Lesson 133: Doctrine and Covenants 121–123

Doctrine and Covenants 122

“All These Things … Shall Be for Thy Good”

Joseph Smith in Liberty Jail

While the Prophet Joseph Smith was suffering in Liberty Jail, God taught him that though his suffering was deep and painful, it would help him become more Christlike. This lesson can help students understand that because of Jesus Christ, even difficult experiences can help us progress and become more like Him.

Possible Learning Activities

Polished through affliction

Consider showing the following pictures of unpolished and polished rocks. Alternatively, you might bring in rough rocks and polished or smooth rocks for students to see and handle.

rough rocks vs polished rocks

• What is required for rough rocks to become smooth or polished?

You might explain that rocks can become polished by rubbing against and colliding with other rocks or sand over an extended period. This process smooths their edges and reveals their deeper, natural colors.

The Prophet Joseph Smith shared the following about himself:

the Prophet Joseph Smith

I am like a huge rough stone rolling down from a high mountain, and the only polishing I get, is when some corner gets rubbed off by coming in contact with something else striking with accelerated force … ; … knocking off a corner here and a corner there; thus, I will become a smooth and polished shaft in the quiver of the Almighty. (Joseph Smith, in History, 1838–1856 [Manuscript History of the Church], volume D-1, 1556, josephsmithpapers.org)

• What afflictions can you think of from Joseph Smith’s life that could have helped him become a better instrument in the Lord’s hands?

As you study today, think about why our loving Father in Heaven would allow you to pass through painful trials. Ponder how the Savior can help you become more like Him through the afflictions and suffering you may experience in your life.

Afflictions can be for our good

During the winter of 1838–39, Joseph Smith and other Church leaders were unjustly imprisoned in Liberty Jail and suffered intense afflictions. As part of an inspired letter to the suffering Saints, Joseph included truths God revealed to him about the suffering he was experiencing.

Consider inviting students to read and discuss in small groups what they learn from the verses below. If needed, you might prompt the group discussions with questions such as these:

• What truths do you see God teaching Joseph in these verses?

• Why might such truths be difficult to hear when going through a trial?

• Why might such truths be a blessing to hear during an affliction?

Read Doctrine and Covenants 122:5–7, looking for what God wanted Joseph to understand about the trials he had to endure in his life.

After groups have had a chance to discuss, you could invite a representative from each group to share a truth they learned. If needed, help students identify a truth similar to the following: God allows us to go through afflictions because He knows they can give us experience and be for our good.

• What do you think it means that afflictions can give us “experience” and be “for [our] good”? (verse 7).

• How might this truth relate to the rough and polished rocks from the beginning of the lesson?

  Consider writing the phrase “If you have to endure …” on the board. Then list students’ answers to the following questions:

• What afflictions do many teenagers face today?

• Why is it important in these situations to understand what God taught the Prophet Joseph Smith?

  The next question could be a unique opportunity for students to think, share, and hear the experiences of others. Consider taking time for multiple volunteers to respond.

• When have you or a loved one experienced affliction that eventually became a blessing?

• What might a person need to do to allow their affliction to give them experience and be for their good?

To see an example of a teenager who learned that God allows us to go through afflictions for our experience and good, consider showing the video “Faith Murray’s Story: Overcoming Adversity through Service” (4:52), available at ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

Remembering Jesus Christ in our afflictions

To help students think about the Savior’s unique ability to understand and help them as they go through afflictions, consider inviting them to individually complete the handout “Remembering Jesus Christ in Our Afflictions.” This could be a good opportunity for students to invite the Holy Ghost as they quietly study, reflect, and write.

Remembering Jesus Christ in Our Afflictions

Read Doctrine and Covenants 122:8–9 and try to imagine that God is speaking directly to you about situations you and your family are facing. Mark the phrases He taught that are important for you to hear. You might want to record thoughts and feelings you have in your study journal or scriptures.

Read Alma 7:11–12 and the following statement by President Henry B. Eyring of the First Presidency. Record what they teach about the Savior that helps you better understand Doctrine and Covenants 122:8–9.

President Henry B. Eyring

When you wonder how much pain you can endure well, remember Him. He suffered what you suffer so that He would know how to lift you up. He may not remove the burden, but He will give you strength, comfort, and hope. He knows the way. He drank the bitter cup. He endured the suffering of all.

You are being nourished and comforted by a loving Savior, who knows how to succor you in whatever tests you face. (Henry B. Eyring, “Tested, Proved, and Polished,” Liahona, Nov. 2020, 97)

• How could it be helpful to you during your trials to know that Jesus Christ has “descended below them all”? (Doctrine and Covenants 122:8). Why do you think He would do that?

• What other scriptures have been meaningful to you as you have passed through afflictions?

Give students time to share part of what they learned with a partner or with the class. Encourage them to share any scriptures that have been meaningful to them as they have passed through afflictions.

