I’d like to discuss an interesting pattern. That pattern is that Christ’s Church is always established in the wilderness. Let’s explore:
Adam was cast out of Eden into the lone and dreary world. He ventured into a world that was essentially a wilderness. It was here that he received gospel teachings and likely would have established Christ’s Church.
Noah established Christ’s Church when the world became so wicked that all the people save Noah’s family were destroyed by the flood. Noah re-established Christ’s Church in a world that had literally become a wilderness.
Abraham seemed to steer away from civilization and established his covenant family in the wilderness.
Moses removed the Israelites from a life of slavery, in so doing, removing them from Egypt. They ventured into the wilderness. Moses re-established the covenant with Jehovah, and established Christ’s church.
Christ was from Nazareth, not Jerusalem. He taught and preached mostly on the outskirts of cities. It could be said that He established His Church from the wilderness.
Let’s venture to a different branch of the tree, other children of Israel, to continue to establish this pattern:
600 years before Christ came to Earth to re-establish His Church on the outskirts of Jerusalem, Lehi was commanded to leave Jerusalem. Why? To find a promised land. A promised land that was essentially a wilderness. This is where Lehi was to establish Christ’s Church.
In ~147-145 B.C. Alma the elder re-established Christ’s Church in the wilderness when he escapes from wicked King Noah and baptizes 204 souls in the waters of Mormon. Read Mosiah 18 for more on this.
And finally, in 1830 Joseph Smith restored Christ’s Church to the Earth. What happened? Given this pattern, could the Church be established in New York? Boston? Even Ohio or Illinois? Even those cities and states were too “civilized” for God’s Kingdom to be fully established there. So the Church had to move to the wilderness. As God’s pattern always dictated. Fresh ground for His Kingdom, for His Saints. For new wine does not belong in old bottles (Matthew 9:17).
I love finding patterns that re-affirm the truth of Christ’s restored Church today. God works through patterns. Here is an obvious pattern. God has never been able to establish His church amongst “civilized folks.” It has almost always seemed to take a wilderness. It was in the wilderness of the Salt Lake Valley, among the mountain tops (Isaiah 2:2) that God allowed the wilderness to blossom as the rose (Isaiah 35:1) for His chosen people.
Oh look, more prophesies fulfilled by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. More patterns continued, more completed. Funny how that works.
