“O God, Where Art Thou?”
One of the most plaintive passages in modern scripture is found in the opening words of what might be termed “the prison verses.” The prayer of Joseph Smith while a prisoner at Liberty, Mo., begins, “O God, where art thou? And where is the pavilion that covereth thy hiding place?” (D&C 121:1.)
From your 
study of Church history, you will know something of the experience the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brethren had while imprisoned in the ironically named Liberty Jail during the winter of 1838–39. This was a terribly difficult time in our history for the Church generally and certainly for the Prophet Joseph himself, who bore the brunt of the persecution in that period.
Liberty Jail, according to B.H. Roberts of the First Council of the Seventy (1888-1933) was “more temple than prison, so long as the Prophet was there.” In A Comprehensive History of the Church, 1:526, Elder Roberts wrote, “It [Liberty Jail] was a place of meditation and prayer. . . . Joseph Smith sought God in this rude prison, and found Him. Out of the midst of his tribulations he called upon God in passionate earnestness.”
In what sense could Liberty Jail be called a “temple”—or at least a kind of temple—in the development of Joseph Smith personally and in his role as a prophet? And what does such a title tell us about God’s love and teachings, including where and when that love and those teachings are made manifest?
We love and cherish our dedicated temples and the essential, exalting ordinances that are performed there. We thank heaven and the presiding Brethren that more and more of them are being built, giving more and more of us greater access to them. They are truly the holiest, most sacred structures in the kingdom of God, to which we all ought to go as worthily and as often as possible.
Like Joseph Smith, we can have sacred, revelatory, profoundly instructive experience with the Lord in the most miserable experiences of our lives—in the worst settings, while enduring the most painful injustices, when facing the most insurmountable odds and opposition we have ever faced. This lesson is intended to help us better understand and endure adversity by turning to the Savior.
OVERVIEW:
Doctrine and Covenants 121:1–33; 122
- Joseph Smith’s prayer in Liberty Jail, and the Lord’s response.
- The Savior’s perfect understanding of our sufferings and adversity.
- Purposes of adversity.
- The Lord’s counsel to those who experience adversity.
- The Lord’s promises to those who are faithful in adversity.
Here is the handout for this week’s lesson: D&C-Church History Lesson 28.
pax vobiscum
Filed under: Gospel Doctrine | Tagged: Adversity, Christianity, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Gospel Doctrine, History, LDS, Liberty Jail, Mormon, Religion
