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!"

00:01:43,210 --> 00:01:46,300 Saints are those who have entered into the gospel

covenant through baptism and are striving to follow

Christ as His disciples.

Thus, "the joy of the saints" denotes

the joy of becoming Christlike.

I would like to speak of the joy that

comes from keeping His commandments,

the joy that arises from overcoming sorrow

and weakness through Him, and the joy inherent in serving

as He served.

The joy of keeping Christ's commandments.

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, 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.

God sees things in their true perspective,

and He shares that perspective with us

through His commandments, effectively guiding us

around the pitfalls and potholes of mortality

toward eternal joy.

The Prophet Joseph Smith explained:

"When His commandments teach us it is in view of eternity;

for we are looked upon by God as though we were in eternity.

God dwells in eternity and does not view things as we do."

I haven't met anyone who found the gospel later in life

that didn't wish it could have been earlier.

"Oh, the poor choices, the 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.

As a teenager, Sister Kalombo Rosette Kamwanya

from the DR Congo, now serving in the Cote d'Ivoire Abidjan

West Mission, fasted and prayed for three days

to find the direction God wanted her to take.

In a remarkable night vision, she

was shown two buildings, a chapel

and what she now realizes was a temple.

She began to search and soon found the chapel

she had seen in her dream.

The sign said, "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day

Saints."

Sister Kamwanya was baptized and then her mother and her six

brothers.

Sister Kamwanya said, "When I received the gospel,

I felt like a captured bird that had been liberated.

My heart was filled with joy. ...

I had the assurance that God loves me."

Keeping the Lord's commandments enables us

more fully and more easily to feel His love.

The strait and narrow path of the commandments

leads directly to the tree of life.

And the tree and its fruit, the sweetest and "most desirable

above all things," are a representation

of the love of God and fill the soul

"with exceedingly great joy."

00:05:43,080 --> 00:05:45,979 SAID THE SAVIOR: "If ye keep my commandments,

ye shall abide in my love; even as I

have kept my Father's commandments,

and abide in his love.

"These things have I spoken unto you,

that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy

might be full."

Second, the joy of overcoming through Christ.

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 I was paralyzed."

He could no longer talk or even breathe on his own.

Family, friends, and stake members

rallied around Brother Rushton and his wife, Jo Anne,

and, among other things, remodeled

a section of their home to accommodate Jack's wheelchair.

Jo Anne became Jack's principal caregiver

for the next 23 years.

Referring to Book of Mormon accounts of how

the Lord visited his people in their afflictions

and made their burdens light, Jo Anne said,

"I am often amazed at the lightness of heart I

feel in caring for my husband."

An alteration to his respiration system

restored Jack's ability to speak, and within the year

Jack was called as Gospel Doctrine teacher and stake

patriarch.

When he would give a patriarchal blessing,

another priesthood holder placed Brother Rushton's hand

on the head of the person receiving the blessing

and supported his hand and arm during the blessing.

Jack passed away on Christmas Day 2012,

after 22 years of devoted service.

Once in an interview, Jack observed:

"Problems will come into all ... our lives;

it's [just] part of ... being here ... on 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."

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."

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.

Finally, the joy of serving as 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 [and] 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."

00:11:36,590 --> 00:11:38,990 Similarly, the joy "set before us"

is the joy of assisting the Savior

in His work of redemption.

As the seed and children of Abraham,

we participate in blessing all the families

of the earth "with the blessings of the Gospel, which

are the blessings of salvation, even of life eternal."

00:11:59,490 --> 00:12:03,200 THE WORDS OF ALMA COME TO MIND: "This is my glory, that perhaps

I may be an instrument in the hands of God

to bring some soul to repentance; and this is my joy.

"And behold, when I see many of my brethren truly penitent,

and coming to the Lord their God,

then is my soul filled with joy. ...

"But I do not joy in my own success alone,

but my joy is more full because of the success of my brethren,

who have been up to the land of Nephi. ...

"Now, when I think of the success of these my brethren

my soul is carried away, even to the separation of it

from the body, as it were, so great is my joy."

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.

When in Haiti last month for the dedication

of the Port-au-Prince temple, Elder David and Sister Susan

Bednar met with a young sister whose husband

had been killed a few days earlier in a tragic accident.

They wept together with her.