Patience

When Israel blessed his twelve sons shortly before his death (Genesis 48,49) he was prompted to speak of the great things that would come through Judah's and Joseph's descendants. The blessings the rest of his sons received largely were to admonish them and their descendants to righteousness. The Lord, who knows the end from the beginning, knew that, over and over again, the Children of Israel would lapse into unrighteousness and need to be constantly called back to the path of righteousness. The conditional promise repeated over and over again among the descendants of Lehi, that they would prosper in the land as long as they kept the commandments of God (1 Nephi 2:20), was first spoken to the House of Israel through the prophet Moses as they were about to enter and be established in the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 28:29), 800 years before Lehi left Jerusalem. During the over 400 years between the time that Israel died and Moses was called to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, the children of the twelve sons of Israel had strayed far from the God who had promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob the Land of Canaan, along with other great blessings. The Children of Israel had grown into a nation.  But now, with Israel in such a state of unrighteousness and unbelief, it was time for Moses to bring them out of bondage and into the freedom and liberty that righteousness could bring to them. 

As noted by F. W. Boreham, when God wants to do a great work, he sends a baby. And so, in about 1525 BC, Moses was born into slavery, under the edict of death, but was promptly delivered into the household of Egyptian royalty where he became known in the household and court of the Pharaoh. Years later, when Moses left Egypt, he went east, across the Sinai Peninsula to the Land of Midian, just east of the Gulf of Aqaba, almost 200 miles from Egypt, where he fell in with Jethro, the High Priest of Midian (Exodus 18:1 JST). Jethro, who held the priesthood and traced his line of authority back to Abraham (D&C 84:6-16), began Moses' education in the gospel. Several years later, as Moses, who was now almost 80 years old, was out tending sheep, he turned aside one afternoon to see a bush that was burning without being consumed by the fire. Thus the Lord began the process of convincing a nation mired in the skepticism of unrighteousness that they should follow Him, and that He could deliver them from slavery and bondage.

After explaining that He had heard the cries of the Children of Israel and was going to deliver them out of slavery in Egypt and into the Promised Land, a land of milk and honey, the Lord told Moses that it was now safe to return and that he would be instrumental in the great work of bringing the Children of Israel out of Egypt. He reminded Moses that he, himself, had heard the cries of the Israelites and knew of their suffering, and that He, the Lord, wanted Moses to go to Pharaoh, secure the release of the people, and lead them out of Egypt, into the Promised Land. And not only would the Children of Israel leave Egypt but they would also take from the riches of Egypt with them. The Lord pointed out that, as to be expected, Pharaoh was unlikely to willingly let his country's slave force just walk away, that Pharaoh would need to be forcefully convinced. To convince Moses of the power the Lord would use to persuade Pharaoh, the Lord gave Moses a preview of the miracles he would perform before Pharaoh. At the Lord's instruction, Moses turned his staff into a snake and then back into a staff. He also afflicted Moses with leprosy and then healed him. After that, the Lord told Moses of the additional miracles He would do to convince Pharaoh to release the Children of Israel (Exodus 4:2-9). 

After having this discussion with the Lord and coming down from the Mount of the Lord, Moses took his wife, Zipporah, and his brother, Aaron, and left for Egypt. The trip was not without incident because Moses was still learning the strict obedience required to work so closely with the Lord, but the group finally arrived in Egypt and spoke with the Elders of Israel. As the Lord had needed to convince Moses that this mission could succeed, Moses needed to convince the Elders of Israel that this was a viable plan. And so, as the Lord had done with him, and as the Lord had instructed him (Exodus 4:16), Moses gave the Elders of Israel a preview of the miracles that would be done before Pharaoh (Exodus 4:30). The result was that the Elders of Israel were convinced and so were the Children of Israel (Exodus 4:31). And so, for the first time in centuries, the Children of Israel began to have hope. There were still trials and difficulties the Children of Israel would have to endure before they were allowed to go, but the process was beginning and the end of their days of slavery was in sight.

Although the story of Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt is a very familiar one, one I've heard plenty of times before, I had forgotten the details of how the Lord laid the foundation and worked to bring the Children of Israel along, before Moses ever appeared before Pharaoh. The Lord had promised Abraham 640 years before Moses went to Pharaoh, "I will lead thee by my hand, and I will take thee." (Abraham 1:16) The Lord has renewed this promise in our day, early in the restoration, that "the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand, and give thee answer to thy prayers." (D&C 112:10) This is a constant with the Lord, who is infinitely patient. He is patient with us and encourages us to be patient as we wait on Him, especially in times of affliction (D&C 66:9). And so we should be, even though we sometimes find it difficult.