Select Page

scripturesdc128-22 (128:22 ** )

Scripture Commentary — Doctrine and Covenants 128:22

“…for the prisoners shall go free…”

Doctrine and Covenants 128:22 —  an inspired thought

Verse 22

  • D&C 128:22 states, “…let the dead speak forth eternal anthems to the King Immanuel who hath prepared, from before the foundations of the world, that which would enable us to redeem them from their state of prison, for the prisoners shall go free.”  On a given day during our mission in New Zealand, I pondered on this verse.  I pictured the hosts of the spirit children of Heavenly Father in our premortal home.  We all understood that most would live on earth and have a mortal experience without having the gospel of Christ in their lives.  Those in that situation would be guided only by the light of Christ, knowing good from evil and striving to live a respectable life under the circumstances in which they would live.  These spirits understood that they would eventually have the opportunity to hear and accept the gospel of the Lord, and to have the privilege of accepting or rejecting it.

    Others in the premortal realms had the privilege, as described in Doctrine and Covenants 138:56, of being schooled and “…prepared to come forth in the due time of the Lord to labor in his vineyard for the salvation of the souls of men.”  They must have realized what an awesome privilege and burden accompanied this opportunity.  They must have realized that greater light and knowledge was accompanied by greater responsibility and duties, the neglect of which would bring upon them eternal consequences.

    The verse in Section 128 also points out that Heavenly Father knew from the very beginning that many, if not most, of his children would not walk by the light of the gospel of Christ in mortality.  He had a plan in place by which they would receive an equivalent experience.  This explains, in part perhaps, why so few on this earth have the blessings of the gospel in their lives.


Click here to return to the Commentaries index page