The Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ is the heart and core and center of revealed religion.

Elder Bruce R. McConkie Christ and the Creation

Sadness, disappointment and challenge are events in life, not life itself

April 28, 2013

Adversity, General Authorities, General Conference, Happiness, Joy, Scott, Tests, Trust

(No comments)

Sadness, disappointment, and severe challenge are events in life, not life itself. I do not minimize how hard some of these events are. They can extend over a long period of time, but they should not be allowed to become the confining center of everything you do. The Lord inspired Lehi to declare the fundamental truth, “Men are, that they might have joy.” ( 2 Nephi 2:25) That is a conditional statement: “they might have joy.” It is not conditional for the Lord. His intent is that each of us finds joy. It will not be conditional for you as you obey the commandments, have faith in the Master, and do the things that are necessary to have joy here on earth.

Your joy in life depends upon your trust in Heavenly Father and His holy Son, your conviction that their plan of happiness truly can bring you joy. Pondering their doctrine will let you enjoy the beauties of this earth and enrich your relationships with others. It will lead you to the comforting, strengthening experiences that flow from prayer to Father in Heaven and the answers He gives in return.

Elder Richard G. Scott
Finding Joy in Life, April, 1996 General Conference

How Do We Rejoice in the Atonement?

October 17, 2012

General Authorities, Grant, Joy, Maxwell

(No comments)

Romans 5:10–11: “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.”

President Heber J. Grant (1856–1945): “I rejoice in knowing that Jesus is the Redeemer of the world, our elder brother, and that His name and His name alone, is the only one under heaven whereby we can gain salvation and come back and dwell with our Heavenly Father and our Savior, and our loved ones who have gone before” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Heber J. Grant [2002], 225).

Elder Neal A. Maxwell (1926–2004) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles: “Jesus’ glorious Atonement is the central act in all of human history! It provides the universal Resurrection; it makes our personal repentance and forgiveness possible. … We are to change our thoughts and then behavior until we are turned away from our sins. … Repentance is thus a continuing process in which each of us needs to draw on the Atonement for real relief, real forgiveness, and real progress. … It remains for us … to claim the blessings of the great Atonement” (“Testifying of the Great and Glorious Atonement,”Liahona, Apr. 2002, 7–8, 13; Ensign, Oct. 2001, 10, 15).

Rejoice in the Atonement of Jesus Christ
Ensign, December, 2005

Our Religion is a Joyful One

July 16, 2012

General Authorities, General Conference, Joy, Priesthood, Uchtdorf

(No comments)

Brethren, our religion is a joyful one! We are most blessed to bear the priesthood of God! In the book of Psalms we read, “Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance.”  We can experience this greater joy if we but look for it.

Too often we fail to experience the bliss that comes from daily, practical priesthood service. At times assignments can feel like burdens. Brethren, let us not pass through life immersed in the three Ws: wearied, worrying, and whining. We live beneath our privileges when we allow worldly anchors to keep us away from the abundant joy that comes from faithful and dedicated priesthood service, especially within the walls of our own homes. We live beneath our privileges when we fail to partake of the feast of happiness, peace, and joy that God grants so bountifully to faithful priesthood servants.

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf
Your Potential, Your Privilege, General Conference, April, 2011

We are Commanded to be Joyful Because He has Borne Our Sorrows

June 9, 2012

Joy, Nibley, Repentance

(No comments)

We are commanded to be joyful because he has borne our sorrows. He was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief so that we need not be. Our own sins and limitations are the things that make us sad. He had no sins and limitations; he was not sad for his sake, but wholly for ours. Only one could suffer for others who did not deserve to suffer for himself.

If we remain gloomy after what he did for us, it is because we do not accept what he did for us. If we suffer, we deserve to suffer because there is no need for it if we only believe in him.

Hugh Nibley
“Prophets and Glad Tidings,” Collected Works of Hugh Nibley 8:259

There is Nothing More Fundamental to Religious Living than Joy

May 17, 2012

Fall, General Authorities, General Conference, Happiness, Joy, Mickelsen

(No comments)

While teaching at BYU in 1978, Brother Dennis Rasmussen applied and was selected to study at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. In the opening session, as he gave his name and university, Rabbi Muffs boomed, “You’re the Mormon! … Do you pay your tithing?”

“Yes,” he answered.

“Do you pay it with a joyful heart?” “I believe,” the rabbi said, “that joy is the essence of religion. There is nothing more fundamental to religious living than joy. … I am working on a book about joy.”

Brother Rasmussen responded, “There’s a passage in the Book of Mormon … , ‘Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.’ ” (2 Ne. 2:25; compare Moses 5:10; Moses 6:48)

Rabbi Muffs was profoundly touched and exclaimed, “I’ve found the text I’ve searched for all my life … in the Book of Mormon.” Turning to Brother Rasmussen he said, “Say it again, but not so fast.” As he repeated the familiar words, the rabbi’s eyes glowed in appreciation of this great truth he understood but had not heard so succinctly expressed.

How important it is to know the purpose of our existence. Man is that he might have joy, and that joy will come to us as we keep God’s commandments!

Elder Lynn A. Mickelsen
“Eternal Laws of Happiness“, Ensign, Nov. 1995, 78, quoting Dennis Rasmussen, “An Elder among the Rabbis,” Brigham Young University Studies 21 (summer 1981): 344–45
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Sadness, disappointment and challenge are events in life, not life itself

November 17, 2011

Adversity, General Authorities, General Conference, Happiness, Joy, Scott, Tests, Trust

(No comments)

Sadness, disappointment, and severe challenge are events in life, not life itself. I do not minimize how hard some of these events are. They can extend over a long period of time, but they should not be allowed to become the confining center of everything you do. The Lord inspired Lehi to declare the fundamental truth, “Men are, that they might have joy.” ( 2 Nephi 2:25) That is a conditional statement: “they might have joy.” It is not conditional for the Lord. His intent is that each of us finds joy. It will not be conditional for you as you obey the commandments, have faith in the Master, and do the things that are necessary to have joy here on earth.

Your joy in life depends upon your trust in Heavenly Father and His holy Son, your conviction that their plan of happiness truly can bring you joy. Pondering their doctrine will let you enjoy the beauties of this earth and enrich your relationships with others. It will lead you to the comforting, strengthening experiences that flow from prayer to Father in Heaven and the answers He gives in return.

Elder Richard G. Scott
Finding Joy in Life, April, 1996 General Conference