Why Does God Give Some People More Than Others?
Filed under: Finding joy within the gospel, Overcoming Adversity
When I tell the story of Joseph and the multicolored coat, from the Old Testament, to young children, they never really get the story. In fact, they never really see Joseph as the hero. Those with younger siblings immediately side with the brothers, and think it’s really unfair Joseph got a beautiful coat and the brothers didn’t. Not only do they approve of Joseph’s brothers selling him, but they express a longing to do the same to their own seemingly more favored siblings.
Preschoolers want everything fair and equal. Sometimes, even as adults, we wish everything were equal. We look around and wonder why some people don’t seem to have any trials, or why some people have more blessings than others. We then wonder if that means God loves some of us less than others. Read more
God’s Diversity of Gifts
Filed under: Doctrine & Covenants, Finding joy within the gospel, Gospel Principles, Practices & Precepts, LDS Practices, Men & Priesthood, Priesthood, Priesthood, Self-Worth, Service, Uncategorized, Women
Mormon scriptures teach that every person God creates is given gifts, talents, traits, and experiences from Him, to be used to help others, as well as to bless our own lives. They are His gifts to us. What we choose to do with them is our 
gift to God. It does no good, for instance, to be given a gift to teach powerful spiritual messages if we refuse to learn about Jesus or turn down an opportunity to teach Sunday School.
11 For all have not every gift given unto them; for there are many gifts, and to every man is given a gift by the Spirit of God.
12 To some is given one, and to some is given another, that all may be profited thereby. (See Doctrine and Covenants 46: 11-12.)
Everyone, male and female, can receive spiritual gifts. The scriptures list many of these gifts, and it can be interesting, as we read, to highlight each gift mentioned. The gifts bless the holder of the gifts if he uses them wisely, but they can also be used to bless others. A person who has the gift of faith can use it to find the truth among conflicting and confusing choices. This gift can be used to help that person become a member of the Savior’s church. It comes to her through the Spirit of Christ. After receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost, her faith grows even more. She might then choose to use that gift to pray for others or to share her faith with those who were not given as strong a gift as she received.
We’re taught that it is appropriate to pray for certain gifts, if we are prepared to use them wisely in the service of others, rather than to glorify ourselves. A person who is invited to teach a class, but lacks the gift to teach can begin to pray for it. While praying, of course, she must do what she can to improve her teaching skills, but God will step in and honor righteous requests if they are part of His plan for us. A prayer to become the greatest teacher in the world is not likely to be honored, because this is a prideful request, but a prayer to have the ability to teach the class one has agreed to teach will be honored.
The diversity of the human race is one of God’s best ideas. If we all had the same talents, gifts, and assignments, most things wouldn’t get done. The world needs writers, but it doesn’t need everyone to be a writer. It needs gardeners, but everyone doesn’t need a talent for gardening. Because each of us has different talents and passions, everything that needs doing gets done. If we each had all the talents possible in equal proportion, we might find ourselves spread too thin, and most things wouldn’t get accomplished. We’d all be doing whatever was easiest or created the most wealth, given human nature.
In the same way, God divided up certain tasks and assigned them to specific genders. Only women were given the ability to give birth. This doesn’t mean God loves men less; it only means that doesn’t happen to be one of the tasks assigned to them. Only men hold the priesthood, but that does not say women aren’t worthy or capable of holding it. Priesthood is an office, not a gender, but assigning it to men keeps it focused, just as assigning childbirth only to women keeps that aspect of life focused.
Within the Mormon Church, there are a great many tasks to be completed, because we have a lay religion and very complex programs. Everyone is asked to take on his or her share of the work. Tasks are assigned in various ways that make the church run more smoothly. Some are assigned by age: Only a twelve or thirteen year old girl may serve as a youth leader in the Beehive Program. (Beehives are girls of that age in the Young Women’s program for teenagers.) Others are assigned by gender: Only women can serve as Primary or Relief Society Presidents. (These are, respectively, the organizations for children and women.) Some tasks are open to anyone who is an adult: Anyone may teach the children or the literacy classes, even though only women can lead those programs. Some tasks are assigned by office: Only a person who holds the office of a high priest can serve as a bishop (the leader of a congregation.) It might appear that the rule is that only men can be bishops, but actually, the rule is that only high priests can be bishops. A good and worthy man who does not hold the office of high priest in the priesthood cannot be a bishop, no matter how qualified he is otherwise.
