In Alma 25:15 the comment is made that “the law of Moses was a type of [Christ’s] coming.” According to Philip Allred, the Lord has instructed his people throughout time with types and symbols. Types can be defined as “persons, events, or things” that are real “and at the same time point to qualities of Christ or his kingdom.”
As a whole, the sacrificial ordinances described in the Mosaic law display significant features designed to point to Christ. There could be no broken bones in the animals offered--typical of Jesus’ literal fulfillment of Psalm 34:20 (John 19:32-36). The sacrifice had to be without blemish--representing the purity and sinlessness of the Son of God (Deuteronomy 15:21; 17:1; Hebrews 4:15; 7:25-27; 9:11-15; D&C 45:4). On the most holy day in Israel, Yom Kippur, or Day of Atonement, the priest laid his hands on the animals and dedicated them to God as his representatives and substitutes (Leviticus 1:4; 16:21; Numbers 8:10, 12). This pointed to the fact that Jesus was the Anointed One to perform the great atoning sacrifice (Isaiah 61:1-3). The blood was the means of atonement (Exodus 30:10; Leviticus 8:15; 16:18; 17:11; 1 Nephi 12:10-11; Mosiah 3:11, 14-18) and was applied to all people and things in order to purify them (Exodus 24:6-8).
Moses required Israel to observe both weekly and seasonal festivals to keep them in remembrance of the Lord. The weekly reminder came in the Sabbath. Earlier in Exodus, Moses had taught that the Lord had ordained that day as a reminder of the creation of the earth (see Exodus 20:10-11). However, in Deuteronomy’s recitation of the Decalogue (Ten Commandments) Moses changed the rationale for the Sabbath observance (see Deuteronomy 5:15). No longer was it to commemorate the creation (at least not that alone), but now it was to keep the children of Israel in remembrance of the glory of their deliverance from bondage by the Lord.
Israel’s seasonal reminders came in the triennial festivals of Passover (Pesah), Weeks (Shavuot, or Pentecost), and Tabernacles (Sukkoth). These were held in the spring and fall--naturally timed with the agrarian cycle of planting and harvesting (Deuteronomy 16; see also Deuteronomy 11:13-17). Not only was the timing significant, but the activities themselves ‘commemorated the great events of Israel’s history, the occasions when in an unmistakable way God had stepped in to deliver his people.“ These three festivals typify three roles of the Messiah: ”Passover is the festival of redemption and points toward the Torah-revelation of the Feast of Weeks; the harvest festival in the autumn celebrates not only creation, but especially, redemption."
Moses also reiterated the command to celebrate a Sabbatical year while in the promised land (Exodus 21:2; 23:11; Leviticus 25:2, 20; Deuteronomy 15:1-18). Every seventh year was to be observed in a way similar to how the weekly Sabbath was observed. The fields were to receive a rest. People were to have faith in God for their needs rather than labor by the strength of their arms. Slaves were freed and debts were canceled. The symbolism is unmistakable. Israel was to recall, just as during the weekly Sabbath, that God is powerful to save and deliver them. The people were to totally rely on the Lord. The freeing of slaves kept the people mindful of the one who had unlocked their prison and thereby invited them to emulate the loving kindness of their Savior. [Philip A. Allred, “Moses’ Charge to Remember,” in Covenants Prophecies and Hymns of the Old Testament, pp. 58-64]
Note* John Tvedtnes notes the following:
In 1972, I mentioned to President and Sister Harold B. Lee (then on a visit to Jerusalem) that our April and October conferences corresponded with the timing of the ancient festivals of Passover and Tabernacles. [John Tvedtnes, “King Benjamin and the Feast of Tabernacles,” in By Study and Also by Faith: Essays in Honor of Hugh W Nibley, vol. 2, p. 230, n. 20.]