An Experience of Joy

"Men are that they might have joy." What exactly IS joy? Let me tell you how I experienced it last night.
Eric, Rachel, Adam and I went to the St. Louis temple to do some baptisms in behalf of some of our deceased ancestors. I sat outside the font and only observed, but to describe my feelings will be a complete understatement of the experience. Yet, I will attempt to convey at least a portion of what I felt.
As I was the onlooker, I saw my sister overcome with emotion as she watched her husband (Adam) and my husband (Eric) enter the water and perform the necessary ordinance of baptism for several of our male ancestors. I felt such a strong feeling of excitement and joy. It felt like an electricity of chills and warmth simultaneously. As my sister entered the water and was baptized for some of our female family members, I again felt the "whoosh" of the spirit as it swept over me. I had a sure sense of gratitude and happiness during this process.
I have gone on many baptismal trips to do this service for the dead. However, it was THIS time that I felt so overcome and yet, I wasn't even technically a part of it. If anyone ever questions the validity of these ordinances, they only have to experience it to know. This is a true principle of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He created the path by which each mortal is able to gain eternal salvation. Baptism is but the gate to that path and yet some of these individuals have been waiting hundreds of years to obtain that entrance. No matter the length of time they wait, the joy one can experience by participating in this vicarious work is only a small portion of the joy these people have as well as the joy our Savior experiences as another follower is able to complete these steps.