While it’s true that only men are to hold the Mormon priesthood (as we see from even a casual study of the Bible), this does not limit a woman from serving God, anymore than not being able to be the Primary president limits a man’s ability to serve God. There are many ways to serve, and God does not love the priesthood holders more than the Primary president—or the door greeter. We don’t get bonus points for serving in certain kinds of positions. God asks us to serve wherever He needs us, and if we do this well, we are blessed for our attitude and willingness to serve, not for the specific task accomplished.
Men holding the priesthood receive no special blessings over the women. It isn’t about power or blessings, or God’s love. It is, rather, about our trust in God and His plan. If we have a testimony that the Savior is at the head of the church, and that He sees with a vision greater than our own, we won’t waste valuable mortality hours fretting over what gifts or offices we don’t have. Instead, we’ll work hard to develop those God has asked us to take on. As with every other aspect of the gospel, it really comes down to a testimony. How much do you trust God?
When I was first investigating the church, the priesthood issue concerned me. As a teenager raised in the 1970s, I thought women’s lib was what I was supposed to be living, even though I was known for my love of taking care of children. In other words, my nature was fairly traditional, if you leave out housework. The missionaries, when asked about priesthood at the first lesson, told me they’d be happy to discuss it with me, but I needed more background and training in prayer first. They asked me to learn to pray, and to continue to study, and then we’d discuss it. By the time I was able to understand the answers, I no longer needed to ask the question. I had learned to get my own answers through prayer and I had come to see how much God valued the woman’s place in His kingdom. I understood that being told I had to turn into a man was degrading to women and insulting to God, who created gender. It was no longer a problem for me. I had become proud of the person God created in me.
Over the years, I’ve longed for certain gifts. Some I’ve been able to receive, such as an improved ability to teach. Others were not my calling, such as a desire to sing. Over the years, as I’ve grown and matured, I’ve stopped wasting time fretting over what I don’t have, and have begun to be thankful for what I do have. God gave me a most interesting gift box of traits, talents, and experiences. I would be ungrateful and unworthy of those gifts if I wasted my life whining they weren’t good enough.
Eternally Safe Choices–Undertanding Agency
Filed under: Becoming More Christlike, Discovering Yourself, Finding joy within the gospel, For the Strength of the Youth, Living the Gospel, Making Decisions, Peer Pressure, Teens & Seminary
The teen years are filled with temptation. The media, peers, even teachers and other adults can try to convince a young person that sin is okay, natural, normal, and fun. For a teenager with high standards and an eye for eternity, it can be a challenge to stay on the right path, when so many people are determined to take her off that path.
Fortunately, God and His servants have outlined effective ways for teens—and adults—to stay safe.
Staying safe is a matter of choices, and to make wise choices, we have to understand the concept of agency. This article will focus on agency, and future articles in this series will walk through the process of using that understanding to make eternally safe choices. Read more
The Great Plan of Happiness
Filed under: Finding joy within the gospel, Fruits of gospel living, Joy in our relationship with the Savior
Have you ever asked why? Of course you have. All of us ask why from time to time. We wonder why someone we love must suffer, why calamities effect so many, taking their living, their health, even at times, their lives.
I’ve heard many people say that if God truly loved us, He wouldn’t allow bad things to happen to us. Sometimes, in my darkest hours, I’ve thought the same thing.
But God does love us and He has proven it by giving us life and best of all, by granting us freedom—the freedom to choose for ourselves what we will do with our lives.
