Latest / Scripture Central / ”Stand Forever” Ep. 11 | The Way—Happiness and Joy | Elder Lawrence E. Corbridge

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”Stand Forever” Ep. 11 | The Way—Happiness and Joy | Elder Lawrence E. Corbridge · Scripture Central

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  If a person can be happy without the gospel, then what's the use?
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  A woman's siblings and all her children left the church.
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  They say they are happier now. She watches them and they seem
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  to be happy. She is not so happy and yet
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  she's trying to keep the commandments, unlike her friends
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  and family. What would you say?
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  It should not be surprising that when people shed the high
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  expectations of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, they
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  feel free and yes, even even a temporary sense of happiness on
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  an easier path. Happiness is not the exclusive
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  domain of active, contributing members of the church.
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  Joy, however, is another matter. The Prophet Joseph Smith said
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  happiness is the object and design of our existence and
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  we'll be the end thereof if we pursue the path that leads to
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  it, and this path is virtue, uprightness, faithfulness,
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  holiness, and keeping all the commandments of God.
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  Hello, my name is Larry Corbridge and welcome back.
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  This is episode 11 of the Stand Forever series.
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  In the last episode, we considered purpose, direction,
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  and destination and concluded that the destination you were
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  born to reach is to choose to receive the gift of God's Son,
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  the gift of God's Spirit, and the gift of God's life, and help
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  others do the same. But what about happiness and
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  joy? Aren't, aren't they the ultimate
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  objective? Some scriptural and prophetic
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  statements certainly suggest happiness and joy are an
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  important part of the destination, if not the whole of
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  it. Consequently, they must be
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  considered in any discussion about the destination you were
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  born to reach. Of course, the Clarion
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  scriptural statement is from Lehigh saying Adam failed, that
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  men might be and men are, that they might have joy.
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  Happiness and joy, however, are, at least it seems to me,
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  difficult subjects to address for several reasons.
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  First, happiness and joy are complicated and nuanced.
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  If you ask 100 people about happiness and joy, you'll get
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  100 different opinions and answers.
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  Second, most people, and maybe everyone, experience dark times.
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  Some are clinically depressed for a myriad of reasons,
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  including genetics and chemical imbalances.
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  The last thing they need is to feel guilty about not being
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  happier. Third, you don't achieve
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  happiness or joy by aiming at them.
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  At least that's the way it seems to me.
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  And 4th, the library of books has been written on point in
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  recent decades, and this entire series could be dedicated to
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  that end. But let's consider what the Lord
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  has said about both happiness and joy.
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  I think I've read and and categorized every scripture,
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  everything that the Lord has said regarding happiness and
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  joy. If you consider only what the
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  Lord has revealed about happiness.
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  If you gather every scripture that speaks to happiness and
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  distill the essence of each, this is what you will find.
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  This is the summary. Happiness is known by those who
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  trust in the Lord, acquire understanding, keep God's
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  commandments, face adversity, serve others, help the poor and
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  needy, desire good, and never give up or give in.
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  If you if you think a bit about that scriptural summary, you
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  will see happiness is not exclusive to active,
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  contributing members of the church.
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  There is nothing in that description that says that says
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  that. Joy, however, is different,
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  particularly what President Russell M Nelson referred to as
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  enduring joy. Joy is more than a sense of
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  well-being. It is more than contentment.
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  It is not just a feeling, nor is it a constant state of euphoria.
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  Even God weeps. Joy is more refined, more
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  elevating, transforming and all consuming than happiness.
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  Joy is the fruit of the power and glory of God.
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  If you consider only what the Lord has revealed about joy, if
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  you gather every scripture that speaks to joy and distill the
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  essence of each, this is what you will find.
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  Joy is given to those who worthily enter the presence of
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  God, gain knowledge, have faith in Christ and are redeemed of
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  their sins. Keep the commandments, suffer
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  tribulation and no misery. Trust in the Lord, are endowed
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  with the Spirit of the Holy Ghost, receive the ordinances of
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  the temple. Our faithful and wise stewards,
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  using their talents, give everything.
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  Those who ask God, serve with the Lord to build His Kingdom
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  with all their might, are fruitful in their laborers, and
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  unconditionally and totally surrender to the Lord's will.
