Finding Joy

I was asked to give a spiritual message at a Relief Society activity (women’s group at church). They asked I base my remarks on the talk "Joy And Spiritual Survival" you can read the full talk by clicking here. I prayed to know what to share and this is what came to me.

In the Book of Mormon there is a story of a man who was preaching in Jerusalem and was told in a vison to take his family and flee into the wilderness because the people were angry with him and would kill him if he stayed.

The prophet Lehi not long after being inspired to uproot his family, leave behind his home and much of his possessions, and some extended family declared, "MEN ARE THAT THEY MIGHT HAVE JOY." We can assume by the amount of murmuring from some of his family members on their leaving and their great desire to return that they lived a comfortable life. So how was he, while living in the desert amidst uncertainty over the future of his family, able to make such a declaration?

Elder Russell M. Nelson explains that the joy Lehi felt and "the joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives." So, you might ask, what is this magical focus that will allow me to be happy in the midst of hardship right now? The answer is simple, we focus on Jesus Christ as Elder Nelson explains, "He is the source of all joy."

I remember feeling such joy on my little one's second birthday. It was the first family celebration after my husband had died and I was just going through the motions, I made a cake, a friend helped me clean house and decorate, I wrapped presents and invited family over but my heart was breaking. I kept thinking, "this is so unfair, no child should have to spend their 2nd birthday without their father." Eventually anger gave way to sadness and as my heart softened and broke I pled with Heavenly Father to help me understand why something so terrible was part of the plan, His plan, for my life. Why would He give us something so wonderful and then take it away. In my mind's eye I could see the look on Matthew's face when he held each of our three children for the first time, it was pure joy. I remembered the happy tears we cried on our wedding day when we promised each other forever. He rarely cried but we both cried that day. I even pictured us together, clothed in white, at some future date, the promise of an eternity together shining in our eyes. That was the answer. We had joyful moments and we will again. 

To say I can't be happy because I am dealing with some hard things right now is just not true. Because of the Gospel of Jesus Christ I know where to turn when I need strengthening, understanding or just enough patience to try one more time. Because of His sacrifice He can offer understanding and comfort on my hard days. With Jesus Christ I can do and become more than I ever imagined possible and find joyful moments even in my darkest hours.

Elder Nelson explained how Christ set the example for us to find joy through our trials. "In order for Him to endure the most excruciating experience ever endured on earth, our Savior focused on joy!...the joy of cleansing, healing, and strengthening us;" He was thinking of you and me! "...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." Isn't that amazing! He endured all that pain and anguish by thinking how happy we could be because of His suffering.

He further instructs, "If we look to the world and follow it's formulas for happiness, we will never know joy. The unrighteous may experience any number er of emotions and sensations, but they will never experience joy! Joy is a gift that comes from intentionally trying to live a righteous life, as taught by Jesus Christ. He taught us how to have joy. We we choose Heavenly Father to be our God and when we can feel the Savior's Atonement working in our lives, we will be filled with joy."

I know this to be true and I have seen it in my life many times. But don't take my word for it, try it for yourself. Learn about Jesus Christ and what He did and them go and follow His example. You will not be disappointed. 

Read More Here:

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My LDS Missionary Service-The First Contact

It took two days of travel to get to Quetzaltenango.  The first day we flew from Salt Lake to Guatemala City.  We had a lay over in Texas somewhere and we were tired by the time we got there.  I was traveling with another Sister and we were picked up in a van at the airport and taken to the Casa de Huesped next to the Temple in Guatemala City.  The next day we boarded a bus with about 20 other missionaries, most of them from Central America (they had been at the MTC there in Guatemala City receiving their missionary training) all headed for Quetzaltenango. 

I was excited to try out my Spanish and had some short conversations with the Central American missionaries as we traveled.  My feeble attempts to communicate were greeted with patience and kindness though I quickly realized that my Spanish was very limited, which was frustrating after spending 10 weeks studying so hard.

We arrived at the mission president's home after a meeting with the majority of the missionaries in the area and they sent us out to go knock on doors and teach people. (That was the main purpose of the mission, to go meet people and teach them the gospel.)  I was sent out with a six foot tall gringa (that's what they call white girls in Guate) from Arkansas.  We knocked on the first door and she stepped aside, waiting for me to speak.  I wave of panic swept over me and I began to cry.  All the sudden it was real and I knew my language skills weren't up to the task.  I spent the next hour trying to calm down and let reality catch up with me.
The good news is that my first attempt was out of the way and each time after that got easier.  I even got to the point that I looked forward to going out to meet new people which was great since most days we spent several hours contacting people.

I can't tell you how glad I was that quitting was not an option.  I can't explain what happened that made me fall apart for the better part of an hour but I'm exceedingly grateful for those who encouraged me along the way. It was only the first frustrating day of many but I decided not to ever give up, I'd made a commitment to stick it out and I'm so glad that I did. 

Ripples

Something amazing happened on last Sunday.  I was headed for Sunday School because I felt like I should go.  Maybe the message was really just, “GO” as I never made it there.  I stopped to tell a sister how beautiful her baby was that they had blessed that day and to let her know I felt Matt had come to support them.  It was such a beautiful experience.  The next sister I spoke to was one I have been trying to get to know but she is quiet and she told me today that when she’s quiet it is because she is listening and learning (I really should take a page from her book on this one). 

I had felt that she had been struggling and she looked so much better this day.  She had such a feeling of strength and power about her.  As we talked she shared that she’s been very discouraged and wondering what to do.  Long story short she came to the conclusion that she needed to remain faithful and strong through hard times because of the impact that she has in the lives of her children and will continue to have down the line through her grandchildren and great grandchildren.  I got goosebumps as she was talking and felt strongly that what she was saying was God’s message to me. 

I think many times we fail to realize the extent of our influence.  We come into contact with people every day and everything we do has a little ripple effect.  Many times the ripples are subtle but they are there.  The interesting thing about ripples is that at the point of impact the area affected is very small but as they extend out that one stone affects a large area.  This is SO TRUE OF THE GOOD WE DO.  It’s easy to get discouraged with our lives and feel like the things we do don’t even matter.  PLEASE STOP LISTENING TO THOSE VOICES THAT TELL YOU THAT!  As children of God we are powerful beyond what we even know.  We are far more capable than we think.  We come from a lineage of greatness and we were put on Earth for a purpose. Go Do Some Good!