“Joseph makes himself known to his brothers. They rejoice together.”
Genesis 45:4–5, 7–8
4 And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.
5 Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life. . . .
7 And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
8 So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.
Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin said:
“. . . Joseph became ruler over all Egypt, second in rank only to Pharaoh. He directed the storage of food during the years of plenty and the dispensing of it during the years of famine.
“During the famine, Joseph’s brothers, who had sold him as a slave twenty-two years earlier, came to Egypt to obtain food. Not recognizing him, they bowed down to him because of his high office.
“In a tender, touching scene, Joseph identified himself to his brothers and forgave them. I suppose he could have retaliated for their mistreatment of him by making them slaves, having them imprisoned, or even having them put to death. But he did what was right and good. He said:
“‘I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.
“‘Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither. . . .
“‘And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity, . . . and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
“‘So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God’ (Gen. 45:4–5, 7–8).
“Through Joseph, the Lord preserved the children of Israel and provided a place in Egypt for them to flourish and increase.”
(“Personal Integrity,” Ensign, May 1990, 31.)
