The Exodus of Section 136

There are many parallels between D&C:136 and the story told in the book of Exodus in the Old Testament. The most obvious one is that much of the language used in this revelation is similar to language used in the book of Exodus. First of all, the saints traveling to Utah were called the “Camp of Israel”, obviously an allusion to the Israelites who camped in the wilderness for forty years. Secondly, many of the phrases used in this revelation are the same, or very similar, as Old Testament phrases. Verse three reads, “Let the companies be organized with captains of hundreds, captains of fifties, and captains of tens, with a president and his two counselors at their head, under the direction of the Twelve apostles.” If you follow the footnote on hundreds, you are led straight to the exodus text in chapter 18, verse 21, which talks about people being “rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens”. Verse 21 in section 136 contains the phrase, “for I am the Lord your God, even the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob”. This phrase is echoed almost word for word in Exodus 3:6. Also in verses 20 and 21, two of the ten commandments, given in Exodus 20, are stated. Verse 22 is also an obvious allusion to Exodus. It reads, “I am he who led the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; and my arm is stretched out in the last days, to save my people Israel.”

Another similarity is shown in verse 18, which says, “Zion shall be redeemed in mine own time.” Likewise, the Israelites did not obtain the promised land when they first got there. Because they were afraid, they did not take it over, so they had to wander in the wilderness for forty years before they could enter it. Similarly, the saints of the early latter-day church reached Zion, but because they were not completely obedient in regards to building up the city and a temple there, they were not allowed to stay to build up Zion. Also, just as Moses died before the Israelites reached the promised land, Joseph also was not allowed to live to see the saints' resting place.