"Windows at Liberty" takes place in 1838 at Liberty Jail in Liberty, Missouri. The title refers to "windows" even though only one window is depicted. The second window is the Window of Revelation, which is represented by the light shining on the faces of the prisoners. The theme for the overall feeling of the painting was based in part on the following quote from the Prophet Joseph Smith regarding the period.

"During the time we were in the hands of our enemies, we must say that although we felt anxiety respecting our families and friends, who were so inhumanly treated and abused,...we felt perfectly calm, and resigned to the will of our Heavenly Father...Yes, that still small voice, which had so often whispered consolation to our souls, in the depths of sorrow and distress, bade us be of good cheer, and promised deliverance, which gave us great comfort...For although we were troubled on every side, yet not distressed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed." The Life of Joseph Smith The Prophet, Chapter 42, pg. 301

The Prophet and President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He received several revelations during his six month imprisonment in Liberty Jail. While imprisoned, he continued to provide leadership and encouragement to the Church through letters and messages.

He was the brother of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Hyrum Smithıs son had been born while Hyrum was imprisoned. He first saw his infant son when he was brought to Liberty Jail around February 1, 1839 by his wife Mary Fielding Smith. It was there in the jail that Hyrum blessed the infant and named him Joseph Fielding Smith.

A member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Lyman was nicknamed the "Wild Ram of the Mountains." He was a colonel in the Missouri Militia, and a counselor to Joseph Smith. On the way to Liberty Jail Lyman was told that if he did not denounce the Prophet he would be shot the next morning. To this he replied, "Shoot and be damned."

The tallest man in the jail he stood six feet six inches tall in his stocking feet. It was said of him that there was not a cowardly hair in his big red shaggy head. He later became captain of the Nauvoo Legion and went west with the saints. He served as a Bishop in Salt Lake City for thirty-six years.

A witness to many notable events of the restoration, Sidney beheld the vision on the degrees of glory with Joseph. He was a counselor in the First Presidency at the time of the imprisonment. Sidney became very ill at Liberty, but he was such a eloquent speaker that he was able to convince a judge to release him after only one month.

Born in 1791 Caleb was the oldest man in the group. A veteran of the war of 1812 he was a faithful member who participated in such notable events as the battle of the Big Blue River in 1833. Caleb was pulled from his home and severely whipped, leaving scars he would carry for the rest of his life, and his house and barn were burned to the ground. Caleb went west with the Saints but died nine months after his arrival in the valley.