Jesus Christ - Our Only Way to Hope & Joy

Jesus, the very thought of thee With sweetness fills my breast; But sweeter far thy face to see And in thy presence rest.

O hope of ev’ry contrite heart, O joy of all the meek, To those who fall, how kind thou art! How good to those who seek!

Jesus, our only joy be thou, As thou our prize wilt be; Jesus, be thou our glory now, And thru eternity.

I have always loved that beautiful hymn. Several years ago, I took that hymn and "I Need Thee Every Hour" and made a medley for one of my daughters and her friend to sing for a devotional. My oldest daughter loved to hear her sister sing anything, but this now became her favorite song to listen to! The beauty of words and the power of the message in them made it the perfect song to be sung three short years later at Adrianne's funeral - by her sweet sister and her friend! It was breathtaking! They sounded like angels!

I have always been grateful for my testimony of Jesus Christ. After my daughter passed away, my testimony became my strength. I felt so much love for the Savior. He is the One who makes it possible for me to be with my daughter again! He is my hope and my joy now and through eternity!

Chapter 1 of Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Howard W. Hunter begins by asking these questions: "How often do we think of the Savior? How deeply and how gratefully and how adoringly do we reflect on His life? How central to our lives do we know Him to be?" I love that our final lesson from President Benson's teachings was about living a Christ-centered life and we begin President Hunter's teachings with a beautiful reminder that "we must know Christ better than we know him; we must remember him more often than we remember him; we must serve him more valiantly than we serve him." While it is probably a little easier to do a self-evaluation around Christmas when we naturally think more of the Savior, try to be kinder to each other and serve our fellowman, this time of year is also a great time to commit to keep doing them.

The first part of the lesson comes from the April 1993 LDS General Conference talk given by President Hunter, titled "Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee." He uses the words from that hymn to remind us that "thoughts of Jesus, which 'with sweetness [fill our] breast,' ought . . . to be far more frequent and much more constant in all times and seasons of our lives." He also reminds us that, "Sooner or later, and we pray sooner than later, everyone will acknowledge that Christ’s way is not only the right way, but ultimately the only way to hope and joy."

That reminded me of something Sheri Dew said in her April 1999 LDS General Conference talk titled "Our Only Chance." She said:

"Each one of us is on the path towards our eternal home. And for various reasons we all need rescue—rescue from loneliness and heartache, from despair and disillusionment, from the consequences of innocent mistakes and blatant sin.

Where do we turn for help? 'In the gift of his Son hath God prepared a more excellent way' (Ether 12:11). The Savior isn’t our last chance; He is our only chance. Our only chance to overcome self-doubt and catch a vision of who we may become. Our only chance to repent and have our sins washed clean. Our only chance to purify our hearts, subdue our weaknesses, and avoid the adversary. Our only chance to obtain redemption and exaltation. Our only chance to find peace and happiness in this life and eternal life in the world to come.

. . . The Lord knows the way because He is the way."

The whole talk is amazing and definitely worth reading!

The middle part of the lesson comes from President Hunter's October 1992 LDS General Conference talk, titled "The Beacon in the Harbor of Peace." He tells us, "The greatest need in all the world is an active and sincere faith in the basic teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, the living Son of the living God." What a great reminder that our faith must be both active and sincere. If we truly follow the Savior's example, our lives truly will be full of hope and joy - no matter what! His power calmed the stormy seas and can still calm the storms in our lives, if we have faith.

The final part of the lesson comes from a BYU Devotional talk President Hunter gave on March 14, 1989, titled "Fear Not, Little Flock." While I really loved the whole lesson, this part was my favorite. What an important reminder that when our lives are centered on the Savior, we have nothing to fear. While there will most definitely be challenges in life, our faith in Jesus Christ will carry us through. I have such a strong testimony of that! Two quotes that really say that beautifully are:

"Life is wonderful, even in the hard times, and there is happiness, joy, and peace at stops all along the way, and endless portions of them at the end of the road."

"If our lives and our faith are centered upon Jesus Christ and his restored gospel, nothing can ever go permanently wrong. On the other hand, if our lives are not centered on the Savior and his teachings, no other success can ever be permanently right. "

This last quote, I think, is the perfect New Year's Resolution!

"You have and will have worries and challenges of many kinds, but embrace life joyfully and full of faith. Study the scriptures regularly. Pray fervently. Obey the voice of the Spirit and the prophets. Do all that you can to help others. You will find great happiness in such a course. Some glorious day all your worries will be turned to joys."