Ye Shall Be a Peculiar Treasure Unto Me
Old Testament: Lesson 14 (Exodus 15-20; 32-34)
by Ted L. Gibbons
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AUTHOR'S NOTE: This lesson will not follow precisely the format of the lesson in the manual for Gospel Doctrine. I want to provide some insights and background to the excellent material contained in the Church's publication. I hope it will help you in understanding what happened to Israel in the wilderness and at Mount Sinai.
Introduction
One of things the Children of Israel needed to learn was trust in the Lord. In Proverbs we read
"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths" (Prov. 3:5,6).
Over and over again as Israel traveled from Egypt to Sinai, the Lord seemed to be saying, "Trust me." Actual trust is a precious commodity, one not to be given lightly. The older Alma taught,
"And also trust no one to be your teacher nor your minister, except he be a man of God, walking in his ways and keeping his commandments" (Mosiah 23:14 ).
The story that follows, given by Elder McKay in 1944, illustrates how important it is to find those you know you know you can trust.
"There is a story told that a company of botanists seeking some special flowers up in the Canadian Rockies, came one day to a very rare flower down on the side of a cliff. To reach it they would have to retrace their steps and go back ten miles to come up from the valley below. Someone suggested that if they had a rope they could let a boy down to pick the specimens. That suggestion was prompted by the fact that a little boy had been following them for about an hour, watching them silently.
They got the rope and said:
Here, lad, we'll give you $5 if you will put this rope around you and permit us to let you down to get those flowers.
Without saying a word the lad scampered off. They thought they had frightened him. He went to a house nearby and soon came back with a man by his side. Then the little fellow answered:
You may put that rope around me, and I'll get the flower, if you'll let my dad hold the rope" (Pres. David O. McKay, CR, Apr. 1944).
I. THE LORD TRIES TO TEACH ISRAEL TO TRUST HIM.
In these chapters, the Lord seems to be trying to teach Israel to trust him to "hold the rope." We will discuss the episodes leading to Mount Sinai with that in mind.
ONE
1. The Problem: (Exodus 14) We discussed this event in lesson 13. The Egyptian Army trapped the Israelites at the edge of the Red Sea.
2. Israel's Reaction: "And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt? Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness" (Ex. 14:12 ,13).
3. The Lord's Solution: The sea was divided and the Egyptian Army destroyed.
4. The Lesson: Trust me to protect you.
TWO
1. The Problem: Bitter water "And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah" (Ex. 15:23).
2. Israel's Reaction: "And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink?" (Ex. 15:24).
3. The Lord's Solutions: (A) "And [Moses] cried unto the LORD; and the LORD shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them . . ." (Ex. 15:25 ).
(B) "And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees: and they encamped there by the waters" (Ex. 15:27 ).
4. The Lesson: I will help you meet your legitimate needs.
THREE
1. The Problem: Hunger ". . . ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger" (Ex. 16:3).
2. Israel's Reaction: "And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness: And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full . . ." (Ex. 16:2,3).
3.The Lord's Solution: Manna "Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no" (Ex. 16:4).
We ought to note that the purpose of the manna is not just to feed these people but to "prove them, whether they [would] walk in [the ] law, or no" (see Exodus 16:4). The nature of the instructions about manna suggest other lessons that were to be learned as well. It had to be gathered every day. It could not be stored except for the Sabbath.
"And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no. And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live" (Deut. 8:2,3).
4. The Lesson: Trust me every day. Feast on my word every day.
FOUR
1. The Problem: No water to drink "And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys, according to the commandment of the LORD, and pitched in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink" (Ex. 17:1).
2. Israel's Reaction: "Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the LORD? And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst? And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me" (Ex. 17:2-4).
3. The Lord's Solution: Instead of showing Israel a tree or an oases, the Lord commanded Moses to bring water from solid rock!
"And the LORD said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel ; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go. Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel" (Ex 17:5,6).
4. The Lesson: Trust my leaders.
FIVE
1. The Problem: The Amalekites attack (Ex. 17:8).
2. Israel's Reaction: Israel prevails when Moses holds up the rod and the falter when he does not.
"And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed" (Ex. 17:11 ).
3. The Lord's Solution: "But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword" (Ex. 17:12 ,13).
4. The Lesson: Trust my leaders.
SIX
1. The Problem: "Moses sat to judge the people: and the people stood by Moses from the morning unto the evening . . . And Moses' father in law said unto him, The thing that thou doest is not good. Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou, and this people that is with thee: for this thing is too heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone" (Ex. 18:13 ,17,18).
2. Israel's Reaction: Israel must wait long periods for help and counsel and the people (and Moses) "wilt surely wear away" (see Ex. 18:18 ).
3. The Lord's Solution: "Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens: And let them judge the people at all seasons: and it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge: so shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear the burden with thee" (Ex. 18:21,22).
4. The Lesson: Trust my leaders.
The passages in Exodus 18 mentioned above, in which Jethro teaches Moses about delegation, contain an interesting description of some of the things Prophets are supposed to do.
(18:15) "enquire of God"
(18:16) "judge between one and another"
(18:16) "make them know the statutes of God, and his laws"
(18:19) "Be thou for the people to God-ward, that thou mayest bring the causes unto God."
(18:20) "Teach them ordinances and laws"
(18:20) "Shew them the way wherein they must walk"
(18:20) "Shew them . . . the work that they must do."
(18:22) "Every great matter they shall bring to thee."
(19:17) "And Moses brought . . . the people . . . to meet with God"
The Lord taught the Israelites the importance of following Moses one more time at Mount Sinai. He instructed Moses to prepare the people to meet with him, and then said:
"Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee for ever. And Moses told the words of the people unto the LORD" (Ex. 198:9).
II. THE LORD MEETS WITH MOSES ON MOUNT SINAI AND GIVES ISRAEL THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.
Some have supposed that the 10 Commandments were given to Moses, and that he then gave them to Israel. The scriptural account is pretty clear that it did not happen in just that way. Note the promise God made in Exodus 19:9: "That the people may hear with I speak with thee."
In Exodus 20:1, we are told that God "spake all these words . . ." In Exodus 20:22, after declaring the 10 Commandments, the Lord says, "You have seen that I have talked with you from heaven."
In Deuteronomy 5:4 Moses reminds Israel that "The LORD talked with you face to face in the mount out of the midst of the fire . . ." In Deuteronomy 5:23,24 we read
"And it came to pass, when ye heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, (for the mountain did burn with fire,) that ye came near unto me, even all the heads of your tribes, and your elders; And ye said, Behold, the LORD our God hath shewed us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire: we have seen this day that God doth talk with man, and he liveth."
Also please note that the 10 Commandments and the three chapters that follow (Exodus 21-23) are part of an eternal gospel covenant, and not part of the Law of Moses. Moses' desire was to prepare the people to see God.
"Now this Moses plainly taught to the children of Israel in the wilderness, and sought diligently to sanctify his people that they might behold the face of God; But they hardened their hearts and could not endure his presence; therefore, the Lord in his wrath, for his anger was kindled against them, swore that they should not enter into his rest while in the wilderness, which rest is the fulness of his glory. Therefore, he took Moses out of their midst, and the Holy Priesthood also . . ." (D&C 84:23-25).
When the Lord had finished giving the instructions in these chapters, the people made a covenant:
"And Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the LORD hath said will we do" (Ex. 24:3).
A few verses later they said (again): "All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient" (Ex. 24:7).
Some of the Israelites actually did see God.
"Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel: And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness. And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink" (Ex. 24:9-11).
It was after all of this that Moses went into the mount and received the tables of stone with these laws written on them (see Ex. 24:12).
There are still a great many who accept and attempt to abide by the Ten Commandments, but there are a great many who do not. We live in a day when commandments are not generally well-received.
"In his book The 2nd Ten Commandments, Orion Moshe Kopelman says the original set of 10 is an outmoded, uncultural guide. The first of his new multi-cultural, world-wide commandments is "Maximize your time spent in flow and happiness." This rule may not make a lot of sense to people in southern Sudan or Kerala, unless they keep up with theories of personal growth or have spent some time in a California beach community" ("Thou Shalt Not Command," US News and World Report, Nov. 18, 1996).
The US News article cited above suggests that people might be more receptive to these 10 (original) commandments if the negative and bossy language were removed and if a few creative loopholes were added. For example,
"Thou shalt not steal, but creative work with your tax return is OK."
"Thou shalt not kill, except during any of the trimesters or if the Pentagon says you must."
"Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's goods, except in the sense that our whole economic system depends on the power of envy and wanting more."
You get the idea. We as members of the Church of Jesus Christ have once again, almost by default, become the custodians of something sacred. We are the proponents and messengers of the Mt. Sinai covenant. We must declare by word and by example that these commandments are still in force and that there are divine, often eternal, penalties attached to the breaking of them.
"Cecil B. DeMille stated, after exhaustive research for the epic motion picture The Ten Commandments: 'We cannot break the Ten Commandments. We can only break ourselves against them'" (From a Commencement Address, Brigham Young University, 31 May 1957, p. 3. Cited by Thomas S. Monson, "In Quest of the Abundant Life," Ensign, Mar. 1988, 2).
I wish this part of lesson 14 were its own lesson. There are some wonderful insights for teaching to be found in these commandments, but, as I lack the time and the 10 are not a separate lesson, I will go on.
III. THE LORD INTRODUCES THE LAW OF MOSES.
As noted above in the passage from D&C 84, the Israelites refused the blessings of the eternal covenant. By their disobedience to the promises they themselves had made in Exodus 24:3,7, they forfeited their right to the blessings God wanted to give them.
The first cataclysmic revolution took place while Moses was on the Mount. He had been called up into Mt. Sinai in Ex. 24:12. According to 24:18 he stayed for 40 days, a time period recorded in Exodus 25-32. While he was there, terrible things happened in the camp below.
"And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him" (Ex. 32:1).
And Aaron did! (Ex. 32:2-6). What might he have been thinking. Clearly no one in our day would ever give up on a promise from God just because it came later than expected, would they? No one would marry out of the covenant because a worthy spouse did not show up soon enough, would they? No one would place personal integrity on the altar of profit because business success was too long in coming, would they? No one would postpone missionary opportunities because people willing to listen were to slow in appearing, would they? No one would misuse their procreative powers because waiting for the right time and place to marry would take too long, would they? No one would quit praying for a needed blessing because it did not come at the moment they wanted it, would they?
When the worshiping of the golden calf started, God told Moses to get down to the camp (Ex. 32:7-10). Moses went.
"And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony were in his hand: the tables were written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other were they written. And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables" (Ex. 32:15,16).
Notice what Moses did when he saw his people worshiping a graven image.
"And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses' anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount" (Ex. 32:19).
It was under these circumstances that Israel received the Law of Moses. It was not designed to replace the gospel laws they had already received. Its purpose was to give Israel
". . . a law of performances and of ordinances, a law which they were to observe strictly from day to day, to keep them in remembrance of God and their duty towards him" (Mosiah 13:30).
Notice the language of the JST regarding the new tablets of stone given to Moses.
"And the Lord said unto Moses, Hew thee two other tables of stone, like unto the first, and I will write upon them also, the words of the law, according as they were written at the first on the tables which thou brakest; but it shall not be according to the first, for I will take away the priesthood out of their midst; therefore my holy order, and the ordinances thereof, shall not go before them; for my presence shall not go up in their midst, lest I destroy them. But I will give unto them the law as at the first, but it shall be after the law of a carnal commandment; for I have sworn in my wrath, that they shall not enter into my presence, into my rest, in the days of their pilgrimage. Therefore do as I have commanded thee, and be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me, in the top of the mount" (Ex. 34:1,2, JST).
Conclusion
I wrote a book entitled This Life is a Test. In the book I discussed several rules for understanding, taking, and passing the Test of Life. One of those rules was "Harder Versions of the Test are Available." The Law of Moses was a harder version of the Test. Thinking of it reminded me of a personal experience when I made things much harder than they needed to be.
"I was hurrying. My wife and I had made plans to attend a movie and if I did not move quickly, we would certainly be late. I had barely enough time to wash the car and then pick up the baby sitter. The children were in the car with me: Chris who was three and Debbie, who was nearly two. Since the sitter was a young lady they did not know, I thought I might facilitate the getting-acquainted process by having the three of them in the car while I drove home.
I pulled in at the self-serve car wash, rolled the windows up tightly, and stepped out of my new, 1971 Dodge Charger. I swung the driver's door shut and pushed the lock button as the door passed me. By the time the door thumped home, I knew I had made a mistake. The keys were still in the ignition. The children were still in the car.
I explained the problem to my son, and told him to pull up the lock button on the door. He tried. He really tried. But his little three-year-old fingers could not generate enough force to pull the knob up. The newness of the car and the smoothness of the plastic defeated him. Nor could he open the doors. They needed to be unlocked manually first.
I was frantic, now. I needed to get inside the vehicle and go get the baby sitter. But how? I knew that with a wire coat hanger, I might have some chance. But where would I find a coat hanger at a car wash? Without much hope I walked to a nearby garbage can and began to examine the contents. To my astonishment I found not one, but two hangers, discarded there, I was certain, by some inspired car-washer earlier in the day.
I unwound the hook from the rest of the hanger and forged a small loop to fit over the lock knob. Fashioning the hanger into a useful tool took some time. Then, using all my creativity, I forced the wire around the plastic molding of the door and into the passenger compartment. Finding a spot around the door where this could be done consumed more time. Then I discovered that I could not get the loop over the knob without help. But finally I made Chris understand what I needed and he moved the wire to the correct spot. I pulled sharply and the knob popped up.
Filled with relief, I glanced at my watch and realized that we were not going to get to the movie on time. "Well," I thought, "since we are late anyway, I might as well wash the car while I am here." I secured the keys as a hedge against children now fascinated with door locks, and deposited my quarters. I had been washing the car for about three minutes when my son waved for my attention. I bent over near his window to hear what he had to say, but the noise of the water made it difficult to understand him. "What?" I shouted, whereupon he rolled the window down and said, "Dad, I need to go to the bathroom" (Ted L. Gibbons, This Life is a Test, pp.106,107).
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
“Bondage, Passover, and Exodus”
“Bondage, Passover, and Exodus”
Lesson 13, Gospel Doctrine, compiled by Maren Hale
Reading: Exodus 1-2; 5-6; 11-4
Board: The Lord provides us with the light of the gospel and voice of prophecy so we can find our way safely back into His presence.
INTRODUCTION
The story of the Exodus is a story of deliverance through the power of God. The liberation of Israel from Egyptian bondage is parallel to our own deliverance from the consequences of sin through the process of faith, repentance, baptism, and the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Today’s lesson is about one of the most dramatic rescues that has ever occurred – the deliverance of the Children of Israel from the plague of death and from Egyptian slavery. In many ways this rescue symbolizes an even greater rescue – our deliverance from sin and death through the Savior’s atoning sacrifice.
BODY
The Lord Calls Moses
In Exodus 1, the Children of Israel multiply and are strong even in their slavery. Pharaoh tells the midwives to kill any male babies, but the midwives feared God more than Pharaoh and the people multiplied.
Moses is born to Levite parents and is hid for 3 months. Then his Mother puts him in “an arc of bulrushes” by the river’s bank and his sister kept watch over him.
The daughter of Pharoah came to wash and had compassion on Moses and said, “This is one of the Hebrew’s children.” The Lord softened her heart and she raised
Moses as her son with Moses’ mother as his nurse maid.
When Moses was grown, he saw an Egyptian smiting a Hebrew.
QUESTION: What does Moses do? [Slays the Egyptian, hides him in the sand. The death is discovered and Moses flees to Midian.]
QUESTION: Do you think Moses knew who he was? [Yes – His Mother had the opportunity to teach him. She was a woman of faith and courage and she instilled in Moses those traits.]
Moses then marries Zipporah and she bore Gershom.
SCRIPTURE: Exodus 2: 23-25
23. And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage.
24. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, and with Isaac, and with Jacob.
25. And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them.
[God heard the Iraelites’.]
God hears our prayers (The prayer of faith)
Just as the Lord heard the cries of ancient Israel suffering from bondage, He will also listen to our sincere prayers for strength and guidance to overcome the challenges of mortality and lead us out of bondage to spiritual well-being.
EXPERIENCE: Brother in Prison
When we lived in Germany, our stake president told us about an experience he had with an LDS American businessman who had been imprisoned in Germany for fraud.
President Mourik visited him in Prison and learned that the fraud had been committed by this brother’s partner who had lied, stolen, and fled Germany. This brother was left “holding the bag” and was given a prison sentence. President Mourik brought him a Book of Mormon and made a practice of visiting him throughout his incarceration.
When this brother was released from prison, he went to visit President Mourik in his office. President Mourik told the brother how sorry he was that he had to go through this terrible experience of being in prison.
The brother told President Mourik not to mourn for him. He said that he had turned to the Book of Mormon and prayer throughout his sentence, and said that he had been visited by the Savior during his bondage.
He said that he had come to deeply know and love the Savior. He told President Mourik that he was grateful for this opportunity in prison to come to know and love the Savior.
Even through this very difficult trial, this brother chose to draw near to the Lord and be strengthened by him. The testimony he had gained before his ordeal gave him strength and he was further nurtured in prison as he sought out the Lord and His Spirit.
