Mosiah VIII

25and it came to pass that after Abinadi had made an end of these sayings that he said unto them have ye taught this people that they should observe to do all these things for to keep these commandments 26i say unto you nay for if ye had the Lord would not have caused me to come forth and to prophesy evil concerning this people 27and now ye have said that salvation cometh by the law of Moses I say unto you that it is expedient that ye should keep the law of Moses as yet but I say unto you that the time shall come when it shall no more be expedient to keep the law of Moses 28and moreover I say unto you that salvation doth not come by the law alone and were it not for the atonement which God himself shall make for the sins and iniquities of his people that they must unavoidably perish notwithstanding the law of Moses 29and now I say unto you that it was expedient that there should be a law given to the children of Israel yea even a very strict law for they were a stiffnecked people quick to do iniquity and slow to remember the Lord their God 30therefore there was a law given them yea a law of performances and of ordinances a law which they were to observe strictly from day to day to keep them in remembrance of God and their duty towards him 31but behold I say unto you that all these things were types of things to come 32and now did they understand the law I say unto you nay they did not all understand the law and this because of the hardness of their hearts for they understood not that there could not any man be saved except it were through the redemption of God 33for behold did not Moses prophesy unto them concerning the coming of the Messiah and that God should redeem his people yea and even all the prophets which have prophesied ever since the world began have they not spoken more or less concerning these things 34have they not said that God himself should come down among the children of men and take upon him the form of man and go forth in mighty power upon the face of the earth 35yea and have they not said also that he should bring to pass the resurrection of the dead and that he himself should be oppressed and afflicted 14yea even doth not Isaiah say who hath believed our report and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed 2for he shall grow up before him as a tender plant and as a root out of dry ground he hath no form nor comeliness And when we shall see him there is no beauty that we should desire him 3he is despised and rejected of men a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief and we hid as it were our faces from him he was despised and we esteemed him not 4surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows yet we did esteem him stricken smitten of God and afflicted 5but he was wounded for our transgressions he was bruised for our iniquities the chastisement of our peace was upon him and with his stripes we are healed 6all we like sheep have gone astray we have turned every one to his own way and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquities of us all 7he was oppressed and he was afflicted yet he opened not his mouth he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb so he opened not his mouth 8he was taken from prison and from judgment and who shall declare his generation for he was cut off out of the land of the living for the transgressions of my people was he stricken 9and he made his grave with the wicked and with the rich in his death because he had done no evil neither was any deceit in his mouth 10yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him he hath put him to grief when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin he shall see his seed he shall prolong his days and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand 11he shall see of the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many for he shall bear their iniquities 12therefore will I divide him a portion with the great and he shall divide the spoil with the strong because he hath poured out his soul unto death and he was numbered with the transgressors and he bare the sins of many and made intercession for the transgressors 15and now Abinadi saith unto them I would that ye should understand that God himself shall come down among the children of men and shall redeem his people 2and because he dwelleth in flesh he shall be called the Son of God and having subjected the flesh to the will of the Father being the Father and the Son 3the Father because he was conceived by the power of God and the Son because of the flesh thus becoming the Father and Son 4 and they are one God yea the very Eternal Father of heaven and of earth 5and thus the flesh becoming subject to the spirit or the Son to the Father being one God suffereth temptation and yieldeth not to the temptation but suffereth himself to be mocked and scourged and cast out and disowned by his people 6and after all this and after working many mighty miracles among the children of men he shall be led yea even as Isaiah said as a sheep before the shearer is dumb so he opened not his mouth 7yea even so he shall be led crucified and slain the flesh becoming subject even unto death the will of the Son being swallowed up in the will of the Father 8and thus God breaketh the bands of death having gained the victory over death giving the Son power to make intercession for the children of men 9having ascended into heaven having the bowels of mercy being filled with compassion toward the children of men standing betwixt them and justice having broken the bands of death having taken upon himself their iniquity and their transgressions having redeemed them and satisfied the demands of justice 10and now I say unto you who shall declare his generation behold I say unto you that when his soul has been made an offering for sin he shall see his seed and now what say ye and who shall be his seed 11behold I say unto you that whosoever hath heard the words of the prophets yea all the holy prophets which have prophesied concerning the coming of the Lord I say unto you that all those who hath hearkened unto their words and believed that the Lord would redeem his people and have looked forward to that day for a remission of their sins I say unto you that these are his seed or they are heirs of the kingdom of God 12for these are they whose sins he hath borne these are they for whom he hath died to redeem them from their transgressions and now are they not his seed 13yea and are not the prophets every one that has opened his mouth to prophesy that has not fallen into transgression I mean all the holy prophets ever since the world began I say unto you that they are his seed 14and these are they which hath published peace that hath brought good tidings of good that hath published salvation that saith unto Zion thy God reigneth 15and O how beautiful upon the mountains were their feet 16and again how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of those that are still publishing peace 17and again how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of those who shall hereafter publish peace yea from this time henceforth and forever 18and 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 hath redeemed his people yea him who hath granted salvation unto his people 19for 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 that all mankind must have perished 20but 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 21and there cometh a resurrection even a first resurrection yea even a resurrection of those that have been and which are and which shall be even until the resurrection of Christ for so shall he be called 22and 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 these shall come forth in the first resurrection therefore they are the first resurrection 23they are raised to dwell with God who hath redeemed them thus they have eternal life through Christ who hath broken the bands of death 24and there 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 of hath eternal life being redeemed by the Lord 25and little children also hath eternal life 26but behold and fear and tremble before God for ye had ought to tremble for the Lord redeemeth none such that rebelleth against him and dieth in their sins yea even all those that have perished in their sins ever since the world began that have willfully 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 27therefore had ye not ought 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 hath its claim 28and now I say unto you that the time shall come that the salvation of the Lord shall be decalred to every nation kindred tongue and people 29yea 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 30break forth into joy sing together ye waste places of Jerusalem for the Lord hath comforted his people he hath redeemed Jerusalem 31the 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 16and now it came to pass that after Abinadi had spoken these words he stretched forth his hands 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 2and 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 3for they are carnal and devilish and the devil hath 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 mankinds becoming carnal sensual devilish knowing evil from good subjecting themselves to the devil 4thus 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 5but remember that he that persists in his own carnal nature and goes on in the ways of sin and rebellion against God he 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 6and 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 7and if Christ had not risen from the dead or 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 8but there is a resurrection therefore the grave hath no victory and the sting of death is swallowed up in Christ 9he 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 10even 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 11if they be good to the resurrection of endless life and happiness and if they be evil to the resurrection of endless damnation being delivered up to the devil who hath subjected them which is damnation 12having gone according to their own carnal wills and desires having never called upon the Lord while the arms of mercy was extended towards them for the arms of mercy was extended towards them and they would not they being warned of their iniquities and yet they would not depart from them and they were commanded to repent and yet they would not repent 13and now had ye not ought to tremble and repent of your sins and remember only in and through Christ ye can be saved 14therefore if ye teach the law of Moses also teach that it is a shadow of those things which are to come 15teach them that redemption cometh through Christ the Lord which is the very Eternal Father amen