Primary 5: Doctrine and Covenants and Church History “Lesson 31: The Extermination Order,” Detailed story, lesson and activity ideas
Primary 5:Doctrine and Covenants and Church History “Lesson 32: Joseph Smith is Jailed Unjustly” Detailed story, lesson and activity ideas
Tell or read the story. Show on the map where the various events occurred. You may want to have a child place a small marker on the map as you mention each place.
SECTION 121
Prayer and prophecies written by Joseph Smith the Prophet in an epistle to the Church while he was a prisoner in the jail at Liberty, Missouri, dated March 20, 1839. The Prophet and several companions had been months in prison. Their petitions and appeals directed to the executive officers and the judiciary had failed to bring them relief.
1–6, The Prophet pleads with the Lord for the suffering Saints; 7–10, The Lord speaks peace to him; 11–17, Cursed are all those who raise false cries of transgression against the Lord’s people; 18–25, They will not have right to the priesthood and will be damned; 26–32, Glorious revelations promised those who endure valiantly; 33–40, Why many are called and few are chosen; 41–46, The priesthood should be used only in righteousness.
SECTION 122
The word of the Lord to Joseph Smith the Prophet, while a prisoner in the jail at Liberty, Missouri. This section is an excerpt from an epistle to the Church dated March 20, 1839 (see the heading to section 121).
1–4, The ends of the earth will inquire after the name of Joseph Smith; 5–7, All his perils and travails will give him experience and be for his good; 8–9, The Son of Man has descended below them all.
My Trials Can Be for My Good
Doctrine and Covenants 121:7–9; 122:7–9
Primary 5:Doctrine and Covenants and Church History “Lesson 32: Joseph Smith is Jailed Unjustly” Detailed story, lesson and activity ideas
Attention Activity
Display the bag labeled Adversity.
- What is adversity?
Label a paper bag Adversity and place inside it several objects that could each represent a type of adversity, such as a piece of money to suggest financial difficulties, an empty medicine bottle to suggest illness, a fork or spoon to suggest hunger, a schoolbook to suggest difficulties in school, or a picture or drawing of an angry face to suggest a friend who is angry or unkind.
Have each child take an object out of the bag and explain how the object could represent adversity, how a person might deal with that type of adversity, and where a person might go for help with that type of adversity. Make sure the children mention that they can turn to Heavenly Father for help in adversity. Tell the children that in this lesson they will learn about a terrible adversity that Joseph Smith and other Church leaders faced and how they were strengthened by this experience.
Come, Follow Me—For Primary: Doctrine and Covenants 2021 “Doctrine and Covenants 121-123”
One way the Savior comforted Joseph Smith while he suffered in Liberty Jail was by teaching him that “all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good” (Doctrine and Covenants 122:7). This truth can bless the children when they face their own trials.
The Lord’s words to Joseph Smith in Liberty Jail provide an opportunity to help the children recognize that sometimes life is hard, but Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ can help us.
- Invite the children to listen for the word “peace” as you share with them “Chapter 46: Joseph Smith in Liberty Jail” (Doctrine and Covenants Stories, 172–74) or Doctrine and Covenants 121:7–8. Help the children think of ways we can trust the Lord as Joseph did so that we can feel peace. Explain that even though Joseph experienced hard things, the Lord was with him.
- To help the children recognize that our trials “shall be for [our] good” (Doctrine and Covenants 122:7), talk to them about how our muscles grow when we carry something heavy. Let them pretend to lift a heavy object or do hard work. Explain that going through hard times can help our spirits grow—if we turn to the Lord for help. Share some examples that the children you teach would relate to. Invite them to repeat with you the phrase “All these things shall … be for [our] good.”
- Invite the children to share what they know about Joseph Smith’s experience in prison and the Saints being forced from Missouri (see chapters 45–47 of Doctrine and Covenants Stories, 167–75). Ask the children how they would feel if they were Joseph Smith or one of the Saints at this time. Read with the children Doctrine and Covenants 121:7–9; 122:7–9, and invite them to find something the Lord said that would have brought them peace. How can our hard experiences “be for [our] good”?
