Life is delightful-Cortney Black

There are many things in our lives that we can delight in. To delight in something is to find, “a high degree of pleasure or enjoyment; joy; rapture-something that gives great pleasure.” I thought of four things that all people should delight in, no matter what their circumstances are.
The first is to delight in the scriptures. We have been counseled by our leaders to read the scriptures countless times. We have been told that each time we read them we will find something new, something just for us. President Spencer W. Kimball said, “Each of us, at some time in our lives, must discover the scriptures for ourselves-and not just discover them once, but rediscover them again and again.” The more we read the scriptures, the more we will learn and in turn we will receive blessings. In 2 Nephi 4:15 it reads, “And upon these I write the things of my soul, and many of the scriptures which are engraven upon the plates of brass. For my soul delighteth in the scriptures, and my heart pondereth them, and writeth them for the learning and the profit of my children.” If we are able to say, like Nephi, that we truly delight in reading and pondering the scripture, than I feel, that we have made the first step, but now we must continue to feast from them.
The Sabbath day was created for us to rest from our usual routine and to do what is pleasing unto God. We should delight in the Sabbath day and take advantage of it and its purposes. In Isaiah 58:13-14 it says, “If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing they pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob they father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.” If we set this one day aside for the Lord, we will be blessed and, “ride upon the high places of the earth.” President Spencer W. Kimball has counseled us to not let the Sabbath day turn into simply a day of rest. He said, “The Sabbath is a holy day in which to do worthy and holy things. Abstinence from work and recreation is important but insufficient. The Sabbath calls for constructive thoughts and acts, and if one merely lounges about doing nothing on the Sabbath, he is breaking it. To observe it, one will be on his knees in prayer, preparing lessons, studying the gospel, meditating, visiting the ill and distressed, sleeping, reading wholesome material, and attending all the meetings of that day to which he is expected. To fail to do these proper things is a transgression on the omission side.” We must be actively engaged in a good cause and doing things to further this gospel on the earth. We must delight in the opportunity we have once a week to dedicate a whole day to these purposes.
We should delight in service. What a wonderful thing it is, to be able to use your strengths and talents to help those in need. We have been counseled repeatedly to serve those in need. In Mosiah 2:17 it reads, “When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.” What an amazing opportunity we have to serve others, and in turn serve our God. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ showed us the perfect examples of giving ones self for service, Jesus Christ gave his life. In 3 Nephi 27:27 it says, “And know ye that ye shall be judges of this people, according to the judgment which I shall give unto you, which shall be just. Therefore, what manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am.” We have had an example of how to serve, and now we must in turn serve others. President James E. Faust said, “God knows you and what you can become because He has known you from the beginning when you were His spirit sons and daughters. What you become will depend in large measure upon how you follow righteous principles and do good works.” We must do good works to reach our full potential, and if we do not delight in doing these acts of service, they do not mean anything. One must delight in what they are doing to have it reach its full effects.
The last I have thought of seems very odd to delight in, but in order to learn all that we need to in this life; we must delight in our trials and hard times. Everyone is given their own trials that are suited just for them. What an amazing thing that is, to have our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ know us so well, that they know what we can handle and learn from. We will never be given a trial that is more than we can handle. Sometimes it is more than we, by ourselves can handle, but with the Lord’s help we will make it. One such time in my own life was when my family moved from a small town in Oregon to Utah four years ago. This was a very hard time for me and I had a hard time adjusting to the large school, city and different people. Until I turned to my parents and the Lord for help I continued to struggle. It was not until I realized that I needed the Lord’s help to make it through this trial in my life, was I able to thrive on the trial and opportunity I had been given and learn from it.
In D&C 121: 7, 8 it reads, “My son, peace be unto they soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all they foes.” What an amazing promise that is, to know that if we delight in our trials and persevere through them, we will be exalted on high. Trials are given to us to make us better people and to learn from them. President Brigham Young once said, “The thorns that prick, that stick in the flesh, that hurt, often change lives which seem robbed of significance and hope. This change comes about through a refining process which often seems cruel and hard. In this way the soul can become like soft clay in the hands of the Master in building lives of faith, usefulness, beauty, and strength. For some, the refiner’s fire causes a loss of belief and faith in God, but those with eternal perspective understand that such refining is part of the perfection process.” I love how Brigham Young says that these times of trial can be cruel and hard, but if we can make it through these it is part of our perfection process. To show the extent of the blessings we will receive when we have made it through our trials, in D&C 58: 3-4 it reads, “Ye cannot behold with your natural eyes, for the present time, the design of your God concerning those things which shall come hereafter, and the glory which shall follow after much tribulation. For after much tribulation come the blessings. Wherefore the day cometh that ye shall be crowned with much glory, the hour is not yet, but nigh at hand.” I can not help but delight in my trials after reading that scripture. It says that we cannot even imagine with our natural eyes what it will be like once we have made it through our trials, what an amazing promise that is.
There are many more things that we should delight in as we live our life on earth. We have been blessed with so much by the Lord, and in turn we should show him how grateful we are for everything by delighting in what we have. I hope that we can all delight in the things that we experience and are given in this life, and know that we experience everything for the great promise we have been given of eternal life.

Sources:

1) Book of Mormon
2) The Holy Bible-King James Version
3) The Miracle of Forgiveness: President Spencer W. Kimball
4) Doctrine and Covenants
5) Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young
6) www.dictionary.com