FLDS Priesthood History for 3rd – 8th Grade Students

Taught by Warren Jeffs

Tape # 14 – December 19, 1995

Subject: Plagues Over Egypt
Be honest and come determined to learn at this age. Why wait until you're 20 or 30, when you
can learn now. We're learning the truths of priesthood, how to be good people the Lord can use. A
person hardens their heart because they love evil, and usually they're not moral. If you will believe
these words while you're young and pure, you don't have to be bad. You can do good the first time.
Seeing miracles does not make a person good. You have to have enough of the spirit of God
that you will believe and obey. It's believing and obeying that earns you the good spirit.
Moses said to Pharaoh, “Let Israel go” but Pharaoh would not. He only made the people's work
harder until the people of Israel complained against Moses. They should have said, "We know you're
the prophet. We believe you will deliver us. We'll endure anything you want. We believe in you...”
The Lord told Moses to go to the Pharaoh and do certain things, like throw his staff down to
become a snake, but Pharaoh's heart was hardened because he already had connection with devilish
people and the magicians, etc. made their staffs turn to snakes. Moses’ snake ate up all the others then
was turned into a stick again. Pharaoh made the burdens greater and would not let Israel go.
Moses caused the Nile river to turn to blood for seven days and ordered Pharaoh to let the
people go. Pharaoh called his sorcerers to command in the name of the devil, for water to turn to
blood, also. After seven days, Moses again commanded Pharaoh, then he and Aaron brought forth a
plague of frogs upon the land. Pharaoh's magicians brought forth frogs also, but they didn't have power
to turn it away, so Pharaoh said to Moses, if he would take the frogs away, then the people could go.
After the frogs stopped coming, Pharaoh's heart was hardened again.
A truly pure person would have believed and obeyed, but Pharaoh was a wicked man. You see,
for the prophet to command a wicked man to do something, even great miracles won't convince him.
That is why the people of the world won't come to the prophet - because of their wickedness.
Moses and Aaron were sent back to Pharaoh and caused that the dust on the ground were
turned to lice, little worms that went everywhere. This time, Pharaoh's magicians could not make it
happen nor turn it away. The magicians said this was of God. As this took place, the Lord told Moses
and Aaron to rise up and command flies to come upon all the land of Egypt. The Israelites lived in the
land northward and the destructions did not happen among them, yet they saw it and heard it. It was so
terrible that Pharaoh told Moses to take the people and leave, but only stop the plague. He did, but the
king's heart was hardened again. The next plague was boils all over the Egyptian people and animals,
and sickness. The seventh plague was hail mixed with fire, killing the cattle that were yet alive.
Pharaoh was afraid, that's what wicked people do- when they see great things, they get scared.
He told Moses to get out, but first stop the hail. Again his heart was hardened. The Lord hardened
Pharaoh's heart so the people may know the Lord, generation after generation. Here's the lesson... on
purpose, the Lord made a wicked, evil man, to be king to glorify His name. The eighth plague was big
grasshoppers called locusts, up to eight inches long, that ate the crops. Pharaoh promised again, then
hardened his heart.
1
 You see, each one of these were warnings, trying to soften the Pharaoh's heart. That's how the
Lord works. You know your parents will warn you softly, and if you keep doing bad, they will warn
you a little hard, and if you keep doing bad, they might even give you a physical punishment. That's
how the Lord did it with Pharaoh. Moses commanded and there were three days of darkness where the
Egyptians were, but where the Israelites were, there was no darkness. Again Pharaoh called for Moses
and told him to go if he would just take away the darkness - that was the ninth plague. The tenth and
final destruction was called the Passover. The Lord said after this plague, Pharaoh would let the
Israelites take their gold, animals, etc. and leave Egypt.
This last plague would affect every family this time. They must take a male lamb and kill it in
their house, drain the blood, and paint the blood above the door, and stay in the house all night, then
cook the lamb and eat of it. Moses taught his people that God was Jesus Christ, and about the coming
of the Savior and His dying on the cross. The blood of the lamb means people in that day believed in
the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ. The Lord said in every house, the first-born child would die
unless they had the blood of this lamb, which represents the blood of the Savior. This took place all
night. The angel of death came and passed by every house where the blood was painted on the door.
There was a great cry in Egypt, and even Pharaoh's child died. The people cried to Pharaoh, to do what
Moses wants. He was ready to let them go. The next day, Moses commanded the people to prepare.
The Israelites went right into the Egyptians homes and took their good things, their gold and jewels,
and gathered together - two million Israelites.
The Lord told them every year until the Savior was born, to celebrate the feast of the Passover,
to remember this great deliverance out of Egypt. The Passover represents the death and resurrection of
our Lord and Savior. Today, many Israelites celebrate the Passover. The people went a few days
journey to the Red Sea. There was no escape, with the water in front of them and the Egyptian people
behind them. After they left, Pharaoh's heart was hardened again, and being very angry now, he
ordered his soldiers to go after the people and kill them.
If the people were good clean people, they should have said they trusted in Moses, but they had
lived with the gentiles for 400 years and most of them had taken on the way of the gentiles. As the
soldiers came toward them, they blamed Moses, but he told them to be quiet and watch for the Lord
was God, causing light to be over the Israelites, and darkness over the Egyptians. In the authority of
priesthood, Moses commanded the sea to separate. All night, the people walked through the separation
in the sea and when they reached the other side, the waters came down upon the soldiers. Their
enemies were destroyed. How happy they were and began singing and praising God. They were with
the prophet of God.
The people could have gone straight up to their promised land, they could have been the people
of God, but I remind you what the Lord told Moses. No man would be their ruler. It was Moses' job to
teach the gospel, to teach them how to do and act and behave so they could come into the presence of
God, but the people had been tainted and corrupted by the ways of the gentiles.
Young people, even our Lord and Savior celebrated the feast of the Passover. He was the God
over Moses. To show they were humble and would obey, they would eat unleavened bread - what poor
people eat. They would offer on the alter, a lamb without blemish. The Savior ate bread and wine at
the feast of the Passover, the night before He was killed. This feast continued for over a thousand
2 (# 14)
years. Today we don't celebrate that feast because it was to be celebrated until the time of our Savior in
the flesh. After that, he said, we don't do it. Instead He said to have a sacrament of bread and wine, or
bread and water, and remember the Savior always, not just on one feast.
This is real, it happened. The power of the priesthood of the one man, the prophet, is such that
whatever the Lord inspires him to do - when that one man commands it to happen, it will happen. We
teach you young people, the priesthood and power that President Jeffs has, is greater than all the
armies of the world - greater than all the mountains and all the oceans. If we will but obey him, the
Lord will bless us through our prophet and even fight the battles against our enemies.
If you know it's true, then you are a pure person, able to listen. If you're goofing around, falling
asleep, watch out. You need to be more clean and obedient because when a person who is pure hears
the truth, they have the good feeling of peace, showing them these things are true. Do you have that
good feeling? I do. Why don't we follow our prophet? He has the same power, and if we're obedient,
though the whole world comes against us, the Lord will answer the prayer of this prophet to protect us.
Teachers, make sure you get this message of the feeling they should have, so they come better
prepared, and the spirit of God can write upon their hearts and minds, these truths. Work with your
students.

