Quoting from the Book of Mormon in last General Conference Elder Uchtdorf shared the following:

Joy is the very purpose of God’s plan for His children. It’s what you were created for—“that [you] might have joy”! You were built for this!

If we are created to have joy, and we are, then why is life so hard? Life is full of mountains and valleys, of highs and lows. We all have so very much going on in our lives, and lots of those things are challenging and might make is think that life is more full of lows than highs. Just this last month our lives have been very topsy turvy. As I list the things, I think it’s the busiest month or so we’ve had.

It began with Ruth’s dad falling and waiting with him for an ambulance over 5 hours as he lay on the floor with a broken femur. Subsequent to this he passed away, and we then had to organise and conduct the funeral as a family, the Monday before Gideon got married. The day before, Martha used a purple shampoo in her hair that turned some of it blue- we can laugh about it now- but the week of washing and cleaning it wasn’t fun. I received the news that a friend has breast cancer, I also received news that a dear friend had passed away from thyroid cancer. Gideon and Natasha had to return home after a day of their honeymoon because they were so ill. There were other mishaps and roadblocks along the way. How on earth was I to find joy over the course of this month or so? To be blunt, life was pants. There were a couple of things that I have reflected upon over the last month.

Firstly, that even in the darkest of days there are reasons to be optimistic and positive, even joyful. In the midst of this month, Gideon and Natasha got married. Not everything might have gone as smoothly as we hoped, but were able to have a joyful day, and look forward to their sealing next Saturday now the Temple is open again. We also had as a background, the knowledge that in September Ruth and I are going to be grandparents as Abi and Ethan are expecting. 

Sometimes, however, there may not be those immediate silver lings, which leads me to the second realisation, and that is that the Gospel of Jesus Christ gives us hope. It provides a reason for optimism. I don’t say that glibly, we have shed many tears over the last few weeks, but I have come to realise the blessing that a knowledge of Jesus Christ is. I have realised that the Gospel makes me an optimistic person. It is not that the struggles and hurt go away, it is that we are able to strengthened as we strive to put one foot in front of the other, and just survive every day. If we draw near to the Saviour, his atonement enables us to be healed and our sufferings be placed in their eternal perspective. Elder Uchtdorf shared the story of the woman with the issue of blood to help us understand this:

Do you remember the woman in the New Testament who endured a bleeding illness for 12 years? She had spent all she had on physicians, but things only grew worse. She had heard of Jesus; His power to heal was well known. But could He heal her? And how could she even get near Him? Her sickness made her “unclean” according to the law of Moses, and therefore she was required to stay away from others. Approaching Him openly and asking for healing seemed out of the question. Still, she thought, “If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.” At last, her faith overcame her fear. She braved the censure of others and pressed toward the Saviour. Finally, she was within reach. She extended her hand. And she was healed. Aren’t we all somewhat like this woman?

In what ways are we like this woman? Perhaps we have things with which we are struggling- they do not have to be physical, every suffering that we have is real. But perhaps we’re reticent to turn to the Saviour to feel his love. Maybe we’re ashamed, or maybe we things it is too trivial. We know from the scriptures that the Saviour suffered “pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people” (Alma 7:11). His whole life, and death was about experiencing the pains of life, end enabling us to take his yoke upon us so that we can be strengthened every day as we struggle in mortality. The truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is that we can be healed, and that we can find joy in this life. 

It is important to note, that the Saviour is there every step of our lives, and also that it may be appropriate to have help in finding that joy, from both fellow disciples and also from others. Elder Uchtdorf noted:

…allow me to acknowledge that depression and other difficult mental and emotional challenges are real, and the answer is not simply “Try to be happier.” My purpose today is not to diminish or trivialize mental health issues. If you face such challenges, I mourn with you, and I stand beside you. For some people, finding joy may include seeking help from trained mental health professionals who devote their lives to practicing their very important art. We should be thankful for such help.

There are many ways for us to find the joy that comes through discipleship, through a relationship with the Lord. First of all, we make our relationship with Him an every day and every moment experience. The armour of God is not a bolt on and bolt off accessory. We can feel that his love is found in the every act of living. Heartbreak will come. Illness will come, self-doubt will come, but we know that Christ heals the broken hearted, he is always there with his arms outstretched. One of my favourite scriptures is found in Moses 7 where it describes the Lord:

And it came to pass that the God of heaven looked upon the residue of the people, and he wept; and Enoch bore record of it, saying: How is it that the heavens weep, and shed forth their tears as the rain upon the mountains? And Enoch said unto the Lord: How is it that thou canst weep, seeing thou art holy, and from all eternity to all eternity?

This same question was posed to me by a friend recently. He asked: “How is it that the God who knows the end from the beginning can feel any emotion for what happens in the present?” I believe that in addition to the Lord being all knowing, he is also all loving. As such as much as he knows what will happen, it doesn’t affect him any less when it does. Because he loves us, he weeps with us. He encircles us in the arms of His love, strengthens us, and empathises with us. He is not a distant deity far removed from our lives, He is intimately involved in every aspect of our lives. I am reminded of the poem Footprints that highlights this truth perfectly:

One night I dreamed a dream.

