Moses was angry. He had worked hard to prepare the children of Israel to enter God’s presence. Seventy of the elders had actually seen God (Exodus 24:9-11). God had then given Moses tables of stone containing “a law, and commandments” on Mount Sinai. All of the people had seen God’s glory covering the mountain for six days, “and the sight of the glory of the Lord was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel” (Exodus 24:12-17).
But when Moses stayed longer, the people grew restless. Forgetting the profound spiritual event they had just experienced, they created a molten calf and began to worship it (Exodus 32:1-6). When Moses saw it, he smashed the tables and destroyed the calf, grinding it to powder (Exodus 32:19-20). Then, he returned to the mountain, where God gave him a new set of stone tables. On that occasion, God described Himself as patient and loving toward His children:
The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,
Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.
Exodus 34:6-7
This passage emphasizes God’s boundless kindness and willingness to help us repent and overcome our sins and errors. The final phrase reminds us of His justice, but it’s worth noting that the Joseph Smith Translation replaces “guilty” with “rebellious.” The implication is that we will continue to suffer for our sins as long as we persist in them, even intergenerationally.
Within Judaism, the passage is known as the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy, and it is recited on fast days, including Yom Kippur. It also influenced subsequent Old Testament writers, including:
- David: “But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth” (Psalm 86:15).
- Joel: “Rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil” (Joel 2:13).
- Jonah: “Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil” (Jonah 4:2).
Moses directly quotes this passage when he implores the Lord to forgive Israel for doubting Him when the spies brought back a pessimistic report from the land of Canaan (Numbers 14:17-19).
The passage isn’t quoted in the Book of Mormon, but Alma emphasizes many of the same characteristics as he urges the people in the city of Ammonihah to repent:
For this cause, that ye may not be destroyed, the Lord has sent his angel to visit many of his people, declaring unto them that they must go forth and cry mightily unto this people, saying: Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is nigh at hand;
And not many days hence the Son of God shall come in his glory; and his glory shall be the glory of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace, equity, and truth, full of patience, mercy, and long-suffering, quick to hear the cries of his people and to answer their prayers.
Alma 9:25-26
The common messages in all of these passages is that we must not give up hope when we fall short or when we stray from the path we should follow. We can repent with confidence that God will forgive. As Elder Patrick Kearon testified, He is the God of new beginnings:
He is the very essence—and source—of goodness! He devoted His entire mortal life to doing good. He is “merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant,” infinite in goodness and everlasting in mercy. …
Everything He said and did provided a new beginning for each of those He healed, blessed, taught, and relieved of sin. He didn’t withdraw from them, and He certainly won’t withdraw from you.
“Jesus Christ and Your New Beginning,” October 2025 general conference
Today, I will remember the extraordinary mercy of God. I will trust Him to help me work through my mistakes and my weaknesses, remembering that He has an abundance of patience, forgiveness, and grace.
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