"That Rock was Christ" - What we can learn about following Israel's example of following Christ

"Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; And did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual drink; for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: AND THAT ROCK WAS CHRIST." - 1 Corinthians 10:1-4

We often think of Christ in terms of the Messiah, and rightfully so. However, just as Elder D. Todd Christofferson so eloquently stated, "Both as Jehovah and Messiah, He is the great I Am." When the resurrected Savior introduced himself to the Nephites, He said, "I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth." Jesus of Nazareth, the Anointed One, was also Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel. "That Rock" that lead Israel from Egypt "was Christ," Paul plainly taught. And there is so much we can learn about the Savior's role in our lives by looking at His role in leading the children of Israel out of Egyptian captivity.


Getting Us Out of Captivity

The Israel nation had been in captivity for four hundred years. Most of us are not subject to slavery right now, but yet we can easily be put in bondage. In fact, that is Satan's whole plan. He seeks our captivity and desires for us to be enslaved to addictions, self-doubts, frustrations, memories of past mistakes, bad habits, and all sorts of other destructive behaviors and thought processes.

Thankfully, we have "That Rock... Christ." In 2 Nephi 9, Jacob explains the power of the Atonement of the Lord, an atonement that he calls "an infinite Atonement" (2 Nephi 9:7) which proves "the goodness of our God" (2 Nephi 9:10). He describes the ultimate power of Christ, His ability to free us from the captivity of death, both physical and spiritual:

"And this death of which I have spoken, which is the spiritual death, shall deliver up its dead; which spiritual death is hell; wherefore, death and hell must deliver up their dead, and hell must deliver up its captive spirits, and the grave must deliver up its captive bodies, and the bodies and the spirits of men will be restored one to the other; and it is by the power of the resurrection of the Holy One of Israel" (2 Nephi 9:12).

Because of the incomprehensible love of Jesus, we can be freed of death. We can live forever. Even more, we can live a live of eternal bliss with our Father whose name is Eternal. Later, in verse 45, Jacob pleads, "O, my beloved brethren, turn away from your sins; shake off the chains of him that would bind you fast; come unto that God who is the rock of your salvation" (emphasis added). We have the ability to shake off the chains of bondage with which Satan seeks to hold us captive, if we will only come unto That Rock.

The Apostle M. Russell Ballard testified, "Set aside all pride and turn your life and your heart to Him. Ask to be filled with the power of Christ’s pure love. You may have to do this many times, but I testify to you that your body, mind, and spirit can be transformed, cleansed, and made whole, and you will be freed."

I echo his testimony. The Great Jehovah could lead millions of Israelites away from the grasp of Pharoah through such miraculous means as plagues of frogs and rivers of blood, surely the Great Messiah can lead you out of any captivity you face. Go to Him and trust in His Atonement. He can free you now. And, because of His resurrection which we memorialize and commemorate this Easter Sunday, He can free you for eternity.

Getting Us Through the Red Sea

When teaching Oliver Cowdery, the Lord said, "Now, behold, this is the spirit of revelation; behold, this is the spirit by which Moses brought the children of Israel through the Red Sea on dry ground" (Doctrine and Covenants 8:3).

Isn't it interesting that God uses the story of the Israelites going through the Red Sea as the prime Matthew 16:16-17)? Of so many grand stories of revelation, why this one?
example of revelation? Why would He choose this story over so many other examples, such as the First Vision which was so intimate to Joseph Smith and surely would be a powerful lesson to Oliver? Why not reference Peter having the fact that Jesus was "the Christ, the Son of the living God" be revealed to him by his Father in Heaven (

Jeffrey R. Holland answers this question:

"The Red Sea will open to the honest seeker of revelation. The adversary does have power to hedge up the way, to marshal Pharaoh’s forces and dog our escape right to the water’s edge, but he can’t produce the real thing. He cannot conquer if we will it otherwise. 'Exerting all [our] powers to call upon God,' the light will again come, the darkness will again retreat, the safety will again be sure. That is lesson number one about crossing the Red Sea, your Red Seas, by the spirit of revelation."

