“The Prisoners Shall Go Free”
Doctrine and Covenants 128:22
22 Brethren, shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. Courage, brethren; and on, on to the victory! Let your hearts rejoice, and be exceedingly glad. Let the earth break forth into singing. Let the dead speak forth anthems of eternal praise to the King Immanuel, who hath ordained, before the world was, that which would enable us to redeem them out of their prison; for the prisoners shall go free.
Elder D. Todd Christofferson said:
“In the scriptures, the spirits of the dead are sometimes referred to as being in darkness or in prison. Contemplating God’s glorious plan for the redemption of these, His children, the Prophet Joseph Smith penned this psalm: ‘Let your hearts rejoice, and be exceedingly glad. Let the earth break forth into singing. Let the dead speak forth anthems of eternal praise to the King Immanuel, who hath ordained, before the world was, that which would enable us to redeem them out of their prison; for the prisoners shall go free’ (D&C 128:22).
“Our charge extends as far and as deep as the love of God to encompass His children of every time and place. Our efforts on behalf of the dead bear eloquent witness that Jesus Christ is the divine Redeemer of all mankind. His grace and promises reach even those who in life do not find Him. Because of Him, the prisoners shall indeed go free.”
(“The Redemption of the Dead and the Testimony of Jesus,” Ensign, Nov. 2000, 11.)
