D&C 133:45 Wait for the second coming by being active.

Elder Jeffrey R Holland about how to wait for the 2^nd coming.

“To any of you who are troubled about the future. . .

“God expects you to have enough faith and determination and enough trust in Him to keep moving, keep living, keep rejoicing. In fact, He expects you not simply to face the future (that sounds pretty grim and stoic); He expects you to embrace and shape the future—to love it and rejoice in it and delight in your opportunities.

“God is anxiously waiting for the chance to answer your prayers and fulfill your dreams, just as He always has. But He can’t if you don’t pray, and He can’t if you don’t dream. In short, He can’t if you don’t believe” (“Terror, Triumph, and a Wedding Feast” [Church Educational System devotional, Sept. 12, 2004], 3, speeches.byu.edu).

D&C 131:4 Men and women complete and perfect each other

Elder Bednar taught:

“The natures of male and female spirits complete and perfect each other, and therefore men and women are intended to progress together toward exaltation. . . . “By divine design, men and women are intended to progress together toward perfection and a fulness of glory. Because of their distinctive temperaments and capacities, males and females each bring to a marriage relationship unique perspectives and experiences. The man and the woman contribute differently but equally to a oneness and a unity that can be achieved in no other way. The man completes and perfects the woman and the woman completes and perfects the man as they learn from and mutually strengthen and bless each other. . . .” (“Marriage Is Essential to His Eternal Plan,” Ensign, June 2006, 83–84; boldface and italics removed).

D&C 129:1-3 Angels and men story by Elder Holland

Elder Holland Related the following story:

“… not all angels are from the other side of the veil. Some of them we walk with and talk with—here, now, every day. Some of them reside in our own neighborhoods. Some of them gave birth to us, and in my case, one of them consented to marry me. Indeed heaven never seems closer than when we see the love of God manifested in the kindness and devotion of people so good and so pure that angelic is the only word that comes to mind.

I share with you an account by my friend and BYU colleague, the late Clyn D. Barrus. Referring to his childhood on a large Idaho farm, Brother Barrus spoke of his nightly assignment to round up the cows at milking time. Because the cows pastured in a field bordered by the occasionally treacherous Teton River, the strict rule in the Barrus household was that during the spring flood season the children were never to go after any cows who ventured across the river. They were always to return home and seek mature help.

One Brother Barrus’s parents promised the family a night at the movies if the chores were done on time. But when young Clyn arrived at the pasture, the cows he sought had crossed the river, even though it was running at high flood stage. Knowing his rare night at the movies was in jeopardy, he decided to go after the cows himself, even though he had been warned many times never to do so. As the seven-year-old urged his old horse, Banner, down into the cold, swift stream, the horse’s head barely cleared the water. An adult sitting on the horse would have been safe, but at Brother Barrus’s tender age, the current completely covered him except when the horse lunged forward several times, bringing Clyn’s head above water just enough to gasp for air.  Here I turn to Brother Barrus’s own words:

“When Banner finally climbed the other bank, I realized that my life had been in grave danger and that I had done a terrible thing—I had knowingly disobeyed my father. I felt that I could redeem myself only by bringing the cows home safely. Maybe then my father would forgive me. But it was already dusk, and I didn’t know for sure where I was. Despair overwhelmed me. I was wet and cold, lost and afraid. I climbed down from old Banner, fell to the ground by his feet, and began to cry. Between thick sobs, I tried to offer a prayer, repeating over and over to my Father in Heaven, ‘I’m sorry. Forgive me! I’m sorry. Forgive me!’

“I prayed for a long time. When I finally looked up, I saw through my tears a figure dressed in white walking toward me. In the dark, I felt certain it must be an angel sent in answer to my prayers. I did not move or make a sound as the figure approached, so overwhelmed was I by what I saw. Would the Lord really send an angel to me, who had been so disobedient? Then a familiar voice said, ‘Son, I’ve been looking for you.’ In the darkness I recognized the voice of my father and ran to his outstretched arms. He held me tightly, then said gently, ‘I was worried. I’m glad I found you.’

