112. FSY: Fun vs. Joy in Christ

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How about seeking joy, especially the enduring one? 

In this episode, we unravel the teachings of Elder Bednar and his insightful contrast between worldly fun and joy in Christ. 

We also dive into the wisdom of President Nelson emphasizing the eternal nature of joy, amidst the trials and tribulations life throws at us. 

Listen in as we discuss the FSY pamphlet that emphasizes the importance of choices based on gospel teachings, drawing us closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Let's step up to a joy-filled life together!

Talks referenced in this episode:
"That they might have Joy" Elder David A. Bednar - BYU Devotional December 2018
"Joy and Spiritual Survival" President Russell M. Nelson - GC October 2016

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello and welcome to the Latter-day Ladies podcast.
I'm your host and your friend,jenny Moss, and today we have
our final episode of the FSYseries why joy is better than
fun.
Welcome back to the Latter-dayLadies podcast.
I am so excited to have youhere today and we're gonna start

(00:23):
off with a little story fromtwo years ago.
My husband was at training forsix months across the country
and I found myself trying veryhard to compensate for his
absence with the kids.
I created a list of fun thingsthat I could do with our family
to get excited for Christmas.
These benchmarks were wonderful, awesome things to do and to

(00:47):
get excited for.
But after completing a coupleof the activities, the kids
didn't have the same kind ofenergy and excitement for the
next things that we were doing.
I wondered why they weren'texcited anymore, why they didn't
seem like they were happy andlooking forward to Christmas.
Well, I realized that althoughChristmas lights and matching

(01:11):
jammies and Christmas tunes canlift the spirit, their
brightness fades when hardthings come into their lives.
Those things could not providea cure for their lonely hearts.
When they cried for their dadto tuck them in, we all felt
avoid because a very importantmember of our family wasn't

(01:32):
there with us.
The only person and thing thatcould bring love, safety and
peace back into our home was thevery center of the celebration
of Christmas.
It was Jesus Christ.
I realized I needed toreposition myself and my family.

(01:53):
We needed to be aligned withthe very purpose of the
excitement for Christmas.
It's not about Christmas vibesthat make the spirit bright.
It's about Jesus Christ, theSon of God.
Although it's not time forChristmas yet, we can all seek

(02:14):
to find our joy in Jesus Christ.
We know that our youth can filltheir time with all sorts of
things.
They can be things like schoolor sports or activities or
friends all wonderful andimportant things.
But if those decisions are notanchored in the Savior's safe

(02:37):
harbor, the fun will not lastThrough the difficult and stormy
times they will experience.
The only sustaining power onearth is the Savior of the world
.
Elder Bednar taught this aboutthe principle of fun versus joy.

Speaker 2 (02:55):
I believe the contrast between righteous joy
and worldly fun is instructiveand helps us better understand
the nature of true joy.
Joy comes from exercising faithin the Lord Jesus Christ,
worthily receiving andfaithfully honoring sacred
ordinances and covenants andstriving to become deeply

(03:19):
converted to the Savior and Hispurposes.
Fun is the result of amusement,playful and often boisterous
action or speech or pleasurablediversion.
A day on the rides atDisneyland is fun.
Worthily preparing for andparticipating in the ordinance

(03:41):
of the sacrament is joyful.
Joy primarily is spiritual.
Fun primarily is temporal.
Joy primarily is enduring.
Fun primarily is temporary.

Speaker 1 (04:00):
I love the way that Elder Bednar explained the
principle of fun versus joy andI love that the title of this
final section of the FSYpamphlet is Find Joy in Christ.
No other source will producethe outcome we truly want, other
than finding joy in Christ.

(04:22):
When we focus on findingfulfillment and joy in Him, we
will be filled, the way that wetruly want to be.
The FSY pamphlet starts, quotechoices matter.
Choices based on gospelteachings are steps that lead
you closer to your heavenlyFather and Jesus Christ.

(04:42):
Jesus said, quote these thingshave I spoken unto you that your
joy might be full".
That was John 15.11.
With each step towards him, youwill feel closer to the Spirit
and your covenant relationshipwith God will become stronger.

(05:03):
Side note that is a promiseblessing right there, that we
will feel closer to God, feelcloser to the Spirit and our
covenant relationship willbecome stronger as we take steps
towards him.
Okay, back to the pamphlet.
But that doesn't mean the pathwill be problem-free and since
no one walks a perfectlystraight line, constantly check

(05:25):
your direction and honor God'scommandments.
Keep your covenants with Godand prepare to make more
Covenants connect you toHeavenly Father and the Savior.
They increase God's power inyour life and prepare you to
receive eternal life.
End quote.
There was a lot of wise counselin those two paragraphs.

