“The
significance of a prophet’s message can never be measured by the
extent to which he is accepted or even acknowledged by his peers.
In the case of Abinadi, he was an outcast whose origins and even
ethnic affiliation are unknown. He is the only person in the
Book of Mormon with this name. His lineage cannot be determined
from the name, and whether he is Nephite, Lamanite, or some “other”
is not disclosed.
His
only credential was his message. He came to announce warnings,
was rejected, and ultimately killed. He had no success with the
people, and made only one convert.
Abinadi
is a hinge character around whom the entire remainder of the Book of
Mormon will center. His one convert, Alma, will become the
spiritual leader of the Nephites, and that convert will become the
leading writer of the Book of Mormon. Then his posterity will be the
focus of the remaining history of the Book of Mormon.
Abinadi’s
prophecies were cited from the time he delivered them to the end of
the Book of Mormon. But measured by the events of his life, he
failed. His one convert fled persecution and hid in the
wilderness.
However,
measured by the full sweep of history, he is the pivotal character,
the central figure from the time of his appearance until the end of
the Book of Mormon.
I
think there’s a profound lesson in Abinadi’s appearance and
legacy. If the Book of Mormon was edited by those who “saw
our day,” and was edited to foreshadow our own history, then we
ought to be cautious about discarding a message from someone like
Abinadi.
The
only meaningful credential is the content of the message.
Trappings of office, genealogy, name, status, and standing were all
irrelevant to Abinadi.” (DS 3-24-10)
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