Joy (sunday's talk)

When I was younger, happy people would bug me. I just didn’t get it. I didn’t understand what anyone had to be so happy about. I often assumed they were being fake. I felt as though church was stopping us doing things that made “normal people” happy, we had to take a day out of our weekend to come to church, and take time out of our day to pray and study scriptures while everyone else watched TV or played video games. I eventually became so engrossed with trying to be happy in the moment that I ended being truly miserable. As most of you well know, I started coming back to church about a year ago. It was the feeling of being lost and in darkness that brought me back and coming back to church reminds me of the scripture in 1st Nephi, chapter 8, verse 8, which reads:

And after I had travelled for the space of many hours in darkness, I began to pray unto the lord that he would have mercy on me, according to the multitude of his tender mercies.

And then onto verse 11, which reads:

And it came to pass that I did go forth and partake of the fruit thereof; and I beheld that it was most sweet, above all that I ever before tasted.

Jumping to verse 12:

And as I partook of the fruit thereof it filled my soul with exceedingly great joy.

I liken my time away from church as the darkness. I like to call it “the dark years”. It was when I was struggling most that I began to pray again, in hopes I’ll be heard and forgiven, like Lehi in these verses. The gospel and church, is obviously the fruit. I needed to feel whole again.

I’d forgotten about JOY.

C S Lewis said “I sometimes wonder whether all pleasures are not substitutes for joy.”

The world doesn’t believe in joy, only being happy now. The world is also really strange it tries to make you believe you have to somehow make yourself miserable to become happy. You have to work 80 hours a week to have lots of money to spend on the next best gadget even though you bought the previous model only last week. You have to starve yourself of nutrition to become skinny and attractive. You have to poison your body with alcohol or drugs to feel instant happiness will probably only last 2 minutes. You have to gossip and bully and wear the right clothes at school or work to become part of the popular crowd.

Life is often confusing, always changing, wanting different things out of you, fashion changes, what is cool to watch on TV, slang words, the newest fad diets, the coolest football team to follow. It makes you miserable.

One thing that will always remain the same is the gospel of Jesus Christ. He doesn’t want us to fail. The gospel is simple and easy to follow. Heavenly father has given us the tools and skills to become happy and feel joy. The scriptures act as a constant book of instruction and answers. Make it a priority to read your scriptures. You wouldn’t go into an exam without revising. Well don’t go out into the world without revising the scriptures. Even if it’s just a few verses, the scriptures hold all the answers to any problems or prayers. I often flip the scriptures open at random and found answers to questions I didn’t even know I was asking.

If you ever think you’re alone, remember to pray, heavenly father and our brother in heaven are always there and ready to listen as long as you’re ready to talk, even if it’s something really small. I’ve recently been debating between final two projects at uni. A fairy tale based comic, or to convert the book of Mormon to a comic form. I got down on my knees and prayed, flipped open the scriptures. And it landed at Alma chapter 37. Verses 3 to 7 reads:

3 And these aplates of brass, which contain these engravings, which have the records of the holy scriptures upon them, which have the bgenealogy of our forefathers, even from the beginning—

4 Behold, it has been prophesied by our fathers, that they should be kept and ahanded down from one generation to another, and be kept and preserved by the hand of the Lord until they should go forth unto every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, that they shall know of the bmysteries contained thereon.

5 And now behold, if they are kept they must retain their brightness; yea, and they will retain their brightness; yea, and also shall all the plates which do contain that which is holy writ.

6 Now ye may suppose that this is afoolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by bsmall and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise.

7 And the Lord God doth work by ameans to bring about his great and eternal purposes; and by very bsmall means the Lord doth cconfound the wise and bringeth about the salvation of many souls.

If I had told someone outside of the church, they’d have considered this to be a coincidence, or that I was reading too deeply into the scripture, but in the same prayer I also asked about a mission as it’s been something I’ve been considering over the past month or so. In the same chapter, verses 33 to 37 reads:

33 aPreach unto them repentance, and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ; teach them to humble themselves and to be bmeek and lowly in heart; teach them to cwithstand every dtemptation of the devil, with their faith on the Lord Jesus Christ.

34 Teach them to never be weary of good works, but to be meek and lowly in heart; for such shall find arest to their souls.

35 O, remember, my son, and alearn bwisdom in thy cyouth; yea, learn in thy youth to keep the commandments of God.

36 Yea, and acry unto God for all thy support; yea, let all thy bdoings be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest let it be in the Lord; yea, let all thy cthoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea, let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever.

37 Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for bgood; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the cmorning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day.

One question answered could have easily been a complete fluke. But to have 2 completely different questions, with not much relevance to each other answered in the same chapter, has to be from Heavenly Father.

So, I would like to talk about some things outside of church that can make you happy and help bring joy to our lives.

First, is to smile. It’s been proven, that smiling even when you feel terrible can trick you’re brain into thinking you’re feeling happy. Smiling is as contagious as yawning, but a lot prettier. If you’re really struggling, put a pencil between your teeth for a minute or so. I’m one of those creepy people that enjoy smiling at strangers. Mostly just to see their reactions but this simple act can change someone’s day from bad to good in a matter of seconds. Those people will then more often than not smile at someone else, and change their day, and then that smile will then hop onto the next person and so on. Imagine if everyone simply smiled at each other a little more? The world would definitely be a better place.

