By Danielle Ellis

In the September 2008 CES Devotional, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland spoke on the lessons we can learn from Joseph Smith’s time in Liberty Jail. I felt that his comments bear repeating here.

Elder Holland recalled the disingenuous way that Joseph Smith and his associates were arrested and imprisoned in Liberty Jail. He said that except for his martyrdom, “there was no more burdensome time in Joseph’s life time than this cruel, illegal and unjustified incarceration in Liberty Jail.”

He spoke of the horrible conditions of the jail: the men were unable to stand up due to the height of the roof; there was extreme cold, hunger, fatigue, and filth; harsh treatment by guards, including rotten and poisoned food, foul and blasphemous language and every kind of debauchery. Joseph wrote, “pen or tongue or angels could not adequately describe the malice of hell that we have suffered here.” This all occurred during the coldest winter on record in the state of Missouri, and during an awful time for the saints in general and Joseph’s family in particular.

Yet Elder Holland described the building of Liberty Jail as a “prison temple.” How could this be? Elder Holland asked, “In what sense could Liberty Jail be called a temple, or a 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?”

He answered, “Spiritual experience, revelatory experience, sacred experience, can come to every one of us in all the many and varied stages and circumstances of our lives, if we want it. If we hold on and
pray on, if we keep our faith strong through our difficulties.”

He affirmed our love for our dedicated temples, then added, “When you have to, you can have sacred, revelatory, profoundly instructive experience with the Lord in any situation you are in. Indeed, let me say that even a little stronger: You can have sacred, revelatory, profoundly instructive experience with the Lord in the most miserable experiences of your life: in the worst settings, while enduring the most painful injustices, when facing the most insurmountable odds and opposition you have ever faced.”

He continued, “Every one of us, in one way or another, great or small, dramatic or incidental, are going to spend a little time in Liberty Jail, spiritually speaking. We will face things we do not want to face, for reasons that may not have been our fault. Indeed we may face difficult circumstances for reasons that were absolutely right and proper; reasons that came because we were trying to keep the
commandments of the Lord.

“We may face persecution, we may endure heartache, and separation from loved ones. We may be hungry, and cold, and forlorn. Yes, before our lives are over, we may all be given a little taste of what the prophets faced often in their lives. But the lessons of the winter of 1838-39 teach us that every experience can become a redemptive experience if we remain bonded to our Father in Heaven through that difficulty.”

“These difficult experiences teach us that man’s extremity is God’s opportunity, and if we will be humble and faithful; if we will be believing and not curse God for our problems, he can turn the unfair and the inhumane and debilitating prisons of our lives into temples; or at least into a circumstance that can bring comfort and revelation, divine companionship and peace.

“Let me push this just a little farther. I’ve just said that hard times “can” happen to us.” President Joseph Fielding Smith said, in 1963, perhaps such things “have to” happen. These hardships were “necessary at any rate; they became school teachers to our people. They helped to make them strong.”

Elder Holland counseled that “God was not only teaching Joseph, he was teaching all of us. What a scriptural gift, and what a high price was paid for them.” He counseled us to immediately read D&C 121, 122, 123. They will remind us of the mysterious ways in which God works.

Everyone, including and perhaps especially the righteous, will be called upon to face trying times. “When that happens, we can sometimes fear God has abandoned us; that we might be left, at least for a time, to wonder when our troubles will ever end.” Individuals, families, communities and nations will all have occasion to wonder, “O God where art thou, how long shall thy hand be stayed?” He continues, “It is a painful, personal cry…we may all have occasion to feel.”…

Elder Holland said that whenever these moments of extremity come, we must remember that “He is right there with us, where He has always been. …He is there. Our prayers are heard, and when we weep, He and the angels of heaven weep with us. When lonely, cold, hard times come, we have to endure, we have to continue, we have to persist.”

