“Let Your Hearts Rejoice”

While in hiding after being falsely accused, Joseph Smith wrote a letter to the Church. Most of the letter explains how and why to record baptisms for the dead, but he ends with a rousing call to action:

Brethren, shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. Courage, brethren; and on, on to the victory! Let your hearts rejoice, and be exceedingly glad.

Doctrine and Covenants 128:22

These words echo Jacob’s invitation to “let your hearts rejoice” (2 Nephi 9:52) and the Savior’s admonition to “rejoice, and be exceeding glad” when we are persecuted (Matthew 5:12; compare 3 Nephi 12:12).

The statement “Let your hearts rejoice” implies that joy comes naturally, if we allow it. We were created to be joyful (see 2 Nephi 2:25), and we are often the ones inhibiting our own happiness. We do this for a variety of reasons, including:

• Ingratitude – Focusing on what we lack instead of what we have
• Perfectionism – Excessive self-criticism and unrealistic expectations
• Conformity – A desire to fit in with a group of non-rejoicers
• Empathy – How can I rejoice when others are suffering?

On the last two, let me point out that our friends who are unhappy may be positively influenced by our joy. It is important to “mourn with those that mourn” (Mosiah 18:9), and it’s also important to share our joy with those we love. Joy can be contagious, and our examples of joyful living may inspire and uplift others.

Joy generally comes through wholehearted engagement, not through reluctant participation. One of my favorite songs says:

I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance
Never settle for the path of least resistance …
When you get the choice to sit it out or dance,
I hope you dance.

Lee Ann Womack, “I Hope You Dance,” 2000

Today, I will rejoice and be exceedingly glad. I will enjoy time with family and will count my blessings. I will avoid patterns of thought which would inhibit my happiness, and will engage completely in the activities of the day.