Book of Mormon Lesson #18

God Himself Shall Redeem His People

Mosiah 12:14-15
Oh king, behold we are guiltless and thou, O king hast not sinned; therefore, this
man has lied concerning you , and he has prophesied in vain. And behold we are
strong, we shall not come into bondage or be taken captive by our enemies; yea,
and thou hast prospered in the land, and thou shalt also prosper.
These priests are like many others condemned in scripture: they are religious and
believe themselves to be teaching correct principles, but they are profoundly wrong. It
is interesting that these counselor-priests are confident in the advice they give because
of the apparent success of King Noahs reign. They confuse outward signs of success with
Gods approval of the King. These priests rely on a promise found early in Book of
Mormon history as the basis from which they generalize about their current condition.
This promise was given to Nephi, one of their ancestors and linked prospering and
obedience (See 1 Nephi 2:20). The promise links together the results of righteous living
(prospering) with righteousness (keeping commandments). It is not a magic link. In fact, it
is completely sensible. If you want a society in which there are no robberies, broken
marriages, lying, or charlatanry, then that society needs to obey the commandments of
God. All social ills come from disobedience to the way of life God requires of us. Healthy
societies agree on common norms of behavior. For example, there would be no rampant
sexually transmitted diseases if sexual conduct followed the Lords law of chastity. Nor
would there be violence within a society which honors God, prizes individual life, protects
property, cherishes honesty and fairness in dealings, and punishes intentional injury to
others. These issues were all addressed under the law of Moses, which the Nephites
were supposed to be living. If the Nephite descendants had kept these commandments,
they would have enjoyed a society in which these kinds of injustices were avoided In the
case of King Noah, however, the whole meaning has been reversed. Instead of using the
commandments as a measure, prosperity is used as the gauge. Nowhere does the Lord
commend we measure our standing before Him by the prosperous circumstances of our
lives. Rather, He always insists on the opposit e. Our lives are measured by obedience to
His commandments, without regard to the economic successes we may or may not have.
Prosperity can be, and often is, short lived when we disobey His commandments. Even if
one enjoys a lifetime of luxury, it is still short lived. The wicked do not always fail in life.
They are often found among the most prosperous. Prosperity cannot be used as a
measure to decide favor from God without forcing the conclusion that some of the
greatest villains in history were favored by God. As a way of measuring, we will almost
always reach the wrong conclusion when we use it as a guide.

Mosiah 12:27
You have not applied your hearts to understanding
The scriptures werent given to be read. They were given to us to be searched. The scriptures
are not a newspaper to be skimmed, but a mine to be quarried. To fail to do this is to miss the
deeper meanings, to miss the quiet whisper of the Spirit, and to risk falling into hypocrisy like King
Noahs priests. The purpose of the scriptures is to teach Gods children about the Plan of
Salvation. Gods highest passion is to get His children home. His books, the scriptures, describe how
he plans to do this. This is the reason that these books have endured through the centuries.
Before reading your scriptures, pay. Invite God to speak to you. Dont go to the scriptures looking
for your idea; go searching for His. . If you are an obedient disciple of Christ, the you have the gift
of the Holy Ghost, whose job it is to teach us all things. In other words, you have your own personal
tutor to help you understand what you need to know. Any worthy work requires effort. Scripture
study is no exception. To understand them, you dont have to be a brilliant scholar, but you must be
willing to roll up your sleeves and search.
Mosiah 13:11
For I perceive that they are not written in your hearts.
Jeremiah 31:33
After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts;
and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
What does it mean to have the commandments of God written on your heart?

When we allow God to write His law on our hearts we also receive a new spirit (Ezek. 36:26). You
might call it a spiritual heart transplant. God changes our hearts into the heart of his Son. As
Paul said, It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me (Gal 2:20). Imagine God as heart surgeon,
cracking open your chest, removing your heartpoisoned as it is with pride and pain, and replacing
with his own. His dream isnt just to get you into heaven, but to get heaven into you. Dont just read
His words. Write them. And not on paper, but on the fleshy tablets of your heart, that you may have
them with you always.

