"God is serious about joy." Joy is the essence of what He would have us experience.
Joy is obviously of a higher order than mere pleasure. Pleasure is perishable. It has a short shelf life. Joy, on the other hand, is lasting. It involves the things that really matter, such as being forgiven and forgiving another. One true test of ultimate value has to do with whether or not something is lasting.
Joy has a way of renewing itself, and the ripple effects of joy are constant and ever emanating; joy has a momentum of its own.
When we enlarge our capacity to love, other people become real individuals, not merely functions. Gospel duties cease to be mere routine and become, instead, doors to delight. Every doctrine of the gospel is a door to delight that, when opened, exposes us to a vista of things we have not yet fully comprehended.
Joy will come in a thousand ways--when we see a relationship mended or enriched as between spouses and siblings and friends.
When we reach a point of consecration, our afflictions will be swallowed up in the joy of Christ. It does not mean we won't have afflictions, but they will be put in a perspective that permits us to deal with them. With our steady pursuit of joy and with each increasing measure of righteousness, we will experience one more drop of delight--one drop after another--until, in the words of a prophet, our hearts are "brim with joy" (Alma 26:11).
Read the full talk here.
