Alma 19:6 -- On Infusions of Joy

"Now, this was what Ammon desired, for he knew that king Lamoni was under the power of God; he knew that the dark veil of unbelief was being cast away from his mind, and the light which did light up his mind, which was the light of the glory of God, which was a marvelous light of his goodness—yea, this light had infused such joy into his soul, the cloud of darkness having been dispelled, and that the light of everlasting life was lit up in his soul, yea, he knew that this had overcome his natural frame, and he was carried away in God."
Alma 19:6


I really like the idea of infusing joy into our souls. Unconsciousness because of happiness doesn't seem all that bad. :) ... Of course, I think that some of it is perspective. Lamoni hadn't really known God before this, and so a lot of the joy that we already have in our lives was new to him. Which is something to think about, actually. If the joy that we already have in our lives, because of God, has the potential to render us unconscious, how much of it are we either not aware of, or have just assigned to background happiness and are focusing on other things?

Several years ago when I was teaching writing classes, I remember starting a class at a new college that I hadn't taught at before. The first assignment was a "Who Am I" paper, which is typically an easier assignment because it doesn't require research... you can just talk about yourself. That assignment had a big impact on me. Perhaps because of the particular demographic of that school, the assignments were overwhelming to read with regard to the things that those people had gone through in their lives, and overcome just to get to where they were, in a first-year college writing class. ... That reminds me of Lamoni a little bit, because after reading those papers I realized how overwhelmingly blessed I was in so many ways that I hadn't really even acknowledged before.

Today, let's think about Lamoni's experience, and be sure to invite the light of God into our minds and our souls. Let's take some time to realize how truly blessed we are, including the opportunity to have the knowledge of God and feel his love in our lives. Let's do all we can to lift others up and help them to feel that joy as well.