“I tried to tell him how sorry I was, but only disjointed words came out of my trembling lips—‘Thank you … darkness … afraid … river … alone.’ Later that night I learned that when I had not returned from the pasture, my father had come looking for me. When neither I nor the cows were to be found, he knew I had crossed the river and was in danger. Because it was dark and time was of the essence, he removed his clothes down to his long white thermal underwear, tied his shoes around his neck, and swam a treacherous river to rescue a wayward son.”   ---------------------Jeffrey R. Holland, “The Ministry of Angels,” Nov. 08 Conference.

Persecution has only added fuel to the flame of the gospel

Prophet Joseph Smith wrote in a letter to a newspaper editor named John Wentworth on March 1, 1842: “Persecution has not stopped the progress of truth, but has only added fuel to the flame. . . . “. . . The Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done” (in History of the Church, 4:540).

D&C 124:15. Integrity of Heart

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin of the Twelve Apostles:

 “To me, integrity means always doing what is right and good, regardless of the immediate consequences. It means being righteous from the very depth of our soul, not only in our actions but, more importantly, in our thoughts and in our hearts. Personal integrity implies such trustworthiness and incorruptibility that we are incapable of being false to a trust or covenant” (“Personal Integrity,” Ensign, May 1990, 30).

D&C 121:34. Many are called but few are chosen

James E. Faust of the First Presidency

“We are called when hands are laid upon our heads and we are given the priesthood, but we are not chosen until we have demonstrated to God our righteousness, our faithfulness, and our commitment” (“Called and Chosen,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2005, 55).

According to President Faust, what does it mean for a young man to be “called”?

D&C 121:26 God gives us knowledge through our difficult experiences

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland:

“You can have sacred, revelatory, profoundly instructive experience with the Lord in the most miserable experiences of your life—in the worst settings, while enduring the most painful injustices, when facing the most insurmountable odds and opposition you have ever faced” (“Lessons from Liberty Jail” [Brigham Young University fireside, Sept. 7, 2008], 4; speeches. byu.edu).

D&C 121:23-25 Haun's Mill Massacre

Haun’s Mill Massacre

On October 30, 1838, just three days after the extermination order was issued, approximately 240 men approached a Mormon settlement at a place called Hawn’s Mill (or Haun’s Mill). The women and children fled into the woods, while the men sought protection in the blacksmith shop. One of the Saints’ leaders, David Evans, swung his hat and cried for peace. The sound of a hundred rifles answered him, most of them aimed at the blacksmith shop. The mobbers shot mercilessly at everyone in sight, including women, elderly men, and children. Amanda Smith seized her two little girls and ran with Mary Stedwell across the millpond on a walkway. Amanda recalled, “Yet though we were women, with tender children, in flight for our lives, the demons poured volley after volley to kill us” (in Andrew Jenson, “Amanda Smith,” The Historical Record, July 1886, 84).

Members of the mob entered the blacksmith shop and found and killed 10-year-old Sardius Smith, son of Amanda Smith, when he was hiding under the blacksmith’s bellows. The man later explained, “Nits [young lice] will make lice, and if he had lived he would have become a Mormon” (in Jenson, “Haun’s Mill Massacre,” Historical Record, Dec. 1888, 673; see also B. H. Roberts, A Comprehensive History of the Church, 1:482).

Alma Smith, Sardius’s seven-year-old brother, witnessed the murder of his father and brother and was himself shot in the hip. He was not discovered by the mob and was later miraculously healed through prayer and faith. Although a few men along with women and children escaped across the river into the hills, at least 17 people were killed, and about 13 were wounded. (See Church History in the Fulness of Times Student Manual, 2nd ed. [Church Educational System manual, 2003], 201, 203–4; see also History of the Church, 3:183–86.)

No one in the violent mob was brought to justice for their crimes in the courts of Missouri or by federal authorities.

D&C 122:5-8 Why should we endure our trials well?

