Lonely years

I never thought before of what the years between 1820 and 1823 were like for Joseph Smith. He was called by God but not given any assignment during that time. He was persecuted by people across the ideological spectrum instead of being befriended and that was doubtless compounded by the fact that he has been directed not to join any denomination. This limited his opportunities for good social associations during some critical formative teenage years.

I understand a little bit of how that must have felt (minus the teenage years aspect) as I have felt somewhat isolated within the church community for 8 years – almost never holding a calling and often feeling forgotten among the community of saints while I focused on the burdens of my family crucible.