Second, is to be you. Too many people think that they have to fit the mould to be happy. You have to be this shape, that size, have this haircut, wear those clothes, play this game, and have seen this movie to be “accepted”. Well as the saying goes, only dead fish go with the flow. I don’t know about you guys, but I’d much rather be a hammerhead shark, they’re a lot cooler than a dead fish. The only person that needs to accept you is yourself and Heavenly Father. We’re often told to be in the world, not of the world. Joy is knowing that you’ve been integral, you’ve done the right thing even when no one else is watching. It’s being brave enough to wear modest clothing even if it isn’t considered cool or the trendy thing to do. Be yourself. Set your own trends, you’ll be a lot cooler. It’s not going to see that inappropriate movie even if EVERYONE seems to be talking about it. Anyone that’s ever watched a seminary video knows how awesome they are. Why not spend your time watching an uplifting movie with your family. You’re less likely to sit there cringing all the way through at the terrible inappropriate jokes and more likely to have an awesome evening and feeling great after. Personally I would much rather be one of Jesus’s lambs, than a worldy sheep.

Third, is not to procrastinate. Putting important things off, or filling your time with things that only make you happy for a few moments to avoid things you have to do is not worth it. It only makes you worry, which makes you sick, which means you don’t have time for the things you need to do, which again makes you worry more, and makes you sicker. Know what is important, make them a priority, you’ll enjoy the other things a lot more knowing that you’ve done what you need to do beforehand. When Aaron set me apart for my calling, he said to remember to put God before all things and everything else will come in time. Being a student, I thought it would be difficult to prioritise reading scriptures daily and making time to pray properly. Even preparing young single adult activities may have been difficult. But by actually planning everything else around prayer and scripture study, everything else has become a lot easier. I also feel I have more time to study, and see the YSA.
Joy can be a hard thing to find. But just because you’re not happy in a single moment, does not mean you have no joy. Everyone faces challenges, temptation, bad days and fall outs, but without these things, we wouldn’t know how good the good things can be. Don’t let simple everyday misfortune let you forget the joy that the gospel brings.

I was going to aim this last bit at the Youth and YSA but I think it’s appropriate for everyone. If you ever feel like you’re struggling with church, or anything, please talk to your family, your leaders, or the bishop. You never have to feel like you’re on your own. Everyone has their struggles, everyone is tempted at times, it’s the unfortunate part of being human but it’s also a chance to prove how much we love our heavenly father; don’t let them take you away from the joys you find within the gospel.

I’d like to finish my talk by reading the opening 2 paragraphs of a really good talk given by Richard g Scott at the 1996 conference, titled finding joy in life. It’s definitely worth finding and reading it online. It reads:

“Recently I stood on the north shore of a beautiful Pacific island gazing out to sea at daybreak. I was fascinated by the regularity with which the gigantic waves consistently moved forward to break on the shoreline. It reminded me of the constancy of the plan of the Lord, with its fixed, eternal law, and the security of enduring justice and the tenderness of mercy when earned by obedience. I noticed that each wave would crest at a different point on the horizon to find its unique path to shore. Some cascaded over rocks, leaving rivulets of foaming, white water. Others burst on the shore in individual patterns. They slid up the moistened sand with playful frothy edges, then bubbled and swirled as they receded.
“I thought of the unending variety of possibilities the Lord has provided for us. We have so much freedom, so many opportunities to develop our unique personalities and talents, our individual memories, our personalized contributions. Since there would be no further opportunity to observe the majestic sea, I tried to imagine the glorious panorama the brilliant sun would later create. As I watched this magnificent scene in reverence, a window formed in the clouds; the glistening rays of the rising sun broke through the overcast sky, transforming everything with its luminescence, its colour, its life. It was as if the Lord wanted to share an additional blessing, a symbol of the light of His teachings that gives brilliance and hope to everyone it touches. Tears of gratitude formed for this wondrous world in which we live, for the extraordinary beauty our Heavenly Father so freely shares with all who are willing to see. Truly, life is beautiful."

And I leave you these things, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Hey everyone. So I gave a talk on Sunday at church. A lot of people spoke to me afterwards wishing that a friend or family member had been there to listen. So I figured the easiest way for me to do that would be to start a blog. I really enjoy writing, and although standing up and talking in public isn't my favourite thing, writing is an easy way to advise people who may be suffering and feeling similar things as me as I overcome them. My grammar is terrible, I make stupid jokes, but one thing most people have said, is I’m honest.

I'll start by giving you the basics about myself. My name is Sophia Margaret (I spell my middle name wrong every time) Giles. I was born in Cheltenham, St Pauls hospital (which no longer exists) on the 24th of March 1990, just before lunch time. I was born into The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints (nick named Mormons, or as many close friends call it, Moomins). I strayed away from the church when I turned 18, and returned last summer. I like cats, drawing, arty movies, root beer, weird toothpaste flavours, rain, late night conversations, and marshmallows. I read my horoscope most days. I’m currently studying Illustration in Birmingham and I’m focusing on narrative illustration (comic books, stories, picture books etc). I was diagnosed with depression at the beginning of the year. I’m slowly learning to deal with it although I still struggle at times, I’m the happiest I’ve probably ever been. I find the best way for me to cope is to help others through similar situations. I get homesick easily, but bored of being in the same place for too long. I’m love being on my own but I have the most AMAZING friends. That’s all you really need to know. I'm sure you'll figure the rest out as you read this blog =]

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