This week, we are studying three excerpts from a letter Joseph Smith wrote to the Church near the end of his incarceration in Liberty Jail. By the time he wrote this letter, he had been imprisoned there nearly four months, living in cramped and filthy conditions and mistreated by his captors while hearing reports of church members being violently forced to flee the state in the dead of winter.
The first of these excerpts (Doctrine and Covenants 121) begins as a heartfelt prayer, reminiscent of a lamentation psalm. “Where art thou?” Joseph asks. “How long shall thy hand be stayed?” The Lord responds with a message of assurance: “Thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; and then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high” (Doctrine and Covenants 121:1-8).
After providing this assurance, God teaches principles of righteous leadership: “No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned” (Doctrine and Covenants 121:41).
In the second excerpt (Doctrine and Covenants 122), the Lord’s words of assurance continue: Everything you are currently suffering will be for your good. The Savior has suffered more than anyone. God really is in control, and He will be with you forever.
The third excerpt (Doctrine and Covenants 123) is both practical and hopeful. Joseph proposes that church members document all of the wrongs that have been committed against them, not in a spirit of bitterness or vengeance but rather to “[bring] to light all the hidden things of darkness,” to make their fellow citizens and government leaders aware of their situation.
Joseph concludes, “Let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed” (Doctrine and Covenants 123:17).
We can learn much from these excerpts about responding to adversity, including mistreatment by other people. It’s appropriate to plead for deliverance, but it’s important to continue trusting in God and hearing His voice. He may teach you sublime truths in your time of suffering. You may need to suffer a little longer for your own spiritual growth. Even when your options are limited, you can “cheerfully do all things that lie in [your] power,” and then leave the rest to God.
Here are some of my favorite passages from these revelations with relevant blog posts and Book of Mormon connections.
Scripture Highlights and Related Blog Posts
1. Even when it feels like God is distant, we are not forsaken.
Doctrine and Covenants 121:1-2
O God, where art thou? And where is the pavilion that covereth thy hiding place?
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?
Blog Posts
📄 “O God…”
When we say “O God,” we are speaking to Him with a special intensity or earnestness.
Book of Mormon connection: Mosiah 17:19; Alma 22:18; Alma 31:15-18, 27-28; Alma 33:4-9; Alma 38:14; Moroni 4:3; Moroni 5:2; Moroni 9:15
📄 Pavilion
When you feel that a barrier separates you from God, ask Him to help you remove it.
Book of Mormon connection: 2 Nephi 18:17
2. Our adversity is time-bound.
Doctrine and Covenants 121:7-8
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.
Blog Posts
📄 “For a Small Moment…”
The challenges and the trials we face will not last forever.
Book of Mormon connection: 3 Nephi 22:7-8
📄 That the Lord Might Show Forth His Power in Them
Our suffering may benefit not only us but the people around us.
Book of Mormon connection: Alma 8:30-31
3. Through the Holy Ghost, we can learn sublime truths.
Doctrine and Covenants 121:26
God shall give unto you knowledge by his Holy Spirit, yea, by the unspeakable gift of the Holy Ghost, that has not been revealed since the world was until now;
Blog Posts
📄 Unspeakable
Some experiences are beyond the power of words to describe.
Book of Mormon connection: 3 Nephi 19:8, 34; 3 Nephi 26:8-11, 18; 3 Nephi 28:13-14
4. God wants to give us knowledge.
Doctrine and Covenants 121:33
How long can rolling waters remain impure? What power shall stay the heavens? As well might man stretch forth his puny arm to stop the Missouri river in its decreed course, or to turn it up stream, as to hinder the Almighty from pouring down knowledge from heaven upon the heads of the Latter-day Saints.
Blog Posts
📄 Rolling Waters
We need a constant flow of personal revelation to remain close to God and to meet the challenges of each day.
Book of Mormon connection: 1 Nephi 11:25; 1 Nephi 15:26-29
📄 Having Many Revelations Daily
God is eager to bless us and to answer our prayers.
Book of Mormon connection: Helaman 11:23
5. God calls us, but we must choose to be chosen.
Doctrine and Covenants 121:34-36, 40
Behold, there are many called, but few are chosen. And why are they not chosen?