Heber C. Kimball tells us that we need to build our own testimonies right now.
Quote #1, Heber C. Kimball: “The time will come when no man nor woman will be able to endure on borrowed light. Each will have to be guided by the light within himself. If you do not have it, how can you stand?” (Life of Heber C. Kimball, p. 450)
In Exodus 3 we read of the great trials that were upon the Children of Israel as slaves to the Egyptians. Let’s read the Lord’s words regarding them in Exodus 3:7.
SCRIPTURE: Exodus 3:7
“I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows.”
We know that through the Atonement, Jesus Christ became fully and painfully aware of all our sorrows.
After the deaths of Joseph and Pharaoh, the Israelites began to suffer under successor regimes. Their burdens became heavy, their oppression painful. They cried to the Lord for relief, and He heard their prayers and intervened to bring a new situation into their lives and redress the wrongs that had befallen them. (Teaching and Commentary on the Old Testament, Ed J. Pinegar and Richard J. Allen, pp. 351-2)
We can also cry unto the Lord. Prayer can have a great power in our lives.
Quote #2, President James E. Faust: “Of all that we might do to find solace, prayer is perhaps the most comforting. We are instructed to pray to the Father in the name of his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, by the power of the Holy Ghost. The very act of praying to God is satisfying to the soul, even though God, in his wisdom, may not give what we ask for. President Harold B. Lee taught us that all of our prayers are answered, but sometimes the Lord says no. The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that the ‘best way to obtain truth and wisdom’ is ‘to go to God in prayer.’ Prayer is most helpful in the healing process. (Finding Light in a Dark World, p. 30-31)
Divine calling/divine power (We, too, receive callings in the Church.)
Then the Lord called Moses to deliver Israel.
Exodus 3:11-12
11. And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?
12. And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.
Moses is apprehensive about his abilities: “Whom am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?”
But the Lord tells Moses he will be with him and gives him courage: “Certainly I will be with thee.”
When the Lord extends a calling, He supplies the power and guidance to carry it out.
EXPERIENCE: Early Church callings – Maren Hale
The Lord has a way of calling us to responsibilities in His kingdom that always stretch us and improve or develop our talents. I remember my first calling as a teenager was to be the chorister in Sunday School. I had 15 minutes to help the congregation learn a new hymn. I had to learn to lead music, to memorize many verses of our hymns, and to feel comfortable on the stand in front of everyone.
The skill of leading music has been useful to me throughout my life.
Soon after that, I was called as the Junior Sunday School pianist (Primary). I could play the piano by ear, but sight reading the songs was a real struggle for me. I had faith that if I accepted that calling, with the Lord’s help he would help me through that ordeal. I can’t say that I’ve improved a great deal in sight reading through my life, but the Lord helped me through my assignment at Church.
I was called in college to help set up the Latter-day Saint Student Association on the University of Utah campus. I was petrified, but with the guidance of the institute administrator, Brother Christensen, I managed. Through this calling I learned how to organize.
When Forrest and I were newlyweds in a student ward in Salt Lake, I was called to organize and produce a ward dinner and activity night. This experience taught me delegate. Then in the Berkeley married student ward, I was called to be the “flower coordinator.” Now they had to find a calling for everyone, so I had to find “free” flowers for our sacrament meetings each week. For a shyer person like me, this was especially challenging. This unusual calling helped me to be more bold.
These first callings in my life may seem simple to me now, but at the time, I was very apprehensive and worried. I had learned from my parents to accept Church callings. Then I learned for myself that accepting callings helped me to grow, depend on the Lord, and prepared me for future service in the Church and in my family.
QUESTION: What callings have you had that have frightened you? Perhaps you were a convert and given your first calling. Please share some of your experiences.
President Monson gives us counsel on how we will be able to fulfill our callings:
Quote #3, President Thomas S. Monson: “When we come to the temple let us come with the spirit of prayer, with the sprit of inquiry, with the spirit of acquiescence to the Spirit of the Lord and He will give us the power to fill any position that comes to us. He who the Lord calls, the Lord qualifies.” (“A New Temple Is Dedicated,” LDS Church News, September 1, 1990)
President Monson suggests we go to the temple for strength.
President Gordon B. Hinckley: “We are here to assist our Father in His work and His glory, ‘to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man’ (Moses 1:39). Your obligation is as serious in your sphere of responsibility as is my obligation my sphere. No calling in this church is small or of little consequence. All of us in the pursuit of our duty, touch the lives of others.
“To each of us in our respective responsibilities the Lord has said: “Wherefore, be faithful; stand in the office which I have appointed unto you; succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees’ (D&C 81:5). ‘And in doing these things thou wilt do the greatest good unto thy fellow beings, and wilt promote the glory of him who is your Lord’ (D&C 81:4)…
President Hinckley continues: “You have as great an opportunity for satisfaction in the performance of your duty as I do in mine. The progress of this work will be determined by our joint efforts. Whatever your calling, it is as fraught with the same kind of opportunity to accomplish good as is mine. What is really important is that this is the work of the Master. Our work is to go about doing good as did He.” (“This Is the Work of the Master,” Ensign, May 1995, p. 71)
Freedom and the Atonement (Bringing about the effects of the Atonement through obedience.)
Just as the Lord liberated the captive Israelites from Egyptian bondage, He has also put in place the saving truths, ordinances, and powers to bless our lives with redeeming grace through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
SCRIPTURE: Exodus 5:1
1. And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness.
“The historical Israelite deliverance and exodus is a pattern for the journey of liberation that each of us must complete as we accomplish our ‘exodus’ from the bondage of sin and worldly entanglements toward a state of spiritual freedom.
“The Journey toward the Promised Land is symbolic of our passage toward Zion, where we can raise our families in truth and light, and taste the joys of the gospel through obedience and righteousness. Just as the Lord liberated Israel through the shedding of the blood of the firstborn of the Egyptians, so he liberated us through the shedding of blood of His Only Begotten, that we might not perish, but have everlasting life.
“The consequences of sin pass over us through the process of faith, repentance, baptism, and the gift of the Holy Ghost.” (Teachings and Commentary on the Old Testament, Ed J. Pinegar and Richard J. Allen, p. 356)
In Exodus 11 and 12, we read of the plague that was brought upon the Egyptians, but Pharaoh’s heart remained hardened. Then Moses gave instructions from the Lord for the Passover, and the Children of Israel are let go.
QUESTION: What was the Passover? [President Joseph Fielding Smith tell us:]
Quote #4, President Joseph Fielding Smith: “The Passover was a law given…to remind the children of Israel of the coming of Christ who would become the sacrificial Lamb. After he was crucified the law was changed by the Savior himself, and from that time forth the law of the sacrament was instituted. We now observe the law of the sacrament instead of the Passover because the Passover was consummated in full by the death of Jesus Christ.” (Answers to Gospel Questions, 5:153:154)
The Passover gives us a rich understanding and appreciation of the Atonement.
The Passover symbolized and embodied the future sacrifice of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ (2 Nephi 11:4).
Symbolizes:
The firstborn male lamb The Only Begotten Son
The blood of the lamb saved. That the blood of the Lord purified the
faithful Israelites.
No bones to be broken. As with the Lord (John 19:31-36)
Partake of unleavened bread. The bread of life. As we partake of Him
(taking His name upon us), we can be
purified.
This bread couldn’t spoil or mold. A repentance and purified person.
Partake in haste That we need to respond
enthusiastically to the offer of the Lord.
“The children of Israel were in slavery; Egypt held them in bondage. Likewise, we are in slavery and bondage to Satan because of sin. When the final plague was instituted during the Passover, the firstborn sons of Pharaoh and the Egyptians were taken and Israel was granted its freedom. We, likewise, are made free by the atoning blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Teachings and Commentary on the Old Testament, Ed J. Pinegar and Richard J. Allen, pp. 357-358)
Quote #5, President Lorenzo Snow: "It appears that the children of Israel…were not very well acquainted with the Lord, or with His ability to carry out His purposes. They, however, had not the opportunities of becoming acquainted with Him, as have the Latter-day Saints. They had seen some of the works of the Lord wrought in the presence of the Egyptians as well as in their own presence; but their hearts had not been touched, neither had their understandings been enlightened by the intelligence of the Holy Spirit, as has been the case with the Latter-day Saints; and therefore, when they were brought to face the Red Sea, which, to all human appearance, was impassable, and with the armies of the Egyptians pressing close upon them, their hearts failed them." (Journal of Discourses, 23:150)
President Gordon B. Hinckley: “I cannot be grateful enough for the Atonement wrought by my Savior and my Redeemer. Through His sacrifice at the culmination of a life of perfection – that sacrifice offered in pain unspeakable – the bonds of death were broken, and the resurrection of all became assured. Beyond this, the doors of celestial glory have been opened to all who will accept divine truth and obey its precepts.” (“My Testimony,” Ensign, November 1993, p. 52)
Remember the Covenant (Particularly the sacrament)
Just as the Lord remembered His covenant promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, by delivering Israel, so must we show through our daily obedience that we remember His goodness and honor His commandments.
SCRIPTURE: Exodus 13:3
13. And Moses said unto the people, Remember this day, in which ye came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the Lord brought you out from this place: there shall be no leavened bread be eaten.”
In this scripture we are reminded about our constant need to show gratitude to our Father in Heaven for the prayers that have been answered through many blessings.
We can show our gratitude for the Savior by remembering him as we partake of the sacrament.
Quote #6, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland: "Do we see [the sacrament] as our passover, this ordinance commemorating our safety and deliverance and redemption?
"With so very much at stake, this ordinance commemorating our escape from the angel of darkness should be taken more seriously than it sometimes is. It should be a powerful, reverent, reflective moment. It should encourage spiritual feelings and impressions." (Ensign, Nov. 1995, p. 68)
Quote #7, President Joseph Fielding Smith: “Partaking of the sacrament is one of the most sacred ordinances given to the Church. It is given in order that we may be brought in closer communion with the spirit of the Lord and thus renew three most sacred covenants. They are first, that we will take upon us the name of Jesus Christ; second, that we will always remember him; third, that we will always keep his commandments which he has given us. We are promised if we will dot this that we will be blessed with the constant companionship of his spirit. If we have violated any one of these covenants, then there should be sincere repentance through which we receive forgiveness of the Church before we partake of the sacrament.” (Answers to Gospel Questions, 1:85)
“King Benjamin taught that as we come to a knowledge of the glory of God, and have tasted of His love and received a remission of our sins, we should always
Remember the greatness of God and His goodness and long-suffering toward us, and we should humble ourselves and call upon His name daily.
“He promised if we will do this we will always rejoice and be filled with the love of God, and retain a remission of our sins; and we will grow in the knowledge of God and of that which is just and true (Mosiah 4:12).” (Teachings and Commentary on the Old Testament, Ed J. Pinegar and Richard J. Allen, p. 359)
Guiding ligh of the gospel (The Holy Spirit nourishes and guides us.)
The Lord provided means to guide the Israelites in their journey out of Egypt. Similarly, He provides for us the light of the gospel and the voice of prophecy so we might find our way safely back into His presence.
SCRIPTURE: Exodus 13:21
21. And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light.
The Lord supplied miraculous means for marking the path of liberation and showing the Israelites the way to safety. He had Moses part the Red Sea for their escape! No less miraculous are His blessings to us today, leading us from one milestone to the next in our journey for spiritual liberation.
QUESTION: What have we been given to light the path showing us the way to spiritual safety?
● Scriptures – Book of Mormon
● The voice of living prophets
● The priesthood to provide authorized ordinances and salvation
● The sealing ordinances of the temple
● The Holy Spirit to illuminate our souls
● Our families
The voice of living prophets have again given us counsel and inspiration that show us the way to spiritual safety.
QUESTION: What counsel from conference touched you last week?
EXPERIENCE: Raising children in these difficult times
I visited with one of my daughters recently, and she mentioned the need she felt for guidance in General Conference on how to raise her children in these difficult times. If I had to pick one theme I felt during conference it was “How to Raise Righteous Families.”
I loved Elder Ballard’s counsel to mothers and daughters. He told the young women to “Look to your faithful mothers for a pattern to follow. Model yourselves after them, not after celebrities whose standards are not the Lord’s standards…Listen to her…trust her…be kind to her.”
To the mothers he said, “If the mother’s are thrifty so are their daughters. If the mothers are modest, so are their girls. If the mothers wear flip flops and other causal clothing to sacrament meeting, so do their daughters.” He told them that the world openly embraces casual promiscuity and immodesty. Elder Ballard said, “You need to have frequent, open discussions during which you teach your daughters the truth about these issues…teach them how to repent and how to remain pure and worthy.”
Truly the Lord is aware of our concerns and delights in guiding us as we raise our families.
President Spencer W. Kimball gives an example of how the Holy Ghost gives counsel and inspiration:
Quote #8, President Spencer W. Kimball: “President Heber J. Grant related an example of the revelations of the Lord to him. For twenty-two years he had felt the inspiration of the living God directing him in his labors. He wrote: ‘From the day that I chose a comparative stranger [Melvin J. Ballard] to be one of the apostles, instead of my lifelong and dearest living friend, I have known as I know that I live, that I am entitled to the light and the inspiration and the guidance of God in directing His work here upon the earth.” (Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, p. 448)
In families we help each other maintain a spiritual safety. We should remain ever vigilant and strong so that Satan will not have power over us and take us from spiritual safety.
Quote #9, President Joseph Fielding Smith: “It should be remembered that Satan has great knowledge and thereby can exercise authority and to some extent the elements, when some greater power does not intervene.” (Answers to Gospel Questions, 1:176-78)
A greater power did intervene and Moses led the Children of Israel through the Red Sea and the people believed.
SCRIPTURE: Exodus 14:14
15. And the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? Speak unto the children of Israel that they go forward.
16. But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.
CONCLUSION
“From the scriptural account of the Exodus, we renew our acquaintance with the miraculous way the Lord delivered Israel from bondage through the leadership of a great prophet.
“Similarly, we can be delivered from the bondage of…sin through the redemption of Jesus Christ.
“The process of deliverance is simple and straightforward.
“Our Heavenly Father hears our sincere prayers of faith and declares His will through the scriptures and the words of living prophets.
“Through obedience to the principles of the gospel, and through the saving ordinances administered by authorized priesthood leaders, we are blessed with the effects of the Atonement in our lives.
Partaking of the sacrament allows us to renew our covenants and our commitment to obedience.” (Teachings and Commentary on the Old Testament, Ed J. Pinegar and Richard J. Allen, p.363)
I am thankful for this great story of Moses and the Exodus of the Children of Israel.
I know that it was through the power of God that they were delivered.
I pray that through our obedience each of us will delivered and return to our Father in Heaven.
Lesson 13, Gospel Doctrine, compiled by Maren Hale
Reading: Exodus 1-2; 5-6; 11-4
Board: The Lord provides us with the light of the gospel and voice of prophecy so we can find our way safely back into His presence.
INTRODUCTION
The story of the Exodus is a story of deliverance through the power of God. The liberation of Israel from Egyptian bondage is parallel to our own deliverance from the consequences of sin through the process of faith, repentance, baptism, and the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Today’s lesson is about one of the most dramatic rescues that has ever occurred – the deliverance of the Children of Israel from the plague of death and from Egyptian slavery. In many ways this rescue symbolizes an even greater rescue – our deliverance from sin and death through the Savior’s atoning sacrifice.
BODY
The Lord Calls Moses
In Exodus 1, the Children of Israel multiply and are strong even in their slavery. Pharaoh tells the midwives to kill any male babies, but the midwives feared God more than Pharaoh and the people multiplied.
Moses is born to Levite parents and is hid for 3 months. Then his Mother puts him in “an arc of bulrushes” by the river’s bank and his sister kept watch over him.
The daughter of Pharoah came to wash and had compassion on Moses and said, “This is one of the Hebrew’s children.” The Lord softened her heart and she raised
Moses as her son with Moses’ mother as his nurse maid.
When Moses was grown, he saw an Egyptian smiting a Hebrew.
QUESTION: What does Moses do? [Slays the Egyptian, hides him in the sand. The death is discovered and Moses flees to Midian.]
QUESTION: Do you think Moses knew who he was? [Yes – His Mother had the opportunity to teach him. She was a woman of faith and courage and she instilled in Moses those traits.]
Moses then marries Zipporah and she bore Gershom.
SCRIPTURE: Exodus 2: 23-25
23. And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage.
24. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, and with Isaac, and with Jacob.
25. And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them.
[God heard the Iraelites’.]
God hears our prayers (The prayer of faith)
Just as the Lord heard the cries of ancient Israel suffering from bondage, He will also listen to our sincere prayers for strength and guidance to overcome the challenges of mortality and lead us out of bondage to spiritual well-being.
EXPERIENCE: Brother in Prison
When we lived in Germany, our stake president told us about an experience he had with an LDS American businessman who had been imprisoned in Germany for fraud.
President Mourik visited him in Prison and learned that the fraud had been committed by this brother’s partner who had lied, stolen, and fled Germany. This brother was left “holding the bag” and was given a prison sentence. President Mourik brought him a Book of Mormon and made a practice of visiting him throughout his incarceration.
When this brother was released from prison, he went to visit President Mourik in his office. President Mourik told the brother how sorry he was that he had to go through this terrible experience of being in prison.
