What's happening
This final section of the Liberty Jail epistle turns from comfort to duty. Having received the Lord's peace (121) and the assurance of Christ's descent below all things (122), Joseph counsels the saints on what they must actively do about the injustices done to them: gather a careful, documented record of all the facts, sufferings, and abuses, and present them to the world and to the heads of government — not for revenge, but as a sacred duty, after which they can stand still and trust God to act.
It was written from the jail in March 1839, as the saints were being driven from Missouri. The counsel is strikingly practical and modern: appoint a committee, take statements and affidavits, gather the libelous publications, document the names of all persons that have had a hand in their oppressions (vv. 1–5). The purpose is twofold — to publish to all the world and to present them to the heads of government (v. 6), so that the nation is left without excuse. But the deeper purpose is spiritual: this documentation is the last effort which is enjoined on us by our Heavenly Father, before we can fully and completely claim that promise of divine deliverance (v. 6). It is an imperative duty owed to God, to the rising generation, and to all the pure in heart who are kept from the truth only because they know not where to find it (vv. 7–12). And then the famous charge: let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still... to see the salvation of God (v. 17).
Gather up a knowledge of all the facts (verses 1–6)
And again, we would suggest for your consideration the propriety of all the saints gathering up a knowledge of all the facts, and sufferings and abuses put upon them by the people of this State... — D&C 123:1
The counsel is concrete and clear-eyed. The saints are to compile a thorough record — statements and affidavits, the libelous publications that are afloat, the names of the oppressors — and present the whole concatenation of diabolical rascality both to the public and to the heads of government (vv. 4–6). This is not vengeance; it is testimony, the honest documentation of wrong. And it carries a spiritual logic: it is the last effort... enjoined on us by our Heavenly Father, before we can fully and completely claim that promise which shall call him forth from his hiding place (v. 6, answering 121:1's where is thy hiding place?). God will arise to act — but the saints must first do their part, leaving the whole nation... without excuse. Heaven acts after we have done all we can.
Inherited lies and the duty to the pure in heart (verses 7–12)
...that spirit which hath so strongly riveted the creeds of the fathers, who have inherited lies, upon the hearts of the children, and filled the world with confusion... — D&C 123:7
Joseph widens the lens from the Missouri persecutors to the deeper enemy: the spirit of error itself, the creeds of the fathers, who have inherited lies. He calls it an iron yoke, a strong band, the very handcuffs, and chains, and shackles, and fetters of hell (v. 8). The duty to expose darkness is therefore owed not only to the murdered and the widowed but to all the rising generation, and to all the pure in heart (v. 11). And here is one of the most hopeful and missionary-hearted lines in scripture:
For there are many yet on the earth among all sects, parties, and denominations, who are blinded by the subtle craftiness of men, whereby they lie in wait to deceive, and who are only kept from the truth because they know not where to find it— — D&C 123:12
Only kept from the truth because they know not where to find it. Multitudes of good and honest people would embrace the truth if they could only find it; they are not enemies but the lost and blinded, waiting. This single verse reframes the whole missionary purpose of the Church — and it explains why documenting and publishing the truth matters: somewhere out there are the pure in heart who need only to be shown the way.
Waste and wear out our lives; then stand still (verses 13–17)
Therefore, that we should waste and wear out our lives in bringing to light all the hidden things of darkness... These should then be attended to with great earnestness. 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 123:13–15
Waste and wear out our lives — the phrase has become a watchword of total consecration. The work of bringing truth to light is worth the spending of an entire life. And Joseph names the principle of small, faithful efforts mattering enormously:
You know, brethren, that a very large ship is benefited very much by a very small helm in the time of a storm... Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie 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. — D&C 123:16–17
The image of a very small helm steering a very large ship in the time of a storm is the section's lasting gift: small, deliberate acts of faithfulness — a record kept, a testimony borne, a duty done cheerfully — turn the whole vessel of one's life and of the Church through the storm. And the closing posture is the perfect balance of the whole Liberty Jail epistle: do all things that lie in our power; and then... stand still... to see the salvation of God. First exert every effort; then rest in faith. Work as if it depends on us; trust as if it depends on God — because both are true.
How the section is built
Seventeen verses, a charge to act. The duty to document (vv. 1–6): gather the facts, statements, names, and publications; present them to the world and the government as the last effort before God arises. The enemy named (vv. 7–10): the inherited lies and creeds, the fetters of hell. The duty to the pure in heart (vv. 11–12): owed to the rising generation and to the many only kept from the truth because they know not where to find it. And the call to faithful effort and trust (vv. 13–17): waste and wear out our lives, a small helm steers a great ship, do all in our power and then stand still to see the salvation of God. The architecture moves from comfort (121–122) to action (123): grace does not cancel duty; having been comforted, the saints are charged to work — and then to trust.
How this sits in the documentary record
Where this lands
Section 123 is where the Liberty Jail epistle turns from being comforted to going to work, and that order matters. Joseph had cried where art thou? and been answered with peace; he had been shown that Christ descended below all things; and only then does the Lord, through him, hand the suffering saints a task. Grace does not excuse them from duty — it equips them for it. And the duty is sober and practical: gather the facts, document the abuses, name the names, publish the truth to the world and lay it before the government. Not for revenge — the vengeance is God's (121:23–25) — but as honest testimony, the last effort... enjoined on us by our Heavenly Father before He arises to act. There is a deep principle in that sequence for every believer: heaven moves after we have done all that lies in our power. We are not to wait passively for God to fix what we have not lifted a finger to address.
And the reason the work is worth a whole life — waste and wear out our lives — is named in the section's most tender verse: out there are many... who are only kept from the truth because they know not where to find it. The world is full not of enemies but of honest hearts who would come if someone would only show them the way. That is why the small helm matters — why a record kept, a testimony borne, a quiet duty done cheerfully can turn the whole great ship through the storm. And when we have done it all, the section gives the perfect resting place for faith: do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God. Strive with everything you have, and then let go and trust. From the bottom of a Missouri dungeon, that is the balance Joseph learned and left to the Church: work as though it depends on you, and then stand still and watch the arm of God be revealed.