Shining faces

Occasionally, we encounter shining faces in the scriptures. I wrote in my previous post that the Hebrew word for face is synonymous with presence. "Paneh Yahweh" (face Yahweh) is often translated into "before the Lord". A shining face therefore signifies the glory of God or being illuminated by his presence. This is what several Old Testament authors seek.

Make thy face to shine upon thy servant; and teach me thy statutes. (Psalm 119:135)

1 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth.
2 Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh stir up thy strength, and come and save us.
3 Turn us again, O God, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved. (Psalm 80)

24 The Lord bless thee, and keep thee:
25 The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
26 The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. (Numbers 6)

The latter is the well-known blessing of Aaron. I have mentioned before that an event during Jesus' visit to the Nephites is a realization of that blessing.

And it came to pass that Jesus blessed them as they did pray unto him; and his countenance did smile upon them, and the light of his countenance did shine upon them, and behold they were as white as the countenance and also the garments of Jesus; and behold the whiteness thereof did exceed all the whiteness, yea, even there could be nothing upon earth so white as the whiteness thereof. (3 Nephi 19:25)

After Jesus' countenance shines upon the Nephite disciples, they start shining like him.

And when Jesus had spoken these words he came again unto his disciples; and behold they did pray steadfastly, without ceasing, unto him; and he did smile upon them again; and behold they were white, even as Jesus. (3 Nephi 19:30)

Apparently, those who are enwrapped in the glory of God can start shining too. We see the same with Nephi-3 and his brother Lehi in Helaman 5:

And it came to pass that he turned him about, and behold, he saw through the cloud of darkness the faces of Nephi and Lehi; and behold, they did shine exceedingly, even as the faces of angels. And he beheld that they did lift their eyes to heaven; and they were in the attitude as if talking or lifting their voices to some being whom they beheld. (Helaman 5:36)

Another well-known example is Moses after talking with God on Mount Sinai and receiving the commandments. He comes down and his face is shining (see Exodus 34:29-30), even though he is unaware of it himself. Surely, God's face shone on him as they talked face to face in the chapter before (Exodus 33:11). Now, Moses emulates God as his face shines before Israel. This is similar to the outstretched hand that Lord Wilmore recently wrote about, where a prophet emulates God to deliver His message. 

In an interesting parallel, Abinadi's face also shone when he quoted the 10 commandments.

Now it came to pass after Abinadi had spoken these words that the people of king Noah durst not lay their hands on him, for the Spirit of the Lord was upon him; and his face shone with exceeding luster, even as Moses’ did while in the mount of Sinai, while speaking with the Lord. (Mosiah 13:5)

Mormon emphasizes that parallel as he compares Abinadi with Moses. In both cases the 10 commandments were given. Perhaps the lesson is that God's glory is found in his commandments? At least it fits well with Psalm 119:135 quoted above ("make thy face to shine upon thy servant; and teach me thy statutes"). Another thing worth noting is that according to Jewish sages, the events in Exodus 34 happened on the Day of Atonement. According to the Zohar, it is the day "when all faces shine". This is the one day when the high priest could enter into the Holy of Holies, right into the presence and glory of God, to reconnect the people with God, to reconnect heaven and earth.

The prayer to the Lord to shine his face upon us, is a plea to be enwrapped in his glory, but can lead to us radiating that glory ourselves for others to see.

Examples of thematic repetition in Mosiah -- part 2

My last post introduced the purpose of this series on examples of thematic repetition in the Book of Mormon.  Please read that post first before reading this one.

Example #2 -- The type and shadow of things to come

Our next example teaches an extremely important lesson in a subtle way.  This is accomplished through the story of Abinadi and Noah.  Early in Mosiah 13, Mosiah attempts to have Abinadi killed:

1 And now when the king had heard these words, he said unto his priests: Away with this fellow, and slay him; for what have we to do with him, for he is mad.

