16 And it came to pass that as Ammon was going forth into the land, that he and his brethren met Alma, over in the place of which has been spoken; and behold, this was a joyful meeting.
17 Now the joy of Ammon was so great even that he was full; yea, he was swallowed up in the joy of his God, even to the exhausting of his strength; and he fell again to the earth. 18 Now was not this exceeding joy? Behold, this is joy which none receiveth save it be the truly penitent and humble seeker of happiness. I don’t know if divine providence was involved in their meeting that way, but if not, what a wonderful coincidence! But coincidence I think not. I think it was a tender mercy of the Lord that they met. While our reward for a faithful life on this earth comes after the trial, the Lord certainly blesses with “partial payment”, as it were, along the way to give us hope and encouragement. And, after all, he did say men are that they may have joy. Or in others words, God created us so that we may have joy. Or in other words, it is God’s greatest desire that we be happy, and everything He does is to that end. After all, we are his offspring, his daughters and sons.... Speaking of joy! What an amazing meeting and experience they had! Ammon was filled with so much joy upon meeting his former and reformed ruffian friend that his legs could not hold him up, and he fell to the earth because of his over joy. Now, I have never experienced that, nor anything like unto it, upon meeting a faithful friend. Perhaps the closest thing was when as a relatively new member of the church in NY, I was asked to perform the baptism for a convert young lady, Lisa Valderama. I was very nervous and had never before exercised the Priesthood. But the Spirit of God attended, and all went well. As I went to the dressing room behind the font to change clothes, I was suddenly overwhelmed by a great outpouring of love from my Father in Heaven as manifested through his Spirit. So much so and so astonished was I that I fell to my knees to give very heartfelt thanks. Now, whether or not I actually was so overjoyed that I lost my strength I do not recall. But it seemed like I either did, or was simply compelled to drop to my knees on the tile floor. I was wondering why the record states he fell again to the earth when it seemed like it was the first time. But the footnote shows that he fell to the earth with joy as he had when the Lamanites repented. “Now was not this exceeding joy?” What an understatement of a question! I, we, cannot comprehend such joy without experiencing it ourselves. And so says Mormon in his abridgment, “Behold, this is joy which none receiveth save it be the truly penitent and humble seeker of happiness.” And what is one of the secrets to receiving such joy? One must be repentant, and humble, and seek for joy. One must want joy to find joy! Do we want it? My thoughts once again are turned to a conversation with my best friend the other day, wherein she rather flippantly stated that some people simply don’t want to be happy, and I could not comprehend or accept that- until I read a scripture verse saying that very thing. And this verse seems to be a second witness. Some people simply choose or are more comfortable with misery than happiness, and some people seek joy. I must admit I know people like that. Now, whether they are simply miserable because of living an unrepentant and prideful life, or because they simply choose misery over joy, I cannot say. I do not know their heart. But generally speaking, it seems they not only prefer negativity and misery over joy and happiness, but they also seek to tear down those who have the joy they do not. Anyway, the important thing is that if we want joy— joy so great that it would exhaust our strength and ability to stand upon our feet— we can have it if we repent of our sins and humbly seek it.
Comments