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The
Joy of Living the Gospel
I was asked to speak about a
subject that President Nelson said is, “key to our spiritual survival.” When
i think of what is necessary for our spiritual survival in these last days, I
think of making and keeping covenants in the temple or of learning to
recognize, receive and act on promptings or repentance...and these principles
are essential. But none of those are my topic for today...my topic is joy.
President Nelson gave a BEAUTIFUL talk entitled Joy and Spiritual Survival in which he said, “Lehi knew opposition, anxiety, heartache,
pain, disappointment, and sorrow. Yet he declared boldly and without
reservation a principle as revealed by the Lord: “Men are, that they might have
joy.”6 Imagine! Of all the words he could have
used to describe the nature and purpose of our lives here in mortality, he
chose the word joy!..
I'm so happy to get to talk about how living the gospel brings me joy
because number one it really does! And number two, I've actually
spent the past 6 weeks studying joy in depth. So I could probably talk
for an hour or more about what I've learned and how the gospel brings me
joy...though I won't.
About a year ago, a dear friend of mine passed away
unexpectedly. I
was also in the midst of a period of pretty intense tutoring by the Lord. As
we’ve been counseled to do, I’d been seeking to know “what lack I yet” and
lovingly the Lord showed me…He showed me that I was lacking in an area that I
had actually felt was a strength for me and I spent a couple of months really
experiencing what Sister Michelle Craig referred to in this past conference as
“divine discontent”…I was really searching and seeking to know how to overcome
these weaknesses that I’d suddenly recognized I had. I spent a great deal of time thinking,
praying, grieving, and feeling sadness. It was during this period that I first read
President Nelson’s talk and was so struck by his words about joy…because I
wasn’t feeling as much joy as I usually do.
President Nelson
said, “Saints can be happy under every circumstance. We can feel joy even
while having a bad day, a bad week, or even a bad year!
My
dear brothers and sisters, the joy we feel has little to do with the
circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives.
When
the focus of our lives is on God’s plan of salvation…and Jesus Christ and His
gospel, we can feel joy regardless of what is happening—or not happening—in our
lives. Joy comes from and because of Him. He is the source of all joy.”
What? How was I supposed to feel joy in the midst
of deep sadness? How
can we feel joy in any and every circumstance?
I don’t know if the following quote from President Nelson
will mean to you what it meant to me, but it felt a bit life changing at that
time. I
don’t know if I can even articulate my thoughts about these words:
President Nelson said, “Joy is powerful, and focusing on joy brings God’s power into our
lives. As in all things, Jesus Christ is our ultimate exemplar, “who for the
joy that was set before him endured the cross.”17 Think of that! In order for Him
to endure the most excruciating experience ever endured on earth, our Savior
focused on joy!
And
what was the joy that was set before Him? Surely it included the joy of
cleansing, healing, and strengthening us; the joy of paying for the sins of all
who would repent; the joy of making it possible for you and me to return
home—clean and worthy—to live with our Heavenly Parents and families.
If
we focus on the joy that will come to us, or to those we love, what can we
endure that presently seems overwhelming, painful, scary, unfair, or simply
impossible?”
This was quite an a-ha moment for me. I knew that my trials and challenges would
help me to be prepared for the wonderful blessings that lie ahead. That
wasn’t new…but I had never realized that in order to endure the Atonement, to
endure His tremendous suffering in our behalf, in MY behalf, the Savior focused
on joy…and especially on the joy of healing and blessing you and me so that we
could return home. If
he could focus on joy during such an incredibly trying time, then I could learn
to find joy in the midst of challenges!
So I would like to talk about a four ways that I have found to bring
greater joy into my life. But
first I want to point out that the reason these things bring joy is because
they draw us closer to our Savior, Jesus Christ. He really is the true source of joy!
