It is noteworthy that the first commandment the Lord gives to the Saints at this particularly trying time is “in everything give thanks” (D&C 98:1). Even in the midst of our most severe trials, gratitude helps alleviate the pain and sorrow that we feel. When Job found himself in the midst of the most severe trials imaginable—so severe that his wife urged him to “curse God, and die”—Job responded, “shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?” (Job 2:9–10). God later compared Joseph Smith to Job (D&C 121:10) and told Joseph that his adversity and afflictions would be “but a small moment” (D&C 121:7). When we are confronted with challenges like the Saints were during this time, there are still things in our lives to be grateful for. Focusing on the good in our lives can help us gain the strength to overcome our current trials.

Secondly, the Lord urges the Saints to be patient in waiting for the Lord to answer their prayers. In the panicked moment of our trials, we often want an instant response from the Lord, but this type of response is not typically how the Lord works. When our prayers appear unanswered, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland offered this counsel, “Some blessings come soon, some come late, and some don’t come until heaven. But for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, they come. It will be all right in the end. Trust God and believe in good things to come.”¹

1. Jeffrey R. Holland, “An High Priest of Good Things to Come,” October 1999 General Conference.

The historical context of the phrase “the constitutional law of the land” refers to the laws and constitution of the United States of America at the time this revelation was given (1833). In a larger sense, Latter-day Saints in all countries “believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law” (Article of Faith 12). Joseph Smith taught that “the constitution of the United States is a glorious standard[;] it is founded in the wisdom of God. It is a heavenly banner[;] it is to all those who are privileged with the sweets of its liberty like the cooling shades and refreshing waters of a great rock in a thirsty and a weary land. It is like a great tree under whose branches men from every clime can be shielded from the burning rays of an inclement sun.”²

Joseph Smith’s sentiments regarding the Constitution do not mean, however, that the Constitution of the United States—or of any other country—is perfect and without flaw. President Dallin H. Oaks taught, “Our belief that the United States Constitution was divinely inspired does not mean that divine revelation dictated every word and phrase, such as the provisions allocating the number of representatives from each state or the minimum age of each. The Constitution was not ‘a fully grown document,’ said President J. Reuben Clark. ‘On the contrary,’ he explained, ‘we believe it must grow and develop to meet the changing needs of an advancing world.’”³ For example, the US Constitution allowed for legal slavery at the time Doctrine and Covenants 98 was given. But a revelation given only a few months later to Joseph Smith declared, “It is not right that any man should be in bondage one to another” (D&C 101:79). The Thirteenth Amendment to the US Constitution, ratified in 1865, later outlawed slavery.

2. Letter to Edward Partridge and the Church, circa 22 March 1839, pp. 8–9, JSP.

3. Dallin H. Oaks, “Defending Our Divinely Inspired Constitution,” April 2021 General Conference.

While the Church does not endorse specific candidates or political parties, it does urge its members to participate in the political process and seek out honest, wise, and good men and women to lead their communities and countries. In the Book of Mormon, King Mosiah warned, “For behold, how much iniquity doth one wicked king cause to be committed, yea, and what great destruction!” (Mosiah 29:17). President Dallin H. Oaks taught that it is important for Saints to be involved in the political process of their homelands: “In the United States and in other democracies, political influence is exercised by running for office (which we encourage), by voting, by financial support, by membership and service in political parties, and by ongoing communications to officials, parties, and candidates. To function well, a democracy needs all of these, but a conscientious citizen does not need to provide all of them.”⁴

In verse 10, the Lord also urges the Saints to diligently seek for good leaders. This counsel suggests that staying informed on current issues, candidates, and political movements is important. President Oaks also counseled, “There are many political issues, and no party, platform, or individual candidate can satisfy all personal preferences. Each citizen must therefore decide which issues are most important to him or her at any particular time. Then members should seek inspiration on how to exercise their influence according to their individual priorities. This process will not be easy. It may require changing party support or candidate choices, even from election to election.”5

4. Dallin H. Oaks, “Defending Our Divinely Inspired Constitution,” April 2021 General Conference.

5. Dallin H. Oaks, “Defending Our Divinely Inspired Constitution,” April 2021 General Conference.

One of the most frustrating conditions in times of trial is the feeling of helplessness. We often feel helpless because we do not have all of the information regarding our situation or we cannot see all of the variables at play. The Lord in verse 12 points out that by design, He gives us information “line upon line, precept on precept.” This pattern of gaining information is part of the test we face in this life. It is impossible to fully know everything that we want to know in mortality. We may not be able to discern the motives of our antagonists, the cause of our sufferings, or the outcome of the events surrounding us. This lack of knowledge compels us to act in faith and trust God. There is a reason that faith in Jesus Christ is the first principle of the gospel: we cannot know or control everything, so we must trust in God.

