Transcript www.kevinhinckley.com Now My Joy is Full Before I leave… 3 Nephi 17 1 Behold, now it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken.

www.kevinhinckley.com
Now My Joy is Full
Before I leave…
3 Nephi 17
1 Behold, now it came to pass that
when Jesus had spoken these words
he looked round about again on the multitude, and he
Whatsaid
(and unto
how) does
he wantBehold,
us to ponder?
them:
my time is at hand (to show
myself to the other tribes of Israel).
2 I perceive that ye are weak, that ye cannot understand
all my words which I am commanded of the Father to
speak unto you at this time.
3 Therefore, go ye unto your homes, and ponder upon the
things which I have said, and ask of the Father, in my
name, that ye may understand, and prepare your minds
for the morrow, and I come unto you again.
Interesting Sequence…
…they brought their little children and
set them down upon the ground
round about him,
and Jesus stood in the midst…
And … he commanded the multitude
that they should kneel down upon
the ground.
…And when he had said these words,
he himself also knelt upon the
earth; and behold he prayed unto
the Father…
And as they looked to behold they
cast their eyes towards heaven,
and they saw the heavens open,
and they saw angels descending
out of heaven as it were in the
midst of fire; and they came down
and encircled those little ones
about
Ministering Angels
The People
The Children
The
Savior
The Reaction?
18 And it came to pass that when Jesus had made
an end of praying unto the Father, he arose; but
so great was the joy of the multitude that they
were overcome.
19 And it came to pass that Jesus spake unto
them, and bade them arise.
20 And they arose from the earth, and he said
unto them: Blessed are ye because of your faith.
And now behold, my joy is full.
21 And when he had said these words, he wept,
Question
To what extent is His eternal joy dependent
on us?
Conversely, to what extent is OUR eternal
joy dependent on others?
Catherine Thomas
Rendering comfort, relief, and healing knowledge
belong to eternity. The whole host of heaven
serves the cause of the healing and exaltation of
God's children. Such simple virtues will continue
into the eternities.
Whatever Christ models for us is designed to
endure in us. Whatever he teaches us he
himself practices. Jesus, even though master of
all, is servant of all. (Matt. 20:27.)
Studies in Scripture, Vol. 8: Alma 30 to Moroni, 172- 181
Elder Bruce Hafen
He wept—he who had descended below all things, the
Man of Sorrows, he who bore all our griefs. The height
of his infinite capacity for joy is the inverse, mirror
image of the depth of his capacity to bear our
burdens.
So it is with the enlarged caverns of feeling within our
own hearts: as the sorrows of our lives carve and
stretch those caverns, they expand our soul's capacity
for joy.
Then, when the Man of Sorrows turns our bitter tastes to
sweet, our joy—and his—will fill the widened chambers
Sorrow with what the scriptures
Joy call "fulness."
of our hearts
Love
That is whenLosswe have accepted his Atonement
and love
Pain
Charity
with such completeness that his purpose for us is fully
satisfied. Then will we know that we were made for
this.
Then will we know where, and why, and to whom, we
belong.
Belonging Heart: The Atonement and Relationships with God and Family, 315
To Gain Fullness
At BYU one often hears some student who is chafing
against the standards say, "Teach us the principles,
and then let us govern ourselves,"
a misquoting of the Prophet that really means, "Put the
rules in a pamphlet and stop enforcing them."
For such as these, rules are a blessing from God. Without all three
prerequisites (correct understanding of the principles, the guidance
of the Holy Ghost, and the desire to obey) principle-based living will
fail.
The danger of teaching the law of love is that invariably some spiritually
immature persons will pit love against obedience. That will not work.
We can keep the commandments through principles, like the law of
love, or keep them through individual rules—but we can't keep the
command to love God by breaking his commandments
Stephen Robinson, Believing Christ Footnotes, Chapter Six
Elder Neal Maxwell
During the last month or so, my mind has turned to a colleague of many years ago at the University
of Utah. Dr. Reed Merrill was a distinguished educational psychologist… he had been inactive in
the Church and inattentive to spiritual things, though a good person.
Then, in the early 1980s he was stirred spiritually by the Lord. I could see it when he came to visit
me twice. He wrote two powerful letters regarding the comparative emptiness of his secular
discipline with the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. These observations meant a lot because
they came from a man of unquestioned intellect and integrity. Other catalytic things were
happening, unbeknownst to me, including his daughter's service on a mission, to say nothing of a
wonderful wife.
Reed called me sometime before his daughter's sealing, asking if I would perform her sealing. I said,
"I would be delighted." I think I had an intervening trip overseas, but asked, "Reed, will you be
there?"
With his typical integrity, he said, "Neal, you know me well enough to know I won't be there unless I
am fully worthy to be there." When the morning came for the sealing in the Salt Lake Temple, I
waited with particular anticipation.
Then Reed came down the corridor of the temple. We embraced, and he said, "Neal, I made it!" He
had come home! Subsequently, he taught in his high priests group and in various classes. It was
a spiritual renaissance in his life, a marvelous thing to see. How wonderful it is when anybody
comes home!
Yesterday, when I reviewed my handwritten notes used ten years ago at Reed's funeral, they included
words of gratitude for what I called, even back then, "the intersections of our lives"--Reed's and
mine. The most important thing to be said about Reed Merrill when he departed from this life
was that he exited "in spiritual crescendo."
Such things bring joy!
“Brim with Joy”, BYU Devotional, Jan 1996