Country Girl

Choice #1 (section 121-123):
Read, listen to, or watch Elder Holland’s address, Lessons from Liberty Jail, given at a CES Fireside for Young Adults, and respond to the following questions:
WOW!! What an amazing talk he gave!! Listening to it and watching made the message so much stronger.
1. What does Joseph Smith’s letter from Liberty Jail (section 121-123) suggest that he is learning about God?
a. I think Joseph learned that God knew how far he could push Joseph, when joseph was faced with such horrible surrounding he was still able to have faith and remain righteous. I love the story that it told about Joseph using the power of God to make the men stop saying cruel things about the church and its members. Even in his darkest hour Joseph still had God at his side to help him through.
b. God wasn’t only teaching Joseph a lesson he was teaching all of us a lesson through the experience of Joseph Smith.
c. We will all have experiences like Joseph we will all one time or another wonder where God is and ask the same questions that Joseph asked. We must not let our fears of God not seeing us overcome us, we MUST remember that God is there with us where He has always been, and we must reach out to him. “ When we weep he and the angles of heaven weep with us”
d. Even when we are righteous we are given trials, they help us grow stronger.
2. About God’s work?
a. God doesn’t always work in the way we want him to, but God always has a plan and knows what we need in order to move his work along.
b. God works in a mysterious ways, we are given such a beautiful message in spite of such disgusting circumstances.
c. We are given the problems we are given to help us learn the lessons we must learn. We need to look for what we have learned and gained and not focus on what we have lost.
d. We can be totally worthy before God and still suffer.
3. About himself (Joseph Smith)?
a. He learned how strong he was, he was able to suffer through so much because he is courageous and has a good attitude. He had to realize how much he has gone through and how much he has helped this church come along. He learned how to endure to the end.
b. I think Joseph had to learn how strong his testimony was and how much he relied on his Heavenly Father. He had to see his testimony waver and then grow stronger as he was in the jail.
4. During this difficult time, what would be essential for anyone to remain faithful?
a. Prayer and faithfulness. We must have faith and know that God is always with us. We know this and can learn this from the sections we read and the experience that Joseph went through.
b. We may be nearer to God when we surfer than we have been in our entire lives. I know this is true, we seek out God and we become closer and lean on him and allow God to help us.
5. What does the title “Temple-Prison” teach us about God’s love and teachings including where and when that love and those teachings are made manifest?
a. Scared experiences can come to all of us in any circumstances in our lives. We must be strong and be faithful and obedient. We can make anywhere a temple if we allow ourselves to be pure and carry Gods presence with us. The Lord tries to help us out as much as he can even when we are miserable and in the worst places ever. He wants us to be okay and he will reach out and be able to guide us when we are in the dark and lost.
6. In what ways can “spiritual experience, revelatory experience, and sacred experience come to every one of us in all the many and varied stages and circumstances of our lives if we want it?”
a. “Man’s Extremity is Gods Opportunity “We must be humble and obedient and be willing to do what we are taught. We must be able to talk and ask our Heavenly Father to help.
This was a special lesson for me, I was able to go to Liberty Jail last year and I also went to the Mormon platoon this year. Going to these church sites and listening to the presentations that the church has put together for visitors to listen to has really strengthened my testimony. I have a clear vision now of how the conditions were really like. It seems too real to me and not just something I can read. I can envision this in my head and picture the experience. These experiences have strengthened my testimony of the gospel and made me grateful for the work Joseph did.