I
currently serve the young women of my ward. That brings me a great deal
of joy! I asked them to share with me some of the things that bring
them joy...here's some of the things they shared: sweet treats like ice
cream and cookies, time outdoors, card and board games with family, hammocks, friends,
family, music, dancing, food, reading the New Era, the gospel, sports, dogs,
ice skating, loved ones, learning, stories, family vacations, seminary, Family
Halloween costumes, softball, candy, temple attendance, kittens, family
activities, reading the scriptures, being around uplifting and positive people,
being in the garden, nice home, fun teachers, sleep, Disneyland, road trips,
autumn, Christmas, camping, adventures, books, tumbling, beach, days off,
talking with Father in Heaven, hiking, cozy nights in my pajamas watching
Netflix, good drinks from Fiiz, sun, hot water, my bed. Listening to that
list, hopefully you heard something (or many things!) that make you feel
happy. I think one of the greatest ways that we can feel joy is by
noticing all of the gifts that our Father in Heaven has given us. Just
thinking about these things on this list, makes me feel happy. Even
better than noticing these gifts is expressing thanks to our Father in
Heaven for them. Gratitude is powerful. There is a strong
correlation between gratitude and joy...even social scientists are studying and
writing about the power of gratitude. I think I'm a relatively joyful
person...some of that is a spiritual gift I've been given, I think. But I
truly believe that a big part of my ability to feel joy regularly is that I
conscientiously try to notice and express gratitude for my blessings. I
try to notice the tender mercies and evidences of God's love that I experience
and write them down. I am a pretty good journaler...I don't write about
everything I do or everything that happens to me, but I try to record my
spiritual experiences, lessons I learn and blessings I receive. Quote
I cut out: President Eyring
systematically recorded his daily blessings. He said, “I would ponder this question: “Have I seen the hand of God reaching out to touch us or our children or our family today?” As I kept at it, something began to happen. As I would cast my mind over the day, I would see evidence of what God had done for one of us that I had not recognized in the busy moments of the day. As that happened, and it happened often, I realized that trying to remember had allowed God to show me what He had done.
More than gratitude began to grow in my heart. Testimony grew. I became ever more certain that our Heavenly Father hears and answers prayers. I felt more gratitude for the softening and refining that come because of the Atonement of the Savior Jesus Christ. And I grew more confident that the Holy Ghost can bring all things to our remembrance—even things we did not notice or pay attention to when they happened…My point is to urge you to find ways to recognize and remember God’s kindness. It will build our testimonies. You may not keep a journal. You may not share whatever record you keep with those you love and serve. But you and they will be blessed as you remember what the Lord has done. You remember that song we sometimes sing: “Count your many blessings; name them one by one, And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.”
ALSO cut out:
Sometimes what the Lord has done for us ARE the trials, problems and
challenges He gives us. As I mentioned,
about a year ago I spent a period in intense tutoring by the Lord. I learned so many valuable lessons. It wasn’t an easy period…I often felt
discouraged by how slow my progress was and by how far I was from where I had
thought I was…but in the intervening months, I have had opportunities to use
what I learned during that period to minister to several others. Two LDS speakers I admire recently took the Beatitudes
and put it into more modern language to help us recognize that…just as Christ
taught…often our blessings are not what we expect when we think of
blessings. I love their words, just as I
love Christ’s words in the Beatitudes:
A CONSTITUTION OF HAPPINESS (by Emily
Freeman and David Butler):
When you feel you are lacking you
are blessed because you will find your abundance in Him.
When your heart is broken you are
blessed because He will come to mend you.
When you become content where you
are you are blessed because you will learn to see God in everything.
When you are empty and
unsatisfied you are blessed because He will come to fill you.
When you offer your heart to
someone in need you are blessed because your heart will become like His.
When you seek for the good you
are blessed because that is where you will find God.
When your relationships need
reconciliation you are blessed because your Father is the giver of peace.
When
you feel like you don’t belong you are blessed because He has already welcomed
you in.
Second...There's power in loving others and in building unity.
I've been discussing this with a dear friend the past couple of weeks. In Philippians
chapter 2 verse 2 we read, "fulfil ye my joy that ye be like minded,
having the same love, being of one Accord, of one mind."but often we fall short of this
ideal. It's easy to talk to those we have things in common with or to
feel unity with those we find easy to love. But we all share a divine
identity as sons and daughters of God. We are literally brothers and
sisters. And as members of the Church, we have so much in common...a
shared belief in a loving Father in Heaven, in our Savior, a desire to repent
and improve, a love for our prophet, a desire to keep the commandments...we
should be able to love one another and show concern and unity. And when
we do, we feel joy. Disunity and contention and exclusion drive away the
spirit and remove joy. But loving and building unity in our homes, our
wards, our neighborhoods and our communities brings joy.
