Where do we find our joy?

Hello everyone!! Hope you all have had an awesome week and have a great Memorial Day!! This past week was a pretty difficult one. My companion hurt his foot and is having trouble walking. That made it a little tough to get in the groove this week, which made it tough to get investigators to church! But, after a trial of faith there is always a big miracle in store as we strive to keep pushing through with faith and diligence :).

Something that really impacted me this week was our lesson in Elder's Quorum yesterday about joy! And the main part of the lesson that stuck out to me, which was something that I really loved and am going to apply better in my life, is this quote "Joy does not have anything to do with our present circumstances, but with our focus on life." I loved that and it hit me pretty hard! 

We all know that it is easy to have joy when everything is going well, when we feel good, when we have a great day, or when we win a basketball game, or when we feel that everything is going our way! But the opposite of this, when we feel alone, or burdened, or let down, or discouraged, or that everything is going wrong...in these situations, where do we find our joy?

It is very easy to be discouraged in life, as a missionary it is also easy to be discouraged when you get rejected 100 times in one day, when you work hard all week and nobody comes to church, or when you just feel down on yourself...so in these situations how can you possibly find joy in life? Im sure we have all had times in our life like these where we find ourselves asking "how can I find joy in this moment in my life?" For example, it would probably be very hard to find joy in life when you lose a close family member, or when you fail at something that you have put a lot of time into, so how can you find joy in even these situations? 

If we looked to the things of the world to have real joy, the chances are that we will never have it! However, if the focus of our life is on the Savior, we can truly find joy in every circumstance!

John 15:10-11:

10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.

11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.

We can always find joy in the Savior and keeping His commandments! A missionary can find joy in the opportunity to serve the Lord and be obedient, regardless of the weekly outcome! We can find joy in knowing that we will be able to be with our families forever if we are obedient to the commandments of the Lord and if our focused is centered on Christ!

D&C 93:33-34:

33 For man is spirit. The elements are eternal, and spirit and element, inseparably connected, receive a fulness of joy;

34 And when separated, man cannot receive a fulness of joy.

This shows the importance of the Gospel of Jesus Christ! Only through the restored gospel of Christ can these eternal blessings come, that help us to receive a fulness of joy! This being said, we must always have our lives centered on the teachings of Christ! As we do, we can gain our own testimony of this principle, and know that it is only possible through His restored gospel!

D&C 101:35-38:

35 And all they who suffer persecution for my name, and endure in faith, though they are called to lay down their lives for my sake yet shall they partake of all this glory.

36 Wherefore, fear not even unto death; for in this world your joy is not full, but in me your joy is full.

37 Therefore, care not for the body, neither the life of the body; but care for the soul, and for the life of the soul.

38 And seek the face of the Lord always, that in patience ye may possess your souls, and ye shall have eternal life.

And this scripture says it all, if we are centered on Christ, we may find joy in Him, but in this world our joy will not be full! 

I know with all my heart that this is true! I have a very strong testimony about these things, about the importance of a Christ centered life so that we may truly have joy! I know without a doubt that as we try and better center our lives on Christ and His atoning sacrifice, we will be able to find joy in every moment! This is something that has gotten me through the hardest times, the knowledge that the Savior lives, that He loves us, that He died for us, and that He has provided a plan for us to find joy in this life and the life to come! If anyone is looking for more joy, I hope that you can find it in the source of all joy, our Savior, Jesus Christ!

I love you all and wish you all a great week! 

Elder Yeoman

Elder Bradford's Birthday

Almost winter time in Argentina