This time on earth, our mortality, is our opportunity to fulfill our creation, to learn about Heavenly Father’s plan and to choose whether or not we will be obedient. Obedience to God’s plan, is essential to our happiness and our eternal progression.
The Book of Mormon prophet, King Benjamin, explained that, “the Lord God hath sent his holy prophets among all the children of men, to declare these things to every kindred, nation, and tongue, that thereby whosoever should believe [in] Christ, … the same might receive remission of their sins, and rejoice with exceedingly great joy” (Mosiah 3:13.)
He also taught his people: “Consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness” (Mosiah 2:41.)
God wants us to be happy. He has provided a road map that not only makes our final destination one of “never-ending happiness” but provides a journey that can be full of joy and happiness. But to decipher that road map, we must first study the doctrines of happiness—real happiness.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (or Mormons) teaches that critical to our knowledge of the plan of happiness is an understanding of the governing principle of agency. Mormons believe that God sent us to earth with the opportunity to choose for ourselves what we will believe, or whether or not to be obedient to God’s commands. In his talk “Answers to Life’s Questions,” M. Russell Ballard, a leader of the Mormon Church, wrote, “A person does not have to spend much time in the schoolroom of mortality to realize that Heavenly Father’s plan does not provide for blissful happiness at every step along our mortal journey. Life is filled with harsh realities that tug at the heart and tear away at the soul” (Ensign, May 1995, 22.)
Howard W. Hunter, then President of the Church, said:
“There is nothing sad or gloomy about a person who accepts the truths of the gospel and incorporates these principles in his daily living. God wants all of his children to be joyous and glad, and we can have this blessing if we are willing to keep his commandments and live by his word in all that we do” (in Conference Report, Sept./Oct. 1961, p. 108.)
When you come to understand our Heavenly Father’s plan, you will find many of life’s questions are answered in the gospel of Christ. The Apostle John said, “If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them” (John 13:17.)
I testify that God has provided us with all that we need to know about how to be happy in this life, despite the tragedies that abound. Search the scriptures and learn all you can about the great plan of happiness. I pray that as you come to understand these truths you will be compelled, as I was, to embrace them willingly. In doing so we will find an increase of happiness, a lasting happiness, and we will have peace. Jesus said, “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.)
Such peace will breath contentment to our souls and we will find that we have chosen to be happy and we will be eternally blessed because of it.
Service Begins at Home
Filed under: Finding joy within the gospel, Fruits of gospel living
One of the best ways to forget about your own problems is to focus on the problems of others. When you serve other people, you soon feel the weight of your own burdens lifted and you realize, almost despite yourself, that you are happy.
But for many of us, it’s hard to know who or how to help. At least, that’s often how it is for me. I feel like I can be a good helper, but I need someone else to tell me what to do because left on my own I probably won’t see it. I think that’s either because I’m still too absorbed in my own problems to truly see the need of another, or it’s because the ability to serve is a talent. Perhaps, it is both.
Regardless, starting at home is a wonderful opportunity for all of us to practice the art of service. At home, we can feel at ease stepping outside of ourselves and looking at the load another is carrying to gauge how we might help. Service inside the home is not a cop-out. It’s a necessary part of happy home life.
Mother serves her husband and children by seeing that everyone is fed and has clean clothes to wear. Father works hard to provide a safe home for his family. When one of these family leaders begins to think more of themselves than of the other family members, chaos reigns and love and happiness flee.
D. Lee Tobler, a leader in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (or Mormons,) wrote, “One of the major stresses on families today is that the individual—the child or the parent—sees himself or herself, rather than the family, at the center of life. Focusing on ourselves, and not on the larger vision of bringing the family together, can lead to contention” (“Homegrown Happiness,” New Era, Feb 2004, 11.) The family can only thrive when its members watch out for each other.
Service, whether in or out of the home, is a matter of heart. We have to desire it, we have to want to see another person happy. In a world that values self-preservation so much, it’s often difficult for us to look outside of ourselves and put another first. But the more you serve, the more full your heart becomes—full of love for the person you have served.