They tried in vain to kill him, and Abinadi explains why:

3 Touch me not, for God shall smite you if ye lay your hands upon me, for I have not delivered the message which the Lord sent me to deliver; neither have I told you that which ye requested that I should tell; therefore, God will not suffer that I shall be destroyed at this time.
4 But I must fulfil the commandments wherewith God has commanded me; and because I have told you the truth ye are angry with me. And again, because I have spoken the word of God ye have judged me that I am mad.
5 Now it came to pass after Abinadi had spoken these words that the people of king Noah durst not lay their hands on him, for the Spirit of the Lord was upon him; and his face shone with exceeding luster, even as Moses’ did while in the mount of Sinai, while speaking with the Lord.
6 And he spake with power and authority from God; and he continued his words, saying:
7 Ye see that ye have not power to slay me, therefore I finish my message. Yea, and I perceive that it cuts you to your hearts (see 1 Nephi 16:2) because I tell you the truth concerning your iniquities.
8 Yea, and my words fill you with wonder and amazement, and with anger.
9 But I finish my message; and then it matters not whither I go, if it so be that I am saved. (Mosiah 13)

There is so much to say about these verses, but I'm trying to limit my comments to the concept of thematic repetition. Here are two key points:

#1: Connections to Nephi

Compare this story to Nephi's encounter with his brothers in 1 Nephi 17:

• His brothers call him a "fool" because he thinks he can build a ship (1 Nephi 17:17).
• They are certain the people in Jerusalem "were a righteous people" (v. 22) because they kept the law of Moses. (Noah's priests teach the law of Moses.)
• Nephi is "filled with the power of God" (v. 48)
• Nephi is protected by the Spirit of God (1 Nephi 17:52)

Each of these details matches up with Abinadi and Noah.  Abinadi plays the role of Nephi, and Noah and his wicked priests match up with Laman and Lemuel. 

#2: Connecting looking beyond the mark at the law of Moses to spiritual death

The next thematic parallel is more subtle, but it aligns with a major theme from the Old Testament and the Book of Mormon -- rejecting the everlasting covenant leads to spiritual death.  I believe this is taught in Mosiah 13 when we look at two verses with very similar wording:

10 But this much I tell you, what you do with me, after this, shall be as a type and a shadow of things which are to come.



31 But behold, I say unto you, that all these things were types of things to come.

In verse 10, Abinadi is speaking about himself. This direct prophecy is fulfilled when the people burned Noah in Mosiah, but there is a deeper parallel when we connect verse 10 and verse 31.  Abinadi says in verse 9 that after he finishes his message, "it matters not whither I go, if it so be that I am saved." In other words, his physical death is swallowed up in eternal life because of Christ. 

The context of verse 31 is also important, as it makes reference to the fact that the law cannot save anyone from anything. To quote Abinadi:

28 ...I say unto you, that salvation doth not come by the law alone; and were it not for the atonement, which God himself shall make for the sins and iniquities of his people, that they must unavoidably perish, notwithstanding the law of Moses.

The law was only meant to serve as a type of things to come, not a means of salvation in itself. By referring to the strict "performances" and "ordinances" of the law of Moses as a type of things to come, Abinadi is also pointing back to his own words about himself (and about Christ's sacrifice for mankind).  If we read between the lines, he's assuring them that strict adherence to the law alone (ignoring its deeper meaning) will lead to spiritual death. Only Christ has the power to save, not the law of Moses.

Example #3 -- Alma teaches privately

We'll end this post with a very subtle, short parallel about Alma-1.  In the first few verses of Mosiah 18, we learn that Alma-1 taught the people the words of Abinadi "privately" (see verses 1 and 3). Compare this to the description of how Alma-2 and the sons of Mosiah would later go about trying to destroy the church:

10 And now it came to pass that while he was going about to destroy the church of God, for he did go about secretly with the sons of Mosiah seeking to destroy the church, and to lead astray the people of the Lord, contrary to the commandments of God, or even the king (Mosiah 27)

Perhaps it's too much of a stretch to connect these two details with a lot of certainty, but the simple message I see in this is the importance of having a righteous king. If you don't, the Gospel must be taught in secret. Another lesson might be that the sins of the fathers resonate down to future generations even after sincere repentance.

In the next post we'll look at a few more examples.

"Therefore he sent angels to converse with them, who caused men to behold of his glory."

The title of this post comes from Alma 12:29. This verse encapsulates both a major theme from the temple and a major theme from the scriptures, particularly the Book of Mormon. It's been on my mind quite a bit lately. This concept helps us connect the teachings of the temple to the scriptures.

After studying Alma 12-13 recently, I noticed something interesting that I had not previously considered:

Angels are the source of the name of Christ.

This principle is taught very clearly in many places in scripture. 

