Exodus 14-18 Teaching Activities and Insights
- Benjamin Wilcox
- 3 days ago
- 53 min read
TEACHING ACTIVITIES
LESSON #1 PILLARS AND PATHS (Exodus 14)
TRUTH:
WHEN I am pursued by my enemies, when I feel entangled, or shut in,
IF I fear not, hold my peace, and move forward in faith, looking to the prophet,
THEN the Lord can protect me from my enemies and open a path through my obstacles.
FIRE IN THE BONES:
OBJECT:
A possible object for this lesson would be a traffic cone. I’ll include a link to an inexpensive one you could purchase if interested. During the lesson you could hold it up and say something like: This may look like a simple object, but it represents something we all recognize, a barrier. A warning. A ‘you can’t go this way.’
Then you could ask: Have you ever had something like this in your life? Sometimes life (or even our own choices) put cones in our path. Things that stop us, slow us down, or make us feel stuck. Today’s lesson can show us that God is not limited by what blocks us.
Link to purchase traffic cone: https://amzn.to/3NntABu
ICEBREAKER:
For the icebreaker, do the student poll activity. The question being: Which Bible miracle would you most like to witness? And then I list a number of the most popular and well-known miracles of the Bible. Included on that list is the parting of the Red Sea. And this has never failed me, although, it’s possible that you could get a different result, but the most popular answer in every class I’ve ever taught is the Red Sea miracle. If they don’t choose it, that’s ok, you could still lead into the lesson by saying something like this:
“In my experience, one answer usually wins: the parting of the Red Sea. And I get it. It really is a fascinating, awe-inspiring kind of miracle. And I’ll tell you what, whenever I talk about the parting of the Red Sea, I’m almost always asked the following question: Why doesn’t God do stuff like that anymore? We’re going to examine that question in depth today. Because what if that miracle was meant to teach us something about our own lives right now? You know, the Lord could have led Israel on an easier route. He could have prevented the whole Red Sea crisis entirely. But instead, He allowed them to face a situation where they were trapped, afraid, and out of options. Why?
SEARCH ACTIVITY/HANDOUT:
Now send them into the scriptures with the following handout and invite them to listen to the chapter and fill it out as they go. I then play a recording of the chapter, which is available on the church website, or you can even play it from your phone. Just look for the little headphones symbol at the bottom of the page. Click that and it will narrate the chapter for you.
In the insight video, I go through each of the answers with you there. But once they’ve filled out the handout, your students will basically have the lesson staring them in the face. We just need to nudge them a little bit to help them to see it.
So I like to summarize the story with the following TRUTH slide. The statement says:
The Children of Israel were trapped by their enemies and the Red Sea. But, because they trusted God and followed their prophet, the Lord protected them from their enemies with a pillar of fire and opened a path for them through the Red Sea.
Now we want to help them to see themselves in the story, to compare themselves to the children of Israel. Invite them to look a little more closely at the handout and consider the following questions. For that first section of the handout, we ask: “Have you ever found yourself in a similar situation? Have you ever felt entangled by your circumstances. Ever had a problem you didn’t feel you could solve? Ever feel shut in by your limitations, your weaknesses, your sins, temptations, emotions. Have you ever felt pursued by your enemies: an employer, a family member, perhaps even Lucifer himself. Have you ever been sore afraid that you wouldn’t make it out of a very tight spot, socially, emotionally, financially, or spiritually?
If you can relate to any of those feelings, this story is for you! The Lord has a message for people in just such circumstances. What does the Lord want us to do in those circumstances? Just run through those answers with them. Fear not, stand still, hold your peace, and go forward. Don’t allow your enemies or your obstacles to stand in the way of your faith.
If we’re willing to do that, what’s the Lord’s promise to us? Then we will see the salvation of the Lord. Miracles can occur in our lives. The Lord shall fight for us, save us, and cause us to walk through the midst of our problems on dry ground. In a nutshell, as long as you maintain your faith in God, all will be all right in the end.
Now I like to display the truth again but with the application this time. Now the slide reads:
WHEN I am pursued by my enemies, when I feel entangled, or shut in,
IF I fear not, hold my peace, and move forward in faith, looking to the prophet,
THEN the Lord can protect me from my enemies and open a path through my obstacles.
And that’s when I like to make the point to my students that when we look at the story in that light, the miracle of the parting of the Red Sea is not a privilege exclusive to the children of Israel in Exodus, but a miracle he continues to do in the lives of the faithful. God DOES do stuff like that nowadays. The story shows us that when we feel trapped, God can protect us, and open up paths through our obstacles. In that light, I’ve seen pillars of fire in my life. I’ve seen the miracle of the Red Sea parting many times over with my own eyes.
TAKE IT TO HEART:
Have you ever seen a pillar of fire in your life? A time when the Lord protected you from someone or something?
OR
Have you ever seen the Red Sea part in your life? A time when the Lord opened the way for you through an obstacle?
As the teacher, I encourage you to have an example of such a time in your own life to start out that discussion.
I WILL GO AND DO:
What feels like an enemy behind you right now?
OR
What feels like an obstacle in front of you?
How could you apply the principle of this lesson in your situation?
Suggestions:
Pray specifically about your situation and ask God to help you see both the “pillar” and the “path.”
Seek guidance from a trusted spiritual source (scriptures, a parent, a leader, the prophet) before making a decision.
Take one small step forward on something you’ve been avoiding (a conversation, an assignment, a decision) trusting that the path will open as you act.
Follow a prompting you’ve been hesitating on, even if it feels uncomfortable or unclear.
TAKEAWAY:
The takeaway slide emphasizes the principle taught by this lesson: Pillars behind us, paths before us. This scripture story serves as a dramatic and visual way of teaching a great truth about our Heavenly Father’s power. That miracle wasn’t just for them. It was meant to show us how God works in our lives too. Testify that you know that God still places pillars between us and what would harm us, and He still opens paths through things that seem impossible. Encourage them to remember this truth the next time they feel stuck or pressured. Invite them to pause, trust in God, and take one step forward in faith. And as they do, promise them that they’ll begin to see it, they will become witnesses to that great miracle themselves.
OPTIONAL LESSON ENHANCEMENTS:
VIDEO:
For a video, this would be a great place to show a short clip of the parting of the Red Sea because that is such a miraculous and awe-inspiring thing to visualize. But I would probably show it later in the lesson rather than earlier, after I’d made the personal application with them. Then I would ask them to ponder their own pillars and paths stories as they watch. There are a few options to choose from, but probably my favorite would be from the animated film: The Prince of Egypt and I’ll include a link to that clip from YouTube if you’d like to show it:
QUOTE:
From Dieter F. Uchtdorf:
“As His covenant people, we need not be paralyzed by fear because bad things might happen. Instead, we can move forward with faith, courage, determination, and trust in God as we approach the challenges and opportunities ahead.”
(Conference Report, Apr. 2017 “Perfect Love Casteth Out Fear”)
TEACHER INSIGHT:
If you have time, an additional principle that you may consider sharing comes from Exodus chapter 15. After the children of Israel pass through the Red Sea they sing and dance and rejoice. The principle, when God has done good things for us and worked wonders in our lives, we too should praise Him and rejoice. Then I like to either sing a hymn of praise with my students or invite them to express their gratitude for a God of deliverance.
LESSON #2 WHAT SHALL WE EAT? WHAT SHALL WE DRINK? (Exodus 16-17)
TRUTH:
I am spiritually sustained by the word of God and the love of Jesus Christ.
