This week’s Come, Follow Me study guide covers Exodus chapters 1 through 6. It includes the deliverance of Moses as an infant and the Lord speaking to him in the burning bush.
Below are quotes from past and present leaders and scholars of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints regarding these chapters of the Bible.
Exodus 1
“Thousands of years ago, Egyptian taskmasters burdened the Israelites with burdens, but the Bible records, “The more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew” (Exodus 1:12).
“With God’s blessing, even what appears to be adversity can be turned to the benefit of God’s faithful children.”
—President Dallin H. Oaks, then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, during a devotional called “Adversity” at Brigham Young University in January 1995.
“The book of Exodus tells us that a man and a woman married, had faith, and gave birth to a son. There was no welcome sign on the door announcing his birth, because Pharaoh had instructed that any new Israelite male child be ‘thrown into the river’ (Exodus 1:22).The rest of the story is as follows: You see, the baby was lovingly placed in a small ark made of bulbuls, placed in the river, looked after by his sister, and found.”The boy, who was Pharaoh’s daughter and had been nursed by his own mother, was given back to Pharaoh’s daughter, who accepted him as her son and named him Moses.
“In the best of times (and) the worst of times” (Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities), true saints of God act in faith, never forgetting or waiving “the commandment of God…to multiply and replenish the earth” (The Family: A Proclamation to the World). We move forward in faith, recognizing that the decision of how many children to have and when to have them is between the couple and the Lord. Judge one another in this matter.”
— Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, October 2011 General Conference, “Children”
Exodus 2
“When Moses was born, Pharaoh declared that all Hebrew male children in Egypt should be thrown into the river. But Moses’ parents took their parental duties seriously…
“When Moses grew too big to hide, his mother Jochebed made an ingenious basket of chickadees, waterproofed it with slime and pitch, and placed him inside. She guided the small boat to a safe place down the river, where Pharaoh’s daughter would bathe.”
“Leaving nothing to chance, Jochebed also sent her daughter Miriam, an inspired helper, to accompany her to watch. When the princess, daughter of Pharaoh, found the baby, Miriam bravely offered to call for a Hebrew nurse, who was Jochebed, the mother of Moses (see Exodus 2:3-10).
“Like Jochebed, we raise our families in a wicked and hostile world, a world as dangerous as the Egyptian courts ruled by Pharaoh. But like Jochebed, we also weave a protective basket around our children, a vessel called a ‘family,’ leading them to a safe place where we can strengthen our teachings at home and in the church.”
“Along the way, when our children are separated from us, the Lord gives us an inspired ‘Miriam’ to watch over them: special third-party helpers such as the priesthood, co-leaders, teachers, relatives, and worthy friends. Sometimes the Spirit prompts us as parents to seek special help beyond ourselves, through resources such as doctors and qualified counselors. The Spirit directs when and how such help should be obtained.”
—The late Elder Robert D. Hales, then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, April 2004 general conference, “With the Heart of a Tender Parent: A Message of Hope for Families.”
Exodus 3
“In the book of Exodus, we travel with Moses to the slopes of Mount Horeb. Moses turned away from his daily cares and went to the slopes of Mount Horeb to see the burning bush that had not burned out. As he approached, he said, “God called him out of the middle of the bush and said, Moses, Moses.And he said, “Take off your shoes from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground” (Exodus). 3:4-5) With deep reverence, humility, and wonder, Moses took off his shoes and prepared to hear the word of the Lord and experience the Lord’s holy presence.
“The revelation of that sacred mountain was an awe-inspiring, awe-filled experience that connected Moses to his divine identity and, in fact, transformed him from a humble shepherd to a powerful prophet and brought him new life. Likewise, each of us can transform our discipleship into a higher pattern of spirituality by making the virtue of reverence a sacred part of our spiritual character.
— Elder Ulises Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, April 2025 General Conference, “Respect for the Sacred”
“Consider when Moses went up Mount Horeb. The Lord Jehovah appeared to him in the midst of a burning bush. God said to Moses, “Take off your shoe from your foot, for the place where you are standing is holy” (Exodus 3:5).
“To take off one’s shoes at the entrance to the temple is to let go of worldly desires and pleasures that distract from spiritual growth, to set aside anything that distracts from one’s precious mortality, to abandon controversial behavior and seek sacred time.”
— Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, October 2020 General Conference, “Exhortation to the Lord”
“So we have the burden of those who are called to carry the Messianic message. In addition to teaching, encouraging, and encouraging others (this is the fun part of discipleship), these same messengers are sometimes called upon to worry, to warn, and sometimes to just cry (this is the younger brother). They are well aware that the road to the Promised Land, “flowing with milk and honey” (Exodus 3:8), must pass through the mountains.” ”
—The late President Jeffrey R. Holland, then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, April 2014 general conference, “The Cost and Blessings of Discipleship.”
