By Abinadi, Prophet and Witness of Jesus Christ
O ye people of the latter days, hear my voice, and give ear to the words which the Lord hath caused me to write.
I, Abinadi, will soon stand before a wicked king and a court of priests who claim to know the law of God, but deny the very Redeemer of whom all prophets have spoken since the beginning. They sit in judgment of me for declaring what they refuse to hear: that salvation cometh only in and through Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
When I testify before Noah and his priests, I will open the scriptures of Isaiah, that ancient prophet whose voice yet echoes across generations. Isaiah’s words were not idle words written upon a scroll—they were a foretelling of the greatest condescension ever to unfold in eternity.
“He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief… Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows… he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities.”
—Isaiah 53:3–5
Do ye understand these things? I say unto you, Isaiah beheld the Messiah—not only as the Lamb of God to be slain, but as the very Jehovah who would descend to dwell in the flesh. He bore witness of the One who would suffer more than any man so He could succor His people.
Let there be no mistake: the law of Moses was given to point souls to Christ, not to stand in His place. And yet, in my day—as in yours—there are those who worship the performance of religion but reject the Redeemer.
“When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed…”
—Isaiah 53:10
This “seed” spoken of by Isaiah? It is not of the flesh, but of the covenant. It is those who hear the voice of the Good Shepherd and follow Him. Yea, those who believe in His name, repent of their sins, and are spiritually begotten through His infinite Atonement—they become the sons and daughters of Christ.
I will bear my testimony in the face of death. Flames may consume my flesh, but they can not consume the truth I will have spoken. And now, by the mercy of God, I speak again—to you who live in the fullness of times.
Let your hearts be not hardened. Do not suppose that because ye are prosperous or religiously observant that ye are justified before God. Come unto Christ. Believe in His holy name. Take upon you His image.
By His stripes, ye may be healed.
Let not His suffering be in vain for you. Let not His voice go unheard among your generations. For He shall come in glory as He will soon come in meekness. And the day soon cometh when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Redeemer of the world.
This is my witness. This is my testimony.
I seal it with the fire of truth and with the Spirit of prophecy.
—Abinadi