FIRE IN THE BONES:
I get a fire in the bones for this lesson because it shows our students how to stay spiritually nourished in real life. Here we want to help them to see the power of the essential sustaining nature of God’s word and the steady strength that comes from Christ’s love. I personally have a deep testimony of the spiritually nourishing power of meaningful, daily, scripture study and with this lesson I hope to inspire my students to either begin or maintain that habit in their daily lives. Also, I feel my Savior’s love, and that too sustains me in my journey through a spiritually barren world.
OBJECT:
I like to bring in a large plate of graham crackers and a big pitcher of ice water. At some point during the lesson, I like to allow my students to have a little bit of both as they ponder the significance of God’s sweet and nourishing word, and his life sustaining love.
ICEBREAKER:
For the icebreaker I like to ask a discussion question. If you had to choose just one thing to eat and one thing to drink for the rest of your life, what would you pick? They could share their answer either with the class or with a partner or small group.
Then you could make the point that in the wilderness, that’s not just a fun question, it’s a survival question. You must eat; you must drink if you wish to stay alive. Maybe they’re familiar with the survival rule of 3. How long can you typically survive without water? 3 days. How long can you typically survive without food? 3 weeks.
Transition to the scriptures by saying that now that the children of Israel have passed through the Red Sea, they are in a wilderness survival situation. And they have two very important questions for Moses: What will we eat? And what will we drink? God answers those two essential questions for life in Exodus chapters 16 and 17.
SEARCH ACTIVITY:
Challenge them to find the answers to those two questions
The answer to “what will we eat” can be found in 16:14-15
The answer to “what will we drink” can be found in 17:5-6
Answers: What would they eat? Manna. What would they drink? Water from the Rock. But remind them, that everything we find in the Exodus is symbolic of our own journey through life. We too are seeking to escape Egypt (the world) in an effort to journey back to OUR promised land (exaltation). And that journey will often feel like a wilderness. And in our wilderness journey, we’re going to need food and water. So now the question becomes: What is our manna? And what is our water from the rock? What could they symbolically represent for us?
First: Manna. What we want to do here is list everything that we can learn about manna in one place from the following verses. As a teacher, you can number off your students from 1-10 and invite them to read their verses for any details they learn about manna. Then choose one of the students who read their verse to explain to the class what they learned about it while you write it up on the board. And I imagine they’re going to get it after looking at that list. What is our bread from heaven? What do we need to partake of every day?
And regardless of how they answer, you can tell them that we get the Lord’s intended symbolism of that metaphor in Deuteronomy 8:3. It’s the word of God. And though that could refer to a number of different ways that the Lord speaks to us, I prefer to focus on manna as the scriptures for the purposes of this lesson.
Then you can invite them to go back and look at the list to see if the metaphor is a good one. Ask: How does the description of manna apply to scripture study?
And that discussion can be as long or as short as you want it but there is a lot of insight that can be gleaned from that comparison. The insight video can give you some of my ideas on that.
DISCUSSION QUESTION:
But some discussion questions that might come in handy during that portion of the lesson:
Why do you think they had to gather it every day instead of storing it up for multiple days? What might that teach us about how we approach scripture study?
Did the manna come to them… or did they have to go get it? What does that suggest about how spiritual nourishment works?
Did everyone gather the same amount? How might that apply to personal scripture study?
How does scripture study “fill” us?
Why do you think God made manna “sweet”? What does that suggest about the scriptures to you?
TEACHER INSIGHT:
Now the manna portion of this lesson is probably where I would spend the majority of my time, but I also want them to understand the water from the rock metaphor as well. For that, though, I might just share my insight as a teacher. You could refer to some of the cross references I shared in the insight video that point to Christ being the rock, and his love and gospel being the water. And then I would testify of the importance of drinking that water every single day. Relying on Christ’s atonement and grace, seeking to follow his example, and recognizing his love for us.
TAKE IT TO HEART:
How would you honestly describe your current ‘spiritual diet’ right now?
What if scripture study and the strength of your connection to Christ really did affect our physical appearance like food and water does? What do you think you would look like? (Now they don’t share their answer to that question. It’s just a question for them to ponder)
Would they look healthy? Sick? Emaciated? Pleasantly plump? At death’s door? How do they think they would look?
I WILL GO AND DO:
What would it look like for you to ‘gather manna’ or ‘drink living water’ this week?
Suggestions:
Set a consistent time each day to study the scriptures.
Truly dig deep into the scriptures, ponder, and seek to apply what you learn from them.
Choose one attribute of Christ (kindness, patience, mercy) and look for opportunities to exercise it this week.
Bear your testimony of Christ to someone
TAKEAWAY:
The takeaway slide reminds us of the importance of being fed by his word, and sustained by his love. At the beginning, we talked about what we would choose to eat and drink if we had to live on just one thing—and in a way, that’s the question we’re all answering every day. I know that God has already given us what we need: His word to nourish us and His Son to sustain us. This week, I invite you to choose to gather a little manna each day and to consciously draw on Christ’s love, even in small moments. And as you do, I promise you’ll feel it—you’ll feel more steady, more filled, and more able to move forward with strength and peace.
OPTIONAL LESSON ENHANCEMENTS:
VIDEO:
There’s a perfect video that accompanies this lesson really well. It’s called, “Daily Bread: Pattern”. In it Elder Christofferson shares his thoughts specifically on the symbol of manna and what it teaches us about the importance of spiritual sustenance. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/media/video/2013-08-0012-daily-bread-pattern?lang=eng
QUOTE:
From President Russell M. Nelson:
“With frightening speed, a testimony that is not nourished daily “by the good word of God” can crumble. Thus, the antidote to Satan’s scheme is clear: we need daily experiences worshipping the Lord and studying His gospel. “
(“The Power of Spiritual Momentum,” Liahona, May 2022, 99)
HANDOUT/GAME:
If you wanted to add a game element to this lesson, you could invite them to do a relay race activity with the following handout. I’ve explained how this works many times before on this channel, so rather than going through all of the instructions again, I’ll just provide you with a link in the video description that will take you directly to another video where I go into more depth on how this activity works. But in a nutshell, you challenge your students to work together on teams to find answers to questions from this scripture story. The first team to answer all of the questions correctly the quickest, wins.
Link to Relay Race Instructions: https://youtu.be/Er_pYYdUy-4?si=-07o2ST95qrSj7_o&t=988
ANSWERS:
1. Manna. What is it?
2. Daily
3. It bred worms and stank
4. White, like coriander seed, sweet.
5. That man does not live by bread alone, but by the word of God
6. (Many possible answers to this question-you be the judge)
7. They are thirsty. No water.
8. Moses strikes a rock with his staff and water flows out of it.
9. Rock=Christ, Water: Love of God/Gospel
10.(Many possible answers to this question-you be the judge)
LESSON #3 HELPING HANDS (Exodus 17)
TRUTH:
When I sustain the prophet with confidence, faith, and prayer, I gain strength to win my spiritual battles.
FIRE IN THE BONES:
I get a fire in the bones for teaching this lesson when I think of how my students are already in real battles. But not with swords and arrows, but with discouragement, temptation, doubt, and pressure from the world. Many of them may be trying to face these things on their own without realizing the help God has provided through prophets and leaders. So we want to help our students to see that sustaining the prophet is a source of strength and direction in their personal lives. Help them to gain a greater desire to listen to, support, and act on prophetic counsel. If we can accomplish that, then we will have helped to give them a real advantage in the battles they fight.