• Jacob makes it abundantly clear that an angel revealed to him the name of Christ (see 2 Nephi 10:3). 
• Jacob makes it clear that "all the holy prophets" before him "knew of Christ," "had a hope of his glory" and "believed in Christ and worshiped the Father in his name." (See Jacob 4:4-6.)
• Benjamin rehearses the words given to him by an angel, which includes the name of Jesus Christ. (See Mosiah 3:8.)
• Samuel the Lamanite was commanded by the voice of the Lord to "prophesy unto the people whatsoever things should come into his heart." This included the name of Christ, which he received from an angel of the Lord. (See Helaman 13:3, 6-7.) 

Here are some related examples:

• In a vision, Lehi is given a book by a divine messenger which "manifests plainly of the coming of a Messiah" (see 1 Nephi 1:19), though we are not certain whether Christ's name was given to him at that time. 
• Part of the message Abinadi was sent to deliver "with power and authority from God" included the name of Christ. (See Mosiah 13:6 and Mosiah 15:21.)
• Ammon acted in the role of the angel for King Lamoni and his people. (See Alma 18:29.)
• Interestingly, Alma-2 does not learn the name of Christ from the angel who visits him.  Rather, after the visitation of the angel and while he suffered intense agony and pain of spirit, he "remembered also to have heard [his] father prophesy unto the people concerning the coming of one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to atone for the sins of the world." (See Alma 36:17.) Thus it seems this verse teaches Alma-2 the importance of earthly messengers -- prophets -- and the need to hearken to their word. (Recall that a central theme in Alma 36 is Alma teaching his son through poetry how his word became God's word through conversion to Jesus Christ. See this post.)

It is that final example that leads us to my next point, which is that priesthood authority is given to man on earth to help the sons and daughters of God be reborn into new creatures, spiritual creatures, who are then able to spread the word and help others in the same way they were helped.

This is taught quote plainly in Alma 12-13. I quoted Alma 12:29 in the title of this post.  Here is the very next verse:

30 And they began from that time forth to call on his name; therefore God conversed with men, and made known unto them the plan of redemption, which had been prepared from the foundation of the world; and this he made known unto them according to their faith and repentance and their holy works.

Reiterating an ancient doctrine

Alma-2 certainly isn't breaking new ground here. Rather, he is reiterating a doctrine as old as Adam and Eve. Thankfully, the Book of Moses offers us a glimpse into how this unfolded.

The connections between Alma 12-13 and Moses 4-6 are intriguing. A recent Interpreter article lists numerous connections between the Book of Mormon and Book of Moses in general.  Below I'll note a few verses specific to Alma 12-13 which are worth studying.

 Compare Alma 12:33 -- 

33 But God did call on men, in the name of his Son, (this being the plan of redemption which was laid) saying: If ye will repent, and harden not your hearts, then will I have mercy upon you, through mine Only Begotten Son;

...with Moses 6:23, 52, 62 --

23 And they were preachers of righteousness, and spake and prophesied, and called upon all men, everywhere, to repent; and faith was taught unto the children of men.
...
52 And he also said unto him: If thou wilt turn unto me, and hearken unto my voice, and believe, and repent of all thy transgressions, and be baptized, even in water, in the name of mine Only Begotten Son, who is full of grace and truth, which is Jesus Christ, the only name which shall be given under heaven, whereby salvation shall come unto the children of men, ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, asking all things in his name, and whatsoever ye shall ask, it shall be given you.
...
62 And now, behold, I say unto you: This is the plan of salvation unto all men, through the blood of mine Only Begotten, who shall come in the meridian of time.

The connections don't end there. Alma's sermon in Alma 13 teaches us more about what it means to participate in the "holy order of God." These priests were ordained by God "to teach these things unto the people" (Alma 13:1). Notice what Adam is described as doing right after the account of his baptism and receipt of the Holy Ghost:

1 And it came to pass that Enoch continued his speech, saying: Behold, our father Adam taught these things, and many have believed and become the sons of God... (Moses 7)

Adam learned "these things" at least in part from the angel who came to him and taught him the meaning of sacrifice: 

7 And then the angel spake, saying: This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth.
8 Wherefore, thou shalt do all that thou doest in the name of the Son, and thou shalt repent and call upon God in the name of the Son forevermore. (Moses 5)

It is vital to remember that the account of Adam's baptism by water and the Spirit (at the end of Moses 6) and teaching (at the beginning of Moses 7) comes to us by way of an account of the teachings of Enoch, who was also called and chosen by God to be a teacher of these same things.  So all of this is a story within a story, which is very interesting. As if Enoch (the name means "the initiated one") is being taught to understand himself as an Adam of sorts.

