The Joy of Christ

Yesterday I wrote about the fact that the Book of Mormon teaches us how to live in a way that leads to happiness.  We read that wickedness does not bring happiness but that keeping the commandments of the Lord will.  This is perhaps stated most clearly in the account of the people after Christ’s visit among them.  Mormon told us, “And there were no envyings, nor strifes, nor tumults, nor whoredoms, nor lyings, nor murders, nor any manner of lasciviousness; and surely there could not be a happier people among all the people who had been created by the hand of God” (4 Nephi 1:16).  They were a righteous people and rejected the wicked behaviors that had plagued Nephite society previously, and this brought them immense happiness.  This happiness that we can have as we live righteously ultimately comes as part of our journey towards the Savior, and the Book of Mormon teaches us in numerous places how coming to the Savior brings joy.    

               One message that we find in numerous stories of the Book of Mormon is that a knowledge of the Savior and His deliverance from sin bring us joy and happiness.  Alma spoke of it as the “joy of Christ” (Alma 31:38).  We get a visual image of this in the vision of the Tree of Life as the people partook of the fruit.  Lehi told us, “And it came to pass that I beheld a tree, whose fruit was desirable to make one happy” (1 Nephi 8:10).  As Nephi saw a vision of the Savior, he recounted, “And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father!  Knowest thou the meaning of the tree which thy father saw? And I answered him, saying: Yea, it is the love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things. And he spake unto me, saying: Yea, and the most joyous to the soul” (1 Nephi 11:21-23).  The tree and its fruit, which represented the love of the Savior, was that which is the “most joyous” to us.  We see this more literally in the description of King Benjamin’s people as they repented and came unto the Savior: “And it came to pass that after they had spoken these words the Spirit of the Lord came upon them, and they were filled with joy, having received a remission of their sins, and having peace of conscience, because of the exceeding faith which they had in Jesus Christ who should come” (Mosiah 4:3).  Coming unto the Savior for a remission of their sins filled them with happiness.  Similarly, the righteous in Alma’s day were “looking forward to that day, thus retaining a remission of their sins; being filled with great joy because of the resurrection of the dead, according to the will and power and deliverance of Jesus Christ from the bands of death” (Alma 4:14).  Their deliverance from sin and their knowledge of the Savior’s power and resurrection brought them great joy.  This happiness that comes from coming to the Savior and His light was experienced as well by King Lamoni: “The light which did light up his mind, which was the light of the glory of God, which was a marvelous light of his goodness—yea, this light had infused such joy into his soul, the cloud of darkness having been dispelled, and that the light of everlasting life was lit up in his soul” (Alma 19:6).  This light and joy are what the Book of Mormon invites us to receive as we forsake sin, keep the commandments, and come unto the Savior.  We can indeed have joy, and that joy comes from Christ.