OBJECT:
My suggested object would be to bring in a sword since this lesson deals with the idea of fighting battles, spiritual battles. That sword can be real sword or even just a plastic one from a Halloween costume. I have a real sword that I bought on Amazon years ago that has come in handy for a number of different lessons over the years and I’ll include a link to one that I thought looked like a good deal that you might consider if you’re interested.
ICEBREAKER:
As an icebreaker, I challenge the students to all stand up and raise their arms out from their sides and hold them there for as long as they can. Tell them that there will be a reward to whoever can keep their hands up the longest. Inform them that after 2 minutes a hymnbook (or a weight of some sort) will be placed in each of the hands of anyone that is still left. After 3 minutes, if anyone is still left, another book will be placed in their hands for a total of two books in each hand. I don’t imagine anyone is going to last long after that. Once the challenge is over and you have rewarded the winner, emphasize to your class the fact that gravity will eventually pull even the strongest person’s arms down, and in a relatively short amount of time.
Then, the second phase of the object lesson has you inviting the winner of the challenge to the front of the classroom where you have them sit down in a chair. Then you invite two other individuals to come up and an hold up the arms of the person sitting down. Then ask the winner how much longer they feel they could hold their arms up now. Certainly for a much longer time, perhaps indefinitely.
Then you’ll transition to the scriptures by telling your class that today you’re going to look at a story about someone who needed to raise his arms for a long period of time. Then give them the context of the story. As the children of Israel are traveling towards the promised land, they’re attacked by an army of Amalekites intent on keeping them from getting there. Well, just like the children of Israel, we too are bound to run into opposing forces that will endeavor to keep US from getting to OUR promised land. However, Exodus chapter 17 holds a key strategy for winning those battles.
SEARCH ACTIVITY:
Then for the search activity, I like to use the picture handout to help my students to ponder the application of the story in their own lives. Invite them to study the story found in Exodus 17:8-13 and to label the different elements of the story with what they feel each element could symbolically represent to us. The elements that I include on the handout are:
Moses
Aaron and Hur
The Rock Moses sits on
The Battle
Amalek and the Amalekites
And the Israelites
And this is a lesson that I feel is best to just have each student silently study the story on their own seeking to liken the scriptures to themselves (although having them work in pairs or small groups could also be an option).
And then, you just let them share their interpretations because there’s more than one way to apply this story. Resist jumping in too quickly to give them your thoughts and interpretation, and as they share, seek to deepen the discussion by asking follow-up questions. But that being said, I feel it’s also appropriate and ok for you, as the teacher, to also take some time to share an application that you see. And my favorite way to apply this story is to put myself in the position of Aaron and Hur. I want to be the kind of person that upholds and sustains the prophet, because if we neglect to do that collectively as a Church, then we will lose the battle with the adversary. But if we do uphold his hands, and authority, then what’s the promised result? We win. We win our spiritual battles. So one of the major truths that I try to emphasize in this lesson is the importance of sustaining, trusting, and following the prophet.
I always like to share the following cross reference when I teach this lesson. It’s Doctrine & Covenants 107:22 where I invite my students to look for the three ways in which we can uphold our leaders:
22 Of the Melchizedek Priesthood three Presiding High Priests, chosen by the body, appointed and ordained to that office, and upheld by the confidence, faith, and prayer of the church, form a quorum of the Presidency of the Church.
DISCUSSION QUESTION:
What does it actually look like to show confidence in a prophet?”
Why do you think the Lord wants us to pray for our church leaders?
TAKE IT TO HEART:
When have you felt strengthened by following prophetic counsel?
What battles do you feel you’ve won because you’ve upheld the hands of the prophets?
I WILL GO AND DO:
What does it look like for you personally to ‘hold up the hands’ of God’s leaders?
Suggestions:
Choose to trust a prophet’s counsel, even if you don’t fully understand it yet
Speak about Church leaders with respect and confidence, not criticism
Pay closer attention to General Conference messages and look for something to act on
Include Church leaders in your regular personal prayers
TAKEAWAY:
I like to emphasize this message with the takeaway slide: When I hold up the prophet’s hands, God strengthens mine. Then at the bottom I include the words: confidence, faith, and prayers. Remind them that at the beginning of the lesson, we saw how even the strongest arms eventually fall, but how much longer they can hold when someone helps. That’s pretty much how God has designed this life. He has given us prophets that stand on the hill to guide us and lead us. Testify that as we choose to trust them, act on their counsel, and pray for them, we won’t have to fight our battles alone. Invite them to be Aaron’s or Hur’s and promise that if they will , then they’ll find greater strength, greater clarity, and greater power in their lives to fight the adversary and WIN!
OPTIONAL LESSON ENHANCEMENTS:
VIDEO:
A video suggestion for this lesson is this one entitled “Listen to a Prophet”. In it, Bishop Dean M. Davies talks about the importance of listening to the counsel of the prophet, and it features a number of individuals that bear testimony of how following the prophet has blessed their lives.
QUOTE:
From President Russell M. Nelson:
“Our sustaining of prophets is a personal commitment that we will do our utmost to uphold their prophetic priorities. Our sustaining is an oath-like indication that we recognize their calling as a prophet to be legitimate and binding upon us.”
(“Sustaining the Prophets,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2014, 75)
TEACHER INSIGHT:
If you feel you have time, there is an additional principle that you might want to add to this lesson. It’s based around the idea of what WON’T help our prophets and church leaders in their role. It’s the opposite of what Aaron and Hur do. Invite them to look in these verses for the common problem they see in each:
14:11-12
15:24
16:2-3, 7-9, 12
17:2-4, 7
And the problem is murmuring and criticizing. These things will only weigh down the hands of those who have been called to lead us. So we want confidence not complaints. Faith not criticism. Prayers not indifference.
INSIGHTS
PILLARS AND PATHS
ICEBREAKER
Our icebreaker for the week is a class poll. Ask your students: “Of all the miracles of the Bible, which would you most like to witness? Why? Then have some share. Would you pick . . .
Noah’s Ark rising above the flood?
David defeating Goliath?
Moses parting the Red Sea?
Elijah calling down fire from heaven?
Jesus raising Lazarus from the Dead?
Jesus calming the storm on the Sea of Galilee?
Other: _________
Your class is sure to have a number of different answers. But I’m going to guess that there will be majority of the people in your class that will pick one of those answers. Which do you think it is? In all my years of teaching, guess which answer I’ve found to be the most common? The most popular answer? And it’s the parting of the Red Sea. Wouldn’t that have been quite the sight to see? I’m sure that Hollywood really hasn’t done that miracle justice. I mean, can you think of a more dramatic example of God’s miraculous power than that? What would it have been like to walk through the sea with a wall of water standing on your left hand and on your right. This was some miracle.
Well, if that’s the most common answer I get, guess what the most common follow up question I get asked after we’ve done that activity. Almost every time, without fail, I know that someone is going to say: “Why doesn’t God do things like that anymore? Why don’t we see things like that nowadays? Why doesn’t President Nelson come out and perform some similar feat of God’s miraculous power? Surely, he could do it if God willed it, right?
