The Know

In late 1838, tensions between the citizens of Missouri and the Latter-day Saints reached a boiling point. Mob violence grew rampant, and Governor Lilburn W. Boggs issued an extermination order to drive the Latter-day Saints from their homes yet again, this time expelling them from Missouri altogether. As the Saints assembled at Far West, Joseph Smith and other Church leaders were arrested on false charges.1

To say this was a trying time for the Saints would be an understatement. From the moment of the leaders’ imprisonment at the hands of General Lucas, the men’s lives were in peril. Shortly after capturing Joseph Smith—which was facilitated by the betrayal of a Latter-day Saint named George Hinkle—General Lucas held not a civil but a military court for Joseph and the others. Because the Church leaders were not members of the Missouri militia, this proceeding was technically illegal, but it did not stop Lucas from ordering their public executions. If it had not been for Alexander Doniphan’s refusal to carry out an order, which he described as “cold-blooded murder,” as well as for his threatening Lucas with legal action should that order be fulfilled, this unjust execution may very likely have been carried through.2

After being imprisoned in Independence and then Richmond, the circuit judge Austin A. King, who was known for his hatred of the Saints, declared there was “probable cause” for Joseph Smith, Hyrum Smith, Sidney Rigdon, Alexander McRae, and Caleb Baldwin to be found guilty of treason.3 “Because of the nature of the charges,” Alexander L. Baugh observed, “none of the prisoners were permitted to post bail and be released until their hearings convened in March 1839, which meant that they would spend the entire winter in confinement.”4 Eventually, the five men were transferred to Liberty Jail, near Independence. Apart from Sidney Rigdon, who would be released in February, all were incarcerated there between December 1, 1838, and April 6, 1839.5

As Casey Griffiths and Mary Jane Woodger have noted, “The harsh conditions of the jail caused all of the men to suffer, and the experience practically broke the health of Sidney.”6 Liberty Jail was a small space, and it was built to ensure no prisoner could escape. “The jail’s four-foot thick walls comprised of oak and limestone, enclosing two floors—a main floor and a basement. A heavy set of double iron doors was the only entrance to the jail, and they opened on the main floor, which consisted of a small room. Set in the middle of the floor was a trapdoor—the only means of getting to the basement of the jail.”7 To further prevent escape, the oak and limestone walls were also separated by “a twelve-inch space filled with loose rock.”8

The prisoners were confined to the basement dungeon every night, a room that measured “only 14 by 14.5 feet square with ceilings approximately six feet high.”9 In the past, many have assumed that this meant some of the taller prisoners, such as the Prophet Joseph and Alexander McRae, could not stand fully upright during their lengthy imprisonment. However, as Baugh has noted, “historical sources indicate they actually spent most of the time during the day in the upper chamber, where they would entertain visitors and eat their meals,” allowing the prisoners to stand at their full height for most of their waking hours. But even the main floor of the prison chamber was often cramped—prisoners, guards, and visitors were crammed in. Occasionally, though, guards would escort the prisoners on short walks to allow them at least a little fresh air and exercise.10 

However, the prisoners were sometimes treated harshly by the guards. Food provided by the guards made the prisoners sick on multiple occasions, leading some of them to speculate that they were being poisoned. The jail also had no sanitary facilities, meaning the main room and dungeon often stank.11 The dungeon had little light or ventilation as it had only two “tiny, barred windows that were sunk into thick walls.”12 When the prisoners tried starting a fire to keep warm at night, the room filled with smoke.

Furthermore, when most of the Saints had left Missouri in February 1839, the prisoners largely stopped receiving visitors, leading to negative effects on their mental state.13 After that, the majority of visitors the prisoners received were hostile to the Church and “came to taunt, jeer, and accuse” them of various acts. One historian, Dean C. Jessee, noted that “the place took on some aspects of a zoo,” as day and night the prisoners heard the cruel remarks of a hostile people and occasionally even threats against their lives.14 Some of the prisoners made two attempts to escape from these horrible conditions but were caught both times.

There is, however, a revelatory silver lining to Joseph Smith’s days in Liberty Jail. During the last two months of his incarceration there, Joseph received inspiration and communication from the Lord, which he recorded in a long letter to the Church. Reading that entire letter, slowly and attentively, is highly recommended. Doing so can be a life-changing experience. Both the manuscript pages and a verbatim transcript are now easily accessible on the Joseph Smith Papers website.15 Portions of that letter were fairly soon canonized in 1876 as Doctrine and Covenants 121–123. Those three sections contain profound truths that gave great spiritual guidance and comfort to Joseph Smith and to the Saints at that time and today.16

For example, Joseph was assured of several important things: he had not been abandoned by God, the work of God could not be overthrown by mortal hands, and those who utilized their priesthood righteously would be blessed. As Joseph faced this intense persecution, these words of the Lord must have been especially comforting to him: “Therefore, hold on thy way, and the priesthood shall remain with thee; for their bounds are set, they cannot pass. Thy days are known, and thy years shall not be numbered less; therefore, fear not what man can do, for God shall be with you forever and ever” (Doctrine and Covenants 122:9).

The Why

Because of these profound revelations, B. H. Roberts was probably the first to call Liberty Jail a “prison-temple.”17 Commenting on this term, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland observed that it could be thus named because “you can have sacred, revelatory, profoundly instructive experience with the Lord in any situation you are in. Indeed, let me say that even a little stronger: 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.”18

This was especially true for Joseph Smith in Liberty Jail. Facing some of the worst persecution he had ever experienced, it would only be natural for Joseph to call out in earnest prayer, “O God, where art thou? And where is the pavilion that covereth thy hiding place?” (Doctrine and Covenants 121:1). But, with unwavering faith nonetheless, Joseph was able to overcome these trials with increased encouragement from the sacred experiences he had with the Lord.

In a similar manner, this experience can provide modern readers with valuable lessons as they, too, go through trying times. Elder Holland continued, “Every one of us, in one way or another, great or small, dramatic or incidental, is going to spend a little time in Liberty Jail—spiritually speaking. . . . But the lessons of the winter of 1838–39 teach us that every experience can become a redemptive experience if we remain bonded to our Father in Heaven through that difficulty.”19

Just as the Liberty Jail proved to be one of the worst times and places for Joseph Smith, it was also a refining chamber of peace and revelation. By following the Prophet’s example when facing their own trials, all of God’s children can similarly turn even the worst experiences into moments of sacred communion with their Father, who gives the following words of encouragement to all who rely on Him: “Fear not what man can do, for God shall be with you forever and ever” (Doctrine and Covenants 122:9).