An often-overlooked detail about Joseph Smith’s time in Liberty Jail is crucial to helping us better understand how revelation sometimes works. By putting well-known verses from the Doctrine and Covenants in context, we will have more accurate expectations of revelation and develop a deeper trust in the Lord.
A Detail That Offers Hope
Many Latter-day Saints are familiar with the powerful words the Lord spoke to Joseph Smith after he pled for help while in Liberty Jail: “My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment.”
But that verse becomes more powerful with context. First, remember that the Prophet had been suffering in jail for over three months before he cried out, “O God, where art thou? And where is the pavilion that covereth thy hiding place?”
Then, because of how the Doctrine and Covenants is structured, it seems the Prophet heard the voice of the Lord immediately after this prayer for help. But that is not the case.
“Seeing the reality of how Joseph lived it changes our interpretation of that experience,” Janiece Johnson, author of Revelation: Themes in the Doctrine and Covenants, says. Janiece points out that Joseph had a period of waiting before the Lord spoke to Him.
“The more that we learn about scripture, we begin to see that even for prophets, there are times of silence,” Janiece explains. “I believe that God will always respond. But the timing? We’re not guaranteed that. It’s on God’s timetable. It’s not on our timetable.”
Remembering that we keep company with prophets when we wait on the Lord can help us have patience and hope in our personal waiting for the Lord’s aid and answers.
Growing in Faith When Prayers Seem Unanswered
One way to stay hopeful and faithful during times of silence is to recognize the blessings we’ve been given. “Sometimes, it’s so easy for us to focus on absence—what we’re missing, that we miss everything that is present,” Janiece says.
Recently, Janiece received some bad news. To find comfort, she began writing a list of the tender mercies she was seeing in her life. “The list kept growing,” she shares. “Even though I wasn’t getting the direct answer that I wanted, I could feel God’s hand guiding how I would experience that time.”
Another way to find hope when answers don’t seem to come is to reflect on how the Lord has prompted and guided us in the past.
When Janiece was on her mission, she kept a small notebook and wrote down every prompting she received. “When I do that, I follow through with more of those promptings, and then, in turn, I get more promptings,” she explains. “Receiving revelation is symbiotic. The more we get, the more it builds.”
When we turn to God in every circumstance, we’re able to see His abundant blessings and gain more insight into the specific and powerful ways He speaks to each of us individually.
Listen to the full Magnify podcast with Janiece wherever you get your podcasts and learn more about her book below.
Better recognize the Spirit
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