In today’s lesson, we’re going to study this miracle and why I think it even happened in the first place. Was it’s only purpose to help the Children of Israel out right of a tight spot? Is it so we’ll step back and say, “Wow, God is powerful. He can do anything.” I’m afraid that if that’s all we get from that story, then I think we’ve missed the point. We’ve missed the major message. An intriguing detail to consider is the route the children of Israel took that got them into that position. Just take a quick look at the Bible map describing the probable route of the Exodus to see what I’m talking about. Why didn’t the Lord just route the children of Israel this way? Then, they could have avoided the Red Sea problem altogether. What do you think about that? I’d love to your comments on that below. My thought? One, it does show us that the way God wants us to travel through life isn’t always the easiest or the most obvious way. And two, by doing this, it allowed God to teach the children of Israel, and all of us throughout history who read it, a great truth. By the end of our study of Exodus chapter 14, I hope you find yourself asking a very different kind of question regarding that miracle. So let’s take a look.
First, it may be helpful to just let your students hear that story. You can either read it together as a class, or sometimes I like to have them listen to it being read. The church website has a recording of every chapter of the Bible available for download. Sometimes I prefer this to having students take turns reading because it’s smoother, easier to follow, and allows everybody to focus on the text rather than the reader, or whose turn it is to read next. I also sometimes struggle with the level of enthusiasm some of my students read with at times. I think, come on, this is an incredible story, put some feeling into it. Do you think that’s how Moses said it? Without any emotion, as if he was about to fall asleep? And while they’re listening to it, encourage them to fill out the following handout as they go. This can serve as a vehicle to a great discussion afterwards.
SEARCH
In the first section here, find the words and phrases that describe the conditions the Children of Israel find themselves in, in the following verses. The scriptures tell us that they were:
:3 Entangled
:3 Shut them in
:8 “Pursued” by their enemies
:10 Sore afraid
Now, What instructions did God give to the people through Moses?
:13 Fear ye not
:13 Stand still
:14 Hold your peace
:15 Go forward
What were they promised would happen?
:13 See the salvation of the Lord
:14 The Lord shall fight for you
:16 the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea
And then finally: What were the results of their actions? There were actually two problems the children of Israel were facing. They had the Egyptian chariots, their enemies, bearing down on them on one side and the Red Sea, an impenetrable obstacle on the other. And there they stood, trapped in the middle.
So what did the Lord do to their enemies? :19-20
19 And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them:
20 And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night
What did he do? He placed a barrier in their way. He protected the children of Israel from their enemies by placing a pillar of fire between them and their pursuers. They were not able to pass through. I also love the detail that the pillar of fire brought darkness to the Egyptians but provided light to the Israelites. It performed a dual purpose. And then later, in verses 26-28, what happened to the Egyptians? As they pursued them down into the sea, God closed the waters upon them and completely washed them way. He rid them from their lives.
And then, what did the Lord do with their obstacle?
:21-22
21 And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.
22 And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.
He provided them with a path through their supposed impenetrable obstacle. He gave them an escape route.
And if we wanted to add a few more results phrases, we could add that the Lord “fought for them that day” in verse 25, and “saved Israel” in verse 30.
TRUTH
So let’s summarize this story here and put it into a simple sentence. The Children of Israel were trapped by their enemies and the Red Sea. But, because they trusted God and followed their prophet, the Lord protected them from their enemies with a pillar of fire and opened a path for them through the Red Sea.
Now for the relevancy. Let’s compare ourselves to the children of Israel and liken the scriptures. For each of the questions above, let’s add a new one to make it more personal. Have you ever found yourself in a similar situation? And how? Ever found yourself caught between a rock and a hard place. Between an enemy and an obstacle. Have you ever felt pursued by your enemies, the unrighteous influence of the world around you, or the wicked? Ever been pinned in by your persecutors or entangled by your enemies? Are there people around you that criticize or ridicule or seek to make your life difficult? An employer? A family member? Perhaps you’ve even felt Lucifer himself pursing you. Or maybe your enemy isn’t a person. Is your enemy your sins? Temptation? Fear? Depression? When have your enemies pursued you?
What about obstacles? What is the biggest obstacle you face in your life right now? What’s holding you back from fulfilling your God-given potential or experiencing the happiness that God wants for you as his child?
Maybe your obstacle is a trial, a situation with no apparent solution, your health, a difficult task, your finances, addiction, shame, or doubt.
Now to the next set of phrases. What is the Lord’s message to those who find themselves in these kinds of difficulties? Fear not, stand still, hold your peace, and go forward. Don’t allow your enemies or your obstacles to stand in the way of your faith. Put your trust in God and his prophets and then “what promises does God make to all who act in faith?
Then you will see the salvation of the Lord. Miracles can occur in your life. The Lord shall fight for you and save you and cause you to walk through the midst of your problems on dry ground. As long as you maintain your faith in God, all will be all right in the end.
So let’s change this truth to make it relevant. Now we can adjust the sentence to reflect our own situation.
When I am pursued by my enemies, when I entangled, or shut in (by sin, temptation, or trial), if I fear not, hold my peace, and move forward in faith, looking to the prophet, the Lord can protect me from my enemies and open a path through my obstacles.
CONCLUSION
This is the pillars and paths principle. When I view this story in that light, my questions regarding it change. I begin to realize that I actually have seen the Red Sea part . . . many times in my life. I’ve seen pillars of fire protect me. The Lord has been performing these same miracles over and over again for millennia in the lives of his faithful disciples. This was not a one-time miracle. This was not an isolated incident. It was a dramatic and visual way of teaching a great truth about our Heavenly Father’s power. That’s why I believe this story is in there! That’s why I believe the Lord even allowed the Children of Israel to get into that situation. The Lord is whispering something to you and me through the pages of his holy word. “I can protect you from your enemies! I can open a path for you through even impossible problems. I can bar their way with fire and open the waters for you. So the next time we find ourselves entangled, pursued, or sore afraid, rather than questioning why God let that happen to you, rather than beating yourself up, blaming others, doubting God, or panicking, I suggest that we hold our peace, stand still, move forward with faith, and see the salvation of the Lord’s pillars and paths.
LIKEN THE SCRIPTURES
Now with that understanding, this might be a good time to allow your students to ponder that principle in their own life. I’m a big fan of the movie “Prince of Egypt” and I feel the parting of the Red Sea story is done particularly well. Perhaps you could show a short film clip from that movie but encourage them to see themselves in the story this time. To put themselves in the sandals of the children of Israel and to imagine their own Red Seas and Pharoah’s in that scene.
And after you’ve helped your students to see that principle. You can continue this discussion by moving into Exodus chapter 15. After the children of Israel pass through the Red Sea, what is the first thing they do? Scan that chapter or the chapter heading. They sing! They rejoice! They declare God’s power publicly for all to hear and see. Then look what Miriam and the women of Israel do in verses 20-21. They dance and praise God. It’s a celebration. If you would like, you could read verses 1-21 as a class. Some highlights:
2 The Lord is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father's God, and I will exalt him.
11 Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?
12 Thou stretchedst out thy right hand, the earth swallowed them.
13 Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people which thou hast redeemed: thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation.
The companion principle? When we’ve seen the pillars and the paths in our lives, what should we do?
We should rejoice, praise God, and thank him for his goodness and power in your life. Testify of that power!
So then I say as a teacher, “In the spirit of chapter 15, let’s do that right now as a class. Let’s testify, and praise, and rejoice. When have you seen a pillar of fire or the Red Sea part in your own life? And invite them to share an experience when God performed one of these wonders for them.
