The gospel is called the “glad tidings of great joy” (Mosiah 3:3; Alma 13:22; D&C 31:3; Luke 2:10). It carries a spirit that lightens the heart and brings joy to the soul. The scriptures consistently describe those returning to Zion, those coming to worship their God, as doing so in the spirit of rejoicing and song.
“The ransomed of the Lord shall return,” Isaiah said, “and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away” (Isaiah 35:10; cf. Isaiah 55:12). Our modern revelation says of those embracing the gospel in the last days that “they shall be filled with songs of everlasting joy” (D&C 133:33). The three words most common to the scriptural descriptions of those embracing the gospel are joy, gladness, and rejoicing.