The Exodus of the Restoration

In the early days of the church, the saints were driven from place to place much like the ancient Israelites of the Old Testament. There are many parallels that can be drawn from these stories, and they are both types of the plan of salvation. In the 1830s, the church was headquartered in New York. To escape persecution, the saints moved to Kirtland. They were then driven from place to place until they eventually were left alone when they arrived in Utah. Similarly, the Israelites wandered for a long time before they reached the promised land. As I commented on in my last post, like the Israelites who received the 10 commandments on Mount Sinai, the saints received "the law" when they reached Kirtland. Many of the miracles that were performed for the Israelites in their exodus were repeated in the 1800's for the Latter-day Saints. For example, when the saints crossed the Mississippi river from Nauvoo, the river froze over, so like the Israelites who passed through the Red Sea on dry ground, the Saints were also allowed to pass over the Mississippi river without getting wet. Later, the Israelites were given food from heaven. The saints in the 1800's were also given quail from God. The saints, like the Israelites, reached their own promised land. Utah is the only other place in the world with the same geography as the Israelites' promised land. A source of freshwater flows into a saltwater lake, and the valley where the saints came to rest has mountains in the east, just like in the promised land. Moses was not blessed to see the promised land. Joshua led the Israelites into their promised land. Joseph was also not able to see the saints reach Utah. Brigham Young led them across the plains. Both of these stories are types of the great plan of happiness. We each have our wilderness of trials to cross. If we follow the prophet, we will reach our own promised land and live in peace with our Father in Heaven.