As a teacher, you may even want to share one of your own pillar or path experiences. For me, I saw many pillars protecting me as a missionary. I served in some fairly rough neighborhoods in Brazil during my time there. And you know what, I never felt in danger. I always felt the comforting glow of God’s pillar protecting us. I’ve seen pillars protect me from sin and from worldliness and felt strength to stand up for what was right. I saw the Red Sea part when I sought to a get a job teaching seminary. I’ve seen the Red Sea part in moves that affected where my family would live. I’ve seen the Red Sea part when tempting circumstances have arisen and God has given me a path through that temptation and made a way for my escape. I’ve seen the Red Sea part when the path of repentance has freed me from the bondage of sin. When I think of all these miracles in my life, I too want to shout and praise my Heavenly Father for his goodness.
In fact a nice way to conclude this lesson would be to sing a hymn of praise. We have a few of them in our hymnbook. Here is a list of some possible suggestions.
62 All Creatures of our God and King
67 Glory to God on High
69 All Glory, Laud, and Honor
72 Praise to the Lord, the Almighty
75 In Hymns of Praise
86 How Great Thou Art
WHAT WILL WE EAT? WHAT WILL WE DRINK?
ICEBREAKER
For an icebreaker, ask your students that if they had to choose only one thing to eat and one thing to drink for the rest of their lives, what would they want that to be. They could share their answer to this question with either the class or with a partner.
TRANSITION
Exodus chapters 16-17 are going to answer two of the very most important questions we must ask ourselves if we wish to travel through the wilderness of life successfully. Because truly, life is like a wilderness, isn’t it? There is not much that this world has to offer that is spiritually nourishing or life preserving. We live in a spiritual desert. Now as someone who does a lot of hiking and backpacking in the desert, I can personally testify that it is possible to survive, even thrive, and enjoy your journey through the desert safely. But you must take certain precautions and go prepared. Two questions in particular must be addressed before you take off on your journey. Neglect these two questions and you may find yourself quickly in a search and rescue situation. What are those two questions? What will we eat, and what will we drink? Food and drink are necessary for our survival. We can only survive about three weeks without food, and only three days without water. The children of Israel literally found themselves traveling through a desolate landscape and had to consider these questions for the sake of their physical survival. Yet, through their physical experience, the Lord taught them and will teach all of us the things that can and will sustain us spiritually in the wilderness of mortality. Exodus chapter 16 is going to answer the first question: what will we eat? And Exodus 17 will answer the second: what will we drink?
SEARCH
And let’s begin by answering those two questions, then we’ll dive a little deeper into the symbolism of each.
The answer to “what will we eat” can be found in 16:14-15
The answer to “what will we drink” can be found in 17:5-6
Find and mark the answers to those two questions.
And what are the Lord’s answers? What would the children of Israel eat as they journeyed through the wilderness? What is it. And that’s not a question. I actually just gave you the answer. They ate, “what is it”. The Hebrew word for “what is it” is manna. Look at the footnote for 15a. It tells us what the word manna means. I think that’s kind of funny. It’s a very original name. I can just picture the Israelites first finding this this strange bread and asking, “What is it? I don’t know. What should we call it? Let’s call it , uhhhh. . . what is it? Oh, OK, yeah, that’s a good name, let’s call it that.”
And what is the Lord’s answer to the second question?
They would drink water from the rock. Moses steps forth to a solid rock, strikes it with his staff and water begins to flow. The children of Israel would eat this bread and drink this water throughout their journey.
Now what do you think manna and this water from the rock symbolize? What can they represent spiritually? We’re going to answer those two questions in turn. First, manna. Let’s discover what it is that will feed us and nourish our souls on our journey through the wilderness of life. First task is to list everything we can learn about manna from the following verses. Number off your students from 1-10 and invite them to read their verses for any details they learn about manna. Then choose one of the students who read their verse to explain to the class what they learned about it while you write it up on the board. Here’s what your list may end up looking like?
:4 It is bread from heaven. We need it every day. We’re proved by it or judged by our obedience to the instructions regarding it.
:8 We need it in the morning and night.
:12 It can fill us.
:14 It is a small, round, or simple thing
:15 The Lord has given it to us.
:16 Parents should give it to their families
:18 You gathered it according to your need. Not the same for everybody
:19-20 Must gather every day, or it won’t be good.
:31 In this verse we discover the color of it. It was white, like coriander seed, and it tasted sweet, like honey
:35 Prepares us for the promised land/heaven.
At this point, to add a little variety, I might even pull out a box of Honey Graham crackers or some sweet bread to eat while we study the symbolism of the manna. Not that this is exactly what manna was like, but they do have the qualities of being a sweet kind of bread. Hold a piece of the bread up as you ask the following question:
As you look at our list, what do you think the manna might represent? What is our bread? What is our daily nourishment? What can fill our souls?
Whatever their guesses are, send them to Deuteronomy 8:3 to check their answer. There, God himself is going to reveal the spiritual lesson.
3 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.
See. It was an object lesson all along. It is the word of the Lord that will nourish and sustain us through life. Jesus is going to quote that very verse when Satan tempts him to change stones into bread. Man does not live only by actual physical bread, but by God’s words. That’s what will keep us alive. The scriptures! The words of the living prophets! The promptings of the Holy Ghost! All the ways our Father in heaven communicates with us make up the ingredients of this bread. You may recall how Nephi charged us to “Feast upon the words of Christ” in 2 Nephi 32:3. Also, Jesus often referred to himself as the bread of life. He and his gospel are the bread that we must eat to gain eternal life. However, for simplicity in the rest of our discussion, I would like to narrow in on the comparison of manna to scripture because I find that to be a particularly effective way of approaching this lesson. But remember that it symbolizes all those other things as well, including Christ himself.
So let’s go back and see if that symbolism works. As a teacher you can just go through each description and ask your students how they apply to scripture.
:4 What is the source of scripture? Heaven. The scriptures are not written or inspired by the thoughts and ideas of men, but God.
:4 We should gather a certain rate every day.
Does that apply to scripture study? Yes! It must gathered. It requires work and effort to get the meal. It didn’t just appear in a bowl by their bedside every morning. They had to go out and gather it. Scripture study requires effort in order to be effective. We must dig deep to really be nourished. It should be gathered at a certain rate every day. The scriptures are not meant to just be studied one day a week, or ever so often, or when it’s convenient. We’ve got to eat! Eating isn’t something we just do if we happen to have the time. No matter how busy we got, no matter what we had to do, I’m pretty sure all of us would make sure we found or made the time to eat. So we should gather at a certain rate daily. What that certain rate is I imagine depends on a number of different factors. Personally, I would hope that we could all carve out at least 10 to 15 minutes a day for scripture study, but I don’t want to be prescriptive in my recommendation. More is even better and there may be circumstances were less is justified. But the point, is that we’ve got to take the time to gather and nourish our souls daily.
:4 It said that manna would prove or test them. This was a way for God to see if they would be obedient to his commands.
Scripture study also proves us. Whether we study or not would be a sign of our obedience and commitment to his gospel. Also, it is by the teachings of the scriptures that we will be proven or judged by in the end. We’ve got to study them closely so that we will know what is expected of us. They will teach us how to act.
:8 We need it morning and night. I’m not sure I would interpret that as a charge to make scripture study a twice a day kind of thing, but instead a charge to keep the word of God in mind at all times. Just like we are to pray always, we should keep God’s word in our hearts and minds always as well.
:12 It can fill us.
