Faith, Courage and Comfort

While serving as an online missionary, I have run into a good amount of people who are not very fond of the church. They come to argue, make fun of, disprove, and to convert us.  A lot of people on chat don’t have a desire to learn what we actually believe.

Having been able to talk with these people has given me a small perspective of what Joseph Smith and a lot of early saints went through when the church was founded. In the case of Joseph Smith, He went through much worse things such as imprisonment, tar and feathering among other brutal things.  One such event was when he and some of the apostles were taken prisoners of a mob. A lot of people who were in this mob had been part of the Hans mill Massacre.

While in imprisoned in the jail, some of the mob members who were guarding the prison started talking very proudly of the murders and violent acts they had done to the Saints at Hans Mill. They spoke this way for a while, when suddenly Joseph Smith, who could hear all of this being said, stood up and said the following:

“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 bear such language. Cease such talk, or you or I die this instant!”

The Guards having heard this, were speechless and could not talk, many of them didn’t even utter a word until the end of their post.

Parley P. Pratt, one of the Twelve Apostles, was present in the Jail when this happened. He described the personality of Joseph Smith in this way:

“ I have seen the ministers of justice, clothed in magisterial robes, and criminals arraigned before them, 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, or 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. “

As I read this I thought of the fearlessness of Joseph Smith at that moment. He could have let them continue to talk in such a fowl manner, but He knew that it was wrong and He could not stand to hear it. I have heard this story many times, and I have often wondered how Joseph Smith had the courage to stand up and say that to people who were armed and had such a bad way of living. Then I came across a scripture which brought more understanding to me of how Joseph Smith had this courage. This scripture comes from the Book of Mormon, and it is the Savior speaking, it says:

“I am he; yeah, I am he that comforteth you. Behold, who art thou, that thou shouldst be afraid of man, who shall die….” 2 Nephi 8:12

I know that as we have faith and trust is our Savior, that we don’t have to fear about anything, we can know that everything will be ok and will work out in the end. We will not have to be discouraged about what others say about us or the church. If we have our own testimony of Jesus Christ, we can be comforted in all things if we continue in prayer.