The Exodus Pattern of the Book of Mormon

The opening story contained in the Book of Mormon depicts a prophet named Lehi taking his family into the wilderness to escape impending danger. Later in the Book of Mormon, prophets compare Lehi's journey to that of the Israelites' exodus from Egypt. Mormon scholar S. Kent Brown draws from evidence in the Book of Mormon to argue that Lehi and his family may have been conscious that they were reenacting Israel's exodus and that they understood the pattern as well as prophets who commented on their journey hundreds of years after the fact. Other stories in the Book of Mormon also portray exodus patterns, and prophets often use the precedent of Israel's deliverance from Egypt to prove God's power. These prophets symbolically link the Exodus to Jesus Christ's forthcoming Atonement and teach that Christ's sacrifice will surpass all of God's work for his children.