Visit this post on my site: Your Whale, Your Jail

# Your Whale, Your Jail

(The footnote numbering is messed up. They go in order, so 64 in text is 1 in the references list and so forth).

As you read the scriptures, do you live any of the stories in them? Do you move with Ruth away from your homeland?[^1] Do you spend time in the temple with Anna waiting for the coming Messiah?[^2] Do you weep with Mary at a tomb?[^3] Do you open your home with Lydia to church visitors?[^4] Do you follow the Lord’s commands with Nephi?[^5] Do you have a mighty conversion with Zeezrom?[^6] Do you walk on water with Peter?[^7] Do you defend your people and keep a sacred record with Mormon?[^8]

Who are you in the scriptures?

Are you Sariah, who gave up a comfortable life[^9] to follow the commandments of God? Sariah did not have the same miraculous manifestations as her husband Lehi, who had visions, but she had her own spiritual experiences and powerful witness. Sariah testified: “Now I know of a surety that the Lord hath commanded my husband to flee into the wilderness; yea, and I also know of a surety that the Lord hath protected my sons, and delivered them… and given them power whereby they could accomplish the thing which the Lord hath commanded them.”[^10] Although she had times of hunger[^11], danger[^12], burden[^13], and travail[^14], there were blessings of food, safety, strength[^15], and comfort. Through trials, Sariah offered gratitude and received peace.[^16] She, with her family – after many years of effort (and the Lord loves effort\!)[^17] – received a promised land.[^18] Are you someone who, while not experiencing miraculous visions, follows the commandments of God? Are you someone who presses forward, with steadfastness in Christ until you reach your promised land?[^19] Are you someone like Sariah who stays by the tree of life to abide in the love of God and partake of that desirable, joyful, and sanctifying fruit, hoping, praying, and beckoning that loved ones will come stay by the tree?[^20] Are you someone’s goodly parent?[^21] Are you Sariah?

Or are you Abish, who had a quiet but firm belief in God?[^22] When there was an opportunity to share a miraculous experience with others, Abish courageously opened her mouth to testify of the Lord. Her determined and well-intentioned testimony did not turn out as hoped,[^23] but through the Lord’s tender mercies and bounteous power, everything was alright in the end. I like to think Abish became one of those powerful, nurturing, testifying mothers who raised faithful sons. When these sons fought with the faith their mothers taught them, they were miraculously protected in battle.[^24] Are you someone who has a quiet, but firm and courageous belief in God? Are you someone blessed with tender mercies and miracles?[^25] Are you Abish?

Or are you Samuel? God called Samuel to teach an unfriendly people.[^26] He received great power and protection as he taught of the coming Savior.[^27] Samuel testified: “For this intent have I come…that ye might know of the coming of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and of earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning; and that ye might know of the signs of his coming, to the intent that ye might believe on his name. And if ye believe on his name ye will repent of all your sins, that thereby ye may have a remission of them through his merits.”[^28] Samuel’s teachings might remind us of President Nelson’s: “In a coming day, Jesus Christ will return to the earth as the millennial Messiah…. I call upon you to rededicate your lives to Jesus Christ. I call upon you to help gather scattered Israel and to prepare the world for the Second Coming of the Lord. I call upon you to talk of Christ, testify of Christ, have faith in Christ, and rejoice in Christ\!”[^29] Samuel talked, testified, had faith in, and rejoiced in Christ. The Lord protected him from the stones and arrows of the angry Nephites.[^30] Pres. Nelson shared an experience where he similarly was protected by the Lord: “When Wendy and I were on assignment in a distant land, armed robbers put a gun to my head and pulled the trigger. But the gun did not fire.”[^31] Have you, like Samuel and Pres. Nelson, testified and taught of the coming of Jesus Christ? Have you also seen times of miraculous protection? Are you Samuel?

