“Your Joy With Him”

In an 1829 revelation, the Lord instructed Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer to “cry repentance unto this people” (Doctrine and Covenants 18:14). This was not a message of doom and gloom, but a message of joy. Our Savior suffered precisely so that we would have the opportunity to repent, and “how great is his joy in the soul that repenteth!” (Doctrine and Covenants 18:13). Furthermore, if you can help just one person draw near to the Savior and repent, “how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!” (Doctrine and Covenants 18:15).

I’ve been struck today by the communal nature of that joy. The Savior experiences joy as we repent; we find joy in helping others grow and progress. He didn’t say, “How great shall be your joy for him,” or, “How great shall be your joy because of him.” He said, “How great shall be your joy with him.” We find joy together.

Three places in the Book of Mormon, someone says, “My joy is full.”

1. At the end of a 14-year mission among the Lamanites, Ammon exclaims, “I do not boast in my own strength, nor in my own wisdom; but behold, my joy is full, yea, my heart is brim with joy, and I will rejoice in my God. … Behold, how many thousands of our brethren has he loosed from the pains of hell; and they are brought to sing redeeming love, and this because of the power of his word which is in us, therefore have we not great reason to rejoice?” (Alma 26:11, 13, italics added).
2. At about the same time, Ammon’s friend Alma summarizes his own feelings after preaching the gospel: “God hath called me by a holy calling, to preach the word unto this people, and hath given me much success, in the which my joy is full. But I do not joy in my own success alone, but my joy is more full because of the success of my brethren, who have been up to the land of Nephi. … Now, when I think of the success of these my brethren my soul is carried away, even to the separation of it from the body, as it were, so great is my joy” (Alma 29:13-14, 16, italics added).
3. On the first day of the Savior’s ministry in the Americas, after the people pleaded with Him to stay a little longer, He healed their sick, invited them to bring their children forward, and then prayed for them. Then, He said, “Blessed are ye because of your faith. And now behold, my joy is full. And when he had said these words, he wept” (3 Nephi 17:20-21).

When Jesus later granted the desire of three of His disciples to remain on earth until His Second Coming, He promised them that because of their efforts to bring people to Him, “ye shall have fulness of joy; … yea, your joy shall be full, even as the Father hath given me fulness of joy” (3 Nephi 28:10).

Today, I will look for ways to help others grow closer to Jesus Christ, knowing that He can help them repent and achieve their full potential. That process will bring joy to Him and to us.