This is a gift from God, a payment if you will, for putting another before yourself. The Book of Mormon reads, “when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God” (Mosiah 2:17.) Such love and devotion for another of God’s children brings Him joy and blesses your own life as well.
Elder Tobler wrote, “If the family is to be eternal, the family has to be first—the highest priority.” Mormons believe that not only is the family elemental for a happy life, it is essential for a joyful eternity. Let your family be the testing ground for your new commitment to serve and to love other people more than you love yourself. In so doing, be prepared for your heart to swell, not only with an increase in love, but with happiness overflowing.
Free to be Happy
Filed under: Finding joy within the gospel, Fruits of gospel living
I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, or the Mormon Church, as many people call it. I am what is called a ‘convert’ to the Church, which means that I was taught the gospel by missionaries and I joined as a young woman, of my own free will and choice.
My family, who are not Mormons, strongly disagreed with my choice. Though it’s been eighteen years since I made it—and they no longer question whether or not I am happy—still they regularly ask, “How can belong to a church that restricts your freedoms so much?” Because The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has a strong code of ethics, the Word of Wisdom which guides our physical habits, and a strict code of conduct for its members, my family assumes my freedom is also restricted and I am following the rules blindly.
But I do not choose to follow blindly, I choose to follow because in doing so I have found a greater happiness, a more reliable source of peace and contentment than I ever had before I joined the Church.
In 1987 Glenn L. Pace, a leader in the Mormon Church spoke about this very thing. When considering people who “look happy and free” he counseled:
“Don’t mistake telestial pleasure for celestial happiness and joy. Don’t mistake lack of self-control for freedom. Complete freedom without appropriate restraint makes us slaves to our appetites. Don’t envy a lesser and lower life” (“They’re Not Really Happy,” New Era, Mar 2002, 28.)
Book of Mormon prophet Lehi, had an amazing dream one night. In his vision he saw a great and spacious building, which scripture teaches us represents the pride and temptations of the world:
“And I … beheld … a great and spacious building; …
“And it was filled with people, both old and young, … and their manner of dress was exceedingly fine; and they were in the attitude of mocking and pointing their fingers towards those who … were partaking of the fruit” (1 Ne. 8:26–27).
Mormons have a phrase we repeat often: “Choose the right” we say. You’ll often see members of the Church wearing rings with the symbol CTR on them—they wear these to remind themselves to choose the right in every situation, wherever they may find themselves.
We need to remind ourselves to choose the right because everywhere we go there is temptation to enter that great and spacious building. It isn’t always easy to choose the right, to follow the Word of Wisdom or to be obedient to the counsel of leaders. But we know that as long as we do what is right we are more free, less burdened by guilt, and free from the chains of sin.
That freedom allows us to be who we were created to be. It allows us to be happy. The prophet Joseph Smith said:
“Happiness is the object and design of our existence; and will be the end thereof, if we pursue the path that leads to it; and this path is virtue, uprightness, faithfulness, holiness, and keeping all the commandments of God” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith [1976], 255–56.)
My family continues to ask why I would restrict myself so much by being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. And I continue to respond the way I always have. I feel more free now than I ever did before. I am happier now than I ever was before. I testify to you that if you will choose the right, to follow that path that which is marked by virtue, uprightness, faithfulness, holiness and keeping the commandments of God, you will be happy too.
Keep the Commandments and Be Happy
Filed under: Finding joy within the gospel, Fruits of gospel living, Joy in our relationship with the Savior
Recently I read a story in the Book of Mormon, another testament of Jesus Christ, that tells of Nephi and how he and his people “lived after the manner of happiness” (2 Ne 5:27.)
I want to live after the manner of happiness, don’t you? In fact, I’d hazard a guess that happiness is the life-long goal of every person who lives. Except, I think we too often believe, mistakenly, that happiness is to be found in success, riches, possessions, admiration, or the like. But that just isn’t so.
