Finding Joy!

So, I love the TV show LOST.  I mean, I really love LOST.   I love LOST to the point that I, along with my brother and sister-in-law, would often dress up to watch each new episode of LOST.  In fact, there is a good possibility that we would turn the basement into a giant airplane using cardboard boxes to watch LOST in. (It only happened once, and it made for one very memorable day!)

There are a lot of things that I love about LOST.  I love all the questions, and coming up with different theories, I love that if you miss even one episode you have absolutely no clue what is going on, because the plot is so crazy.  But mostly, I love the characters.  One of my favorite characters, and probably a favorite of most LOST fans, is Hurley.  You just can't help but love Hurley! So, what is it about Hurley that makes us all love him?  I can't really answer that for you, but, I love him because he is always happy.  He's just a happy, easy-going guy.   I love it! 

In the Book of Mormon a prophet named Lehi taught his son that "men are that they might have joy" (2 Nephi 2:25).  Part of our purpose in this life is to find joy.  I've been thinking about this a lot lately.  I often feel like I look for joy in the future.  "I'll be happy when..."  I often think the next step in life is what I need to find the joy I desire.  However, when I catch myself thinking this way I try to always remind myself that this isn't true; this isn't God's plan for His children.  He has provided the way for us to find true joy even in the most difficult times.  David O McKay, who was President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1951-1970, taught:

"(The principal reason the Church was organized is) to make life sweet today, to give contentment to the heart today, to bring salvation today... Some of us look forward to a time in the future - salvation and exaltation in the world to come-but today is part of eternity".

I know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the surest way to finding true and lasting happiness.   Life as a missionary isn't always easy.  In fact it is often very difficult.  Serving a mission is possibly the most difficult thing I have ever done, but it is also the way that I have found the most happiness.  I can't describe the joy that I feel when I see Christ's gospel change someone's life.  Or the joy I feel when I see it change my life.  The prophet Joseph Smith said: “Happiness is the object and design of our existence; and will be the end thereof, if we pursue the path that leads to it; and this path is virtue, uprightness, faithfulness, holiness, and keeping all the commandments of God."  I know this is true.  I've seen it!