I’m about half way through it (I’ve been about half-way through it for several months now) and it is a fascinating review of the ‘folk’ beliefs and magic world view (“pagan”) that informed Joseph Smith’s upbringing.

(I really need to finish that book.)

G, I’m so glad you enjoyed the piece. I was really caught up in the connections to pagan magick that surrounded Joseph Smith’s time. I actually feel a little sad that we try so hard as a church to “overcome” the magick and mysticism the was a part of early church history. I think we should embrace it. Perhaps that would help us find and embrace the divine within us as well.

Margy,
I like the idea of looking for the joy in the Book of Mormon, or anywhere in life. I’ve found that smiling really helps me. There’s some science to support the idea, “Fake it till you make it.”

Caroline,
It’s hard for me to actually put these ideas into practice, but putting them down on paper, so to speak, is a step in the right direction.

Janey,
You may be right that I wasn’t raised to enjoy life. But, I do think that many of us are too focused on not breaking rules and not focused enough on how to help others, or how to bring light and joy to those around us.

AnaCA,
I’ll have to go back and look at Elder Ballard’s talk. I find that looking for the beauty and being grateful for the small moments is a way for me to find greater joy in my life.

Mel S,
You ask a great question.
“Where do you think the line is between the traditional approach and the joyous one?”
I think it was Natalie at BCC who talked about going about our lives in the joyous path, and repenting for sins along the way. But, I see your point that the line is often fuzzy and unique for everyone.

Too often we peg our God as one who thrives on deprivation, that it is the key to overcoming the natural woman, and we get sucked into a righteousness competition with how strictly we observe the sabbath, the For the Strength of Youth pamphlet, or the WoW.

Where do you think the line is between the traditional approach and the joyous one?

For all that some people had concerns with Elder Ballard’s talk last General Conference, I thought he did a great job giving very specific practical steps toward enjoying motherhood and womanhood. The first one was recognizing moments of joy. I’ve had it on a sticky note on my computer ever since and have found myself at times – snuggling the baby to sleep, watching an eager answer in FHE – realizing, “this is one of the moments.” It definitely takes a conscious effort, and maybe sometimes a slightly out-of-the-ordinary way of thinking about joy makes that a little easier.

Beautiful post!