The Joy of the Saints

Brother Rushton knew what it was like to finally be pushed to his limit after a lifetime of relatively easy faithfulness.

The fruits of our service to one another in the church bring joy.

The ultimate joy of the saints comes in knowing that the Savior pleads our cause.

If we have faith in Christ then we necessarily trust Him. If we trust Him then it will give ultimate comfort to have Him plead our cause.

The Book of Mormon prophet Enos, Lehi’s grandson, wrote of a singular experience that happened earlier in his life. While hunting alone in the forest, Enos began pondering on the teachings of his father, Jacob. He related, “The words which I had often heard my father speak concerning eternal life, and the joy of the saints, sunk deep into my heart.” In the spiritual hunger of his soul, Enos knelt in prayer, a remarkable prayer that lasted through the day and into the night, a prayer that brought him crucial revelations, assurances, and promises.

There is much to be learned from Enos’s experience, but today what stands out in my mind is Enos’s memory of his father speaking often of “the joy of the saints.”

In this conference three years ago, President Russell M. Nelson spoke of joy. Among other things, he said:

“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. … For Latter-day Saints, Jesus Christ is joy!”

If we do not feel joy when we think we are following Christ then we are doing it wrong.

We live in a hedonistic age when many question the importance of the Lord’s commandments or simply ignore them. Not infrequently, people who flout divine directives such as the law of chastity, the standard of honesty, and the holiness of the Sabbath seem to prosper and enjoy the good things of life, at times even more so than those who are striving to be obedient. Some begin to wonder if the effort and sacrifices are worth it. The ancient people of Israel once complained:

“It is vain to serve God: and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of hosts?

“And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered.”

Just wait, said the Lord, until “that day when I make up my jewels. … Then shall ye … discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.” The wicked may “have joy in their works for a season,” but it is always temporary. The joy of the Saints is enduring.

Laura sounds like ancient Israel here.

I haven’t met anyone who found the gospel later in life who didn’t wish it could have been earlier. “Oh, the poor choices and mistakes I could have avoided,” they will say. The Lord’s commandments are our guide to better choices and happier outcomes. How we ought to rejoice and thank Him for showing us this more excellent way.

If we are not having happier outcomes then we must ask ourselves what we are misunderstanding or what mistakes in action or perspective we are making.

Even when we are found faithfully keeping the commandments, there are trials and tragedies that could interrupt our joy. But as we strive to overcome these challenges with the Savior’s help, it preserves both the joy we feel now and the joy we anticipate. Christ reassured His disciples, “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” It is in turning to Him, obeying Him, binding ourselves to Him that trial and sorrow are turned to joy. I mention one example.

In 1989, Jack Rushton was serving as president of the Irvine California Stake in the United States. During a family vacation on the California coast, Jack was bodysurfing when a wave swept him into a submerged rock, breaking his neck and severely injuring his spinal cord. Jack said later, “The instant I hit, I knew that I was paralyzed.” He could no longer talk or even breathe on his own.

…

Once in an interview, Jack observed: “Problems will come into all of our lives; it’s part of just being here upon this earth. And some people think that religion or having faith in God will protect you from bad things. I don’t think that’s the point. I think the point is that if our faith is strong, that when bad things happen, which they will, we’ll be able to deal with them. … My faith never wavered, but that didn’t mean that I didn’t have depressions. I think for the first time in my life, I was pushed to the limit, and literally there was nowhere to turn, and so I turned to the Lord, and to this day, I feel a spontaneity of joy.”

We are only now getting to a point when I start feeling joy sometimes rather than being fully weighed down by heavy burdens. The Lord is strengthening me so that the heavy burdens can feel lighter.

This is a day of sometimes merciless attacks in social media and in person against those who seek to uphold the Lord’s standard in dress, entertainment, and sexual purity. It is often the youth and young adults among the Saints, as well as women and mothers, who bear this cross of mocking and persecution. It is not easy to rise above such abuse, but remember the words of Peter: “If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.”

I’m not sure this cross of persecution is lighter for men than for women or even much lighter for adults then for youth. I belove the perceived weight of the persecution is more often a reflection of the strength each individual has developed than of the persecution being heavier or lighter for that person.

In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve were “in a state of innocence, having no joy, for they knew no misery.” Now, as accountable beings, we find joy in overcoming misery in whatever form, whether it be sin, trial, weakness, or any other obstacle to happiness. This is the joy of sensing progress in the path of discipleship; the joy of “having received a remission of … sins, and having peace of conscience”; the joy of feeling one’s soul expand and grow through the grace of Christ.

The Savior finds joy in bringing to pass our immortality and eternal life. In speaking of the Savior’s Atonement, President Russell M. Nelson said:

“As in all things, Jesus Christ is our ultimate exemplar, ‘who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross.’ Think of that! In order for Him to endure the most excruciating experience ever endured on earth, our Savior focused on joy!

“And what was the joy that was set before Him? Surely it included the joy of cleansing, healing, and strengthening us; 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.”

Focus alone is not enough. We must have faith and hope too. Simply trying to focus or way to joy without a source of hope is grit and while grit is an admirable trait, the burden that Christ faced in making His Atonement would have crushed Him. At our own scale, we will face challenges that push us beyond the bounds where grit alone might succeed. In those circumstances we must have a source of hope where we have placed our trust out else joy will be impossible.

At times, I really had nothing more than grit because I was focused on my burden. That’s where Laura has been because she came to believe that she could not have faith in Christ – that her former faith was vain.

The fruits of our service to one another in the Church are part of the joy “set before us.” Even in times of discouragement or stress, we can minister patiently if we are focused on the joy of pleasing God and bringing light, relief, and happiness to His children, our brothers and sisters.

We have no business condemning a person who, in the face of trials, is unable to maintain their focus on the joy of pleasing God and bringing relief or happiness to others.

I believe that the ultimate “joy of the saints” comes in knowing that the Savior pleads their cause, “and no one can conceive of the joy which [will fill] our souls [as] we [hear Jesus] pray for us unto the Father.” With President Russell M. Nelson, I testify that joy is a gift for faithful Saints “who have endured the crosses of the world” and who are “intentionally trying to live a righteous life, as taught by Jesus Christ.” May your joy be full, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.