Do you ever feel like the “Plan of Happiness” has let you down? Have you ever wondered, where the Joy of the gospel is in your life? Have you thought to yourself, I made and am keeping all the covenants, but feel like the covenant path is more of a dead end.
I think, that in many ways, you and I feel this way from time to time, because we have a worldly view of Joy.
What really is the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Two weeks ago, in sacrament we were taught what the Gospel of Jesus Christ is, as was taught by Jesus Christ here in the Americas over two millennia ago.
Recently I noticed that in both 3 Nephi 11 where Christ teaches the Doctrine of Christ and 3 Nephi 27 where he teaches the Gospel of Christ, The Savior is only talking to his apostles. You might be surprised that roughly 1/3 of everything recorded of Christ’s post mortal ministry in the Americas was exclusively to the 12 that were chosen. This fact is obscured today by our modern chapter breaks.
It made me think quite differently about the other parts of what Christ taught during his ministry to the Nephites. I decided to give a bit more focus today on what he was teaching the multitude vs. what he taught exclusively to the Apostles. I am not an Apostle. I am just one member of the Multitude. So, let’s investigate what he did spend his time teaching the multitude, and see how we might find greater Joy in living His gospel.
Missionary Work
First Christ teaches the multitude that they will be blessed if they “give heed” to the words of the twelve, and be baptized. Then he tells the multitude that “Greater” will be the blessings of those that believe on the words of the multitude and are baptized. These people had not even been baptized and Christ was already encouraging them to do missionary work.
So how does missionary work bring us joy?
When it comes to missionary work, what thoughts and feelings come to your mind and heart? For me a lot of excuses and negative experiences come to mind. That's not because all of my experiences have been negative. There have truly been some wonderful experiences. If you notice in the scriptural accounts of missionary work, even they had some pretty horrible experiences associated with missionary work, hunger, fatigue, people attacking them, being stripped down and humiliated, thrown into prison, loss of family, friends, and life. It is easy for things like this to stick out in our mind when we focus on ourselves. Yet with all those things that happened, do you remember the end result?
Do you remember the sons of Mosiah, who gave up the kingdom to teach the
gospel to their enemies. Who saw their enemies sacrifice their own kingdoms and
lives in return for the gospel they preached. Do you remember that great
reuniting of Alma the younger and these sons of King Mosiah after their 14-year
mission among the Lamanites.
“16 Therefore, let us glory, yea, we will glory in the
Lord; yea, we will rejoice, for our joy is full; yea, we will praise our God forever.
Behold, who can glory too much in the Lord? Yea, who can say too much of his
great power, and of his mercy, and of his long-suffering towards the children
of men? Behold, I say unto you, I cannot say the smallest part which I feel.”
Persecuted
“ 10 And blessed are
all they who are persecuted for my name’s sake, ...
11 And blessed are
ye when men shall revile you and persecute, and shall say all manner of evil
against you falsely, for my sake;
12 For ye shall have
great joy and be exceedingly glad, for great shall be your reward in heaven;
for so persecuted they the prophets who were before you.”
I find that in today’s world many a person seeks out opportunities to identify and choose to experience, persecution towards themselves, their families, their ancestors, and their friends as justification for their lack of joy, opportunity, and blessings. Yet these “persecuted people’ do not seem very joyful about it. The difference seems to be for who sake they are persecuted. The Lord taught it must be for his name sake, no one else’s. To suffer for the Lord’s sake is a different kind of persecution and thus has a different result.
Let your light shine
Christ taught the multitude, and us today about “salt” and what happens when it losses it savor and about “lighting a candle” and putting it “on a candlestick” to ‘let your light so shine before this people, that they may see your good works”
In a worldly sense with all the Youtubers, Instagrammers, bloggers and Facebook posts, it seems people are giving a lot of flavor to life and letting their light shine like never before.
Christ once again clarifies that the end result of showing our light should be, to, “glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Christ further instructs that HE is the light, that we are to shine, his light in our own lives. Are we showing forth our own light as the world directs or are we doing as the Savior taught and showing the Light of the only begotten of the Father?
Forgive
Christ taught the multitude and us today to Not be angry with our
brother, and to reconcile our differences, to agree with our adversary. The
world takes great pleasure in publicly displaying the polar opposite of these
teachings, placing mocking, retaliation and retribution over mercy, tenderness,
and forgiveness.
“44 But behold I say unto you, love your enemies, bless
them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them who
despitefully use you and persecute you;”
I know personally the Joy that comes from praying for your enemies and for your own heart to be softened when you have done wrong or been wronged. It does not always remove the conditions, but it does give the strength to bear them, much like it did for the People of Alma when they were burdened and persecute by the Amulonites.
Alms
The Son of God teaches us “that ye should do alms unto the poor.” When I read the word ‘Alms’ I think of money, so I looked it up and found it means “Any thing given gratuitously to relieve the poor, as money, food, or clothing, otherwise called charity.” Christ further explained that when we give alms we should not be like the hypocrites, that “sound a trumpet,” but instead “That thine alms may be in secret;” I have often seen names of donners on Plaques, and Bricks and even park benches. Enshrining their generosity.
Although Christ teaches to give to the poor, it is also
my own observation that nowadays most of the world is far more likely to give
to organizations, kick starters, and investment opportunities, than to the
poor. I encourage you to keep this
commandment more fully, because, “thy Father who seeth in
secret, himself shall reward thee openly.”
Do you not know that in giving, both the receiver and the giver are blessed?
My own family has sought to give where we can, and we have benefited as the receivers of many blessings as a result.