Conclusion

The Holy Order of God goes all the way back to Adam. Angels do indeed bring glad tidings. God calls upon men not only to repent but also to "work righteousness" and "teach these things unto the people." (See Alma 13:1, 10.)

Abinadi and the first and second Moses

In his book, "Understanding the Book of Mormon", Grant Hardy writes about the connection between Abinadi and Moses.

The tale of Abinadi includes a number of parallels to the Exodus story, beginning with God's command "Go forth and say unto this people, 'Thus saith the Lord...'" (Mosiah 11:20). The injunction to "say (un)to [someone], 'Thus saith the Lord'" is fairly common in the Hebrew Bible, where it recurs more than fifty times, but the first - and most memorable - usages are in the story of Moses' confrontation with Pharaoh at Exodus 4:22, 8:1, 20, and 9:13. Although King Noah may unwittingly play the part of Pharaoh, Mormon recognizes the pattern and narrates accordingly, though it was God himself who first spoke to Abinadi in the same language he had used long before with Moses. It appears that both Mormon and God want us to perceive Abinadi's preaching not just as doctrinal discourse but as a reenactment of sacred drama - Abinadi is a New Moses, giving the Law once again (as when he recites the Ten Commandments) and standing up to a recalcitrant, faithless ruler. The verbal correspondences become more distinctive as the story progresses, though it adds yet another layer of complexity to note that the narrator never reports God's words directly; we always hear them as quoted by Abinadi

Hardy then goes on to give many examples of textual connections. Given the uniqueness of many of the shared phrases between the Exodus and the Abinadi story and sermon, I think they are significant. I cannot go into the same amount of detail as Hardy, but will just list the shared phrases or themes here

• "shall know that I am the Lord" (Mosiah 12:3) is a key phrase in Exodus
• "a jealous God, visiting the iniquities" (Mosiah 11:22) only occurs in the Abinadi story in the Book of Mormon and as part of the Ten Commandments in the Bible
• "Who is Abinadi, that I..." (Mosiah 11:27) reminds us of Pharaoh's "who is the Lord, that I..." in Exodus 5:2
• hardened hearts (Mosiah 11:29) is a common concept in the Book of Mormon but in the Bible it is ovewhelmingly associated with Pharaoh
• The Lord distinctly commands Abinadi to "stretch forth his hand" (Mosiah 12:2) as a prophetic gesture as he does five times in the Moses/Pharaoh story
• threats of hail, east wind, insects and pestilance in Mosiah 12:6-7 remind us of the plagues over Egypt

Then, in what may seem an effort to remove all doubt that these connections are intentional, Mormon narrates about Abinadi that

his face shone with exceeding luster, even as Moses' did while in the Mount of Sinai, while speaking with the Lord (Mosiah 13:5)

It is hard to tell how obvious these parallels were as they happened or to what degree Mormon creatively connected the words and events in his abridgement. In any case, they are quite interesting. Hardy does not really attempt to provide an explanation or speculate about why Mormon/Abinadi/God would draw these parallels. But I like to speculate, so here goes...

Lately I have read a bit about the old Jewish idea about the Messiah as a second Moses. See this article, for instance. Many Christian scholars also see these parallels between Moses and Christ. They are also present in the Book of Mormon around the time of Christ's coming to earth, see this blog post.

In another previous blog post, I noted that the first half of Abinadi's sermon is about Moses and the old law. Note that all the parallels to Pharaoh/Exodus are in Mosiah 11-13. Then, at a transition point in Mosiah 13:31, the second half of the sermon (Mosiah 14-16) is all about Christ, the second Moses, and salvation through Him. This makes me wonder if the Messiah as second Moses tradition is older than 600 BC and the Book of Mormon prophets had it. Perhaps this tradition is basically as old as Moses because he said himself that

The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers (Deuteronomy 18:15)

Compare with 1 Nephi 10:4, where Nephi talks about his father's prophecies

Yea, even six hundred years from the time that my father left Jerusalem, a prophet would the Lord God raise up among the Jews—even a Messiah, or, in other words, a Savior of the world.