Or are you the nameless, but prepared young man with bread and fish?[^32] When many people were hungry for the words of Christ and for bread, this anonymous young man quietly gave his ‘widow’s mite’[^33] to the Savior. The Son of God turned this humble consecration of a little food into a feast for thousands.[^34] Do you, like this anonymous boy, give the Savior what you have and allow Him to turn it into something miraculous? Are you one of the “weak and simple”[^35] of the world? Do you offer your weakness or from your weakness to the Savior and then watch in reverence as He turns them into strengths?[^36] Are you the prepared young man who humbly consecrates all you have to the Savior?

Are you Emma? The Lord called Emma an elect lady.[^37] Are you one of God’s elect?[^38] Emma, like Sariah, did not see all the miraculous manifestations her husband had. The Lord counseled her: “Murmur not because of the things which thou hast not seen, for they are withheld from thee and from the world, which is wisdom in me in a time to come.”[^39] Emma believed, although she had not seen, and was blessed because of her faith.[^40] Are you also one of the Lord’s blessed because you believe, although you have not seen? Emma also filled the church with sacred music, helping the saints pray to God through righteous song.[^41] Do you fill your home and the ears of others with melodious prayers to our Eternal Father through music? Or have you been called to minister to others? The Lord called Emma to be, “a comfort unto my servant, Joseph Smith, Jun., thy husband, in his afflictions, with consoling words, in the spirit of meekness.”[^42] Think how important this calling was\! The Lord called Emma to have the same role as a member of the Godhead – the Holy Ghost, Who is the Comforter.[^43] Do you, like Emma, comfort others as the Holy Ghost does? Is your sacred ministry one of peace and comfort?[^44] Are you Emma?

Or are you Jonah?[^45] Jonah was a prophet in ancient Israel called to preach repentance to his people’s most feared enemy – the Assyrians in Nineveh. Instead of obeying, Jonah did what many people do when faced with an overwhelming and potentially dangerous situation; he attempted to flee as far as possible, boarding a ship heading in the opposite direction. This did not turn out to be a relaxing Mediterranean cruise. Faced with a violent storm threatening to sink the ship, Jonah recognized his disobedience was the cause and urged the sailors to throw him into the sea as a sacrifice. Reluctantly they did so and the storm started to clear. But Jonah’s story didn’t end in a watery death. The Lord appointed a great fish or a whale to swallow Jonah. While that might seem like a worse situation, because the Lord needed him in Nineveh, Jonah’s story did not end as food for a sea creature. From inside the whale, Jonah cried out in humble repentance: “I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple.”[^46] It’s important that Jonah’s turn again to the Lord included a longing for the temple. After three days and nights the whale deposited him onto dry land.?

Given a second chance, Jonah obeyed God’s command and went to Nineveh. He prophesied that in forty days, the city would be overthrown. To his astonishment, the people of Nineveh, from the king to the commoner, believed his message. They fasted, expressed contrition, and turned from their sins. Seeing their repentance, God spared the city from destruction.?

This is a story of the Lord’s marvellous mercy offered to those who repent – Jonah and his enemies the Assyrians. God is no respecter of persons.[^47] Have you run away from the Lord or a responsibility, only to turn again to God in repentance? Do you feel, like Jonah, in the midst of a tempestuous ocean and storm, which might be of your own doing? What is your storm? Is it sin? Is it a chronic disease? Is it getting rejected for a job? Is it dwelling in the darkness of depression? Is it contention with a loved one? Is it a festering anger?

Perhaps you even feel swallowed up and trapped inside a whale. Maybe your whale is a lost job. Maybe it’s a broken leg or broken dream.[^48] Jonah’s whale, though a trial, turned out to be a form of the Lord’s protection. Elder Gong taught, “Some of our greatest life lessons come from things we would never choose.”[^49] Jonah did not choose the whale[^50], but it taught and brought him salvation. Not all trials are whales, but do you recognize the whales that come from God to save you? When you are trapped inside your heaven-sent whale, does your heart turn towards the Lord and His temple?