Prayer
Christ teaches the people how to pray and then demonstrates several times
how it is too be done. Even in teaching about Prayer he taught,
“when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when
thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father who is in secret; and thy Father,
who seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.”
Letting
your light shine starts to appear very difficult to me. How am I or you to set
an example, and shine forth HIS light, when the things we have been asked to
do, seem to all be done in secret. Yet in Gods calculations it all works out. I
do not know how many times things I thought were done in secret were made
apparent to those around me through no effort of my own. I think the key is not
to try and hide it, but to just live it, without bringing attention to it.
Fasting
The Lord goes on for some time about Fasting. Now the world has normally seen fasting in a negative light. Why deny yourself when there are so many pleasures to enjoy. Recently the world has latched onto the idea of fasting as a means of losing weight to become “healthy and attractive” through intermittent fasting. I find now that I regularly hear people talking about their fasting now that it is somewhat in vogue, yet Christ message about fasting is clear:
“when ye fast be not
as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance, for they disfigure their faces that
they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, they have their
reward.
17 But thou, when
thou fastest, anoint thy head, and wash thy face;
18 That thou appear
not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father, who is in secret; and thy Father,
who seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.
Once again he is showing us not to shine a light on our own efforts. At the end of the book of Helaman we read this account of the people of the church as they were receiving persecution from many of their brethren. Notice the outcomes of Fasting and prayer.
35 Nevertheless they did fast and pray oft, and did wax stronger and stronger in
their humility, and
firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ, unto the filling their souls with joy
and consolation, yea, even to the purifying and the sanctification of their
hearts, which sanctification cometh because of their yielding their hearts unto
God.
I hope you noticed that health and
attractiveness where not among the benefits they identified. I think this
people exhibit a greater understanding of what Christ meant when he taught:
20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in
heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not
break through nor steal.
21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
I often think we lose out on so many blessings and joy because we are unwilling to wait on God; we get in his way by seeking the praises of the world in hopes of some instant gratification, losing out on eternal rewards. I often wonder when we tell people that we went to the Temple or were helping the Missionaries or the many other Good things we do as members of the Church, what are our motives in telling that to others.
Not only are we to learn from the things Jesus taught, but we are to do the things we saw him do. What are some of the things he did while ministering to the multitude?
Even before choosing the twelve from the people, Christ invited all to:
14
Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and
also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that
ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and
have been slain for the sins of the world.
Christ clearly wants us to know him, to know the cost of our salvation, and to see that God has fulfilled his end of the covenant he made with us.
Do you remember the multitudes response?
16...they
did cry out with one accord, saying:
17 Hosanna! Blessed be the name of the Most High God! And they did fall down at the feet of Jesus, and did worship him.
When Christ perceived that the multitude was weak and could not understand he did something truly amazing. He had started the day showing the wounds of his suffering and now he was asked the multitude to bring their suffering and afflicted to him so that he might heal them, and he did heal them.
Do we share our afflictions, our sufferings, our burdens, our wounds with the Lord. Do we share them with each other? It has been my experience that we as members often hide our burdens, but that does not appear to be the Saviors way.
Christ ended his first discussion with the newly called disciples teaching them to, “become as a little child”
Now
he was going to teach the multitude what that meant.
11
And it came to pass that he commanded that their little children should be
brought.
12
So they brought their little children and set them down upon the ground round
about him, and Jesus stood in the midst; …
Then he prayed with them. This is what we have recorded
of that prayer:
16..The
eye hath never seen, neither hath the ear heard, before, so great and marvelous
things as we saw and heard Jesus speak unto the Father;
17
And no tongue can speak, neither can there be written by any man, neither can
the hearts of men conceive so great and marvelous things as we both saw and
heard Jesus speak; and no one can conceive of the joy which filled our souls at
the time we heard him pray for us unto the Father…
20
And they arose from the earth, and he said unto them: Blessed are ye because of
your faith. And now behold, my joy is full.
21
And when he had said these words, he wept, and the multitude bare record of it,
and he took their little children, one by one, and blessed them, and prayed
unto the Father for them.
22
And when he had done this he wept again;
23
And he spake unto the multitude, and said unto them: Behold your little ones.
24
And as they looked to behold they cast their eyes towards heaven, and they saw
the heavens open, and they saw angels descending out of heaven as it were in
the midst of fire; and they came down and encircled those little ones about,
and they were encircled about with fire; and the angels did minister unto them.
14
And it came to pass that he did teach and minister unto the children of the
multitude ...and he did loose their tongues, and they did speak unto their
fathers great and marvelous things, even greater than he had revealed unto the
people; ...
Now
the world would mock these things as the foolish imaginations of an uneducated
young man of the early 1800s, but they are wrong.
When
I read these things I see Christ taking those who need not the baptism of
water, because
“… baptism is unto
repentance to the fulfilling the commandments unto the remission of sins.
12 But little children are alive in Christ, even
from the foundation of the world; …”
and thus the Savior baptized the children with Fire and the Holy Ghost. He is showing them the marvels that await those that put their faith in him and DO the things he has commanded. He is showing them what it is to become as a little child, a Child redeemed of God in all of its Joy and Glory.
Ending
I
know that worldly joy will never bring us Heavenly Joy. I know that the joy of
the gospel is real and worthy of our every effort. I know that if we keep the
commandments and Live our lives as Christ has shown us, we can see and
experience the kinds of joys discussed here today. The covenant path is not a
dead end. There is an overabundance of Joy in Living the Gospel of Jesus
Christ, and the Plan of Happiness will never let you down, because it is the plan
of Our Loving and Eternal Heavenly Father, Amen
