Let us be cheerful ppl ! :)

[martybess]

I would like some help with a topic that I have been pondering on for some time now and the following is what I have come up with but I’m not sure it’s to the liking nor main stream on Mormonism.

2 Nephi 2:25 - Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.

The Father—(the happiest of men )—endowed his Beloved Son with a "fulness of joy" (3 Nephi 28:10).

He is in the business of "happifying" his children by sharing his own nature with them. Heber C. Kimball remarked: "I am perfectly satisfied that my Father and my God is a cheerful, pleasant, lively, good-natured Being. Why? Because I am cheerful, pleasant, lively, and good-natured when I have His Spirit. That is one reason why I know; and another is—the Lord said, through Joseph Smith, "I delight in a glad heart and a cheerful countenance." That arises from the perfection of His attributes; He is a jovial, lively person, and a beautiful man" (JD 4:222).

Our individual capacity for happiness was first developed in the premortal estate. It was there that we learned the rudiments of joy from the gods set over us. As we partook of their spirit, we experienced a measure of the happiness righteousness produces. In this world of oppositions, joy is veiled; it cannot be experienced in its fulness—a fulness of joy comes only with resurrection (see D&C 93:33; 101:36). But, from time to time we can—like Elder Kimball—partake of the joy of the Spirit. Indeed, we not only have the opportunity, but the obligation, to do so. A perpetually unhappy Saint is an oxymoron, a self-contradiction. President Spencer W. Kimball remarked: "If you are not happy today, you may never be happy" (Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball 173). "Happiness," said the Prophet Joseph, "is the object and design of our existence" (TPJS 255). Righteousness alone can bring it to pass. To the degree that each of us acquires the divine nature, we will enter into "the joy of the Lord" (see D&C 51:19). Consequently, when all is said and done, each of us will be as happy as we have chosen to be, which is to say, we will be as much one with God as we have chosen to be.

Take a look at our dear prophet, what a cheerful man indeed as was president Hinkley.

Also if you take a look at scriptures that tell us to be joyful:

JOY

see also Cheerful; Delight; Gladness; Happiness; Pleasure.

• thou servedst not the Lord thy God with joyfulness, Deut. 28:47

• many shouted aloud for joy, Ezra 3:12

• joy of the hypocrite but for a moment, Job 20:5

• all the sons of God shouted for joy, Job 38:7

• in thy presence is fulness of joy, Ps. 16:11

• joy cometh in the morning, Ps. 30:5

• my soul shall be joyful in the Lord, Ps. 35:9

• meek … delight themselves in the abundance of peace, Ps. 37:11

• joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, Ps. 48:2

• we will rejoice and be glad, Ps. 118:24

• They that sow in tears shall reap in joy, Ps. 126:5

• Folly is joy to him that is destitute of wisdom, Prov. 15:21

• It is joy to the just to do judgment, Prov. 21:15

• Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest, Eccl. 9:9

• with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation, Isa. 12:3

• meek also shall increase their joy in the Lord, Isa. 29:19

• everlasting joy shall be upon their head, Isa. 51:11

• ye shall go out with joy, Isa. 55:12

• Rejoice … for so persecuted they the prophets, Matt. 5:12 (3 Ne. 12:12).

• word, and anon with joy receiveth it, Matt. 13:20 (Luke 8:13).

• faithful servant … enter thou into the joy of thy lord, Matt. 25:21

• departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy, Matt. 28:8

• I bring you good tidings of great joy, Luke 2:10

• leap for joy … your reward is great in heaven, Luke 6:23

• rejoice, because your names are written in heaven, Luke 10:20

• joy … in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, Luke 15:7

• they yet believed not for joy, Luke 24:41

• this my joy therefore is fulfilled, John 3:29

• Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day, John 8:56

• things have I spoken … that your joy might be full, John 15:11

• your sorrow shall be turned into joy, John 16:20

• your joy no man taketh from you, John 16:22

• that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves, John 17:13

• kingdom of God is … joy in the Holy Ghost, Rom. 14:17

• I am exceeding joyful in all our tribulation, 2 Cor. 7:4

• fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, Gal. 5:22

• Strengthened … unto … longsuffering with joyfulness, Col. 1:11

• Rejoice evermore, 1 Thes. 5:16

• took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, Heb. 10:34

• count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations, James 1:2

• ye rejoice with joy unspeakable, 1 Pet. 1:8 (Hel. 5:44).

• revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy, 1 Pet. 4:13

• no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth, 3 Jn. 1:4

• present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, Jude 1:24

• fruit … filled my soul with … joy, 1 Ne. 8:12

• most joyous to the soul, 1 Ne. 11:23

• having no joy, for they knew no misery, 2 Ne. 2:23

• men are, that they might have joy, 2 Ne. 2:25

• their joy shall be full forever, 2 Ne. 9:18

• taught … commandments of God, that they might rejoice, Mosiah 2:4

• consider … happy state of those that keep the commandments, Mosiah 2:41

• I … declare unto you the glad tidings of great joy, Mosiah 3:3

• caused that your hearts should be filled with joy, Mosiah 4:20

• filled with great joy because of the resurrection, Alma 4:14

• light had infused such joy into his soul, Alma 19:6

• overpowered with joy, Alma 19:14

• receive his Spirit, that I may be filled with joy, Alma 22:15

• my heart is brim with joy, Alma 26:11

• my joy is carried away, even unto boasting in my God, Alma 26:35

• joy of Ammon was so great … he fell again to the earth, Alma 27:17

• bring some soul to repentance … is my joy, Alma 29:9

• my soul is carried away … so great is my joy, Alma 29:16

• we may have rejoicings in the joy of our brethren, Alma 30:34

• soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain, Alma 36:20

• so great was the joy of the multitude, 3 Ne. 17:18

• my joy is full, 3 Ne. 17:20

• they have joy in their works for a season … and they are hewn down, 3 Ne. 27:11

• in them I have fulness of joy, 3 Ne. 27:31

• your joy shall be full … even as I am, 3 Ne. 28:10

• my Spirit … shall fill your soul with joy, D&C 11:13

• how great will be your joy if you should bring many, D&C 18:16

• canst thou read this without rejoicing, D&C 19:39

• lift up thy heart and rejoice, D&C 25:13 (D&C 27:15).

• Zion shall rejoice upon the hills and flourish, D&C 35:24

• knowledge … which bringeth joy, D&C 42:61

• come to Zion, singing with songs of everlasting joy, D&C 45:71 (Moses 7:53).

• both are edified and rejoice together, D&C 50:22

• wise steward shall enter into the joy of his Lord, D&C 51:19

• crown the faithful with joy, D&C 52:43

• fasting may be perfect, or … that thy joy may be full, D&C 59:13

• spirit and element … receive a fulness of joy, D&C 93:33

• in this world your joy is not full, but in me your joy is full, D&C 101:36

• what do we hear in the gospel … A voice of gladness, D&C 128:19

• call on the Lord … that your souls may be joyful, D&C 136:29

• that they might receive a fulness of joy, D&C 138:17

• because of my transgression … I shall have joy, Moses 5:10

• Enoch … received a fulness of joy, Moses 7:67

• filled with the Holy Ghost, and rejoiced, JS—H 1:73

Verses Levity or the like:

LEVITY

see also Laughter; Sobriety.

• is the laughter of the fool, Eccl. 7:6

• Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, Eph. 5:4

• Likewise must the deacons be grave, not doubletongued, 1 Tim. 3:8

• let the solemnities of eternity rest upon your minds, D&C 43:34

• not with much laughter, for this is sin, D&C 59:15

• you have treated lightly the things you have, D&C 84:54

• cast away your idle thoughts and your excess of laughter, D&C 88:69

• cease … from all your pride and light-mindedness, D&C 88:121

• declare in my name, in solemnity of heart, D&C 100:7

• I was guilty of levity, JS—H 1:28

So my question, why does it seem that LDS folks seem to dwell more upon ones soberness? Does this stem from the Temple? Or am I incorrect in my observation?

