It is with painful but striking irony that before Abinadid face the flames of a martyr’s fire, his prophetic witness kindles the fires of testimony within the heart of another. Conversion is always a miraculous matter, particularly in the midst of gross wickedness and among a people who are smitten with hardheartedness as a result of their iniquity. But the Spirit of the Lord is mighty to save, is
“quick and powerful, sharper than a two-edged sword, to the dividing asunder of both joints and marrow” (D&C 6:2).
The spoken word, sustained by the power of the Spirit, cuts deep into the human soul and leads to faith and courage on the one hand, or to anger, bitterness, and fear on the other.