After Moses rebuked the people for worshipping the golden calf, God reaffirmed His mercy and willingness to forgive. Subsequent Old Testament authors, Book of Mormon prophets, and modern prophets have all echoed this truth. We can repent with confidence, knowing that God is "merciful and gracious."
Love Your Enemies
When Jesus taught "love your enemies" in the Sermon on the Mount, He was reclaiming the original meaning of the law He gave to Moses, not superseding it. He reminded the Nephites that He gave that law. The imperative to love people who are difficult to love has been taught by prophets in all ages.
Thy Man-Servant nor Thy Maid-Servant
The sabbath commandment isn't just an injunction to rest from our labors but to help other people rest from theirs. God specified that the commandment extended to our children, our employees, our guests, and even our animals. We should look for ways to lighten other people's burdens on the Lord's day.
Applying Our Hearts to Understanding Exodus 21-23
Abinadi rebuked King Noah's priests for not applying their hearts to understanding. As we study the law of Moses, we can apply our hearts by extracting the key principles. Specific rules about stray livestock, borrowed tools, and farm fields turn out to teach restitution, empathy, care for the vulnerable, and even love for our enemies.
Abinadi and the Ten Commandments
Like Moses, Abinadi understood that the Ten Commandments are a means to an end. Obedience to them brings us closer to God, but it's important to see the law as a reflection of the Lawgiver, who has the power to sanctify and redeem us.
A Peculiar Treasure
After delivering the Israelites from slavery, leading them through the Red Sea, and providing food and water in the wilderness, God invited them to deepen their relationship with Him. Nephi explained that God delivered them in response to His covenants with their ancestors. Now, He invited them to enter their own covenant relationship with Him.
“All That the Lord Hath Spoken We Will Do”
Moses received more than tablets of stone on Mount Sinai. He received glory which was visible on his countenance, and he received a law which pointed his people toward salvation. Abinadi taught that the law was tailored to the needs of a stiffnecked people and that it pointed them toward the Savior, Jesus Christ.
Jethro and Mosiah on Collaborative Leadership
Jethro counseled Moses to share the burden of leadership, warning him that he was burning himself out. Mosiah explained the same principle to his people: don't expect the leader to do all the work. The bad news is the leader can't do it all; the good news is they don't have to.
The Comfort of Complaint
Nephi explained that his brothers murmured because they didn't understand God's dealings. As the Israelites discovered in the wilderness, those dealings include delayed gratification, giving us space to develop faith in Him. We usually associate complaining with discomfort, but a pattern of murmuring represents a retreat to the familiar and an unwillingness to trust God.
Bread from Heaven
God promised Israel "bread from heaven." The Israelites called it "manna," which means "what is it?" It sustained them for forty years, but as Jesus explained, this bread was symbolic of the true Bread, which offers us eternal life. Each week, as we partake of the sacrament, we remember Him, our Bread from heaven.