Third, serving our fellow man
brings peace and joy. I actually really love to find ways to serve others
because it does bring me so much joy. About a month ago, I had this feeling
when I was driving home that I should stop and buy a CD by Calee Reed for a
friend. I stopped and bought the CD but had a busy evening and didn't
drop it off. The next day, I kept feeling like I needed to take it over
and so finally I made the time to go to her house. As I was heading
there, I kept thinking, "This is really weird. Why am I doing this?"
But I went to her house and knocked and she came to the door...I gave her the
CD and a note and talked to her for a few minutes. It turned out that
she'd had a hard day and had some unexpected things happen. As I headed
back home, I said a prayer of gratitude...because this was one more evidence
that first, my Heavenly Father was aware of my friend and what she was
experiencing even though I hadn't been...and second, that He knew me and knew
He could trust me to act...despite me feeling it was silly. I've had
enough experiences like this that I am learning to act even when it seems silly
and to trust that even if I don't know why I have the prompting, Heavenly
Father does. I'm not perfect at acting on promptings and I don't always
learn why I receive the promptings I do, but finding ways to cheer and bless
and serve others brings me joy.
FANGIRL
from “Of Mess and Moxie by Jen Hatmaker: “Fangirl the flesh and blood people around you,
the ones you live by, live with, live for. Go gaga over your own people; that
is well-placed loyalty. Overvalue them, over-love them, overencourage
them." Then she explains that a friend of hers created a text
rule...whenever she thinks anything kind or loving about someone else or notices
their talents or their best qualities, she sends them a text. She "sends
the love before the thought leaves her mind". I love this idea!! And I
really love this part: "Fangirl the people who never get fangirled. You
know the ones: the underdog, the quiet hero, the little guy. They are shy or
behind the scenes or difficult or loners. It's boring when the same old obvious
people get all the enthusiasm; the spotlight naturally gravitates toward
certain folks in our culture...But the earth is jam-packed with amazing,
extraordinary people who...deserve applause."
I try to follow this: to send positive thoughts and texts
whenever I have a kind thought of someone else, to be a fangirl or cheerleader
for those around me. I try to follow the
council that Sister Michelle Craig shared in conference, quoting Sister Camilla
Kimball, “Never suppress a generous thought.”
I know that as I do, I bring joy to others and I feel deeper joy myself.
A couple of months ago, a friend and I took our teenagers to the
Draper Temple to do baptisms. As we were driving there, it was a really
foggy, murky day. A
few blocks from the temple, I wondered if I’d made a wrong turn because I could
not see it at all…and I should have been able to. When we arrived, you could barely see the
statue of angel Moroni through those mists. When we left the temple, a couple of hours
later, the temple was illuminated and could be seen from a distance. We
took photos when we arrived and a couple of photos as we left, and as I looked
at the difference between the before and after photos, I realized this was a
beautiful analogy for life. As we spend time in the world, our lives can
begin to become murky, the mists of darkness swirl around us and it becomes
harder to see the light or to experience joy. But as we spend time in holy places, creating
righteous routines and holy habits, light and joy flood our lives. Perspective
returns and we can see more clearly what really matters and we can feel the joy
that comes from the Savior. I find that as I spend more time in the
temple, especially, but also more time in the scriptures, more time in prayer,
more time “out of the world”, my joy increases exponentially.
Paul, who was no stranger to trial and tribulation wrote to the saints
in Philippi while he was imprisoned. If you want to learn more about joy and
see how to find joy in the midst of tribulation, I encourage you to study the
book of Philippians. He writes of his joy as he thinks of these,
his fellow saints and as he prays for them. He says, “the things which happened unto me
have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel” and that he rejoices
in preaching of Christ. Paul, in the close of Philippians, chapter 4 verse
4 says, “Rejoice in the Lord always; and again I say, rejoice.” Then
in verse 18, he says, “But I have all, and abound: I am full.” That is how I feel. Regardless of what comes…I have all and
abound, I am full…because I have the fullness of the gospel and an
understanding of what awaits me if I am faithful. I know that many challenges lie ahead for me,
for each of us…but I hope that we can face these challenges with the knowledge
that “God is for us” and that “all these things shall give us experience and
shall be for our good” and find joy in Christ. As President Nelson said, “he is the source
of all joy.”
Expressing gratitude, building unity, serving others, and spending time in holy places and in righteous routines brings joy! I know this is true because I have experienced it.
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Also I didn't end up including anything from these two talks, but I love both of them:
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