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  Now compare the two. If if you compare what the Lord
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  has said about happiness with what He has revealed about joy,
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  you see that while all the principles of happiness are also
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  essential to joy, several additional principles are
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  necessary for joy. Joy includes all that happiness
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  requires and more. What principles are necessary
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  for joy that are not related to happiness?
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  Here they are Faith in Christ and redemption of sin.
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  The Spirit of the Holy Ghost. The presence of God.
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  Ordinances of the temple. To be faithful and wise
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  servants. A willingness to give
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  everything. Those who ask God who suffer
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  tribulation and misery, serve with the Lord to build His
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  Kingdom with one's might and unconditional and total
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  surrender to the Lord. One of the most significant
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  scriptural statements about joy was made by Paul who said But
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  the fruit of the Spirit is Lovejoy and peace.
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  Ask any group of people what the best of all human conditions is
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  and those 3 will surface Lovejoy and peace.
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  They are all gifts of the Spirit which is the best of all human
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  conditions and the source of almost all good things.
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  Joy is a fruit of the Spirit of God, Mormon said.
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  The spirit of the Lord fell upon those who heard the teaching of
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  King Benjamin, and they were filled with joy.
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  These are his words. And it came to pass that after
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  they had spoken these words, the Spirit of the Lord came upon
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  them, and they were filled with joy.
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  On the same occasion, King Benjamin told the people they
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  were filled with great joy because of the outpouring of the
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  Spirit of God saying. And behold, even at this time ye
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  have been calling on his name, and begging for a remission of
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  your sins. And has he suffered that ye have
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  begged in vain? Nay, he has poured out his
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  Spirit upon you, and has caused that your hearts should be
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  filled with joy, and has caused that your mouths should be
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  stopped, that you could not find utterance so exceedingly great
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  was your joy. David is recorded to have said,
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  I have set the Lord always before me, that will show me the
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  path of life. In thy presence is a fullness of
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  joy in this life. The presence of the Lord is His
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  Spirit, which is the fountain from which joy flows.
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  The most important truth to understand about joy again is
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  that it is a fruit of the Spirit of God.
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  A woman's siblings and all her children left the church.
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  They say they are happier now. She watches them and they seem
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  to be happy. She is not so happy and yet
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  she's trying to keep the commandments, unlike her friends
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  and family. She asks if a person can be
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  happy without the gospel, then what's the use?
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  How would how would you answer that question?
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  What would you say? An unmarried son says to his
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  father he has many single friends who are happy and other
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  married friends who are not. He mentions Lehigh's statement
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  men are that they might have joy and asks a similar question.
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  Why then is marriage so important?
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  How would you answer that one? How would you answer either one?
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  1st The question is not a new one.
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  We find the same thinking among all of Israel in Malachi chapter
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  3. When the Lord declares, Your
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  words have been stout against me, sayeth the Lord.
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  Yet ye say, meaning us, we say, What have we spoken so much
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  against thee? The Lord replies.
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  Ye have said it is vain to serve God.
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  And what prophet is it that we have kept his ordinance, and
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  that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of hosts, and
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  now we call the proud happy? Yeah, they that work wickedness
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  are set up, and yeah, they that tempt God are even delivered.
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  Then they that feared the Lord spake one to another, And the
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  Lord hearkened and heard it, and a book of remembrance was
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  written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that
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  thought upon his name. And the Lord says this.
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  And they shall be mine in that day when I make up my jewel, and
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  I will spare them as a man spareth his own son that serveth
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  him. Then shall ye return and discern
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  between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth
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  God and him that serveth him not.
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  We don't have to look far to find examples of people who
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  appear to be proud, but happy, unrighteous, and yet, in the
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  words of Malachi, set up doing better than you.
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  And you may ask, what's the use? This is the eat and drink and be
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  merry crowd, which Nephi said would predominate in our day.
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  He said this, Yeah. And there shall be many which
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  shall say eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die, and
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  it shall be well with us. Who can deny their merriment?
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  Otherwise, there would be no attraction, no point.
