Enduring Joy

What brings you joy? Pictures of rainbows, or sunrises? Seeing a soldier surprise his family when coming home? Maybe children playing together and having fun? Maybe it is eating that favorite dessert? There are many things that bring us joy, but what is joy and do you have it? If someone asked you to describe joy, how would you respond?

Seeing pictures like the ones described above on Facebook or Instagram make us smile and we feel joy, but then we see another post that we disagree with and the joy is gone! Is joy only found on our good days, or is it possible to feel joy while we, like Alexander, are having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day?

President Kevin Worthen, President of Brigham Young University, recently spoke about “Enduring Joy”. In his address President Worthen quoted from a talk that President Russell M. Nelson gave in 2016, he said:

“We can feel joy even while having a bad day, a bad week, or even a bad year!

“My dear brothers and sisters, the joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives.

“When the focus of our lives is on God’s plan of salvation and Jesus Christ and His gospel, we can feel joy regardless of what is happening—or not happening—in our lives. Joy comes from and because of Him. He is the source of all joy.” (Joy and Spiritual Survival)

President Worthen suggested that one of the purposes of this life is to learn how to experience the type of joy that our Heavenly Father experiences. “This much seems clear from revelation,” he said. “Joy is not merely a temporary emotion, but rather a more permanent and constant condition” that comes from living according to God’s commandments. “Although one cannot experience “a fulness of joy” during mortality, President Worthen explained that “one of the purposes of this life is to develop our capacity for joy.” Cultivating joy now will result in a corresponding increase of joy in the next life.

We can experience joy, even on bad days. President Nelson said that we can “feel joy regardless of what is happening – or not happening – in our lives”. If our lives are Christ centered and we love God and others as we would have them love us, then we experience the enduring joy that helps us get through the tough times. President Worthen cautioned that if we are not feeling joy during a bad day, we should not think that we have failed:

“Don’t let Satan fool you into thinking that you are failing in your quest for joy because you have tough days,” President Worthen said. “All of us do.”

President Worthen shared six principles about enduring joy:

1. “We need to recognize, and constantly remember, that our ability to have joy in this life — and in the eternities — is not dependent on external circumstances.”
2. “We should recognize and remember that enduring joy, constant joy, does not mean uninterrupted bliss and a life free of challenges. Suffering and adversity are part of the eternal plan, a part of the process by which we come to develop enduring joy.”
3. “Recognize and remember that true joy, enduring joy, … ultimately comes only through keeping God’s commandments.”
4. “Repentance is a critical part of experiencing enduring joy.”
5. “Recognize and remember that joy is a principle of power [that] can increase our ability to stay on the covenant path.”
6. “We begin to have joy when we focus on Christ.” (Enduring Joy)

One example of someone that was experiencing this joy was Nephi in the Book of Mormon. Nephi’s brothers were trying to kill him and so Nephi took his family and those who would follow him and they fled into the wilderness many days. Nephi then said that they “lived after the manner of happiness” (2 Nephi 5). I would think that having my brothers try to kill me would qualify for a bad day and yet Nephi described their life as happy.

So, the next time you have a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day, you don’t need to go to Australia like Alexander wanted to do. Instead, turn to Christ and lose yourself in service to others. Enduring joy is possible “regardless of what is happening – or not happening –in our lives.

Your comments and questions are always welcome.

Rerouting

GPS systems are amazing technology. I can’t imagine trying to get somewhere that I am not familiar with without a GPS system. I know for some that have always had GPS to believe it but  there was a time when we did not have it. I am old enough to remember trying to get around using paper maps and the World Atlas. Most of the time the GPS on my phone works the way it should but there have been a few times that you end up in a vacant field or you get sent to the wrong place.

Recently, while visiting Indianapolis, Indiana we wanted to go to the Central Canal Walk. The Central Canal is a 3-mile area in downtown Indianapolis that was part of a project to revitalize the downtown area and is a beautiful walk. We had no idea where we were going. When we got downtown, the GPS kept us going in a circle. It kept saying turn right on…, turn right on…, turn right on... At one point I intentionally turned left to see if it would reroute us and get us to the correct place. When it had us going in circles again, I finally stopped and asked someone where the canal was. They said it was below us! We had to park and go down some steps to get to the canal. We were in the right place, but the GPS did not know it.

