Life Today: Better than Wandering for Forty Years

Wandering in the wilderness?

We are studying the Old Testament in Sunday School. I've asked the class members to write a short essay about Moses and the Exodus. Ha, ha, ha. I doubt they will do it. I wouldn't, if I were them. I'd want to, of course. When I received the email, I'd think, "Wow, that is a nice idea. I'd like to do that." Then, the children would want lunch and the husband would wonder if there were any clean socks and the grocery shopping would need to be done ... and well, life would be far more urgent than a short essay about a prophet who lived long ago.

Since I'm the teacher, and since I am the one who asked them to do this, I feel an obligation to share a few words--in spite of the pile of bills on my desk that needs attention. You know, "Lead by example" and all that nonsense.

Here is the passage:

For ask now of the days that are past, which were before thee, since the day that God created man upon the earth, and ask from the one side of heaven unto the other, whether there hath been any such thing as this great thing is, or hath been heard like it? Did ever people hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as thou hast heard, and live?  Or hath God assayed to go and take him a nation from the midst of another nation, by temptations, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by a stretched out arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know that the Lord he is God; there is none else beside him. Deuteronomy 4:32-35

Moses is declaring that there had never been a greater time in the history of mankind. Here is the first set of questions I asked:


• Would you like to have lived during that time?
• For example, would you like to have participated in crossing the Red Sea and seeing the armies of Pharaoh drown?
• Or would you like to have heard the voice of the God speaking out of the midst of the fire?
• Would you like to have tasted manna?

Here are my answers: no, maybe, yes, no.

Yes, I definitely would want to have heard the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire. That sounds pretty amazing. And, yes, I would have loved to see the people crossing the Red Sea, and watch Pharoah's armies drown, but I don't think I would actually like to have participated in that. I mean, that would mean work on my part. Walking and walking and walking. You know that song about pioneer children that walked and walked and walked and walked and walked ... I like to walk, but forty years? That sounds like a lifetime. (Oh, wait, that is a lifetime for me.)

What? No manna?

This week's lesson focuses on the writings of Jeremiah. He says that while the Exodus was indeed the greatest event in history, a greater time will happen in the future: the Gathering of Israel and the growth of the church. We are living during that time. So the question is:

• How do I feel about being part of the greatest time in the history of the Earth?

Huh? What kind of question is that? I feel pretty mundane about it. It doesn't feel like the greatest time in the history of the Earth. Feels pretty normal, in fact. But, I really have no basis for comparison. It's not like I can say:

"Gee, when I was living during the days of Adam, the Earth felt really fresh, everyone had a sense of wonder and excitement."

Or "Man, during the days of Enoch, DUDE those were the days! Talk about high home teaching stats. Everyone was doing it."

Or "Whew. The days of Joseph of the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Wow that was living. We had it good in those days."

Or, "Seeing Jesus at the wedding at Cana. Man, that was beautiful ceremony. That was before the Word of Wisdom, and wow, the wine he served ..." 

And "Now that I'm living during the days of the Gathering of Israel. I can see that all those previous eras pale in comparison." 

Not the Red Sea ... but they walked and walked and walked

No, I can't say any of those things. I have no basis to compare today to any other era of history. I can't even say that I was living during the time of the creation of the state of Israel in 1948. These days seem normal to me because they are the only days that I've known. However, I can share a few events that excite me.

I was blown away when the church announced the building of a temple in Hong Kong. Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! They announced the temple in 1992; it was complete by 1996. I knew that the UK's 100 year lease was about to end, and the sovereignty of Hong Kong would be transferred back to China. It meant that we'd have a temple in China! The lease expired in 1997; tad-da, Hello, Hong Kong, China Temple.

I was excited when I learned that the government of the German Democratic Republic (what we used to know as East Germany) asked the church if they would consider building a temple in East Germany. It was the first temple built in a communist country. That is cool. It was completed in 1985. The wall fell just five years later. Coincidence? You decide.

I am pleased that I was present during the General Relief Society meeting in 1995 when President Hinckley first read the Proclamation on the Family. "We ... solemnly proclaim that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God." I did not know how polarizing that statement would become fifteen years later when the battle to redefine marriage heated up.

Crossing our own Red Sea

I've been excited by the changes to the missionary program over the years. First, the emphasis on "raising the bar." Then the introduction of the Preach My Gospel book. Next, the changes in the youth curriculum and the lowering of the missionary age. Now, the new emphasis on spreading the Gospel through electronic means. All of these have accelerated the gathering of Israel and the growth of the church. It is exhilarating.

Many other events have amazed me over the years. However, I need to check if there are are any clean socks for tomorrow, and Corey noticed that we are almost out of milk, and the stack of bills on my desk is not getting shorter. In other words, the urgent tasks of daily life beckon, and I need to wrap up this essay. I look forward to discussing the growth of the church in class. I hope that a few of you will take time to ponder and jot down your thoughts before you come. (And post them to your blogs, people.)