Moses was raised to be a pharaoh, but God had different plans for him.

Moses was called by God to lead the children of Israel from Egypt to the promised land. But first Moses had a few questions. We learn from Exodus that he raised the question with God “Why Me” (Exodus 3:11).

some years earlier, Moses thought he knew who he was: he was a prince in Egypt and a Hebrew. However; after a great deal of time chasing sheep around in the desert, Moses didn't have the same self-sure confidence that he once had. Now, Moses is called by God to deliver his people from the land of Egypt so he asked the question - Why me? To which the only immediate response he received was “I will be with thee”.

Moses continued to ponder his un-answered question “Why me?”.

On an occasion he journeyed to an exceedingly high mountain. A place he had been before when he had previous encounters with God. Moses felt that if he was to complete his mission he would need to better understand who he was. He was raised in a culture with Gods made of gold, idol Gods created for every purpose.

so Moses journeys high up to the top of the mountain. It is here atop the mountain that he is transfigured allowing him to meet with God face to face.

It is here that God begins to teach Moses of his eternal nature, suggesting that there is a grand purpose and a plan for both God and Man.

God instructs Moses that “behold, thou art my son”. We might ask ourselves why is this the first thing that God chooses to teach Moses?

The use of the word "son" denotes that Moses is like him, the relationship of son to sire implies that Moses is different from the animals. " In a 1909 discourse titled “The Origin of Man,” the First Presidency wrote: “Man is the child of God, formed in the divine image and endowed with divine attributes, and even as the infant son of an earthly father and mother is capable in due time of becoming a man, so the undeveloped offspring of celestial parentage is capable, by experience through ages and aeons, of evolving into a God” (Improvement Era, Nov. 1909, 81; see also Acts 17:27–28; Hebrews 12:9; Marion G. Romney)

The next thing that God shows him is “the workmanship of mine hands”. Similar knowledge was revealed to Abraham when God used a similar phrase “workmanship of mine hands”. God chose to use the word “hands” to denote that he exercised great detail in the work of the creation. It implies creativity, comprehension, touch, dexterity and detail. (Also Abraham 3:11)

With the understanding in place that God is eternal, that Moses is his son, and that God is the creator of the earth and heaven. God then tells Moses that he has a work for him to do - he was foreordained, and brought to the earth with a special mission.

Moses was then instructed further that he was created “in the similitude of mine only begotten” or the Savior. Symbolically Moses was to act as a savior and deliver of Israel, Freeing them from slavery (symbolic of the atonement), taking them through the waters of the red sea (symbolic of baptism), taking them to the promised land (symbolic or heaven). Moses provided the Law to the people; just as the Savior would provide a law for us.

God then instructs Moses that “there is no God beside me”. Remember Moses came from a world of idols and false deity such was the belief system among the Egyptians. Now the Lord is making a point - he is getting the attention of Moses. If Moses is going to accomplish his work, he must understand this message well. That the work will only come about by un-relenting faith in ONE GOD the creator of the world, the center of all faith and worship.

God knows full well what is about to happen next to Moses. That he will shortly be confronted by Satan - the Lord knows this and is confirming to Moses the idea that there is only one God; before Satan gets his chance to distort the truth.

God then states “that all things are present with me”. The dimension of time is different to God said Elder Neal A. Maxwell "God...is not simply predicting based on the past. In ways that are not clear to us, he sees rather than foresees the future, because all things are at once present before him" (Things As They Really Are p29).

God then says “now, behold, this one thing I show unto thee”.

8 And it came to pass that Moses looked, and beheld the world upon which he was created; and Moses beheld the world and the ends thereof, and all the children of men which are, and which were created; of the same he greatly marveled and wondered.

This instruction was no different from what God had shown Adam, Enoch, The Brother of Jared, Abraham, Isaiah, Ezekiel, John the Revelator and others. He showed each of them the world from the beginning until the end.

Have you ever wondered why one of the first things that God teaches man is that we are his children and that he created the world for us?