The great and final unknowable factor in this life is death and what happens after it. But regarding this mystery that all men and women must face, the Savior provides an assurance that death is not the end. The Savior assures the Saints that if they are asked to lay down their life for His cause, there will be a place prepared for them (D&C 98:14, 18). For those who die sincerely engaged in a noble cause, death is not the end of their existence but a gateway into eternal life. Being faithful to the gospel does not come with an assurance that you will be free from trials, but it does allow you to make choices about what your future state after this life will be.

Though the Saints were victims of unjust persecution, they were not free from transgressions (see D&C 101:1–2). Many among the Saints may have felt justified in answering violence with violence. However, the Lord asks the Saints in verse 16 to seek a higher road, leave violent measures behind, and settle their conflicts peacefully.

The Lord makes an interesting allusion in these verses to Malachi’s prophesy about the return of Elijah and the turning of “the hearts of the children to the fathers, and the hearts of the fathers to the children” (D&C 98:16; Malachi 4:5–6). In 1833 the Saints’ understanding of the importance of temple work was only in its infancy. The Lord may be alluding here to the vital work of temple building and proxy ordinances for the dead that He intended to be carried out by the Latter-day Saints. The most important work of the last days is not found in violence, but in the peaceful work of connecting the roots and branches of humanity through the ordinances of the Lord’s house.

In the immediate context of section 98, finding peaceful solutions to challenges rather than incurring further violence was the Saints’ goal. However, the work carried out in temples allows the entire human family, long mired in violence and conflict, to at last be peacefully connected through the sacred covenants of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Though section 98 is primarily thought to have been intended for the Saints in Missouri who were facing expulsion from their homes, in verses 19–21 the Lord also reproves the Saints in Kirtland for their transgressions. At this time there were only around 150 members of the Church in Kirtland, which was not nearly as many members as those in Missouri. The challenges the Kirtland Saints faced were different in nature from the Saints in Missouri, yet the Lord’s warning is the same: the wording used in verses 19–22 closely mirrors the warning given to the Saints in Missouri only a few days prior (see D&C 97:24–27). As with the Saints in Missouri, the Lord was speaking to the Kirtland Saints as a group. There were many individuals among the Saints in Kirtland keeping the commandments.

When we see another person or group amid difficulties, we can sometimes assume that their trials are brought on by their own faults. This small group of verses is a simple reminder that if we are not suffering, we should not take others’ suffering as evidence of our superiority. Our trials may yet await. It is important that we do not measure our own righteousness against the misfortune or suffering of others. Instead, we should approach the Lord as individuals, asking what we can do to follow His will in our own circumstances.

The Lord’s law of retribution as given to ancient prophets is reiterated in verses 23–31. The Saints must first seek peace with their enemies and act in self-defense, not in aggression. They are asked to bear their trials patiently and seek nonviolent solutions to conflict. One figure who exemplified this approach was Bishop Edward Partridge, the leader of the Saints in Zion.

On July 20, 1833, the day that a mob ransacked and destroyed the Church printing office, Bishop Partridge and Charles Allen were dragged by the mob to the public square near the courthouse in Independence. Bishop Partridge later related the events that followed:

I was stripped of my hat, coat and vest, and daubed with tar from head to foot, and then had a quantity of feathers put upon me; and all this because I would not agree to leave the county, and my home where I had lived two years.

Before tarring and feathering me, I was permitted to speak. I told them that the saints had had to suffer persecution in all ages of the world. That I had done nothing which ought to offend anyone. That if they abused me they would abuse an innocent person. That I was willing to suffer for the sake of Christ; but to leave the country I was not then willing to consent to it. By this time the multitude made so much noise that I could not be heard: some were cursing and swearing, saying call upon your Jesus, &c, &c; others were equally noisy in trying to still the rest, that they might be enabled to hear what I was saying.