The brother told President Mourik not to mourn for him. He said that he had turned to the Book of Mormon and prayer throughout his sentence, and said that he had been visited by the Savior during his bondage.
He said that he had come to deeply know and love the Savior. He told President Mourik that he was grateful for this opportunity in prison to come to know and love the Savior.
Even through this very difficult trial, this brother chose to draw near to the Lord and be strengthened by him. The testimony he had gained before his ordeal gave him strength and he was further nurtured in prison as he sought out the Lord and His Spirit.
Heber C. Kimball tells us that we need to build our own testimonies right now.
Quote #1, Heber C. Kimball: “The time will come when no man nor woman will be able to endure on borrowed light. Each will have to be guided by the light within himself. If you do not have it, how can you stand?” (Life of Heber C. Kimball, p. 450)
In Exodus 3 we read of the great trials that were upon the Children of Israel as slaves to the Egyptians. Let’s read the Lord’s words regarding them in Exodus 3:7.
SCRIPTURE: Exodus 3:7
“I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows.”
We know that through the Atonement, Jesus Christ became fully and painfully aware of all our sorrows.
After the deaths of Joseph and Pharaoh, the Israelites began to suffer under successor regimes. Their burdens became heavy, their oppression painful. They cried to the Lord for relief, and He heard their prayers and intervened to bring a new situation into their lives and redress the wrongs that had befallen them. (Teaching and Commentary on the Old Testament, Ed J. Pinegar and Richard J. Allen, pp. 351-2)
We can also cry unto the Lord. Prayer can have a great power in our lives.
Quote #2, President James E. Faust: “Of all that we might do to find solace, prayer is perhaps the most comforting. We are instructed to pray to the Father in the name of his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, by the power of the Holy Ghost. The very act of praying to God is satisfying to the soul, even though God, in his wisdom, may not give what we ask for. President Harold B. Lee taught us that all of our prayers are answered, but sometimes the Lord says no. The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that the ‘best way to obtain truth and wisdom’ is ‘to go to God in prayer.’ Prayer is most helpful in the healing process. (Finding Light in a Dark World, p. 30-31)
Divine calling/divine power (We, too, receive callings in the Church.)
Then the Lord called Moses to deliver Israel.
Exodus 3:11-12
11. And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?
12. And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.
Moses is apprehensive about his abilities: “Whom am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?”
But the Lord tells Moses he will be with him and gives him courage: “Certainly I will be with thee.”
When the Lord extends a calling, He supplies the power and guidance to carry it out.
EXPERIENCE: Early Church callings – Maren Hale
The Lord has a way of calling us to responsibilities in His kingdom that always stretch us and improve or develop our talents. I remember my first calling as a teenager was to be the chorister in Sunday School. I had 15 minutes to help the congregation learn a new hymn. I had to learn to lead music, to memorize many verses of our hymns, and to feel comfortable on the stand in front of everyone.
The skill of leading music has been useful to me throughout my life.
Soon after that, I was called as the Junior Sunday School pianist (Primary). I could play the piano by ear, but sight reading the songs was a real struggle for me. I had faith that if I accepted that calling, with the Lord’s help he would help me through that ordeal. I can’t say that I’ve improved a great deal in sight reading through my life, but the Lord helped me through my assignment at Church.
I was called in college to help set up the Latter-day Saint Student Association on the University of Utah campus. I was petrified, but with the guidance of the institute administrator, Brother Christensen, I managed. Through this calling I learned how to organize.
When Forrest and I were newlyweds in a student ward in Salt Lake, I was called to organize and produce a ward dinner and activity night. This experience taught me delegate. Then in the Berkeley married student ward, I was called to be the “flower coordinator.” Now they had to find a calling for everyone, so I had to find “free” flowers for our sacrament meetings each week. For a shyer person like me, this was especially challenging. This unusual calling helped me to be more bold.
These first callings in my life may seem simple to me now, but at the time, I was very apprehensive and worried. I had learned from my parents to accept Church callings. Then I learned for myself that accepting callings helped me to grow, depend on the Lord, and prepared me for future service in the Church and in my family.
QUESTION: What callings have you had that have frightened you? Perhaps you were a convert and given your first calling. Please share some of your experiences.
President Monson gives us counsel on how we will be able to fulfill our callings:
Quote #3, President Thomas S. Monson: “When we come to the temple let us come with the spirit of prayer, with the sprit of inquiry, with the spirit of acquiescence to the Spirit of the Lord and He will give us the power to fill any position that comes to us. He who the Lord calls, the Lord qualifies.” (“A New Temple Is Dedicated,” LDS Church News, September 1, 1990)
President Monson suggests we go to the temple for strength.
President Gordon B. Hinckley: “We are here to assist our Father in His work and His glory, ‘to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man’ (Moses 1:39). Your obligation is as serious in your sphere of responsibility as is my obligation my sphere. No calling in this church is small or of little consequence. All of us in the pursuit of our duty, touch the lives of others.
“To each of us in our respective responsibilities the Lord has said: “Wherefore, be faithful; stand in the office which I have appointed unto you; succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees’ (D&C 81:5). ‘And in doing these things thou wilt do the greatest good unto thy fellow beings, and wilt promote the glory of him who is your Lord’ (D&C 81:4)…
President Hinckley continues: “You have as great an opportunity for satisfaction in the performance of your duty as I do in mine. The progress of this work will be determined by our joint efforts. Whatever your calling, it is as fraught with the same kind of opportunity to accomplish good as is mine. What is really important is that this is the work of the Master. Our work is to go about doing good as did He.” (“This Is the Work of the Master,” Ensign, May 1995, p. 71)
Freedom and the Atonement (Bringing about the effects of the Atonement through obedience.)
Just as the Lord liberated the captive Israelites from Egyptian bondage, He has also put in place the saving truths, ordinances, and powers to bless our lives with redeeming grace through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
SCRIPTURE: Exodus 5:1
1. And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness.
“The historical Israelite deliverance and exodus is a pattern for the journey of liberation that each of us must complete as we accomplish our ‘exodus’ from the bondage of sin and worldly entanglements toward a state of spiritual freedom.
“The Journey toward the Promised Land is symbolic of our passage toward Zion, where we can raise our families in truth and light, and taste the joys of the gospel through obedience and righteousness. Just as the Lord liberated Israel through the shedding of the blood of the firstborn of the Egyptians, so he liberated us through the shedding of blood of His Only Begotten, that we might not perish, but have everlasting life.
“The consequences of sin pass over us through the process of faith, repentance, baptism, and the gift of the Holy Ghost.” (Teachings and Commentary on the Old Testament, Ed J. Pinegar and Richard J. Allen, p. 356)
In Exodus 11 and 12, we read of the plague that was brought upon the Egyptians, but Pharaoh’s heart remained hardened. Then Moses gave instructions from the Lord for the Passover, and the Children of Israel are let go.
QUESTION: What was the Passover? [President Joseph Fielding Smith tell us:]
Quote #4, President Joseph Fielding Smith: “The Passover was a law given…to remind the children of Israel of the coming of Christ who would become the sacrificial Lamb. After he was crucified the law was changed by the Savior himself, and from that time forth the law of the sacrament was instituted. We now observe the law of the sacrament instead of the Passover because the Passover was consummated in full by the death of Jesus Christ.” (Answers to Gospel Questions, 5:153:154)
The Passover gives us a rich understanding and appreciation of the Atonement.
The Passover symbolized and embodied the future sacrifice of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ (2 Nephi 11:4).
Symbolizes:
The firstborn male lamb The Only Begotten Son
The blood of the lamb saved. That the blood of the Lord purified the
faithful Israelites.
No bones to be broken. As with the Lord (John 19:31-36)
Partake of unleavened bread. The bread of life. As we partake of Him
(taking His name upon us), we can be
purified.
This bread couldn’t spoil or mold. A repentance and purified person.
Partake in haste That we need to respond
enthusiastically to the offer of the Lord.
“The children of Israel were in slavery; Egypt held them in bondage. Likewise, we are in slavery and bondage to Satan because of sin. When the final plague was instituted during the Passover, the firstborn sons of Pharaoh and the Egyptians were taken and Israel was granted its freedom. We, likewise, are made free by the atoning blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Teachings and Commentary on the Old Testament, Ed J. Pinegar and Richard J. Allen, pp. 357-358)
Quote #5, President Lorenzo Snow: "It appears that the children of Israel…were not very well acquainted with the Lord, or with His ability to carry out His purposes. They, however, had not the opportunities of becoming acquainted with Him, as have the Latter-day Saints. They had seen some of the works of the Lord wrought in the presence of the Egyptians as well as in their own presence; but their hearts had not been touched, neither had their understandings been enlightened by the intelligence of the Holy Spirit, as has been the case with the Latter-day Saints; and therefore, when they were brought to face the Red Sea, which, to all human appearance, was impassable, and with the armies of the Egyptians pressing close upon them, their hearts failed them." (Journal of Discourses, 23:150)
President Gordon B. Hinckley: “I cannot be grateful enough for the Atonement wrought by my Savior and my Redeemer. Through His sacrifice at the culmination of a life of perfection – that sacrifice offered in pain unspeakable – the bonds of death were broken, and the resurrection of all became assured. Beyond this, the doors of celestial glory have been opened to all who will accept divine truth and obey its precepts.” (“My Testimony,” Ensign, November 1993, p. 52)
Remember the Covenant (Particularly the sacrament)
Just as the Lord remembered His covenant promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, by delivering Israel, so must we show through our daily obedience that we remember His goodness and honor His commandments.
SCRIPTURE: Exodus 13:3
13. And Moses said unto the people, Remember this day, in which ye came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the Lord brought you out from this place: there shall be no leavened bread be eaten.”
In this scripture we are reminded about our constant need to show gratitude to our Father in Heaven for the prayers that have been answered through many blessings.
We can show our gratitude for the Savior by remembering him as we partake of the sacrament.
Quote #6, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland: "Do we see [the sacrament] as our passover, this ordinance commemorating our safety and deliverance and redemption?
"With so very much at stake, this ordinance commemorating our escape from the angel of darkness should be taken more seriously than it sometimes is. It should be a powerful, reverent, reflective moment. It should encourage spiritual feelings and impressions." (Ensign, Nov. 1995, p. 68)
Quote #7, President Joseph Fielding Smith: “Partaking of the sacrament is one of the most sacred ordinances given to the Church. It is given in order that we may be brought in closer communion with the spirit of the Lord and thus renew three most sacred covenants. They are first, that we will take upon us the name of Jesus Christ; second, that we will always remember him; third, that we will always keep his commandments which he has given us. We are promised if we will dot this that we will be blessed with the constant companionship of his spirit. If we have violated any one of these covenants, then there should be sincere repentance through which we receive forgiveness of the Church before we partake of the sacrament.” (Answers to Gospel Questions, 1:85)
“King Benjamin taught that as we come to a knowledge of the glory of God, and have tasted of His love and received a remission of our sins, we should always
Remember the greatness of God and His goodness and long-suffering toward us, and we should humble ourselves and call upon His name daily.
“He promised if we will do this we will always rejoice and be filled with the love of God, and retain a remission of our sins; and we will grow in the knowledge of God and of that which is just and true (Mosiah 4:12).” (Teachings and Commentary on the Old Testament, Ed J. Pinegar and Richard J. Allen, p. 359)
Guiding ligh of the gospel (The Holy Spirit nourishes and guides us.)
The Lord provided means to guide the Israelites in their journey out of Egypt. Similarly, He provides for us the light of the gospel and the voice of prophecy so we might find our way safely back into His presence.
SCRIPTURE: Exodus 13:21
21. And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light.
The Lord supplied miraculous means for marking the path of liberation and showing the Israelites the way to safety. He had Moses part the Red Sea for their escape! No less miraculous are His blessings to us today, leading us from one milestone to the next in our journey for spiritual liberation.
QUESTION: What have we been given to light the path showing us the way to spiritual safety?
● Scriptures – Book of Mormon
● The voice of living prophets
● The priesthood to provide authorized ordinances and salvation
● The sealing ordinances of the temple
● The Holy Spirit to illuminate our souls
● Our families
The voice of living prophets have again given us counsel and inspiration that show us the way to spiritual safety.
QUESTION: What counsel from conference touched you last week?
EXPERIENCE: Raising children in these difficult times
I visited with one of my daughters recently, and she mentioned the need she felt for guidance in General Conference on how to raise her children in these difficult times. If I had to pick one theme I felt during conference it was “How to Raise Righteous Families.”
I loved Elder Ballard’s counsel to mothers and daughters. He told the young women to “Look to your faithful mothers for a pattern to follow. Model yourselves after them, not after celebrities whose standards are not the Lord’s standards…Listen to her…trust her…be kind to her.”
To the mothers he said, “If the mother’s are thrifty so are their daughters. If the mothers are modest, so are their girls. If the mothers wear flip flops and other causal clothing to sacrament meeting, so do their daughters.” He told them that the world openly embraces casual promiscuity and immodesty. Elder Ballard said, “You need to have frequent, open discussions during which you teach your daughters the truth about these issues…teach them how to repent and how to remain pure and worthy.”
Truly the Lord is aware of our concerns and delights in guiding us as we raise our families.
President Spencer W. Kimball gives an example of how the Holy Ghost gives counsel and inspiration:
Quote #8, President Spencer W. Kimball: “President Heber J. Grant related an example of the revelations of the Lord to him. For twenty-two years he had felt the inspiration of the living God directing him in his labors. He wrote: ‘From the day that I chose a comparative stranger [Melvin J. Ballard] to be one of the apostles, instead of my lifelong and dearest living friend, I have known as I know that I live, that I am entitled to the light and the inspiration and the guidance of God in directing His work here upon the earth.” (Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, p. 448)
In families we help each other maintain a spiritual safety. We should remain ever vigilant and strong so that Satan will not have power over us and take us from spiritual safety.
Quote #9, President Joseph Fielding Smith: “It should be remembered that Satan has great knowledge and thereby can exercise authority and to some extent the elements, when some greater power does not intervene.” (Answers to Gospel Questions, 1:176-78)
A greater power did intervene and Moses led the Children of Israel through the Red Sea and the people believed.
SCRIPTURE: Exodus 14:14
15. And the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? Speak unto the children of Israel that they go forward.
16. But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.
CONCLUSION
“From the scriptural account of the Exodus, we renew our acquaintance with the miraculous way the Lord delivered Israel from bondage through the leadership of a great prophet.
“Similarly, we can be delivered from the bondage of…sin through the redemption of Jesus Christ.
“The process of deliverance is simple and straightforward.
“Our Heavenly Father hears our sincere prayers of faith and declares His will through the scriptures and the words of living prophets.
“Through obedience to the principles of the gospel, and through the saving ordinances administered by authorized priesthood leaders, we are blessed with the effects of the Atonement in our lives.
Partaking of the sacrament allows us to renew our covenants and our commitment to obedience.” (Teachings and Commentary on the Old Testament, Ed J. Pinegar and Richard J. Allen, p.363)
I am thankful for this great story of Moses and the Exodus of the Children of Israel.
I know that it was through the power of God that they were delivered.
I pray that through our obedience each of us will delivered and return to our Father in Heaven.
"Fruitful in the Land of My Affliction"
Faithful in the ladn of My Affliction
Old Testament: Lesson 12 (Genesis 40-45)
by Ted L. Gibbons
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Introduction
The story of Joseph makes me think about what it really means to be free. During the early years of Joseph's life, while he was experiencing the viciousness of murderous brothers and the solitude of slavery and the pain of imprisonment, his brothers were
(1) committing murder [Genesis 34]; (2) committing immoral acts [Genesis 35, 38]; (3) plotting murder [Genesis 37]; and lying to their father [Genesis 37]. Which of all the sons of Jacob was most free? There are some lessons to be learned here. Part of the answer to this question comes as we consider who bows to whom, and who sits on a throne, and who lives with decades of guilt and remorse.
I. JOSEPH INTERPRETS THE DREAM OF THE BUTLER, THE BAKER, AND PHARAOH. PHARAOH MAKES JOSEPH RULER OVER ALL EGYPT.
Last week we watched Joseph prosper in the house of Potiphar. His commitment to the commandments enabled the Lord to bless him continuously, although the blessings were not always visible. In fact, the matter of Potiphar's wife led to imprisonment.
And Joseph's master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king's prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison. (Gen. 39:20)
But even in the course of this unjust incarceration, Joseph was faithful to his covenants and was blessed of the Lord.
But LORD was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners that were in the prison; and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it. The keeper of the prison looked not to any thing that was under his hand; because the LORD was with him, and that which he did, the LORD made it to prosper (Gen. 39:21-23).
Reading this account reminded me of the promise the Lord made to the Nephites in Helam when they were overrun and placed in servitude by the Lamanites.
And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions. And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord (Mos. 24:14,15)
Joseph's burden was not a physical one like those carried by the Nephites, but it was an oppressive burden, and the Lord eased that burden by his blessings to Joseph, while Joseph "did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord." It is one thing to be in prison, but it is a better thing to be in prison and in charge of the prison.
Joseph's righteousness is clearly demonstrated by his access to the Spirit. The butler and the baker were placed in the charge of Joseph. One day he noticed that they look sad.
