Did you know we are already almost halfway through? What a crash course this has been! I’ve been really busy all day getting home taugh, visiting teaching, packing (wasn’t Sunday supposed to be a day of rest?) so I won’t be doing another Sunday Post this week, just a quick thought from my reading.
The Book of Mosiah tells the story of the time of a man named Zeniff (Zeniff would be considered an ancestor of some of our modern day Native Americans) who led his people on a quest to find the land of Nephi. Because of this journey they ended up being placed in servitude to a people called the Lamanites. With the Lord’s aide they were able to rise up against the Lamanites and win their freedom, in a battle which caused 3,043 Lamanite casualities and 279 casualties on Zeniff’s side. Several years of freedom passed, but the Lamanites hated the people of Zeniff so much that they came back to battle against them once more. Again the people of Zeniff put their trust in the Lord and went to battle and won. This time the Lamanite casualities were so great that the dead were not even numbered.
Zeniff died and conferred his kingdom upon his son, Noah. Noah was wicked, idolatrous, and greedy and led his people away from the Lord. As has been done many times before the Lord had mercy upon His children and sent a prophet to preach repentance unto him. This prophet, Abinidai, quotes Isaiah, testifies of Christ, and condemns King Noah and his priests for their wickedness.
For this, he was burned at the stake.
Now Abinadi said unto him: I say unto you, I will not recall the words which I have spoken unto you concerning this people, for they are true; and that ye may know of their surety I have suffered myself that I have fallen into your hands.
Yea, and I will suffer even until death, and I will not recall my words, and they shall stand as a testimony against you. And if ye slay me ye will shed innocent blood, and this shall also stand as a testimony against you at the last day.
And now king Noah was about to release him, for he feared his word; for he feared that the judgments of God would come upon him.But the priests lifted up their voices against him, and began to accuse him, saying: He has reviled the king. Therefore the king was stirred up in anger against him, and he delivered him up that he might be slain.And it came to pass that they took him and bound him, and scourged his skin with faggots, yea, even unto death.And now when the flames began to scorch him, he cried unto them, saying:
Behold, even as ye have done unto me, so shall it come to pass that thy seed shall cause that many shall suffer the pains that I do suffer, even the pains of death by fire; and this because they believe in the salvation of the Lord their God.
Oh King Noah, if only you had listened to the testimony Abinadai bore unto you! Instead you listened to the priests (your friends, the world, the “cool kids”) and you burned this great prophet to death. A few chapters later we learn that King Noah was also burned alive, just as Abinadai had prophesied.
I don’t want to be like King Noah. I’m going to listen to the Spirit, not the world. I’m grateful to have a living prophet, Thomas S. Monson to guide us, just as their was a living prophet in the days of King Noah.
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