Sperry Symp 36-LivingBof M:page layout 8/1/07 11:22 AM Page 136 10 ABINADI ON THE FATHER AND THE SON: INTERPRETATION AND APPLICATION Jared T. Parker n important part of drawing nearer to God is coming to know and Aunderstand Him through the scriptures He has given us (see John 5:39; Jacob 4:8)—especially the Book of Mormon, since it contains many plain and precious truths missing from our current Bible. Although most Book of Mormon passages are easy to understand, some are more difficult, such as Abinadi’s teachings about the Father and the Son in Mosiah 15:2–5. Yet Mormon’s inclusion of these words in his abridgment suggests that the Lord wants us to have these teachings and wants us to understand them.1 Accordingly, many have written about what Abinadi taught— that Jesus Christ is the Father and the Son— and have provided valuable insights and explanations.2 In these discussions, however, a satisfactory explanation of why Abinadi spoke this way appears to be unaddressed.3 Abinadi’s teachings can help us know God better and thereby draw nearer to Him if we (1) correctly interpret the why and what of his message and (2) apply his teachings in our study of the scriptures. Jared T. Parker has a PhD in chemical engineering from Brigham Young University and is a medical device specialist in Flagstaff, Arizona. 136 Sperry Symp 36-LivingBof M:page layout 8/1/07 11:22 AM Page 137 abinadi on the father and the son 137 Interpretation: Why and What Abinadi was brought before King Noah because he had prophesied of the Nephites’ forthcoming bondage and destruction (see Mosiah 11:20–25; 12:1–9). After some initial questioning, King Noah ordered his priests to slay Abinadi (see Mosiah 12:18–13:1), but he was protected by divine power and spoke “with power and authority from God” (Mosiah 13:6). In this setting, Abinadi taught the true meaning of the law of Moses, quoted Isaiah 53, and then spoke about the Father and the Son. Abinadi taught about Jesus Christ as the Father and the Son imme- diately after quoting the entire chapter of Isaiah 53 (see Mosiah 14). This sequence is significant. Abinadi declared that Moses prophesied “concerning the coming of the Messiah, and that God should redeem his people” and that “even all the prophets . [have] spoken more or less concerning these things” (Mosiah 13:33). Furthermore, he stated, “Have [the prophets] 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? Yea, 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?” (Mosiah 13:34–35). Abinadi, on trial for his life, then turned to Isaiah 53 to prove his words (see Mosiah 14:1). Isaiah 53 declares that the Messiah would be “despised and rejected of men” (v. 3) and “wounded for our transgres- sions” (v. 5), and even though He would be “cut off out of the land of the living” (v. 8), He would “prolong his days” (v. 10). Certainly, quoting Isaiah was a powerful defense and second witness of Abinadi’s asser- tions that the Messiah would be oppressed and afflicted and would bring about the Resurrection. Yet what about Abinadi’s statement that God Himself would come down among men as the Messiah? Does Isaiah 53 support this doctrine? Let us turn to the Hebrew behind Isaiah’s prophecy to answer this important question and uncover why Abinadi next spoke of Jesus Christ as the Father and the Son. The King James Version (KJV) of the Bible regularly reads “the LORD” or “GOD” (small caps) where the Hebrew reads “Jehovah.”4 If we identify Jehovah and the Messiah in Isaiah 53 where indicated by Sperry Symp 36-LivingBof M:page layout 8/1/07 11:22 AM Page 138 138 Jared t. parker the Hebrew or the appropriate pronoun, we find that “the LORD [Jehovah] hath laid on him [the Messiah] the iniquities of us all” (v. 6), that “it pleased the LORD [Jehovah] to bruise him [the Messiah],” that “he [Jehovah] hath put him [the Messiah] to grief,” and that “the plea - sure of the LORD [Jehovah] shall prosper in his [the Messiah’s] hand” (v. 10). In light of the context and the meaning of the words in Hebrew, these verses actually appear to contradict Abinadi’s statement that God Himself, the great Jehovah, will come down to redeem His people. The text reads as if Jehovah and the Messiah are two different individuals— as if Jehovah will send the Messiah but not that He will be the Messiah.5 This apparent contradiction is the key to understanding Abinadi’s subsequent