Exodus

This week we're supposed to compare and contrast the Old Testament Exodus and the Restoration Exodus. It's been really interesting to talk about in class over the past few weeks. I think I don't want to write about scriptural details so much as the spiritual implications. It's amazing how the Lord purifies his people. One image that I really like is that of a wilderness. I think even in our own lives we all go through our own wildernesses of different types and lengths. We all have periods of time in which we experience trials or we don't feel like we're receiving the guidance and answers that we would like. We have to trust and be patient and those are really hard things to do.

Another things I find interesting is wondering how it must have felt both in the Old Testament and during the Restoration, to be in the midst of "the exodus." From our perspective we can see the end from the beginning...we can recognize the importance of different trials the Saints went through..lessons they learned, etc. But in the moment they had no idea what was coming next. Sometimes it's hard in the day to day busyness of my life to focus on a broader perspective. I try to guess about what's coming next or spend too much time wanting to understand perfectly why things happen the way they do. Sometimes instead I need to be better about trusting God. I know He loves me and wants what's best for me. I need to hold on to that and quit trying to figure everything out and worrying over the end result. I feel like I'm starting to ramble, but this whole idea of trust really has been on my mind a lot. I'm learning to be grateful that I don't always know what's coming around the next corner in my own life. I certainly could not have predicted the past year...but all the same it's still hard to keep from wanting to know what the next year will be like.

Maybe we each have our own exodus...as we follow the prophets, experience trials, learn how to more fully trust in the Lord, and finally return to his presence again. Maybe the exodus is something that happens over and over, more than we realize...in the pages of our lives and the lives of those around us, rather than just the pages of the Bible or Doctrine and Covenants.