Latter Day Kids “Our Trials Can Be For Our Good” Lesson Ideas
Friend October 2021 “Scripture Time Fun: Growing Stronger”
- Sing “I Feel My Savior’s Love” (Children’s Songbook, 74–75).
- Hard times don’t last forever. Heavenly Father and Jesus can bless and help us (see Doctrine and Covenants 121:7–8).
- Take turns lifting something heavy. Talk about how lifting that load is like going through a hard time. How can trials make us stronger and help us grow? Now lift the object with someone else’s help. Remind everyone that Jesus Christ helps us carry our load.
Why is adversity for our good? Adversity can help us become more like Jesus Christ; It can help us to develop empathy, patience, kindness, humility, faith and trust in God, reliance on God, etc. Ask the children if they would like to share how an adversity they suffered was for their gain.
Family Home Evening Resource Book “Adversity”
- List everyday problems on wordstrips and place them in a bowl. Have each person draw one and identify blessings that could come from such adversity. (Sickness, for example, can increase our compassion for the sick and our appreciation for the blessing of good health.)
- Tell of a trial (either from your own life or from one of your ancestors) that has strengthened and blessed you.
- Ask each one to say how some difficult experience he has had has been helpful to him—what he has learned from it, or how he has been blessed from it.
- Encourage family members to recognize trials as challenges. Remind them to seek the Lord’s help in overcoming them.
“But A Small Moment”
Come, Follow Me—For Primary: Doctrine and Covenants 2021 “Doctrine and Covenants 121-123”
- Ask two children to hold the ends of a string that is long enough to stretch across the room. Ask another child to pinch a point on the string. Read Doctrine and Covenants 121:7–8, and explain that the string represents the years of eternity and that the small point being pinched is like our years on earth. What does it mean that our trials on earth are for “a small moment”?
- Help the children imagine what it would be like to spend four months in a place like Liberty Jail. What would we miss most? How would we spend our time? What did Joseph Smith learn in Doctrine and Covenants 121:7–9; 122:7–9 that helped him endure this experience? Encourage the children to write a letter to someone who is having a difficult time, and suggest they use something from Doctrine and Covenants 121:7–9; 122:7–9 in their letter.
The bottom level of the county jail in Liberty, Missouri, was known as the dungeon. The walls were thick, the stone floor was cold and filthy, the food—what there was of it—was rotten, and the only light came from two narrow, iron-barred windows near the ceiling. This dungeon is where Joseph Smith and a few of his brethren spent most of their imprisonment—four frigid months during the winter of 1838–39—awaiting trial for charges of treason against the state of Missouri. During this time, Joseph was constantly receiving news about the suffering of the Saints. The peace and optimism of Far West had lasted only a few months, and now the Saints were homeless once again, driven into the wilderness in search of yet another place to start over—this time with their Prophet in prison.
No wonder Joseph Smith cried out, “O God, where art thou?” The answers he received, the “knowledge from heaven” that came “pouring down” in that miserable jail, demonstrate that although it may not always feel like it, God is never far away. No power can “stay the heavens,” the Prophet learned. “God shall be with [His faithful Saints] forever and ever.” (Doctrine and Covenants 121:1, 33; 122:9.)
See Saints, 1:323–96; “Within the Walls of Liberty Jail,” Revelations in Context, 256–63.
When we or those we love are in the midst of suffering, it is normal to wonder if God is aware of us. As you read Doctrine and Covenants 121:1–6, think about times when you have had questions or feelings similar to Joseph Smith’s. What do you find in the Lord’s response that might help you when you have those questions or feelings? For example, in verses 7–10, 26–33, notice the blessings He promises to those who “endure [affliction] well.” As you read section 122, consider how the Lord wants you to view your adversities.
