10 Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you?
11 And
now when the people had heard these words, they clapped their hands for
joy, and exclaimed: This is the desire of our hearts.
I love this! I have experienced this kind of JOY in my life and have also witnessed others experience this joy.
When I was serving a mission in Milan, Italy, we met a girl named Stefania. She had a boyfriend that was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She knew there was something "different" about him. When she learned about the priesthood, she knew that was what set him apart from other young men his age. When I was transferred to the area, she was already being taught the discussions. She was a joy to be with, as she discovered who she had always been, a daughter of God.
The day of her baptism was beautiful. After she was baptized, I was with her in the restroom and her face just radiated JOY. She couldn't stop smiling. She said, I just want to shout for JOY. I said, then let's do it. So, we jumped up and down and shouted in pure joy. She had just been baptized a member of Christ's church on the earth in the latter-days. Her soul was rejoicing and her physical body did the same. A physical way of expressing the feelings of her spirit. It was an incredible thing to witness.
As I read these words in Mosiah, I knew exactly how they felt. When I was deciding whether or not to serve a mission, I had an experience where receiving my "answer" gave me immense joy. The short version, is I had fasted and prayed whether or not I should serve a mission, and a "voice came to my mind" fast Sunday after church as I was addressing an envelope and said, "I let you know..... I want you to go." At that moment, tears came to my eyes and a huge smile. There is something about knowing the "will of the Father" for you that brings immense peace and joy.
I went the next Tuesday to talk to my bishop and as I was walking home ( I lived in Rexburg, Idaho) I was smiling so big and I felt like I might burst. I felt as if I was walking on air.
In Doctrine & Covenants 19 verse 16 it states,
16 And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me!
My sweet husband shared an explanation of this scripture that touched my soul and expanded my understanding. He shared that on our missionhere on earth, this scripture is first speaking about that "one soul" as us individually. When we are converted our joy is full. And then as we help bring others to the gospel, that joy increases tenfold.
President Nelson said, "Anytime you do anything that helps anyone -- on wither side of the veil --take a step toward making covenants with God and receiving their essential baptismal and temple ordinances, you are helping to gather Israel.
I share this because when we do this, we experience JOY. A few years ago I was at the temple receiving an endowment on behalf of a woman named Anne. I was on the very front row, in the Jordan River Temple, of the session room. I seriously had the biggest smile on my face. So big that my cheeks began to ache. I was very alert and just grinned and grinned the entire session. Every time the ordinance worker would look my way he would smile, my smile was contagious. About half way through the session, I had this thought, "Am I feeling this joy, because this is how she feels?" I received a confirmation that that was the case. That feeling lasted for about 4 days. I was JOYOUS!
On the Sunday following, I was leading a song in Relief Society, grinning big again and my daughter said someone leaned toward her and said, "Your mom is so happy." She said, "Yeah, she had a special temple experience this week."
This is what the gospel of Jesus Christ brings. Pure JOY. I wish that I could say that the majority of time I feel this. But, that is not the case. And that is okay. 2 Nephi 2:11 states: For it must needs be, that there is an opposition
in all things. If not so, my firstborn in the wilderness, righteousness
could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor
misery, neither good nor bad. Wherefore, all things must needs be a
compound in one; wherefore, if it should
be one body it must needs remain as dead, having no life neither death,
nor corruption nor incorruption, happiness nor misery, neither sense
nor insensibility.
I am so grateful for each of these experiences. For the privilege to feel pain as well as joy. I know that this JOY only comes through the power of Jesus Christ. What a beautiful gift to have the privilege to come to know Him and to feel of His love for us. I know He lives. I love Him.
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