Mosiah 13:12-24
Some have mistakenly supposed that the Ten Commandments were a part of the law of Moses. In
fact they are a part of the higher law, or the fullness of the Gospel. This is illustrated by their
reiteration to us as part of the restoration of all things (D&C 59:5-12). The ten commandments
gave us timeless truths and clear moral standards that are relevant throughout time and all
eternity. The Ten Commandments govern the relationship between God and those who love him.
All of us will err in this relationship, but God has provided his Son as a sacrifice to heal our
mistakes and repair the damage.
Mosiah 14/Isaiah 53
This is Isaiah's great messianic prophecy. Notice how accurately he portrayed the Saviors life
and mission. Match the prophecy on the left with its fulfillment on the right .
Mosiah 14:1

Luke 19:41-42
John 19:1-3

Mosiah 14:2

Luke 22:44

Mosiah 14:3

Matthew 27:38

Mosiah 14:4

Matthew 27:57-58

Mosiah 14:5
Mosiah 14:6

Matthew 26:6
Luke 2:40
Mark 6:2

Mosiah 14:7
Mosiah 14:9
Mosiah 14:10
Mosiah 14:11
Mosiah 14:12

D&C 19:16-17
Matthew 27:46
Mark 6:2
Luke 19:41-42
John 19:1-3
Matthew 26:54

Mosiah 14:13
Mosiah 14:14

Matthew 26:31
Matthew 27: 13-14

Mosiah 15:1
I would that you should ________________________ that God himself shall come down among the
____________________ of men and shall _______________ his people.
When God chose to reveal himself, he did so through a human body. The tongue that called forth the
dead was a human one. The hand that touched the leper had dirt under its nails. The feet upon which
the woman wept were calloused and dusty. And his tears, they came from a heart as broken as your
yours or mine has ever been. Isaiahs picture is one of majesty in the midst of the mundane. Holiness in
the f ilth of manure. Divinity entered the world on the floor of a stable, through the womb of a
teenager, and in the presence of a carpenter.
The Jews of Jesus time were not comfortable with this. They wanted a conqueror, a worldly champion,
deliverance from Rome. Sometimes, so do I. I like to picture Jesus in all of His glory, surrounded by the
hosts of heaven. However, we must be careful.
There is something about keepin g him divine that keeps him distant, packaged, and predictable. But
dont do it, For heavens sake dont. Let him be human as he intended to be. Let him into the mire and
muck of our world. For only if we let him into our world can he pull us out to his. Bloodstained royalty. A
God with tears. A creator with a heart. God became flesh to save his children. How absurd to think
that such nobility would go to such poverty to share such a treasure with thankless souls. But he did.
In fact, the only more absurd than the gift is our stubborn willin gness to receive it.
Your silent prayers uttered on tearstained pillows were heard before they were said. Your deepest
questions about death and eternity were answered before they were asked. And you direst need, your
need for a Savior, was met before you ever sinned.

Mosiah 15:2
To his hearers, Abinadis words about the God being simultaneously the Father and the Son (Mosiah
15:2) didnt present the anomaly it may to us. Those were technical terms with which they were
familiar, based on the Nephites and Lamanites ancient Near Eastern covenant heritage. The word
father designated an emperor, while son identified a vassal king.
The diff iculty King Noah and his priests had was with the statement that God himself shall come
down among the children of men (Mosiah 15:1; 17:8). This seemed to them blasphemy, the same
blasphemy with which the Sadducees charged Jesus (John 10:33). Their disbelief in the true nature of
God inevitably followed their decline into wickedness, a phenomenon from which none is exempt.