A few years ago, we were in Chicago for a conference. While I was in meetings my wife wanted to go to the Museum of Science and Industry, so I programmed the GPS with the address on Lake Shore Drive and sent her off. Two hours later she called and asked how long it was supposed to take to get there and I told her about 45 minutes. She was driving on a freeway and I asked what the last exit was she remembered, she said Des Moines, Iowa! She was headed back to Salt Lake City, Utah. When she returned, I looked at the GPS and noticed that it had Lake Shore Drive, in Salt Lake City; not Chicago. I realize that the GPS was working properly and that I had not paid attention to where it was going to take her, but I thought it was crazy to have chosen the destination that it did.

Sometimes the GPS can get frustrating. If you have to stop for gas or to eat and you get off the path it has you on, it is constantly saying “rerouting” and then tells you to make a U turn or it tries to get you back on the right path. If I think that I know where to go and make a wrong turn, again the GPS says “rerouting” to get you back on track. I have often wondered if after making several wrong turns that the GPS would finally yell at me: “look if you don’t want to listen to me then why did you ask for directions? I think the GPS programmers should build in a comment after making enough wrong turns: “Hey, stupid, listen to me” and then tell you what it wants you to do.

GPS systems are polite, they don’t judge or criticize. If you ignore their directions or you make a mistake, it simply says “rerouting” and then helps you get back going in the right direction. The choices we make every day can be like a spiritual GPS system. When we make a mistake or willfully choose to leave the straight and narrow path of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, our Savior is there patiently waiting to “reroute” us to get back on the path that leads back to him. For most “mistakes”, other that the serious ones, there is no criticism or heckling. He is always there with outstretched arms waiting to embrace us in his love when we correct our course.

While teaching the adulterous Samaritan women at the well, he did not condemn her for her choices in her life. He taught her that he was sent to redeem her from her sins and that by accepting him as her Savior, she would have the living water that would give her everlasting life. She chose to reroute her life and follow his teachings and then helped others to do the same.

GPS systems are only effective if we choose to follow their directions. The Atonement of Jesus Christ is available to everyone that chooses to accept the Savior’s admonition to come follow him and do the things that he says. He is there for us to reroute us when we when we choose to deviate from the path that leads to happiness in this life and eternal life in the world to come.

Your comments and questions are welcome.

Finding Peace in March Madness

Once again we are coming to the end of the great NCAA tournament season known as March Madness. We are down to the top two teams Virginia and Texas Tech. Along the way there were several Cinderella teams that upset the teams that were supposed to make it all the way to the end of the “big dance”. Seven of the games were decided by one or two points. Four games went into over time before a winner was decided.

I did not see all of the games during the tournament, but I did watch my share. Some games were extremely exciting, and others were well boring. Much of the madness comes from the broken brackets (the odds of picking a perfect bracket are 9.2 quintillion), lost time at work watching games (l love the “boss button” on the NCAA web site), watching players do stupid things - they are only 18-20+ year old kids what do you expect?, mistakes by referees, stupid fans, and annoying announcers and analysts.

One of the best examples of the effects of March Madness was found two years ago when 12 year old John Phillips was caught on camera having a melt down as Northwester lost their game to Gonzaga.

John Phillips, the Northwestern Crying Kid

One of the things I noticed this time was I never heard coaches or players make excuses or blame others for their loss. Maybe I just did not see the right interviews, but I did not see any. I was especially impressed by Bruce Pearl, the coach of Auburn, after their 1-point loss to Texas Tech in their semi-final game. During a post-game interview, the interviewer seemed to be trying to get the coach to blame the referee for their loss and he would not do it, taking full responsibility for Auburn’s loss. I also never hear any of the players during the tournament take credit for their victories but instead included the entire team in the win. I like the class the players and coaches showed this year.

This weekend was not only the semi finals for the NCAA Men’s Division I Tournament, but it was also the 189^th annual general conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. These two events seem to come at the same time every year. I would have like to have been a fly on the wall in the room where the presiding authorities were discussing which conference they would have the priesthood meetings and which one would have the general women’s meetings. It seems the sisters won the discussion because they get to stay home and watch the semi final games while the brethren of the church attend the general priesthood session. If you want to see my solution to this problem check out one of my past blogs from April 1, 2017 “Historic Agreement between the LDS Church and the NCAA” (yes, it was an April Fools Post).

Sessions from general conference had some great advice on how to find peace in the madness of the world around us. Here are a few thoughts that impressed me:

Becky Craven, 2^nd Counselor in the General Young Women’s Presidency said there is a casual way to live the gospel of Jesus Christ and there is a careful way to live it. We should not live it casually. There is no right way to not live the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Brook P. Hales, of the Seventy, reminded us that sometimes our prayers are answered quickly and in the way we want. Sometimes they are not answered immediately or in the way we expect and sometimes they are not answered at all in this life. We must have faith to know the answers will eventually come.