Happiness is to be found in our families, in our relationship with God, in our ability to look at ourselves in the mirror at the end of the day and like what we see. Oh, perhaps you won’t like the extra weight you are carrying, or the pimples that are popping up on your face so late in life, or the wrinkles that belie your age, but you can like the light that shines from your eyes—and that light can shine brighter if we have walked in the footsteps of the Lord.
When describing the lifestyle he and his people lived, Nephi said that “And we did observe to keep the judgments, and the statutes, and the commandments of the Lord in all things” (2 Ne. 5:10.)
I can testify from personal experience, that living righteously and keeping God’s commandments makes us happy. Alma, another Book of Mormon prophet, summed it up when he said, “Wickedness never was happiness” (Alma 41:10.) How many times have you done something you knew shouldn’t do? And how often did you later wish you hadn’t done that thing? If you’re anything like me the answer would be, too often.
In an address given to Brigham Young University students, Marlin K. Jensen, said:
“From the depths of my soul I testify that Satan wants us to believe we are an exception to God’s rules, that somehow our transgressions are more noble and justifiable than anyone’s have ever been. But that is a lie. And not only do we offend God by breaking His laws; we also offend ourselves and others, and thereby experience heartache, suffering, and misery—the exact opposites of happiness” (“How to Be Happy,” New Era, Aug 1999, 4.)
There was a time in my life when I truly did believe that I was an exception God’s rules. I was a victim of other peoples’ bad choices—how could I be expected to do what was right when so many in my life had done me wrong? I felt justified in being bad because being good didn’t seem to get me anywhere.
I would have to write a whole book to explain how I came to see the error in my thinking, but suffice it to say, I had that precious ‘aha’ moment wherein I finally came to see that in choosing to continue my bad behavior, I only continued to hurt myself. It was only when I started to do what I knew was right, to follow God’s commandments, that I began to feel my burden lifted, and I began to feel hope.
Now, after seventeen years of practicing righteous behavior, I can honestly say that “wickedness never was happiness.” Don’t get me wrong, I am certainly not perfect. Not even close. But I am somewhat further down the road of obedience than I once was and I am happier for it.
If you feel burdened by wrong choices, either your own or those of others, I encourage you to turn your face to God. Seek to do what He commands as outlined in the scriptures, and I promise He will lift your burdens and reward you with happiness to cheer your days.
Your Family and Your Happiness
Filed under: Finding joy within the gospel, Fruits of gospel living
It’s all very well and good for us to decide to be happy, but how in the world do we make it happen? How do you go from a life that is full of challenges and upset to a life that is full of optimism and happiness?
It’s not only my job to think of how it might be done, it’s also my life’s mission—just like I’m sure it’s yours. All of us are striving to be happy, all of the time. It’s just that we are all at various stages of finding (or losing) it.
I love the Book of Mormon, which is another testament of Jesus Christ. Whenever life gets hard for me, I turn to its pages and no matter how many times I’ve read it, I still learn something new. So, I went to the Book of Mormon to determine what it might have to say on the topic of happiness.
There were a lot of challenges in Book of Mormon times, but there was a lot of happiness too. Just after Nephi went his own way, apart from his brothers Laman and Lemuel, he established a society based on gospel truths. Nephi says of his group of believers, “And it came to pass that we lived after the manner of happiness” (2 Ne 5:27.)
But how? How did they live after the manner of happiness?
When Nephi left his brothers, he did not strike out alone. He said, “I … did take my family … and Sam, mine elder brother and his family, and Jacob and Joseph, my younger brethren, and also my sisters” (2 Ne 5:6.)
When I married my husband, we had the opportunity to move five thousand miles away from where we lived at the time to go to a school he really wanted to attend. At the time it seemed like a small matter to just throw our things into the back of our car and drive off into the sunset. Except, now we have spent the last seventeen years of our marriage trying to get back to my family.
