A fullness of Joy

Joaquin, welcome to the program.

Dear Family,

Transfers. I`m staying with my companion..... sooo there`s nothing new. To be honest, I thought he would be leaving, and that I would train my last 2 transfers but I guess that`s not what the Lord wants. It`s weird because just when you think that you`re at the end of your mission; you already know alot of things, you think that there`s not really much left to learn just work until the end, The Lord shows you otherwise. I`m learning a TON of patience and charity. 

Besides that, I am having a great time working with the members, finding great new people, and working on bettering myself! Thank you for all your letters, prayers, and encouragement. I don`t really have an experience that stood out. Just that I`ve seen the power of being a true representative of Jesus Christ and seeing lives change, even my own. 

I would like to talk about the joy I feel because it seems as if some people don`t understand the JOY of being a missionary. What is joy? It`s a little more than happiness. Happiness comes from completing desires, or what you set out for. The world can even feel happy as they sin. That`s why the keep sinning because it makes them feel good. You can also feel happy as you do what`s right. Joy is a different level of happiness in which the world cannot and does not feel. As we look in Alma 29:10, joy comes from the repentant sinner. As we repent and draw nearer to God, we feel a great joy. ``There can be nothing so exquisite and sweet as was my joy (Alma 36:21).´´ However, the joy is not full. If we continue in Alma 29:13, as we share the gospel and what we`ve felt, we experience a fullness of joy. This is confirmed in 3 Nefi 28 at the end of verse 9 and beginning of verse 10. This is how I feel and all the missionaries in the world. We have this fullness of joy that cannot be contained. Continuing in Alma 29:14, his joy was MORE full because of the success of his brotheren. So here are the levels;

Happiness = Fulfilling one`s desires

Joy = Having repented

Fullness of Joy = Sharing the gospel

Joy is even more full = Success of our family, friends in sharing the gospel

And there are no limits! 

-Elder Walker