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  It should not be surprising that when people shed the high
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  expectations of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ or avoid
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  the challenges and stresses of married and family life, they
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  feel free and yes, even even a temporary sense of happiness on
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  an easier path. A student who drops out of a
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  rigorous educational program to sell cappuccino at Starbucks may
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  feel happier for a time, but the long term consequences are a
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  much different story. Do you want the happiness of the
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  world or do you want to become a polished jewel?
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  Anyone who has not fallen down dead drunk knows you can't
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  become a polished jewel on the path of the free and easy.
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  You know deep within your soul that fire, suffering, and yes
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  even misery are necessary to mold and temper A godly soul and
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  experience joy. You know joy cannot be 1 without
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  opposition and misery and misery to prove you will be faithful in
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  all things no matter what. You know those things from long
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  before no one need teach you that they are written in your
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  heart. When Christ revealed to his
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  disciples they would be shunned and ultimately killed, they were
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  understandably sad. He said, But because I have said
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  these things unto you, sorrow have filled your heart.
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  He then promised that the Comforter would come, and said,
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  Verily, verily, I say unto you, that ye shall weep and lament,
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  but the world shall rejoice, and ye shall be sorrowful, but your
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  sorrow shall be turned into joy, and ye now therefore have
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  sorrow. But I will see you again, and
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  your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.
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  That may be what President Russell M Nelson referred to as
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  enduring joy. Happiness is not the exclusive
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  domain of active, contributing members of the Church.
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  Joy, however, is another matter. President Russell M Nelson Todd,
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  If we look to the world. And follow its formulas for
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  happiness. We will never know joy.
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  The unrighteous may experience any number of emotions and
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  sensations, but they will never experience joy.
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  Joy is a gift for the faithful. It is the gift that comes from
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  intentionally trying to live a righteous life as taught by
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  Jesus Christ. Happiness and joy are not
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  dependent on any external condition or or circumstance.
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  As important as what the Lord has revealed about both
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  happiness and joy. As important as that is, as what
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  the Lord has not said and what is not mentioned by God in
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  either instance. Popularity, recognition, money,
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  security, beauty, health, no problems, ease or avoiding
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  stress, positive attitude, having control and extroversion,
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  to name just a few. Circumstances may make you sad,
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  but they will not make you happy.
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  You may feel blue because it is raining, but that does not mean
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  you'll be happy when the sun shines.
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  You may be saddened by the death of a loved one, or contraction
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  of an illness, or the loss of a limb, the destruction of your
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  home by an earthquake or fire, or when you lose your job.
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  But that does not mean you're necessarily happy when the sun
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  does shine and all of your loved ones are alive and you do not
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  have cancer and you have all your limbs and your house is
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  still standing. Now you you may not agree with
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  that. You may think you are happier
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  when the sun shines with loved ones.
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  When you are well, your house is still standing and you have a
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  good job. If those things make you happy,
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  may I suggest it's not because of those things, rather because
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  you are aware and grateful for them.
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  Gratitude, one of God's commandments, is what leads to
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  happiness, not the circumstances.
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  Happiness and joy also do not require perfection or near
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  perfection. They are within the reach of
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  everyone. They depend on us alone.
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  We are responsible, we are given this life to learn to live
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  happily. Now it is a test, but someday
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  the test will end. But if we are successful, we
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  will continue to live in the same way, not as a test, but as
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  a way of life. So what about it?
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  Is joy the destination, or at least part of it?
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  The answer is yes and no. Joy is one of the consequences,
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  and maybe the greatest consequence of receiving the
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  gifts of God's Son and His Spirit, that we may receive the
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  greatest gift of His life, including a fullness of joy.
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  It isn't, however, in my judgment at least, attained by
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  aiming at it. Happiness and joy seem to be
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  elusive. The harder you chase them.
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  The more you focus on them, the more elusive they become.
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  This is counterintuitive because we generally think the clearer
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  the objective, the greater the focus, and the harder you work,
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  the more likely you will succeed.
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  I'm not sure, however, that holds true for happiness and
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  joy. My experience is you stumble on
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  them while you are focusing on other good things.
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  Yes, men are that they might have joy, but I'm not at all
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  convinced that joy is achieved by chasing it.
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  Some of the most unhappy people are the most focused on their
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  own happiness. It is not only.
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  That they look for it in all the wrong places.
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  But preoccupation with one's own happiness is fundamentally
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  egocentric and will never lead to happiness.