God delivers protecting whales to us as a representation and manifestation of the Savior’s delivering Atonement. Jonah spent three days in darkness, followed by deliverance. These captive three days in the whale and then liberating deliverance from the whale were symbolic of our Savior’s death and resurrection. Jonah, after repentance and salvation, went on to preach repentance and salvation. Jonah’s experience in the sea teaches us of the power of God to deliver us. It was not the whale that saved Jonah, it was the Lord, Who with mighty power, delivered him from the storms of sin. In Mosiah we read of a people who: “were brought into bondage, and none could deliver them but the Lord their God…. And it came to pass that he did deliver them, and he did show forth his mighty power unto them, and great were their rejoicings.”[^51]

The Lord offers us deliverance in various forms. Sometimes it’s power to escape,[^52] sometimes it’s power to endure,[^53] sometimes it’s a parted sea,[^54] sometimes it’s a whale. Elder Cook taught, “As we turn to Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, He rescues us from the storms of life through His Atonement in accordance with the Father’s plan.”[^55] Do you recognize how the Lord saves you from storms and in storms? Do you see your trials as protecting or strengthening you? Do you recognize your whale? Do you rejoice when the Lord delivers you? Are you Jonah?

Or are you Joseph, who had many miraculous experiences? A young Joseph perceived a blinding light from a pillar of fire. Where some people might remain blind, Joseph saw the loving Father and Son in the pillar of fire.[^56] He heard Them. He hearkened to Them. While few have dramatic experiences like Joseph, do you see the glorious light of the Lord in your lives? Do you see and hear the Father and Son through the Spirit and through the words of prophets?[^57]

Joseph was, at a young age, called by God to do difficult things. Later in his life, under false accusations, Joseph ended up in a cramped, freezing, ironically named Liberty Jail. This place of suffering became a temple of learning to the incarcerated prophet Joseph Smith. The Lord comforted him with these words: “Peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes…. know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good. The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he?”[^58]

Are we greater than Christ? He descended below[^59] the depths of our experiences and sufferings to lift us up. Do you have a sacred ‘Liberty Jail’ where you learned deeply of Christ’s loving Atonement? Are you Joseph?

We all pass through difficult times in life. We live in a time of great uncertainty and worry. There is upheaval, turmoil, and widespread contention. There is darkness and confusion but there can be bursting, radiant lights in our lives. These lights might be brief flashes or they might continually go before us as a pillar of fire,[^60] but they provide light, protection, and hope to us\!

I invite you to recognize your whales and your jails in life. I testify that even if you run away, the Lord has a whale ready to deliver you. He sends whales to deliver your fleeing loved ones. The Lord offers experience and overcoming through your jails, which are trials that ultimately serve to protect and strengthen. Make a record of what you learn about salvation and the Atonement from these whales and jails.[^61] All things we pass through will give us experience and be for our good as we are faithful. You have a loving Father and Savior Who offer you a promised land, Who offer you tender mercies and miracles, Who offer protection and power, Who turn your weakness into strength, Who comfort, Who send whales, and Who turn incarcerating trials into liberating and sanctifying temple experiences. Have patience, have hope\! I testify of the Savior, Who sends whales and frees us from jails.[^62] Believe in Christ and carry on in the light of the High Priest of good things to come\![^63] In the name of Jesus Christ, amen\!

[^1]: [Ruth 1](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/ot/ruth/1?lang=eng)

[^2]: [Luke 2:36-38](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/nt/luke/2?lang=eng&id=p36-p38#p36)

[^3]: [John 20:11](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/nt/john/20?lang=eng&id=p11#p11)

[^4]: [Acts 16:14-15](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/nt/acts/16?lang=eng&id=p14-p15#p14)

[^5]: 1 Nephi 3:7

[^6]: Alma 15:1-12

[^7]: Matt. 14:22-23

[^8]: Mormon 1

[^9]: 1 Nephi 3:22-25

[^10]: [1 Nephi 5:8](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/1-ne/5?lang=eng&id=p8#p8)

[^11]: 1 Nephi 16:21

[^12]: 1 Nephi 17:12

[^13]: 1 Nephi 17:1

[^14]: 1 Nephi 16:25 1 Nephi 18:17-18

[^15]: 1 Nephi 17:2-3

[^16]: 1 Nephi 5:9

[^17]: [https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2020/04/14jones?lang=eng](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2020/04/14jones?lang=eng)

[^18]: 1 Nephi 18:23

[^19]: 2 Nephi 31:20

[^20]: While 1 Nephi 8 only mentions Lehi beckoning to his family, Sariah also wanted her children to choose the Lord and come to the tree.