And they dreamed a dream both of them, each man his dream in one night, each man according to the interpretation of his dream, the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, which were bound in the prison. And Joseph came in unto them in the morning, and looked upon them, and, behold, they were sad (Gen. 40:5,6)
Think about this. They are in prison, for goodness sakes. Why should it surprise Joseph or anyone else that they are sad? How many happy people do you expect to see in prison? But these prisoners are in the care of a man of God, a man who has apparently arranged things among the prisoners in order to maximize the peace and joy of the inmates. Of course Joseph does more than notice. He tries to help.
And he asked Pharaoh's officers that were with him in the ward of his lord's house, saying, Wherefore look ye so sadly to day? And they said unto him, We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter of it. And Joseph said unto them, Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me them, I pray you (Gen. 40:7,8)
There is a lesson hidden (hopefully not too deeply hidden) here. We ought, by our devotion to the Lord and the principles of his gospel, to make things better wherever we may be. Joseph's treatment of other prisoners reminds us of the requirements of the Lord in Matthew 25:40 and Mosiah 2:17.
The butler and the baker shared their dreams and Joseph interpreted them correctly. To the butler, who would survive prison and return to the service of the king, Joseph made this appeal:
But think on me when it shall be well with thee, and shew kindness, I pray thee, unto me, and make mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house: For indeed I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews: and here also have I done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon (Gen 40:14,15).
We must not fail to see the hand of the Lord at work here. Joseph may have had a premonition that his interpretation of the dreams would somehow bring him to the attention of Pharaoh, but he could not have known that the Lord had already begun to prepare a way for him to leave prison and to save his father's household and the covenant race of Abraham. I suspect that God is often invisibly at work in our lives. We may be certain that he has forgotten us. Even after his interpretation of the dreams, Joseph spent two more years in prison (see Gen. 41:1), waiting and praying and submitting. Part of the principle of faith in Jesus Christ must be faith in his timing, and also the conviction that he loves us and has our best interests at heart, whether we can see him at work or not.
Discerning the "overruling, almighty hand" of God . . . is not always easy. Only he knows the end from the beginning and has all things present before him. If he can make provision for a needed second set of plates hundreds of years before Martin Harris's misfortune, who but the most spiritual knows at any given moment where he may be taking us? My own feeling is that it might be well for us to remember that although God's children are very important to the accomplishment of his purposes, we often are not unlike the young children at an amusement park who drive those little centrally controlled race cars that travel a circular course on a metal rail with their wheels several inches off the ground. The young, excited drivers furiously pump the gas pedals and spin the steering wheels, fully believing they are having some influence, but the cars go at a speed and in a direction that are largely determined by park management! (Elder Marlin K. Jensen, Out of Obscurity: The LDS Church in the Twentieth Century [29th Annual Sperry Symposium] pp. 2,3)
On the issue of faith in the Lord's timing, Elder Oaks wrote:
The issue for us is trusting God enough to trust also His timing. If we can truly believe he has our welfare at heart, may we not let his plans unfold as he thinks best? The same is true with the second coming and with all those matters wherein our faith needs to include faith in the Lord's timing for us personally, not just in His overall plans and purposes (Dallin H. Oaks: Even As I Am, p. 93)
We must allow God to do things in his own way and at his own time. Joseph spent 13 years as a slave and as a prisoner. Could not the Lord have done things in a better, quicker way? Absolutely not. We only ask those kinds of questions because we do not know what things the Lord is doing. Who knows the influence Joseph had on Potiphar and his household, or on the keeper of the prison and the prisoners. How can we know what the other brothers learned in those years after the sale of Joseph. What we must know is that God will not permit these things without a purpose. Elder Scott explained it so well.
While you are passing through [your trials], the pain and difficulty that comes from being enlarged will continue. If all matters were immediately resolved at your first petition, you could not grow. Your Father in Heaven and His Beloved Son love you perfectly. They would not require you to experience a moment more of difficulty than is absolutely needed for your personal benefit or for that of those you love (Richard G. Scott, "Trust in the Lord," Ensign, Nov. 1995, 17).
What the Lord said to the elders sent to Missouri to bear testimony of the land of Zion might just as well have been said to Joseph, or to any of us.
Ye cannot behold with your natural eyes, for the present time, the design of your God concerning those things which shall come hereafter, and the glory which shall follow after much tribulation. For after much tribulation come the blessings. Wherefore the day cometh that ye shall be crowned with much glory; the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand (D&C 58:3,4)
Finally, Pharaoh had two dreams.
And it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled; and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all the wise men thereof: and Pharaoh told them his dream; but there was none that could interpret them unto Pharaoh (Gen. 41:8).
Then the butler remembered Joseph and told Pharaoh of a prisoner who could interpret dreams. You remember the dreams about the cows and the corn. President Hinckley has mentioned them a time or two in recent conferences. After quoting the scriptural text of the dreams in October of 1998, President Hinckley said,
Now, brethren, I want to make it very clear that I am not prophesying, that I am not predicting years of famine in the future. But I am suggesting that the time has come to get our houses in order.
So many of our people are living on the very edge of their incomes. In fact, some are living on borrowings.
We have witnessed in recent weeks wide and fearsome swings in the markets of the world. The economy is a fragile thing. A stumble in the economy in Jakarta or Moscow can immediately affect the entire world. It can eventually reach down to each of us as individuals. There is a portent of stormy weather ahead to which we had better give heed (Gordon B. Hinckley, "To the Boys and to the Men," Ensign, Nov. 1998, 53).
Pharaoh had enough faith in Joseph, a man he had just met, to give heed. Will we have enough faith in the Prophet for whom we have such a great love to do the same thing?
II. JOSEPH MAKES HIMSELF KNOWN TO HIS BROTHERS AND FORGIVES THEM.
After 7 years of plenty came the years of famine. Joseph had now been in Egypt for over 20 years. The famine was over "all the face of the earth" (Gen. 41:56) Finally, in Canaan, it became so bad that Israel was forced to send some of his sons to Egypt to buy food.
I have often wondered how Joseph felt when these 10 men who had betrayed him and sold him came in "and bowed down themselves before him with their faces to the earth" (Gen. 42:6). Joseph could not have known when he saw this very event in a dream (see Gen. 37:55-9) that the fulfillment would take 20 years. Once again he had waited on the timing of the Lord. We are told that he remembered the dreams (Gen. 42:9).
His treatment of the brothers cannot be an act of vengeance. Joseph is too close to the Spirit to even consider such an attitude in him. Perhaps his careful manipulation of the circumstances is an attempt to learn about the character of his brothers. He locked them up as spies. After three days of prison (compared to years of prison for Joseph) Joseph gave all but one of them leave to go home. Of course they did not know him, but he knew them and spoke through an interpreter even though he could understand them perfectly.
Notice the reaction of Joseph when he learned of the guilt that these men still felt over their treatment of him.
And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us. And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore, behold, also his blood is required. And they knew not that Joseph understood them; for he spake unto them by an interpreter. And he turned himself about from them, and wept . . . (Gen. 42:21-24).
Why did he weep? Almost certainly over the 20+ years of guilt these brothers had endured.
Joseph sent them home but kept Simeon to insure their return. He refused to see them again, however, unless they brought their brother, Benjamin (Joseph's only full brother) with them. Perhaps Joseph wondered if they would return, or if they would sacrifice another brother for their own comfort and safety. His return of their money to their grain sacks was a way to determine something about their integrity.
When Israel heard the story of Simeon and the demand for Benjamin, we was devastated. His language is interesting:
And Jacob their father said unto them, Me have ye bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away: all these things are against me (Gen 42:36).
All these things are against me, he said, but he was wrong. Actually, they were all too be turned into blessings for him. This is often the case with our trials. Remember that when Adam and Eve were driven out of the garden, God cursed the ground for their sakes.
Just when all seems to be going right, challenges often come in multiple doses applied simultaneously. When those trials are not consequences of your disobedience, they are evidence that the Lord feels you are prepared to grow more (see Prov. 3:11—12). He therefore gives you experiences that stimulate growth, understanding, and compassion which polish you for your everlasting benefit. To get you from where you are to where He wants you to be requires a lot of stretching, and that generally entails discomfort and pain (Elder Richard G. Scott: "Trust in the Lord," Ensign, Nov. 1995, 16—17).
Finally, Joseph made himself known to his brothers. He wept and told them who he was and forgave them in a moment's time.
And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life. For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest. And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt (Gen. 45:3-8).
But guilt is an awful taskmaster. Years later, at the time of the death of Jacob, the brothers are still worried about Joseph's feelings for them. They appeal to him again, in the name of their departed father, to forgive them.
And when Joseph's brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him. And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying, So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him. And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants. And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God? (Gen. 50:15-19)
This is, after all, what it is all about. In matters of trial and difficulty and forgiveness we must not demand for ourselves privileges that belong only in the place of God. We must forgive, and we must wait patiently for him and for his will to be made known.
Conclusion
I had the opportunity to learn an important, Joseph-like-lesson about trials and the timing of God. I would like to share it with you here. My experiences were much less difficult than Joseph's, but the lessons seem to be similar.
Nineteen years after the death of my father, my mother remarried. Within three years her second husband was dead and she was living alone with her advancing blindness in the house he had left her. Even though I had a sister living near her, I felt a need to move to the city where she lived in order to be of assistance. I told those in charge of assignments for the Church Educational System, my employer, that I wanted to be moved to the Logan Seminary if possible. I explained my concerns about my mother and was told that every effort would be made to accommodate my request. My wife and I prayed often about this, keeping the Lord informed of our hopes. No selfish desires clouded this request. Even though my wife and I met and married in Logan, we had no desire to live there again, except that my mother was there and she clearly needed me.
When assignments were made in April for the following school year, I was informed that I would not be moving to Logan to teach. There were no openings for me in the seminary there. I was disappointed—profoundly disappointed, but I resigned myself to the circumstance and resolved to apply again the following year.
In the summer before the new school year began I attended a meeting of CES personnel at BYU. While there, I encountered the principal of the Logan Seminary, a dear friend and former bishop. He had a question for me.
"Ted, why did you decide not to come to Logan?"
"I didn't decide," I said. "You didn't have any openings."
"No openings?" he replied. "Ted, we put three new teachers in the Logan Seminary for next year. They could have gone anywhere."
Suddenly my feelings about the situation changed. I could not understand why my request—my righteous request—had not been granted. Why had the Lord not intervened to get me to the place where I was needed? I knew what was best. Didn't he?
These were my feelings on the day I met the principal from Logan, and for several weeks after that. What had happened made no sense at all to me. Everything I could see with my natural eyes specified that I should be moving to Logan that summer.
But just weeks after school started, my mother, who had always been fiercely independent and who loathed the thought that she might become a burden to one of her children, surrendered her independence. She gave her home to the children of her second husband and moved to Orem, where I live, and into the home of an older sister one half mile down the street from my own home.
And just a few months later, my sister and her husband accepted a call to preside over a mission beginning the following summer. Mom needed a new home for three years. When the time came for the move, we only needed one half hour to move her and her belongings to my home.
How grateful I was and continue to be that the Lord did not give me what I had pled for. How thankful I am to worship a being who can see the wide expanse of eternity and allow things to work together for the good of his children (Ted L. Gibbons, This Life is a Test, pp. 39-41).
I think Joseph and his family must also have been grateful that the Lord gave them what they needed rather than what they wanted.
Old Testament: Lesson 12 (Genesis 40-45)
by Ted L. Gibbons
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Introduction
The story of Joseph makes me think about what it really means to be free. During the early years of Joseph's life, while he was experiencing the viciousness of murderous brothers and the solitude of slavery and the pain of imprisonment, his brothers were
(1) committing murder [Genesis 34]; (2) committing immoral acts [Genesis 35, 38]; (3) plotting murder [Genesis 37]; and lying to their father [Genesis 37]. Which of all the sons of Jacob was most free? There are some lessons to be learned here. Part of the answer to this question comes as we consider who bows to whom, and who sits on a throne, and who lives with decades of guilt and remorse.
I. JOSEPH INTERPRETS THE DREAM OF THE BUTLER, THE BAKER, AND PHARAOH. PHARAOH MAKES JOSEPH RULER OVER ALL EGYPT.
Last week we watched Joseph prosper in the house of Potiphar. His commitment to the commandments enabled the Lord to bless him continuously, although the blessings were not always visible. In fact, the matter of Potiphar's wife led to imprisonment.
And Joseph's master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king's prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison. (Gen. 39:20)
But even in the course of this unjust incarceration, Joseph was faithful to his covenants and was blessed of the Lord.
But LORD was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners that were in the prison; and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it. The keeper of the prison looked not to any thing that was under his hand; because the LORD was with him, and that which he did, the LORD made it to prosper (Gen. 39:21-23).
Reading this account reminded me of the promise the Lord made to the Nephites in Helam when they were overrun and placed in servitude by the Lamanites.
And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions. And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord (Mos. 24:14,15)
Joseph's burden was not a physical one like those carried by the Nephites, but it was an oppressive burden, and the Lord eased that burden by his blessings to Joseph, while Joseph "did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord." It is one thing to be in prison, but it is a better thing to be in prison and in charge of the prison.
Joseph's righteousness is clearly demonstrated by his access to the Spirit. The butler and the baker were placed in the charge of Joseph. One day he noticed that they look sad.
And they dreamed a dream both of them, each man his dream in one night, each man according to the interpretation of his dream, the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, which were bound in the prison. And Joseph came in unto them in the morning, and looked upon them, and, behold, they were sad (Gen. 40:5,6)
Think about this. They are in prison, for goodness sakes. Why should it surprise Joseph or anyone else that they are sad? How many happy people do you expect to see in prison? But these prisoners are in the care of a man of God, a man who has apparently arranged things among the prisoners in order to maximize the peace and joy of the inmates. Of course Joseph does more than notice. He tries to help.
And he asked Pharaoh's officers that were with him in the ward of his lord's house, saying, Wherefore look ye so sadly to day? And they said unto him, We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter of it. And Joseph said unto them, Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me them, I pray you (Gen. 40:7,8)
There is a lesson hidden (hopefully not too deeply hidden) here. We ought, by our devotion to the Lord and the principles of his gospel, to make things better wherever we may be. Joseph's treatment of other prisoners reminds us of the requirements of the Lord in Matthew 25:40 and Mosiah 2:17.
The butler and the baker shared their dreams and Joseph interpreted them correctly. To the butler, who would survive prison and return to the service of the king, Joseph made this appeal:
But think on me when it shall be well with thee, and shew kindness, I pray thee, unto me, and make mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house: For indeed I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews: and here also have I done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon (Gen 40:14,15).
We must not fail to see the hand of the Lord at work here. Joseph may have had a premonition that his interpretation of the dreams would somehow bring him to the attention of Pharaoh, but he could not have known that the Lord had already begun to prepare a way for him to leave prison and to save his father's household and the covenant race of Abraham. I suspect that God is often invisibly at work in our lives. We may be certain that he has forgotten us. Even after his interpretation of the dreams, Joseph spent two more years in prison (see Gen. 41:1), waiting and praying and submitting. Part of the principle of faith in Jesus Christ must be faith in his timing, and also the conviction that he loves us and has our best interests at heart, whether we can see him at work or not.
Discerning the "overruling, almighty hand" of God . . . is not always easy. Only he knows the end from the beginning and has all things present before him. If he can make provision for a needed second set of plates hundreds of years before Martin Harris's misfortune, who but the most spiritual knows at any given moment where he may be taking us? My own feeling is that it might be well for us to remember that although God's children are very important to the accomplishment of his purposes, we often are not unlike the young children at an amusement park who drive those little centrally controlled race cars that travel a circular course on a metal rail with their wheels several inches off the ground. The young, excited drivers furiously pump the gas pedals and spin the steering wheels, fully believing they are having some influence, but the cars go at a speed and in a direction that are largely determined by park management! (Elder Marlin K. Jensen, Out of Obscurity: The LDS Church in the Twentieth Century [29th Annual Sperry Symposium] pp. 2,3)
On the issue of faith in the Lord's timing, Elder Oaks wrote:
The issue for us is trusting God enough to trust also His timing. If we can truly believe he has our welfare at heart, may we not let his plans unfold as he thinks best? The same is true with the second coming and with all those matters wherein our faith needs to include faith in the Lord's timing for us personally, not just in His overall plans and purposes (Dallin H. Oaks: Even As I Am, p. 93)
We must allow God to do things in his own way and at his own time. Joseph spent 13 years as a slave and as a prisoner. Could not the Lord have done things in a better, quicker way? Absolutely not. We only ask those kinds of questions because we do not know what things the Lord is doing. Who knows the influence Joseph had on Potiphar and his household, or on the keeper of the prison and the prisoners. How can we know what the other brothers learned in those years after the sale of Joseph. What we must know is that God will not permit these things without a purpose. Elder Scott explained it so well.
While you are passing through [your trials], the pain and difficulty that comes from being enlarged will continue. If all matters were immediately resolved at your first petition, you could not grow. Your Father in Heaven and His Beloved Son love you perfectly. They would not require you to experience a moment more of difficulty than is absolutely needed for your personal benefit or for that of those you love (Richard G. Scott, "Trust in the Lord," Ensign, Nov. 1995, 17).
What the Lord said to the elders sent to Missouri to bear testimony of the land of Zion might just as well have been said to Joseph, or to any of us.
