doth
follow him.
“And whosoever
doeth this must receive his wages of him; therefore, for his wages he receiveth
death, as to things pertaining unto righteousness, being dead unto all good
works” (Alma 5:41-42).
“The fall … resulted in the conditions of mortality that
predispose a person to sin, that is, to being a fallen, ‘natural man,’ since
"the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam,
and will be forever unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit
(Mosiah 3:19; cf. Mosiah 16:3).”[2]
Thus all mankind were
alost; and behold, they
would have been endlessly lost were it not that God redeemed his people from
their lost and fallen state.
“And now, my
brethren, behold I say unto you, that if ye will harden your hearts ye shall
not enter into the rest of the Lord; therefore your iniquity provoketh him that
he sendeth down his wrath upon you as in the first provocation, yea, according
to his word in the last provocation as well as the first, to the everlasting
destruction of your souls; therefore, according to his word, unto the last
death, as well as the first” (Alma 12:36).
Because of the fall of Adam, we are all subject to the devil
and will not be able to receive salvation.
Alma2 told Zeezrom, “And now, my brethren, behold I say unto
you, that if ye will harden your hearts ye shall not enter into the rest of the
Lord; therefore your iniquity provoketh him that he sendeth down his wrath upon
you as in the first provocation, yea, according to his word in the last
provocation as well as the first, to the everlasting destruction of your souls;
therefore, according to his word, unto the last death, as well as the first”
(Alma 12:36). He told Corianton, “But behold, it was appointed unto man to
die—therefore, as they were cut off from the tree of life they should be cut
off from the face of the earth—and man became lost forever, yea, they became
fallen man” (Alma 42:6).
Were it not for Christ, we would not have been redeemed from
our fallen state.
According to Abinadi, the fall of Adam and Eve "was the
cause of all mankind becoming carnal, sensual, devilish, knowing evil from
good, subjecting themselves to the devil" (Mosiah 16:3–4). From this
passage, we learn several things: (1) all men are carnal in
their nature; (2) the cause of all men being carnal in their nature is directly
traceable to the fall of Adam and Eve; and, (3) all men are not only carnal,
but sensual, devilish and they all subject themselves to the devil. This
"subjecting themselves to the devil" that "all mankind"
does is synonymous with sin.3 As
King Benjamin put it, "For the natural [carnal] man is an enemy to God,
and has been from the fall of Adam" (Mosiah 3:19). It would be hard to put
it any more forcefully than that. Nephi comes close when he says,
"Wherefore, all mankind were in a lost and fallen state" (1
Nephi 10:6).[3]
“[D]eath is
swallowed up in Christ.” Isaiah
prophesied, “He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe
away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke [OR reproach of his people] of
his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken
it” (Isaiah 25:8). Paul wrote, “So when
this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put
on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death
is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave [GR Hades, hell], where is thy
victory?” (Corinthians 15:54-55).
Christ is the light
of the world. “Behold, I am he who was
prepared from the foundation of the world to redeem my people. Behold, I am Jesus Christ. I am the Father and the Son. In me shall all mankind have life, and that
eternally, even they who shall believe on my name; and they shall become my
sons and my daughters” (Ether 3:14).
Mormon wrote to Moroni, “And now, my brethren, seeing that ye know the
light by which ye may judge, which light is the light of Christ, see that ye do
not judge wrongfully; for with that same judgment which ye judge ye shall also
be judged” (Moroni 7:18).
With Christ, there will be no more death.
Mortal will put on immortality; corruption will put on
incorruption. “Behold, I say unto you,
that there is no resurrection—or, I would say, in other words, that this mortal
does not put on immortality, this corruption does not put on incorruption—until
after the coming of Christ” (Alma 40:2).
We will all stand before the judgment bar of God and be
judged according to our lives, be they good or evil.
“Final judgment occurs after the resurrection
(see Mosiah 16:10–11). However, it is implicit in Abinadi's teaching that
there must be some judgment prior to the resurrection. This is
apparent from Abinadi's description of two temporally separated resurrections.
Obviously, at the time of the first resurrection there must be a separation of
mankind into two groups: those who are able to participate in the first
resurrection and those who are not. This must, of necessity, occur before
resurrection and final judgment. The division of the inhabitants of the spirit
world into paradise and hell or outer darkness, described previously, also
supports the concept of some judgment prior to resurrection and final judgment.”[4]
[1] The
Free Dictionary, Entry – “gnashing of teeth.”
[2] Adam's
Fall in the Book of Mormon, Second Temple Judaism, and Early Christianity,
Stephen D. Ricks, Maxwell Institute.
[3] Cry
Redemption: The Plan of Redemption as Taught in the Book of Mormon, Corbin T.
Volluz, Maxwell Institute.
[4] The
Way of Life and the Way of Death in the Book of Mormon, Mack C. Stirling,
Maxwell Institute.
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