Doctrine and Covenants Lesson 28

Introduction

Invite class members to consider a trial or challenge they are currently facing.  It can be a personal weakness they want to overcome, economic challenges, problems with family members, anything.  Give class members a minute to consider their response.  Invite class members to prayerfully remember this personal challenge during today’s lesson.

Background

After the Saints were driven from Jackson County in late 1833, they found refuge in nearby Clay County until they were asked to leave in 1836. From Clay County, they moved about 60 miles north and established the community of Far West and other smaller settlements.

The Church prospered for a time in northern Missouri. The population grew rapidly, and temple sites were dedicated in Far West and Adam-ondi-Ahman. However, there continued to be conflicts among some of the Saints. Several leaders were excommunicated, including Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer.

In addition to dissension among some Church members, there continued to be conflicts with other residents in northern Missouri. In 1838, mobs and militia members began more attacks. On 25 October, three Church members were killed during a battle at Crooked River, including David W. Patten, an Apostle. Two days later, Governor Lilburn W. Boggs of Missouri issued an order that “the Mormons must be treated as enemies and must be exterminated or driven from the state” (History of the Church, 3:175).

On 30 October, a mob of approximately 200 men killed 17 men and boys at Haun’s Mill. The next day, Joseph Smith and approximately 50 other Church leaders were arrested on false charges. Most of these leaders were released within three weeks. However, six of them, including Joseph and Hyrum Smith, were detained despite their innocence. In November they were marched first to Independence, then to Richmond, and then to Liberty, where they were incarcerated in Liberty Jail until April 1839.

Conditions in Liberty Jail were harsh. The prisoners were kept in the lower level, which was like a dungeon—dark, cold, and unsanitary. The food was inadequate and filthy. The Prophet and his companions had only a little straw on the stone floor for their beds, with meager blankets for cover. The ceiling was so low that some of the brethren, including Joseph and Hyrum, could not stand upright. They were also under constant threat of death.

While the Prophet was imprisoned, about 8,000 Saints in Missouri were forced out of their homes as a result of the governor’s extermination order. Many of them were robbed, beaten, and killed by the mobs as they fled to the state of Illinois. The Prophet heard reports of the Saints’ suffering and pleaded with the Lord for help. In response, the Lord gave some powerful revelations. The Prophet included them in a letter to Church leaders in Quincy, Illinois, who were directing the Saints’ exodus from Missouri. Portions of these revelations are now sections 121, 122, and 123 of the Doctrine and Covenants.

Joseph’s prayer in Liberty Jail, and the Lord’s response

As we read several verses received in Liberty Jail, consider how these verses apply in your life.

Read Joseph’s pleadings to the Lord in D&C 121:1–6.  Were Joseph and the Saints justified in asking the Lord to intervene in their plight?

Read the beginning of the Lord’s reply in D&C 121:7–10.  What do you learn from the Lord’s response?  Who are the foes that He promised the Saints would triumph over?  Who are the foes we face?  What is the difference between enduring, and enduring well?

These revelations “made Liberty jail, for a time, a center of instruction. The eyes of the saints were turned to it as the place whence would come encouragement, counsel—the word of the Lord. It was more temple than prison, so long as the Prophet was there. It was a place of meditation and prayer. … Joseph Smith sought God in this rude prison, and found him” (B. H. Roberts, A Comprehensive History of the Church, 1:526).

(Excellent article from Elder Holland here.)

Read D&C 122:7–8.  Follow up with the following quote by Elder Maxwell:

“As part of His infinite atonement, Jesus … has borne the sins, griefs, sorrows, and, declared Jacob, the pains of every man, woman, and child (see 2 Nephi 9:21). Having been perfected in His empathy, Jesus thus knows how to succor us. … Nothing is beyond His redeeming reach or His encircling empathy. Therefore, we should not complain about our own life’s not being a rose garden when we remember who wore the crown of thorns!” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1987, 89; or Ensign, May 1987, 72).

How can we more fully partake of the comfort and strength that Jesus offers through His Atonement?  Read Hebrews 4:16; and 1 Peter 5:6–8.  What does it mean in Hebrews 4:16 to come boldly unto the throne of grace?  (We are invited, even commanded, to approach God.  He has promised to answer our righteous prayers.   There is no reason for us to doubt as we seek His blessings.)

Why adversity comes

Adversity is a necessary part of mortality.   We knew and accepted that before we were born on this earth.  There are many reasons why individual struggles come to us in life.  The Doctrine and Covenants addresses at least three of these reasons:

1.      To give us experience and help us grow.  (Refer to D&C 122:7 which we already read.)

2.      To test, try, and prove us.  Read D&C 98:12 and D&C 136:31.

3.      As a result of our transgressions.  Read D&C 101:1–2.

While serving in the Quorum of the Twelve, Elder Harold B. Lee said that “living the gospel of Jesus Christ is no guarantee that adversity will not come into our lives; but living the gospel does give us the strength and faith and power to rise above that adversity and look beyond the present trouble to the brighter day” (quoted by A. Theodore Tuttle, in Conference Report, Oct. 1967, 15; or Improvement Era, Dec. 1967, 47).

Counsel when we face adversity

What should we do when trials come?

1. D&C 24:8 and 121:7 – Be patient.  We will face many afflictions, but they will last “but a small moment.”
2. D&C 98:1 – Rejoice and give thanks.  WHY?  Doesn’t that seem like the time we have least to be thankful for?  How will searching for things we are grateful for bless us during adversity?
3. D&C 98:11 – Continue to keep the commandments.  This is extremely important so we don’t move from reasons 1 and 2 above to reason 3!

 

Read Alma 62:41.  How can we use our trials to become more humble and teachable and not become bitter?

Promises to those who remain faithful

Read D&C 58:2–4.

Elder Marion G. Romney of the Quorum of the Twelve said:

“I have seen the remorse and despair in the lives of men who, in the hour of trial, have cursed God and died spiritually. And I have seen people rise to great heights from what seemed to be unbearable burdens.

“Finally, I have sought the Lord in my own extremities and learned for myself that my soul has made its greatest growth as I have been driven to my knees by adversity and affliction” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1969, 60; or Improvement Era, Dec. 1969, 69).

Conclusion

In April 1839, after the Prophet and his companions had been held in Liberty Jail for nearly five months, they were sent to Daviess County and then to Boone County for trial. While they were being moved to Boone County, the guards let them escape because some officials concluded that they could not be successfully prosecuted. Joseph Smith and the other prisoners then made their way to Illinois, where they joined their families and the rest of the Saints.

Encourage class members to read the revelations given in Liberty Jail in times of adversity. Testify that through the Atonement, Jesus Christ has borne our griefs. If we turn to Him, He will comfort and lift us even in our darkest days. Express your gratitude for the example of Joseph Smith in dealing with adversity and the willingness of Christ to help us endure and learn from adversity.