Friend October 2021 “Scripture Time Fun for Little Ones” Talk about what makes your little ones feel better when they’re sad, like singing a Primary song or saying a prayer. Help your little ones say, “I can feel peace.”
For additional teaching ideas see Adversity and Resources for Teaching Children: Trials
We Must Be Righteous to Have the “Powers of Heaven.”
Doctrine and Covenants 121:34–46
In what seemed like a powerless condition in Liberty Jail, Joseph was given revelation about power—not the political or military power that had been exerted over the Saints but “the powers of heaven.” As you read Doctrine and Covenants 121:34–46, what do you learn about God’s power? How is it different from worldly power? For example, look at the words the Lord uses in verses 41–43 to describe “power or influence.” What do they teach about how God maintains His “power or influence”? Perhaps these verses could inspire you to ponder your life and what you can do to be an influence for good in your relationships with others.
- Perhaps an analogy would help your family understand “the powers of heaven.” For example, you could compare God’s power to electrical power; what might prevent an electrical device from receiving power? What does this analogy, along with verses 34–36, 41–45, teach us about how to increase our spiritual power? Maybe family members could share stories from the Savior’s life that exemplify these attributes.
Come, Follow Me—For Primary: Doctrine and Covenants 2021 “Doctrine and Covenants 121-123”
- Draw a line with the words high power at one end and low power at the other. Draw an arrow pointing at the middle of the line. Choose several words or phrases from Doctrine and Covenants 121:34–46 that teach how we decrease or increase heavenly power in our lives (such as “cover our sins,” “pride,” “gentleness,” and “love”). Invite the children to take turns picking a word, deciding if the word leads to a decrease or increase in power, and moving the arrow accordingly. Talk with the children about people they know who have been a good influence on others because they follow the Lord’s counsel in these verses.
- Read Doctrine and Covenants 121:41–42, 45, and ask the children to list qualities in these verses that the Lord wants us to have. Help them define any words they don’t understand. Assign each child one quality, and help them think of a way that they can show it. Once they have all shared, ask them to read verses 45–46 and list the blessings they will receive if they develop those qualities.
- Read together the first line of Doctrine and Covenants 121:46. How can the Holy Ghost be our “constant companion”? Sing together “The Holy Ghost” (Children’s Songbook, 105) or another song about the gift of the Holy Ghost. What does the song teach us about why we want the Holy Ghost to be our constant companion?
Liahona October 2021 “How Do We Draw Upon the Powers of Heaven”
Jesus Christ Knows How I Feel. He has Descended Below All Things.
Doctrine and Covenants 122:5–9
Come, Follow Me—For Primary: Doctrine and Covenants 2021 “Doctrine and Covenants 121-123”
In Liberty Jail, Jesus Christ told Joseph Smith that He had descended below all things (see Doctrine and Covenants 122:8). This means that He knows what we are going through and we can turn to Him.
- To help the children learn to turn to Christ when they experience hard things, ask them to show you what their faces look like when they are sad or hurt or scared. Who can help us when we feel this way? Read Doctrine and Covenants 122:8, and explain that this means that Jesus Christ knows how we feel, and He can help us.
- Sing together “Jesus Once Was a Little Child” (Children’s Songbook, 55), and testify that Jesus Christ can help us because He knows how we feel.
Liahona October 2021 “Temples, the Name of the Church, and Including Others”
The Weight of Affliction
- Gather some heavy items, such as rocks or large books.
- Have everyone sit in a circle.
- Show a picture of Joseph Smith in Liberty Jail.
- Read Doctrine and Covenants 122:5–7.
- For each affliction mentioned in these verses, place a rock in the middle of the circle.
- Have each family member add one more rock to the pile to represent a trial they have gone through.
- Read Doctrine and Covenants 122:8–9.
- Who has felt the pain of all of these trials? Imagine how it would feel to carry them all.
