Joy!
Joy!
BY BECKY WATSON
I love words.
Like, I really love words.
Every single room in my house has a dedicated space for books. (Yes, even the bathroom.) I do my best pondering on paper. I can generally solve my own temper tantrums by emptying out my brain in an email … which I then delete, for the benefit of all concerned.
I even decorate with words.
Like millions around the world, I recently pulled out my Christmas bins and flocked our house with garland and nativities. And it was no surprise that several decor items were .... words.
“Wise men still seek him”
“Peace on earth”
“True love was born in a stable”
And one word over and over again: JOY.
It’s in big letters in my kitchen. JOY. Again on a wreath in our piano room/library. JOY. A ginormous sign on my porch. JOY. Over the mantle. JOY.
It would be embarrassing if it weren’t written on my heart as well.
The word “joy” occurs over 300 times in the four books we call scriptures. Joy is deeper than pleasure or even happiness. It is lasting. It is a knowledge and hope and assurance that there is a God who knows what He’s doing. There is a point to all this. And that point is - joy!
When I picture the Savior, I never see him stone-faced and morose - as He is generally depicted. I see him smiling. No - grinning. In Doctrine & Covenants, a modern book of scripture, He refers to Himself as “he who rejoiceth.” (D&C 133:44) And we can too. Indeed - that’s His goal! In the Book of Mormon, an ancient book of scripture, we are told that JOY is our very purpose in life. “Men are, that they might have joy.” (2 Nephi 2:25) And during His earthly ministry, He declared: “And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.” (John 17:13)
Today we have our prophet, President Russell M. Nelson:
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! …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. We feel it at Christmastime when we sing, “Joy to the world, the Lord is come.” And we can feel it all year round. For Latter-day Saints, Jesus Christ is joy!1
So I will continue to unashamedly place JOY in every corner, and intentionally choose joy during the busiest time of the year.
Because when I choose joy, I choose Him.
1 Nelson, Russell M. “Joy and Spiritual Survival.” Ensign, November 2016.
Rasband, Ronald A. “The Things of my Soul.” Ensign, November 2021.
Christofferson, D. Todd. “The Joy of the Saints.” Ensign, November 2021.