Consider inviting students to reflect again on how their challenges are shaping them. Invite them to ponder the following question:

• What have you learned or felt today about Jesus Christ that can help you as you go through your afflictions?

Consider concluding with your testimony that through Jesus Christ, all of our afflictions can give us experience and be for our good.

Additional Resources

How can we benefit from all of our sufferings?

Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:

Elder Neil L. Andersen

My brothers and sisters, it is my promise to you that increasing your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ will bring you added strength and greater hope. For you, the righteous, the Healer of our souls, in His time and His way, will heal all your wounds. No injustice, no persecution, no trial, no sadness, no heartache, no suffering, no wound—however deep, however wide, however painful—will be excluded from the comfort, peace, and lasting hope of Him whose open arms and whose wounded hands will welcome us back into His presence. At that day, the Apostle John testifies, the righteous “which [come] out of great tribulation” [Revelation 7:14] will stand “arrayed in white robes … before the throne of God.” The Lamb will “dwell among [us] … and God shall wipe away all tears from [your] eyes” [see Revelation 7:13, 15, 17]. This day will come. I so witness in the name of Jesus Christ. (Neil L. Andersen, “Wounded,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2018, 86)

Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said:

Elder Gary E. Stevenson

Brothers and sisters, I believe that one day, each of you will look back at the canceled events, the sadness, the disappointments, and the loneliness attendant to the challenging times we are passing through to see them overshadowed by choice blessings and increased faith and testimonies. I believe that in this life, and in the life to come, your afflictions, … your Liberty Jail, will be consecrated for your gain. I pray that, along with Nephi, we can acknowledge the afflictions in the course of our days while at the same time recognizing that we are highly favored of the Lord.

… Jesus Christ … Himself was no stranger to affliction and as part of His infinite Atonement descended below all things. He understands our grief, pain, and desperation. He is our Savior, our Redeemer, our hope, our consolation, and our Deliverer. (Gary E. Stevenson, “Highly Favored of the Lord,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2020, 105)

Why is suffering a necessary part of mortality?

President Henry B. Eyring of the First Presidency shared:

President Henry B. Eyring

You might reasonably wonder why a loving and all-powerful God allows our mortal test to be so hard. It is because He knows that we must grow in spiritual cleanliness and stature to be able to live in His presence in families forever. To make that possible, Heavenly Father gave us a Savior and the power to choose for ourselves by faith to keep His commandments and to repent and so come unto Him.

The Father’s plan of happiness has at its center our becoming ever more like His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ. In all things, the Savior’s example is our best guide. He was not exempt from the need to prove Himself. He endured for all of Heavenly Father’s children, paying the price for all our sins. He felt the suffering of all who have and will come into mortality. (Henry B. Eyring, “Tested, Proved, and Polished,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2020, 97)

How can remembering the Savior’s suffering motivate our faithfulness?

Elder Allen D. Haynie of the Seventy taught:

Elder Allen D. Haynie

What does matter is that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, suffered “pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind” so “that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people” [Alma 7:11, 12]. What does matter is that He was willing to condescend, to come to this earth and descend “below all things” [Doctrine and Covenants 88:6] and suffer “more powerful contradictions than any man” ever could [Lectures on Faith, 59]. What does matter is that Christ is pleading our case before the Father “saying: Father, behold the sufferings and death of him who did no sin, in whom thou wast well pleased; … wherefore, Father, spare these my brethren that believe on my name, that they may come unto me and have everlasting life” [Doctrine and Covenants 45:4–5]. That is what really matters and what should give all of us renewed hope and a determination to try one more time, because He has not forgotten us. (Allen D. Haynie, “Remembering in Whom We Have Trusted,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2015, 122–123)

Supplemental Learning Activities

Principles of acquiring spiritual knowledge

To help students further think about how they can turn to the Savior so that their afflictions can give them experience and be for their good, consider inviting them to read paragraphs 5–6, 8 of the “Acquiring Spiritual Knowledge” section of the Doctrinal Mastery Core Document (2023). You could ask students to look for insights that would help a person dealing with affliction.

Prophecy fulfilled

One way you could teach Doctrine and Covenants 122:1–4 would be to ask students to share examples of scriptural prophecies that have been fulfilled. Examples might include the stone being cut from the mountain without hands and filling the earth (see Daniel 2:44–45), wars and rumors of wars (see Matthew 24:6), the American Civil War (Doctrine and Covenants 87), and so on.

You could then ask students to read Doctrine and Covenants 122:1–4, looking for prophecies they have seen fulfilled in our day. The following questions might be helpful:

• How do we seek counsel, authority, or blessings from Joseph Smith still today? (verse 2).

• How have you noticed the fulfillment of verse 3 in your lifetime?

Affliction working for our good

Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles shared a story about how affliction can help us become what the Lord wants us to become:

Remembering Jesus Christ in Our Afflictions