Discussion: In what ways does the Lord understand us, help us, and turn our trials into experiences that “shall be for [our] good”? (Doctrine and Covenants 122:7). For ideas, see Jeffrey R. Holland, “Lessons from Liberty Jail,” Ensign, Sept. 2009, 29–32.
Joseph Smith learned that none of the adversity he experienced during his mortal life would ever equal what Jesus Christ suffered during His mortal mission.
Jesus descended to be tempted, mocked, scourged, cast out, and disowned, even though He was all-powerful.
He descended to be judged of the world, even though He was the Judge of the world.
He descended to be lifted on the cross and slain for the sins of the world, even though no man could take away His life.
Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual “Chapter 46: Doctrine and Covenants 121:1–10; 122–123”
“Jesus, in the course of the Atonement, experienced all of the heartache and sorrow, all of the disappointments and injustices that the entire family of man had experienced and would experience from Adam and Eve to the end of the world in order that we would not have to face them so severely or so deeply. However heavy our load might be, it would be a lot heavier if the Savior had not gone that way before us and carried that burden with us and for us.”
“Furthermore, we note that not only has the Savior suffered, in His case entirely innocently, but so have most of the prophets and other great men and women recorded in the scriptures. The point is this: if you are having a bad day, you’ve got a lot of company—very, very good company. The best company that has ever lived” (“Lessons from Liberty Jail,” 31).
“And the world, because of their iniquity, shall judge him to be a thing of naught; wherefore they scourge him, and he suffereth it; and they smite him, and he suffereth it. Yea, they spit upon him, and he suffereth it, because of his loving kindness and his long-suffering towards the children of men.”2
SECTION 123
Duty of the Saints in relation to their persecutors, as written by Joseph Smith the Prophet while a prisoner in the jail at Liberty, Missouri. This section is an excerpt from an epistle to the Church dated March 20, 1839 (see the heading to section 121).
1–6, The Saints should collect and publish an account of their sufferings and persecutions; 7–10, The same spirit that established the false creeds also leads to persecution of the Saints; 11–17, Many among all sects will yet receive the truth.
God Wants Me to Cheerfully Do What I Can.
Come, Follow Me—For Primary: Doctrine and Covenants 2021 “Doctrine and Covenants 121-123”
Even though Joseph Smith was in jail and the Saints had been driven from their homes, he encouraged the Saints to “cheerfully do all things that lie in our power.”
- Read to the children Doctrine and Covenants 123:17, and invite them to stand and cheer when they hear the word “cheerfully.” Invite them to pretend to do different acts of service in a cheerful way.
- Sing together a song about cheerful service such as “When We’re Helping” (Children’s Songbook, 198). Help the children think of ways they can cheerfully serve their family and friends.
We Worry Less About Ourselves when We Serve Others
Friend November 2020 “120 Happy People” A family does a service project every year on the birthday of their baby who died because serving helps them feel thankful for what they have, and when they feel thankful, then happiness replaces the sad feelings. For this years project they decide to send thank you notes to people every day and help 120 people feel happy.
Friend August 2018 “The Lemonade Stand” After terrorist attacks, a girl and her friends are afraid. The girl also wants to help the victims but doesn’t know how. The neighborhood decides to host a lemonade stand to help raise money for the firefighters and their families. After helping with the lemonade stand, she feels better. Her mom tell she her that when she is being like Jesus, the Holy Ghost can help her feel happy and safe.
Friend June 2021 “Ombeni’s New Home” Ombeni’s family were refugees in the U.S. School was hard because he didn’t know the language and didn’t have any friends. His mother suggested he try to find someone to serve. He found a girl sitting alone at lunch and sat by her and smiled. She smiled back. It made him feel happy that he could help someone.
For more teaching ideas see Service and Resources for Teaching Children: Service
Additional Resources
- Doctrine and Covenants Historical Resources “Doctrine and Covenants 121-123”
- Come Follow Me with Living Scriptures “The Powers of Heaven: Doctrine and Covenants 121-123” Lesson Ideas
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