April 13-19

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The story of Moses freeing the Israelites through the power of God is an incredible parable for the atonement of Jesus Christ. It’s probably the most important lesson we can pull from that story. However, it’s not the only story we can learn from it. There are other principles at work too. Let’s talk about one of them.

Within the story, we find Moses exhorting the people to have faith in God and His ability to deliver. We’ve come a long way from Moses being worried about talking to Pharaoh. After exhorting the people to believe and trust, he turns to the Lord. The Lord tells him to move forward, and there would be a miracle. Moses listens.

Exodus 14:21-22

21 And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.

22 And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. 

I want to zoom in on some of the people who were experiencing these events. I have no idea how the individual Israelites were truly reacting outwardly and in their hearts, but let’s talk about relatable hypotheticals.

I want you to imagine an Israelite who was particularly grumpy about being saved; let’s call him Joshua. Despite the fact that Joshua was saved, he was still a little peeved over the fact that there were so many problems along the way. Surely, the whole process of saving Israel could have been a lot smoother. Moses wasn’t very good at convincing Pharaoh to let the people go, and they ended up with a lot of extra work. He had to put blood on his doors which just seems unnecessary; why couldn’t God just save them if He was really so powerful? And then, of course, Joshua was one of the first to call Moses out when they noticed that the Egyptians were chasing after them to kill them in the wilderness.

What was Moses thinking bringing them out here? Sure, their lives weren’t fantastic, but at least they were alive. Why did Moses feel the need to go ruin it and why did everyone follow after him? If you’re going to save someone, you should do it right and actually save them. Not just do it halfway.

Joshua is legitimately worried about himself and his family and this supposed prophet who has led them into the wilderness to be slaughtered. Despite the real danger behind them, Moses has the gall to tell them to just have faith. Who does that? Moses is the reason they’re in danger, and his response is for them to trust him? Who does he think he is?

But then something changes. Moses starts walking towards the water, and miracle of miracles, the water parts for the Israelites to walk through. 

Maybe there is something here. Maybe Moses has God behind him. So Joshua follows.

Unfortunately, this process isn’t necessarily smoother than the experiences with the plagues. The terrain left behind after the parted waters can be treacherous. Trying to get families safely through it is downright dangerous. It can be steep and rocky. It’s hard to tread through the sand. Couldn’t Moses have summoned a boat instead? Surely that would have been easier than parting the entire sea.

Not to mention, how do we know this miracle is going to hold? Joshua is pretty skeptical about this whole thing. Does he have the power to hold this long enough or are they all just going to end up drowning anyway? Conveniently for Moses, they don’t have a choice but to follow him anyway.

Now, I want you to imagine for a moment that Joshua slips and slides down the face of a rock. He becomes injured, and he is fed up. He is so over this. How can Moses be so reckless with the lives of people he apparently loves and wants to rescue?

Joshua is done. He’s turning back. He’s done putting his life at risk for this mortal man who is supposed to be saving them. 

Seems a bit ridiculous, don’t you think?

And yet, don’t we see this all the time? The church hasn’t been perfect. The programs aren’t perfect. Leaders aren’t perfect. In fact, some people who were called into positions were downright evil and dangerous. Sometimes people have gotten hurt along the way because of those imperfections. Sometimes there has been true fear involved. 

These are all true and legitimate statements.

But it’s also true that the Lord sent plagues and enabled the Israelites to walk out of Egypt. It’s also true that the Red Sea was parted.

The path was messy. There was difficulty and fear and devastation. There were also miracles beyond our wildest dreams and covenants with a Lord who has a land for our inheritance. There is a life beyond slavery. It’s not necessarily going to be an easy life, but it’s a life worth living. It’s worth growing and owning your decisions and having the freedom to build something for yourself. It’s worth the difficulty to get a front row seat for the miracles. It is worth leaving slavery for. 

It is worth it to follow the prophet. Don’t miss the miracles of the priesthood structure and church and The Book of Mormon and the youth programs and welfare programs and the missionary programs. The church is doing miraculous things and changing lives. It’s giving people an opportunity to rise above previous circumstances. The prophet is being led by the Savior even if you think things should be done differently. 

Maybe you don’t like the whole list of plagues you had to go through before the death of the firstborn. Maybe you don’t like the blood on the door. 

Maybe the Lord is trying to teach you about His atonement. 

Maybe you don’t like the difficult path you’ve had to walk within the church.

Maybe the Lord is trying to teach you about His atonement.

The story of the exodus from Egypt is a powerful parable for the atonement of Jesus Christ. It’s also an incredible example of why it’s important to follow the prophet even if things don’t go perfectly smoothly or even if you think that you could have done things better. The Lord has called a prophet, and He knows what He’s doing.

So you can stay in slavery or you can join the Lord in this journey where even the treacherous parts can contribute to a glorious you.

I testify that the Lord loves His children. I testify that He led Moses even when things weren’t going smoothly. I testify that following the prophet enabled the Israelites to be freed through the power of the Savior. I testify that the Lord is leading His church through a living prophet today. Perhaps that prophet hasn’t been led perfectly, but it would be ridiculous to miss out on the miracles because of the mistakes.