Mosiah 18

(March 6, 2015)

                Abinidi likely never knew, as the flames consumed him, that he had made a convert.  Alma’s slow and steady mission, his progression to become the prophet he would become, and so forth were not something that Abinidi could have expected.  On the contrary, every mortal measurement must have told Abinidi that he was a failure, even as the painful death consumed him.

                And yet, Abinidi held fast to the work that he has been given.  It is easy enough to believe that Abinidi simply didn’t care whether a mortal result was achieved, but I don’t think that was accurate.  Instead, I think Abinidi went to his death not knowing the Lord’s purpose but trusting the Lord’s purpose.

                The Lord does not cause us to suffer an ounce of unnecessary pain.  Abinidi, I believe, knew this and trusted the Lord that his death would not be wasted even though he couldn’t see the results of his sacrifice.  And that is a powerful distinction – when we serve the Lord without seeing the results, but do so because we trust the Lord to bring about righteous and good purposes from our sacrifices (rather than merely obeying Him – a good start, but not enough), then we find ourselves truly empowered.