Liberty Jail

Amid many allegations, Joseph Smith was sent to a few different jails in Missouri before he finally ended up in Liberty Jail. Joseph was treated horribly, and had to live in the most demeaning conditions. From being in dark, cramped quarters, to being offered human flesh, Joseph was in extremely dire situations. He didn’t know how the Saints were doing, and had to trust that Brigham Young and the other free leaders would keep them safe. It’s enough physically and emotionally to break just about anyone. Enough to cause the strongest man to ask: “Why? Why me?” And Joseph did just that. “Oh God, where art thou?” The words which start off the 121st section of the Doctrine and Covenants show just how low Joseph Smith must have felt. It was the first time he had to sit and really have time to ponder things, and wonder if what he was on the right track. Had he truly followed the Lord’s counsel? Had the Lord forsaken him? He was discouraged. He was despairing. Yet the Lord didn’t come to His immediate aid and try only to comfort him. But He does give him what Joseph needed to hear. He says, “My son, peace be unto thy soul.” These sweet words are the beginning of some incredible and sweet revelations, as well as the beginning of a new era for Joseph Smith. Before going to Liberty Jail, Joseph almost seemed to lack confidence in some areas. He typically had somebody else speak for him. He knew the gospel, and was confident in His relationship with the Lord, but he hadn’t truly been tried and tested. It was in the solemn walls of Liberty Jail that he received that test. The Lord promised Joseph that if he would endure the trials well, they would be for His good. In that, and the other counsel the Lord gave Joseph, a new man evolved. Joseph learned how to truly lead. He became completely confident in the teachings. No longer was he going to have somebody else speak for him, but he was now going to be his own spokesmen. He began to teach sermons instead of teaching revelations. In many ways for Joseph, Liberty Jail could be seen as his Garden of Gethsemane. It was probably the hardest time in his life. Possibly the hardest period of time he had to go through. Yet, when he came out of it he was stronger than ever. He did endure it well. He did what the Lord asked of him, and as a result he was able to strengthen and bless those around him. By following the Lord, and working through those hard times, he was able to become what the Lord wanted him to become.

D&C 137

Doctrine and Covenants Section 37 is a revelation given to the Prophet Joseph Smith of the Celestial Kingdom. It gives some extremely comforting to doctrine regarding those who die without ever hearing about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In the revelation, Joseph Smith sees his brother Alvin, who died without being baptized. Joseph is surprised to see his brother in the Celestial Kingdom since he had not been baptized in mortality, but then learned an incredible doctrine—that those who would have accepted the gospel, had they had the opportunity in this life, will have a chance to learn it and accept it in the life to come. Of course, they can’t receive the ordinances for themselves, so that puts a lot of responsibility on the rest of us to do their work for them. For me personally, this makes me feel extremely grateful for the gospel. It’s hard for me to imagine a God who wouldn’t provide a way for all of His creations to return to Him. It helps me to remember how much love our Heavenly Father has for all of His children. We all lived with Him before, and His work and His glory is to “bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” Our Heavenly Father provided a way for everyone on this earth to return to live with Him, not just those who had a chance to hear of Christ, or receive a fullness of that Gospel. It helps me to realize that even though there are hard trials going on throughout the world, God loves all of His children. Even if things are hard in this life, those who do their best still have a chance to have true joy and happiness in the life to come.
This is additionally important to me in the aspect of family history work. Heavenly Father has provided a way for our ancestors to return to Him, but they can’t do it without our help. We have information and technology at our fingertips. We have the gospel in its fullness. It truly is our responsibility and opportunity to search for the names of our ancestors. To give them the opportunity to receive the ordinances is an opportunity that all should pursue in one form or another. Many of them lived good lives, and would have accepted the gospel. Now it’s up to us to give them that chance to receive the blessings.

Special Collections

For this past week in class we went to the Special Collections area of the Harold B. Lee Library to receive a lecture on the history of writing and preserving records. It is amazing to me the measures that people would go to in the past in order to write something down so that it could be preserved for at least a period of time. It was amazing to see how writing evolved. From rocks, to animal skins, to paper, it is clear that they would use just about anything they could to be able to preserve, or communicate, what they had to say.
What really struck me though is how much we take the ability to read, write, and keep records for granted. Looking at the texts before the printing press, it is incredible to see how perfect the writing was, and how much time they took to make it look beautiful. During Roman times, they had the metal plates which they would engrave in. The Egyptians made papyrus. And even then, there were only some who could actually read and write. It was an opportunity that few had to be able to truly preserve a record or a history. Today we have pens and paper at our finger tips. I am able to sit at my computer and write my personal history, or anything else that I want. We have text messaging capabilities and e-mail. Do we really ever stop and think about how lucky we are to be able to so easily read or write. It made me realize a little bit more why we are encouraged to keep a journal and other histories. I’m sure that many of my ancestors would have given anything for the opportunities that I have now. To be taught from a young age how to read and write, and yet what am I doing with it?
I also realize how grateful I am for those who were educated, and did choose to write things down. Although we couldn’t see their original works, I am grateful for the prophets from the Book of Mormon and the Bible for keeping their records. Because of them, and the work of others, I am able to read the word of God as He gave direction to His prophets. Thanks to their faithfulness, and the technology that allows for mass production of these materials, I am able to study their words. And why? Because there were faithful people over the years who kept and preserved these sacred records. This trip to the Special Collections Library really helped me to understand how grateful I am for the time that people put into keeping records, and what a responsibility I have to keep records for myself.

Life is such an interesting thing. Sometimes life is going great, and nothing can stop you. Other times it seems that nothing can go right. It’s a rollercoaster of ups and downs. But why? Why can’t life just be easy all of the time? Why do we have to have hard times? I personally am okay when things are going easy, and I’m not the most excited for trials and suffering, but I can look back on every time of suffering in my life and see something that I have learned. It is also comforting to learn from the scriptures that suffering doesn’t necessarily mean that we are being punished. That doesn’t mean that transgression comes without punishment, but that’s not the only reason for suffering. Suffering can come for our own personal growth, or because of the actions of others. Often times things in life get hard not because we’ve done anything wrong, but because God wants to prove us and help us grow. I can look back at many times in my life when I just can’t figure out why things were happening, or why life was so hard. I’d be trying to live the gospel, and keep the commandments, yet life was still hard. Eventually, those hard times did pass, and looking back I can see how I was able to grow and learn from those experiences. Through those hard times our Father in Heaven has been able to help mold me more into what he wants me to become. The challenge I’m trying to work on now is to keep a positive outlook on life during those hard times, when I feel that I am suffering. It always helps me to look back on past experiences where the Lord has helped me. When I look at much of the world it also helps me feel grateful, and realize that much of my suffering and trials aren’t so bad. So many people in the world suffer so much more, whether it’s because of their choices, natural occurrences, or the agency of other people. I have to look at them to and realize why that is fair. I then realize that I don’t know why things are that way, but God does. I have to remember that He provided a way to make all things fair in the life to come. It’s so comforting to know that through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, all the wrongs in this world can be made right in the life to come. Suffering is hard, but I feel that the prophet Nephi says it best, “For it must needs be ,that there is an opposition in all things.” If life never was hard, we could never experience true joy, and that is what we always have to remember.