A Joyful Heart ~ Part One

    Good Morning or Good Afternoon or Good Evening, 

this post should take three minutes to five minutes to read from start to finish.

This post focuses on BYU (Brigham Young University) Devotional in June 2004, and it is called "A Joyful Heart" by Elder Dale E. Miller. This post is part one and I would like to share with you some highlights while I was reading the Devotional. 

Elder Miller has mentioned the following; "What I will say to you today will only have meaning as you make room in your heart for the Spirit. You surely have many things on your mind as you come to this devotional. ... You probably will not remember much of what was said. As the Spirit prompts you with a feeling or thought to attach to your life, please don’t let it pass you by.

Our message today is simple: God wants you to find and keep joy in this world and in the world to come. You have been specially endowed with a celestial nature that is to grow into a fullness of joy. That thought can get lost too easily in today’s world.

These are turbulent times. ... The kingdom of God on earth and the kingdom of the adversary are on a collision course of great proportions. ... However, God has a work for you to do! Within that work and because of it - you are promised great joy.

You are principle players in this great contest between good and evil. How we pray for you that you will be heavily armed with the standard of truth and righteousness! ... You pray more; you study the scriptures more; you are more obedient to the commandments of God. You have a great destiny ahead of you. 

Although this will become more important to you as life moves on, how great the need is now to develop yourself into the peaceable followers of Christ. How much this world, your future family, and the people around you need the strength of your righteous influence and your joyful countenance.

So let’s discuss today how to obtain lasting joy in your life.

On June 24 of this year, Laurel and I will have been married for 44 years. ... We share our experiences with you, hoping that you will think on these experiences and, where appropriate, apply them to yourselves. From our experience, developing joy brings emotional rewards of inner peace and the healing of pains that often can beset you. 

"A joyful heart is like the sunshine of God's love,
the hope of eternal happiness." - Mother Teresa. 

Let’s see if we can understand how this works doctrinally. 

Undergirding the gospel of Jesus Christ is the concept of eternal and permanent happiness. 

Joseph Smith stated the doctrine in very few words: Happiness is the object and design of our existence; ... and this path is virtue, uprightness, faithfulness, holiness, and keeping all the commandments of God. [Teachings, 255–56]

... The Book of Mormon contains more than 150 references to joy. To quote an early reference in the Book of Mormon: “Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy” (2 Nephi 2:25). 

I am indebted to Elder Bruce Hafen for a thought he left us in the last general conference: So if you have problems in your life, don’t assume there is something wrong with you. Struggling with those problems is at the very core of life’s purpose. 

... If you’re seeing more of your weaknesses, that just might mean you’re moving nearer to God, not farther away. [Bruce C. Hafen, “The Atonement: All for All,” Ensign, May 2004, 97] There is great peace of mind in that thought. Trials and tribulations are part of the formula for getting us back to God. 

In this mortal life He does work within you, moving you into position to face and overcome your personal challenges. ... You are to grow your happiness here in mortality, primarily by being nurtured and enlightened by the good word of God. This doctrine lays out a pathway toward happiness markedly different from that of the world.

President David O. McKay clarifies a significant difference between our doctrine of happiness and that of the world: It is true that wealth and friends and material success may make [happiness] the brighter when it is already shining within ... [David O. McKay, Pathways to Happiness, comp. Llewelyn R. McKay (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1957), 107]

We are to look primarily within ourselves to build joy.

True doctrines bring joyful hearts to an intensity unknown to the world. ... Alma holds out great hope to you. There is joy to be felt exceeding the greatest of pains. He also implies that you can build for yourself high pain thresholds through understanding the Atonement. 

... Alma is telling you that the Savior’s Atonement holds full power to grant mercy sufficient to completely cleanse the mind and soul. What is profoundly crucial to you is to understand that this mercy holds sufficient power for you to achieve complete peace and healing.

Many scriptural evidences demonstrate that the Atonement gives healing to both body and soul. Think on the miracles performed by the Savior wherethrough He healed physical infirmities, at the same time forgiving the repentant sinners and bringing peace to their souls. ... Both body and soul were healed in his conversion. 

In our day the Lord has entrusted you with His power to heal by faith and by the power of the priesthood to bring about this peace and healing. Time isn’t sufficient today to name all the ingredients for bringing peace and healing to the soul. Certainly the power of the Atonement, coupled with our true and full conversion, is the greatest ingredient in finding joy."

Stay Tuned until next time.