Joseph Smith's Visionary Comfort in Liberty Jail

During the time the Saints were driven from Missouri, Joseph the Prophet was incarcerated in a dungeon. While there, the Lord spoke comforting words to his soul and explained the purpose of the trials he was experiencing, which are recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 122:3-8.

The revelation was recorded as part of a lengthy general epistle dictated by Joseph Smith on March 20, 1839, from Liberty Jail. The letter was addressed to the Church in Quincy, Illinois, and specifically to Bishop Edward Partridge, and was signed by Joseph Smith, Hyrum Smith, Lyman Wight, Caleb Baldwin, and Alexander McRae. Historical analysis indicates the document was composed in two parts; the first seventeen pages contain the text eventually canonized as Doctrine and Covenants 121:1-33, while the subsequent nine pages, which contain the remainder of the revelation (D&C 121:34-46, 122, and 123), were written as a continued reflection to the Saints. The document was inscribed by Alexander McRae and Caleb Baldwin, who served as scribes for the Prophet.

Fuller account of this event (in the witness’s own words):

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? Yea, O Lord, how long shall they suffer these wrongs and unlawful oppressions, before thy heart shall be softened toward them, and thy bowels be moved with compassion toward them? ... 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. Thy friends do stand by thee, and they shall hail thee again with warm hearts and friendly hands. Thou art not yet as Job; thy friends do not contend against thee, neither charge thee with transgression, as they did Job. And they who do charge thee with transgression, their hope shall be blasted and their prospects shall melt away as the hoar frost melteth before the burning rays of the rising sun.