That’s the miracle of the scriptures. There is enough truth and light and spirit in them to fill us every time we feast on them. If you remember, that was the also message of miracle of the loaves and fishes that the Savior performed in Galilee. 5,000 people were filled by Jesus’s blessed bread, and there were still twelve baskets left over when they were done. The scriptures can fill us in this way and there will always be 12 baskets left over for future feasts. I’ve been studying and teaching the scriptures almost daily for over 20 years, and you know, sometimes I still feel like I have just scratched the surface. That I’ve just snacked on the appetizers. Whenever I go to a Mexican restaurant, and they serve bottomless chips and salsa as an appetizer I often have the same experience. I fill up so much on them, that I’m not even hungry by the time my meal actually arrives. Sometimes it’s like that with the scriptures. I can sense that there are bigger meals in there, but my spirit has already been filled by what I’ve discovered. If any of you listen to other Come Follow Me channels and podcasts too, you’ll probably notice that everybody finds different truths and principles in the very same scriptures. Isn’t that wonderful! That speaks to the power and depth of their truths. I’m always finding new things in my study. It’s a testament to the filling power of the word of God.
:14 It is a small, round, simple thing
It was Alma who taught us that “by small and simple things are great things brought to pass” in Alma 37:6. Interestingly enough, he was specifically referring to the scriptures when he said that. Keeping a record of what was happening to him, and his people may have seemed a simple practice, but he knew the profound effect they would have on those who read it in the future. Now the danger with small and simple things is that they can be easily dismissed by the unwise or the careless. Maybe that’s why many don’t make time for daily scripture study. They see it as a chore, or something unimportant, or something that’s nice to do if you can find the time to do it. But those who sup daily from their pages will most certainly see the “great things” they can do for them day by day.
:15 The Lord has given them to us. Again, he’s the source, not man.
:16 I like in this verse that is says every man should gather for himself AND those which are in his tents A nod to family scripture study? Perhaps. For sure though, parents who are make time to feed their children from the scriptures will see a greater likelihood that those children will remain on the path of righteousness.
:18 They gathered every man according to his eating. So you gathered it according to your need. It wasn’t the same rate for everybody. I think that’s the Lord’s way of saying that different people will have different divine dietary needs. Perhaps there will be times in your life where 15 minutes a day just isn’t enough to satisfy you. I don’t believe that there is a “one size fits all” approach to feasting on the word. In seminary, that truth has been recognized. In the past, in order to receive credit for seminary, there was a specific amount of time that needed to be spent in the scriptures or a certain amount of pages that needed to be covered. Now, the standard is not measured by any specific quantity of time or text but a measure of daily feasting. The amount of time spent daily in the scriptures is a decision made between the student and God.
:19-20 We learned that the manna had to be gathered every day or it wouldn’t be good the next day.
I find that very fascinating. The children of Israel were told not to try and save the manna until the next morning. But, as mankind is always looking for shortcuts and efficiency, some said to themselves, “Hey, this manna gathering is a little tedious every single day. Why not just gather more one day and then I don’t have to go out and do this daily chore. So they ignored Moses’ counsel and tried it out. But by the next morning, the manna had gone bad and was full of worms. Manna gathering was something they needed to do every day. Do we ever try the same kind of shortcut when it comes to our scripture study? Do we neglect it all week and then plan to just read extra on Sunday? Or do we read the Book of Mormon once through and figure we’re good for the rest of our lives? Sometimes I’ll do the following object lesson with my students. I invite a student to come up and I provide them with a bowl of water, a toothbrush, and a tube of toothpaste. I ask them to demonstrate how much toothpaste they typically use when they brush their teeth, and they show me. I then say, “What if we just decided to brush our teeth once a week, but to compensate, we would use the same amount of toothpaste that we would have used throughout the week. So then I start piling on the toothpaste, seven days’ worth on the brush and ask them to demonstrate how brushing would be. It’s hilarious, and toothpaste drips everywhere. I ask them what they think of my idea. Of course they say it’s a horrible idea. And if they decided to do that for months (only brush on Sunday, but use a week’s worth of toothpaste each time) how would their next dental checkup go? It would be terrible. Their mouth would be full of cavities. Why? Because when it comes to brushing your teeth, it’s not the amount of toothpaste you use that really makes the difference, it’s the consistency that does it. It’s something that’s only effective when done every day. Scripture study is the same thing. We can’t expect to have good spiritual health if we’re only sporadically feasting on occasion.
:31 Manna was white in color.
The color white in the scriptures most often represents innocence, purity, and holiness. The contents of the scriptures are pure and holy.
:31 The taste of manna was sweet
I like this one. That’s just like the word of God. It goes down easy and is enjoyable. There is sweetness in the word of God. It shouldn’t be a chore to consume. It’s something we look forward to and relish. The word of God is a feast that defies a common dietary phenomenon. Haven’t you found that the foods that taste the best and that we crave most often, usually aren’t the healthiest for us. But the word of God, is both delicious and nutritious.
:35 The children of Israel fed on manna during all their travels in the wilderness. They ate it until they came to the land of Canaan. The promised land. Well, it is the word of God that will feed and prepare us for heaven or celestial glory.
TRUTH
So what scriptural truth have we learned here? Maybe we could just quote Deuteronomy 8:3. Man shall not LIVE by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
LIKEN THE SCRIPTURES
How’s your scripture study going? How often do you feast on it? OR How would you describe your spiritual diet lately?
Do you need to make any changes in your “feasting” habits?
CONCLUSION
Now before we go on to our next symbol, I want you to just imagine something. What if scripture study really did affect our physical appearance like food? What do you think you would look like? Would you be starving to death, malnourished, healthy, pleasantly plump. When looked at in that light, maybe we can understand Nephi’s plea to “Let your soul delight in fatness!” The more manna you munch on the more magnificent your life will be. I’m sometimes frustrated with trying to get my children to expand their palate a little and eat new things. If we have the chance to eat out, it seems like all they ever want is McDonalds. Now McDonalds is fine, but it’s nothing compared to a nice steak dinner or Brazilian Barbeque or a gourmet burger even. But all they want is the simple, easy calories of fast food. You, as an adult know how much better real food can be compared to cheap fast food. Sometimes I feel like that with my students. I wish they would expand their scriptural palate a bit. I sometimes hear them say things like, “the scriptures are boring” or “can’t we just play a game or something”. And I say, oooh, my friends, you just don’t get it. I’m not trying to be offensive here, but if you think that the scriptures are boring, it’s not the scriptures that are the problem.
Maybe you’ve eating too much junk food. When the children of Israel were starving, look what they say in 16:3
3 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; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.
What did they desire to eat from? The flesh pots of Egypt. Ooo, that’s such a good term for the nourishment of the world—the flesh pots. Sounds so wicked. But here’s the surprising thing that the children of Israel seem to be forgetting. What goes with the eating from the flesh pots? Slavery! Bondage! Hard labor! It’s just not worth it. The nourishment of the world cannot satisfy. It cannot fill. And it brings with it the spiritual stomachaches and dietary diseases of the world. No, rather, eat manna, bread from heaven, not the flesh pots of the world.
SEARCH
Now for our second big question. This one is a little shorter, but just as applicable. The next concern the children of Israel had was what they were to drink! They’re thirsty. You can’t survive in the wilderness without water. I’ve actually been severely dehydrated before. One time I was climbing Lone Peak near my home, and I didn’t bring enough water, and on the way down I ran out and it was very hot out. And I’ll tell you, it’s scary. It’s incredible how quickly you begin to feel sick and exhausted. Dehydration can do you in very quickly.
And what did we decide the Lord would provide the children of Israel with to drink? Exodus 17:5-6
Water from the rock.
