The gospel brings happiness-
When I was a child and a teenager the phrase “the Gospel Brings Happiness” was a really difficult one for me to hear. I remember walking away from that phrase feeling guilty and overwhelmed. I worked hard at living the gospel to the best of my ability. I read my scriptures, I attended all of my church meetings, no matter how boring or lame they seemed. I prayed morning and night. I tried to help, serve and be kind. I was most certainly far from perfect but I sincerely and with faith tried. Yet I had plenty of times in my life where I was sad and lonely. Where life just seemed so hard. And so I felt like a failure because it wasn’t easy, I was sometimes sad and I wasn’t always over the top joyful. It took me a long time, a lot of thought, prayer and blessings to not only accept the phrase “the gospel brings happiness” but to believe and fully embrace it.
I came to understand that my issue was what I thought it meant to be happy. I thought happiness meant that you were never sad, discouraged or frustrated. I thought it meant that the hardest thing in your life was what to make for dinner tonight (okay that one is a challenge sometimes but. . .). To me happiness meant that everything in your life was going well and how you wanted it. But that isn’t what real happiness is.
I think the most important lesson I have learned over the years is that you can be happy and sad at the same time. It seems contradictory but it is true. You can be struggling mightily and be happy. You can have moments of discouragement and frustration and still be happy. Life is hard. It is as simple as that. This time on earth, our mortal probation, is a time of testing and growth. The Lord never intended it to be easy. 2 Nephi 2 :11 “For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so, . . . righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad.” Opposition is a part of the plan. He wants us to feel joy and peace. But as it says in D&C 29 :39 “for if they never should have bitter they could not know the sweet”. He wants us to become like Him and to return to live with Him again someday. “ Alma
“[The fact is] most putts don’t drop. Most beef is tough. Most children grow up to be just people. Most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration. Most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. …Life is like an old-time rail journey—delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride” (“Big Rock Candy Mountains,” Deseret News, 12 June 1973, A4).” Gordon B.
It is through peace, hope, joy, love, faith, service, recognition with gratitude, and perspective that the gospel brings us happiness.
Happiness is Peace-
“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. “ John 14:27
The calm comforting assurance of the Holy Ghost gives us peace that even though we may not understand the why or the how, we are doing His will and all will be well.
“And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7
Peace often comes through prayer. Prayer invites the Holy Ghost into our lives, mind and heart. It is through the Holy Ghost that He brings His peace.
Peace also comes through knowing that we are doing our best. Sister Julie Beck said “When we have done our very best, we may still experience disappointments, but we will not be disappointed in ourselves. We can feel certain that the Lord is pleased when we feel the Spirit working through us. Peace, joy, and hope are available to those who measure success properly.” Julie B. Beck, “‘And upon the Handmaids in Those Days Will I Pour Out My Spirit’,” Ensign, May 2010, 10–12
Happiness is Hope-
Hope keeps us going. It sustains us through despair. It motivates us that things not only can get better but will. But what is hope?
We can have and develop hope at all times. Elder Wilford W Andersen said in April’s general conference that “Hope, with its attendant blessings of peace and joy, does not depend upon circumstance. . . If we would build our hope, we must build our faith.” Wilford W. Andersen, “The Rock of Our Redeemer,” Ensign, May 2010, 16–18
“ 40 And again, my beloved brethren, I would speak unto you concerning hope. How is it that ye can attain unto faith, save ye shall have hope?
41 And what is it that ye shall hope for? Behold I say unto you that ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal, and this because of your faith in him according to the promise.
42 Wherefore, if a man have faith he must needs have hope; for without faith there cannot be any hope. “
Happiness is Joy-
2 Nephi 2:25 “Adam fell that men might be and men are that they might have joy”
President Monson in October 2008 General Conference admonishes us that we must “find joy in the journey- now.”
According to Elder Deiter F Uchtdorf “We were created with the express purpose and potential of experiencing a fulness of joy. Our birthright—and the purpose of our great voyage on this earth—is to seek and experience eternal happiness.” Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Happiness, Your Heritage,” Ensign, Nov 2008, 117–20
We can find joy- now- in so many areas of our lives in spite of the trials we may now be facing.
President Monson taught in April of 2009 “How might we have joy in our lives, despite all that we may face? Again from the scriptures: “Wherefore, be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you. . . . This attitude is what will pull us through whatever comes our way. It will not remove our troubles from us but rather will enable us to face our challenges, to meet them head on, and to emerge victorious” Thomas S. Monson, “Be of Good Cheer,” Ensign, May 2009, 89–92 There is joy in knowing that we can repent, that we have been forgiven of our sins. We find joy in our children, our families and the eternal nature of our relationships. Joy comes from bringing the gospel to others. Joy is found in our personal relationship with the Savior.
