Seminary
Mosiah 12–13: Having Commandments Written in Your Heart

“Mosiah 12–13: Having Commandments Written in Your Heart,” Book of Mormon Teacher Manual (2024)

“Mosiah 12–13,” Book of Mormon Teacher Manual

Mosiah 12–13

Having Commandments Written in Your Heart

youth in class circle

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.

Obedience and love. The Savior taught, “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). When obedience is motivated by love, it becomes more natural and meaningful. Help students see the important connection between living the gospel and loving the Savior.

Student preparation: Students could ask a family member or friend to share an experience when a commandment became personally meaningful to them.

Possible Learning Activities

How would you rank your obedience?

You could write the following two statements on the board and then have students silently assess how well the statements describe them on a scale of 1–10 (10 meaning it describes them 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).

You may choose to use parts or all of the video “Abinadi Testifies before King Noah and His Priests” (4:35), available at ChurchofJesusChrist.org, throughout the lesson.

4:35

Before students read the following passages, you might ask them to list as many of the Ten Commandments as they can from memory. As the students say the commandments, write them on the board. They could then use the following scripture search to complete the list.

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.

  • What truths can we learn from this verse?

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

  • 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:

Sister Bonnie L. Oscarson

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?

Consider modeling the following activity by choosing one of the Ten Commandments and working through the questions together as a class. For example, the commandment “Thou shalt not steal,” when written in a person’s heart, could lead a person to be hardworking and to not cheat. Similarly, “Thou shalt not kill” could lead a person to respect others and strive to not respond with anger. You could then have students complete the activity individually, in pairs, or in small groups.

Alternate options would be to assign different commandments to students and have them share their answers to the questions with a partner, rotating partners when they finish. Or students could role-play how someone would act if the commandment were written in his or her heart.

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:

President Dallin H. Oaks

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)

  • 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:

Consider playing soft instrumental music as students ponder and respond to the following question. You might give students a cutout of a heart they can answer the question on. Then invite them to place it somewhere to remind them of their goal. Alternatively, they could draw the heart in their journals, write on it, take a picture of the heart with their phone, and use the picture as their phone wallpaper for a week.

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