How can I live the Gospel Joyfully?

This post may take up to fifteen minutes to read. Have you ever ask yourself a question that relates to living the gospel joyful? For an example, "How can I live the Gospel joyfully?"

This post is based on a October 2014 General Conference talk and it is called. "Living the Gospel Joyful" by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf." Today, I would like to share with you
some highlights while I was reading the talk and I hope you will learn something new.

"He is not waiting to love you until after you have overcome your weaknesses and bad habits. He loves you today with a full understanding of your struggles." - Dieter F. Utchdorf.

President Utchdorf mentioned, " .. And, of course, I am eternally grateful to my wife, Harriet, who enchanted me as a teen, bore the heaviest burdens of our young family as a mother, stands with me as a wife, and loves and cherishes our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. She has been the strength in our home during both good times and bad.
She brings sunshine into the lives of all who know her.

.. Daughters of God

.. It is good to remember that you are always a child of God. This knowledge will carry you through the most difficult times in your life and will inspire you to accomplish remarkable things. .. You will always and forever remain a daughter of God.

Your Heavenly Father has high aspirations for you, but your divine origin alone does not guarantee you a divine inheritance. God sent you here to prepare for a future greater
than anything you can imagine. ..

For this reason, we speak of walking the path of discipleship. We speak of obedience to God’s commandments. We speak of living the gospel joyfully, with all our heart, might, mind, and soul.

God Knows Something We Don’t

And yet for some of us, obedience to God’s commandments doesn’t always feel very joyful. .. Perhaps during times such as these, we might find ourselves asking, “Do we really need to obey all of God’s commandments?”

My response to this question is simple:

I think God knows something we don’t things that are beyond our capacity to comprehend! Our Father in Heaven is an eternal being whose experience, wisdom, and intelligence are infinitely greater than ours. .. He is also eternally loving, compassionate, and focused on one blessed goal: to bring to pass our immortality and eternal life.

In other words, He not only knows what is best for you; He also anxiously wants you to choose what is best for you.

If you believe this in your hearts if you truly believe the great mission of our Heavenly Father is to exalt and glorify His children and that He knows best how to do it, doesn’t
it make sense to embrace and follow His commandments, even the ones that appear difficult? ..

They mark the way back to our heavenly home! By choosing Heavenly Father’s path, you lay a divine foundation for your personal progress as a daughter of God that will bless you throughout your life.

Part of our challenge is, I think, that we imagine that God has all of His blessings locked in a huge cloud up in heaven, refusing to give them to us unless we comply with some strict, paternalistic requirements He has set up. But the commandments aren’t like that at all. .. It is our fear, doubt, and sin that, like an umbrella, block these blessings from reaching us.

.. We need to accept that the commandments of God aren’t just a long list of good ideas. .. So we have a choice. On the one hand, there is the opinion of the world with its ever-changing theories and questionable motives. On the other hand, there is God’s word to His children, His eternal wisdom, His certain promises, and His loving instructions for returning to His presence in glory, love, and majesty.

The choice is yours!

.. He is offering the grand recipe for happiness, peace, and eternal life! To qualify for these glorious blessings, you must humble yourself, exercise faith, take upon you the name of Christ, seek Him in word and deed, and resolutely “stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places.”

The Why of Obedience

Once you understand the true nature of God and His commandments, you will also better understand yourselves and the divine purpose of your existence. With this, your motivation for following the commandments changes, and it becomes your heart’s desire to live the gospel joyfully. ..

Living the Gospel Joyful

My dear sisters in the gospel, whether you are 8 or 108, there is one thing that I hope you truly understand and know: You are loved. You are dear to your heavenly parents. The infinite and eternal Creator of light and life knows you! He is mindful of you. Yes, God loves you this very day and always.

He is not waiting to love you until you have overcome your weaknesses and bad habits. He loves you today with a full understanding of your struggles. He is aware that you reach up to Him in heartfelt and hopeful prayer. He knows of the times you have held onto the fading light and believed even in the midst of growing darkness. He knows of your sufferings. He knows of your remorse for the times you have fallen short or failed.
And still He loves you.

And God knows of your successes; though they may seem small to you, He acknowledges and cherishes each one of them. He loves you for extending yourself to others. He loves you for reaching out and helping others bear their heavy burdens even when you are struggling with your own.

He knows everything about you. He sees you clearly. He knows you as you really are. And He loves you today and always!

.. He loves you not only for who you are this very day but also for the person of glory and light you have the potential and the desire to become. More than you could ever imagine, He wants you to achieve your destiny to return to your heavenly home in honor.

.. It is my prayer that you will experience a renewed and an expanded measure of the beautiful love of God in your lives; that you will find the faith, determination, and commitment to learn God’s commandments, treasure them in your hearts, and
live the gospel joyful.

I promise that as you do so, you will discover your best self your real self. You will discover what it truly means to be a daughter of the everlasting God, the Lord of all righteousness. 

I would like to encourage you to read the whole talk in your own time and here is the link. www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/10/living-the-gospel-joyful

That is all from me for now, I will be posting again sometime tomorrow, pacific daylight time zone.