Until after I had spoken, I knew not what they intended to do with me, whether to kill me, to whip me, or what else I knew not. I bore my abuse with so much resignation and meekness, that it appeared to astound the multitude, who permitted me to retire in silence, many looking very solemn, their sympathies having been touched as I thought; and, as to myself, I was so filled with the Spirit and Love of God, that I had no hatred towards my persecutors, or anyone else.⁶

Bishop Partridge’s actions under these circumstances demonstrate the validity of the Lord’s counsel to the Saints. His meekness in the face of unjust persecution undoubtedly saved his life and may have spared the Saints even worse suffering than what they had already endured.

6. JS History, vol. A-1, p. 327–28, JSP, emphasis in original.

These verses provide the Lord’s teaching on war. War can be justified given the conditions provided in verses 32–38. During a period of global war, the First Presidency (which at the time consisted of Heber J. Grant, J. Reuben Clark, and David O. McKay) issued a statement on war that reads as follows: “The Church is and must be against war. The Church itself cannot wage war, unless and until the Lord shall issue new commands. It cannot regard war as a righteous means of settling international disputes; these should and could be settled—the nations agreeing—by peaceful negotiation and adjustment.”⁷ While righteous men in the scriptures, such as Gideon, Captain Moroni, or Mormon, were skilled commanders and generals, they were also men of peace who fought for the right reasons. Speaking of the righteous Nephites, the Book of Mormon declares, “they were sorry to take up arms against the Lamanites, because they did not delight in the shedding of blood; yea, and this was not all—they were sorry to be the means of sending so many of their brethren out of this world into an eternal world, unprepared to meet their God” (Alma 48:23).

Speaking in the April 1942 general conference in the midst of the Second World War, President David O. McKay outlined several principles surrounding the waging of just war: “There are, however, two conditions which may justify a truly Christian man to enter—mind you, I say enter, not begin—a war: (1) An attempt to dominate and to deprive another of his free agency, and, (2) Loyalty to his country. Possibly there is a third, viz., Defense of a weak nation that is being unjustly crushed by a strong, ruthless one.” President McKay added:

Paramount among these reasons, of course, is the defense of man’s freedom. An attempt to rob man of his free agency caused dissension even in heaven . . . To deprive an intelligent human being of his free agency is to commit the crime of the ages . . . So fundamental in man’s eternal progress is his inherent right to choose, that the Lord would defend it even at the price of war. Without freedom of thought, freedom of choice, freedom of action within lawful bounds, man cannot progress . . . The greatest responsibility of the state is to guard the lives, and to protect the property and rights of its citizens; and if the state is obligated to protect its citizens from lawlessness within its boundaries, it is equally obligated to protect them from lawless encroachments from without—whether the attacking criminals be individuals or nations.⁸

7. First Presidency Statement, in Conference Report, April 1942, 94.

8. David O. McKay, in Conference Report, April 1942, 72–73.

Even in the midst of the terrible persecutions facing the Saints in Missouri, the Savior asked the Saints to seek a path of reconciliation and forgiveness toward their enemies. Several years later, when contentions erupted between the Saints and their neighbors in Clay County, Missouri, Joseph Smith and other Church leaders provided similar counsel, writing:

We are sorry that this disturbance has broken out—we do not consider it our fault. You are better acquainted with circumstances than we are, and of course have been directed in wisdom . . . We advise that you be not the first aggressors—give no occasion, and if the people will let you dispose of your property, settle your affairs, and go in peace, go . . . You know our feelings relative to not giving the first offence, and also of protecting your wives and little ones in case a mob should seek their lives . . . Be wise, let prudence dictate all your counsels, preserve peace with all men, if possible, stand by the constitution of your country, observe its principles, and above all, show yourselves men of God, worthy citizens, and we doubt not, community ere long, will do you justice, and rise in indignation against those who are the instigators of your suffering and affliction.⁹

Forgiveness, even for those who hurt us the deepest, is always the better course than retribution. We should also note that the Lord’s promise to avenge wrongs upon the third and fourth generations of those who are wicked is conditional as well. We believe that men and women will be punished for their own sins and not for those of their fathers (Article of Faith 2). It is true that grudges and sins are often passed from one generation to another, but we have an obligation to help heal these wounds, not perpetuate them. Justice must be left in the hands of the Lord.

9. Letter to William W. Phelps and Others, 25 July 1836, p. 359, JSP.