Picture this: your mom, living in an area where boys have been decreed by the king to be killed, decides to put you in a basket in a river to save your life. Then, the daughter of the king who had decreed you should be killed as a baby finds you and decides you should be her child. But wait, how is she going to nurse you? By chance, your older sister arrives on the scene, makes a suggestion that this woman hire the birth mother of the child to be the nurse for the baby (without sharing that this is the case), hooray! Happy reunion with mommy! But wait, 5 years later, you get taken back to the daughter of the king who had decreed that you should be killed and you are raised in the palace of that king as one of his progeny. Now, fast forward 40 years and you find out that you’re not a member of the royal household, but actually a descendant of the people enslaved by the king. So, you run away to the wilderness, encounter another group of people who decide to make you a part of their family and put you to work as a shepherd. You live with them for another 40 years and after an encounter with the Lord in a burning bush, you are called to be a prophet. Your mission should you choose to accept it is to go back to the people enslaved by the king and tell them that you are the Lord’s prophet. And then you get to go to the king who is the ruler of the enslaved people and tell him that the Lord wants His people to be free to worship. Are you following me? This is of course a very glossed over version of the story of Moses, but let’s just go over the identities he has had up to this point: son, baby, doomed baby, adopted child of the Pharaoh, Egyptian, Middianite, outcast, shepherd, prophet. We probably shouldn’t leave out killer or imposter either. Talk about confusing!! And yet, clarity comes in the conversation that he has with the Lord. We read the following in Moses 1: 3-4,
“And God spake unto Moses, saying: Behold, I am the Lord God Almighty, and Endless is my name; for I am without beginning of days or end of years; and is not this endless? And, behold, thou art my son; wherefore look, and I will show thee the workmanship of mine hands; but not all, for my works are without end, and also my words, for they never cease.”
How comforting it must have been to learn this truth for Moses. He was on a figurative identity crisis roller coaster for much of his early years. He was displaced multiple times. I know there was a purpose in all of that, but I can imagine it still must of have been difficult. I mean he named his first born son Gershom which according to Exodus 2:22 means: “I have been a stranger in a strange land.” It must have been comforting to hear the Lord tell him that he was His son. It’s no wonder that Satan came immediately after this interaction and tried to convince Moses that he was a son of man. Fortunately, Moses remembered who he really was and was able to cast Satan out.
This reminds me of President Nelson’s worldwide devotional to the young adults from May 2022. He spoke of many things to the young adults including the importance of remembering who you are. He said, “First and foremost, you are a child of God. Second, as a member of the Church, you are a child of the covenant. And third, you are a disciple of Jesus Christ.” These are 3 important identifiers for us to remember. The beloved primary hymn reminds us, “I am a child of God and He has sent me here.” Regardless of what we have been through and where we have been and what we have done or not done, it is important to remember that like Moses, you are a son or daughter of God.