Ye cannot behold with your natural eyes, for the present time, the design of your God concerning those things which shall come hereafter, and the glory which shall follow after much tribulation. For after much tribulation come the blessings. Wherefore the day cometh that ye shall be crowned with much glory; the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand (D&C 58:3,4)
Finally, Pharaoh had two dreams.
And it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled; and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all the wise men thereof: and Pharaoh told them his dream; but there was none that could interpret them unto Pharaoh (Gen. 41:8).
Then the butler remembered Joseph and told Pharaoh of a prisoner who could interpret dreams. You remember the dreams about the cows and the corn. President Hinckley has mentioned them a time or two in recent conferences. After quoting the scriptural text of the dreams in October of 1998, President Hinckley said,
Now, brethren, I want to make it very clear that I am not prophesying, that I am not predicting years of famine in the future. But I am suggesting that the time has come to get our houses in order.
So many of our people are living on the very edge of their incomes. In fact, some are living on borrowings.
We have witnessed in recent weeks wide and fearsome swings in the markets of the world. The economy is a fragile thing. A stumble in the economy in Jakarta or Moscow can immediately affect the entire world. It can eventually reach down to each of us as individuals. There is a portent of stormy weather ahead to which we had better give heed (Gordon B. Hinckley, "To the Boys and to the Men," Ensign, Nov. 1998, 53).
Pharaoh had enough faith in Joseph, a man he had just met, to give heed. Will we have enough faith in the Prophet for whom we have such a great love to do the same thing?
II. JOSEPH MAKES HIMSELF KNOWN TO HIS BROTHERS AND FORGIVES THEM.
After 7 years of plenty came the years of famine. Joseph had now been in Egypt for over 20 years. The famine was over "all the face of the earth" (Gen. 41:56) Finally, in Canaan, it became so bad that Israel was forced to send some of his sons to Egypt to buy food.
I have often wondered how Joseph felt when these 10 men who had betrayed him and sold him came in "and bowed down themselves before him with their faces to the earth" (Gen. 42:6). Joseph could not have known when he saw this very event in a dream (see Gen. 37:55-9) that the fulfillment would take 20 years. Once again he had waited on the timing of the Lord. We are told that he remembered the dreams (Gen. 42:9).
His treatment of the brothers cannot be an act of vengeance. Joseph is too close to the Spirit to even consider such an attitude in him. Perhaps his careful manipulation of the circumstances is an attempt to learn about the character of his brothers. He locked them up as spies. After three days of prison (compared to years of prison for Joseph) Joseph gave all but one of them leave to go home. Of course they did not know him, but he knew them and spoke through an interpreter even though he could understand them perfectly.
Notice the reaction of Joseph when he learned of the guilt that these men still felt over their treatment of him.
And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us. And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore, behold, also his blood is required. And they knew not that Joseph understood them; for he spake unto them by an interpreter. And he turned himself about from them, and wept . . . (Gen. 42:21-24).
Why did he weep? Almost certainly over the 20+ years of guilt these brothers had endured.
Joseph sent them home but kept Simeon to insure their return. He refused to see them again, however, unless they brought their brother, Benjamin (Joseph's only full brother) with them. Perhaps Joseph wondered if they would return, or if they would sacrifice another brother for their own comfort and safety. His return of their money to their grain sacks was a way to determine something about their integrity.
When Israel heard the story of Simeon and the demand for Benjamin, we was devastated. His language is interesting:
And Jacob their father said unto them, Me have ye bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away: all these things are against me (Gen 42:36).
All these things are against me, he said, but he was wrong. Actually, they were all too be turned into blessings for him. This is often the case with our trials. Remember that when Adam and Eve were driven out of the garden, God cursed the ground for their sakes.
Just when all seems to be going right, challenges often come in multiple doses applied simultaneously. When those trials are not consequences of your disobedience, they are evidence that the Lord feels you are prepared to grow more (see Prov. 3:11—12). He therefore gives you experiences that stimulate growth, understanding, and compassion which polish you for your everlasting benefit. To get you from where you are to where He wants you to be requires a lot of stretching, and that generally entails discomfort and pain (Elder Richard G. Scott: "Trust in the Lord," Ensign, Nov. 1995, 16—17).
Finally, Joseph made himself known to his brothers. He wept and told them who he was and forgave them in a moment's time.
And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life. For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest. And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt (Gen. 45:3-8).
But guilt is an awful taskmaster. Years later, at the time of the death of Jacob, the brothers are still worried about Joseph's feelings for them. They appeal to him again, in the name of their departed father, to forgive them.
And when Joseph's brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him. And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying, So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him. And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants. And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God? (Gen. 50:15-19)
This is, after all, what it is all about. In matters of trial and difficulty and forgiveness we must not demand for ourselves privileges that belong only in the place of God. We must forgive, and we must wait patiently for him and for his will to be made known.
Conclusion
I had the opportunity to learn an important, Joseph-like-lesson about trials and the timing of God. I would like to share it with you here. My experiences were much less difficult than Joseph's, but the lessons seem to be similar.
Nineteen years after the death of my father, my mother remarried. Within three years her second husband was dead and she was living alone with her advancing blindness in the house he had left her. Even though I had a sister living near her, I felt a need to move to the city where she lived in order to be of assistance. I told those in charge of assignments for the Church Educational System, my employer, that I wanted to be moved to the Logan Seminary if possible. I explained my concerns about my mother and was told that every effort would be made to accommodate my request. My wife and I prayed often about this, keeping the Lord informed of our hopes. No selfish desires clouded this request. Even though my wife and I met and married in Logan, we had no desire to live there again, except that my mother was there and she clearly needed me.
When assignments were made in April for the following school year, I was informed that I would not be moving to Logan to teach. There were no openings for me in the seminary there. I was disappointed—profoundly disappointed, but I resigned myself to the circumstance and resolved to apply again the following year.
In the summer before the new school year began I attended a meeting of CES personnel at BYU. While there, I encountered the principal of the Logan Seminary, a dear friend and former bishop. He had a question for me.
"Ted, why did you decide not to come to Logan?"
"I didn't decide," I said. "You didn't have any openings."
"No openings?" he replied. "Ted, we put three new teachers in the Logan Seminary for next year. They could have gone anywhere."
Suddenly my feelings about the situation changed. I could not understand why my request—my righteous request—had not been granted. Why had the Lord not intervened to get me to the place where I was needed? I knew what was best. Didn't he?
These were my feelings on the day I met the principal from Logan, and for several weeks after that. What had happened made no sense at all to me. Everything I could see with my natural eyes specified that I should be moving to Logan that summer.
But just weeks after school started, my mother, who had always been fiercely independent and who loathed the thought that she might become a burden to one of her children, surrendered her independence. She gave her home to the children of her second husband and moved to Orem, where I live, and into the home of an older sister one half mile down the street from my own home.
And just a few months later, my sister and her husband accepted a call to preside over a mission beginning the following summer. Mom needed a new home for three years. When the time came for the move, we only needed one half hour to move her and her belongings to my home.
How grateful I was and continue to be that the Lord did not give me what I had pled for. How thankful I am to worship a being who can see the wide expanse of eternity and allow things to work together for the good of his children (Ted L. Gibbons, This Life is a Test, pp. 39-41).
I think Joseph and his family must also have been grateful that the Lord gave them what they needed rather than what they wanted.
Monday, March 22, 2010
"“How Can I Do This Great Wickedness?”
“How Can I Do This Great Wickedness?”
Lesson 11
Compiled by Maren Hardy Hale,
March 21, 2010
Scriptures: Genesis 34; 37-39
Board: Today’s themes:
1. The wages of Envy
2. The consequences of Moral Weakness
3. The blessings of Leadership and Virtue
INTRODUCTION
There is a huge contrast between the character of Joseph who was sold into Egypt and the characters of his brothers. Joseph was a man with great integrity, honesty and virtue. His brothers exemplified envy, jealousy, and moral laxity. Joseph’s moral courage and leadership show strength, discipline, and stability.
“By way of contrast, those who succumb to unchecked greed or lust display a wavering instability from which harmony, peace, and lasting happiness can never flow.” (Teachings and commentary on the Old Testament, Ed. J. Pinegar and Richard J. Allen, p. 335)
QUESTION: What is happening to the standards of sexual morality presented today in our movies, television shows, books and magazines? [They are deteriorating]
EXPERIENCE: Media shock
Our family spent 8 years in Europe with the Air Force. During our first 3 years was no television. Then we were able to get Armed Services Television Network. This is one channel with public service announcements and carefully selected programs suitable for the whole family. When the New Era Magazine arrived each month our 3 oldest children fought over who got to read it first. Each of them devoured it from cover to cover. It was a wonderful time for our family.
We returned to the States and lived in the Temporary Living Facility on Mountain Home Air Force Base while we looked for a home in the community. We turned on the television and went through culture shock! We couldn’t believe what we were seeing and hearing. Standards had dropped so much in those 8 years. We turned it off and began, once again, to carefully monitor our family’s television watching.
When moral degradation is all around you, it creeps in slowly and you become numb to it. To safeguard our children, we must be very vigilant. It would be wise to never let our children watch a new TV show unless we sit down and watch it with them to judge its merits.
QUESTION: What are you doing to safeguard your children from TV?
One day one of our daughters mentioned that she had made a new friend at school. She said, Mom, “She’s just like me – her parents put a lock on their TV, too!” [Stimulus control]
“The moral behavior of society often differs from the moral standards that the Lord has established. While the standards of society can change, the Lord’s standards are constant.” (LDS Old Testament Manual, lesson 11)
QUOTE #1 [2nd paragraph is like a beautiful Psalm]
First Presidency Message (President Heber J. Grant, J. Reuben Clark, Jr., David O McKay): "By virtue of the authority in us vested as the First Presidency of the Church, we warn our people who are offending, of the degradation, the wickedness, the punishment that attend upon unchastity; we urge you to remember the blessings which flow from the living of the clean life; we call upon you to keep, day in and day out, the way of strictest chastity, through which only can God's choice gifts come to you and His spirit abide with you.
"How glorious is he who lives the chaste life. He walks unfearful in the full glare of the noonday sun, for he is without moral infirmity. He can be reached by no shafts of base calumny, for his armor is without flaw. His virtue cannot be challenged by any just accuser, for he lives above reproach. His cheek is never blotched with shame, for he is without hidden sin. He is honored and respected by all mankind, for he is beyond their censure. He is loved by the Lord, for he stands without blemish. The exaltations of eternities await his coming." (Conference Report, Oct 1942)
Today’s lesson has three themes:
1. The wages of Envy
2. The consequences of Moral Weakness
3. The blessings of Leadership and Virtue
BODY
Joseph is sold into slavery by his brothers
Jacob married Leah and Rachel, and also married their handmaids, Zilpah and Bilhah. Jacob’s wives bore him 12 sons who became the beginnings of the 12 tribes of Israel. We learn in Genesis 32:28 that the Lord told Jacob, “Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.”
Joseph was the 11th Son of Jacob. He was the first child of Jacob’s beloved wife Rachel. The 12th son was Benjamin (Genesis 35:16-18).
Joseph spent the remaining years of his youth at Hebron (20 miles south of Jerusalem) watching the flocks of sheep and goats.
Reuben was the firstborn through Leah. He was the automatic heir of the birthright.
QUESTION: How did Joseph, the 11th son, become the recipient of the birthright?
● Reuben lost he birthright – transgressed with one of his father’s
concubines
(Genesis 35:22).
● Birthright then fell to the 1st son of next wife – Joseph (1st son of
Rachel, Jacob’s 2nd wife).
● Sons of concubines not eligible because mothers were handmaids to Leah
and Rachel.
The Wages of Envy
SCRIPTURE: Genesis 37:3
37. Now Israel loved, Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours.” [Septuagint word = a long coat with sleeves]
“Joseph being favored of Jacob became a target of malice on the part of his older brothers. Joseph was not reluctant to share his dreams regarding his future leadership and hence contributed to his brothers’ feelings of jealousy.
“When Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers, the stage was set for a future reunion in the courts of Pharaoh when his brethren would confess their sins and admit that Joseph was indeed divinely chosen to be the leader of the family and the patriarchal standard-bearer for many future nations.
“The rent ‘coat of many colors’ became a lasting symbol of the ultimate preservation of the Lord’s chosen lineage (Alma 46:23-34). The story of Joseph, who was sold into Egypt, shows the results of jealousy, envy, greed, and hatred, yet shows the power of God in all things.” (“Teachings and Commentary on the Old Testament, Ed J. Pinegar and Richard J. Allen, p. 336)
Let’s read 2 quotes from our prophets concerning the destructive nature of jealousy, envy, greed, and hatred.
QUOTE #2
President Gordon B. Hinckley: “Ours is the duty to walk by faith. Ours is the duty to walk in faith, rising above the evils of the world. We are sons and daughters of God. Ours is a divine birthright. Ours is a divine destiny. We must not, we cannot sink to the evils of the world – to selfishness and sin, to hate and envy and backbiting, to the ‘mean and beggarly’ elements of life.” (Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley, page 7)
QUOTE #3
President David O. McKay: “Jealousy, hatred, envy, animosity – all such evils you must overcome by suppression. That is where your control comes in. Suppress the anger! Suppress that jealousy, that envy! They are all injurious to the spirit.” (Gospel Ideals: Selections From the Discourses of David O. McKay, Improvement era, 1953, p. 356)
QUESTION: How can we overcome envy, jealousy, greed, and hatred?
● Gain gospel values and strive for unconditional love.
● Recognize happiness is within, not based on possessions or having fun.
● Recognize your divine nature – seek to improve yourself.
Envy and jealousy are concerns for everyone because of their power to destroy the souls of men.
As we know, the coat of many colors Joseph received of his father compounded the antagonism of Joseph’s brothers until they “hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him” (Genesis 37:3).
QUESTION: What have you seen when a child receives better treatment than the other siblings his or her family?
● Causes competition, rebellion or low self esteem in families.
● We can avert this situation if we teach our children to love one another
and value each other’s distinct abilities and talents – including their
own.
● Don’t discuss publically a child’s weaknesses or compare them (give
children the opportunity to grow, repent and change without any stigmas
attached. If you need help, go to confidential sources – bishop,
counselor, grandparent)
QUESTION: How can we overcome jealous feelings or anger towards family members, friends, or acquaintances? What should you do?
● If jealous – if you serve someone for whom you feel jealous, more feelings
of love and care come to the foreground and feelings of jealousy
subside.
● If Angry – confront source of frustration – talk about it rather than let
it boil
into a violent explosion. Be willing to carefully listen.
We know that Joseph had dreams that revealed the special relationship Joseph would have with his family and also foreshadowed the eventual mission of his posterity in the eternal salvation of the house of Israel.
Joseph’s brothers were unable to accept his dreams
SCRIPTURE: Genesis 37:8
8. And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? Or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words”.
Remember the situation with Nephi and his older brothers. After Nephi had shared the meaning of Lehi’s dream and they said: “Thou has declared unto us hard things, more than we are able to bear.” Nephi went on to say: “…the guilty taketh the truth to be hard, for it cutteth them to the very center (1 Nephi 1-2)
Joseph’s brothers went 45 miles to Shechem to feed the flocks (Genesis 37:12). Later, Jacob sent Joseph to check on his brothers. Arriving in Shechem, Joseph learned his brothers had gone on another 12 miles. (Genesis 37: 13-17)
SCRIPTURE: Genesis 37: 18-20
18. And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him.
19. And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh.
20. Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams.
QUESTION: Who wanted to spare his life? [Reuben – oldest, must have felt more responsibility for him – argued he must not be killed, but returned to his father.]
QUESTION: What did the brothers do?
● Stripped off his coat and left him a pit to die
● Joseph sold to a caravan of Ishmeelites headed to Egypt for 20 pieces of
silver (Genesis 37:27-28).
● Tore Joseph’s coat into many pieces, covered it with goat’s blood, and
returned it to Jacob as evidence a wild beast had devoured Joseph (Genesis
37:31-33)
Then Jacob mourned and no one could comfort him. Joseph was sold to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard.
Portraits of Moral Weakness
Judah and Tamar
In Genesis 38, we see portraits of moral weakness. Judah takes a Canaanite woman and she bears him children. Judah then takes Tamar as a wife for Er. Er was wicked and the Lord slew him. Then Judah tells his son Onan to raise up seed to his brother Er through Tamar. (Genesis 38:1-8)
The Lord slays Onan for spilling his seed on the ground. Judah tells Tamar to remain in her father’s home until his son, Shelah is old enough, to take her as wife. (Genesis 10-11)
QUESTION: Then what does Tamar do? (Genesis 38:14-27)
● Tamar takes off her widow’s garment and sits by the wayside for Judah’s
now grown son Shelah to see her.
● Judah sees Tamar, thinks she is a harlot, desires her and promises her a
kid.
Tamar asks for his signet, bracelets, and staff as a pledge.
She conceives.
● Tamar leaves, puts on her widow’s garments and the pledge can’t be
delivered because she has gone. Judah wants kid delivered so he isn’t
blamed.
● Judah hears Tamar is with child and has her brought to him to be burnt.
● Tamar produces the signet, bracelets, and staff and Judah acknowledges them saying that Tamar is more righteous than he is'
“because that I gave her not to Shelah my son.”
Now, another portrait of moral weakness.
