Lynn A. Mickelsen

Eternal Laws of Happiness
October 1995

While teaching at BYU in 1978, Brother Dennis Rasmussen applied and was selected to study at the Jewish Theological Seminary of' America. In the opening session, as he gave his name and university, Rabbi Muffs boomed, "You're the Mormon!... Do you pay your tithing?" "Yes," he answered. "Do you pay it with a joyful heart?" "Yes," he said. "I believe," the rabbi said, "that joy is the essence of religion. There is nothing more fundamental to religious living than joy. I am working on a book about joy." Brother Rasmussen responded, "There's a passage in the Book of Mormon .... 'Adam fell that men might be; and men are that they might have joy."'1 Rabbi Muffs was profoundly touched and exclaimed, "I've found the text I've searched for all my life... in the Book of Mormon." Turning to Brother Rasmussen he said, "Say it again, but not so fast." As he repeated the familiar words, the rabbi's eyes glowed in appreciation of this great truth he understood but had not heard so succinctly expressed.
Man is that he might have joy, and that joy will come to us as we keep God's commandments!

Last February I saw this joy personified as I accompanied the missionaries in Santiago, Chile, to visit some of their converts. At the Basuare home, eight-year-old twin boys, Nicolas and Ignacio, met us at the door, dressed in white shirts and ties, just like missionaries. Their father had been baptized three weeks earlier, and the following week he baptized his wife and sons. We talked of their conversion. They shared their feelings of love for the missionaries and the joy they were experiencing in living the gospel and keeping the commandments. They proudly showed us the picture of the Santiago temple displayed in their living room, a symbol of their goal to become an eternal family one year from the date of their baptism.
I asked Nicolas if he would like to be a missionary when he grew up. He answered yes, and we shook hands on the promise that he would prepare for the day. Then I asked Ignacio the same question. He hesitated and replied, "I'm not sure I can make that promise. I'm only eight years old." I persisted, "Nicolas made the promise. Wouldn't you like to do the same?" He still hesitated and said, "I don't know if I could be ready." I could see I had taken on more than I could manage, so I said, "Perhaps you better talk this over with your father."
He went to his father, who took him in his arms and said, "Ignacio, Jesus was a missionary. He walked the streets like Elder Sheets and his companion and made the people happy by teaching them to keep the commandments. Wouldn't you like to be like Jesus?" "Yes, Papi, I would." "Do you think if we work together, you can be ready to be a missionary when you are nineteen years old?" "I think so." "Wouldn't you like to make the promise to Elder Mickelsen that you will do that?" He came to me, and we shook hands to confirm the promise. I marveled that this young father, a convert of just three weeks, could be so sensitive in helping his family follow the Savior and how he emulated the missionaries in teaching his son. Their goal of becoming an eternal family will surely be reached under the guidance of this faithful father.