[Dravin]

I'd say you are incorrect in your observation, unless it's some sort of comment on Church Meetings (and that'd mainly be sacrament and while the ones I experience aren't exactly hopping they are far from somber even though they are conservative).

Edited October 28, 2010 by Dravin

[martybess]

Let me rephrase just a bit....

Why do I see it more in ward leaders? Are members not taking things serious enough or are the ward leaders stressed with callings? I don't hear nor see this in the apostles and prophets.

[ryanh]

I don't know about you and your life, but mine is full of all sorts of challenges, that, while I can find ultimate joy in, are not very fun to bear during the process. I don't think Joseph Smith was finding much "joy" in Liberty Jail either.

"He loves you more than your being perfectly happy day by day, and thus He will do what is required to purify you so you can return to Him. " Gene R. Cook - BYU Devotional - 1 February 2005.

What I get from Elder Cook's quote, is that much like we might deny our kids a pure sugar diet they may desire, our Father in Heaven is looking out for our long-term happiness, not our enjoyment of this mortal state.

It reminds me of a CS Lewis quote:

"Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently he starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of--throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself." [C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, 174; book 4, chapter 9, paragraph 10]

That's my take why the joy and peace I do find is so often muted into sober reality. Life wasn't meant to be easy. The process is often painful.

[Dravin]

Let me rephrase just a bit....

Why do I see it more in ward leaders? Are members not taking things serious enough or are the ward leaders stressed with callings? I don't hear nor see this in the apostles and prophets.

I haven't found local leadership unusually sober.

[dahlia]

Just 2 cents from an investigator. The last sentence of my weekly 'report' on meeting with missionaries was along the lines of 'you people sure are happy, aren't you?' While I find the missionaries will laugh if I make a joke, they are kind of serious, which I imagine comes with the territory. On the other hand, the church members they've brought with them have been bright and sparkly and very up beat. Even on this forum there are some great expressions of humor - which came as a bit of a surprise as I thought Mormons would be very sober on a Mormon site.

I note that during the Conference talks, the speakers (I still don't know how to refer to the hierarchy, sorry) have a sense of humor - sometimes it's a silly old joke, sometimes it's a humorous self-depreciating story from their past. I was surprised that humor had any place in the conference talks, but then why not? Can't we learn as much from a good story well told as through solemn study of texts?

"Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy" was in my readings for this week and I have to say I was impressed that we are to have joy in life - not miserably struggle and be sad and burdened by sin everyday. I'm not prone to meditating on scripture, but this one had me thinking for a long time.

Why not be happy? Why not help others to be happy? There's nothing to lose and much to gain.

[NeuroTypical]

So my question, why does it seem that LDS folks seem to dwell more upon ones soberness? Does this stem from the Temple? Or am I incorrect in my observation?

I've seen what you're talking about, but not as often as you I guess. I'd suppose too much soberness might come from places like these:

* Associating church with being sternly told to fold your arms, stop talking and be reverent, or the teacher is going to get your mom.

* Not understanding the difference between light-mindedness (mocking God), and light-heartedness (not against any commandment I'm aware of).

* Fear or anxiety about appearing frivolous or dumb or not-serious in front of people (just general uptightness).

* Poor sense of humor.

* Cultural thing - we're only 2-3 generations from folks who grew up in the Great Depression, and just didn't see life as all that fun of a thing.

Anyway, I've had many laughs in church and Bishopric meetings and on splits with missionaries and even in the occasional sacrament meeting.

