D&C 123:17 – Therefore, dearly beloved, let us cheerfully do all that lies in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed.
Are you trying to find meaning and purpose in doing “all that lies in your power,” as we are encouraged to do in D&C 123:17? On its own, the scripture sounds positive and optimistic, but it was received at one of the darkest moments in Mormon history. In 
March 1839, most of the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were gathered in Missouri. They had all left their homes in the Eastern United States or in Europe. They had all given up physical possessions and property, and many had sacrificed relationships with friends or family in order to live their religion and follow Christ.
The state of the Saints at the time was so dire, the persecution so fierce, that we know the Prophet Joseph Smith cried to the Lord from a filthy, freezing cell in Liberty Jail, “O God, where art thou? . . . How long shall thy hand be stayed . . . and thine ear be penetrated with [the cries of thy people]?” (D&C 121:2). He pleaded with the Lord to intervene. He said, “O Lord God Almighty, maker of heaven, earth, and seas . . . stretch forth thy hand . . . let thine anger be kindled against our enemies; and, in the fury of thine heart, with thy sword avenge us of our wrongs” (D&C 121:4–5).
The Lord’s response to this plea for vengeance is one of the most humbling we have in scripture. God said, “My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment” (D&C 121:7).
It was from the same jail cell, in the same horrid conditions, and in response to the same plea for vengeance that the Lord encouraged the people to cheerfully do all things that were in their power, and then to stand still and wait on the Lord. In fact, how did the Lord respond to the Saints’ plea for the Lord to stretch forth his hand with his sword and avenge them of their wrongs? When they asked for vengeance for what Joseph described as the “whole concatenation of diabolical rascality and nefarious and murderous impositions” (&C 123:5). do you know what the Lord said? He told them to make a list. I’m not kidding. The task they were told to do cheerfully was to “[gather] up a knowledge of all the facts, and sufferings and abuses put upon [you] by the people of this State” (D&C 123:1). And that was it. How could the Lord expect the Saints to be cheered by that response?
He expected it because he also gave them a reason. When the Lord gave them the task to account for the wrongs—to channel their hurt and pain into making a record—he also explained that he would use that record to save souls. He said, “There are many yet on the earth . . . who are blinded by the subtle craftiness of men . . . and who are only kept from the truth because they know not where to find it. . . . Let no man count them as small things; for there is much which lieth in futurity, pertaining to the saints, which depends upon these things” (D&C 123:12–15). The Lord adds, “You know, brethren, that a very large ship is benefited very much by a very small helm in the time of a storm” (D&C 123:16). I doubt those early Saints had any idea how many lives would be touched and changed by their efforts to record not only the wrongs against them, but the revelations and blessings they received. But we know. We would not be here if they hadn’t, so in a very real way, our ship has been steered by their very small helm.
Editor’s Note: This is a post in an ongoing series on how to flourish. Posts are published on Tuesdays.