Elder Holland later points out that as the Egyptian armies get closer and closer to the children of Israel, they become afraid, somehow forgetting the miraculous happenings that got them out of slavery in the first place.

We all face our Red Seas. We feel like we are finally out of captivity. Finally out of our addictions. Finally out of our dreadfully painful grief. Finally out of our heartache or anger or loneliness. Yet all of the sudden, we run right into our Red Sea, a sea so wide that there is seemingly no way to circumnavigate it. Meanwhile, the forces which held us captive in such recent memory are moving steadily closer and closer, and we start to feel as though they are most certainly going to control us again.

And this is where revelation comes in. Even more, this is where "That Rock... Christ" comes in. Just as we feel completely surrounded by failure and trials, if we will but call upon God, He will tell us what to do. It might seem crazy. I'm sure Moses wasn't planning from the onset of their journey to

What Kind of Obedience are You Obeying?

The scriptures clearly teach that the Law of Moses was a "schoolmaster" (Galatians 3:24) to teach Israel how to prepare for the coming Messiah. Nonetheless, when Jesus came, they fulfilled Isaiah's prophecy and "they stumbled at that stumblingstone" (Romans 9:32; see also Isaiah 8:14). We also learn in Galatians 3:8 that Abraham, well before Moses, received the gospel. Not the "torah" or law, but the gospel. In Romans 5:20, it says "the law entered," but the Greek word translated as "entered" enlightens the story significantly. The New Testament Institute manual expounds on this, saying:

"The Greek word Paul uses here that is translated entered means literally 'to come in by the side of.' In classical Greek it was often used of actors in the theaters who played a supporting role and who would come on stage from the wings, play their part, and disappear again."

Now, this is all really just setting up what I want to talk about in this post. I don't want to talk so much about the purpose of the Law of Moses as I do the purpose of not being under the Law of Moses anymore. The scriptures make it clear that the Mosaic order was meant only for a limited duration. It was a lower law, preparing the world to again receive the gospel. However, in a lot of ways, I feel the Latter-day Saints--modern day Israel--live the commandments in a very Mosaic way. Let me explain!

One of the major problems with the Law of Moses was that people started playing "The Price is Right" with it. They wanted to see how close to a certain standard (albeit a lower standard than was either previously set or later restored) they could get, without going over. This lead to the creation of some almost silly rules. One of my favorites is the tradition of just how much food you could take out of your house if it was burning down on the Sabbath; enough for three meals if it was in the morning, enough for two meals in the afternoon, and enough for one meal in the evening. There was a bar set, and the Jews wanted to get to that bar, but saw no need to extend themselves further than that.

Then came Jesus. Jesus scrapped this minimum standard, and demanded much higher. No more eye for an eye (Matthew 5:37). Love everyone, not just your friends (Matthew 5:44). Even looking lustfully will count as adultery (Matthew 5:28). Really, the Savior epitomized the point He was making in this straightforward statement: "Be ye therefore perfect" (Matthew 5:48). There was nothing above the bar anymore. We could not get close without going over, because there simply was nothing over the standard He set.

Luckily, we have the perfection of Jesus - the very Man who set this high requirement - to rely upon. He "is the advocate with the Father, who is pleading [our] cause before him—Saying: Father, behold the sufferings and death of him who did no sin, in whom thou wast well pleased" (Doctrine and Covenants 45:3-4). We can now "come unto Christ, and be perfected in him" (Moroni 10:32). We are invited to take the Lord's yoke upon us (Matthew 11:29) and work side by side the strongest Being in the universe.

Still, Jesus made it clear that obedience is still necessary. "If ye love me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15). "Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you" (John 15:14). "And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?" (Luke 6:46). "For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works" (Matthew 16:27). Elder Robert D. Hales recently said, "Of all the lessons we learn from the life of the Savior, none is more clear and powerful than the lesson of obedience."

But what kind of obedience are we living? Our obedience now is striving to obey alongside the Savior, relying on His perfection and His enabling power to help us become more like our Father in Heaven. We are striving for perfection with the Perfection. We are obeying out of love, and we must