How Great Shall Be Your Joy

By Elizabeth Ricks

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).

Have you noticed that when you share something like a treat or a toy, you feel good? Of course you have. You can share things other than treats or toys, like knowledge. Sharing knowledge can bring great joy—not just to the receiver but also to the giver. The best kind of knowledge to share is the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Nine-year-old Ashley felt the joy of sharing the gospel. After Ashley was challenged to share a copy of the Book of Mormon, Ashley’s father drove her to her school principal’s house, and Ashley gave a Book of Mormon to her. Ashley also gave the full-time missionaries her principal’s name. What joy Ashley felt! (See “Nine-Year-Old Member Missionary,” Friend, July 1997, 42–43.)

The most important thing you can share is the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Lord called Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer to preach the gospel. He explained the happiness they would receive:

“And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!

“And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me!” (D&C 18:15–16).

We show our faith in Jesus Christ when we share the gospel with others. And what great joy we receive when we help others know of Jesus Christ and of our Heavenly Father’s plan.

Activity

Write your name under one of the missionary figures. Cut it out, and glue it onto heavy paper. In family home evening, put your missionary figure next to each picture, and explain to your family how the person in each situation is being a missionary. Ask your family to act out the situations in the pictures or different situations they think of and let you practice sharing the gospel.

Illustrations by Phyllis Cahill

Note: If you do not wish to remove pages from the magazine, this activity may be copied or printed from the Internet at www.lds.org. For English, click on “Gospel Library.” For other languages, click on “Languages.”

Sharing Time Ideas

Prepare several pieces of paper on which you have written actions that set an example, good and bad. Have some children each draw one piece of paper from a box. Take turns reading them. Have the children decide if the situation sets a good example or a bad example. Attach the papers to the chalkboard under either a “Good Example” heading or a “Bad Example” heading. For example, “I wear modest clothing” would go under “Good Example,” and “I swear sometimes” would go under “Bad Example.” Help the children look up, read, and memorize Matthew 5:16. Bear your testimony that Jesus Christ set the example for all of us.
Ask the children to think of a time when they hear others bear testimony. Explain that even though testimony meeting is a time for sharing testimonies, we can bear our testimonies at other times too. Look up 2 Timothy 1:7–8. President Gordon B. Hinckley has said, “I wish that every member of this Church would put those words where he might see them every morning as he begins his day” (“Be Not Afraid,” Liahona, Feb. 2005, F2). He says that those words will give us courage, faith, and strength. Have the children write out verse 7 and the first part of verse 8 to take home and place it where they can see it every morning. Help the children feel the power of the testimonies of the prophets and apostles. If available, play a recording of a testimony from general conference or from the video Special Witnesses of Christ. Or read from an issue of the Liahona.