Doctrine and Covenants 29 and the Plagues of Egypt

Section 29 of the Doctrine and Covenants gives a description of certain events of the last days and the Millennium. Some of the prophecies concerning what will happen on the earth prior to the Savior’s return are pretty sobering, from flies to hailstorms to devouring fire, and I realized today that there are several similarities between these and the ten plagues that Moses called down upon Egypt when he sought to deliver the children of Israel from bondage. Of those Egyptian plagues, here are the ones that have a related event recorded in this section that will take place in the last days:                                      

·        Lice and Flies: “Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod, and smote the dust of the earth, and it became lice in man, and in beast…. there came a grievous swarm of flies into the house of Pharaoh, and into his servants’ houses, and into all the land of Egypt: the land was corrupted by reason of the swarm of flies” (Exodus 8:17,24). The Lord similarly prophesied in our day: “Wherefore, I the Lord God will send forth flies upon the face of the earth, which shall take hold of the inhabitants thereof, and shall eat their flesh, and shall cause maggots to come in upon them; And their tongues shall be stayed that they shall not utter against me” (v18-19). Both speak of flies and the maggots promised in our day may be similar to the lice that infested the land of Egypt.

·        Boils: “And they took ashes of the furnace, and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses sprinkled it up toward heaven; and it became a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast. And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils; for the boil was upon the magicians, and upon all the Egyptians” (Exodus 9:10-11). These painful boils may have been similar to what the Lord prophesied concerning our time: “Their flesh shall fall from off their bones, and their eyes from their sockets” (v19). Boils often will burst and drain out puss, something that is not too far from this description of flesh falling off the bones.

·        Hail: “And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the Lord rained hail upon the land of Egypt…. And the hail smote every herb of the field, and brake every tree of the field” (Exodus 9:23-25). The Lord prophesied similarly for our time: “And there shall be a great hailstorm sent forth to destroy the crops of the earth” (v16). Hailstorms across the land destroying the crops happened in Egypt and will someday happen again.

·        Darkness and Death: “And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days…. All the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne… And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it” Exodus 10:22, 11:5-6). In our day we will see similar things, albeit in a different manner: “All the proud and they that do wickedly shall be as stubble; and I will burn them up… The sun shall be darkened…. There shall be weeping and wailing among the hosts of men” (v9,14-15). There will be death and darkness and lamentations among men for the tribulations that come.

 Not all the plagues of Egypt have a corollary in Doctrine and Covenants 29, but these similarities show that some of the signs of the times in the last days are not totally new. And in fact these parallels should give us hope knowing that just as the children of Israel were protected during the plagues of Egypt, so too will the Lord protect and help His Saints through these tribulations that await us: “Lift up your hearts and be glad, for I am in your midst, and am your advocate with the Father; and it is his good will to give you the kingdom” (Doctrine and Covenants 29:5).