Lessons From Liberty Jail

As I have mentioned before, the revelations that Joseph Smith recorded in Liberty Jail that make up sections 121-123 in our Doctrine and Covenants are referenced frequently in general conference. This was particularly evident in this most recent conference as many of the talks focused on overcoming our trials and enduring well through them. Several speakers highlighted Joseph Smith’s experiences in Liberty Jail and what we can learn from that to persevere through our challenges. For example, Elder Uchtdorf encouraged us in these words, “Think of Joseph Smith the Prophet while imprisoned in Liberty Jail, how he pled for relief for the suffering Saints. He must have wondered how Zion could be established in those circumstances. But the Lord spoke peace to him, and the glorious revelation that followed brought peace to the Saints—and it continues to bring peace to you and me.” Elder Stevenson similarly spoke of this experience: “Joseph Smith, who, while languishing in Liberty Jail, felt abandoned and forsaken, then heard the words of the Lord: “These things … shall be for thy good” and “God shall be with you forever.” Elder Stevenson then applied it to us in these words: “I believe that in this life, and in the life to come, your afflictions, your Ammonihah, your Liberty Jail, will be consecrated for your gain.” One of the messages of Joseph Smith’s experience in Liberty Jail was that our trials can likewise be for our good.

               Elder Holland also referenced Joseph Smith’s sufferings in Liberty Jail in a very poignant way as he sought to teach us of the necessity of tests and trials in our own lives. He first questioned, “How long do we wait for relief from hardships that come upon us? What about enduring personal trials while we wait and wait, and help seems so slow in coming? Why the delay when burdens seem more than we can bear?” He suggested that Joseph Smith’s experience might help us answer those kinds of questions: “While asking such questions, we can, if we try, hear another’s cry echoing from a dank, dark prison cell during one of the coldest winters then on record in that locale. ‘O God, where art thou?’ we hear from the depths of Liberty Jail. ‘And where is the pavilion that covereth thy hiding place? How long shall thy hand be stayed?’ How long, O Lord, how long?” These of course were Joseph’s questions, and they are questions we will all have at times of suffering or trial in our lives. And it is the Lord’s answer that should speak to all of us in whatever difficulties we face: “My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes” (Doctrine and Covenants 121:7-8). That “small moment” is the challenge as it can seem so very long, but the Lord’s words to Joseph in his crucible of faith surely were meant for each of us as well.

               Elder Soares pointed out another part of Joseph’s revelation in Liberty Jail that can help us know how to endure trials. He said, “During a particularly difficult time when Joseph Smith and his fellow prisoners in Liberty Jail did not have freedom in anything except for their thoughts, the Lord provided helpful counsel and a promise to them that are extended to all of us: ‘Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men [and women], and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; … The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth.’” In other words, during our afflictions we should seek to increase in charity, faith, and virtue as the Lord counseled to Joseph. If we can focus on that instead of our suffering, we have His promise of the greatest help we can hope for in mortality to face our challenges: the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost.

Joseph Smith’s revelations in Liberty Jail were very personal to him in a time of great distress, but as these talks again highlighted, they are also applicable to all of us as they encourage us to “hold on” and “endure it well.” The promise for each of us is that if we do, seeking to be filled with love and virtue, the Lord will offer us both peace and the companionship of the Holy Ghost to see us through anything.