Joy and Righteous Sorrow

I feel the need to amend and clarify a post I made a few days ago. In my post about Sacrifice, I talked about the constant joy and peace I feel as I do what the Lord has asked. This is absolutely true, and it's wonderful. But to say this alone is incomplete. I must add that constant peace and joy does not exclude the possibility, the certainty even, of sorrow in our lives.

Now, this sounds at first like an incongruity or an oxymoron. How can joy and sorrow coexist? Perhaps more importantly, if we are doing everything we are supposed to, why must we expect to still experience sorrow? I asked myself this question when I came to the scripture in the beatitudes that says, "Blessed are all they that mourn, for they shall be comforted." (3 Nephi 12:4) Obviously I can easily accept that Christ will comfort those that mourn; this is what He is all about. But why are those that mourn blessed? After studying the cross-references and thinking about it for a while I came to a conclusion for all these questions that sounds good, but may or may not be correct. Tell me what you think:

First, even when we do nothing to bring punishment upon ourselves through sin, simply living in this world carries with it the likelihood of natural disasters, trials brought on by other people's wrong choices, and normal hardships associated with life. God isn't going to stop every bad thing from happening, because they are opportunities for us to prove ourselves to Him and to be strengthened. It is natural and normal for us to feel sorrow when these things happen, and as it is stated in the scripture above, we will be comforted.

Second, just as God feels sorrow for the sins of the world, we who have knowledge of the truth can't help but feel sorrow for the way the world is going. I feel that I can especially understand why we would be blessed for this type of sorrow. It is a sorrow that comes as we feel compassion and love for a world that is "dwindling in unbelief." It is a godlike sorrow and brings us closer to Him. It is a sorrow that motivates us to share His gospel with the world.

I have experienced all three different kinds of sorrow at different times in my life and this is what I know: sorrow from sin is very different from natural sorrow or sorrow for the world. The first carries with it doubt, fear, hopelessness, uncertainty and turmoil. Righteous sorrow, on the other hand, is perfectly compatible with the faith, joy, peace, contentment and hope of the gospel. I can say with confidence that when we stay true to our covenants through our trials and hardships, the sorrow that we feel is quickly replaced with an even greater measure of love and joy. I can also testify that the peace that the spirit brings into our life can be ours constantly even through the many upheavals in the world.

If you take nothing else away from these thoughts, I want it to be that you shouldn't feel bad for not being happy all the time. I really believe that happiness is different from joy. I often feel happy, but not always. I consider happiness to be a pleasant emotional high that comes and goes according to many factors. Joy, on the other hand, is a gift of the spirit that can be yours constantly if you live as you know you should. It is a quiet feeling, sure and steadying. Joy, along with the other gifts of the spirit, are yours to have with you always, even through times of great sorrow, as long as you keep your baptismal covenants.