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In church you typically hear about "true happiness and joy" which is different than the happiness and joy "of the world." My interpretation has always been that it is supposed to be deeper and longer lasting. I'm not sure how others interpret it.

The question is, what is the LDS definition of joy?
How is Mormon Joy different from the joy everyone else experiences?
Can everyone, regardless of belief system, experience "true joy" or is it reserved for Mormon's only?

There's a book called the the discovery of Joy. I read it when I was young. It was one of my favorites. The author - Richard Ere - wrote about three types of joy: appreciation of earth, your body, your free agency; relationships and achievements; I think the third was like a celestial joy/ something like that...I like it. Kind of sugary but cool at the time.

It's like an Almond Joy, only made with white chocolate.

just me wrote:In church you typically hear about "true happiness and joy" which is different than the happiness and joy "of the world." My interpretation has always been that it is supposed to be deeper and longer lasting. I'm not sure how others interpret it.

The question is, what is the LDS definition of joy?
How is Mormon Joy different from the joy everyone else experiences?
Can everyone, regardless of belief system, experience "true joy" or is it reserved for Mormon's only?

It appears you are asking about the emotion not the state of life (i.e. the good life)?

So you are talking about:

joy = satisfaction, pleasure, euphoria

or

joy = positive relationships and social interaction, extraversion, marital status, employment, health, democratic freedom, economic status

If we are truly talking about the emotion, that is going to be tough. I don't even know where to start so I'll pass on this thread. But it is very interesting!

Well, I mostly want to know what it means at church when they talk about "true joy" as opposed to "wordly happiness" or pleasure. It seems like it is supposed to be better, but nobody ever says what exactly it is.

just me wrote:...nobody ever says what exactly it is.

Exactly what I was thinking. Has the emotion "joy" ever truly been defined in Mormonism? You have to be careful with this definition because it might involve pleasure and "joy" to a Mormon is supposed to involve words such as sacrifice, duty, love, devotion, faith, etc. But I think it is rare you hear the details of the emotion itself described.

I guess you could say "tingling" or peaceful feeling or even a "warmth all over" but those still get into the pleasure, satisfaction, euphoria zone, which is dangerous.

I'm interested in what people have to say!

I guess you could say "tingling" or peaceful feeling or even a "warmth all over" but those still get into the pleasure, satisfaction, euphoria zone, which is dangerous.

Interesting. All the non-lds commentary I've heard or read about joy make it a point that Christian joy is specifically NOT these things.

Hoops wrote:Interesting. All the non-lds commentary I've heard or read about joy make it a point that Christian joy is specifically NOT these things.

What terms do the non-lds folks use to describe joy (the emotion), may I ask?

zeezrom wrote:

Hoops wrote:Interesting. All the non-lds commentary I've heard or read about joy make it a point that Christian joy is specifically NOT these things.

What terms do the non-lds folks use to describe joy, may I ask?

I think the best adjective is "assurance". A sense of belonging in a inextricable way. Eternal ties to God that brings one peace. And that peace is a component of joy.

Since joy is never defined by the Bible we can only determine its meaning based on other biblical passages.

Hoops wrote:I think the best adjective is "assurance". A sense of belonging in a inextricable way. Eternal ties to God that brings one peace. And that peace is a component of joy.

I am not a philosophy guy so I'm having a hard time with this topic. I humbly ask, how is "assurance" an emotion? Is not assurance nothing more than a condition that might provide someone joy?

I'm curious about descriptions of the actual emotion itself.

Ignore me if you want. I don't really know what the hell I'm talking about.

Just Me, I didn't mean to derail your thread. I'll stop now.