This sounds like a reference to Deuteronomy and Lehi clearly understood this prophet to be the Messiah. When Christ is among the Nephites he identifies himself as that prophet.

Behold, I am he of whom Moses spake, saying: A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me (3 Nephi 20:23)

Realizing that the Nephites probably had this understanding of the Messiah as a second Moses, it is interesting to note that Abinadi's sermon was split into a first part about the first Moses and a second part about the second Moses the way he did. Thus all the references to Moses in the first half of his talk, both the Exodus and the Law, make sense. I don't think the point with these parallels was to just compare Abinadi with Moses. Abinadi is there to point the way from the first Moses to the second Moses. 

But one may wonder, why Abinadi and his sermon? It started with a question from King Noah's priests about the meaning of a scripture in Isaiah. What does Isaiah have to do with all this? I don't know if this scripture triggered Abinadi's choice/inspiration to give the sermon the way he did, or if it was the fact that King Noah's priests told him that they taught the people to live the law of Moses. Perhaps both? In the Isaiah scripture that they queried him about, we read:

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings; that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good; that publisheth salvation (Isaiah 52:7 / Mosiah 12:21)

Two keywords in bold: Mountains can lead our thoughts to Mount Sinai, where Moses stood. Abinadi seizes the opportunity to ask if they think salvation comes through the Law of Moses. When they respond that they think it does, Abinadi explains how the first Moses and the Law merely represented "types of things to come" (Mosiah 13:31) and went on to talk about the second Moses, whose feet would stand on Mount Zion and publish salvation. 

I'm still not sure if I should credit Mormon or Abinadi or both for this brilliant allusion to the idea of a first and second Moses in this story and sermon, but in the end I believe the Book of Mormon is the inspired word of God and that he has left an abundance of treasures for us to find in the scriptures as we study.

"Redeem his people" as another example of internal consistency and "doctrinal mentors" in the Book of Mormon

Stisa's recent post about the concepts of "redeemer" and "kinsman" mentions that Abinadi is responsible for 5 of the 12 uses of the phrase "redeem his people" in the Book of Mormon.

When I read that, I remembered a post I made way back about the concept of Abinadi playing the role of doctrinal mentor to Alma-1, and Alma-1 playing the role of doctrinal mentor to Alma-2.  That was after I noticed that these three men were the only ones in the entire Book of Mormon to specifically teach about the "first resurrection."

So when I read Stisa's post, I decided to look up where the other 7 uses of "redeem his people" occur in the Book of Mormon.  The results surprised me, even though they confirm my hypothesis. Below you'll find an index of every occurrence of "redeem/redeemed his people, followed by the name of the person who is speaking:

Twelve Examples by Speaker

1. Mosiah 13:33, Abinadi 
2. Mosiah 15:1, Abinadi
3. Mosiah 15:11, Abinadi
4. Mosiah 15:18, Abinadi
5. Mosiah 16:4, Abinadi
6. Mosiah 18:20, Alma-1
7. Alma 5:21, Alma-2
8. Alma 5:27, Alma-2
9. Alma 6:8, Mormon (about Alma-2...see below)
10. Alma 11:40, Amulek
11. Alma 33:22, Alma-2
12. Helaman 5:10, Helaman-2 (quoting Amulek's words to Zeezrom...see below)

More about the Example from Alma 6

Mormon wrote these words, clearly documenting what Alma-2 was teaching:

8 And Alma went and began to declare the word of God unto the church which was established in the valley of Gideon, according to the revelation of the truth of the word which had been spoken by his fathers, and according to the spirit of prophecy which was in him, according to the testimony of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who should come to redeem his people from their sins, and the holy order by which he was called. And thus it is written. Amen. (Alma 6)

More about the Example from Helaman 5

It is true that Helaman wrote these words, but he is very specifically referencing Amulek in Alma 11:

10 And remember also the words which Amulek spake unto Zeezrom, in the city of Ammonihah; for he said unto him that the Lord surely should come to redeem his people, but that he should not come to redeem them in their sins, but to redeem them from their sins. (Helaman 5)

Conclusions

Once again, we see a high degree of internal consistency.  If you had asked me prior to reading Stisa's post referenced above how many times the words "redeem/redeemed his people" showed up in the Book of Mormon, I would have guessed a few dozen or maybe more.  I would have guessed that many authors used this phrase.  Not so.  It seems that there is a chain of possession, so to speak, of the use of this phrase.

