Editor’s note: To support elders quorum and Relief Society classes, the Church News is publishing lesson resources on messages from October 2024 general conference. These are meant to be a starting point and not a lesson plan.
About this talk
- “Welcome to the Church of Joy”
- by Elder Patrick Kearon | Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
- Sunday afternoon session of October 2024 general conference.
- Theme: All Saints can contribute to making sacrament meetings alive with a spirit of joyful reverence.
Read the full message here.
Read a summary of Elder Kearon’s message here.
Outline
- No matter when a Latter-day Saint was baptized or in which congregation they meet, “I would like to say to you, welcome to the church of joy.”
The church of joy
- Because of Heavenly Father’s loving plan and the Savior’s redeeming life, believers should be the most joyful people on earth. Even through the storms of life, they can cultivate joy and inner peace because of hope in Christ and understanding of God’s plan.
- Latter-day Saints are members of the church of joy, and nowhere should this joy be more apparent than in sacrament meetings to worship the source of all joy. All can contribute to making sacrament meetings alive with a spirit of joyful reverence.
Joyful reverence
- Reverence is more than folding arms and closing eyes; it’s a deep love, honor and respect for God from a soul that rejoices in Christ. This joyful reverence to the Lord should characterize sacred sacrament meetings.
Attending versus worshipping
- Sacrament meeting attendees “worship,” or intentionally praise and adore God in a way that transforms them — not simply “attend,” or be present at.
On the stand and in the congregation
- Those who sit on the stand — speakers, leaders and choirs — communicate a welcome to the church of joy through their facial expressions.
Hymn singing
- When members of the congregation sing, they join together to praise their God and King as a prayer unto Him.
Talks and testimonies
- Sacrament meeting talks and testimonies center on Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ and the fruits of humbly living Their gospel.
The sacrament
- The “glorious focal point of our services” is the blessing and receiving of the sacrament, to reflect on the Savior’s sacrifice and wonder with grateful awe at Jesus’ magnificent gift.
- The sacrament is a time to reflect on the Lord’s love, the joy of daily repentance and Christ’s victory over all that might prevent believers from returning to their heavenly home.
Parents with children who are young or have special needs
- Throughout the week, parents of children who are young or have special needs can teach by example the love, gratitude and joy they feel for the Savior.
Family, ward and branch councils
- Family councils can discuss how each individual can contribute in meaningful ways to welcome all. Ward and branch councils can create a culture of joyful reverence.
Joy
- Joy may be exuberant greetings for some or quietly smiling and sitting next to others. Ask how the Savior would want the sacrament hour to be.
Conclusion
- Those who have yet to discover joy in Jesus Christ can embark on its quest. As Ammon said, “There never were [a people] that had so great reason to rejoice as we” (Alma 26:35). Welcome to the church of joy.
Discussion questions
When have you seen the Lord’s restored Church be a “church of joy”?
What can we do to make sacrament meetings “alive with a spirit of joyful reverence”?
Why is the blessing and receiving of the sacrament the “glorious focal point of our services”?
What is our role in helping one another feel welcome at church?
How can we reflect on Heavenly Father’s love and the gift of His Son in sacrament meeting next week?
Notable quotes
- “We are members of the Church of Jesus Christ. We are members of the church of joy.”
- “We can all contribute, no matter our age or our calling, to making our sacrament meetings the joy-filled, Christ-focused, welcoming hour they can be, alive with a spirit of joyful reverence.”
- “Ultimately, we can ask ourselves how the Savior would want our sacrament hour to be. How would He want each one of His children to be welcomed, cared for, nourished and loved? How would He want us to feel when we come to be renewed through remembering and worshipping Him?”
Key scriptures
- “Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.”
- “And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came to them in their afflictions, saying: Lift up your heads and be of good comfort, for I know of the covenant which ye have made unto me; and I will covenant with my people and deliver them out of bondage.”
- “Now have we not reason to rejoice? Yea, I say unto you, there never were [a people] that had so great reason to rejoice as we, since the world began; yea, and my joy is carried away, even unto boasting in my God; for he has all power, all wisdom, and all understanding; he comprehendeth all things, and he is a merciful Being, even unto salvation, to those who will repent and believe on his name.”
Invitations and promises
- “We may have been conditioned to suppose that the purpose of the sacrament is to sit in the pew thinking only about all the ways we messed up during the week before. But let’s turn that practice on its head. In the stillness, we can ponder the many ways we have seen the Lord relentlessly pursue us with His wonderful love that week.”
- “At home, we can begin to enhance our hopes and expectations for our time at church. In family councils, we can discuss how each individual can contribute in meaningful ways to welcoming all to the church of joy. We can plan and expect to have a joyful experience at church.”
- “At the start of my journey of faith, joy in Jesus Christ was my first great discovery, and it changed my world. If you have yet to discover this joy, embark on its quest. This is an invitation to receive the Savior’s gift of peace, light and joy — to revel in it, to wonder at it and to rejoice in it every Sabbath.”
Stories
- Elder Kearon’s baptism in 1987 was a truly wonderful day in his life and eternal journey, and he’s profoundly grateful for friends who prepared the way. Joy in Jesus Christ was Elder Kearon’s first great discovery at the start of his journey of faith, and it changed his world.
- Elder F. Enzio Busche told a story in 2008 of when he was a branch president. A young boy in the congregation looked at him on the stand and asked loudly, “What is the man with that mean face doing up there?” Elder Kearon added that those who sit on the stand communicate a welcome to the church of joy through their facial expressions.
Notable footnotes
- 1. President Russell M. Nelson taught: “Joy is powerful, and focusing on joy brings God’s power into our lives. As in all things, Jesus Christ is our ultimate exemplar, ‘who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross’ [Hebrews 12:2]. Think of that. In order for Him to endure the most excruciating experience ever endured on earth, our Savior focused on joy. (“Joy and Spiritual Survival,” October 2016).
- 10. President Gordon B. Hinckley taught: “When you, as a priest, kneel at the sacrament table and offer up the prayer, which came by revelation, you place the entire congregation under covenant with the Lord. Is this a small thing? It is a most important and remarkable thing” (“The Aaronic Priesthood — A Gift from God,” April 1988).
Additional resources
- Related image: “Mexico: Church Attendance”
- Related video: “Inviting All To Come Unto Christ: Sharing the Gospel”
- Related hymn: No. 64, “On This Day of Joy and Gladness”
Recent conference talks on Church meetings
- Elder Jeffrey R. Holland: “Behold the Lamb of God” (April 2019)
- Elder Joaquin E. Costa: “To the Friends and Investigators of the Church” (April 2017)
- Elder D. Todd Christofferson: “Why the Church” (October 2015)
Who is Elder Kearon?
- Elder Patrick Kearon was ordained a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on Dec. 7, 2023. At the time of his call, Elder Kearon was serving as the senior president of the Presidency of the Seventy. Prior to being sustained as a general authority in 2010, he and Sister Jennifer Kearon owned a communication consultancy.
