Long before the time of Christ Jesus, the people of Israel were slaves in Egypt. They helped to build cities for Pharaoh, the Egyptian king, or worked in the fields. Although the slaves were useful to Pharaoh, he was afraid because there were so many of them. He feared they would rise up against him, so he tried to destroy every boy baby that was born. ^{See Ex. 1:7–2:10 .}

After Moses was born, his mother hid him for three months so Pharaoh's men wouldn't find him. When he was too big and made too much noise to be hidden in the house any longer, his mother took a little basket of papyrus reeds and gave it a coating of pitch so it would float like a small boat and not leak. Then she put her little baby in the basket, or ark, as the Bible calls it. She took him down to the bank of the river Nile and set the basket at the edge of the water among the tall reeds. It must have been a sad moment for her, for she didn't know if she would ever again see her son.

In places this river is as wide as a lake, and in those days there were many animals along the water's edge. Lions, leopards, and cheetahs roamed in the shrubland and forests further to the south. In some places, crocodiles lay on the river's mudbanks. And big black hippopotamuses loved to wade and swim in the cool river.

Moses' older sister, Miriam, kept watch over the floating basket. The Bible tells what happened next: "And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river's side; and when she saw the ark among the flags [reeds], she sent her maid to fetch it."

When the baby cried, the king's daughter wanted to keep him. Miriam went to the princess and asked if she would like to have a woman from her people to nurse the baby. The princess told her to find someone, and Miriam came back with Moses' own mother.

The baby was allowed to live in his mother's care as long as she nursed him, and the princess even paid her to take care of Moses. Then he was brought to the princess, and she adopted him as her son and named him "Moses." He was taught all the subjects a young prince needed to know.

Moses never forgot that he was not an Egyptian but a Hebrew. Many years later, after he married, God called him to undertake a divine mission for his people—to bring them out of slavery in Egypt to a land of their own where they could be free. There were many dangers, but God was always with him.

We usually remember Moses best for the Ten Commandments, which God gave him for the Israelites. These Ten Commandments say to worship only the one God and to obey His laws, including "Thou shalt not steal" and "Thou shalt not kill." ^{See Ex. 20:1–17.} These are still basic laws by which we live today.

Just as Moses was protected and cared for by God, so each of us can trust His love and care. Wherever we are, whatever we are doing, we are always in God's presence. God is our true Father-Mother, and as His child, man is always safe. Just as Moses had a special job to do for God, so each of us has special work to do. As we obey the Commandments and listen for His guidance, we find out what our work is. It may even have something to do with bringing people out of slavery!