On Happiness

On Happiness…

Bliss, contentment, delight, elation, enjoyment, euphoria, exhilaration, glee, joy, jubilation, laughter, optimism, peace of mind, prosperity, well-being, blessedness, delectation, ecstasy, felicity, gaiety, geniality, gladness, hope, paradise, sanctity, vivacity, and cheeriness. All these things pertain to happiness, but what does it really mean? Everyone wants it, but do we know in reality what we actually want?

Everyone draws towards happiness in one way or another. God wants us to be happy too, but there are so many questions attached as to what it really means, and how to rightly obtain it.

For example, if everyone wants so much to be happy, why is sometimes so hard?

If God wants us to be happy, why does He let so many sad things happen?

Is happiness a fleeting feeling that depends on what we have or don’t have?

Can true happiness even be obtained in this life?

Can it ever be permanent?

In 2 Nephi 2:25 it says “Adam fell that man might be and men are that they might have joy.”

We’re here to be happy! So why aren’t we happy all the time? Well, we wouldn’t ever know what happiness felt like if we hadn’t ever experienced adversity.  If sadness never dug holes in our hearts, there would be no holes to fill with happiness. We can’t experience joy if we have never known it’s opposite.

If God wants us to be happy, why does He let so many sad things happen?

When it says “men are that they might have joy” that encompasses all that it takes to experience joy, which also includes sadness.

God’s plan was for us to come here and have tests and trials. But God’s plan is also the Plan of Happiness. He knows that the faith that will be required of us will also bring great joy.

Is happiness a fleeting feeling that depends on what we have or don’t have?

So many people are wandering around, searching up and down for any sign of delight. But so many are looking in the wrong places. Drugs, immorality, selfishness, (anything that isn’t done for God) can lead to what I like to call “Jump and Splat Syndrome.” People that have this seek for happiness in little spurts. They do these things which give them a little ‘high’ and then afterward, plunge down into something that could lead to addiction and remorse.  They jump off a cliff and get a thrill, but then after a while they find themselves splat upon the ground.

This is seeking for happiness in fulfillment of carnal desires. This is Satan’s warped version of happiness, and it will not last!

Can true happiness even be obtained in this life?

True happiness comes when we are living in accordance with God’s law. And that includes the law of the Atonement. Of course we are going to have ups and downs, but repentance can make us pure again and ready to receive a fullness of joy.

Our thoughts play a huge role in living in accordance with that law. I believe gratitude is key. When we are sincerely grateful, then we will do the right things to show our love and appreciation. And God said “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”

What can we do in order to serve God? Serve others! Isn’t it interesting that in order to find ourselves, we must lose ourselves?

Being selfish is quite a burden. When you are selfish, you are never content and always wanting more and also blaming others.

Service is a great way to throw off that burden, and find true happiness.

It’s really all about living the gospel.

Can it ever be permanent?

The true lasting happiness that is really worthwhile comes with the Spirit. When we are doing things to have the Spirit, we can be happy in knowing that we’ll have that constant peace.

It’s teamwork! You can’t do it all on your own; you need God’s strength. His grace and His Spirit are power.

The Spirit connects us to our true selves. It is the bridge to our divinity. When we are doing things that bring the spirit, we are doing what God wants and what He put us here to do.

As long as we are sincerely trying to do God’s will and being grateful as we live the gospel joyfully, then true happiness will pour abundantly into our lives.