The citing of
the Ten Commandments included the instruction on graven images (Mosiah 13:12),
essentially mirroring that found in Exodus 20:4, with the difference that
Exodus indicates the “likeness of any thing” as opposed to the plural form “of
things”:
Mosiah 13:12
And now, ye
remember that I said unto you: Thou shall not make unto thee any graven image, or
any likeness of things which are in heaven above, or which are in the earth
beneath, or which are in the water under the earth.
Although use
of the plural may not be precisely definitive of a set of Maya gods, it is a
unique match for all of the god manifestations associated with the Maya New
Year, namely, Itzamna (sky god), Pawahtuns (wind gods), Bacabs (skybearers who
stand on the earth), and Mams (gods of the earth and waters under the earth).
Abinadi’s
prophecies in the context of the Maya ritual directly challenged and threatened
the authority and power of Noah and his priests, especially given the fact that
Abinadi was likely a priest himself. As Landa indicated, when no calamity
happened it was on account of the services of the Maya priests; but, when
misfortunes came, it was blamed on some sin or fault in the ritual services or
in those who performed them. Abinadi’s prophecies were in line with the
calamities that the performance of the New Year Bearer ritual was supposed to
prevent. If Abinadi’s prophecies were correct, than the fault lay directly with
Noah and his priests and Abinadi thus became a direct challenge to their
authority, especially given the fact that one of the Maya prophecies was that
there would be a change in the rule of the current lords and priests. (Jerry D.
Grover, Jr., Evidence
of the Nehor Religion in Mesoamerica [Provo, Utah: Challex Scientific
Publishing, 2017], 26)
Further Reading:
Shon D. Hopkin on the Textual Variant between Exodus 20:3 and Mosiah 12:35
