The Maker of Heaven, Earth, and Seas

I’m impressed by the faith and humility evident in Joseph Smith’s prayer in Liberty Jail as recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 121:1-6. Joseph had been a prisoner for almost five months and the Saints had been driven from their homes in the dead of winter—and more than a few had been killed—but Joseph was not questioning the existence of God or His goodness or ability to help them. He prayed, “O God, where art thou? And where is the pavilion that covereth thy hiding place?” He knew God was there and he knew that divine help would come, but he searched to understand why it had not come yet. He continued, “How long shall thy hand be stayed, and thine eye, yea thy pure eye, behold from the eternal heavens the wrongs of thy people and of thy servants, and thine ear be penetrated with their cries?” Here he showed his deference to the Lord as he recognized that His “pure eye” did behold them. Joseph was not questioning His perfect nature but rather he simply sought to know when He would intervene. Verse 4 in particular shows the faith that Joseph had in the Lord and His perfect power: “O Lord God Almighty, maker of heaven, earth, and seas, and of all things that in them are, and who controllest and subjectest the devil, and the dark and benighted dominion of Sheol—stretch forth thy hand; let thine eye pierce; let thy pavilion be taken up; let thy hiding place no longer be covered; let thine ear be inclined; let thine heart be softened, and thy bowels moved with compassion toward us.” Joseph knew the Lord and was a witness to that power. As he and his people suffered he didn’t doubt the Lord’s ability to help and rescue them but trusted that He who made the heaven, earth, and seas would be moved with compassion towards them. He didn’t even question the Lord’s timeline; He just wanted to know when divine aid would come.

               Another important aspect of Joseph’s prayer is that his concerns were not only about himself. Surely his own suffering there in the prison along with those of his companions were part of what led him to seek for comfort and reassurance from the Lord. But I believe the suffering of his people played an even bigger part. He prayed about “the wrongs of thy people” and pled, “Yea, O Lord, how long shall they suffer these wrongs and unlawful oppressions, before thine heart shall be softened toward them, and thy bowels be moved with compassion toward them?” This was a supplication for them, meaning the Saints who had been driven from their homes and were suffering. A later verse uses the pronoun us, thus including him and the other five in the prison, but his focus was clearly on the Saints as a whole. He cried, “Remember thy suffering saints, O our God; and thy servants will rejoice in thy name forever.” His plea was for all of the Latter-day Saints who were suffering and needed the divine help of the Lord.

             These two aspects of his prayer give us I believe a model to follow. First, our trials, however difficult, need not lead us to question God’s existence or His power or goodness or love for us; rather, as we suffer we can affirm our faith in Him even as we plead for relief, knowing that in His timing He will help us. Second, as we seek assistance from the Lord we should think not just of ourselves but of all those around us who are suffering and who need our prayers. Surely as we humbly recognize His divine power and goodness and the fact that we are not alone in our trials, the Lord will hear and answer our prayers for ourselves and others. The answer Joseph received was this: “My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment.” That “small moment” turned out to be a period of about one more month, at least until he was able to leave the jail and rejoin his people. The Lord answered his prayer, and the "maker of heaven, earth, and seas" will surely do the same for us as we seek Him in humility and faith.