Liberty Jail

I grabbed September's Ensign to read today while at Ian's piano lesson. The cover headline was President Uchtdorf's article on the role of righteous women. Normally I read the first article right away, but I flipped through to the middle this time.

The first article I came to was Elder Holland's article on Joseph Smith's time in Liberty Jail. Even though I have learned about this period of time before, reading this article made me think differently about this time. I was reminded of how terrible the conditions were in the jail...men couldn't stand upright because the ceilings were so low, their food was rotten and moldy--and sometimes poisoned, they were cold, without their family, and--worst of all--had no idea what was going to happen to them.

I can imagine being Joseph Smith in that jail, the suffering and trials he had to endure. The counsel he was given while in the jail is some of the most beautiful in the scriptures. Our Father in Heaven is truly speaking to Joseph Smith and the words He gives are exactly what I would imagine my earthly father giving to me. It is beautiful advice and counsel. The words that are that is the most poignant to me are these:

Doctrine and Covenants 121:7-8
7 My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;
8 And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes.

The part that hit me today was "endure it well." Elder Holland encouraged us to be cheerful about our afflictions. Hmm... I'm not always as happy as I could be about my afflictions. Isn't that why they're afflictions? If they were anything else, they'd call them happy-flictions or something! :)

Elder Holland speaks to us as though we're right in the room with him and he's having a conversation with us. He spoke at our stake conference a few years ago and I don't recall having a more spiritual meeting. His counsel struck me today as I get grumpy about my own trials...sometimes feeling sorry for myself and wishing things could be different. If I seek to be exalted on high, I need to learn to endure my trials better. I know that this is what life is all about.

Once again, life isn't about what happens to us, it's about what we do with what's happened to us.