Now, what do you think the water from the Rock might symbolize? To check your answer on this one, I invite you to study the following verses to see what they could add to your understanding of this symbol. You could do this is a simple handout and have them make some notes as they study.
The Rock:
1 Corinthians 10:3
Helaman 5:12
The Water:
1 Nephi 11:25
John 4:10-14
And what do these verses teach us?
1 Corinthians 10:3
4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.
Helaman 5:12
12 And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.
So the Rock is Jesus. I like that title for Him, don’t you? As a rock climber and canyoneer, I always feel safe when I’m tied into the rock. There is safety and security in attaching yourself to it. It’s the same with Christ.
And the water that flows from Him?
1 Nephi 11:25
25 And it came to pass that I beheld that the rod of iron, which my father had seen, was the word of God, which led to the fountain of living waters, or to the tree of life; which waters are a representation of the love of God; and I also beheld that the tree of life was a representation of the love of God.
And then, John 4:10-14
10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
11 The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?
12 Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?
13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
So what flows from the Rock of Christ? The living water of his love and his gospel. That, my friends is water. We need that water in our lives. If we forget Christ’s love for us, we’ll begin to die spiritually. If we ever conclude that he doesn’t love us, that can be a condition difficult to recover from. Spiritual death can come quickly when we get to that point. Please, all of you who are listening right now, no matter what has happened in your life, remember that God and Christ love you. You are everything to them. It doesn’t matter how the world treats you, or what it says about you, or how it evaluates your worth. You are loved. Don’t forget that. Drink that love deeply and often. And drink the living water of Christ’s gospel and his promise of everlasting life. These are the only things that can sustain us on our journey through the wilderness of mortality.
TRUTH
Maybe I’d put it like this. Man shall not live by water alone, but by the love and gospel of Jesus Christ.
LIKEN THE SCRIPTURES
Are you drinking from the Rock?
What experiences have you had that have helped you to know of and feel Christ’s love?
CONCLUSION
So, instead of eating from the flesh pots of Egypt, we can eat the manna that falls from heaven! Instead of drinking from the waters of the Nile, we can drink the waters of love that flow from the Savior, from the Rock! The scriptures and the love of Christ can fill a deep need within each of us. They are as essential as food and water. So once again, we would do well to frequently assess our spiritual health. Don’t allow your spirit to become malnourished or dehydrated. Feast and drink. Feast and drink. And just as I find great joy and fulfillment hiking in the beauty of the deserts of Southern Utah, I can promise that you will find joy and fulfillment on your mortal journey.
PROPHET PRINCIPLES PART 1
ICEBREAKER
As an icebreaker, I challenge the students to all stand up and raise their arms out from their sides and hold them there for as long as they can. Tell them that there will be a reward to whoever can keep their hands up the longest. Inform them that after 2 minutes a hymnbook (or a weight of some sort) will be placed in each of the hands of anyone that is still left. After 3 minutes, if anyone is still left, another book will be placed in their hands for a total of two books in each hand. I don’t imagine anyone is going to last long after that. Once the challenge is over and you have rewarded the winner, emphasize to your class the fact that gravity will eventually pull even the strongest person’s arms down, and in a relatively short amount of time. However, take the winner of the challenge and invite two more people to come to the front. Have that person sit down on a chair and invite the two others to hold up the arms of the person sitting down. Then ask the winner how much longer they feel they could hold their arms up now. Certainly for a much longer time, perhaps indefinitely.
TRANSITION
Well, today we’re going to examine a story about someone who needed to raise his arms for a long period of time. As the children of Israel traveled through the wilderness, they were attacked by an army of Amalekites intent on keeping them from getting to the promised land. Well, just like the children of Israel, we too are bound to run into opposing forces bent on keeping US from OUR promised land. But this chapter holds a key strategy for winning those battles.
SEARCH
It’s not a long story—just 6 verses but contains a profound truth and a compelling visual. Give your students the following handout and invite them to listen carefully to the story while you read 17:8-13. One of our major objectives in scripture study is to liken the scriptures to ourselves or find the relevancy in their situation to our own. I invite you to label the different parts of the picture with what you feel each element could symbolically represent to us. Elements include:
Moses
Aaron and Hur
The Rock Moses sits on
The Battle
Amalek and the Amalekites
And the Israelites
And of course, feel free to add any elements you think I may have missed. Now when you’re done with that, see if you can create a principle of truth that we all can live by you feel this story teaches us. What would your principle be?
Now there is no one correct way of interpreting this story. There are many possible principles and lessons here so just invite your students to share and teach what they discovered. You’ll be amazed at what your students can teach you. But allow me to give you an example of one possible interpretation.
Moses=the prophet. Currently, our Moses is President Russell M. Nelson.
Who could Aaron and Hur represent then? One interpretation is to see them as President Nelson’s counselors. President Oaks, and President Eyring both support and lift up his hands and help him to lead the church.
But who else could Aaron and Hur represent? What is it that they are doing? They are upholding the prophet. Sustaining him in his role. And as long as Aaron and Hur are there to uphold him, the Israelites win the battle. Aaron and Hur could represent us. We can be Aarons! We can be Hurs! We have the opportunity to uphold and sustain him in his prophetic position. How can we do that?
There’s an excellent cross reference you can add to your lesson here. Go to Doctrine & Covenants 107:22 and look for the three ways we uphold our leaders:
22 Of the Melchizedek Priesthood, three Presiding High Priests, chosen by the body, appointed and ordained to that office, and upheld by the confidence, faith, and prayer of the church, form a quorum of the Presidency of the Church.
So how do we uphold them? Through our confidence, faith, and prayer. Now take a moment to ponder each of those three words. How do demonstrate each? We can show our confidence in them by trusting in their decisions, their capacity, and their wisdom. We can show our faith in them by heeding and acting on their counsel. And we can pray for them—pray for their well-being, their guidance, and their support because heaven knows they are still mortal and imperfect.
Now what about the rock Moses sits on? The Rock could be Christ-he is referred to by that title many times in scripture. It’s nice to know that the leadership of the church rests on the firm foundation of Christ—He is our chief cornerstone.
Then you have Amalek and the Amalekites? Satan and his legions? The enemies of the Church? The things of the world? Our own sins and problems? The consequences of poor choices? Any of these things can act as our foes and stand in the way of our happiness and progress. So what can we do when we encounter them?
We fight. We don’t give up or give in. We don’t retreat or surrender. With the blessing of the prophet watching over us, his hands upheld by our confidence, faith, and prayers, we move onward as Christian soldiers, marching as to war. The battle, therefore, is the battle of life or the battles we fight against the aforementioned foes.
TRUTH
What could our principle be then? Here’s what I came up with. If I uphold the prophet and other church leaders through my confidence, faith, and prayers, I will prevail in my spiritual battles.
LIKEN THE SCRIPTURES
How could you better uphold the prophet through your confidence, faith, and prayers?
Do we need to pay closer attention to general conference? Do we need to seek more diligently to apply their counsels? Do we need to demonstrate more trust in their promises? Do we need to pray for them more? Or do we need to stop questioning their motives, their decisions, and their ability?
What battles have you won because you’ve upheld the hands of the prophets?
ADDING WEIGHT
A brief additional insight here. Alternatively, what things could weigh down the hands of our leaders? What is the opposite of confidence, faith, and prayers?
