By ASHLEY EYRIN
Commitment to being alive in Christ was the focus of Tuesday’s Devotional in the Marriott Center.
Elder Neal A. Maxwell, member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, spoke to a large crowd of BYU students and faculty about ways to find joy in living the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The intertwining of people and events in life, usually called coincidences, are actually products of the Lord’s divine design, Elder Maxwell said.
To receive true happiness one must keep the Lord’s commandments, not the commandments of man, he said.
Elder Maxwell asked the rhetorical question, “What are you all really and seriously deprived of with gospel living?”
He answered the question by naming some consequences of not living the gospel. He said alcoholism, AIDS and other ailments result from a lack of restraint from worldly pleasures.
“Those surfing in life’s pleasures will crash,” Elder Maxwell said. “By faith in the plan of salvation, we are inspired to keep the law of chastity, and we are able to cope with adversity.”
Elder Maxwell said joy is of a higher order than pleasure. Pleasure has a short shelf life, and does not last because it is constantly feeding on itself.
The lens through which one views proportionality becomes more clear when gospel principles are followed, Elder Maxwell said. One gains perspective from the principles of Christ.
“There is a natural human desire to belong,” he said. It is important not to go against that need but to distinguish between belonging in an approximate way and belonging in an ultimate way.
Elder Maxwell urged the audience to contribute to the self-esteem of others in order to foster their sense of belonging.
This joy of belonging overrides the monotonous routine of everyday life and renews itself, Elder Maxwell said. The gospel creates a marvelous sense of excitement from the joy it brings.
“Among your most cherished friends will be those whom you bring into the church and those you reactivate,” he said.
“Nature resists us and admonishes us to wait,” he said. “Patience is the flip side of God’s long suffering — they go together.”
With the blessings from the gospel, one can find lasting joy, receive personal revelation and commit to being alive in Christ, Elder Maxwell said.
