"If you will serve diligently our Heavenly Father in keeping the commandments of God, joy and happiness beyond that which it is possible for you to comprehend at the present time is going to be yours in your life."
Three principles of service and joy stand out in my mind as I contemplate this statement:
- Service
- Diligence
- Joy and happiness
I will share some thoughts on each of these principles.
Service
Service is an expression of love. In the popular book The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman, we learn that people express and receive love in at least five different ways:
- Words of affirmation
- Tangible gifts
- Time and attention from a loved one
- Physical touch
- Acts of service
The Gospel encourages us to exercise all of these channels to communicate love. For me, service is the most valued love language. Jesus set the example of righteous service, for he came not be be served but to serve others. The greatest of all is the servant of all.
In Matthew 25:35-45 Jesus gives us the parable of the Good Samaritan as a profound example of service motivated by simple charity. When we render sincere service to others, in the name of Christ, motivated by charity, Christ counts that service as if we had performed it for him personally.
King Benjamin taught his people, "And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God" (Mosiah 2:17). King Mosiah served his people as an expression of his love for God and his service to him.
The Lord tells us in D&C 76:5 "I, the Lord, delight to honor those who serve me." God's greatest pleasure is to bless us. He gives many gifts to all of his children regardless of their worthiness or whether they deserve them. But his greatest delight - his fondest joy - is to honor those who faithfully serve him according to his plan and his desires. When we serve him consciously according to his plan and design, sacrificing our own will to do his will, he is delighted with out efforts, and he recognizes our efforts. He respects and admires us. Could we ask for any greater recognition than that which comes to us from God as respect and admiration? When we serve well and faithfully, the Holy Ghost manifests the Father's acceptance of our service.
Diligence
Diligence is defined in the Guide to the Scriptures as "Consistent, valiant effort, especially in serving the Lord and obeying his word." Diligence is the key to all we do. Diligence demonstrates sincere intent. Lack of diligence is hypocrisy.
In D&C 4:2 we read "Therefore, O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day." God asks our full devotion, for he is fully devoted to us. We are first and foremost in his thoughts and intentions, and he should likewise be first in our thoughts and intentions. He gives us strength specifically so that we can use that strength in his service. If we spend our strength in other pursuits, to enrich ourselves or serve some other purpose other than God's will for us, we waste his gift and offend him who is the giver.
My patriarchal blessing is permeated with if statements. If marks a commandment with a promise. Diligent service and keeping the commandments will result in joy and happiness. If I am missing joy and happiness in my life, I should look to my diligence in serving and keeping the commandments. Going through the motions does not count. I must be diligent if I am to obtain the desired outcome.
Joy
The Book of Mormon prophet Nephi states clearly and succinctly that we exist so that we can have joy (2 Nephi 2:25). Joy is the feeling of great pleasure and happiness. We are designed and engineered to seek pleasure and feel happiness. It is in our very DNA. It is a powerful motivator, sometimes even more powerful than self-preservation.
The great question, then, is how do we obtain joy. The answer is in the Gospel and is spelled out in the scriptures.
The Apostle Paul taught that "The fruit of the Spirit is love, peace, joy, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance" (Gal 5:22). The feelings described here are some of the ways that the Holy Ghost manifests to us that our service is acceptable to the Lord. Godly service requires these traits of us. When we discipline ourselves to exercise them, the Spirit increases them, which enables us to give even greater service. Service enriches our life, and that richness increases our capacity to serve. God, who has all of these attributes in perfection, is also the perfect servant. If we are not receiving these gifts of the Spirit, we ought to examine ourselves and determine if perhaps the focus of our lives is on something or someone other than God.
In Lehi's dream, as recorded in 1 Nephi Chapter 8, the fruit of the tree of life filled Lehi's soul with exceeding great joy (1 Nephi 8:12). God's love is the greatest and surest source of joy. In Lehi's dream of the tree of life, when he ate the fruit of the tree, it filled his soul with exceedingly great joy. Nephi later learned that the tree and its fruit represent the love of God and eternal life, which is the greatest of all of the gifts of God. When we have God's love, we feel joy. The joy of God's love is communicated to us through the Holy Ghost. Therefore, if we want true joy, we need to attune ourselves to his Spirit. God loves us all the time, but he expresses his love most freely when we are obedient and engaged in his service.
In Alma 22:15 we read of the remarkable statement of the King of Lamanites, after he heard the message of the Gospel and the promise of joy: "What shall I do that I may have this eternal life of which thou hast spoken? Yea, what shall I do that I may be born of God, having this wicked spirit rooted out of my breast, and receive his Spirit, that I may be filled with joy, that I may not be cast off at the last day? Behold, said he, I will give up all that I possess, yea, I will forsake my kingdom, that I may receive this great joy." The king of the Lamanites said that he would give up all he possessed that he would receive great joy. Joy is a marvelous gift, but it comes at a cost. We do not earn it, hence it is a gift of God. We do, however, have to qualify for it. We qualify to feel his love for us, and the joy that accompanies that love, when we serve him. Obedience and service generally require sacrifice. The more we sacrifice, the better qualified we are to receive joy. Brigham Young said that he never felt more of the love of God than when he and the saints were being mobbed and driven because he knew his sacrifice was acceptable to the Lord. The more we sacrifice for the Lord's sake, the more freely he can express his love for us.