President Eyring, 2^nd Counselor in the First Presidency, warned us of the pattern of decline of the people after the Savior visited the people in America and they then experienced almost 200 years of peace and prosperity. The signs of decline are:

1.     Pride

2.     Classes – no longer having their goods in common

3.     Increased sin

He said that increasing our faith in Jesus Christ and his servants is the best way to counter act a society that is in decline.

Sharon L. Eubank, 2^nd Counselor in the General Relief Society Presidency, said that Satan is trying hard to isolate us and cut us off from the source of light and wants us to think that we are the only ones that are experiencing difficulties. If we feel our flame of testimony fluttering, have faith that Christ’s light will sustain us. He is the source of truth and light.

D. Todd Christofferson, of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles, said that we must do all we can to end suffering and prepare for the time when suffering will be done away when the Savior, Jesus Christ comes again.

Elder Rasband, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, said that our testimony in Jesus Christ is our greatest defense again evil.

President Russell M. Nelson, president of the church, spoke in the priesthood session about the importance of repentance, that it is not a one thing and done situation. Repentance is not an event; it is a process. We need to prayerfully seek to know what is stopping us from repenting and fix it. In his Sunday address he said that salvation is an individual matter, but exaltation is a family matter. If we want to have the opportunity to be with our family fall all eternity; pay the price now!

Anyone that knows me, will agree that I love everything about March Madness, at least the NCAA tournament, but I do not like that madness in the world around us. It seems that this madness is growing at an ever-increasing rate. Watching the sessions of general conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints helps me find peace in March (and other times of the year) Madness around us. The peace that the Savior Jesus Christ can give is the only answer for the wickedness in today’s world. We can have peace now and hope that when the Savior does return the madness will end forever. Until then at least we can enjoy the madness found in March and the NCAA Tournament.

Your questions and comments are welcome.

The Zone of Spiritual Totality

This week I listened to a BYU-Idaho Education Week talk by Rob Barton titled "The Zone of Spiritual Totality". He compared the 2017 total eclipse of the sun where the path of totality went through Rexburg, Idaho to our spiritual path and progression in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Many people traveled from all over the world to be in the path of totality during the eclipse, I was there with one of my sons and his family. It was a once-in-a-life-time opportunity and am grateful that my son convinced me to go. I was among those that did not believe it was any big deal to be in the path of totality. I was convinced that being in Logan, Utah where I could see 75% of the total eclipse was good enough.

Brother Barton did not understand what the big deal either was until he experienced it. His brother also lived in Logan and was one of those who did not think it was worth going to Rexburg to see it. Later when he learned what he had missed he asked his brother that if he had known it was going to be that important, why did he not invite him to come to see it.

The thousands that made the effort to be in the path of totality were blessed to witness an amazing sight while those that chose not to be there will never understand what they missed out on. So it is with our spiritual progression. We may think that we are doing ok, as long as we are obedient to God’s commandments most of the time. Being obedient most of the time is like experiencing the solar eclipse outside the zone of totality. We don’t know what we are missing if we have never been in the zone of spiritual totality.

The Total Eclipse

Brother Barton explained:

“The total eclipse came when there was total alignment between the sun, the moon, and the earth. Spiritual totality is when we are fully aligned with God, when we completely submit our will with his. In Preach My Gospel is says: ‘Bringing our lives in line with God’s will through repentance and faith on Jesus Christ is a central purpose of our lives.’

“The way we achieve unanimity with God is not finding a middle ground and persuading him to meet us there, the way we find unity with God it is to find out where he is, and we move there with all our hearts.”

Aligning Ourselves with God

“As we come to know God’s will and are baptized by those authorized to provide that ordinance, we perfectly aligned with God and are in the zone of spiritual totality.” (The Zone of Spiritual Totality)

President Eyring said:

“Once I have decided I want eternal life more than business success (you add your own desires here), I will have crossed the great gulf between wanting to know what God would permit and trying to do what he would prefer.” (Henry B. Eyring)

President Eyring also said:

“at some moment in the world to come, everyone you will ever meet will know what you know now. They will know that the only way to live forever in association with our families and in the presence of our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, was to choose to enter into the gate by baptism at the hands of those with authority from God. They will know that the only way families can be together forever is to accept and keep sacred covenants offered in the temples of God on this earth. And they will know that you knew. And they will remember whether you offered them what someone had offered you.” (A Voice of Warning)

As missionaries of the Gospel of Jesus Christ we know that families can only be together if they accept and receive the ordinances that will bind them together through baptism and the temple. Just like those who did not understand the importance of being in the path of totality for the eclipse, there are many who do not understand the importance of the message we have. We must be willing to invite everyone we meet to experience the blessings of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. God’s work and glory it to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man (Moses 1:39) and as we are tasked with the blessing of helping his children come to Christ and his kingdom here on earth.

