“Except They Repent I Will Utterly Destroy Them”

George Reynolds, Janne M. Sjodahl

Abinadi, at God's command, stretched forth his hand and, in the name of the Lord, told them that they, not some future people, should be brought into bondage, that they should be smitten like dumb beasts and slain, that vultures and dogs should devour their carcasses, that famine and pestilence should come upon them, and that hail and insects should destroy their crops. They were warned that if they did not repent, they should be utterly destroyed. He also, warned King Noah that his life would be like a garment in a hot fire. This was evidently a foreshadowing of his death by fire, which later took place when King Noah was burned at the stake by his own people. Everything that Abinadi prophesied was fulfilled in only a few years. It must not be overlooked that Abinadi told of a record, one that the Lord would preserve, which would tell how the generation of King Noah was smitten and afflicted because it refused to obey the voice of God's holy servant. The Lord, in speaking of these records, said, "I will preserve them for other nations which shall possess the land." It is this "Record of Zeniff" we are now considering. The Lord has preserved it to become an integral part of what is now The Book of Mormon.

Commentary on the Book of Mormon, Vol. 2

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