What to make about the "outlier" in Alma 11, when Amulek uses the phrase?  I don't consider it an outlier at all. Rather, it seems natural from the narrative of the Book of Alma that Amulek would have considered Alma-2 his doctrinal mentor.

In a similar vein, it seems that Helaman-2 was a careful student of the words of many figures on the large and small plates of Nephi, including Amulek. This makes sense, since he was a keeper of those records. See Helaman 5 for additional examples.

Sometimes I find a pattern in the Book of Mormon and the underlying deeper meaning is immediately apparent to me. (See this series of posts, for example.) Other times, including this example, I notice a pattern but I don't really understand what the deeper meaning is.  I clearly have much more to learn.  One thing I can definitely say is that the text of the Book of Mormon has been carefully prepared by someone with a lot of time and a lot of notes, and it deserves our careful attention.

Redeemer - kinsman -- Part 2

In part 1, we saw how Lehi talked about a "Redeemer of the world", an idea that seems to fly in the face of the Old Testament tradition of the redeemer only redeeming his kin. What Lehi had understood, however, was that Jesus Christ is our brother, regardless of nationality and that everyone who repents is of the House of Israel, an understanding not all Jews at his time or later shared.

Still, the Book of Mormon is consistent with the idea of Redeemer as a kinsman, most notably through the expression "redeem his people". Even though it is consistent with the kinsman-redeemer idea, the expression is not found in the Old Testament and only once in the New Testament (in Luke 1:68 when Zacharias can finally talk again and starts praising the Lord). In the Book of Mormon, this expression is found 12 times.

The closest we get to "redeem his people" in the Old Testament is Isaiah 52:9

the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem

This is from the passage that King Noah's priests ask Abinadi about. Abinadi keeps quoting and paraphrasing this Isaiah passage throughout his sermon and his sermon accounts for 5 of those 12 "redeem his people" occurrences in the Book of Mormon. But according to Abinadi, not only Isaiah, but Moses in particular, said that "God should redeem his people".

For behold, did not Moses prophesy unto them concerning the coming of the Messiah, and that God should redeem his people? (Mosiah 13:33)

I searched the 5 books of Moses and could not find the word redeem used in this sense. It is only used in conjunction with the Jewish law regarding obligations of the kinsman or to describe how God redeemed his people out of Egypt. Either Abinadi is seeing these as types for the redemption through Messiah or there are actual more direct prophecies about this from Moses that have become lost. I wouldn't be surprised if the latter is the case. 

Another aspect of the use of "Redeemer" in the Book of Mormon is something that connects to Job in the Old Testament. We don't know exactly when Job was written, but chronologically at least it is the first time "Redeemer" is used in a Messianic sense. 

25 For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:

26 And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God (Job 19:25-26)

Job's connotation, that being redeemed is to see God, is a common meaning in the Book of Mormon too. Here are some examples

Wherefore, I know that thou art redeemed, because of the righteousness of thy Redeemer; for thou hast beheld that in the fulness of time he cometh to bring salvation unto men. And thou hast beheld in thy youth his glory. (2 Nephi 2:3-4)

Because thou knowest these things ye are redeemed from the fall; therefore ye are brought back into my presence; therefore I show myself unto you. (Ether 3:13)

the Lord hath redeemed my soul from hell; I have beheld his glory (2 Nephi 1:15) 

But behold, the resurrection of Christ redeemeth mankind, yea, even all mankind, and bringeth them back into the presence of the Lord. (Helaman 14:17)

This is not the first time I have observed or been informed about Book of Mormon terms being consistent with the ancient Hebrew understanding, but in subtle ways as to indicate that the Book of Mormon prophets had an understanding that reflect ancient ideas that our current Bibles have only left traces of.

Old Testament views on the Messiah

In his posts on the ancient Holy Order, Lord Wilmore has argued that scriptures containing prophecies of Christ were altered by Jews who did not accept him as Messiah. This is an interesting topic and there are several clues in the Book of Mormon suggesting that disagreement on the Messiah and the purpose of the Law of Moses go way back and also extend into the New World with the Nephites.

Already in the first chapter, Lehi is called a prophet and starts proclaiming the Messiah

19 And it came to pass that the Jews did mock him because of the things which he testified of them; for he truly testified of their wickedness and their abominations; and he testified that the things which he saw and heard, and also the things which he read in the book, manifested plainly of the coming of a Messiah, and also the redemption of the world.