Knowing these truths does not make us better than other people, but it does make us responsible. We are in unique circumstances to invite others to come to the come and follow their Savior into the waters of baptism. If we do this our joy will be full along with those who we have helped to come unto Christ and receive the covenants of the temple. We receive a fullness of joy in this life and in the life to come as we do all we can to be in the zone of spiritual totality and bring all of God’s children that will respond to our invitation to join with us.

Your comments and questions are welcome.

Finding Peace through Jesus Christ

I grew up in a small town in Indiana. I graduated with the largest class in the history of our school – 56. We were the only members of the church in town; and we were not active. In the fall of 1970 I walked onto the campus of BYU for the first time since I was two years old. I was born in Provo while my dad was at BYU. To say I was lost in a sea of Mormons would be an understatement. It had been 10 years since my family had attended an LDS church. Now I was surrounded by Mormons and in classes that had hundreds of students. I was alone which seems a little strange since it is “the Lord’s university”. Why did Heavenly Father lead me to come here and now I feel so alone?

The answer for me was to immerse myself in the culture of BYU. I joined the BYU Folk Dancers, the BYU soccer team, took a Book of Mormon class (well, that was required), and went to church; what else is there to do in Provo on Sundays?. It was not too long before I felt at peace; I was home where I belonged. Living the Gospel of Jesus Christ can bring peace to our lives, even in difficult times.

Brother Kieth Wilson, a professor of Ancient Scripture at BYU, told of a student in one of his classes that had a similar experience to mine. Mary Ann was raised in a strong LDS family in Wisconsin. She always wanted to attend BYU but when she got to BYU she too felt lost and started to question why she was there and if the Lord was aware of her. She had prayed for help but no answers had come. Then one day in her Book of Mormon class she was sitting in the back of the auditorium and feeling despondent. The teacher, not Bro. Wilson,  suddenly walked up to her and whispered, “I don’t know why, but I feel impressed to tell you that the Lord loves you deeply and that he knows you.” (B-Y-You Matter to Him). Knowing that Heavenly Father was aware of her and that he would send someone to tell her that was all she needed.

Elder Jeffery R. Holland has said that the ministering of angels is real and many times those angels are people that we know; our neighbors, family members, ward members, or co-workers. (The Ministry of Angels) When we see someone that is having a difficult time or struggling with their testimony we can be there for them. Sometimes all it takes is a hug and a smile to let them know Heavenly Father is aware of them and loves them.

I would like to share just one of the many experiences that I had while serving as the Bishop of a married student ward. I often go on a bike ride in the mornings and then end at USU where I shower and then go to work.  One Monday morning I entered the locker room and tried to open my locker but could not remember my combination. I was frustrated and had to go out to the service desk to have them look up the combination. Standing at the counter was one of our ward members. Our ward had an activity the previous Friday and the member at the counter, had checked out some games to use at the activity. One of the games was croquet and one of the croquet mallets had been broken. He was trying to explain what had happened and was really embarrassed and did not know what to do to fix things. I told him that I would take care of it and he thanked me and left. I gave them the information needed to pay for the damage and went back in and took a shower and got dressed. As I passed by the service counter I asked the two girls there if they were LDS and they both said yes, they were. I said you just witnessed a tender mercy of the Lord. There was a reason that I forgot my locker combination that morning and it was because I was needed out at the counter to help that young man. The Lord was aware of his situation and he made sure I was there to help.

Do you think these things are just chance? I testify that they are not. Had I left on my ride a little earlier, a little latter, or had remembered my combination (that I never had forgotten); I would not have been there to help him. He went away knowing that the Lord loved him and he knew him personally.

If we will just have eyes to see, we will see the hand of the Lord in our lives. The more we see and acknowledge the more things we will see. When we live the gospel, we can have peace. The Nephites experienced 200 years of peace after Jesus Christ’s visit to them because of their faith and steadfastness in keeping God’s commandments. The Lord promises that “he who doeth the works of righteousness shall receive his reward, even peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come” (D&C 59:23). Abraham learned that it was only through the Gospel of Jesus Christ that would he be able to find greater peace and happiness (Abraham 1:2)

We can receive peace in our lives as we repent and look to the atonement of Jesus Christ to cleanse us from all sin and put away the natural man and become born again. Remember how the people of King Benjamin reacted to his address just before he died? After King Benjamin had finished his address, the people fell to the earth because they “had viewed themselves in their own carnal state, even less than the dust of the earth” (Mosiah 4:2). They all cried asking for the atonement of Jesus Christ to be applied in their lives. The scriptures tell us what happened to them:

