Liberty Jail

Last week for my religion class we read Doctrine and Covenants sections 121, 122, and 123. These sections were written while the Prophet Joseph Smith was in Clay County, Missouri's Liberty Jail. We learned that these sections of the D&C were extracted from a rather lengthy letter that the Prophet Joseph Smith and his prison companions wrote to the church members and their families. In class we gathered into small groups of three and reviewed transcriptions of the letter and saw the sections of the letter that became these three sections of the D&C. By looking at the Bible we can see that it isn’t unusual for inspired letters to become scripture: for example, Paul’s epistles to the saints at Thessalonica.

This was an extraordinarily difficult time for the Prophet. Those five cold, dark months in “liberty” Jail during the winter of 1838-1839 changed him. He came out with more confidence and boldness.

Difficult times stretch us. We find inspiring words in D&C 122:5-7. They are kind of lengthy verses, all describing the Lord’s point: “If thou art called to pass through tribulation […] know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good.” Verse 8 continues, “The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he?” These are words we should all remember when we face difficult things.