One thing that won’t help our leaders we’ve already seen in many of the preceding chapters, and we will see again. What is the common problem you see in each of the following verses:
14:11-12
15:24
16:2-3, 7-9, 12
17:2-4, 7
Complaining, murmuring, criticizing. These things won’t help! Murmuring will only weigh down the hands of our leaders and make their calling more difficult. Hopefully we can all approach our leaders with a measure of charity, understanding, and love. We can recognize their humanity and show them patience and love. We don’t ever want to put a church leader in the position of Exodus 17:4 where Moses cries unto the Lord in perplexity and says:
“What shall I do unto this people? They be almost ready to stone me.”
Confidence not complaints. Faith not criticism and doubt. Prayers not indifference. When we sustain the prophets, we win our battles!
CONCLUSION
I’d like to bear my personal witness that President Russell M. Nelson is a prophet of God. I’ve met him and felt the power of his conviction and his connection with God. I’ve actually had the opportunity to stand in the blessing circle with him, placing my hands with his on my mother’s head to hear comforting words of blessing flow through him. I can personally testify to you that he is inspired, sincere, and close to God. His connection with the divine is palpable. I promise that you will never go wrong in following the prophets of God and supporting your leaders. Battles are won when we hold up their hands. May we like Aaron and Hur, stand with our leaders on the mount and give them our strength and support.
PROPHET PRINCIPLES PART 2
SEARCH
Now chapters 18-19 have some additional “Prophet Principles” for us to examine. Quick summary here. After the people cross the Red Sea and fight with Amalek, Moses is reunited with his family and his father-in-law Jethro. Now Jethro has some very wise advice for Moses and an excellent lesson in leadership that starts in verse 13. I believe that anyone who is called into a position of leadership in the church should study this chapter. Read verses 13-27 as a class while looking for a lesson of leadership this story teaches. You could sum up that lesson in one word. See if you can figure out what it is. If you’d like to approach this as an activity, you may even want to put the following blanks up on the board and see if they can figure out what the word is in a hangman style activity. After a student reads a verse or two, they get to guess a letter. Then see how long it takes your class to figure out the key word or lesson in leadership this story teaches. As you read you may want to highlight the following phrases.
18:13 the people stood by Moses from the morning unto the evening.
18:17 The thing that thou doest is not good.
A quick interjection here. I think this reveals something about prophets we don’t normally think about. Prophets are human. They are not infallible in their judgment or their actions. Moses is clearly not acting wisely here. Jethro informs him that what he is doing is not good. So we should be careful not to be too quick to condemn or dismiss a prophet because of something they’ve done that, to us, may very well seem to be unwise. I believe there have been some instances where even the modern brethren have perhaps said things or made policy decisions that may have not been the wisest course of action to take. I won’t get into any specifics here, but at times they may say or do things that make it easier for the enemies and critics of the Church to “make them an offender for a word”. And how should we react in those instances? Well, we forgive them and recognize their common humanity. You can’t always get everything right every time for everybody.
18:18 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.
18:21 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:
18:22 so shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear the burden with thee.
18:23 then thou shalt be able to endure, and all this people shall also go to their place in peace.
What’s the key word here? Delegation. This is a hard lesson for many leaders to grasp and apply, myself included. Sometimes it’s tempting to try and do everything yourself—to take on too much responsibility in a calling or position of authority. That’s not good. It’s not good for the leader and it’s not good for the people that are being led either. Both suffer in that scenario as Jethro explains in verse 18. Part of the responsibility of the leader is to call able individuals, righteous individuals, and allow them to use their judgment and capacity and connection with God to lead and make decisions themselves. I received some good advice from my father when I was first called as Bishop. He said, “Call good people, and get out of their way” and I’ve tried my best to lead by that advice and feel that it has served me well over the years. I mean, what would happen to the church if President Nelson tried to cover every leadership position in the Church? It would fall apart. What if a Bishop tried to cover the responsibility of every calling in the ward? What if a parent tried to cover every responsibility in the household? It just doesn’t make sense. It’s not good. The burden would surely wear them away. It’s too heavy and can’t be done well, alone. So we have the ruler of the church in general, but we also have rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. What latter-day Church callings would you match those terms with?
The Moses figure would be the President of the Church in this scenario
Rulers of thousands could be stake presidencies
Rulers of hundreds would be bishoprics
Rulers of fifties could be Elders quorum and Relief society presidents
Teachers, Ministers, or Fathers and Mothers could be rulers of tens.
LIKEN THE SCRIPTURES
A quick liken the scriptures question: Are there any areas in your life or church calling where you could you better apply the principle of delegation?
PROPHET PRINCIPLES PART 3
Within that larger message of delegation in chapter 18 and then also in chapter 19 we’re going to find more “Prophet Principles”. See if you can find them!
Study the following verses and identify phrases that describe a prophet’s calling.
18:15 They are called to “enquire of God” in behalf of the people.
18:16 They help us “to know the statutes of God, and his laws.”
18:19 They are “for the people to God-ward” and “bring the causes (of the people) unto God”.
18:20 They “teach us ordinances and laws”
18:20 They “show us the way wherein [we] must walk and the work that [we] must do.
Think of our most recent general conference a few weeks ago. Did you see the brethren acting in these roles?
And then what kind of matters are they specifically tasked to deal with or judge? Two adjectives here. They judge . . .
18:22 the great matters, and
18:26 the hard causes.
What are some of the great matters and hard causes our current leadership has had to wrestle with in recent years?
Issues related to LGBTQ concerns.
Pandemic policy.
Creating a worldwide youth program and ending our partnership with the Boy Scouts
The shift to a more home-centered, church supported approach to gospel knowledge.
Amongst many other issues. And, I’m certainly glad that I don’t have to wrestle with those kinds of concerns. I’m sure that responsibility weighs heavy on them. When you have to make decisions for a worldwide church, knowing that they will be under the scrutiny of the media, the enemies of the church, and every member of a worldwide church, that must be a very large yoke to carry. But God supports them and helps them to accomplish that great work.
Also, let’s add a few descriptions from Chapter 19 as well. What do these verses teach us about the role of a prophet? This chapter describes what Moses does when he brings the people to Mt. Sinai.
19:10 They help us to be clean
19:17 They prepare us to meet with God. And, to me, that’s really the whole purpose of the church and the priesthood in the first place. All leaders in the church should have this overall mission in mind. You may remember that last year I told you what I felt was the best scripture about the purpose of the priesthood: D&C 84:23
23 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;
That’s the whole mission of the priesthood—to help to sanctify others so that they might behold the face of God. Everything President Nelson and the Apostles do is to help sanctify us so that we might behold the face of God someday. Everything that all the general organization presidencies do, and all general and area authorities is to help sanctify us so that we might behold the face of God. Everything stake and ward leaders do is to fulfill this same purpose. It’s the great mission of all leadership within Christ’s church.
TRUTH/LIKEN THE SCRIPTURES
As you look at this list of prophetic priorities, a question: When have you seen a prophet fulfill one of these roles?
Share a time when either a general or local Church leader has been a blessing in your life?
CONCLUSION
I love the brethren. We are so fortunate to have them as our leaders. While the rest of the world has only politicians and celebrities and business tycoons to look to for leadership and inspiration, we have the prophets and apostles. Where they can only go to the news, and self-help books, and lectures for guidance, we have prophets and apostles. Where they must rely solely on man’s limited mortal perspective, we have the prophets and apostles to give us an eternal one. They are men of God and like Moses can lead us through the deserts of modern life safely and triumphantly. Hopefully we can be the kind of people that will say as the people do in 19:8, “All that the Lord hath spoken we will do”.
