Liberty in a Jail

A couple of weeks ago, our Church history tour began in Philadelphia. I shared a blog post about the thoughts I had as I stood beside the Liberty Bell.

The key message, taken from scripture, still rings clearly: “Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.” – Leviticus 25:10

Last weekend, our tour ended in another place associated with liberty – but in a very different way.

Monic and I, along with more than 100 young people and other group leaders, stood inside the visitors’ centre at Liberty Jail in Missouri.

We looked at the reconstruction of the small stone dungeon where Joseph Smith, his brother Hyrum and four other companions – Sidney Rigdon, Lyman Wight, Caleb Baldwin and Alexander McRae – were imprisoned during the winter of 1838-39.

They had been accused of treason and other crimes following the conflict in Missouri.

For nearly four months, Joseph and several of his companions lost their physical liberty.

Held without bail behind thick walls and iron bars, they endured the bitter cold of a harsh Missouri winter. They slept on dirty straw on a cold stone floor, experiencing hunger, darkness and deep concern for the suffering Saints who were being forcibly driven from their homes and from the state.

It was there that Joseph cried out for divine guidance: “O God, where art thou?” – Doctrine and Covenants 121:1

And it was there that the Lord answered: “My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment.” – Doctrine and Covenants 121:7

There is something deeply moving about that.

Joseph was not immediately released from prison. His difficult circumstances did not suddenly disappear. But within the walls of Liberty Jail, he received something those walls could not contain: peace, perspective and reassurance from God.

Some of the most expansive and liberating words in modern revelation emerged from within that desperately restricted space.

Monic and I, along with our dear friends Marty and Wendy, began our journey beside a bell that proclaimed liberty.

It ended inside a jail where a prophet discovered that even when our outward freedom is restricted, the light of Christ and the knowledge of God can still reach us.

The Liberty Bell may no longer ring, but the message of Liberty Jail still echoes: no wall is thick enough, no darkness deep enough and no difficulty great enough to place us beyond the reach of our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.

Sometimes the deepest liberty is found within.

What helps you to find peace when your circumstances cannot immediately be changed?