I was reading in Alma chapter 22 this evening in German (hence the reason I type out the verses in German as well as in English). In this chapter Aaron is teaching King Lamoni's father, who is also a king. Aaron teaches him about the creation, the Fall of Adam, and the Plan of Salvation which is made possible through Christ's Atonement. After this, the king asks Aaron what he needs to do to obtain eternal life. In verse 15 the king says: "...I will give up all that I possess, yea, I will forsake my kingdom, that I may receive this great joy." (which in German reads)...ich will alles hergeben, was ich besitze, ja, ich will meinem Koenigreich entsagen, damit ich diese grosse Freude empfangen kann.
In the next verse Aaron explains to the king what it is that he should do: "...if thou wilt bow down before God, yea, if thou wilt repent of all thy sins, and will bow down before God, and call on his name in faith, believing that ye shall receive, then shalt thou receive the hope which thou desirest." (which in German reads)...wenn du dich vor Gott niederbeugst, ja, wenn du von all deinen Suenden umkehrst und dich vor Gott niederbeugst und glaeubig seinen Namen anrufst, im Vertrauen darauf, dass du empfangen wirst, dann wirst du die Hoffnung empfangen, die du wuenschst.
I got kind of confused. In verse 15 the king says that he desires Freude (joy) but then in the next verse, Aaron teaches him what to do so that the king can receive the Hoffnung (hope) that he desires. But I thought the king desired joy? Then I asked myself: how do Freude (joy) and Hoffnung (hope) relate? Are they connected in any way? Of course then I had to do some research:
After making sure that I had translated the words Freude and Hoffnung correctly, I looked up the English words on dictionary.com. This is what I found:
Freude = joy = the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying
Hoffnung = hope = to believe, desire, or trust
As I read the definition for joy I thought about what it is that is exceptionally good or satisfying. I think that having hope, in the gospel sense, is exceptionally good and satisfying. But what does is mean to have hope according to the gospel? I could go on a whole other tangent about what hope means but I'll explain it with a quote and a scripture:
"The gospel is the good news of Christ. It is the revelation that the Son of God came to earth, lived a perfect life, atoned for our sins, and conquered death. It is the path of salvation, the way of hope and joy, and the assurance that God has a plan of redemption and happiness for His children." - Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "The Way of the Disciple", Ensign May 2009
Ether 12:4 - "Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God."
Continuing on the topic of hope, I found another quote which teaches more about how hope and joy are connected. The author had been talking about the pioneer Saints and then said, "These early Saints were indeed homeless, but they were not hopeless...They had learned a profound and important lesson. They had learned that hope, with its attendant blessings of peace and joy, does not depend upon circumstance. They had discovered that the true source of hope is faith - faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and in His infinite Atonement, the one sure foundation upon which to build our lives." Wilford W. Anderson, "The Rock of Our Redeemer", Liahona May 2010
So here we learn that the 'true source of hope is faith'. In 2 Nephi 2:25 we read, "...men are, that they might have joy." How do we have this joy? From the quote we learned that one of the blessings that comes from having hope is joy. In "True to the Faith" we also learn that, "With hope, you can find joy in life."
So by having faith in Christ, we obtain a hope, which gives us peace and joy.
After all this research, I thought about what had triggered this whole thing. I was confused as to why Aaron told the king that he would obtain the hope which he desired when really the king had said that he desired joy. Aaron was promising the king more than just joy. He promised him that if he would: bow down before God, repent of all his sins, call upon God's name in faith, and if he would believe that he would receive these things, then the king would receive hope. Which we know that one of the many blessings of hope is joy.
I've been thinking about why this caught my attention (and why after midnight which has lead me to now...almost 2am). I've probably read this chapter in Alma almost a hundred times. Lately I've realized that I'm not as happy as I would wish to be. It's not that I'm unhappy, because I'm not not happy. I've been happier. I've also been less happy. Anyway, as I was doing my research about hope and joy, I read this:
"Love is the fire that warms our lives with unparalleled joy and divine hope." Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "The Love of God", Liahona Nov 2009
I then thought, when was the last time I felt the love of God? I need to do more than I have been. I need to stop just going through the motions of praying every morning and night, reading my scriptures every day, and going to the temple every week. Those aren't bad things. But just going through the motions of doing them because I'm suppose to probably isn't the best. In General Conference this weekend I learned from Elder Scott that you get what you pay for. If I want to feel this 'unparalleled joy' that comes from love (which for me right now means the love of God) then I have to put forth the effort to feel it.
"Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God." Psalm 146:5
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