LM

[martybess]

Hmmmmm, I'm starting to think that it is me. That I need to work on my perception. :)

[shdwlkr]

I am going through a divorce and so far have been able to get my bishop to laugh at me and also my counselor. I am trying very hard to find something everyday to laugh at and my pets seem to offer examples each day.

I could be bitter about the way things are going in my life instead up just plain upset and wishing it wasn't happening but we are taught that we are not given any challenge in this life we can't handle if we but go to the lord with our fears, concerns and wishes. So far I have been given the strength to return to church activity, have found a dear friend who I can lean on and most of all this friend is providing me with something to look forward to when most could only see the doom and gloom of the moment.

My leaders are anything but reserved and laughter can break out at any moment with out warning if someone says something funny even if they don't at first see the humor.

Life is a hard road and a bumpy road for many of us if we can not find the small bits of joy alog the way when we get to the end we are going to be very sad and bitter people.

Our load has never said that we should shun joy but more to enjoy it in moderation as all things should be. We can choose to be sad or happy no matter what life throws our way because there is only one real truth and that is most of us are going to die in this life and experience the joy of watching life leave us bit by bit.

What you call soberness can also be seen as being respectful such as being quit when someone is talking, listening totally to what is being said, and also teaching our little ones that is not ok to talk, stand up, make noise or disrupt a church meeting because they want too. It also shows those who are seeking a religion that we are an orderly people.

Edited October 29, 2010 by shdwlkr
can't spell

[TheMightyQuinn]

As I read this evening while home teaching:

Doctrine and Covenants Section 76

17 Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye are little children, and ye have not as yet understood how great blessings the Father hath in his own hands and prepared for you;

18 And ye cannot bear all things now; nevertheless, be of good cheer, for I will lead you along. The kingdom is yours and the blessings thereof are yours, and the riches of eternity are yours.

19 And he who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious; and the things of this earth shall be added unto him, even an hundred fold, yea, more.

I think cheerfulness should be the hallmark of the Saints of Christ.

[mordorbund]

What does happy/joy look like? Like the sister emotion of Love, I think it may have differing degrees and differing manifestations.

I used to deliver my humor with a straight face. My friends would tell me they couldn't tell if I was joking or not. So I practiced my expressions in the mirror. I've been told this is a sad story (in the pity sense), but I think it's a tale of triumph. Or I did until I went on a mission and was often told that I looked angry (I wasn't, just my default look). Apparently my friends learn my expressions in time, but strangers - not so much.

Moral of the story, they may be happy, but not the kind you're looking for.

[mordorbund]

I mentioned differing degrees, and I think you hit on that but didn't recognize it. We like to make fun of "young love" - stupid teens thinking they have the love that will last a lifetime while we wise grownups know better. I do think it is often something of a shallow love, but if that's the only form of romantic love you've experienced, of course you're going to equate it with all degrees of romantic love.

Or put another (negative) way, have you ever been angry? Angry enough to lose control? to punch someone? to kill someone? to kill someone and mutilate the corpse? There are people who have experienced all these levels of rage. If they hear someone like me (I think I've wanted to punch someone before) say I have anger issues they'll laugh.

You mentioned that the fulness of Joy comes with the resurrection. And there's a level of Joy that you're experiencing in this life. Others may be on the first rung of the Joy ladder, and so you tell them "that's not really joy". Or you yourself may be on the first step and not realize how many more there are. So you say (like giddy, teenage lovebirds) "why aren't you happy like I am?"

[shdwlkr]

Even when the world we know is falling apart around us like mine is we need to find something to laugh at or we will go nuts.

My laughter for today is that my window in my truck just got a huge crack in it and I am having to get it replaced. What is funny? watching the crack move across the windshield.

[pam]

Even when the world we know is falling apart around us like mine is we need to find something to laugh at or we will go nuts.

My laughter for today is that my window in my truck just got a huge crack in it and I am having to get it replaced. What is funny? watching the crack move across the windshield.

Is that what is known as laughter through tears?