QUESTION: Who would like to tell us about Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, who is defiled by Shechem (a prince and Hivite)? (Genesis 34:1-31)
● Dinah is defiled by Shechem who wants to marry her and goes to his father.
● Hamor wants to join families and goes to Jacob and his sons.
● Shechem says he’ll give a large dowry.
● Sons of Jacob lie and request that every man be circumcised.
● On the 3rd day when they were sore, Simeon and Levi slew all the males,
Including Shechem and Hamor, and took Dinah.
● Sons of Jacob spoil the city, take their wealth, wives, and children
captive.
● Jacob voices concern to his sons that they have put his family in harms
way with the Canaanites and Perizzites because of their deed.
● Jacob’s sons answer, “Should he deal with our sister as with an harlot?”
“Simeon and Levi’s destruction laid the groundwork for lasting enmity in the land. The lessons overshadowing these portraits of moral weakness is the fact that the Lord’s purposes are not defeated, for Joseph’s sons inherited the birthright, and thus his lineage carried on the leadership role under the Abrahamic Covenant.
Similarly, the Savior would come from the preserved lineage of Judah as the light and life of the world. No matter what some of the Lord’s children do in defiance of His laws, the Lord is still in charge of the process whereby the plan of salvation can unfold to its ultimate destiny.” (Teachings and Commentary on the Old Testament, Ed. J. Pinegar and Richard J. Allen, p. 337)
Let’s read 3 quotes from latter-day prophets regarding moral weakness and transgression and the need for repentance.
QUOTE #4
Spencer W. Kimball:
“Illicit sex is a selfish act, a betrayal, and is dishonest. To be unwilling to accept responsibility is cowardly, disloyal. Marriage is for time and eternity. Fornication and all other deviations are for today, for the hour, for the “now.” Marriage gives life. Fornication leads to death. (Faith Precedes the Miracle, page 156)
QUOTE #5
Ezra Taft Benson: “Yes, one can repent of moral transgression. The miracle of forgiveness is real, and true repentance is accepted of the Lord. But it is not pleasing to the Lord prior to a mission, or any time, to sow one’s wild oats, to engage in sexual transgression of any nature, and then to expect that planned confession and quick repentance will satisfy the Lord.” (Come, Listen to a Prophet’s Voice, p. 6)
QUOTE #6
President Gordon B. Hinckley: “There is in each of us that sense of modesty and morality to which this writer refers…The Lord has made it clear, and the experience of centuries had confirmed it, that happiness lies not in immortality, but rather in abstinence. The voice of the Church to which you belong is a voice pleading for virtue. It is a voice pleading for strength to abstain from that which is evil. It is a voice declaring that sexual transgression is sin. It is contrary to the will of the Lord. It is contrary to the teachings of the Church. It is contrary to the happiness and well-being of those who indulge in it.” (Teaching of Gordon B. Hinckley, p. 48)
In our world today, we have daily reminders in the news of politicians, actors, sports heroes, clergy, and teachers, who have been unfaithful to their wives or who have hurt children. Their “planned confession and quick repentance” have sometimes satisfied the world, but not the Lord. We as Church members need to continue to plead “for the strength to abstain from that which is evil.”
QUOTE: President Spencer W. Kimball
“May I talk to you just a moment or two about that which is most dear and precious above all things. Can you think what it would be? Would it be bonds, stocks, or diamonds? Would it be herds or flocks? Would it be automobiles and houses? Would it be medals in athletics? This is the greatest blessing, the most dear and precious above all things – above all things. It cannot be purchased with money, but may be enjoyed by all, even those of humble circumstances as well as the affluent, as much by the high school student as by those who have doctor’s degrees. Even mortal life when placed upon the balance scales weighs less. That of which I speak is chastity and virtue. The lack of it has caused rivers of tears to flow, broken numerous homes, and deprived large numbers of innocent children.” (quoted in We Believe)
QUOTE #7
Elder Melvin J. Ballard: “Certainly our teachers were right when they held up an ideal that virtue was as sacred as life itself, and that we had better lose our lives than lose our virtue….Next to the crime of murder itself is the crime of sexual impurity.” (Conference Report, April 1929)
QUESTION: Ultimately, who ends up being hurt when lying and infidelity are present in a marriage? [Children – feel abandoned, think they are responsible – they have had a bad example and are afraid of marriage themselves]
Portrait of Leadership and Virtue
Joseph’s example of moral uprightness in Egypt is among the most celebrated instances of strength of character in all of scripture. We read in Genesis 39:23 that “The Lord was with him, and that which he did, the Lord made it to prosper.
QUESTION: How was Joseph blessed after being sold into Egypt?
● Joseph became a servant in the household of Potiphar, “a prosperous man.”
SCRIPTURE: Genesis 39:3-4
3. And his master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord made all that he did to proper in his hand.
4. And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand.”
Joseph was blessed by the Lord because he “was a goodly person (Gen. 39:20).
Then Potiphar’s wife tried to lure Joseph to her. And Joseph answered, “…how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God? (Gen. 39:9).
She continued to tempt Joseph and ‘he harkened not unto her…” (Gen 39:10)
Then Joseph went into the house to do business when no men were there.
SCRIPTURE: Genesis 39:12
12. And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment into her hand, and fled, and got him out.
QUESTION: Then what does Potiphar’s wife do? [She lies to the men of her house and her husband about Joseph and he is put in prison.]
But the Lord was with Joseph and he found favor with the prison keeper. Joseph was put completely in charge of the prisoners and the Lord made Joseph prosper. (Genesis 39:21-23)
I admire Joseph’s reaction when he was first tempted by Potiphar’s wife. He said “…how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” (Gen. 39:9). Joseph’s first allegiance was to his God.
Then when Potiphar’s wife cornered him, he had already made his decision for he
“left his garment into her hand, and fled, and got him out.” He wanted to avoid the very presence of evil.
We need to have a close association with our Father in Heaven through prayer so that He will have our first allegiance.
We need to teach our children to always avoid the presence of evil – to obey the promptings of the Spirit – when caught in a difficult situation, just leave and go to a place of safety. Do not hesitate!
EXPERIENCE: Invitation to a party
I was excited in high school to be invited to a party that all the popular kids were attending. After driving home from work, my mother drove me to the home where it was being held which was quite a distance from our home. I went down to the basement where my friends were. I saw them doing things that I was uncomfortable with. I had a bad feeling come over me. I quickly walked up the stairs and waited in the bathroom for a while until I thought my mother had reached home. I used the phone and called my mother to pick me up telling her I had a bad feeling about being there. She said she’d come immediately. As we drove home she never complained about having been in the car so many times and for so long, but instead expressed her happiness that I would listen to the Spirit.
EXPERIENCE: Missionary daughter in Austria
When our daughter, Spring, was serving a mission in Austria, she and her companion lived in a very bad area of the city. One evening as they were walking from an appointment, they felt someone following them. They received promptings that they were in danger and they quickly ran away. They felt blessed that they were in tune so that they could receive such a prompting.
Joseph had many difficult trials in his life, but he learned to turn bad experiences and circumstances into good ones.
QUOTE #8
Elder Harman Rector, Jr.: “[The] ability to turn everything into something good appears to be a godly characteristic. Our Heavenly Father always seems able to do this. Everything, no matter how dire, becomes a victory to the Lord. Joseph, although a slave and wholly undeserving of this fate, nevertheless remained faithful to the Lord and continued to live the commandments and made something very good of his degrading circumstances. People like this cannot be defeated.” (Ensign, January 1973, p. 130)
EXPERIENCE: Reverend Martin Neimoller
“For three years Reverend Martin Neimoller survived the horrors of Dauchau – the smells of burning human flesh and the sights of walking dead men. For three years this German pastor who dared to defy Adolf Hitler was kept in solitary confinement in the world’s worst concentration camp.
“‘How could you stand it without losing your sanity?’ an interviewer asked Pastor Neimoller years later over a Chicago radio station. ‘A man doesn’t realize how much he can stand until he is put to the test,’ Neimoller answered confidently, continuing, ‘you can stand far more than you think you can. You are much stronger than you think you are…if God is dwelling in your life’.” (Move with Possibility Thinking, p. 180)
CONCLUSION
Joseph was a man of integrity.
QUESTION: What is integrity? [Uncompromising adherence to moral and ethical principles – honesty – honorable]
QUOTE –
President James E. Faust: “I should like to emphasize three important elements of integrity – dealing justly with oneself, dealing justly with others, and recognizing the law of the harvest.” (Conference Report, April 1982)
The law of the harvest means that we sow what we reap.
Joseph demonstrated integrity by:
● Dealing justly with himself – he was true to the principles which he
believe in and was blessed. He worked hard at making the best of a bad
situation.
● Joseph dealt justly with others – he remained true to Potiphar and himself
by not giving in to Potiphar’s wife’s desires.
● Joseph understood the law of the harvest – no matter what situation Joseph
was in, he practiced the Law of the Harvest by always planting righteous
seeds.
Brothers and Sisters, I am so grateful for the example of Joseph who showed great integrity, honor, strength, leadership, and moral virtue.
It is my testimony that we are strong when our Father in Heaven, the Savior,
and the Holy Ghost are dwelling in our lives.
References:
Genesis 34; 37-39
Gospel Doctrine Old Testament Lesson ll, Bob Beardall
LDS Old Testament Teacher’s Manual, Lesson 11
Personal experiences of Maren Hardy Hale
Personal experience of Spring Hale Thibaudeau
Personal experience of Reverend Martin Neimoller (Move with Possibility Thinking, p. 180)
Quotes from General Authorities as noted in lesson
Teachings and Commentaries on the Old Testament, Ed. J. Pinegar and Richard J. Allen, pp. 346-341
Lesson 11
Compiled by Maren Hardy Hale,
March 21, 2010
Scriptures: Genesis 34; 37-39
Board: Today’s themes:
1. The wages of Envy
2. The consequences of Moral Weakness
3. The blessings of Leadership and Virtue
INTRODUCTION
There is a huge contrast between the character of Joseph who was sold into Egypt and the characters of his brothers. Joseph was a man with great integrity, honesty and virtue. His brothers exemplified envy, jealousy, and moral laxity. Joseph’s moral courage and leadership show strength, discipline, and stability.
“By way of contrast, those who succumb to unchecked greed or lust display a wavering instability from which harmony, peace, and lasting happiness can never flow.” (Teachings and commentary on the Old Testament, Ed. J. Pinegar and Richard J. Allen, p. 335)
QUESTION: What is happening to the standards of sexual morality presented today in our movies, television shows, books and magazines? [They are deteriorating]
EXPERIENCE: Media shock
Our family spent 8 years in Europe with the Air Force. During our first 3 years was no television. Then we were able to get Armed Services Television Network. This is one channel with public service announcements and carefully selected programs suitable for the whole family. When the New Era Magazine arrived each month our 3 oldest children fought over who got to read it first. Each of them devoured it from cover to cover. It was a wonderful time for our family.
We returned to the States and lived in the Temporary Living Facility on Mountain Home Air Force Base while we looked for a home in the community. We turned on the television and went through culture shock! We couldn’t believe what we were seeing and hearing. Standards had dropped so much in those 8 years. We turned it off and began, once again, to carefully monitor our family’s television watching.
When moral degradation is all around you, it creeps in slowly and you become numb to it. To safeguard our children, we must be very vigilant. It would be wise to never let our children watch a new TV show unless we sit down and watch it with them to judge its merits.
QUESTION: What are you doing to safeguard your children from TV?
One day one of our daughters mentioned that she had made a new friend at school. She said, Mom, “She’s just like me – her parents put a lock on their TV, too!” [Stimulus control]
“The moral behavior of society often differs from the moral standards that the Lord has established. While the standards of society can change, the Lord’s standards are constant.” (LDS Old Testament Manual, lesson 11)
QUOTE #1 [2nd paragraph is like a beautiful Psalm]
First Presidency Message (President Heber J. Grant, J. Reuben Clark, Jr., David O McKay): "By virtue of the authority in us vested as the First Presidency of the Church, we warn our people who are offending, of the degradation, the wickedness, the punishment that attend upon unchastity; we urge you to remember the blessings which flow from the living of the clean life; we call upon you to keep, day in and day out, the way of strictest chastity, through which only can God's choice gifts come to you and His spirit abide with you.
"How glorious is he who lives the chaste life. He walks unfearful in the full glare of the noonday sun, for he is without moral infirmity. He can be reached by no shafts of base calumny, for his armor is without flaw. His virtue cannot be challenged by any just accuser, for he lives above reproach. His cheek is never blotched with shame, for he is without hidden sin. He is honored and respected by all mankind, for he is beyond their censure. He is loved by the Lord, for he stands without blemish. The exaltations of eternities await his coming." (Conference Report, Oct 1942)
Today’s lesson has three themes:
1. The wages of Envy
2. The consequences of Moral Weakness
3. The blessings of Leadership and Virtue
BODY
Joseph is sold into slavery by his brothers
Jacob married Leah and Rachel, and also married their handmaids, Zilpah and Bilhah. Jacob’s wives bore him 12 sons who became the beginnings of the 12 tribes of Israel. We learn in Genesis 32:28 that the Lord told Jacob, “Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.”
Joseph was the 11th Son of Jacob. He was the first child of Jacob’s beloved wife Rachel. The 12th son was Benjamin (Genesis 35:16-18).
Joseph spent the remaining years of his youth at Hebron (20 miles south of Jerusalem) watching the flocks of sheep and goats.
Reuben was the firstborn through Leah. He was the automatic heir of the birthright.
QUESTION: How did Joseph, the 11th son, become the recipient of the birthright?
● Reuben lost he birthright – transgressed with one of his father’s
concubines
(Genesis 35:22).
● Birthright then fell to the 1st son of next wife – Joseph (1st son of
Rachel, Jacob’s 2nd wife).
● Sons of concubines not eligible because mothers were handmaids to Leah
and Rachel.
The Wages of Envy
SCRIPTURE: Genesis 37:3
37. Now Israel loved, Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours.” [Septuagint word = a long coat with sleeves]
“Joseph being favored of Jacob became a target of malice on the part of his older brothers. Joseph was not reluctant to share his dreams regarding his future leadership and hence contributed to his brothers’ feelings of jealousy.
“When Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers, the stage was set for a future reunion in the courts of Pharaoh when his brethren would confess their sins and admit that Joseph was indeed divinely chosen to be the leader of the family and the patriarchal standard-bearer for many future nations.
“The rent ‘coat of many colors’ became a lasting symbol of the ultimate preservation of the Lord’s chosen lineage (Alma 46:23-34). The story of Joseph, who was sold into Egypt, shows the results of jealousy, envy, greed, and hatred, yet shows the power of God in all things.” (“Teachings and Commentary on the Old Testament, Ed J. Pinegar and Richard J. Allen, p. 336)
Let’s read 2 quotes from our prophets concerning the destructive nature of jealousy, envy, greed, and hatred.
QUOTE #2
President Gordon B. Hinckley: “Ours is the duty to walk by faith. Ours is the duty to walk in faith, rising above the evils of the world. We are sons and daughters of God. Ours is a divine birthright. Ours is a divine destiny. We must not, we cannot sink to the evils of the world – to selfishness and sin, to hate and envy and backbiting, to the ‘mean and beggarly’ elements of life.” (Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley, page 7)
QUOTE #3
President David O. McKay: “Jealousy, hatred, envy, animosity – all such evils you must overcome by suppression. That is where your control comes in. Suppress the anger! Suppress that jealousy, that envy! They are all injurious to the spirit.” (Gospel Ideals: Selections From the Discourses of David O. McKay, Improvement era, 1953, p. 356)
QUESTION: How can we overcome envy, jealousy, greed, and hatred?
● Gain gospel values and strive for unconditional love.
● Recognize happiness is within, not based on possessions or having fun.
● Recognize your divine nature – seek to improve yourself.
Envy and jealousy are concerns for everyone because of their power to destroy the souls of men.
As we know, the coat of many colors Joseph received of his father compounded the antagonism of Joseph’s brothers until they “hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him” (Genesis 37:3).
QUESTION: What have you seen when a child receives better treatment than the other siblings his or her family?
● Causes competition, rebellion or low self esteem in families.
● We can avert this situation if we teach our children to love one another
and value each other’s distinct abilities and talents – including their
own.
● Don’t discuss publically a child’s weaknesses or compare them (give
children the opportunity to grow, repent and change without any stigmas
attached. If you need help, go to confidential sources – bishop,
counselor, grandparent)
QUESTION: How can we overcome jealous feelings or anger towards family members, friends, or acquaintances? What should you do?
● If jealous – if you serve someone for whom you feel jealous, more feelings
of love and care come to the foreground and feelings of jealousy
subside.
● If Angry – confront source of frustration – talk about it rather than let
it boil
into a violent explosion. Be willing to carefully listen.
We know that Joseph had dreams that revealed the special relationship Joseph would have with his family and also foreshadowed the eventual mission of his posterity in the eternal salvation of the house of Israel.
Joseph’s brothers were unable to accept his dreams
SCRIPTURE: Genesis 37:8
8. And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? Or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words”.
