After hearing the first two of the great commandments received on Mount Sinai (Exodus 20:3–4; Mosiah 12:35–36) and Abinadi’s rebuke for failing to live them and teach their people to live them, the guilty king and his priests took the truth to be hard, for it cut them “to the very center,” as Nephi had taught (see 1 Nephi 16:2). The king ordered the priests to get rid of this man, “for he is mad.” The wicked do not want to hear about their sins, so they resort to name-calling: the man is crazy. The Roman governor Festus accused Paul of the very same kind of madness (Acts 26:24).
When the council members tried to lay their hands on Abinadi, he warned them not to touch him; he was full of the Spirit and shielded from any hindrance while he delivered his heaven-sent message and answered the questions they had asked him. Abinadi was transfigured before that hostile assembly the way others would be, most notably Stephen before the Sanhedrin (Acts 6:15).
The prophet also warned them that after his mission was accomplished, whatever they did to him would be a “type and a shadow,” or prophetic foreshadowing, of what would also happen to them (Mosiah 17:13–15; Alma 25:9–11).
With power and authority, Abinadi boldly taught the basics. The Ten Commandments are repeated in all dispensations because they are the foundation, and foundational commandments must be written deep in our hearts.
Why would Abinadi teach such sacred doctrine to a wicked audience? One reason is that Alma was there.
Pointing Souls to Christ
Following are examples of how the law of Moses helped people remember their duty to God (Mosiah 13:30), pointed their souls to Christ (Jacob 4:5), and strengthened their faith in him (Alma 25:16).
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