A Son of God

To my son,

                  One of my favorite chapters of scripture is Moses 1 in which we read of Moses’s encounter with the Lord and with Satan. Moses was taken to “an exceedingly high mountain” and “he saw God face to face, and he talked with him, and the glory of God was upon Moses” (v1-2). God spoke to Moses and said this, “Behold, I am the Lord God Almighty, and Endless is my name…. And, behold, thou art my son; wherefore look, and I will show thee the workmanship of mine hands.” As He showed Moses the works of His hands He said, “And I have a work for thee, Moses, my son; and thou art in the similitude of mine Only Begotten; and mine Only Begotten is and shall be the Savior, for he is full of grace and truth” (v6). This was before Moses was to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt, and the Lord was preparing him for that great work that he would do. He continued, “And now, behold, this one thing I show unto thee, Moses, my son, for thou art in the world, and now I show it unto thee. And it came to pass that Moses looked, and beheld the world upon which he was created; and Moses beheld the world and the ends thereof, and all the children of men which are, and which were created; of the same he greatly marveled and wondered” (v7-8). What an incredible vision that must have been to behold from this exceedingly high mountain the works of God. The experience was so powerful that it took Moses “many hours” afterwards to regain his “natural strength” (v10). He had beheld God and learned not only of the power and majesty of Him but also that he, Moses, was a son of God.

                What happened directly after this supernal vision is a warning about the influence of Satan which will try to tear us down, especially after the Lord has revealed something to us. We read, “Behold, Satan came tempting him, saying: Moses, son of man, worship me” (v12). Notice what he called Moses: “son of man” in contrast to what he had just learned from his vision in which God had told Moses that he was His son. Moses responded to Satan accordingly: “Who art thou? For behold, I am a son of God, in the similitude of his Only Begotten; and where is thy glory, that I should worship thee?” (v13) I love that response—Moses knew that He was a son of God with divine potential to become even like the Savior, and he was not going to let Satan convince him otherwise, saying: “Get thee hence, Satan; deceive me not; for God said unto me: Thou art after the similitude of mine Only Begotten” (v16). But Satan didn’t leave easily: “And now, when Moses had said these words, Satan cried with a loud voice, and ranted upon the earth, and commanded, saying: I am the Only Begotten, worship me” (v19). This diabolic tantrum caused Moses to “fear exceedingly” and to see “the bitterness of hell” but he tried again to command the adversary to leave, saying “In the name of the Only Begotten, depart hence, Satan” (v20-21). Responding to this Satan “cried with a loud voice with weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth; and he departed hence, even from the presence of Moses” (v22). What a frightening experience that must have been, but because of his faith in Jesus Christ, Moses was able to overcome the adversary and hold fast to what he had learned in his great vision. After this the Lord came again to him and said, “Blessed art thou, Moses, for I, the Almighty, have chosen thee, and thou shalt be made stronger than many waters; for they shall obey thy command as if thou wert God. And lo, I am with thee, even unto the end of thy days;… For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. And now, Moses, my son, I will speak unto thee concerning this earth upon which thou standest; and thou shalt write the things which I shall speak” (25-26, 39-40). The Lord confirmed to Moses that he was a son of God and that He would be with him always.  

For me the most important lesson from this story is that we are each children of God with a great mission to perform on the earth. Satan will try to convince you that you are just a “son of man”, but if you listen to the Lord you will know that you are a “son of God” created in the image of Jesus Christ. Never forget that truth or let anyone convince you otherwise! You, like Moses, have “great work” to accomplish in mortality and through your faith in Jesus Christ you can do it. Never doubt your abilities to perform that great work on earth—I know that the Lord has given you great talents, and you are His son. 

Love,

Dad