This week’s BYU-Idaho devotional speaker focused his talk on ways we can find joy in this life in his talk titled “Striving for Lasting Happiness.”
Karl Karstad, Support Center director at BYU-Idaho, shared his message by focusing on personal experiences, scriptures and teachings from the prophets. He referenced Thomas S. Monson’s October 2016 general conference talk “The Perfect path to Happiness.” He breaks his advice into three parts.
He said that first, students must respond to the calls to action. He quoted President Monson when he said he must “walk and learn, search and pray, repent and improve.”
“We can infer that we are not on a moving sidewalk of life, but that we must decide to move ourselves down the path,” Karstad said.
The second part Karstad mentioned is when Monson said, “We need to know God’s laws and live them.” Karstad encouraged the audience to hold on to the “iron rod” by being obedient to the laws and commandments.
“As we pray daily, as we read our scriptures, as we are doing the work we are supposed to be doing, as we are in the places we are supposed to be at, it just makes it easier in our lives to do the things that are important,” Karstad said in an interview with BYU-Idaho Radio.
Lastly, Karstad touched on Monson’s talk when he said, “We need to receive His saving ordinances.” Karstad taught that the covenants people make in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints secure everlasting joy after they work, learn, obey and understand.
Karstad closed his address by encouraging the audience to remember there is a purpose in strengthening their testimonies, taking action, learning God’s laws and obtaining saving ordinances.