October 18-24
D&C 121-123
"O God, Where art thou"
Materials: pictures below, scriptures, video
Opening Song: "Abide with me tis' eventide" (Hymns, 165)
Opening Prayer:
Attention Activity: Show the picture below.
This is a to scale model of Liberty Jail. On Dec. 1, 1838, Joseph Smith, Hyrum Smith, Sidney Rigdon, Lyman Wight, Caleb Baldwin, and Alexander McRae were imprisoned there on false charges. What do you notice about the room from the picture? The room was small--only 14 x 14.5 feet. It also had very shallow ceiling--so low that Joseph and other brethren who were over 6 feet tall, could not stand straight up. Joseph described, “We are kept under a strong guard, night and day, … our food is scant, uniform, and coarse; we have not the privilege of cooking for ourselves, we have been compelled to sleep on the floor with straw, and not blankets sufficient to keep us warm; and when we have a fire, we are obliged to have almost a constant smoke.” (Joseph Smith, “Letter to Isaac Galland, 22 March 1839,” in Times and Seasons, Feb. 1840, 52, josephsmithpapers.org.)
What do you think it would be like to live in those types of conditions?
Lesson:
Joseph and the other men were held in Liberty Jail for over 4 months. During this time, Joseph experience extreme sorrow and depression. Joseph had been imprisoned in terrible conditions for months, without formal charges and without legal aide.
Things were not better outside the prison however. The governor of Missouri had issued an order saying that members were to be "exterminated or driven from the state, if necessary." Joseph and the other brethren worried about their families being driven from their homes. In fact, when Joseph was suffering in Liberty Jail, Emma was fleeing her home in the dead of winter to find safer shelter to the north in Illinois (Show the picture below).
On March 20, 1839, Joseph wrote down a prayer he had given and the response from the Lord. These writings and other revelations in liberty jail are in the Doctrine and Covenants sections 121-123. Read D&C 121:1-2, 5-6. Joseph was pleading to the Lord for relief from his trials. His heart was being broken and he felt alone. Have you ever felt dismayed? Did you pray to Heavenly Father when you felt alone? Read D&C 121: 7-8. The Lord answers Joseph, speaking peace to Joseph's soul and asking for Jospeh to endure. He points out to Joseph that unlike Job in the Old Testament, Joseph still has friends and loved ones standing by him. Christ assures that all those who endure trials well will be exalted.
The suffering of the righteous is not a new concept, we have talked about it in Family Home Evening before. Joseph suffered many trials, as did Job, and many other prophets. There is also one person who suffered every pain and anguish and faced countless trials. Who is he? What are some trials that Jesus had to face during His mortal life?
In D&C 122, the Lord gives a big list of some terrible things that could happen to you like being dragged to prison, sentenced to death, thrown into a pit, and having the jaws of hell gape open wide after you. He says that all these things are for our experience and our good. Then he says, "The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he?" (verse 8).
We can go through a lot of bad things on earth. We can experience pain, loss, heartache, sickness, and depression--even all at the same time. But no matter what we have experienced, we will never suffer anything like the Savior did in Gethsemane. When we face adversity and trials, we can turn to a loving God who has experienced our pain and sorrow... and worse. We can come unto Him and He will bear us up.
Activity: Trials: Look to the Light video (9:17)
Bear your testimony of the condescension of the Savior and how it has helped you to turn to Him in times of struggle.
Closing Song: "I stand all amazed" (Hymns, 193)
Closing Prayer:
Refreshment: Apple Cider Whoopie Pies recipe here
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