 As I was walking along the beach with my Lord.

 Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life.

 For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand,

 One belonging to me and one to my Lord.

After the last scene of my life flashed before me,

 I looked back at the footprints in the sand.

 I noticed that at many times along the path of my life,

 especially at the very lowest and saddest times,

 there was only one set of footprints.

This really troubled me, so I asked the Lord about it.

 “Lord, you said once I decided to follow you,

 You’d walk with me all the way.

 But I noticed that during the saddest and most troublesome times of my life,

 there was only one set of footprints.

 I don’t understand why, when I needed You the most, You would leave me.”

He whispered, “My precious child, I love you and will never leave you

 Never, ever, during your trials and testings.

 When you saw only one set of footprints,

 It was then that I carried you.

Revelation helps us in knowing not just what we are to do, but can also reveal to us who we are and our standing before the Lord. As I think about my life one of the things with which I have had to struggle is Imposter Syndrome. This wasn’t something I knew had a name until a couple of years ago and I thought it was only me that struggled with it. It is a thought process within myself where I convince myself I am a fraud. That everything I claim to be able to do is only a mask with which I am fooling people, at some point someone will discover this. Although, now and again I still suffer from it I have realised that through my relationship with deity that I am of divine heritage, and that I have been put on this earth to succeed. This is just one example, but knowing that Hearing the Lord and His voice can help us overcome the constant barrage of doubt, challenges and criticism we face is of immeasurable value.

My question for each of us, is do we really believe this? I think it is easy to believe that it applies to other people, but the important question for each of us is do we believe the Saviour can heal and strengthen me? I find it easy to see the theory, the question is can I apply that theory to myself? One of the great blessings of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, is not just that he accepts all of us where we are, but as he does we are able to become new creatures that become like our Heavenly Parents. Turning ourselves to the Lord has an impact on every aspect of us, he changes not just our actions but our very nature. This is brought home to me through the story of Jesus healing the blind man:

And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing (John 9:1-7).

This seems very straightforward ‘He went his way… and washed, and came seeing”. Many of you will know that I am completely blind in my left eye. I was told when I was a teenager that even if they developed the expertise to unfold the retina, I would still not be able to see because my brain had spent over 15 years ignoring any messages or not even receiving them. When the blind man was healed, it was not just the eye that was changed, but the brain and neural system of the man. That is how the Lord works with us, he changes us inside and out. He enables us to find a higher joy in life. 

But we have a role to play in this. Sometimes, the joy or negativity that we find is a matter of perspective. President Hinckley said:

I come … with a plea that we stop seeking out the storms and enjoy more fully the sunlight. I’m suggesting that we accentuate the positive. I’m asking that we look a little deeper for the good,

I’m not suggesting that everything is a matter of perspective- we have real anguish that is not a matter of perspective, we can however, choose how to respond. As I was writing this talk, I received a text from someone I know- my first instinct was to be annoyed because he rejected my suggestion, and offered a different option. Instead of assigning negative intentions, I can look and the positive and that he is trying to help. That positivity may not always be accurate, but I’ve found it saves a lot of angst in the long run. 

Sometimes though we have to recognise the joy that we can bring to other people’s lives, and help adjust their perspective. Let me reminisce slightly as I always do when I come here. I had a fantastic childhood, I was full of life, confident and enjoyed many different things. However, when I was about 11 an influence came into my life who told me I was rubbish; that I was worthless; that what I had to say was not worth listening to; and I would never amount to anything. This continued for a period of about 4 years, and for some reason despite others who said differently this person had a huge impact on my life and not for the good. Some of these words still echo in my mind as I encounter new situations, and to be honest some of the reasons why I push myself to do new things is to prove to myself that this person was not right. It was at the point in my life- at the age of 14 that I moved to Macclesfield. It was here that I began to rediscover myself and some confidence within myself with the help of my mum and others. There are many who enabled me to put myself into perspective, to see myself as the Lord saw me. We must recognise the influence we can have on others. Elder Uchtdorf shares a similar thought:

Joy is like a barrel of flour or a jar of oil that will never run out. True joy multiplies when it is shared. It doesn’t require something grand or complicated. We can do simple things. Like praying for someone with all our heart. Giving a sincere compliment. Helping someone feel welcome, respected, valued, and loved. Sharing a favorite scripture and what it means to us. Or even just by listening. “When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God,” and God will repay your kindness generously. The joy you give to others will return to you in “good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over.”

Let me close with three suggestions from Elder Uchtdorf:

During the coming days, weeks, and months, may I invite you to:

Spend time in a sincere, full-hearted effort to draw near to God.

Seek diligently for everyday moments of hope, peace, and joy.

Bring joy to others around you.

Christ is at the heart of all that we are and all that we do. He is my Saviour. I love Him. Why, because as the scriptures say ‘He loved us first”. May we all find the higher joy of this life through our relationship with Him.