“And it came to pass that after they had spoken these words the Spirit of the Lord came upon them, and they were filled with joy, having received a remission of their sins, and having peace of conscience, because of the exceeding faith which they had in Jesus Christ who should come, according to the words which king Benjamin had spoken unto them.” (Mosiah 4:3)

Those who are truly born again and are cleansed of their sins have a desire that all Heavenly Father’s children experience the same joy and peace. Remember Alma the Younger and the Sons of Mosiah? Once they were converted they spent the rest of their lives trying to help others experience the peace that comes through keeping the commandments and living the gospel (Mosiah 27:35). The Sons of Mosiah even went on the mission to the Lamanites because “they were desirous that salvation should be declared unto every creature, they could not bear that any human soul should parish” (Mosiah 28:3)

Elder McConkie in our Stake Conference this last weekend talked of the importance of our sacrament meetings and especially the peace that comes when we partake of the sacrament. Sacrament meetings should be a spiritual experience for everyone that attends. Everyone should be able to feel peace when they come to sacrament meeting. We should come in the chapel and be reverent, we should not interrupt someone else’s attempt to feel the spirit by visiting or doing other things that would detract from the spirit. We should come early and listen to the prelude music and prepare for the sacrament. Everyone should be welcome to attend our meetings. How would you react if someone came and sat next to you in the chapel and they smelled of tobacco or alcohol? What if they had a lot of piercings or tattoos? What if they came in jeans and a t-shirt? Would you move or give them a look that tells them they don’t belong here?

What better place for individuals that are struggling with their testimony than in a sacrament meeting? The Lord speaking to the Nephites after his resurrection said that we should not cast anyone out of our meetings “for you know not but what they will return and repent, and come unto me with full purpose of heart, and I shall heal them; and ye shall be the means of bringing salvation unto them” (3 Nephi 18:32).

When I was set apart as a bishop I was also set apart as a judge in Israel, but now that I am released I am no longer a judge. It is not my place to judge others. We must treat others as the Savior would. While he did not condone or accept their sinful ways, he did minister to them. He loved them enough to help them change. He did not turn anyone away.

One of the most important lessons that I learned while serving in the student ward is that Heavenly Father loves all his children. I does not matter if they are members or not, active or not, have current temple recommends or not, 100% home and visiting teachers or not. I want to make sure that you understand what I am saying; he does not condone sin in any way, but he still loves his children and wants them to have the happiness and peace that comes from living the Gospel of Jesus Christ in its fullness. That fullness is only found in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

I used to be very judgmental of members that did not live up to what I thought a committed member should be. To think of it now, I think I was trying to pull the mote out of everyone else’s eyes, while I was blind to the beam in my own eyes (Matthew 7:5). I was a hypocrite and am sorry if I have offended anyone by those actions. While I am still not perfect, I am trying to do my best to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ and hopefully others will see that light in me.

One of my favorite youth speakers is John Wilcox. He tells a story of when he was in high school and on the debate team. They would travel to debates on a school bus and while traveling they would often play a game called “Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John”. They would have to keep a rhythm going while saying all the names that had been said and adding another name at the end. The person whose name was added would have to repeat all the names in order and add another one. If you messed up you would be sent the back of the bus. He said that whenever he would get close to the front of the bus he would mess up and get sent to the back of the bus.

This would frustrate him. Then he realized that it did not matter how often he messed up and got sent to the back of the bus, if he stayed on the bus it was taking him home. The same is true with us and the Gospel. As long as we stay on the “gospel bus” by trying to do the best we can and not give up when we make a mistake or sin, we are still headed in the right direction, home to Heavenly Father. We are all on that bus, but we in different seats. Some are closer to the front than we are, others may be farther towards the back. Instead of trying to make others mess up and get sent to the back, we should all be encouraging everyone on the bus to do better and lift others to a higher commitment to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Feeling the peace that comes from the choices we make every day; choosing to live the gospel, choosing to be loyal to the prophet and our local leaders, choosing to be good neighbors. Remember what Dumbledore told Harry? He said: “It’s not our abilities that show who we truly are, it is our choices”. Jesus said that it is by our fruits that we are known. Do the choices we make show the fruits of the Gospel of Jesus Christ or do we have fruit that is good for nothing but to be thrown in the fire and burned?

Like Abraham who desired greater happiness and peace; if we do these things we can have the peace the Lord promised when he said: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27).

Your comments and questions are welcome.