Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
By Jim Greer
LW contributor
The Guide to the Scriptures describes joy as “a condition of great happiness that results from righteous living.” Our testimony of the gospel reveals that joy is not a fleeting feeling or emotion. Instead, pure joy is a spiritual gift, a state of being, a becoming. That faithful sister was obviously filled with and radiated pure joy.
The Book of Mormon prophet Lehi taught that one of the purposes of mortal life is for all of God’s children to have joy. He declared, “Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.” Adam realized this truth after he partook of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil: “Blessed be the name of God, for because of my transgression my eyes are opened, and in this life I shall have joy, and again in the flesh I shall see God.” Eve also testified: “Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed, and never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient.”
God’s plan of happiness provides each of us with a mortal experience wherein we learn to choose righteousness in the presence of evil. And it is while living within this natural state that we may receive a fullness of joy.
The secular world often confuses joy with fun. But Elder Bednar affirms that “joy comes from exercising faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.” Fun is experienced through amusements or pleasurable diversions. A day at Disneyland may be fun, but worthily preparing for and participating in sacred ordinances is joyful. Joy is enduring; fun is temporary. Joy pertains to eternity; fun pertains only to mortality.
In a stirring address, King Benjamin eloquently called his people to repentance. Upon hearing his impassioned plea, “they all cried aloud with one voice, saying: ‘O have mercy, and apply the atoning blood of Christ that we may receive forgiveness of our sins.’ After they had spoken these words the Spirit of the Lord came upon them, and they were filled with joy.”
God’s Plan of Happiness invites us to obey the commandments and follow Jesus Christ, the real source of joy. As Christ declared: “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in His love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you and that your joy might be full.”