[^21]: 1 Nephi 1:1. Stake primary children and youth sang “We’ll Bring the World His Truth”. This was a reference to that song, which was sung right before my talk.

[^22]: [Alma 19:16](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/alma/19?lang=eng&id=p16#p16)

[^23]: [Alma 19:17-22](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/alma/19?lang=eng&id=p17-p22#p17); Alma 19:28

[^24]: Alma 56:48; Stake primary children and youth sang “We’ll Bring the World His Truth”. This was also a reference to that song, which was sung right before my talk.

[^25]: [Alma 19:28-29](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/alma/19?lang=eng&id=p28-p29#p28); Abish saw all the contention and wanted to rectify it. When she grabbed the hand of the queen, the queen stood up and powerfully testified of Jesus Christ.

[^26]: Helaman 13:2-3

[^27]: Helaman 16:2

[^28]: [Helaman 14:11-13](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/hel/14?lang=eng&id=p11-p13#p11)

[^29]: [Nelson, October 2024](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2024/10/57nelson?lang=eng&id=p_paXFQ#p_paXFQ)

[^30]: Helaman 16:2

[^31]: [Nelson, October 2024](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2024/10/57nelson?lang=eng&id=p_oQgxD#p_oQgxD)

[^32]: John 6:9-13

[^33]: Luke 21:1-4

[^34]: John 6:9-14

[^35]: D\&C 1:23

[^36]: Ether 12:27

[^37]: Doctrine & Covenants 25:3

[^38]: Doctrine & Covenants 35:20

[^39]: D\&C 25:4

[^40]: John 20:29

[^41]: D\&C 25:11-12

[^42]: D\&C 25:5

[^43]: Moroni 8:26

[^44]: Moroni entrusted Joseph with the golden plates only after Emma married him, highlighting the sacred role and steadying anchor she was for Joseph. Emma worked with her husband Joseph to bring forth the Book of Mormon, the restored gospel of Christ, and the restored church of Jesus Christ. This was an important role that shows the importance of people yoked together and with the Savior to bring forth the Lord’s gospel and church.

[^45]: See the [Book of Jonah](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/ot/jonah?lang=eng)

[^46]: Jonah 2:4

[^47]: Acts 10:34

[^48]: What we want and what our Father wants for us is not always the same. Many times our Father wants something much better for us than we do. We do not always understand why things happen, but in hindsight, we can have perspective of how the Lord offered us something better than we hoped for ourselves. An example of this is Lehi’s family. They left Jerusalem. They gave up many riches. But the Lord had something much grander planned for their family. They had many trials and conflicts, but started a civilization that lasted about 1000 years.

[^49]: Gong, April 2025 General Conference

[^50]: The whale also did not chew(s) Jonah.

[^51]: Mosiah 23:23-24

[^52]: Mosiah 24:16-20

[^53]: Mosiah 24:15; 2 Nephi 31:20

[^54]: Exodus 14:22

[^55]: April 2025 General Conference

[^56]: Joseph Smith \- History 1:16-17

[^57]: [Doctrine & Covenants 18:36](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/18?lang=eng&id=p36#p36); Doctrine & Covenants 35:21

[^58]: [Doctrine and Covenants 121:7-8](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/121?lang=eng&id=7-8#6); [Doctrine and Covenants 122:7-8](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/122?lang=eng&id=7-8#6)

[^59]: Doctrine & Covenants 122:8

[^60]: Exodus 13:21-22

[^61]: In 2025 unit conferences President Jonathan Pritt invited stake members to make a record of their ministry. Write down what they learned of Christ and taught of Christ. This is a reference to that invitation.

[^62]: Luke 4:18

[^63]: Hebrews 9:11. See also [Holland, October 1999](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1999/10/an-high-priest-of-good-things-to-come?lang=eng)

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