A Modern Exodus

Nephi, a prophet who wrote in the Book of Mormon, was commanded to build a ship that could carry him and his family from Bountiful, on the Arabian Peninsula, to the New World. Nephi's response was instant and willing, and he began to build the ship, but his brothers expressed doubt about his ability to build it. To motivate his brothers to help him, he recounted the story of the exodus of Israel from Egypt. "I, Nephi, spake unto them saying, Do you believe that our fathers, who were the children of Israel, would have been led away out of the hands of the Egyptians if they had not hearkened unto the words of the Lord? Yea, do ye suppose that they would have been led out of bondage, if the Lord had not commanded Moses to lead them out of bondage?" Nephi later wrote, "And he raiseth up a righteous nation, and destroyeth the nations of the wicked. And he leadeth away the righteous into precious lands, and the wicked he destroyeth, and curseth the land unto them for their sakes."

The exodus of Israel from Egypt has provided inspiration and a foundation of faith to Israel throughout all of its history. Several miracles allowed Israel to escape from Egypt with many of their possessions, and i was a spiritual salvation as well as a physical one. They received the law of the Lord from Mount Sinai, and this law formed the basis of their worship and survival for the following centuries. Several decades of wandering brought them to the promised land, and the Lord helped them take the land from its former inhabitants and become established there.

This same situation has occurred in modern times as well. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was organized, and almost immediately encountered opposition and persecution. Joseph Smith was the modern Moses, and after leaving New York, the Church established itself in Kirtland, Ohio, where it received "The Law of the Lord," a modern equivalent to the law given on Mount Sinai. Huge spiritual blessings were received in Kirtland, but the Church was driven out, first from Ohio, and then from many of the other cities that they built. Finally, they traveled across the wilderness under the leadership of Brigham Young and established themselves in the Rocky Mountains, a promised land free of persecution, but desolate and barren in physical respects.

To apply Nephi's words to this modern exodus: Do you believe that our fathers, the first converts to the Church, would have been led away out of the hands of tyranny of the mobs and enemies to the Church, if they had not hearkened unto the words of the Lord? Yea, do ye suppose that they would have been led out of bondage, if the Lord had not commanded Joseph Smith and Brigham Young to lead them out of bondage? I say no. Surely, the Lord has raised up a righteous people among the Rocky Mountains, and is destroying the wicked and the oppression that they bring. As Nephi wrote, "And he leadeth away the righteous into precious lands, and the wicked he destroyeth, and curseth the land unto them for their sakes."