I am so grateful for the blessing it is to be with you. The opportunity to testify of Jesus Christ to so many people humbles me. I appreciate and invite your prayers that the Spirit will convey a message to you from your Father in Heaven. Recent studies are showing that people are not happy. Reasons include wars, their living situation, the economy, debt, cost of housing, social media (yet we stay on it), suicide rates have risen, there is an epidemic of loneliness, and the list could go on and on. [1] We know that this is not what our Heavenly Father wants for His children. The prophet Joseph Smith stated, “Happiness is the object and design of our existence.” [2]
There is an obvious disconnect in many of our lives. What is wrong? What do we do? Many people are wandering the world or the web looking for the answers to this problem. I have great news for you, my friends. There is a prophet in the land! [3]
President Russell M. Nelson said, “My dear brothers and sisters, the joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives.” [4]
One of our problems is we stop the quote there and think to ourselves. “Yes. I need to focus. That’s the key. Focus on the right things. That will fix me.” That wasn’t the end of President Nelson’s thought! He continued, “When the focus of our lives is on God’s plan of salvation… and Jesus Christ and His gospel, we can feel joy regardless of what is happening—or not happening—in our lives. Joy comes from and because of Him. He is the source of all joy.…For Latter-day Saints, Jesus Christ is joy!” [5]
My intent today is to teach about joy-generating truth, not to diminish or trivialize mental health issues. Along with incredible doctrine, God has also given us great doctors and medicine. Please keep in mind the three truths that President Nelson emphasized: (1) the plan of salvation, (2) Jesus Christ, and (3) His gospel. We need to focus on these beautiful, powerful, life-shaping, and paradigm-expanding doctrines. For our purposes today, we will take particular note of the plan of salvation.
Elder Boyd K. Packer said, “True doctrine, understood, changes attitudes and behavior. The study of the doctrines of the gospel will improve behavior quicker than a study of behavior will improve behavior.” [6]
From the sound of how everyone is feeling in this world, it seems to me that we need this in a bad way!
To help us visualize the plan of salvation in our discussion today, let’s view it through the lens that Elder Boyd K. Packer shared. [7]
Act 1 is where we came from, act 2 is our life on earth, and act 3 is where we are going. [8] Please keep this in mind as we continue to visit.
President Nelson has taught us that if we want joy in our lives this should be one of our focuses. If we understand this doctrine then we will have a change of attitude and behavior. So how does knowing, focusing, and anchoring my life to truth help me feel joy? Let’s dive in.
Act 1
We lived before we were born. The family proclamation declares, “All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny.” [9]
Let’s linger here for a moment. I am a child of God. This truth makes my heart soar. I have heavenly parents. President Packer taught, “Spiritually you are of noble birth, the offspring of the King of Heaven. Fix that truth in your mind and hold to it. However many generations in your mortal ancestry… the pedigree of your spirit can be written on a single line. You are a child of God!” [10]
How can this help me feel joy? Studies show that “people have a fundamental need for a psychological and emotional feeling to belong to someone and something that they hold dear.” [11] Could there be anything more powerful than knowing this connection with you and God!? You are really truly His!
Let’s stay in act 1. The family proclamation declares, “In the premortal realm, spirit sons and daughters knew and worshipped God as their Eternal Father and accepted His plan by which His children could obtain a physical body and gain earthly experience to progress toward perfection and ultimately realize their divine destiny as heirs of eternal life.”
It helps knowing there is a plan to all of this!
My 12-year-old son cleans garbage cans for a living. It’s dirty work. He has seen and smelled things that would haunt your dreams. When he first started a few years ago, the pressure washer would actually push him backward.
So, what makes this young entrepreneur deal with the dirt, garbage, and smell? It’s actually simple. My son wants to buy stuff. Cleaning garbage cans is part of his plan to be able to buy things. He would hate cleaning garbage cans if he was cleaning garbage cans for the sake of cleaning garbage cans! But cleaning garbage cans is a part of his plan for a bigger goal—whether that be a new video game, candy, etc. At times we can forget that we are in the midst of a celestial plan that is leading us to exaltation!
When we remember that plan, we can look and feel like my son, even after he cleans smelly, dirty garbage cans!