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles: 

“You may feel singled out when adversity enters your life. You shake your head and wonder, ‘Why me?’ “But the dial on the wheel of sorrow eventually points to each of us. At one time or another, everyone must experience sorrow. No one is exempt. . . . “Learning to endure times of disappointment, suffering, and sorrow is part of our on-the-job training. These experiences while often difficult to bear at the time, are precisely the kinds of experiences that stretch our understanding, build our character, and increase our compassion for others” (“Come What May, and Love It,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2008, 27).

Elder Orson F. Whitney of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles:

“No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude and humility. All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the children of God . . . and it is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we come here to acquire” (in Spencer W. Kimball, Faith Precedes the Miracle [1972], 98).

D&C 121:1 Liberty Jail

On October 31, 1838, George Hinkle, a member of the Church and a colonel in Missouri’s state militia, betrayed Joseph Smith. Hinkle told Joseph that the people who had attacked the Saints in Far West, Missouri, wanted to meet for a peaceful interview to settle disagreements. When Joseph and other Church leaders arrived for the interview, the militia took them forcefully as prisoners of war. For the next month, Joseph Smith and his associates were abused and insulted as their enemies held them in several jails throughout the region and brought them before numerous judges.

While the Prophet Joseph Smith, Elder Parley P. Pratt, and other Church leaders were unjustly held in a jail in Richmond, Missouri, they heard the prison guards describe, in filthy language, horrid deeds of robbery, rape, and murder against Latter-day Saints. In his description of the experience, Elder Pratt wrote:

“In one of those tedious nights we had lain as if in sleep till the hour of midnight had passed, and our ears and hearts had been pained, while we had listened for hours to the obscene jests, the horrid oaths, the dreadful blasphemies and filthy language of our guards. . . . “I had listened till I became so disgusted, shocked, horrified, and so filled with the spirit of indignant justice that I could scarcely refrain from rising upon my feet and rebuking the guards; but had said nothing to Joseph, . . . although I lay next to him and knew he was awake. On a sudden he arose to his feet, and spoke in a voice of thunder, or as the roaring lion, uttering, as near as I can recollect, the following words:

“‘SILENCE, ye fiends of the infernal pit. In the name of Jesus Christ I rebuke you, and command you to be still; I will not live another minute and hear such language. Cease such talk, or you or I die THIS INSTANT!’

“He ceased to speak. He stood erect in terrible majesty. Chained, and without a weapon; calm, unruffled and dignified as an angel, he looked upon the quailing guards, whose knees smote together, and who, shrinking into a corner, or crouching at his feet, begged his pardon, and remained quiet till a change of guards.

“I have seen the ministers of justice, clothed in magisterial robes, . . . while life was suspended on a breath, in the Courts of England; I have witnessed a Congress in solemn session to give laws to nations; I have tried to conceive of kings, of royal courts, of thrones and crowns; and of emperors assembled to decide the fate of kingdoms; but dignity and majesty have I seen but once, as it stood in chains, at midnight, in a dungeon in an obscure village of Missouri” (Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt, ed. Parley P. Pratt Jr. [1938], 210–11).

While still awaiting trial based on false accusations, and without due process, Joseph Smith and other Church leaders were taken to a jail in Liberty, Missouri, on November 30. (See History of the Church, 3:188–89, 215.)

During the next four months, the Prophet, his brother Hyrum, Alexander McRae, Lyman Wight, and Caleb Baldwin were held in the lower dungeon of Liberty Jail during a bitterly cold winter. Sidney Rigdon was also with them for a time, but he was set free in early February. The floor of the dungeon was about 14 feet by 14 feet (4.3 meters by 4.3 meters). The ceiling was between 6 and 6.5 feet high (between 1.8 and 2 meters). Two small, barred windows offered very little light, and from outside these windows, people mocked and insulted the prisoners. The prisoners slept on dirty straw on the floor, and for some time Joseph did not have a blanket. The food was occasionally poisoned, and at other times it was so disgusting that they could only eat it out of desperate hunger. They were rarely allowed visitors and were deeply pained at hearing of the suffering of the Saints who were driven from Missouri in the middle of the winter.