Having Sealed The Truth Of His Words By His Death

"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.

"And it will come to pass that ye shall be afflicted with all manner of diseases because of your iniquities.

"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.

"And in that day ye shall be hunted, and ye shall be taken by the hand of your enemies, and then ye shall suffer, as I suffer, the pains of death by fire.

"Thus God executeth vengeance upon those that destroy his people. O God, receive my soul.

And now, when Abinadi had said these words, he fell, having suffered death by fire; yea, having been put to death because he would not deny the commandments of God, having sealed the truth of his words by his death." (Mosiah 17:15-20)

There is no greater testimony than the giving of one's life for a cause. With the shedding of blood, the testimony is sealed. The martyr gives up all. There is no pretense, no last-minute recanting, no rationalization or apology. In the words of John Taylor, The testators are now dead, and their testament is in force (D&C 135:5). For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is of force after men are dead (Hebrews 9:16-17). Robert J. Matthews has said:

"I can imagine them dancing and cavorting about Abinadi, and hear them shouting, exulting, and gloating over what they were doing.  And during it all, Abinadi was pronouncing prophecies of God's vengeance upon them- prophecies that were literally fulfilled.  The noise, the din, the stench would be awful!  Wickedness and righteousness, life and death, are real, and Abinadi's martyrdom really did happen.  It was necessary that it happen so the righteous might be justified and the wicked might be condemned.  Sadly, we read that 'Abinadi was [only] the first [among the Nephites] that suffered death by fire because of his belief in God' (Alma 25:11)." (Book of Mormon Symposium Series, edited by PR Cheesman, MS Nyman, and CD Tate, Jr., 1988, p. 103)