teachings.6 Immediately after quoting Isaiah 53, Abinadi declares again that “God himself shall come down among the children of men” (Mosiah 15:1), evidently to ensure his audience understands that Jehovah Himself will come down as the Messiah. In fact, it appears that Abinadi specifically taught about “the Father” and “the Son” after quoting Isaiah 53 to explain how Jehovah and the Messiah are actually the same person.7 To interpret Abinadi’s teachings, we first need to review the ways Jesus Christ is properly referred to as “the Father.” From an official statement by the First Presidency and the Twelve,8 we understand that Jesus is (1) the Father as the Creator of all things, (2) the Father of mankind’s spiritual rebirth, and (3) the Father when acting for Elohim9 by divine investiture of authority. Significantly, all three of these reasons why Jesus is the Father can be identified in Abinadi’s message: (1) Jesus is the Creator, “the very Eternal Father of heaven and of earth” (Mosiah 15:4); (2) Jesus is the Father of His seed, or posterity, begot- ten through the Atonement (see Mosiah 15:10–13); and (3) Jehovah speaks as Elohim in Isaiah 53 by divine investiture of authority (see vv. 6, 10). In addition, some have understood that Abinadi taught of Jesus as the Father in yet another way— that He inherited Elohim’s attributes and capacities so He could perform the Atonement.10 The common theme for all of these senses in which Jesus is the Father is that they are directly tied to His status as God. It is because Jesus is God that He is the Father of heaven and earth. It is because Sperry Symp 36-LivingBof M:page layout 8/1/07 11:22 AM Page 139 abinadi on the father and the son 139 Jesus was God while in the flesh that He was able to perform the Atonement (see D&C 19:15–20) and become the Father of those who are spiritually reborn. It is because Jesus is God that He is the Father, representing Elohim by divine investiture of authority. Therefore, we will interpret Abinadi’s teachings as an explanation that Jehovah and the Messiah are the same person because Jesus acted in His role of Father as Jehovah (God)11 and in His role of Son as Christ (Messiah). Abinadi begins his explanation by reinforcing his earlier statement that Jehovah will come to earth: “I would that ye should understand that God himself [Jehovah] shall come down among the children of men, and shall redeem his people” (Mosiah 15:1). Then he explains that Jehovah will subject His mortal flesh as Christ to His divine will as Jehovah. He says, “And because he [Jehovah] dwelleth in flesh he shall be called the Son of God [Christ], and having subjected the flesh [Christ] to the will of the Father [Jehovah], being the Father [Jehovah] and the Son [Christ]” (v. 2). Next he explains that Jehovah will come to earth and maintain His status as Father, or God, because He will be begotten by Elohim, but He will also be Christ, or Son, because of the mortal flesh He will inherit from Mary. Therefore, Jesus is “the Father [Jehovah], because he was conceived by the power of God [Elohim]; and the Son [Christ], because of the flesh [mortality inherited from Mary]; thus becoming the Father and the Son [Jehovah and Christ]—And they [Jehovah the Father and Christ the Son] are one God [Jehovah- Christ], yea, the very Eternal Father of heaven and earth” (vv. 3–4). Now Abinadi returns to the idea that Jesus will subject His mortal flesh to His divine spirit: “And thus the flesh [Christ] becoming sub- ject to the Spirit [Jehovah], or the Son [Christ] to the Father [Jehovah], being one God [Jehovah- Christ], suffereth temptation, and yieldeth not to temptation, but suffereth himself to be mocked, and scourged, and cast out, and disowned by his own people” (v. 5). Abinadi emphatically finishes his message about Jesus as the Father and the Son by declaring that Isaiah’s prophecy of the Atonement will be fulfilled: “After working many mighty miracles among the children of men, he [Jehovah-Christ] shall be led, yea, even as Isaiah said, as a sheep before the shearer is dumb, so he opened not his mouth. Yea, even so Sperry Symp 36-LivingBof M:page layout 8/1/07 11:22 AM Page 140 140 Jared t. parker he shall be led, crucified, and slain, the flesh [Christ] becoming subject even unto death, the will of the Son [Christ] being swallowed up in the will of the Father [Jehovah].