An ancient Near Eastern emperor was called the father of his vassal kings, and they were
called his sons. Emperors formally adopted their loyal vassals as sons, whether there
existed a blood relationship or not. Under the emperors protection, each vassal ruled over a
city state that comprised his particular promised land. The vassal king, in turn, was a
father to the people over whom he ruled, while the heads of households were his sons.
Carrying this hierarchical arrangement to its conclusion, the head of a household was a
father to his children, servants and handmaidens, who, in turn, were his sons and
daughters.
This patriarchal order existed principally for the welfare and protection of all concerned,
particularly women and children. It functioned on the principle of vassal kings keeping the law
of the emperor, heads of households keeping the law of their vassal king, and persons within a
household keeping the law of the head of the house. So long as this order remained intact, all
was well. The emperor or king of kings extended his protection and blessing to all within his
empire and God prospered him and his peoples.
In the case of an outside threat, the emperor mustered his armies or hosts to meet the
danger on behalf of his whole empire. Anyone who posed a mortal threat to his peoples, such
as a rival emperor or invader, was called the common enemy of the emperor and his peoples.
In his combative capacity to meet this danger, the emperor functioned as the lord of hosts to
his peoples. In that capacity also he could turn against any among his own peoples who sided
with the common enemy or who rebelled against him.
In the case of individual infractions within this hierarchical arrangement, heads of households
answered to their vassal king for the disloyalties or misdemeanors of their households, and
vassal kings answered to the emperor for the disloyalties or misdemeanors of their people. In
other words, the term father became synonymous with being a proxy for those over whom one
exercised a stewardship. Each father was responsible as a son to his father for those to
whom he ministered. Protection broke down when a son transgressed the law of his father,
which law constituted the terms of the covenant between father and son.
In the context of these ancient Near Eastern covenant relationships, the Sons deliverance of
humanity from the effects of the Fall, as Abinadi taught it, makes eminent sense. Moses and
the Hebrew prophets had used this very paradigm to portray Gods covenant relationship with
Israel and with Israels kings. Under this arrangement, the Lord functioned in the role of
emperor, while his people and their kings served as vassals. Both the Nephites and Lamanites
followed this pattern of vassalship and protection in one form or another throughout their
history.
Latter-day Saints have inherited this pattern in the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, as is
evident in the covenant of baptism and in priesthood and temple ordinances. It forms the basis
of patriarchy and divine protection for us today in our own role as spiritual vassal kings and
provides the clearest rationale behind Gods plan of salvation.

Just as the emperor was bound by the terms of the covenant to deliver his vassals from
a mortal threat if they kept his law, so Jesus Christ, as his peoples Father, was bound
to deliver them from the ultimate mortal threat, which was death itself. That is why
Jacob personif ies death, callin g it that awful monster, the supreme or ultimate
threat, lumping it together with hell and the devil as common enemies whom Christ
overcomes (2 Nephi 9:10, 19, 26).
King Noah and his priests could accept the fact that God was a Father, but they could
not fathom that he could come down to earth in the form of a Son according to the
pattern they were familiar with. A divine Vassal who would answer to his
Father/Emperor for the disloyalties or misdemeanors of his sons and daughters on
earth? Who would willingly suffer the disciplin ary actions that normally befell those
who rebelled against their emperor, which usually meant death? Could this God or Son
of God fulf ill the roles of both emperor and vassal, and die, and still somehow be one
God (Mosiah 15:45)? These things lay beyond their corrupt minds to understand.
From Studies in the Book of Mormon by Avraham Gileadi

Mosiah 15:9
Having the bowels of mercy; being filled with compassion towards the children of men
The Greek word for compassion is splanchni-zomai,
which wont mean much to you unless you are in the health
professions and studied splanchnology in school. If so,
you remember that splanchnology is a study of the gut.
When Matthew writes that Jesus had compassion on the
people, he is not saying that Jesus felt casual pity for them.
No, the term is far more graphic. Matthew is saying that
Jesus felt their hurt in his gut:
He felt the limp of the crippled.
He felt the hurt of the diseased.
He felt the loneliness of the leper.
He felt the embarrassment of the sinful.
And once he felt their hurts, he couldnt help but heal their
hurts.

Mosiah 16:6
And now if Christ had not come into the __________________________, speaking of things to come as
though they had _________________ ___________________, there could have been no redemption.
Though he lived 150 years before the birth of Christ, Abinidai had so much faith in the plan of
salvation and in the coming of the Savior, that he often spoke of Jesus mission as though it had
already occurred. Do you have this type of faith? Think of the promises made to you in your
patriarchal blessing and in the temple. Are you sitting around patiently waiting for them to occur
or are you behaving as if they have already come to pass, knowing full well that the Lord will
fulf ill his promises when the time is right?
How can I live today as if the promises I have received from the Lord have already come?