“God hears your prayers and knows your distress…. Into this dismal dungeon and this depressing time, the voice of God came, saying ‘my son, peace be unto thy soul’ …We’re not alone in our little prisons here. We are nearer to God than at any other time.”

We need to realize that because difficult things happen… it doesn’t mean we are unrighteous….
“Sometimes suffering comes to the righteous… the same thing had happened to the Savior of the world, and because He was triumphant, so shall we be….”

“The path of salvation had always led, one way or another, through Gethsemane…. We cannot expect that we are NOT going to face some of that if we still intend to call ourselves His disciples…. However heavy our load might be, it would be a lot heavier if the Savior hadn’t carried part of it….

Elder Holland reminded us that the Savior suffered entirely innocently, and so have all the prophets. He quipped, “If you’re having a bad day, you’ve got a lot of company! Very, very good company! I mean the best company that has ever lived.” He added soberly, “When it is obvious that a little time in Liberty Jail waits before you, spiritually speaking, remember these two truths, taught to Joseph in that prison temple…. [The Father and the Son] have planned, prepared and guaranteed your victory, if you desire it. So be believing and endure it well.”

When you are angry and want to strike out, the Lord reminds that the powers of the priesthood are inseparably connected to the powers of heaven, and can only be controlled or handled on the principles of righteousness. In the midst of such distress, remain calm and patient, charitable, forgiving.
Remember your covenants.

Elder Holland taught, “Live the gospel at all times, not just when it is convenient, and not just when things are going well.” When things are bad, we will find out what we are really made of. The Savior was the classic example of this, when in the middle of the crucifixion, the Savior could say, “’Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.’

“That is a hard thing to ask when we’re hurting. That’s a hard thing to do when we’ve been offended or are tired, or stressed out, or suffering innocently, but that is when Christian behavior may matter the most…. Even in distress and sorrow, we must let our bowels be full of charity toward all men. Then, and only then, shall our confidence wax strong in the presence of God, and the Holy Ghost shall be our constant companion.

“Remaining true to our Christian principles is the only way divine influence can help us. The Spirit has a near-impossible task to get through to a heart that is filled with hate or anger or vengeance or self-pity….On the other hand, the Spirit finds instant access to a heart striving to be charitable and forgiving, longsuffering and kind: principles of true discipleship…. If we strive to remain faithful, the triumph of a Christian life can never be vanquished, no matter how grim the circumstance might be….”
Elder Holland concludes that these were “such beautiful lessons” that came from such a despicable time.

Elder Holland continued, As a “valedictory” to these lessons, Joseph learned another lesson. He said, “therefore dearly beloved brethren, when we are even in the most of troubling times 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. What a tremendously optimistic and faithful concluding declaration to be issued from a prison temple!

“When he wrote those lines, Joseph did not know when he would be released, or if he would ever be released. There was every indication that his enemies were still planning to take his life. Furthermore, his wife and children were alone, frightened, often hungry, wondering how they would fend for themselves without their husband and father… It was the bleakest and darkest of times, yet in these cold, lonely hours, Joseph said ‘Let us do all we can, and do it cheerfully’ and then we can justifiably turn to the Lord, wait upon His mercy and see His arm revealed in our behalf….”

Elder Holland closed his address with an apostolic blessing. He said, in part: “I bless every one of you, each one of you in your individual circumstances, as if my hands were on your head, … I bless you in the name of the Lord that God does love you, does hear your prayers, is at your side and will never leave you.”

“I testify in sealing that blessing on your heads that the Father and the Son do live. I testify that they are close, perhaps even closest, with the Holy Spirit, that they are closest in trying times. I testify that Heaven’s kindness will never depart from you, regardless of what happens. I testify that bad days come to an end, that faith always triumphs and that heavenly promises are always kept.”

“In the words of the Liberty Jail prison temple, … “hold on thy way, fear not, God shall be with you forever and forever.”

The broadcast of this talk is available at http://www.lds.org/broadcast/ces/0,7341,395,00.html. It is well worth your time.