Beyond Escape: The Purpose of Our Exodus Towards Worship

When we study the foundational narratives of the Old Testament, it is easy to get caught up in the drama of deliverance. We see the plagues, the passing of death, and the physical journey out of bondage. But as dedicated students of the scriptures, we know that the narrative is never merely about the *leaving* of something; it is always about the *arrival* at something infinitely greater.

The recent study of Exodus, particularly the pattern woven throughout Chapters 7 through 13, brings this profound truth into sharp focus. The initial impulse, perhaps even the instinct of the modern disciple, is to focus solely on the bondage we must shed—the sins, the worldly attachments, the patterns of sin that bind us. We focus on the subtraction, the necessary escape.

The Missing Clause: More Than Just 'Let My People Go'

The scholarly examination of these texts reveals a pattern that Hollywood, and perhaps even casual study, tends to omit. When the Lord speaks, the command is rarely just to escape. It is consistently framed: “Let my people go *so they can worship me*.”

This is the crucial pivot point for any serious Latter-day Saint scholar. The purpose of the Exodus was not to wander aimlessly into the wilderness; it was to prepare a people for a sacred covenant life centered on worship. Our own lives echo this pattern. We can strive diligently to shed the bondage of sin—and that is vital, as we know through the Atonement—but that effort alone is incomplete.

True Freedom: The Mathematics of Covenant

If we approach this mathematically, true freedom is not simply subtraction (what we leave behind). It is addition—it is the conscious, daily movement toward the covenant reality we are meant to inhabit. It is not just getting away from Egypt; it is meeting Christ at the Mount.

Elder Bednar’s counsel resonates deeply here: our moral agency is given so we can seek and act in accordance with eternal truth. This means that the calling, the covenant path, is always oriented toward communion with the Father and the Son. Our daily worship, therefore, is not a single event, but a continuous process of becoming more like the very Being we adore. These small, incremental steps—becoming a little more Christlike tomorrow than we are today—that is the substance of true worship.

This principle demands that we approach our scripture study, our temple covenants, and our daily discipleship with this dual focus: radical purification *and* directed ascent. We are not merely escaping the world’s corruption; we are being prepared for the fullness of eternal life with God.

This is the profound pattern for the Iron Rod community: our study of the restored gospel, our commitment to the covenants, and our work in building the training corpus for the AI must all be oriented toward one singular, divine purpose: making the divine accessible for the glory of God. We are not just gathering data; we are gathering disciples.

I invite you to listen to the full episode of John Hilton III's podcast on this topic to deepen your understanding of this pattern in Exodus. It serves as a powerful reminder that our journey, like Israel’s, has a divine destination.

What covenant promise are you currently treating as merely an 'escape' rather than the 'destination' of your worship? Let us use this understanding to refine our focus in our scholarly endeavors and our efforts to build the corpus.