When reading of the Latter-day Saint trek west to Utah, I noticed many similarities with the House of Israel’s exodus in the Old Testament. The most obvious of these similarities is found in D&C 136: 22, which 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”. This clearly states that, despite their differences, the hand pushing both groups of people and leading the way to their new land is the Lord. Perhaps the reasoning behind His intervention is the same as well. In the same chapter in the Doctrine and Covenants, it reads, “My people must be tried in all thing, that they may be prepared to receive the glory I have for them…that his eyes may be opened that he may see, and his ears opened that he may hear (vs. 31-32)”. God led these people through many hardships and challenges in order to unite and strengthen them and that they might gain knowledge.
A more specific commonality between the saints journey west and the children of Israel is the organization of their travel. Exodus 18:20-22 and Doctrine and Covenants 136:1-6 both show that the people were organized in companies with captains over certain amounts of people to maintain order. It was the responsibility of these captains as well as all the saints to live in accordance with the commandments of Christ, and both of these references speak of teaching the people of the laws of the Lord. By being reminded of the Lord’s role in their journey, I think it would have helped them push through the difficult times.
Finally, another similarity is the promise of blessings if they, “ do this with a pure heart (D&C 136:11)” and “obey [the Lord’s] voice (Exodus 19:5)”. The saints were promised lands and prosperity, while the children of Israel were promised to become a peculiar, or special, people. While these blessings are different, they are both a result of the righteousness and faith of the people.
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