Because their hearts are set so much upon the things of this world, and aspire to the honors of men, that they do not learn this one lesson–
That the rights of the priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven, and that the powers of heaven cannot be controlled nor handled only upon the principles of righteousness. …
Hence many are called, but few are chosen.
Blog Posts
📄 Called and Chosen
We may have been called many times; we are only chosen when we choose to heed the call.
Book of Mormon connection: 1 Nephi 1:20
📄 I Am Like As Yourselves
Leadership roles are opportunities to serve. We lead better when we see ourselves as equal with those we lead, not above them.
Book of Mormon connection: Mosiah 2:10-11, 14, 19, 26
6. Sustainable leadership respects agency.
Doctrine and Covenants 121:41-44, 46
No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned;
By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile–
Reproving betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy;
That he may know that thy faithfulness is stronger than the cords of death.
The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth; and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever.
Blog Posts
📄 They Were Seeking for Power
All leaders derive their power from the consent of those they lead.
Book of Mormon connection: Alma 46:4-5, 18-22
📄 What and How to Teach Your Children
How you teach your children is as important as what you teach them.
Book of Mormon connection: Mosiah 1:4; Mosiah 4:15
📄 The Nurture and Admonition of the Lord
Good parents nurture their children, providing an optimal environment for growth, and they admonish them, providing helpful guidance and feedback.
Book of Mormon connection: Enos 1:1
📄 “Stronger than the Cords of Death”
Don’t pull back from your most important relationships, even when they are strained.
Book of Mormon connection: Alma 36:18
📄 Of Government and Peace
Christlike leaders are good advisors, help others be successful, are dependable and reliable, and lead peacefully, with patience and long-suffering.
Book of Mormon connection: 2 Nephi 19:6-7
7. Virtue gives us confidence in God’s presence.
Doctrine and Covenants 121:45
Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven.
8. Disciples of Jesus must be willing to suffer.
Doctrine and Covenants 122:5, 7-8
If thou art called to pass through tribulation; if thou art in perils among false brethren; if thou art in perils among robbers; if thou art in perils by land or by sea;
… know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good.
The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he?
Blog Posts
📄 Ascending and Descending as a Disciple of Jesus Christ
Disciples of Jesus Christ empathize and uplift others by being willing to “descend” as He did.
Book of Mormon connection: 1 Nephi 11:16; Mosiah 15:1; Alma 7:12
📄 The Beatitudes
Meekness, mourning, peacemaking, purity, and even enduring persecution are signs of inner spiritual strength
Book of Mormon connection: 3 Nephi 12:3-12
9. God has all power, and He will ultimately set all things right.
Doctrine and Covenants 122:9
Therefore, hold on thy way, and the priesthood shall remain with thee; for their bounds are set, they cannot pass. Thy days are known, and thy years shall not be numbered less; therefore, fear not what man can do, for God shall be with you forever and ever.
Blog Posts
📄 “Their Bounds Are Set”
In spite of the latitude we have been given to make our own decisions, God is really in charge; we all operate within boundaries which He controls.
Book of Mormon connection: 1 Nephi 7:15; Mosiah 13:3, 9; Alma 14:11
10. We have a responsibility to bless future generations.
Doctrine and Covenants 123:11-12
And also it is an imperative duty that we owe to all the rising generation, and to all the pure in heart–
For there are many yet on the earth among all sects, parties, and denominations, who are blinded by the subtle craftiness of men, whereby they lie in wait to deceive, and who are only kept from the truth because they know not where to find it–
Blog Posts
📄 The Rising Generation
We have a duty to share our faith with our children and other young people and to do what we can to strengthen their faith.
Book of Mormon connection: Alma 5:49
Questions to Ponder
Here are some questions and topics I intend to study this week:
- What does it mean to endure well, and how can I do it? (Doctrine and Covenants 121:8)
- Why is God giving us so much knowledge today, and how should we use it? (Doctrine and Covenants 121:26-23)
- How can I influence others more effectively for good? (Doctrine and Covenants 121:41-44)
- How can I develop more charity and virtue? (Doctrine and Covenants 121:45)
- What can I learn from the Savior’s example of suffering? (Doctrine and Covenants 122:8)
- How can I share painful truths without bitterness? (Doctrine and Covenants 123)
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