Researcher Rita Ludwig did a study and found that people with a “high-degree of planfulness” [12] were more likely to choose behaviors to support their goals. We need to remember there is a plan and purpose behind all of this act 2 experience. Not only is there a plan, but we “knew and worshipped God…and accepted His plan” We wanted to “gain earthly experience to progress…and ultimately realize [our] divine destiny as heirs of eternal life.” You and I bought in. The Book of Job describes our response as shouting for joy! [13] Our focus in act 1 must have been on the right things—Jesus, His gospel, and His plan of salvation! There is enabling power in knowing that there is a Plan and that we were—and are—all in!
Now let’s visit another empowering aspect of act 1. It’s actually the reason that this plan works at all. It is Jesus Christ. Without Him, it’s a failed plan. Jesus Christ is the center of the plan.
There is no plan without our Messiah-Deliverer. There is no plan B. We went all in on Jesus Christ. The Book of Abraham states, “The Lord said: Whom shall I send? And one answered like unto the Son of Man: Here am I, send me.” [14]
These might be the greatest words we’ve ever heard, which we don’t remember because of the veil! I am overwhelmingly and immensely confident that in the premortal council, when the Father asked the question, “Whom shall I send?” not one of you looked at me, hopeful that I would raise my hand!
Elder Neal A. Maxwell taught us, “Never has anyone offered so much to so many in so few words as when Jesus said, ‘Here am I, send me.’” [15]
I trust Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father. I know They love me. I know They love you. I know They have the love, power, ability, and capacity to redeem our fallen selves! If this plan is what it takes to become what They see in me and to know the joy that They have—perfect joy—then I am in.
I’ll be messy while I strive and try my best in this wild act 2 experience, but I’m in. Elder Richard G. Scott stated,
“To exercise faith is to trust that the Lord knows what He is doing with you and that He can accomplish it for your eternal good even though you cannot understand how He can possibly do it. We are like infants in our understanding of eternal matters and their impact on us here in mortality.
“Yet at times we act as if we knew it all. When you pass through trials for His purposes, as you trust Him, exercise faith in Him, He will help you. That support will generally come step by step, a portion at a time. While you are passing through each phase, the pain and difficulty that comes from being enlarged will continue.
“If all matters were immediately resolved at your first petition, you could not grow. Your Father in Heaven and His Beloved Son love you perfectly. They would not require you to experience a moment more of difficulty than is absolutely needed for your personal benefit or for that of those you love.” [16]
Knowing Jesus Christ is involved sets me at ease, brings me peace, and fills my heart with joy. I know He can rescue, strengthen, and bless me with peace in this mortal state.
Act 2
In theatre, act 2 is often called, “the conflict,” “the confrontation act,” “the complication act,” and “the crisis act.” [17] Sounds a little ominous when you realize that’s the act we are presently in!
Good news! I know that we have a loving and supportive Heavenly Father and Savior to help us through this particular messy portion of the plan. One of the challenges of act 2 is we try to make it what act 2 was never designed to be! Free from troubles, trials, temptations. I invite you to think about your last few prayers. How much of those prayers were you asking God to take away and change the uncomfortable and challenging aspects of your life? Pleading to change the very nature of the designed curriculum of act 2. Maybe even begging our Father to remove all of the troubles, trials, and temptations—our very tutors in this life.
President Boyd K. Packer taught us, “Remember this! The line ‘And they all lived happily ever after’ is never written into the second act [of a play]. That line belongs in the third act, when the mysteries are solved and everything is put right.” [18] This isn’t a fun thought, but it is still true.
President Packer also taught, “No pain will last forever. It is not easy, but life was never meant to be either easy or fair.” [19]
You might be asking yourself why I would highlight this. Well, it is because sometimes when things are hard in our lives, we think something is wrong with our lives! We must have made a mistake or our Father must have forgot us—or never loved us. If you are having a hard time I have great news—it’s normal!
Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf told us in April’s general conference, “Life is not an endless sequence of emotional highs. ‘For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things.’ And if God Himself weeps, as the scriptures affirm He does, then of course you and I will weep as well. Feeling sad is not a sign of failure. In this life, at least, joy and sorrow are inseparable companions.” [20]
In fact, these hard times hold the very key for me to become like my Heavenly Father and feel real joy. Every person I know has had hard things. Different hard things, but nonetheless hard things. No one gets a free ride. Every person in scripture I have read about—especially, Jesus Christ—had hard things. If you are having hard times, nothing is wrong with you—you are still loved by your Heavenly Father, and your prayers are heard; you just happen to be in the midst of act 2.
