What "brazen serpents" could the prophet be holding up today?

by Michelle

After the Lord had the prophet Moses lead the children of Israel out of their bondage in Egypt, He intended to take them to a land reserved for them, a place where they could live in peace and happiness. However, even though they had been miraculously delivered by His hand, the Israelites struggled to remember their God, thank Him, or truly worship Him and thus they struggled being guided by Him to this promised land. (Indeed, that's why the journey took 40 years!)

At one point in their journey, as they were struggling (again!) to be grateful and humble in their trying circumstances, “the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.” (Numbers 21:6) Realizing in that moment their responsibility in that trial, the Israelites pled with Moses to ask the Lord if He would take the snakes away.
Moses asked.
But the Lord responded with an unexpected solution.
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He instructed Moses to make a serpent out of brass, put it on a stick, and hold it up. 
Once he was finished, Moses then told the people that if they would look up to that brazen serpent up on that pole, they would be healed and protected and live.
Isn't it interesting that hundreds of poisonous snakes were slithering at their feet and biting them; people standing next to them were getting bit, possibly screaming with pain; some of their loved ones and children were probably dying, and yet God was asking them to take their attention off all that around them . . . and look to Him by looking up to that brazen serpent.
It seems a little strange. And ​I’ve wondered if they might have said to themselves, “What difference will looking at a snake made out of metal make? How is that going to help?”
Indeed, it seems many of them probably did. For many of them wouldn't look and perished. They didn't understand what the serpent symbolized nor how Moses was trying to get them to look to their God in their circumstances. 
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I have been reminded of the Israelites experience with the brazen serpent several times as I've found myself asking that same question about something the Lord had instructed me to do.
One time many years ago, I had been praying for guidance for one of our children. He was struggling with his emotions, some difficult circumstances, and getting along with others and I was struggling to figure out what the real problem was and what could be done about it. I prayed about my concern often for several months but didn't really get any answers.

Then one day I was in the laundry room folding laundry when a clear, quiet thought came into my head: "Just listen to him." 
I stopped what I was doing for a second and listened again. "Just listen better to him."

I knew immediately that the Lord was referring to this particular son but I am embarrassed to say that the next thought that popped into my head was:
"What difference will that make? How is that going to help? He is struggling with some really difficult things right now - things much bigger than not being listened to!" 
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However, I decided to at least try it. (I mean I hadn't been able to come up with any better ideas.) And it has been so interesting to watch just how inspired those four words truly were for that son in particular, with his personality and individual needs.

That one small piece of what seemed like vague, possibly irrelevant counsel from the Lord was the very thing that was being neglected in our large and sometimes chaotic family. And it is something that my husband and I have come back to again and again, continually seeking the Spirit's direction of how and when we can listen to him better.  

I have discovered that the Lord often holds up a modern version of a brazen serpent in our lives. And often this simple, seemingly irrelevant symbol offers us the same kind of protection, healing, peace, or a chance to truly live during this mortal experience.

Maybe it is an impression that we really need to rededicate ourselves to prayer or the recurring thought that our scripture study is lacking. It may be what seems to be a guilty reminder that we are not worshipping in the temple enough or that our church service needs to be more focused on the Savior instead of ourselves. Or sometimes it is something even more simple than that: listen better . . . serve more . . . let go of that anger . . . let go of that expectation of yourself.

Whatever the instruction is, we may find ourselves dismissing those simple promptings because of more pressing concerns in our lives. Or we may acknowledge His encouraging reprimand is true, but conclude we have bigger problems to solve than that.
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​However, we know that the Lord truly does bring to pass incredible things by simple means (Alma 36;7). Often, He solves big problems with small solutions.

One Sunday a little while ago, I was sitting in a Stake Conference and the topic of the conference was Temple and Family History work (again!). I am also embarrassed to say that I immediately started tuning out the speakers because I was so tired of hearing about Temple and Family History work!
“When do I have time to do family history?” I asked myself. “Why would I prioritize it when I have so much to do, so little time, and so many things on my plate? What difference does it make? How could it possibly help me with all of the other things I need to worry about?”

And then it dawned on me! Could this be a brazen serpent the prophet is holding up for the Church in general? Could this be a small and simple means that could offer protection, healing, peace and ultimately a chance to truly live in these perilous and often frightening last days? 

 ​On a very logical level, it doesn’t really make sense. 
How can something like doing family history work help us with all of the challenges we have in our day?
For example, how can family history work help a son who is struggling with pornography or his parents who are seeking to know how to help him? The internet, smartphones, and technology bombard us on every side. Confusion, distraction, and indifference are slithering at our feet. How could indexing really help protect our families against the blatant immorality that has crept into our homes and lives today? Indeed, the people around us are getting “bit” and are suffering; some of our loved ones and children are even spiritually dying.

And yet, God through His prophet is asking us to take our attention off of all these poisonous influences and look to Him by looking back.
What difference could it possibly make? How could that help?

I don’t fully know the answer to those questions, but I guess neither did the Israelites. They simply had to have the courage and faith to obey prophetic instruction and trust not only in the divine source of that instruction but the divine blessings of it. They, like us, had to trust that what they were being counseled to do would ultimately lead them to the Savior. 
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​At least one conclusion I have come to is that family history work leads us to the temple. And it seems that those few hours we spend learning, pondering, and participating in ordinances in the temple are another small and simple means that brings to pass great things in the thousands of hours we spend outside the temple living our lives.

​Think about it: if there was no doctrine of participating in ordinances for the dead, we would maybe go into the temple a half a dozen times in our entire lives – once for ourselves, and a few other times escorting others or witnessing a marriage sealing. Our proxy work for the dead gives us an opportunity to go into the temple every single week if we choose! 

But I think there might be more reasons than that - even more personal and meaningful applications in each of our lives and our circumstances.
And those reasons are for you and I to discover by doing family history work and taking our families (both living and deceased) to the temple.

However, family history work is just one example! It is only one counsel that has been given to us in these latter days by our prophet.

What other brazen serpents could the prophet be holding up for us today?

If we look for that help - those simple, seemingly irrelevant admonitions the Lord gives to His prophets - we will discover them all around us.
And they are God's higher way of offering us peace, protection, healing and a chance to truly live "after the manner of happiness" (2 Nephi 5:27) in an overwhelming and often frightening world. Indeed, they give us access to the peace, protection, healing and life found in His Son, Jesus Christ.