Men Are That They Might Have Joy

One of the most famous passages in the Book of Mormon is this short statement from Lehi to his son Jacob: “Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy” (2 Nephi 2:25). The natural question that follows from this verse is this: how do we then find the joy in this life that is meant to be ours? The Book of Mormon also has answers to that question. One is that we find joy in righteousness and the forgiveness of our sins as we reject wickedness. Jacob associated joy with the righteous: “But, behold, the righteous, the saints of the Holy One of Israel, they who have believed in the Holy One of Israel, they who have endured the crosses of the world, and despised the shame of it, they shall inherit the kingdom of God, which was prepared for them from the foundation of the world, and their joy shall be full forever” (2 Nephi 9:18). Those who are righteous can find joy that is “full forever,” but the wicked will not find enduring happiness according to Alma: “Do not suppose, because it has been spoken concerning restoration, that ye shall be restored from sin to happiness. Behold, I say unto you, wickedness never was happiness” (Alma 41:10). Samuel the Lamanite emphasized this point when he told the Nephites this: “For ye have sought all the days of your lives for that which ye could not obtain; and ye have sought for happiness in doing iniquity, which thing is contrary to the nature of that righteousness which is in our great and Eternal Head” (Helaman 13:38). We cannot find the kind of joy Lehi spoke of by doing iniquity. The people of King Benjamin found great joy precisely because they turned from wickedness and received a remission of their sins: “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, according to the words which king Benjamin had spoken unto them” (Mosiah 4:3). The promise they received is for us all: “Whosoever should believe that Christ should come, the same might receive remission of their sins, and rejoice with exceedingly great joy” (Mosiah 3:13). As we turn to the Savior and repent of our sins, we can rejoice with great joy like this people upon whom the Lord “poured out his Spirit” and “caused that [their] hearts should be filled with joy, and has caused that [their] mouths should be stopped that [they] could not find utterance, so exceedingly great was [their] joy” (Mosiah 4:20).

                A related answer to the question of how we can find joy in this life is that we obtain joy in humility. After telling of the joyful encounter between Alma and the sons of Mosiah after their preaching among the Lamanites, Mormon said this: “Now the joy of Ammon was so great even that he was full; yea, he was swallowed up in the joy of his God, even to the exhausting of his strength; and he fell again to the earth. Now was not this exceeding joy? Behold, this is joy which none receiveth save it be the truly penitent and humble seeker of happiness” (Alma 27:17-18). The “penitent and humble seeker of happiness” can find joy so great that it fills them up. Nephi quoted Isaiah to similarly teach us: “And the meek also shall increase, and their joy shall be in the Lord, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel” (2 Nephi 27:30). The meek who trust in the Lord will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. King Benjamin helped his people understand that it was in part because of their humility that they were able to find joy and would keep it: “[You] have received a remission of your sins, which causeth such exceedingly great joy in your souls, even so I would that ye should remember, and always retain in remembrance, the greatness of God, and your own nothingness, and his goodness and long-suffering towards you, unworthy creatures, and humble yourselves even in the depths of humility, calling on the name of the Lord daily, and standing steadfastly in the faith of that which is to come, which was spoken by the mouth of the angel. And behold, I say unto you that if ye do this ye shall always rejoice, and be filled with the love of God” (Mosiah 4:11-12). If, along with our repentance, we can always remember our nothingness before God and His goodness towards us, we can always rejoice and be filled with His love. In Alma’s time there were indeed those “humble followers of God” who were “were abasing themselves, succoring those who stood in need of their succor, such as imparting their substance to the poor and the needy, feeding the hungry, and suffering all manner of afflictions, for Christ’s sake, who should come according to the spirit of prophecy.” They were thus able to “retain a remission of their sins” and so they were “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 4:13-14). If we can truly say in complete humility with Isaiah, “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid; for the Lord JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also has become my salvation,” then that prophet’s promise to us is this: “With joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation” (2 Nephi 22:2).

As we in meekness turn to the Savior, repenting of our sins and trusting in Him, we can find the joy that Lehi taught is meant to be ours in this life. Like him, we can taste of that fruit of the tree of life which, he said, “filled my soul with exceedingly great joy.” Ultimately our joy comes from what that tree and fruit represent, the Savior Jesus Christ and the “love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men” and which is the “most joyous to the soul” (1 Nephi 11:21-23).