Even though many people in Limhi’s colony brought their distress upon themselves, the Lord was merciful and answered their prayers. The Prophet Joseph Smith (1805–44) described the Lord’s mercy in response to the sorrow the Prophet felt as a result of his mistakes: “I have called to mind all the past moments of my life, and am left to mourn and shed tears of sorrow for my folly in suffering the adversary of my soul to have so much power over me as he has had in times past. But God is merciful and has forgiven my sins, and I rejoice that he sendeth forth the Comforter unto as many as believe and humbleth themselves before him” (The Personal Writings of Joseph Smith, comp. Dean C. Jessee [1984], 238; punctuation, spelling, and capitalization standardized).