As the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness, Moses took an inventory. How many men of fighting age were there in each tribe (Numbers 1; 2; 26)? How many Levites were available to help with priesthood ordinances and to care for the tabernacle (Numbers 3; 4)? How many offerings were given (Numbers 7)? This counting helped Moses understand the scale of the work he had been given, and it helped him avoid neglecting part of his stewardship.
God had emphasized to Moses the importance of accounting for things when He said:
Worlds without number have I created. … And there are many that now stand, and innumerable are they unto man; but all things are numbered unto me, for they are mine and I know them.
Moses 1:35
In God’s eyes numbering things is related to knowing them. It’s even evidence that they are known.
The Book of Numbers includes multiple counts. The following two tables summarize some of the results of those exercises:
| Tribe | 1st Census (Num. 1) |
2nd Census (Num. 26) |
|---|---|---|
| ◆ East — marched first | ||
| Judah | 74,600 | 76,500 |
| Issachar | 54,400 | 64,300 |
| Zebulun | 57,400 | 60,500 |
| ◆ South — marched second | ||
| Reuben | 46,500 | 43,730 |
| Simeon | 59,300 | 22,200 |
| Gad | 45,650 | 40,500 |
| ◆ West — marched third | ||
| Ephraim | 40,500 | 32,500 |
| Manasseh | 32,200 | 52,700 |
| Benjamin | 35,400 | 45,600 |
| ◆ North — marched last | ||
| Dan | 62,700 | 64,400 |
| Asher | 41,500 | 53,400 |
| Naphtali | 53,400 | 45,400 |
| Total | 603,550 | 601,730 |
| Clan | Responsibility | All Males 1 mo.+ (Num. 3) |
Active Service Ages 30–50 (Num. 4) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gershon | Tent coverings, hangings, curtains, cords | 7,500 | 2,630 |
| Kohath | Ark, table, candlestick, altars, holy vessels * | 8,600 | 2,750 |
| Merari | Boards, bars, pillars, sockets, pins, cords | 6,200 | 3,200 |
| Total | 22,000 | 8,580 | |
God used numbers to teach gospel principles. For example, after Moses determined that the Levites numbered 22,000, the Lord instructed him to count the firstborn sons from all of the tribes. Moses may have been surprised when that count was nearly identical to the prior one: 22,273. God then explained that since He had spared the firstborn of every family in Egypt, those firstborn belonged to Him. But instead of setting them all apart for priestly service, He assigned the Levites to serve as proxies for them, establishing the principle of substitutionary service (Numbers 3:39-43).
Book of Mormon prophets inherited and practiced this counting practice. After King Benjamin’s people pledged to follow God for the remainder of their lives, he “thought it was expedient, … that he should take the names of all those who had entered into a covenant with God to keep his commandments” (Mosiah 6:1). After Alma baptized about 204 people at the waters of Mormon, he ordained “one priest to every fifty of their number” (Mosiah 18:16, 18). Their numbers grew rapidly. Shortly after, “they were in number about four hundred and fifty souls” (Mosiah 18:35). And when Jesus visited the Nephites and Lamanites, the multitude numbered about 2,500 people (3 Nephi 17:25).
That last number is significant because of who was included in the count. The censuses in the book of Numbers were limited to adult men, “able to go forth to war” (Numbers 1:3). In the New Testament, Matthew followed a similar convention when he counted the people fed by the loaves and the fishes — “They that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children” (Matthew 14:21; see also Matthew 15:38) — leaving the reader to guess how many women and children might have been present. But the Book of Mormon account specifically states that everyone was included:
They were in number about two thousand and five hundred souls; and they did consist of men, women, and children.
3 Nephi 17:25
It is probably not coincidental that this passage is immediately preceded by Jesus inviting the children forward and blessings them “one by one” (3 Nephi 17:21). His actions likely attuned the record-keeper to the importance of every individual who was present, regardless of gender or age.
The word “accountable” comes from the Old French word aconter, which means “to enumerate; reckon up, render account.” So the literal meaning of the word is “able to be counted.” Book of Mormon prophets understood this, inheriting and extending Moses’s precedent by counting their people. Nephi testified that God “gathereth his children from the four quarters of the earth; and he numbereth his sheep, and they know him” (1 Nephi 22:25). And Moroni reported that those who were baptized “were numbered among the people of the church of Christ; and their names were taken, that they might be remembered and nourished by the good word of God” (Moroni 6:4).
Today I will be more aware of the people within my circles of influence. I will account for them in my decisions, and I will help them feel included and accountable.
Leave a Reply