Manna was didactic. It taught the Israelites to trust God every day. It taught them to honor the sabbath. As Moses observed near the end of his life, it also demonstrated the value of different kinds of nourishment.
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.
Deuteronomy 8:3
How did manna teach this principle? Manna was easy to find and gather, so they had time to focus on the important events at Sinai, where Moses received God’s law.
One way to paraphrase Moses’s insight is this: There’s more to life than food. God gave you free food for forty years so that you would have time to focus on higher priorities. Don’t spend all of your time meeting your physical needs, only to discover that you’ve neglected your spiritual needs.
Jesus understood the message that way. When the devil tempted Him to end His fast by miraculously turning rocks into bread in the wilderness, Jesus responded by quoting Moses: “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4; Luke 4:4). He was fasting, intentionally forgoing bread, so that He could focus on nourishing His soul.
Book of Mormon prophets understood the word of God to be a form of spiritual nourishment, just as food provides physical nourishment. Nephi, for example, taught that after entering into the “strait and narrow path” which leads to God, it’s important to “press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ” (2 Nephi 31:20; see also 2 Nephi 32:3). His brother Jacob characterized hearing an uplifting sermon as “feasting upon the pleasing word of God” (Jacob 2:9). He also described Israel as having been “nourished by the good word of God” (Jacob 6:7), a phrase which Moroni later borrowed to describe ministering efforts in the church (Moroni 6:4; see also 1 Timothy 4:6; Hebrews 6:5).
How can words nourish our spirits? Are we changed by simply hearing them? Do they broaden our perspective or anchor us to fundamental truths? Do they inspire us to take actions which build our spiritual strength?
The answer is all of the above — and all at once. To feast upon the word of God, we listen intently, allowing it to sink deep into our hearts (Enos 1:3). We review the words regularly to remember important truths and avoid “dwindling in unbelief” (Mosiah 1:5). And as Nephi taught, we feast upon the words of Christ because “the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do” (2 Nephi 32:3). Just as physical eating includes placing the food in our mouths, chewing, and swallowing, spiritual nourishment requires hearing, pondering, and acting.
Today, I will remember the importance of spiritual nourishment. I will be careful to feed not only my body but also my spirit, remembering that bread alone is not sufficient to sustain life.
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