How about seeking joy, especially the enduring one?
In this episode, we unravel the teachings of Elder Bednar and his insightful contrast between worldly fun and joy in Christ.
We also dive into the wisdom of President Nelson emphasizing the eternal nature of joy, amidst the trials and tribulations life throws at us.
Listen in as we discuss the FSY pamphlet that emphasizes the importance of choices based on gospel teachings, drawing us closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Let's step up to a joy-filled life together!
Talks referenced in this episode: "That they might have Joy" Elder David A. Bednar - BYU Devotional December 2018 "Joy and Spiritual Survival" President Russell M. Nelson - GC October 2016
How about seeking joy, especially the enduring one?
In this episode, we unravel the teachings of Elder Bednar and his insightful contrast between worldly fun and joy in Christ.
We also dive into the wisdom of President Nelson emphasizing the eternal nature of joy, amidst the trials and tribulations life throws at us.
Listen in as we discuss the FSY pamphlet that emphasizes the importance of choices based on gospel teachings, drawing us closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Let's step up to a joy-filled life together!
Talks referenced in this episode: "That they might have Joy" Elder David A. Bednar - BYU Devotional December 2018 "Joy and Spiritual Survival" President Russell M. Nelson - GC October 2016
Speaker 1:
Hello and welcome to the Latter-day Ladies podcast. I'm your host and your friend, jenny Moss, and today we have our final episode of the FSY series why joy is better than fun. Welcome back to the Latter-day Ladies podcast. I am so excited to have you here today and we're gonna start off with a little story from two years ago. My husband was at training for six months across the country and I found myself trying very hard to compensate for his absence with the kids. I created a list of fun things that I could do with our family to get excited for Christmas. These benchmarks were wonderful, awesome things to do and to get excited for. But after completing a couple of the activities, the kids didn't have the same kind of energy and excitement for the next things that we were doing. I wondered why they weren't excited anymore, why they didn't seem like they were happy and looking forward to Christmas. Well, I realized that although Christmas lights and matching jammies and Christmas tunes can lift the spirit, their brightness fades when hard things come into their lives. Those things could not provide a cure for their lonely hearts. When they cried for their dad to tuck them in, we all felt avoid because a very important member of our family wasn't there with us. The only person and thing that could bring love, safety and peace back into our home was the very center of the celebration of Christmas. It was Jesus Christ.
Speaker 1:
I realized I needed to reposition myself and my family. We needed to be aligned with the very purpose of the excitement for Christmas. It's not about Christmas vibes that make the spirit bright. It's about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Although it's not time for Christmas yet, we can all seek to find our joy in Jesus Christ. We know that our youth can fill their time with all sorts of things. They can be things like school or sports or activities or friends all wonderful and important things. But if those decisions are not anchored in the Savior's safe harbor, the fun will not last Through the difficult and stormy times they will experience. The only sustaining power on earth is the Savior of the world. Elder Bednar taught this about the principle of fun versus joy.
Speaker 2:
I believe the contrast between righteous joy and worldly fun is instructive and helps us better understand the nature of true joy. Joy comes from exercising faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, worthily receiving and faithfully honoring sacred ordinances and covenants and striving to become deeply converted to the Savior and His purposes. Fun is the result of amusement, playful and often boisterous action or speech or pleasurable diversion. A day on the rides at Disneyland is fun. Worthily preparing for and participating in the ordinance of the sacrament is joyful. Joy primarily is spiritual. Fun primarily is temporal. Joy primarily is enduring. Fun primarily is temporary.
Speaker 1:
I love the way that Elder Bednar explained the principle of fun versus joy and I love that the title of this final section of the FSY pamphlet is Find Joy in Christ. No other source will produce the outcome we truly want, other than finding joy in Christ. When we focus on finding fulfillment and joy in Him, we will be filled, the way that we truly want to be. The FSY pamphlet starts, quote choices matter. Choices based on gospel teachings are steps that lead you closer to your heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Jesus said, quote these things have I spoken unto you that your joy might be full". That was John 15.11. With each step towards him, you will feel closer to the Spirit and your covenant relationship with God will become stronger. Side note that is a promise blessing right there, that we will feel closer to God, feel closer to the Spirit and our covenant relationship will become stronger as we take steps towards him. Okay, back to the pamphlet. But that doesn't mean the path will be problem-free and since no one walks a perfectly straight line, constantly check your direction and honor God's commandments. Keep your covenants with God and prepare to make more Covenants connect you to Heavenly Father and the Savior. They increase God's power in your life and prepare you to receive eternal life. End quote.