What I didn’t value then, I long for now with all my heart. There is never money enough to go visit, the distance is too great for a visit of any length anyway and with little children the task becomes not only even more daunting but even more important.
What I once valued for naught, I now value more than anything. I would happier, I’m sure, if I lived near my family—I lived as if they mattered. Marlin K. Jensen, in an address given to Brigham Young University students, said:
“There was good reason that Nephi took his more righteous siblings with him into the wilderness. He belonged to them and they belonged to him. There is no other organization that can so completely satisfy our need for belonging and provide the resulting happiness that a family can” (“How to Be Happy,” New Era, Aug 1999, 4.)
If your family is anything like mine, sometimes they drive you crazy and you wish maybe they would appreciate you more, do things differently or … a myriad of other things. But in the end, it’s your family that you cling to in times of difficulty. It’s your family that can pull you out of the quagmire of loneliness and sadness.
Your family belongs to you as you do to them. No one will or could ever love you like they do. Hold them close, listen to them and learn from them. Therein lies an important key to happiness.
The Path to Happiness
Filed under: Finding joy within the gospel, Fruits of gospel living, Joy in our relationship with the Savior
Often, I have quoted the Mormon Prophet Joseph Smith when he declared: “Happiness is the object and design of our existence; and will be the end thereof, if we pursue the path that leads to it; and this path is virtue, uprightness, faithfulness, holiness, and keeping all the commandments of God” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pp. 255–56.)
How to be happy seems pretty clear, then. As long as we are on the path that he describes, we’ll be happy. But how do we get on that path? How do we stay on it? President Thomas S. Monson, then a member of the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, described in his article entitled “Happiness—The Universal Quest” (Ensign, Oct 1993, 2,) the ways that we can get on the path and stay there.
First, the path of virtue. The dictionary proffers the definition of virtue as “conformity to a standard of right: … a particular moral excellence,” the beneficial qualities of “strength or courage”—even “valor.”
Temptation comes to all of us, there are none who can escape its reach. However, we are not left defenseless in the face of such trials of character or moral courage. The Apostle Paul assured us that “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (1 Cor 10:13.)
President Monson said that our conscience warns us as a friend before it punishes us as a judge. And I love that because all of us have that little voice in the back of our mind that whispers to us about the choices we are making—most of us can accurately distinguish between right and wrong, it’s just whether we choose to listen to that voice of reason or not that determines how we might act. We must “Learn that he who doeth the works of righteousness shall receive his reward, even peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come”(D&C 59:23.)
Second, the path of uprightness. Few of us live perfectly upright lives. Perhaps none before or after Job have truly attained this righteous goal. However, Job didn’t live a perfect life—far from it. His life was beset with trials worthy of the most unlucky soul on earth. Yet, his moral compass never faltered and he never gave in to the temptation to just give up.
Dr. Karl Menninger, stated that the only way our suffering, struggling, anxious society can hope to prevent its moral ills is by recognizing the reality of sin. That’s the theme of his famed publication, Whatever Became of Sin? a plea to mankind to stop and look at what we are doing to ourselves, to each other and to our universe. Dr. Menninger referred to Socrates, who wondered, “How is it that men know what is good, but do what is bad?” Said Dr. Menninger, “I have come to the conclusion that the ‘Everyone is doing it’ morality which characterizes our public-business world is crippling people. We must believe in our personal responsibility to correct our individual transgressions—the white lies, the petty cheating, the apathy, which characterize our passive existence.” He further stressed, “If the concept of personal responsibility and answerability for ourselves and for others were to return to common acceptance and man once again would feel guilt for sins and repent and establish a conscience that would act as a deterrent for further sin, then hope would return to the world” (See Karl Menninger, Whatever Became of Sin? (New York: Hawthorn Books, Inc., 1973.)
Third, the path of faithfulness. This path connotes allegiance, loyalty, and adherence to promises. Faithfulness does not take holidays or days off. We can’t be faithful one minute but not the next. It is constant by its very definition.