Remember the situation with Nephi and his older brothers. After Nephi had shared the meaning of Lehi’s dream and they said: “Thou has declared unto us hard things, more than we are able to bear.” Nephi went on to say: “…the guilty taketh the truth to be hard, for it cutteth them to the very center (1 Nephi 1-2)
Joseph’s brothers went 45 miles to Shechem to feed the flocks (Genesis 37:12). Later, Jacob sent Joseph to check on his brothers. Arriving in Shechem, Joseph learned his brothers had gone on another 12 miles. (Genesis 37: 13-17)
SCRIPTURE: Genesis 37: 18-20
18. And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him.
19. And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh.
20. Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams.
QUESTION: Who wanted to spare his life? [Reuben – oldest, must have felt more responsibility for him – argued he must not be killed, but returned to his father.]
QUESTION: What did the brothers do?
● Stripped off his coat and left him a pit to die
● Joseph sold to a caravan of Ishmeelites headed to Egypt for 20 pieces of
silver (Genesis 37:27-28).
● Tore Joseph’s coat into many pieces, covered it with goat’s blood, and
returned it to Jacob as evidence a wild beast had devoured Joseph (Genesis
37:31-33)
Then Jacob mourned and no one could comfort him. Joseph was sold to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard.
Portraits of Moral Weakness
Judah and Tamar
In Genesis 38, we see portraits of moral weakness. Judah takes a Canaanite woman and she bears him children. Judah then takes Tamar as a wife for Er. Er was wicked and the Lord slew him. Then Judah tells his son Onan to raise up seed to his brother Er through Tamar. (Genesis 38:1-8)
The Lord slays Onan for spilling his seed on the ground. Judah tells Tamar to remain in her father’s home until his son, Shelah is old enough, to take her as wife. (Genesis 10-11)
QUESTION: Then what does Tamar do? (Genesis 38:14-27)
● Tamar takes off her widow’s garment and sits by the wayside for Judah’s
now grown son Shelah to see her.
● Judah sees Tamar, thinks she is a harlot, desires her and promises her a
kid.
Tamar asks for his signet, bracelets, and staff as a pledge.
She conceives.
● Tamar leaves, puts on her widow’s garments and the pledge can’t be
delivered because she has gone. Judah wants kid delivered so he isn’t
blamed.
● Judah hears Tamar is with child and has her brought to him to be burnt.
● Tamar produces the signet, bracelets, and staff and Judah acknowledges them saying that Tamar is more righteous than he is'
“because that I gave her not to Shelah my son.”
Now, another portrait of moral weakness.
QUESTION: Who would like to tell us about Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, who is defiled by Shechem (a prince and Hivite)? (Genesis 34:1-31)
● Dinah is defiled by Shechem who wants to marry her and goes to his father.
● Hamor wants to join families and goes to Jacob and his sons.
● Shechem says he’ll give a large dowry.
● Sons of Jacob lie and request that every man be circumcised.
● On the 3rd day when they were sore, Simeon and Levi slew all the males,
Including Shechem and Hamor, and took Dinah.
● Sons of Jacob spoil the city, take their wealth, wives, and children
captive.
● Jacob voices concern to his sons that they have put his family in harms
way with the Canaanites and Perizzites because of their deed.
● Jacob’s sons answer, “Should he deal with our sister as with an harlot?”
“Simeon and Levi’s destruction laid the groundwork for lasting enmity in the land. The lessons overshadowing these portraits of moral weakness is the fact that the Lord’s purposes are not defeated, for Joseph’s sons inherited the birthright, and thus his lineage carried on the leadership role under the Abrahamic Covenant.
Similarly, the Savior would come from the preserved lineage of Judah as the light and life of the world. No matter what some of the Lord’s children do in defiance of His laws, the Lord is still in charge of the process whereby the plan of salvation can unfold to its ultimate destiny.” (Teachings and Commentary on the Old Testament, Ed. J. Pinegar and Richard J. Allen, p. 337)
Let’s read 3 quotes from latter-day prophets regarding moral weakness and transgression and the need for repentance.
QUOTE #4
Spencer W. Kimball:
“Illicit sex is a selfish act, a betrayal, and is dishonest. To be unwilling to accept responsibility is cowardly, disloyal. Marriage is for time and eternity. Fornication and all other deviations are for today, for the hour, for the “now.” Marriage gives life. Fornication leads to death. (Faith Precedes the Miracle, page 156)
QUOTE #5
Ezra Taft Benson: “Yes, one can repent of moral transgression. The miracle of forgiveness is real, and true repentance is accepted of the Lord. But it is not pleasing to the Lord prior to a mission, or any time, to sow one’s wild oats, to engage in sexual transgression of any nature, and then to expect that planned confession and quick repentance will satisfy the Lord.” (Come, Listen to a Prophet’s Voice, p. 6)
QUOTE #6
President Gordon B. Hinckley: “There is in each of us that sense of modesty and morality to which this writer refers…The Lord has made it clear, and the experience of centuries had confirmed it, that happiness lies not in immortality, but rather in abstinence. The voice of the Church to which you belong is a voice pleading for virtue. It is a voice pleading for strength to abstain from that which is evil. It is a voice declaring that sexual transgression is sin. It is contrary to the will of the Lord. It is contrary to the teachings of the Church. It is contrary to the happiness and well-being of those who indulge in it.” (Teaching of Gordon B. Hinckley, p. 48)
In our world today, we have daily reminders in the news of politicians, actors, sports heroes, clergy, and teachers, who have been unfaithful to their wives or who have hurt children. Their “planned confession and quick repentance” have sometimes satisfied the world, but not the Lord. We as Church members need to continue to plead “for the strength to abstain from that which is evil.”
QUOTE: President Spencer W. Kimball
“May I talk to you just a moment or two about that which is most dear and precious above all things. Can you think what it would be? Would it be bonds, stocks, or diamonds? Would it be herds or flocks? Would it be automobiles and houses? Would it be medals in athletics? This is the greatest blessing, the most dear and precious above all things – above all things. It cannot be purchased with money, but may be enjoyed by all, even those of humble circumstances as well as the affluent, as much by the high school student as by those who have doctor’s degrees. Even mortal life when placed upon the balance scales weighs less. That of which I speak is chastity and virtue. The lack of it has caused rivers of tears to flow, broken numerous homes, and deprived large numbers of innocent children.” (quoted in We Believe)
QUOTE #7
Elder Melvin J. Ballard: “Certainly our teachers were right when they held up an ideal that virtue was as sacred as life itself, and that we had better lose our lives than lose our virtue….Next to the crime of murder itself is the crime of sexual impurity.” (Conference Report, April 1929)
QUESTION: Ultimately, who ends up being hurt when lying and infidelity are present in a marriage? [Children – feel abandoned, think they are responsible – they have had a bad example and are afraid of marriage themselves]
Portrait of Leadership and Virtue
Joseph’s example of moral uprightness in Egypt is among the most celebrated instances of strength of character in all of scripture. We read in Genesis 39:23 that “The Lord was with him, and that which he did, the Lord made it to prosper.
QUESTION: How was Joseph blessed after being sold into Egypt?
● Joseph became a servant in the household of Potiphar, “a prosperous man.”
SCRIPTURE: Genesis 39:3-4
3. And his master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord made all that he did to proper in his hand.
4. And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand.”
Joseph was blessed by the Lord because he “was a goodly person (Gen. 39:20).
Then Potiphar’s wife tried to lure Joseph to her. And Joseph answered, “…how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God? (Gen. 39:9).
She continued to tempt Joseph and ‘he harkened not unto her…” (Gen 39:10)
Then Joseph went into the house to do business when no men were there.
SCRIPTURE: Genesis 39:12
12. And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment into her hand, and fled, and got him out.
QUESTION: Then what does Potiphar’s wife do? [She lies to the men of her house and her husband about Joseph and he is put in prison.]
But the Lord was with Joseph and he found favor with the prison keeper. Joseph was put completely in charge of the prisoners and the Lord made Joseph prosper. (Genesis 39:21-23)
I admire Joseph’s reaction when he was first tempted by Potiphar’s wife. He said “…how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” (Gen. 39:9). Joseph’s first allegiance was to his God.
Then when Potiphar’s wife cornered him, he had already made his decision for he
“left his garment into her hand, and fled, and got him out.” He wanted to avoid the very presence of evil.
We need to have a close association with our Father in Heaven through prayer so that He will have our first allegiance.
We need to teach our children to always avoid the presence of evil – to obey the promptings of the Spirit – when caught in a difficult situation, just leave and go to a place of safety. Do not hesitate!
EXPERIENCE: Invitation to a party
I was excited in high school to be invited to a party that all the popular kids were attending. After driving home from work, my mother drove me to the home where it was being held which was quite a distance from our home. I went down to the basement where my friends were. I saw them doing things that I was uncomfortable with. I had a bad feeling come over me. I quickly walked up the stairs and waited in the bathroom for a while until I thought my mother had reached home. I used the phone and called my mother to pick me up telling her I had a bad feeling about being there. She said she’d come immediately. As we drove home she never complained about having been in the car so many times and for so long, but instead expressed her happiness that I would listen to the Spirit.
EXPERIENCE: Missionary daughter in Austria
When our daughter, Spring, was serving a mission in Austria, she and her companion lived in a very bad area of the city. One evening as they were walking from an appointment, they felt someone following them. They received promptings that they were in danger and they quickly ran away. They felt blessed that they were in tune so that they could receive such a prompting.
Joseph had many difficult trials in his life, but he learned to turn bad experiences and circumstances into good ones.
QUOTE #8
Elder Harman Rector, Jr.: “[The] ability to turn everything into something good appears to be a godly characteristic. Our Heavenly Father always seems able to do this. Everything, no matter how dire, becomes a victory to the Lord. Joseph, although a slave and wholly undeserving of this fate, nevertheless remained faithful to the Lord and continued to live the commandments and made something very good of his degrading circumstances. People like this cannot be defeated.” (Ensign, January 1973, p. 130)
EXPERIENCE: Reverend Martin Neimoller
“For three years Reverend Martin Neimoller survived the horrors of Dauchau – the smells of burning human flesh and the sights of walking dead men. For three years this German pastor who dared to defy Adolf Hitler was kept in solitary confinement in the world’s worst concentration camp.
“‘How could you stand it without losing your sanity?’ an interviewer asked Pastor Neimoller years later over a Chicago radio station. ‘A man doesn’t realize how much he can stand until he is put to the test,’ Neimoller answered confidently, continuing, ‘you can stand far more than you think you can. You are much stronger than you think you are…if God is dwelling in your life’.” (Move with Possibility Thinking, p. 180)
CONCLUSION
Joseph was a man of integrity.
QUESTION: What is integrity? [Uncompromising adherence to moral and ethical principles – honesty – honorable]
QUOTE –
President James E. Faust: “I should like to emphasize three important elements of integrity – dealing justly with oneself, dealing justly with others, and recognizing the law of the harvest.” (Conference Report, April 1982)
The law of the harvest means that we sow what we reap.
Joseph demonstrated integrity by:
● Dealing justly with himself – he was true to the principles which he
believe in and was blessed. He worked hard at making the best of a bad
situation.
● Joseph dealt justly with others – he remained true to Potiphar and himself
by not giving in to Potiphar’s wife’s desires.
● Joseph understood the law of the harvest – no matter what situation Joseph
was in, he practiced the Law of the Harvest by always planting righteous
seeds.
Brothers and Sisters, I am so grateful for the example of Joseph who showed great integrity, honor, strength, leadership, and moral virtue.
It is my testimony that we are strong when our Father in Heaven, the Savior,
and the Holy Ghost are dwelling in our lives.
References:
Genesis 34; 37-39
Gospel Doctrine Old Testament Lesson ll, Bob Beardall
LDS Old Testament Teacher’s Manual, Lesson 11
Personal experiences of Maren Hardy Hale
Personal experience of Spring Hale Thibaudeau
Personal experience of Reverend Martin Neimoller (Move with Possibility Thinking, p. 180)
Quotes from General Authorities as noted in lesson
Teachings and Commentaries on the Old Testament, Ed. J. Pinegar and Richard J. Allen, pp. 346-341
"Birthright Blessings; Marriage in the Covenant"
Birthright Blessings; Marriage in the Covenant
Old Testament: Lesson 10 (Genesis 24-29)
by Ted L. Gibbons
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Introduction
In the Provo Daily Herald on the date of Friday, July 13, 1990, page D1, I found a photo of Glynn "Scotty" Wolfe, "who holds the title as 'World's Most Married Man . . .'" He is pictured with his 27th wife, Daisy, whom he plans to divorce to marry her 15-year-old sister. The 81-year-old ordained minster said he plans to pay for his new bride's trip from the Philippines by having Daisy, 19, pose nude for a magazine for $10,000. Neither they nor she are interested.
Somewhere in the passage of time, this ordained minister and millions of others have mislaid a correct understanding of what marriage is all about. But the voice of the scriptures and the prophets is clear on this matter, and some of the clearest teachings appear in Genesis.
In fact, no episode in the Bible teaches the importance of marriage in the covenant better than the experiences of Isaac and Rebekah. These are followed closely in the text by the accounts of the marriages of Jacob and Esau, which also teach powerful lessons about this subject.
I. ABRAHAM EMPHASIZES THE IMPORTANCE OF MARRIAGE IN THE COVENANT (ETERNAL MARRIAGE).
Brigham Young said,
There is not a young man in our community who would not be willing to travel from here to England to be married right, if he understood things as they are; there is not a young woman in our community, who loves the Gospel and wishes its blessings, that would be married in any other way; they would live unmarried until they could be married as they should be, if they lived until they were as old as Sarah before she had Isaac born to her. (Discourses of Brigham Young, p.195—p.196)
Abraham understood this principle. When Isaac was 40 (Gen. 25:20), Abraham made the most careful of arrangements for his son's marriage. He called his trusted servant, Eliezer, and put him under oath to insure by every precaution that his son married someone worthy to continue the covenant blessings the Lord had promised him and his posterity.
The oath included these provisions.
"Thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell" (Gen 24:2)
"Thou shalt go unto my country" (24:4)
"Thou shalt go . . . to my kindred" (24:4)
"Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither again" (24:6)
And the servant put his hand under the hand of Abraham his master, and sware to him concerning that matter (Gen 24:9, JST).
If we were to begin a list of the marriage decisions that matter most, based on this account, our first entry would be this one: FIND A SPOUSE WORTHY OF THE COVENANT. No matter how many other qualities one might find in a prospective mate, if this one is missing, the others are less lasting than water on a summer sidewalk.
For the journey, the servant took ten camels. Since they are important in this story, let me say a word about them. The distance to be traveled from Hebron to Haran was probably over 400 miles, perhaps as many as 450. Camels average about 3 miles per hour for about 8 hours a day. So we may assume that the trip would take 18 days of travel each way, and two additional days for Sabbath observance without travel. So the round-trip time, not counting the time in Haran, would have been about 40 days.
When Eliezer arrived in Haran, he stopped at the city well and prayed.
And he said, O LORD God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham. Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water: And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed kindness unto my master (Genesis 24:12-14).
Following Abraham's offer to sacrifice Isaac, the Lord had promised him, "In blessing I will bless thee . . ." (Gen 22:17 ). Eliezer asks for this blessing on that basis—the righteousness of his master whom the Lord has blessed in all things (see Gen. 24:1).
And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder. And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known the like unto her. . . (Gen. 24:15,16, JST).
There is a statement in these verses about the beauty of Rebekah: she "was very fair to look upon." But I have not and will not include external beauty in my list of important characteristics in a spouse. The media has nearly ruined the ability of our youth to think clearly and logically about such things. We are bombarded constantly with messages about chemistry, about physical attraction. Physical beauty is thin and temporary, but the other qualities suggested by this story are thick and eternal.
I have sometimes taught the encounter at the well between Rebekah and Abraham's servant with this caption: JOHNNY LINGO, EAT YOUR HEART OUT! Rebekah is not an 8-cow wife, but she is a 10-camel woman! A thirsty camel can drink up to 25 gallons of water. There are ten camels to be watered, and she must do it with whatever jar or container she has with her. The record calls it a pitcher (24:18,20). And note the location of the well. Genesis 24:16 and 45 both indicate that this water in this well is in a deep hole, probably reached by descending a spiral path or stairs. Rebekah "went down to the well, filler her pitcher, and came up." Archaeologists uncovered a well of this sort at Gibeon. The water level was 80 feet below ground level (see Atlas of the Bible, p. 97). And note that she hasted (24:18,20) to serve this stranger.
We can now add a second quality to our list of important attributes. WE OUGHT TO SEEK A SPOUSE WHO IS WILLING TO SERVE. There is another quality implied here. IT WILL BE A GREAT BLESSING TO HAVE A SPOUSE WHO KNOWS HOW TO WORK.
Eliezer needed to know if the Lord had answered his prayer so suddenly, and asked Rebekah about her family.
And she said unto him, I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, which she bare unto Nahor (Gen. 24:24).
Abraham had sent his servant to find a wife among his kindred. This woman qualified. Abraham had two brothers, Nahor and Haran. Nahor had a son named Bethuel, and Rebekah was his daughter. When Eliezer learned this, he immediately "bowed down his head, and worshipped the Lord" (24:26).
In his prayer of gratitude, he teaches another important lesson about finding a spouse.
And he said, Blessed [be] the LORD God of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute my master of his mercy and his truth: I being in the way, the LORD led me to the house of my master's brethren. (24:27, emphasis added).
