Mosiah 12–13

Having Commandments Written in Your Heart

Noah and his priests were supposed to be spiritual leaders. However, they lived in sin and taught their people to do the same. Abinadi taught them about the role of Jesus Christ in their salvation and the importance of having God’s commandments written in their hearts. Throughout this lesson, you will learn to better follow Jesus Christ as you write the commandments in your heart.

How would you rank your obedience?

Rank yourself on the following two statements on a scale of 1–10 (10 meaning that it describes you very well):

• I FEEL the importance of God’s commandments

• I OBEY God’s commandments

• What might be the concern if someone feels the importance of God’s commandments but doesn’t obey?

• What might be the concern if someone obeys God’s commandments but doesn’t feel their importance?

As you study this lesson, reflect on your feelings about and obedience to God’s commandments.

Obedience from the heart

After being cast into prison for testifying of King Noah’s wickedness (see Mosiah 12:9–17), Abinadi was brought before Noah and his priests. Abinadi rebuked them for pretending to understand and teach God’s word when they did not apply their hearts to understanding. Noah’s priests claimed to teach the law of Moses, but they did not keep the law of Moses nor obey the Ten Commandments. Abinadi taught Noah and his priests the importance of keeping the commandments (see Mosiah 12:25–37).

To see a representation of some of these events, you may want to watch the video “Abinadi Testifies before King Noah and His Priests” (4:35), available at ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

Read Mosiah 12:34–36; 13:15–24 and identify each of the Ten Commandments. Consider numbering them in your scriptures.

Read Mosiah 13:11 and look for one of the reasons Abinadi taught the Ten Commandments to Noah and his priests.

One truth we can learn from this verse is that the commandments of God need to be written in our hearts.

1. Answer the following questions:

   • What do you think it means to have commandments written in our hearts?

   • Can people be obedient to a commandment without having it written in their hearts? Why or why not?

   • How do you think having the commandments written in our hearts helps us follow Jesus Christ?

President Bonnie L. Oscarson, former Young Women General President, taught important truths that can help us understand what it means to have the commandments written in our hearts:

We need to get the gospel from our heads into our hearts! It is possible for us to merely go through the motions of living the gospel because it is expected or because it is the culture in which we have grown up or because it is a habit. …

We all need to seek to have our hearts and very natures changed so that we no longer have a desire to follow the ways of the world but to please God. (Bonnie L. Oscarson, “Do I Believe?” Ensign or Liahona, May 2016, 88)

• How do you think people can get the gospel from their heads into their hearts?

2. Complete the following activity.

   Select two or three of the Ten Commandments. For each one, draw a heart and write the commandment above the heart. Then write the answers to the following questions in each heart:

   • What might people do or not do if this commandment were written in their hearts?

   • What could people do to help this commandment be more fully written in their hearts?

Remembering Jesus Christ

In addition to not having the Ten Commandments written in their hearts, Noah and his priests did not understand the purpose of the law of Moses.

Read Mosiah 13:28–32, looking for the purpose of the law of Moses.

• What did Abinadi want the priests of Noah to understand about the law of Moses?

President Dallin H. Oaks of the First Presidency taught about the need for Jesus Christ:

Men and women … can bring to pass great things. But after all our obedience and good works, we cannot be saved from death or the effects of our individual sins without the grace extended by the atonement of Jesus Christ. The Book of Mormon makes this clear. It teaches that “salvation doth not come by the law alone” (Mosiah 13:28). In other words, salvation does not come simply by keeping the commandments. “By the law no flesh is justified” (2 Nephi 2:5) … Man cannot earn his own salvation. (Dallin H. Oaks, “Another Testament of Jesus Christ,” Ensign, Mar. 1994, 67)

3. Answer the following questions:

   • How can commandments help us remember Jesus Christ?

   • How do you think remembering Jesus Christ can help the commandments be written in our hearts?

Think of a commandment that is difficult for you to keep or that you feel is not written in your heart. As you reflect on this commandment, you could look through For the Strength of Youth: A Guide for Making Choices (booklet, 2022). Seek inspiration through the Holy Ghost and answer the following question in a study journal:

• What can you do to better follow Jesus Christ and have this commandment more fully written in your heart?

Optional: Want to Learn More?

Why are the Ten Commandments still relevant today?

President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910–2008) taught that the Ten Commandments (see Exodus 20:3–17) are an essential part of the gospel of Jesus Christ in every generation:

[The] Ten Commandments [were] written by the finger of Jehovah on tablets of stone for the salvation and safety, for the security and happiness of the children of Israel and for all of the generations which were to come after them. (Gordon B. Hinckley, “Our Solemn Responsibilities,” Ensign, Nov. 1991, 51)

In the video “Obedience to the Ten Commandments” (3:10), available at ChurchofJesusChrist.org, Elder L. Tom Perry (1922–2015) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles teaches about the happiness that comes from keeping the Ten Commandments.

Mosiah 12:27. What does it mean to apply your heart to understanding?

Elder Kim B. Clark, while serving as a member of the Seventy, taught:

The priests [of King Noah] had the scriptures, and they knew about the law and the prophets, but they had not applied their hearts to understanding. The heart is the symbolic center of our will, our desires, our commitments, our values and priorities, our feelings, and our testimony of the truth.

Understanding the gospel is much more than a cognitive experience. It’s a spiritual experience in which the Holy Ghost witnesses of the truth, enlightens our minds, and changes our hearts. Understanding of the heart is a gift of the Spirit.

When [a student] desires to apply her heart to understanding a gospel principle like faith in Jesus Christ, she must exercise her agency to choose Jesus Christ and live that principle. Her experience with the principle is the gateway to her heart. Her action authorizes the Holy Ghost to testify, enlighten, and change the way her heart embraces the Lord and that principle. As she continues to live the principle, reflect on her experience, and testify of what she knows is true, her understanding of faith will grow, and her heart will change.” (Kim B. Clark, “Apply Your Hearts to Understanding” [evening with a General Authority, Feb. 8, 2019], Salt Lake City Tabernacle)