You see the first and most import thing we must learn while here on earth is that we are literally children of God. God knows that this knowledge will give us great power. Satan understands that if we do not comprehend it that we will most likely not reach our divine destiny. As is further brought out as our story of Moses continues.

in verse 9 it says “And the presence of God withdrew from Moses, that his glory was not upon Moses; and Moses was left unto himself.” A symbolic representation of our coming to this earth; we were no longer in the presence of God.

Moses learns from being left unto himself that he is nothing, just as when we cut ourselves off from God we too become helpless. Moses was trained to be a leader. He had lived his life in the presence of mighty men, he was very much accustomed with the power of man. Now God is teaching him the difference between the power of man and the power of God.

What is the purpose of being left to oneself? It is while we are on our own that we have to make decisions for ourselves, to exercise our agency - to define what and who we want to become. Elder Holland said "There is a lesson in the life of Moses that virtually everyone will experience one day. It is the sobering truth that before or after great spiritual moments, there can come adversity, opposition, and darkness. Life has some of those moments for us, as the adversary tries either to keep us from receiving revelation or to make us doubt the light we have received… Paul said to those who thought a new testimony, a personal conversion, or a spiritual experience would put them beyond trouble, “Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise” (Heb. 10:35–36). In LDS talk that is to say, “Sure it is tough. But don’t draw back. Don’t panic and retreat. Don’t lose your confidence. Don’t forget how you once felt. Don’t distrust the experience you had.” That tenacity is what saved Moses when the adversary confronted him, and it is what will save you." (Elder Jeffery R. Holland)

Then after a short period of time Moses “receives his natural strength like unto man”. To which Moses exclaims “Now, for this cause I know that man is nothing, which thing I never had supposed.”

How can it be that we are sons and Daughter’s of God and yet man is still nothing? Moses is endeavoring to teach us that without God we are nothing because he has given us everything, and yet as his children we can become like Him. Another way of looking at this is to say that Moses is saying he had previously not realized the immensity of the earth and the minuscule size and relative insignificance of man upon the earth. Moses had lived for forty years as a royal prince of Egypt and was revered as a renowned military leader. After having experienced the power and glory of God, however, he humbly acknowledged that in comparison, “man is nothing.” Elder Neal A. Maxwell wrote that Moses’ statement “surely was not a reflection on man, ‘God’s greatest miracle,’ but a placing of man in the vast perspective of God’s creations and a realizing, even so, that we are God’s exclusive work and his greatest glory” (Notwithstanding My Weakness [1981], 75). Latter-day scripture affirms the truth that with and through God man can fulfill his divine potential to truly become even as God (see D&C 76:55–59, 92–95; 88:107; 121:29; 132:20).

“12 And it came to pass that when Moses had said these words, behold, Satan or as literally translated the “adversary”. “came tempting him, saying: Moses, son of man, worship me.”

Satan is fully aware that Moses has just had a discussion with God; as a result Satan refers to Moses as the “son of man” suggesting his life and purpose have a different meaning than what God expects. Satan’s tactic; to bring Moses down to a level of mere humanity by calling him a “son of man”, getting him to forsake his divine nature. Sure enough, Moses was a “son of man” in the sense that he was a mortal. The term “son of man” in Hebrew simply denotes “mortal” or “human being.” This is the ruse that the devil has employed since time began. He is alway endeavoring to strip the Lord’s people of their peculiar standing with God and drag them down to the level of unregenerate humanity. . . . but Moses would not be robbed!”

While most of us will never stand on a mountain face to face with God, nor will we be confronted face to face with Satan - good thing; right?

Satan is cleaver and will attempt to rob us of our divine gifts in every way possible. One subtle way he accomplishes his work, without even getting us to sin is to get us to squander our time. You know the time that we are supposed to have here to exercise out agency so that we can become more like God. Benjamin Franklin said: "Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time; for that's the stuff life is made of.”