Discussion Questions and Ideas for "The Joy of the Saints" by Elder D. Todd Christofferson
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"The Joy of the Saints" by Elder D. Todd Christofferson reminds us of three ways we can find enduring joy from the Lord, Jesus Christ no matter what our lives might look like.
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Questions to Ponder
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What does joy mean to you?
How are life circumstances and our life focus different? How can circumstances in our lives help improve our life focus?
How does focusing our lives on the Plan of Salvation give us joy?
Why do you think some question the importance of keeping the commandments? How can we keep ourselves from rationalizing them away?
How does keeping the commandments bring us joy? What experiences have you had?
What are some of the trials, challenges, or tragedies that can interrupt our joy?
How can we turn our experience of trials, challenges, and tragedies into joy?
How do we find joy in ministering? What does that look like to you?
How does serving as Christ would help us be joyful?
How can we help each other, including our families, find joy?
Why does our joy depend on our focus and not on our circumstances? Have you ever felt joyful in difficult circumstances? How and why?
Is the process of becoming Christ-like joyful to you? Why or why not? How can we focus on our little triumphs and on our progress instead of some perfect end result?
Do you feel that people who break the commandments enjoy more of the good things of life than those who follow God’s law? Why or why not?
In Malachi 3:14-18, God promises that those who keep his laws will be rewarded eventually. What do you think we need to do to be one of his jewels?
In the Gospel of John and in First Nephi, God promises that keeping the commandments and will bring us joy. How have you felt that?
Looking at Brother Rushton's situation, how do you think he felt joy when he was in such dire circumstances and feeling depressed? Have you ever experienced joy during depression or total stress? How can we help one another to do that? How do we prepare ourselves to be able to feel that?
What helps you feel joy in making progress along the way to your goal? What changes can you make so that you can feel more joyful in your day-to-day efforts?
How has serving the Lord by helping to redeem the saints helped you to feel joy?
In what ways have you experienced that ‘joy is a gift for faithful Saints “who have endured the crosses of the world” and who are “intentionally trying to live a righteous life, as taught by Jesus Christ.”’?
How can we help ourselves and others to feel the joy that living the gospel brings? How can we teach people to give up happy ways and replace them with joyful ways? Who needs the joy of the gospel?
Use this bird coloring page to remind your class that the following the Lord’s commandments feels like a captured bird being freed.
Discussion Ideas
Secretly draw a road on the board with several potholes and other damage. Then cover them up with paper bushes, trees, another car, etc. Ask everyone to tell you how to take a car from one part of the road to the other then reveal what’s underneath all those objects. If we can’t see the potholes on the road, how are we supposed to avoid them? Then share how Elder Christofferson says how God created His commandments with an eternal perspective to help us avoid these potholes. How can this help us want to keep the commandments? How else does this help us?
Do you have a story you can share about how the Lord turned your trial and sorrow into joy? If not, ask someone else to share their story ahead of time. You can also turn to Philippians for a lot of examples from Paul about how the gospel brings us joy no matter our circumstances. How does that work? Why does it work? Are we sometimes afraid to try it?
Elder Christofferson mentions three ways we can find joy as Saints: through keeping the commandments, through overcoming our trials and sorrows with Christ, and through service. Write these three categories on the board then ask for examples or personal experiences in each one. Are we hesitant to put God’s promise to the test sometimes? What keeps us from seeking and finding joy?
What are some things that bring you joy? Not just a moment of happiness but real, lasting joy. You may want to read the definition from the Guide to Scriptures. Write down the answers on the board then go back through and circle the ones that fall under the three ways Elder Christofferson mentioned. Why is this type of joy lasting? How do we hold on to more of this type of joy? How do we allow it to be stolen? How do we safeguard our joy? Who can we share our joy with?
There were a bunch of talks that spoke about joy this General Conference. Ask people to guess which talk you are teaching based on the word joy. What did those others talks teach us about joy as well? Maybe you can combine two when teaching.
If you are teaching this lesson around Christmas, tie in the hymn, “Joy to the World.” You can listen to this version from The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square first. Then ask, what does that hymn teach us about joy and tie it back into Elder Christofferson’s talk.