Joy is not reserved only for the eternities, but Moses learned that joy is available to us in this mortal life (Moses 5:10-11). There are joys to be had in this mortal probation. We do not have a fullness of joy here, as described below, but this life is not without joy. Adam equated the opening of his eyes with joy. Mortal joy is relative. Because we taste the bitter fruit of our mistakes, we learn to prize the sweetness of obedience and righteous living. Eve said that her joy was in knowing that she was redeemed. Without a knowledge of Christ and the Atonement, it would be hard to have any kind of deep and abiding joy in this life. Our sins and mistakes would curse us forever. It would be impossible to look past all of the wrongs in this world - all of the injustice, pain, and sorrow - and feel joyful. But because of Christ's Atonement, we can have the peace of knowing that all wrongs will eventually be righted. With that knowledge, we can allow ourselves a measure of joy without feeling guilty and without being overwhelmed by the sorrows that are still among us in mortality.
As mentioned, our joy is not full in this world, but will be full in Christ (D&C 101:36). Joy is experienced in degrees. When something is full, it contains as much as possible, it is complete in every detail, there are no restraints, it has all distinguishing characteristics, it lacks nothing essential in its nature, it is at the highest or greatest degree. Without Christ, though we may have a measure of joy, it is less than complete. It is constrained. It lacks certain characteristics of the joy that God feels. Some essential aspects are missing. it is not as great as it could be. While joy can be a part of life in this world, it is not the sole purpose of mortal life. Mortality is a probation - a test. While we may taste of the rewards to come, we do not enjoy the full rewards until the full test has been administered and passed. We cannot pass the test without Christ. Only through his Atonement can we overcome the sins and transgressions that mar our lives. Only through the Atonement can the pains of this life be fully healed - both the pains that we cause others and the pains that others cause us.
Nephi teaches us that the joy of the righteous who inherit the kingdom of God shall be full forever (2 Ne 9:18). Joy, however, is more than just the absence of pain. Eternal life with Heavenly Father and Christ is a fullness of joy forever. There is not end to joy, just as there is no end to life, because there is no end to creation, and in creation we have joy.
Yet Heavenly Father's joy is not constant and unlimited. Enoch saw God weep over his wicked children who refused to accept and obey him. In his Beloved Son, however, his joy is full. It is complete and unreserved. There is nothing in Christ that diminishes the Father's joy and pleasure in his Son. As we become like Christ, Father's joy becomes more complete in us. We rejoice when we bring joy to the One we love. And so as his joy increases in us, our joy increases.
God is the source of joy. God's Spirit will fill our souls with joy (D&C 11:13). Because he has a fullness of joy, and because he loves us, he shares his joy with us. The Holy Ghost is the medium of communication between God and man. Thus, it is through the Holy Ghost that God radiates his joy to us. It is therefore essential, if we want to feel God's joy in this life, that we be in tune with his Spirit. To the degree that we can qualify for the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost, we can have a constant source of joy. The gift of the Holy Ghost is a gift of joy. When we are filled with the Spirit, we are filled with joy. The soul of man is the uniting of body and spirit. So to have our souls filled with joy is to have both temporal and spiritual joy. Such joy touches every part of our lives. It touches our senses as well as our hearts.
Examples of joy in service
Here is a brief list of examples of people who served diligently and experienced great joy:
- The sons of Mosiah served 14-year missions
- Alma gave up his political career to preach the gospel the rest of his life
- Nephi served unwearyingly
- Peter, Paul and the other early apostles traveled and preached to the end of their lives
- All of the latter-day prophets, notably
- Joseph Smith
- Brigham Young
- David O. McKay
- Gordon B. Hinckley
- Thomas S. Monson
Other examples of joyful service:
- Jesus pronounced his joy as full when he met with the Nephites at the temple in Bountiful and received their full belief and acceptance.
- The Father's joy in his Beloved Son is full because Christ lived up to every expectation of his Father and finished his work exactly as required.
- Ammon's joy was full to the overpowering of his physical strength when he considered the blessings that came into the lives of his many Lamanite converts.
- Alma's joy was great when he was reunited with the sons of Mosiah and found that they were still faithful and had completed successful missions.
- Parents experience great joy when they see their children succeed, marry well, accomplish good things, and are happy. We refer to these moments as "paydays".
- Missionaries experience great joy when they lead someone to baptism, and even more joy when they have the opportunity to accompany them to the temple.
Conclusion
From these examples, and experiences in our own lives, we learn that our greatest joys are centered in others. If we want joy, we should work to ensure that others have joy. Their joy adds to our joy. Hence the scripture D&C 18:15 "And if it so be that you labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!" Our joy will be the greater because the joy of our convert will be great.
As noted earlier, joy is the great motivator. There are counterfeits and approximations everywhere, but they are temporary at best, and debilitating and destructive at their worst. The only dependable source of true and inexhaustible joy is God through the Holy Ghost because of Christ's Atonement.
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