Glad Tidings

"Now, what do we hear in the gospel which we have received? A voice of gladness! A voice of mercy from heaven; and a voice of truth out of the earth; glad tidings for the dead; a voice of gladness for the living and the dead; glad tidings of great joy. How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of those that bring glad tidings of good things, and that say unto Zion: Behold, thy God reigneth! As the dews of Carmel, so shall the knowledge of God descend upon them!" (D&C 128:19). It's important to remember that the word gospel means Good News or Good Message or as it says above Glad Tidings of Great Joy. I know we've all done a lot of hard things and suffered a lot of grief and anguish in our attempts to become more like Christ, but we exist so that we might have joy. We came to this Earth to follow the Plan of Happiness. Yes, we have been asked to partake of the bitter, but we are also invited to partake of the sweet. This week we celebrate Christ's triumph over sin and death. If He can gain the victory over the grave and Hell itself, then surely He can vanquish whatever sources of misery and sadness that so easily beset us. Joy and gladness are not some brittle armor against the very real forces of bitterness and grief arrayed against us, nor are they reserved for a select privileged few. Gladness and joy are our birthright, the very reason that we were created. As we follow the Good News of the Gospel, as we seek to become more like Christ, the source of all Light and Goodness and Gladness, we will find more and more that peace and joy replace and overcome and transform the turmoil and pain that we have so often had to wade through.