Points to Ponder in Mosiah 11-17

To accompany your Come Follow Me reading for May 13-19

In addition to your reading this week, you will enjoy watching the following videos:

You will also enjoy reading the following related commentary from the Book of Mormon Institute Student Manual:

• Chapter 20: Mosiah 9–17 (churchofjesuschrist.org)

If you would like a Kahoot game related to this material which you could use for personal study or use with your family or your class, click here: https://create.kahoot.it/share/mosiah-11-17/15afde19-bf74-42b6-ae74-4acb1cfab0de. To use it with a group, after clicking on this link, you will need to log into Kahoot, creating a free account if you have not done so previously, then click on the blue “Start” button. Some of the Kahoot questions may presuppose that the player has read through the suggested answers to the following Points to Ponder and at least has browsed the Institute student manual as well.

Points to Ponder in Mosiah 11-17

1. How could the righteous Zeniff have had such a corrupt son?  How could Noah have had such a good one?

2. The 24 gold plates mentioned in today’s reading contained which of the following?

a. much of our current Old Testament

b. primarily the spiritual history of the Nephites

c. primarily the secular history of the Nephites

d. the history of the Jaredites

3. Why did Abinadi return in disguise, only to identify himself as “Abinadi” in his first sentence? (12:1)

4. List at least four changes Noah made in the Nephite colony in the land of Nephi and rank them in what you consider the order of their seriousness. 

5. List five specific prophecies recorded in Mosiah 14 (Isaiah 53) which were fulfilled by Jesus Christ.

6. Mosiah 15:1‑4 is difficult for many to understand.  Can you explain how Jesus is both the Father and the Son?  How are the Father and Son just “one God”?

7. In 15:10‑11 Abinadi answers the question of who are Jesus’ “seed,” or posterity.  Can you condense or reword Abinadi’s answer to make it more understandable?

8. How many converts did Abinadi likely think he had made by the time he died?  How far reaching were the effects of his preaching?  What does this have to do with you?

9. Why didn’t Noah want to kill Abinadi at first?  Why did he finally do it anyway?  What principle can we learn from this?

10. Of what other notable cases of martyrdom does Abinadi’s death remind you?

11. How many miraculous instances of divine intervention can you find in this week’s reading assignment? [Can you name at least 4?)

Possible Answers to Points to Ponder in Mosiah 7-17

1. How could the righteous Zeniff have had such a corrupt son?  How could Noah have had such a good one?

Both cases suggest that there is more at work in creating character than environment.  Zeniff, Noah, and Limhi all brought traits with them from the premortal life that influenced their desire to follow or disregard spiritual promptings here in this life.

2. The 24 gold plates mentioned in today’s reading contained which of the following?

a. much of our current Old Testament

b. primarily the spiritual history of the Nephites

c. primarily the secular history of the Nephites

d. the history of the Jaredites

3. Why did Abinadi return in disguise, only to identify himself as “Abinadi” in his first sentence?  (12:1)

See https://knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.org/knowhy/why-did-abinadi-use-a-disguise for some thoughts on the subject. 

4. List at least four changes Noah made in the Nephite colony in the land of Nephi and rank them in what you consider the order of their seriousness. 

[Your choice.  I might propose the following:

1. Setting an example of immorality, idleness, drunkenness, and idolatry and encouraging his people to follow his lead
2. Delighting in shedding the blood of their brethren ((Mosiah 11:19)
3. Deposing Zeniff’s legitimate priests and installing new ones.
4. Establishing a 20% tax rate
5. Building elegant and spacious buildings, including a spacious palace, with fine ornamentation]
6. Initially giving inadequate attention to national defense (Mosiah 11:17)

5. List five specific prophecies recorded in Mosiah 14 (Isaiah 53) which were fulfilled by Jesus Christ.

1.  The Savior would not be spectacularly physically attractive (v. 2)
2.  He would be despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. (v. 3)
3.  He would bear our griefs, carry our sorrows, and through his stripes we would be healed. (v. 4-5)
4.  He would be sinless (v. 9)
5.  He would be buried “with the rich.”  (v. 9)

6. Mosiah 15:1‑4 is difficult for many to understand.  Can you explain how Jesus is both the Father and the Son?  How the Father and Son are one God?

1. Jesus is the Father in that he is the Creator of the heavens and the earth. 
2. He is the Father of those born again through the gospel. 
3. He is the Father by divine investiture of authority, representing and speaking as His Father. 
4. He is the Son in that He his spirit was sired by the same Eternal Father of us all, and by virtue of the fact that He was born into mortality with God as His Father. 
5. The Father and the Son are one God in the sense that they are totally united, of one mind and one heart, looking like each other even in physical appearance, yet they are two separate and distinct individuals.

7. In 15:10‑11 Abinadi answers the question of who are Jesus’ “seed,” or posterity.  Can you condense or reword Abinadi’s answer to make it more understandable?

All who accept the gospel and are “born again” are considered to be Jesus’ offspring by adoption.

8. How many converts did Abinadi likely think he had made by the time he died?  How far reaching were the effects of his preaching?  What does his have to do with you? 

He may well have died feeling like he had failed, so far as changing anyone’s heart or life was concerned.  But his one convert, Alma, became the prophet and head of the Church, as did his son Alma after him, who was followed in turn by his son and grandson, the two Helamans, who were followed by two Nephis, who were followed by two Amoses—eight generations of prophets, who presided spiritually and ecclesiastically over the Nephites virtually until the time of their extinction.  We, too, may not always see immediately the fruits of our labors, but if we are faithful, we may one day come to know that we have had a far greater influence on others (and therefore on their descendants) than we had ever supposed.

9. Why didn’t Noah want to kill Abinadi at first?  Why did he finally do it anyway? What principle can we learn from this?

He “feared his word” and “feared that the judgments of God would come upon him,” but he gave in to the influence of his priests, who encouraged him to execute Abinadi and who stirred up the king to sufficient anger to acquiesce.  This is a dramatic example of how much trouble bowing to pressure can get us in!

10. Of what other notable cases of martyrdom does Abinadi’s death remind you?

There are certainly similarities to the cases of Joseph Smith, of Stephen, and of Jesus Himself.

11. How many miraculous instances of divine intervention can you find in this week’s reading assignment? [Can you name at least 4?)