I believe there is power in knowing that hard is OK. That doesn’t mean that God has left us alone. He has blessed us with great supports in this wild act 2. Some of the greatest supports that I have experienced in the midst of my act 2 experience has come through membership in God’s restored church—The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—which is why I invite anyone who is not currently a part of it to bring all the good they have in their lives and come join us! Through The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I have:
- Participated in saving ordinances that have taught me paradigm-expanding truths about God and His plan and can make everything I really care about permanent.
- Made sacred and empowering covenants with God that have strengthened my relationship with Him and Jesus, my Savior.
- Received blessings through God’s priesthood power, including a patriarchal blessing that has inspired, directed, and filled me with peace at times of difficulty.
- Experienced spiritual growth and revelation through scripture study, worship services, and participation in Church activities and service.
- Become part of a community that encourages me to live my best life through Christ.
- Developed friendships by rubbing shoulders, learning from, and serving with fellow children of God—joined in our desire and shared vision to build God’s kingdom—magnifying my meager talents, means, and efforts into a greater and holier whole.
- Been guided by living prophets—watchmen on the tower [21]—who help my worldview expand and bring me joy. Oh, how I love prophets and am grateful for their consecrated willingness to “leave their nets” [22] and follow Jesus Christ.
- Felt God’s love, stayed safe, and developed Godly characteristics through His commandments.
- Repented! My heart rejoices in the change that takes place in me as I turn to Jesus Christ and reconcile with Him. There is a reason our dear prophet says things like, “Discover the joy of daily repentance.” [23]
- Felt peace through knowing God's plan and understanding what Jesus Christ offers me through His glorious Atonement. I am astounded by the doctrine of the plan of salvation!
I also have to mention temple and family history. Engaging in temple and family history work during my act 2 excursion has been such a blessing. In fact, President Nelson stated, “While temple and family history work has the power to bless those beyond the veil, it has an equal power to bless the living. It has a refining influence on those who are engaged in it.” [24]
We have been given incredible opportunities to engage in this holy work—opportunities that have never been known in any age on this earth! My friends, begin or continue to engage in this work!
Elder Dale G. Renlund shared, “You'll find not only protection from the temptation and ills of this world, but you'll also find personal power: power to change, power to repent, power to learn, power to be sanctified, and power to turn the hearts of your family together and heal that which needs healing.” [25]
Look at those promises! Protection! Change! Learning! Sanctification! Healing! We can’t afford to not use the gift of family history and temple work! Don’t view it as something “to do!” View it as a divine gift with profound blessing from God that will naturally accompany it. This work will help us feel joy in our act 2 experience!
We could keep going because these are just a sample of how the teachings and doctrines of Jesus Christ that are found in the restored Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints can help us feel joy in this messy, conflicted, confrontational, and crisis-inducing Act 2 experience. Let’s rejoice in the teachings and truths given to us by God through His prophets!
Act 3
What is it about understanding act 3 that would help me with my act 2 experience? I will only touch on a few, but they are some of the most glorious that exist!
First, because of Jesus Christ, there is a resurrection! As Paul stated to the people of Corinth, “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? … thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” [26]
The scriptures witness of the supernal truth that everyone who has ever lived on this earth will be resurrected with an immortal physical body. This is a gift because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. And not just that I will live again and that my loved ones will live again, but that I have eternal family waiting for me.
The family proclamation states, “The divine plan of happiness enables family relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave. Sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally.” [27]
This eternal family relationship is enough to fan the flames of hope that we need in act 2. The next truth I’ll highlight that helps us with act 2 is the fulfillment of an act 1 truth: You have the potential and destiny to become like your heavenly parents and to be joint heirs with Jesus Christ.
Doctrine and Covenants 76 uses phrases like: “the Father has given all things,” “priests and kings, who have received of his fulness, and of his glory,” “they are gods, even the sons of God,” “all things are theirs,” “excels in all things,” “dwell in his presence,” “they see as they are seen, and know as they are known,” “received of his fulness and of his grace,” “he makes them equal in power, and in might, and in dominion.” Those are powerful promises from God about your potential.
Paul uses this powerful imagery: “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ.” [28]
One of the most empowering truths for us is to know that we have a Heavenly Father and a Savior who see this potential in us—regardless if we see it in ourselves.