Speaker 1:
There was a lot of wise counsel in those two paragraphs. No one can walk a perfectly straight line. We know that in our minds, but I have to consistently remind ourselves and our youth that mistake and missteps have already been accounted for through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. They are a part of our learning, a part of our development, and we have the ability to align ourselves with the Lord again if we just repent, which is a commandment, which is so cool. When we're checking our direction towards Jesus Christ and his commandments, it helps us know how we need to recalibrate each and every day. And if you have questions about that, like what do I need to work on right now, at this time, if you ask that question to the Lord, I promise you that he will give you small nudges and answers of knowing what things to focus on today. Whether we are trying to fill our lives with fun or just activity because we don't want to be bored, or we're anchoring ourselves with Jesus Christ, we'll see ourselves either take steps closer to the Savior or take steps away. We can notice, too, how we feel when we take steps closer to the Savior. I've found that it's really important in my parenting to point out to my kids, when they've made righteous decisions, how they feel after making those choices. They then understand what the Spirit feels like in their own life and they are very comfortable with the verbiage and understanding of what the fruits of the Spirit feel like and are.
Speaker 1:
Our Recovenants, bind us to our Heavenly Father and our Savior and give us access to God's power in our lives. This power can help us overcome temptation, forgive others, trespasses and do things that feel impossible. I have felt the power of the Savior, jesus Christ, in my own life, helping me make and keep my covenants, even when they have felt impossibly hard. The FSY pamphlet continues quote of all possible choices, the one that matters most is the choice to follow Jesus Christ. He is the strength of youth. His gospel is the joyful way back to your Heavenly Father. End quote.
Speaker 1:
All of our kids, our teens, are going to have different struggles come up in their life. We all have different things that we are learning at different times right, but I think, understanding that whatever they're struggling with, we can direct them back to the Savior, jesus Christ, and the answers will lie within their covenants with Him. We can trust the Savior. We can trust in God's process of bringing to pass the immortality and eternal life of man, including us and our family and our kids.
Speaker 1:
It can be really difficult when we in our mortal minds can't wrap our heads around a specific problem. We may want to jump in and fix whatever is happening, but when we teach and show that we trust God, we trust the covenants that we've made with the Lord, we can be examples to these wonderful youth that they can trust Him too. Heavenly Father is a sure bet every single time. He has the ability and the power to change what seems unchangeable. With God, all things are possible. I wanted to end this podcast with this incredible quote from President Nelson. I love this talk that he gave. He was still elder Nelson at the time, but it really touches my heart to hear him speak about the fact that we were created to have joy. That joy can sometimes bring anguish, but it lasts much longer than any fun that we can look for, any amusement that we can seek after in this life. Real joy can be eternal.
Speaker 3:
Life is filled with detours and dead ends, trials and challenges of every kind. Each of us has likely had times when distress, anguish and despair almost consumed us. Yet we are here to have joy. Yes, the answer is a resounding yes. How is that possible, and what must we do to claim the joy that Heavenly Father has in store for us? Eliza R Snow, second general president of the Relief Society, offered a riveting answer. Because of Missouri's infamous extermination order issued at the onset of the grueling winter of 1838, she and other saints were forced to flee the state that very winter.
Speaker 3:
One evening, eliza's family spent the night in a small log cabin used by refugee saints. Much of the chinking between the logs had been extracted and burned for firewood by those who preceded them, so there were holes between the logs large enough for a cat to crawl through. It was bitter cold. Their food was frozen solid. That night, some 80 people huddled inside that small cabin, only 20 feet square, most sad, or stood all night trying to keep warm Inside.
Speaker 3:
A group of men spent the night gathered around a roaring fire, with some singing songs and others roasting frozen potatoes. Eliza recorded not a complaint was heard. All were cheerful and, judging from the appearances strangers would have taken us to be pleasure excursionists rather than a band of gubernatorial exiles. Eliza's report of that exhausting, bone-chilling evening was strikingly optimistic. She declared, quote that was a very merry night, none. But saints can be happy under every circumstance. Close quote, that's it. Saints can be happy under every circumstance. 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.
Speaker 1:
My prayer is that we seek to recalibrate every single day with the Savior Jesus Christ, that we truly focus on having Him as the center of our joy, and that when our teens are searching for answers, they will be able to see what we truly believe by the way that we live. Thank you for listening to the Latter-day Ladies podcast. If you'd like to help our podcast, please consider sending it to a friend or rating and reviewing our podcast on the Apple Podcast app. You can find any of our Christ-centered artwork on our website, the Latter-dayLadiescom, underneath the Etsy tab.