20 And when the Jews heard these things they were angry with him; yea, even as with the prophets of old, whom they had cast out, and stoned, and slain; and they also sought his life, that they might take it away

Of course the Jews were angry because he testified of their wickedness and their abominations. But why would testifying of the coming of a Messiah anger them? One reason may be that Lehi talked about the "redemption of the world". The idea of a global redemption was not yet unanimous in Judaism at the time. Many thought that only Israel would be redeemed and the other nations would serve them. What Lehi said may have been provoking to some and their reaction shows that there was already controversy and disagreement among different groups of Jews regarding the Messiah. 

Another example is found in Alma 33:17 when Alma is referring to Zenock.

And now, my brethren, ye see that a second prophet of old has testified of the Son of God, and because the people would not understand his words they stoned him to death

 We see this same trend among Book of Mormon people. This is Sherem in Jacob 7:7

And ye have led away much of this people that they pervert the right way of God, and keep not the law of Moses which is the right way; and convert the law of Moses into the worship of a being which ye say shall come many hundred years hence. And now behold, I, Sherem, declare unto you that this is blasphemy

Another example is King Noah and his priests

And they [King Noah's priests] said: We teach the law of Moses. (Mosiah 12:28)

And they [King Noah's priests] answered and said that salvation did come by the law of Moses. (Mosiah 12:32)

(Abinadi speaking) were it not for the atonement, which God himself shall make for the sins and iniquities of his people, that they must unavoidably perish, notwithstanding the law of Moses. (Mosiah 13:28) 

Abinadi, we have found an accusation against thee, and thou art worthy of death. For thou hast said that God himself should come down among the children of men (Mosiah 17:7-8)

I'm not trying to say that Deuteronomists were just as bad as King Noah and his priests. King Noah and his priests didn't even practice what they said they were preaching. Others were very concerned with keeping the Law of Moses. But we see a trend both among Jews and Nephites, that Abinadi sums up beautifully in Mosiah 13:

29 And now I say unto you that it was expedient that there should be a law given to the children of Israel, yea, even a very strict law; for they were a stiffnecked people, quick to do iniquity, and slow to remember the Lord their God;

30 Therefore there was a law given them, yea, a law of performances and of ordinances, a law which they were to observe strictly from day to day, to keep them in remembrance of God and their duty towards him.

31 But behold, I say unto you, that all these things were types of things to come.

32 And now, did they understand the law? I say unto you, Nay, they did not all understand the law; and this because of the hardness of their hearts; for they understood not that there could not any man be saved except it were through the redemption of God.

33 For behold, did not Moses prophesy unto them concerning the coming of the Messiah, and that God should redeem his people? Yea, and even all the prophets who have prophesied ever since the world began—have they not spoken more or less concerning these things?

Reading the Old Testament, I'm not sure I can see clearly that "all the prophets" have spoken concerning the Messiah. Abinadi, who didn't have the Old Testament but rather the brass plates, had a different impression. It seems that those who were outspoken about the coming of Christ often risked their lives. It also seems that their message had to be subtle or hidden in symbolism to "survive" later redaction.

Specific references to Abinadi's prophecy

Another example of internal consistency in the Book of Mormon is found in Alma 25:10-12. 

10 For he said unto them: What ye shall do unto me shall be a type of things to come.

11 And now Abinadi was the first that suffered death by fire because of his belief in God; now this is what he meant, that many should suffer death by fire, according as he had suffered.

12 And he said unto the priests of Noah that their seed should cause many to be put to death, in the like manner as he was, and that they should be scattered abroad and slain, even as a sheep having no shepherd is driven and slain by wild beasts; and now behold, these words were verified, for they were driven by the Lamanites, and they were hunted, and they were smitten.

Mormon recounts in much detail the words of Abinadi and their fulfillment. Compare with: 

Mosiah 13:10

But this much I tell you, what you do with me, after this, shall be as a type and a shadow of things which are to come.

Mosiah 17:15

Behold, even as ye have done unto me, so shall it come to pass that thy seed shall cause that many shall suffer the pains that I do suffer, even the pains of death by fire; and this because they believe in the salvation of the Lord their God. 

Mosiah 17:17

Yea, and ye shall be smitten on every hand, and shall be driven and scattered to and fro, even as a wild flock is driven by wild and ferocious beasts.