Moses had been spiritually born again and was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ. He became a great prophet who rescued the Israelites from slavery in Egypt with the help of Jesus, and led them into the wilderness to Mount Sinai. There Jesus wrote the Ten Commandments on stone tablets with his finger.
These first tablets were smashed by Moses when he saw Israelites worshipping the golden calf. So Moses returned to the mountain top with two new tablets, but in his wrath, Jesus cursed the Israelites with a lesser, carnal law, and he withheld from them the higher Melchizedek priesthood. Only Moses and a few others were given the full gospel.
Sources:
• The Pearl of Great Price: Teacher Manual, (2000), 11–12
• Joseph Smith Translation, Exodus 34:1–2
• "I Have a Question". Ensign: The Magazine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, August 1999.
• Gileadi, Avraham. "A New Life". New Era The Magazine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, July 1973.
• Old Testament Seminary Teacher Manual, 2014 - Lesson 55: Exodus 33–34
Because of their unbelief, Jesus caused the Israelites to wander for forty years in the wilderness. At one point during their long journey when the Israelites had begun to complain, Jesus sent poisonous snakes among the people, and many were bitten and died.
The people acknowledged their sin and begged Moses to ask Jesus to save them. So Moses prayed to Jesus. But instead of simply removing the snakes, Jesus decided to teach his people a lesson about faith and salvation through Christ.
Jesus instructed Moses to create a brass snake and mount it on a pole. If anyone who was bitten by the poisonous snakes looked at the brass snake, they would live. This was a symbol of Christ, but few of the Israelites understood the meaning of it. And some were so stubborn they refused to look because they did not believe it would heal them, and so they died.
When Moses was 120 years old, Jesus told him to climb a tall mountain from which he could see the land of Canaan that had been promised to the Israelites. Then Jesus took Moses unto himself. After the Israelites had lived for many years in the land of Canaan, they stopped believing in Jesus or obeying his commandments.
Sources:
• Old Testament Stories, (1980), 87–90
• Alma 45:19
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