The key to faithfulness is to have your goal in mind and to never waver. N. Eldon Tanner declared: “I would rather walk barefoot from here to the celestial kingdom … than to let the things of this world keep me out” (In Conference Report, Sept.–Oct. 1966, pp. 98–99.)
I often quote Captain Nesmith from the movie Galaxy Quest, “Never give up—never surrender.” And so too, must we never give up our quest for true happiness, nor surrender our virtue and moral values to get there.
Fourth, the path of holiness. Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ entreated all of us to follow His righteous example, to live as He lived. He spared no needy person His time or His compassion. He gave of his help however and whenever he could. And He wanted us to do the same.
If we walk in His footsteps, this will lead us to on a holy path, which path leads to happiness in this life and joy beyond imagining in the life to come. Few of us will attain the sort of holiness we associate with the Savior, but what a glorious life it would be if we only tried.
Fifth, keep all the commandments of God. “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him” (John 14:21.)
I testify that as long we keep our sights set on our eternal goal and strive to keep our feet soundly on the path that leads us home, we will experience happiness, even joy, every day of our lives. This is the life God intended for us to have. He wants us to be happy. Let’s not disappoint Him.
How to Find Gratitude in a World of Hardship
Filed under: Finding joy within the gospel, Fruits of gospel living
Cicero, the great Roman orator, claimed that gratitude was “not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others” (Marcus Tullius Cicero, Pro Plancio, 54 b.c.) With a grateful heart, our minds are free to experience true happiness because we aren’t distracted by complaints and self-pity. President Joseph F. Smith, former leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (or Mormon Church,) proclaimed: “The grateful man sees so much in the world to be thankful for, and with him the good outweighs the evil” (Gospel Doctrine, 5th ed. [1939], 263.)
But how, in a world that fights to drag us down and does such a good job at it too, do we keep our hearts happy, full of gratitude and thanksgiving?
The very first thing we must do is to open our eyes to all the blessings in the world around us.
Some days there may be little to be thankful for, it might be as small as that you are still breathing—and perhaps at times, that doesn’t exactly feel like a blessing. Yet, you are alive and therefore able to face another day, able to look and see what other blessings may come your way.
Once you start looking for blessings, you are sure to find them. If they are difficult to find at first, keep looking, keep counting, and you will soon find that you truly do have a great deal for which to be thankful.
Once our eyes are open and we can see the blessings in our lives, the next thing we must do is to open our hearts. Often our hearts become so hardened that even when we can see that which we should be grateful for, it’s hard to crack that tough shell and let our hearts be filled. Yet fill it we must, with love, faith and thanksgiving.
To live in thanksgiving daily is the surest way to keep our hearts open to the opportunities around us and to ensure that we continue to recognize and receive continued blessings.
One of the best ways to show gratitude for our blessings is to strive to bless the lives of those around us. The Book of Mormon prophet, King Benjamin taught his people:
“If you should render all the thanks and praise which your whole soul has power to possess, to that God who has created you, and has kept and preserved you, and has caused that ye should rejoice. …
“… If ye should serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants” (Mosiah 2:20–21.)
If ever you are uncertain how to render thanks to God, King Benjamin told us that as well: “And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God” (Mosiah 2:17).
A grateful heart can be your greatest boon in your life. President Gordon B. Hinckley has said:
“My plea is that we stop seeking out the storms and enjoy more fully the sunlight. I am suggesting that as we go through life, we ‘accentuate the positive.’ I am asking that we look a little deeper for the good, that we still our voices of insult and sarcasm, that we more generously compliment and endorse virtue and effort” (Standing for Something [2000], 101.)
Choice blessings await those who live in thanksgiving daily. “He who receiveth all things with thankfulness,” the Lord has promised, “shall be made glorious; and the things of this earth shall be added unto him, even an hundred fold, yea, more” (D&C 78:19.)
Among the blessings you can expect to receive, happiness is sure to be one of them. Develop a grateful heart and not only your heart but your life will be filled with happiness.