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Sacred Texts: Mormons

Doctrine and Convenants: 121. Prayer and prophecies written by Joseph Smith while a prisoner in the jail at Liberty, Missouri, March 20, 1839.

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Doctrine and Convenants: 122. The word of the Lord to Joseph Smith while a prisoner in the jail at Liberty, Missouri, March 1839. Similar meaning (77%) Doctrine and Convenants: 63. Revelation through Joseph Sm... Similar meaning (77%) Doctrine and Convenants: 64. Revelation through Joseph Smith to the elders of the Church, Kirtland, Ohio, September 11, 1831. Similar meaning (77%) Doctrine and Convenants: 1. Revelation through Joseph Smith, Hiram, Ohio, November 1, 1831. Similar meaning (76%)
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Section 121 of the Doctrine and Covenants is a canonical LDS scripture presented as a revelation received by Joseph Smith while imprisoned in Liberty Jail in 1839, structured as both a lament and a divine response. It opens with Smith's anguished petition to God — echoing the psalms of lament — pleading for relief from the persecution of the Saints and calling for divine judgment on their oppressors. God's response shifts from comfort (promising Smith's suffering will be brief and his enemies will be destroyed) to eschatological disclosure: a coming age when hidden knowledge about the cosmos, the nature of God (including the notably plural "one God or many gods"), celestial governance, and the structure of eternity will be fully revealed. The section's most doctrinally distinctive passage holds that priesthood authority is voided the moment it is exercised through coercion, pride, or dominion — a claim with significant implications for LDS theology of leadership. It closes with an ethic of priestly conduct: authority must be maintained only through persuasion, gentleness, patience, and love, and the leader who operates this way will receive the Holy Ghost as a constant companion and an "everlasting dominion" that flows without compulsion. The section is notable for its combination of raw personal anguish, prophetic cursing of enemies, cosmic theological speculation, and a surprisingly anti-authoritarian theory of spiritual power.

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