(05:48):
No one can walk a perfectlystraight line.
We know that in our minds, butI have to consistently remind
ourselves and our youth thatmistake and missteps have
already been accounted forthrough the Atonement of Jesus
Christ.
They are a part of our learning, a part of our development, and

(06:11):
we have the ability to alignourselves with the Lord again if
we just repent, which is acommandment, which is so cool.
When we're checking ourdirection towards Jesus Christ
and his commandments, it helpsus know how we need to
recalibrate each and every day.
And if you have questions aboutthat, like what do I need to
work on right now, at this time,if you ask that question to the

(06:34):
Lord, I promise you that hewill give you small nudges and
answers of knowing what thingsto focus on today.
Whether we are trying to fillour lives with fun or just
activity because we don't wantto be bored, or we're anchoring
ourselves with Jesus Christ,we'll see ourselves either take

(06:57):
steps closer to the Savior ortake steps away.
We can notice, too, how we feelwhen we take steps closer to
the Savior.
I've found that it's reallyimportant in my parenting to
point out to my kids, whenthey've made righteous decisions
, how they feel after makingthose choices.
They then understand what theSpirit feels like in their own

(07:20):
life and they are verycomfortable with the verbiage
and understanding of what thefruits of the Spirit feel like
and are.
Our Recovenants, bind us to ourHeavenly Father and our Savior
and give us access to God'spower in our lives.
This power can help us overcometemptation, forgive others,

(07:43):
trespasses and do things thatfeel impossible.
I have felt the power of theSavior, jesus Christ, in my own
life, helping me make and keepmy covenants, even when they
have felt impossibly hard.
The FSY pamphlet continuesquote of all possible choices,

(08:03):
the one that matters most is thechoice to follow Jesus Christ.
He is the strength of youth.
His gospel is the joyful wayback to your Heavenly Father.
End quote.
All of our kids, our teens, aregoing to have different
struggles come up in their life.

(08:23):
We all have different thingsthat we are learning at
different times right, but Ithink, understanding that
whatever they're struggling with, we can direct them back to the
Savior, jesus Christ, and theanswers will lie within their
covenants with Him.
We can trust the Savior.

(08:45):
We can trust in God's processof bringing to pass the
immortality and eternal life ofman, including us and our family
and our kids.
It can be really difficult whenwe in our mortal minds can't
wrap our heads around a specificproblem.
We may want to jump in and fixwhatever is happening, but when

(09:09):
we teach and show that we trustGod, we trust the covenants that
we've made with the Lord, wecan be examples to these
wonderful youth that they cantrust Him too.
Heavenly Father is a sure betevery single time.

(09:31):
He has the ability and thepower to change what seems
unchangeable.
With God, all things arepossible.
I wanted to end this podcastwith this incredible quote from
President Nelson.
I love this talk that he gave.
He was still elder Nelson atthe time, but it really touches

(09:54):
my heart to hear him speak aboutthe fact that we were created
to have joy.
That joy can sometimes bringanguish, but it lasts much
longer than any fun that we canlook for, any amusement that we
can seek after in this life.

(10:16):
Real joy can be eternal.

Speaker 3 (10:21):
Life is filled with detours and dead ends, trials
and challenges of every kind.
Each of us has likely had timeswhen distress, anguish and
despair almost consumed us.
Yet we are here to have joy.
Yes, the answer is a resoundingyes.

(10:42):
How is that possible, and whatmust we do to claim the joy that
Heavenly Father has in storefor us?
Eliza R Snow, second generalpresident of the Relief Society,
offered a riveting answer.
Because of Missouri's infamousextermination order issued at

(11:09):
the onset of the grueling winterof 1838, she and other saints
were forced to flee the statethat very winter.
One evening, eliza's familyspent the night in a small log
cabin used by refugee saints.
Much of the chinking betweenthe logs had been extracted and

(11:31):
burned for firewood by those whopreceded them, so there were
holes between the logs largeenough for a cat to crawl
through.
It was bitter cold.
Their food was frozen solid.
That night, some 80 peoplehuddled inside that small cabin,

(11:52):
only 20 feet square, most sad,or stood all night trying to
keep warm Inside.
A group of men spent the nightgathered around a roaring fire,
with some singing songs andothers roasting frozen potatoes.
Eliza recorded not a complaintwas heard.

(12:16):
All were cheerful and, judgingfrom the appearances strangers
would have taken us to bepleasure excursionists rather
than a band of gubernatorialexiles.
Eliza's report of thatexhausting, bone-chilling
evening was strikinglyoptimistic.

(12:37):
She declared, quote that was avery merry night, none.
But saints can be happy underevery circumstance.
Close quote, that's it.
Saints can be happy under everycircumstance.
We can feel joy even whilehaving a bad day, a bad week or

(12:59):
even a bad year.
My dear brothers and sisters,the joy we feel has little to do
with the circumstances of ourlives and everything to do with
the focus of our lives.

Speaker 1 (13:14):
My prayer is that we seek to recalibrate every single
day with the Savior JesusChrist, that we truly focus on
having Him as the center of ourjoy, and that when our teens are
searching for answers, theywill be able to see what we
truly believe by the way that welive.
Thank you for listening to theLatter-day Ladies podcast.

(13:37):
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