Happiness is Love-
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Great happiness comes from the love our Father has for us by sending His Son. The Savior showed his great love for us through the great sacrifice He gave us. The Atonement is the greatest gift of love we could ever be given. We must love Him also for “thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.” Mark 12:30
Happiness is Faith-
Faith requires trust. It requires that we turn out lives and our hearts over to the Lord. Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord thy God with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths”
Faith allows us to let go of fear because of the foundation upon which our faith is built. Heleman 5:12 “And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.”
Happiness comes as we let go of fear and embrace faith. We can have faith that He will always be there for us no matter what trials and tribulations we may face. Isaiah 41:10 " Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”
We can have faith that with Him we can do hard things.
Faith allows us to turn our burdens over to Him. It allows us to have peace knowing all is well because we are in His hands. Faith allows us to be open to the happiness surrounding us even during our trials.
Happiness is Service-
The Lord commands us that we must serve one another. “by love serve one another” Galatians 5:13 and "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.” Luke 9:24.
President Monson states: “I believe the Savior is telling us that unless we lose ourselves in service to others, there is little purpose to our own lives. Those who live only for themselves eventually shrivel up and figuratively lose their lives, while those who lose themselves in service to others grow and flourish—and in effect save their lives.” Thomas S. Monson, “What Have I Done for Someone Today?,” Ensign, Nov 2009, 84–87
Service brings us happiness and joy.
According to Elder Uchtdorf- “When we reach out to bless the lives of others, our lives are blessed as well. Service and sacrifice open the windows of heaven, allowing choice blessings to descend upon us. . . As we lose ourselves in the service of others, we discover our own lives and our own happiness… In the end, the number of prayers we say may contribute to our happiness, but the number of prayers we answer may be of even greater importance.” Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Happiness, Your Heritage,” Ensign, Nov 2008, 117–20
We come to love those who serve. We are streched and strengthened as we serve. Our service does not need to be huge or grand. Small acts of service are as meaningful and can bring as much happiness as grand acts.
Happiness is recognition with gratitude-
We are command of the Lord to give thanks unto Him for all that we have. Alma
Prayer helps us to recognize His blessings and have a grateful heart. As we pray to Him in all things at all times as commanded in Alma
D&C 78:19 “And he who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious; and the things of this earth shall be added unto him, even an hundred fold, yea, more.”
Having a grateful heart helps us to focus on the good in our life and not be weighed down by our trials.
Happiness is Perspective-
The gospel helps us to understand that this earthly life is just a small portion of our existence. “My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high” D&C 121:7-8
These trials will not last forever. They are not just something that we must endure- but rather they are experiences that will allow us to come unto Him. In D&C 122: 7-8 the Lord spoke to Joseph Smith in his time of deep trials and persecution and said unto him. . .“, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experiance, and shall be for thy good.”
If we turn to Him and trust in Him we have the assurance that all will be well. Mosiah 7:33 “But if ye will turn to the Lord with full purpose of heart, and put your trust in him, and serve him with all dilligence of mind, if ye do this, he will, according to his own will and pleasure, deliver you out of bondage.”
We will come out stronger and better in the end. We learn and grow throughout the journey and not just at the end. We need to have patience. Elder Uchtdorf counsels us that “Patience means to abide in faith, knowing that sometimes it is in the waiting rather than in the receiving that we grow the most.” Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Continue in Patience,” Ensign, May 2010, 56–59
I have a testimony that the gospel brings us happiness, not after our trials and tribulations but now, even during the midst of them. Joseph B Wirthlin stated on October 2008 General conference “Yet in spite of discouragement and adversity, those who are happiest seem to have a way of learning from difficult times, becoming stronger, wiser, and happier as a result. If we approach adversities wisely, our hardest times can be times of greatest growth, which in turn can lead toward times of greatest happiness.” Joseph B. Wirthlin, “Come What May, and Love It,” Ensign, Nov 2008, 26–28
If we follow the Savior and His teachings and allow peace, hope, joy, love, faith, service, gratitude, and perspective into our lives we can be happy and find joy now in whatever circumstances we find ourselves in. We do not have to wait until our trials are passed and our lives are easier to be happy. It may not always be easy and our happiness may be found in the midst of trials, adversity, sadness, disappointment, or grief but it can be found and treasured and help us return to live with our Heavenly Father and His son Jesus Christ again. And enjoy the journey along the way.
See also:
Dallin H. Oaks, “Unselfish Service,” Ensign, May 2009, 93–96
James B. Martino, “All Things Work Together for Good,” Ensign, May 2010, 101–3 Matthew 11:28
John 16:33
D&C 68:6
Matthew 6:21
Isaiah 53:3-5
John 14:15
2 Nephi 1:15
2 Nephi 33:3
D&C 59:21
Mormon 5:23
D&C 98:1-3
2 Corinthians 4:17
John 13:17
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