“The temple is the house of the Lord. The Lord has established the conditions for its use, the ordinances to be performed, and the criteria for eligibility to enter and participate in temple worship.
“The Lord said to Moses, “Take off your shoes from your feet; the place where you are standing is holy” (Exodus 3:5).
— Sister Sylvia H. Allred, then first counselor in the Relief Society general presidency, October 2008 general conference, “Holy Temples, Sacred Covenants.”
“Jesus was Jehovah. This sacred title is recorded only four times in the King James Version of the Bible (see Exodus 6:3, Psalm 83:18, Isaiah 12:2, 26:4).…Jehovah is derived from the Hebrew word hayah, meaning “to be” or “to exist.” The form of the word “hayah” in the Hebrew text of the Old Testament was translated into English as “I AM” (Exodus 3:14). …Listen to this interesting dialogue from the Old Testament. Moses had just received an unexpected commission from God: to lead the children of Israel out of bondage. The scene takes place atop Mount Sinai.
“‘Moses said to God, ‘Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and lead the children of Israel out of Egypt?’ (Moses no doubt felt unworthy of his calling, as you and I might feel when given a difficult task.)”
“And Moses said unto God, Behold, I will come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say unto me, What is my name? What shall I say unto them?”
“’Then God said to Moses, “I am I.” And Moses said, “Thus shall you say to the children of Israel: I have sent me to you.”
“And God said to Moses, ‘Thus shall you say to the children of Israel: The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you; this is my name forever” (Exodus 3:11, 13-15).
“Jehovah thus revealed to Moses that I am, the very name that he meekly and modestly chose to identify himself in the premortal life.”
—The late President Russell M. Nelson, then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, said in his February 1992 devotional at Brigham Young University, “Jesus the Christ—Our Teacher and More.”
Exodus 4
“When you see your own shortcomings, you may want to cry out like Moses: ‘Lord, I am not eloquent…but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue’ (Exodus 4:10).”
“If you, my dear, mighty young people, are thinking about these things right now, remember that the Lord answered…and He promises, “Go therefore, and I will be in your mouth, teaching you what you should say” (Exodus 4:12).
— Elder Aroldo B. Cavalcante, General Authority Seventy, October 2024 General Conference, “The Wind Continued to Blow”
“Throughout history, that seems to be the Lord’s way. He has always used the small and weak things of this world to accomplish His glorious purposes.”
“Moses doubted himself because he was ‘slow of speech’ (Exodus 4:10).…The Lord often accomplishes the most with those who accomplish the least.”
— President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, said in a devotional at Brigham Young University in August 2021, “Five messages every child of God needs to hear.”
“As we come to the rescue, God gives us strength, encouragement, and blessings. When God commanded Moses to save the children of Israel, he was afraid, as many of us are. Moses excused himself and said, ‘I am not eloquent…but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.'” (Exodus 4:10)
“The Lord reassured Moses and said,
“‘Who created the mouth of man? … Am I not the Lord?’
“Go, then, and I will be in your mouth to teach you what you should say” (Exodus 4:11-12).
“In effect, the Lord said to Moses, ‘You can do it.’ And you know what? So can we.”
— Elder Marvin B. Arnold, then a General Authority Seventy, April 2016 general conference, “To the Rescue: We Can Do It.”
Exodus 5
“Meaningless, unrewarding, harsh executives are denounced by prophets and liberationist secularists. But Eternalism places a high value on labor itself. Although senseless and unpleasant working conditions are clearly a problem to be addressed, work is a spiritual necessity for humans. There is a modern equivalent to the working conditions faced by Moses and ancient Israel when Pharaoh imposed production quotas but did not provide straw to make bricks. (See Exodus 5).
“Even so, secularism simply seems to place a high value on leisure. Although we all need some amount of leisure, secularism often seeks to reduce the need for work without paying due attention to what purposes leisure should be devoted to.”
—The late Elder Neal A. Maxwell, then an assistant on the Council of the Twelve Apostles, said in the October 1974 Liahona article “Eternalism and Secularism.”
Exodus 6
“We can confidently entrust our care to the Lord because, through the suffering events of Gethsemane and Calvary, Jesus has already become acquainted with the atonement of our sins, our sins, our sicknesses, and our sorrows.Jesus can bear them now because he has borne them well before.
“Yes, God’s creation is ‘stretched out’, but so is His saving arm (see Exodus 6:6). He who is always present is perfect in His love.”
—The late Elder Neal A. Maxwell, then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, October 1987 general conference, “‘And yet there you are.’”
