Come, Follow Me—For Home and Church: Old Testament 2026

By Elder David A. BednarOf the Quorum of the Twelve ApostlesMeekness is a defining attribute of the Redeemer and is distinguished by righteous responsiveness, willing submissiveness, and strong self-restraint.

The law of inheritances to sons, daughters, and kinsmen is explained—Moses will see but not enter the promised land—Joshua is called and set apart to lead Israel.

The Lord commands Balaam to bless Israel—He does so, saying, Who can count the dust of Jacob? and, What hath God wrought!

The children of Israel destroy those Canaanites who fight against them—The Israelites are plagued with fiery serpents—Moses lifts up a serpent of brass to save those who look thereon—Israel defeats the Amorites, destroys the people of Bashan, and occupies their lands.

Israel murmurs and speaks of returning to Egypt—Joshua and Caleb give a good report of Canaan—Moses mediates between Israel and the Lord—The adults of Israel will not enter the promised land—The Lord slays the false spies by a plague—Some rebels try to go alone and are slain by the Amalekites and Canaanites.

Aaron and Miriam complain against Moses, the most meek of all men—The Lord promises to speak to Moses mouth to mouth and to reveal to him the similitude of the Lord—Miriam becomes leprous for a week.

Even on foot, it wouldn’t take 40 years to travel from the wilderness of Sinai to the promised land in Canaan. But that’s how long the children of Israel needed—not to cover the geographical distance but to cover the spiritual distance: the distance between who they were and who they could become as God’s covenant people.The book of Numbers describes some of what happened during those 40 years, including lessons the children of Israel needed to learn before entering the promised land. They learned about being faithful to the Lord’s servants (see Numbers 12). They learned about trusting the Lord’s power, even when the future seems hopeless (see Numbers 13–14). And they learned that being faithless brings spiritual harm, but they could repent and look to the Savior for healing (see Numbers 21:4–9).We’re all like the Israelites in some ways. We know what it’s like to be in a spiritual wilderness, and the lessons they learned can help us prepare to enter our promised land: eternal life with our Heavenly Father.For an overview of the book of Numbers, see “Numbers” in the Bible Dictionary.

By President Henry B. EyringSecond Counselor in the First PresidencyGreater happiness comes from greater personal holiness.

How and when Aaron must enter the holy place is explained—Sacrifices are offered to reconcile Israel to God—The scapegoat carries away the sins of the people—The sins of all Israel are forgiven on the Day of Atonement.

Animals without blemish are sacrificed as an atonement for sins—Burnt offerings are a sweet savor unto the Lord.

Holy garments are made for Aaron and the priests—The breastplate is made—The tabernacle of the congregation is finished—Moses blesses the people.

Bezaleel makes the ark, the mercy seat, and the cherubims—He makes the table, the vessels, the candlestick, the incense altar, the holy anointing oil, and the sweet incense.