December 20,1995
Subject: In the Wilderness
A truly pure person feels the spirit of peace tell them these things are true. Uncle Roy taught us
that when the father in the home speaks, the family should obey. If they obey the first time, the spirit
of God will be in the home, but very often when the fathers speaks, a mother or child will speak up
and say, "but can't we do it this way instead?"
It might seem things go just as well when somebody changes it a little, but Uncle Roy says,
when the family changes what the father wants, even just a little, the spirit of God leaves the home.
There might not be a noticeable tragedy yet, but when the family feels like they can change the father's
words, it will keep growing and growing until there might be accidents or harm. This is what we
experience in our families. How beautiful it is when a father can say, "I want this done" and someone
goes and does it without a complaint, without trying to change it.
Many of us have that terrible habit of complaining. The easiest way to lose that keep sweet
feeling is to complain. You must understand the priesthood over you lives by revelation. Your father
says a prayer and asks the Lord to guide him in what he's doing with the family. You need to trust your
family and especially trust the prophet, that when he speaks, you quickly get it done without changing
what should be done. I remind you of these teachings you've heard in meeting, in school, in your
homes, so that you can understand the challenge we have, just like our forefathers had in Moses' time.
The Israelites brought upon themselves a great curse. It was such a terrible curse, it lasted for
over a thousand years. The Lord gave them a chance, the privilege to obey the prophet, but they griped
and complained. Seeing a miracle doesn't change you into a good person. It's obeying and having the
gift of repentance that changes you.
The Lord was angry at the people because when they complained against the prophet, they
were complaining against God. The tribes of Israel wandered for 40 years. They were cursed instead
3 (# 14)
of blessed because of that little easy thing we call complaining. It's a big thing in the Lord's eyes. You
young people remember this lesson. If you ever complain against President Jeffs, you're griping
against God Himself.
The Lord fed the people manna as they traveled in the wilderness. They didn't have to cook
their food or make bread, or plant crops. Their food was given to them, made from a grain called
coriander seed and described as a thin wafer, made with honey also. Once again, they griped against
the prophet because they did not have water. This time, they were ready to stone him to death. The
Lord commanded Moses to strike a rock, and water came out of the rock.
Moses told his faithful servant Joshua, to take men with swords and spears, and fight against
the people of Amalek, while he went to the mountain to pray. He raised his hands to the square, sign of
the priesthood. He held both arms up to the square, and as long as he did so, Joshua won the battle.
When his arms got tired, and he had to rest them, the Amalekites would cause the Israelites to lose the
battle. All day long this battle took place. Two men stood by Moses and held his arms up, and as long
as he kept his arms up, the battle went right. Finally, the Israelites won.
The beautiful lesson of that story is, we are here to help the prophet. Whatever he sets his hand
to do, we go and strengthen his arm. Every day, the people would come and Moses sat and greeted the
people. When they had a gripe against each other, he would decide what to do. He was the only judge,
so his father-in-law suggested he appoint righteous men to be judges. It was here that the Lord
revealed to Moses, The Ten Commandments.
1st: “Thou shalt have no other Gods before me.”
2nd: “Thou shalt not make unto thee, any graven image, or any likeness of anything in
heaven above or in the earth beneath, etc,” You young people, you shouldn't even have the image or
likeness of a fish, animal, a person - those are idols. You shouldn't wear it as jewelry, or have it on
your dresser, or you are breaking the commandment of God.
3rd: “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.” The meaning of this is,
you don't use the word God or Lord very often. You don't go around talking those words. You're very
careful. The other meaning is to simply disobey. That is the call for obedience.
4th: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.”
5th: “Honor thy father and thy mother that thy days may be long upon the land.” That
means obey your parents.
6th: "Thou shalt not kill."
7th: "Thou shalt not commit adultery."
8th: "Thou shalt not steal."
9th: "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor."
10th: "Thou shalt not covet."
These Ten Commandments are part of the celestial law. We must live these today. To break
one, you lose the spirit of God. The reason the Lord wanted the people to come out of Egypt was to
make of them a kingdom of priests. If any evil person were to see God in His Glory, they would burn
up in an instant. At first, Moses taught the people the celestial law - all the gospel just like we have,
but after the tenth time of complaining, he withdrew the law.

4 (# 14)