“This Mortal Shall Put on Immortality”

Brant Gardner

Abinadi must next make clear the distinction between resurrection and salvation. Resurrection is a gift given to all. Yahweh-Messiah has broken the bands of death for all. The condemnation of the priests does not come from their denial of the resurrection, but from their lack of understanding the quality of that resurrection: the resurrection of the righteous or the wicked.

Reference: This text is clearly dependent upon 1 Corinthians 15:53–54: “For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.”

How can Abinadi quote Paul? The answer is that he clearly cannot, because Paul’s text comes more than a century later and literally half a world away. The text owes its parallels to the similarity of concepts; when Joseph Smith recognized those similarities, he couched his translation of Abinadi in Paul’s language. This same phenomenon has occurred in other places, where Joseph’s familiarity with the New Testament produces text that alludes to or quotes from the New Testament.

Second Witness: Analytical & Contextual Commentary on the Book of Mormon, Vol. 3

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