So, in a world that so many are unhappy, remember that “true doctrine, understood, changes attitudes and behavior.” [29]
President Dallin H. Oaks powerfully taught, “Latter-day Saints know our Heavenly Father’s plan for His children, we know that this mortal life is not a one-act play sandwiched between an unknowable past and an uncertain future. This life is like the second act in a three-act play. Its purpose is defined by what is revealed about our spiritual existence in act one and our eternal destiny in act three.” [30]
Understanding the doctrine of the plan of salvation has brought me clarity, hope, peace, and strength in this life. I am so thankful to Heavenly Father for giving us the knowledge of His plan through His prophets. Please don’t forget that it’s not the circles of the plan of salvation that bring clarity, peace, and strength. Those assurances and feelings come through Jesus Christ and His infinite and eternal Atonement.
Jesus Christ has brought me light in the darkest times of my act 2 experience and has made the good times in act 2 infinitely sweeter.
I invite you to study Jesus Christ and His plan of salvation and how understanding this doctrine should and could change your attitudes and behavior. I testify that Jesus Christ is King of kings and Lord of lords. He is the Savior and Redeemer of all mankind. I praise Him and love Him. I am so grateful for Him and our Father and for Their love and kindness. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Notes
[1] Christopher Cann, “The young are now most unhappy people in the United States,” March 21, 2024, USA Today, Accessed July 23, 2024; Jeanine Santucci, “The data is now here. Youth homicide, suicide rates see drastic increase since start of pandemic,” June 15, 2023, USA Today, USA Today - The data is now here. Youth homicide, suicide rates see drastic increase since start of pandemic. Accessed July 23, 2024; Alvin Powell, “Why are young people so miserable?,” September 15, 2022, The Harvard Gazette, The Harvard Gazette - Why are young people so miserable? Accessed July 23, 2024
[2] Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith [1976], 255–56.
[3] Clark G. Gilbert, “A Prophet in the Land: Current Prophetic Emphases to Young Adults,” S&I Annual Broadcast 2023, A Prophet in the Land: Current Prophetic Emphases to Young Adults - Elder Clark G. Gilbert Accessed July 23, 2024
[4] Russell M. Nelson, “Joy and Spiritual Survival,” October 2016 General Conference, Joy and Spiritual Survival - President Russell M. Nelson Accessed July 23, 2024
[5] Russell M. Nelson, “Joy and Spiritual Survival,” October 2016 General Conference, Joy and Spiritual Survival - President Russell M. Nelson Accessed July 23, 2024
[6] Boyd K. Packer, “Little Children,” Ensign November 1986, 17
[7] Boyd K. Packer, “The Play and the Plan,” CES fireside, May 7, 1995.
[8] Boyd K. Packer, “The Play and the Plan,” CES fireside, May 7, 1995.
[9] “The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” September 23, 1995
[10] Boyd K. Packer, “To Young Women and Men,” Ensign, May 1989, 54
[11] Saga Pardede, “Distinguishing the Need to Belong and Sense of Belongingness: The Relation between Need to Belong and Personal Appraisals under Two Different Belongingness–Conditions,” National Library of Medicine, February 23, 2023, Distinguishing the Need to Belong and Sense of Belongingness: The Relation between Need to Belong and Personal Appraisals under Two Different Belongingness–Conditions
[12] Rita Ludwig, “Predicting Exercise With a Personality Facet: Planfulness and Goal Achievement,” Sage Journals, September 17, 2019, Predicting Exercise With a Personality Facet: Planfulness and Goal Achievement Accessed July 23, 2024
[13] Job 38: 7
[14] Abraham 3: 27
[15] Neal A. Maxwell, “Jesus of Nazareth, Savior and King,” April 1976 General Conference
[16] Richard G. Scott, “Trust in the Lord,” October 1995 General Conference
[17] "Story: Substance, Structure, Style and the Principles of Screenwriting" by Robert McKee and "The Anatomy of Story" by John Truby, and "The Elements of Drama" by J.L. Styan to name a few.
[18] Boyd K. Packer, “The Play and the Plan,” May 7, 1995 CES fireside
[19] Boyd K. Packer, “And a Little Child Shall Lead Them,” April 2012 General Conference
[20] Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “A Higher Joy,” April 2024 General Conference
[21] Ezekiel 33: 1-7
[22] Mathew 4:20
[23] Russell M. Nelson, “The Power of Spiritual Momentum,” Liahona, May 2022, 98
[24] Russell M. Nelson, “Generations Linked in Love,” April 2010 General Conference
[25] Claim the Promises: Taking Family Names
[26] 1 Corinthians 15:54-58
[27] “The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” September 23, 1995
[28] Romans 8:16-17
[29] Boyd K. Packer, “Little Children,” Ensign November 1986, 17
[30] Dallin H. Oaks, “CES Evening with a General Authority, February 2013