Eliezer found a bride for Isaac because he looked for her in the right place. "I being in the way . . ." he says. This is another lesson worth teaching to the unmarried youth of Zion. AS YOU SEEK A WORTHY, ETERNAL COMPANION, STAY IN THE WAY—the strait and narrow way. That is where you are most likely to find a person worthy of the covenant. Chances of success in this diminish at dance clubs and rock concerts and undisciplined parties.
Eliezer went to the home of Rebekah and explained his mission to her father and her brother Laban. When he had finished his recitation, he said,
And now if ye will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me: and if not, tell me; that I may turn to the right hand, or to the left (Gen. 24:49).
Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said
The thing proceedeth from the LORD: we cannot speak unto thee bad or good. Behold, Rebekah is before thee, take her, and go, and let her be thy master's son's wife, as the LORD hath spoken (Gen. 24:50,51).
Upon hearing this, the servant again bowed his head in thanksgiving before the Lord (see Gen. 24:52). There were two questions yet to be answered. Would Rebekah be willing to accompany him? and when could Eliezer begin his return journey to Hebron?
Rebekah's relatives were understandably reluctant to bid her farewell at once. They said, "Let the damsel abide with us a few days, at the least ten; after that she shall go" (24:55). But Eliezer knew that Abraham was very old ("well stricken in age" Gen 24:1), and he also knew that Isaac wasn't getting much sleep for worry and anticipation.
And he said unto them, Hinder me not, seeing the LORD hath prospered my way; send me away that I may go to my master. (24:56)
To resolve the difference in opinion, they determined to ask Rebekah. Would she be willing to travel over 400 miles with a man she had just met to marry a man she did not know because she believed the Lord wanted her to? She said, "I will go" (24:58). Her response is every whit as impressive as that of Nephi when asked to get the plates from Laban. "I will go . . ." (1 Nephi 3:7)
Here is another lesson in seeking an eternal companion. FIND SOMEONE DISPOSED TO OBEY THE LORD.
The priesthood blessing given to Rebekah by her relatives suggests that they knew of the Abrahamic covenant: "Be thou the mother of thousands of millions . . ." (24:60)
We are told that on the day the travelers arrived in Hebron, "Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide" (24:63). Does anyone wonder what he is meditating about? I wonder what he thought when he saw the camels coming.
I do not mean to overemphasize the sequence in the final verse of Genesis 24, but it is important.
And Isaac (1) brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and (2) took Rebekah, and she became his wife; (3) and he loved her . . . (24:67)
The love came last. I know this is not a popular thing to say, but I believe it is true. What I feel for my wife is not what I felt for her almost 38 years ago. I thought I loved her then. I guess I did love her. But 60,000 dirty diapers and 27 cars and 13 homes and 24 vacuum cleaners have shown me what love really means. What I felt then and what I feel now are perhaps the same thing, but they are not the same amount. If my love was water, 33 years ago it would have been a puddle. Today it is the Pacific Ocean.
II. ESAU SELLS HIS BIRTHRIGHT TO JACOB.
Rebekah was without children for the first 20 years of her marriage (see Gen. 25:20,26). But her husband prayed for her (and blessed her?) and she conceived. Something about the pregnancy troubled her and she prayed to understand.
And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger (Gen 25:23).
Rebekah knew something about her sons that even her husband seemed not to know. The younger of the two would preside. One would think she would have told him. Perhaps she did but he did not listen to his wife. What a mistake that would be, for all of us.
These two sons were men of different interests. There is nothing wrong with that. But there was something wrong with Esau's attitude about spiritual things. His willingness to give up the birthright responsibilities and opportunities for a bowl of red pottage (25:30), and the announcement that "Esau despised his birthright" (25:34) show us quite clearly why the Lord had determined before the birth of the twins that the birthright should go to Jacob. At least he wanted it.
Rebekah made preparations to insure that Jacob got the birthright blessing. It seems that she was not sure the Lord could handle it himself. However, the blessing that came to Jacob from Isaac was reiterated by the Lord (see Gen. 28:10-15).
When Esau was 40 (the age at which his father married) he took matters into his own hands and married two wives. Neither were of the covenant, and they were therefore "a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah" (26:34,35), both of whom knew from personal experience the power and blessings of the covenant. (Esau would later take a wife from the descendants of Abraham. The account is in Gen. 28:8,9).
III. JACOB MARRIES LEAH AND RACHEL IN THE COVENANT, AND THROUGH HIM THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT CONTINUES.
Rebekah spoke to her husband about the marriage of her sons.
I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth: if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these which are of the daughters of the land, what good shall my life do me? (Gen. 27:46)
Jacob was therefore sent to Haran to find a wife worthy of the covenant. Jacob journeyed where his grandfather's servant had journeyed before, and joined himself to Laban, the brother of his mother. In the course of 20 years (see Gen. 31:41), Jacob married four wives and had 11 sons and at least one daughter. Benjamin, the 12th son, would be born after the return of Jacob to his home.
Conclusion
Every normal young man desires a wife. Every normal young woman desires a husband. Be worthy of the mate you choose. Respect him or her. Give encouragement to him or her. Love your companion with all your heart. This will be the most important decision of your life, the individual whom you marry.
There is no substitute for marrying in the temple. It is the only place under the heavens where marriage can be solemnized for eternity. Don't cheat yourself. Don't cheat your companion. Don't shortchange your lives. Marry the right person in the right place at the right time (Gordon B. Hinckley, "Life's Obligations," Ensign, Feb. 1999, 2, emphasis added).
Proper marriage is life's most important decision. I know you believe that. I believe it too. I met my wife in High School. I do not remember her, but she says she remembers me. I have occasionally reflected on the remarkable fact that I must have passed my wife hundreds of times in the halls and on the grounds of Logan High without knowing . . . I wrote a poem to her about it.
I now suppose creation
Froze
Each time I met you there,
And growing things
Stopped growing
As I passed by
Unaware.
And mighty suns fell soundlessly,
In grief
That I could pass
Unseeing,
By eternity,
To be on time to class.
—by Ted L. Gibbons, 1969
I pray that none of us will pass unseeing by eternity for any reason.
Old Testament: Lesson 10 (Genesis 24-29)
by Ted L. Gibbons
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Introduction
In the Provo Daily Herald on the date of Friday, July 13, 1990, page D1, I found a photo of Glynn "Scotty" Wolfe, "who holds the title as 'World's Most Married Man . . .'" He is pictured with his 27th wife, Daisy, whom he plans to divorce to marry her 15-year-old sister. The 81-year-old ordained minster said he plans to pay for his new bride's trip from the Philippines by having Daisy, 19, pose nude for a magazine for $10,000. Neither they nor she are interested.
Somewhere in the passage of time, this ordained minister and millions of others have mislaid a correct understanding of what marriage is all about. But the voice of the scriptures and the prophets is clear on this matter, and some of the clearest teachings appear in Genesis.
In fact, no episode in the Bible teaches the importance of marriage in the covenant better than the experiences of Isaac and Rebekah. These are followed closely in the text by the accounts of the marriages of Jacob and Esau, which also teach powerful lessons about this subject.
I. ABRAHAM EMPHASIZES THE IMPORTANCE OF MARRIAGE IN THE COVENANT (ETERNAL MARRIAGE).
Brigham Young said,
There is not a young man in our community who would not be willing to travel from here to England to be married right, if he understood things as they are; there is not a young woman in our community, who loves the Gospel and wishes its blessings, that would be married in any other way; they would live unmarried until they could be married as they should be, if they lived until they were as old as Sarah before she had Isaac born to her. (Discourses of Brigham Young, p.195—p.196)
Abraham understood this principle. When Isaac was 40 (Gen. 25:20), Abraham made the most careful of arrangements for his son's marriage. He called his trusted servant, Eliezer, and put him under oath to insure by every precaution that his son married someone worthy to continue the covenant blessings the Lord had promised him and his posterity.
The oath included these provisions.
"Thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell" (Gen 24:2)
"Thou shalt go unto my country" (24:4)
"Thou shalt go . . . to my kindred" (24:4)
"Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither again" (24:6)
And the servant put his hand under the hand of Abraham his master, and sware to him concerning that matter (Gen 24:9, JST).
If we were to begin a list of the marriage decisions that matter most, based on this account, our first entry would be this one: FIND A SPOUSE WORTHY OF THE COVENANT. No matter how many other qualities one might find in a prospective mate, if this one is missing, the others are less lasting than water on a summer sidewalk.
For the journey, the servant took ten camels. Since they are important in this story, let me say a word about them. The distance to be traveled from Hebron to Haran was probably over 400 miles, perhaps as many as 450. Camels average about 3 miles per hour for about 8 hours a day. So we may assume that the trip would take 18 days of travel each way, and two additional days for Sabbath observance without travel. So the round-trip time, not counting the time in Haran, would have been about 40 days.
When Eliezer arrived in Haran, he stopped at the city well and prayed.
And he said, O LORD God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham. Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water: And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed kindness unto my master (Genesis 24:12-14).
Following Abraham's offer to sacrifice Isaac, the Lord had promised him, "In blessing I will bless thee . . ." (Gen 22:17 ). Eliezer asks for this blessing on that basis—the righteousness of his master whom the Lord has blessed in all things (see Gen. 24:1).
And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder. And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known the like unto her. . . (Gen. 24:15,16, JST).
There is a statement in these verses about the beauty of Rebekah: she "was very fair to look upon." But I have not and will not include external beauty in my list of important characteristics in a spouse. The media has nearly ruined the ability of our youth to think clearly and logically about such things. We are bombarded constantly with messages about chemistry, about physical attraction. Physical beauty is thin and temporary, but the other qualities suggested by this story are thick and eternal.
I have sometimes taught the encounter at the well between Rebekah and Abraham's servant with this caption: JOHNNY LINGO, EAT YOUR HEART OUT! Rebekah is not an 8-cow wife, but she is a 10-camel woman! A thirsty camel can drink up to 25 gallons of water. There are ten camels to be watered, and she must do it with whatever jar or container she has with her. The record calls it a pitcher (24:18,20). And note the location of the well. Genesis 24:16 and 45 both indicate that this water in this well is in a deep hole, probably reached by descending a spiral path or stairs. Rebekah "went down to the well, filler her pitcher, and came up." Archaeologists uncovered a well of this sort at Gibeon. The water level was 80 feet below ground level (see Atlas of the Bible, p. 97). And note that she hasted (24:18,20) to serve this stranger.
We can now add a second quality to our list of important attributes. WE OUGHT TO SEEK A SPOUSE WHO IS WILLING TO SERVE. There is another quality implied here. IT WILL BE A GREAT BLESSING TO HAVE A SPOUSE WHO KNOWS HOW TO WORK.
Eliezer needed to know if the Lord had answered his prayer so suddenly, and asked Rebekah about her family.
And she said unto him, I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, which she bare unto Nahor (Gen. 24:24).
Abraham had sent his servant to find a wife among his kindred. This woman qualified. Abraham had two brothers, Nahor and Haran. Nahor had a son named Bethuel, and Rebekah was his daughter. When Eliezer learned this, he immediately "bowed down his head, and worshipped the Lord" (24:26).
In his prayer of gratitude, he teaches another important lesson about finding a spouse.
And he said, Blessed [be] the LORD God of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute my master of his mercy and his truth: I being in the way, the LORD led me to the house of my master's brethren. (24:27, emphasis added).
Eliezer found a bride for Isaac because he looked for her in the right place. "I being in the way . . ." he says. This is another lesson worth teaching to the unmarried youth of Zion. AS YOU SEEK A WORTHY, ETERNAL COMPANION, STAY IN THE WAY—the strait and narrow way. That is where you are most likely to find a person worthy of the covenant. Chances of success in this diminish at dance clubs and rock concerts and undisciplined parties.
Eliezer went to the home of Rebekah and explained his mission to her father and her brother Laban. When he had finished his recitation, he said,
And now if ye will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me: and if not, tell me; that I may turn to the right hand, or to the left (Gen. 24:49).
Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said
The thing proceedeth from the LORD: we cannot speak unto thee bad or good. Behold, Rebekah is before thee, take her, and go, and let her be thy master's son's wife, as the LORD hath spoken (Gen. 24:50,51).
Upon hearing this, the servant again bowed his head in thanksgiving before the Lord (see Gen. 24:52). There were two questions yet to be answered. Would Rebekah be willing to accompany him? and when could Eliezer begin his return journey to Hebron?
Rebekah's relatives were understandably reluctant to bid her farewell at once. They said, "Let the damsel abide with us a few days, at the least ten; after that she shall go" (24:55). But Eliezer knew that Abraham was very old ("well stricken in age" Gen 24:1), and he also knew that Isaac wasn't getting much sleep for worry and anticipation.
And he said unto them, Hinder me not, seeing the LORD hath prospered my way; send me away that I may go to my master. (24:56)
To resolve the difference in opinion, they determined to ask Rebekah. Would she be willing to travel over 400 miles with a man she had just met to marry a man she did not know because she believed the Lord wanted her to? She said, "I will go" (24:58). Her response is every whit as impressive as that of Nephi when asked to get the plates from Laban. "I will go . . ." (1 Nephi 3:7)
Here is another lesson in seeking an eternal companion. FIND SOMEONE DISPOSED TO OBEY THE LORD.
The priesthood blessing given to Rebekah by her relatives suggests that they knew of the Abrahamic covenant: "Be thou the mother of thousands of millions . . ." (24:60)
We are told that on the day the travelers arrived in Hebron, "Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide" (24:63). Does anyone wonder what he is meditating about? I wonder what he thought when he saw the camels coming.
I do not mean to overemphasize the sequence in the final verse of Genesis 24, but it is important.
And Isaac (1) brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and (2) took Rebekah, and she became his wife; (3) and he loved her . . . (24:67)
The love came last. I know this is not a popular thing to say, but I believe it is true. What I feel for my wife is not what I felt for her almost 38 years ago. I thought I loved her then. I guess I did love her. But 60,000 dirty diapers and 27 cars and 13 homes and 24 vacuum cleaners have shown me what love really means. What I felt then and what I feel now are perhaps the same thing, but they are not the same amount. If my love was water, 33 years ago it would have been a puddle. Today it is the Pacific Ocean.
II. ESAU SELLS HIS BIRTHRIGHT TO JACOB.
Rebekah was without children for the first 20 years of her marriage (see Gen. 25:20,26). But her husband prayed for her (and blessed her?) and she conceived. Something about the pregnancy troubled her and she prayed to understand.
And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger (Gen 25:23).
Rebekah knew something about her sons that even her husband seemed not to know. The younger of the two would preside. One would think she would have told him. Perhaps she did but he did not listen to his wife. What a mistake that would be, for all of us.
These two sons were men of different interests. There is nothing wrong with that. But there was something wrong with Esau's attitude about spiritual things. His willingness to give up the birthright responsibilities and opportunities for a bowl of red pottage (25:30), and the announcement that "Esau despised his birthright" (25:34) show us quite clearly why the Lord had determined before the birth of the twins that the birthright should go to Jacob. At least he wanted it.
Rebekah made preparations to insure that Jacob got the birthright blessing. It seems that she was not sure the Lord could handle it himself. However, the blessing that came to Jacob from Isaac was reiterated by the Lord (see Gen. 28:10-15).
When Esau was 40 (the age at which his father married) he took matters into his own hands and married two wives. Neither were of the covenant, and they were therefore "a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah" (26:34,35), both of whom knew from personal experience the power and blessings of the covenant. (Esau would later take a wife from the descendants of Abraham. The account is in Gen. 28:8,9).
III. JACOB MARRIES LEAH AND RACHEL IN THE COVENANT, AND THROUGH HIM THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT CONTINUES.
Rebekah spoke to her husband about the marriage of her sons.
I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth: if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these which are of the daughters of the land, what good shall my life do me? (Gen. 27:46)
Jacob was therefore sent to Haran to find a wife worthy of the covenant. Jacob journeyed where his grandfather's servant had journeyed before, and joined himself to Laban, the brother of his mother. In the course of 20 years (see Gen. 31:41), Jacob married four wives and had 11 sons and at least one daughter. Benjamin, the 12th son, would be born after the return of Jacob to his home.
Conclusion
Every normal young man desires a wife. Every normal young woman desires a husband. Be worthy of the mate you choose. Respect him or her. Give encouragement to him or her. Love your companion with all your heart. This will be the most important decision of your life, the individual whom you marry.
There is no substitute for marrying in the temple. It is the only place under the heavens where marriage can be solemnized for eternity. Don't cheat yourself. Don't cheat your companion. Don't shortchange your lives. Marry the right person in the right place at the right time (Gordon B. Hinckley, "Life's Obligations," Ensign, Feb. 1999, 2, emphasis added).
Proper marriage is life's most important decision. I know you believe that. I believe it too. I met my wife in High School. I do not remember her, but she says she remembers me. I have occasionally reflected on the remarkable fact that I must have passed my wife hundreds of times in the halls and on the grounds of Logan High without knowing . . . I wrote a poem to her about it.
I now suppose creation
Froze
Each time I met you there,
And growing things
Stopped growing
As I passed by
Unaware.
And mighty suns fell soundlessly,
In grief
That I could pass
Unseeing,
By eternity,
To be on time to class.
—by Ted L. Gibbons, 1969
I pray that none of us will pass unseeing by eternity for any reason.
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