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  Oddly, you hit it by not aiming at it.
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  The less stressed and focused you are about your own
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  happiness, the happier you will be.
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  This is like the Lord's statement when He said Whosoever
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  will save his life shall lose it, but whosoever shall lose his
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  life for my sake and the Gospels, he shall save it.
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  As important as they are, happiness and joy should not be
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  the North Star. At least again, in my judgment,
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  Christ should be He is the North Star.
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  He did not say what man or a man, IE to be Verily I say unto
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  you, a happy people. Rather he said, even as I am.
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  He did not say, Thou shalt have no other gods before happiness
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  and joy. Rather he said, No other gods
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  before me. Again, President Nelson,
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  speaking to the same subject, said, My dear brothers and
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  sisters, the joy we feel. Has little to do with the
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  circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus
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  of our lives. When the focus of our lives is
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  on God's plan of salvation that President Monson's just taught
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  us and Jesus Gospel, we can feel joy regardless of what is
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  happening or not happening in our lives.
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  Joy comes from and because of Him.
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  He is the source of all joy. As is probably the case with
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  most, maybe all people, there have been dark times in my life
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  which have taught me much, including taught me much about
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  joy in misery. Two periods were especially dark
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  and unhappy, despite my efforts to live righteously.
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  During those times, I learned and wrote much.
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  Very dark times which can't, which I cannot include here.
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  But this journal entry provides a glimmer of of light in the
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  dark. Again, these are my words for my
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  journal. I have felt oppressed in words I
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  cannot begin to express. I have been in the depths of
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  despair. There have been times at work
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  when I have felt close to a meltdown.
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  I have had to get up, walk away from the desk, walk outside into
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  the parking lot and in the sunlight and pace back and
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  forth, praying. Of course, all the while I have
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  and I am experiencing the whole range of human emotions,
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  particularly on the dark side of the scale, deep sadness, fear
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  and foreboding. I feel weak and ineffective.
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  My confidence is shaken to the core.
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  Another journal entry during the same times reveals what I
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  learned about joy and misery. I recorded this about two weeks
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  ago. I went to sleep troubled about
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  one thing or another. I had a dream.
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  Oddly enough, it was not. It was not a vision.
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  There were no images, only music.
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  In my dream I heard a song. I heard a group singing a simple
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  melody and simple lyrics. It was not the large glorious
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  heavenly choir, rather more of a small folk group.
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  I think that the big choirs were probably already booked for
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  someone more important that night, and this little group of
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  folk singers were all that were available to be sent to me.
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  In any event, I am glad they came.
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  I awoke with the song in my heart.
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  I have since forgotten the melody, but I remember the
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  simple yet profound refrain. There are good times and there
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  are bad times, but the good times and the bad times are all
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  good. The Lord revealed to the Prophet
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  Joseph Smith, Thine adversity and thine affliction shall be
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  but a small moment. If thou endure it well, God
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  shall exalt thee on high. Thou shalt triumph over thy
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  foes, and all these things shall give thee experience and shall
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  be for thy good. Therefore hold on thy way.
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  I love those words. Hold on.
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  Thy way it is. It is more than hold on.
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  It presupposes you are in the way, on the path.
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  And if so, hold on thy way. Everything, every good thing,
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  every bad thing, will be for thy good.
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  What a precious truth. This is a true principle.
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  It is profoundly important. Few principles provide a greater
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  sense of security. Whatever happens, whatever life
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  may bring, it will all work to your good if you endure it well.
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  How marvelous to understand that.
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  What a sense of security, control and autonomy comes when
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  you realize that in a world of such great uncertainty and
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  threat, absolute certainty and protection is always within your
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  reach. You have little control over
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  what happens, but absolute control over how it will affect
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  you. You are holy and absolutely
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  within control of your destiny. There are good times and there
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  are bad times, but the good times and the bad times are all
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  good. In the next episode, episode 12,
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  we will continue our exploration of Jesus Christ as the way.
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  Considering a series of questions including these.
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  If you were to sum up life in 2 words for your posterity, what
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  would you say? Next question, what is the
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  hallmark, the defining characteristic of intelligence?
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  Next question, what is the supreme expression of
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  intelligence? I hope you will join me then.