Mobsters

Schalom! My brothers and I have been very busy of late, but that should be no excuse of course.

Today in Elders Quorum we talked about Joseph Smith's months in Liberty Jail, and there was a quote from the prophet.

“We are kept under a strong guard, night and day, in a prison of double walls and doors, proscribed in our liberty of conscience. Our food is scant, uniform, and coarse; we have not the privilege of cooking for ourselves; we have been compelled to sleep on the floor with straw, and not blankets sufficient to keep us warm; and when we have a fire, we are obliged to have almost a constant smoke. The Judges have gravely told us from time to time that they knew we were innocent, and ought to be liberated, but they dare not administer the law unto us, for fear of the mob.”

Now, there are two things that struck me as interesting here. First, in the US today when we say "the mob," we are always referring to organized crime syndicates.
But Joseph Smith and his judges weren't worried about some mamzer from the mafia sending them to sleep with the fishes. They were worried about the ordinary townsfolk painting their faces black and marching on the jail to take the law into their own hands. (Not that such a thing would ever happen, kine-ahora.)

This kind of vigilante riot used to be common here, but is now almost unthinkable. That's a good thing, I think. The mob we have now is bad, but I'm glad we don't have to worry about the mobs that afflicted 19th century America.

Second, I think that sometimes I play the part of the cowardly judge, locking up my better self for fear of what the noisy crowd would say. The Messiah comes to set the captives free, and that includes each of us. We are in bondage to sin and error, but we can be liberated if we follow the Lord instead of listening to the world.

If we don't, then we are exercising unrighteous dominion over ourselves. We are keeping our better selves locked up, instead of shaking off our chains and freeing ourselves from spiritual bondage. And why do we do it? As Joseph Smith wrote from his dungeon cell in Liberty Jail, it is because our hearts are set on the things of this world, because we aspire to the honors of men. Not only do we fear the mob, we want to join them.

And that's crazy! So, no more mob rule for me. I am walking out of this meshuggenah prison. Freedom fries, here I come!

--MOISHE