Happiness

Am I happy?  I believe that I am.  But I also look forward to the day when I could be happier.  When that day will come and what will make it be better than today I do not know.  Perhaps I am looking too far.

According the “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness: A Cautionary Tale” published by the Acton Foundation suggests, “You likely are as happy today as you ever will be.” (pg 2)  I do have many blessings and things to be thankful for.  I live in a free country.  My family has sufficient supplies/things to meet our needs.  My kids are healthy and happy.  We have a beautiful home to protect us.  What do I think I need to be happier? 

My dad gave a devotional address at BYU-H last fall about happiness.  He suggested 3 things to become happy.  The first is to open your eyes.  We are surrounded by many wonderful things.  My kids have the opportunity to attend school and get a quality education.  My husband has a job that allows him many freedoms and supports our family.  I have always been blessed with the opportunity to stay home with my kids.  Looking for the good things, and realizing how blessed we really are can cause us to be happy.  The second thing is to surround ourselves with happy people.  I have found this to have a profound effect on me lately.  I have been around a few people that are draining and negative, and difficult to be with.  I realized how much their attitudes and complaints were effecting me.  I have learned to continue to be a positive person around them, but to not spend too much time around that negativity.  I have also found strength surrounding myself with family members and friends who are positive.  My parents are always positive and encouraging in the counsel they give.  The prophet and the apostles are always happy and positive in their counsel as well.  The last thing my dad suggested was to show gratitude.  Showing gratitude to others, especially our family members, can create a feeling of happiness that can swell to all members of the family.  Showing gratitude to my Father in Heaven is also important.  When we show gratitude, we are acknowledging the happiness we feel.  And we then have the desire to share that happiness with others.

To be successful, I believe I need to be happy and keep a positive attitude.  Whether it is successfully finishing this class or successfully finishing my degree, successfully raising righteous children that qualify for the blessings of the temple, or successfully serving each and every day.  I will gain so much more if I do each of these things with a happy attitude.  

The Challenge to Become

(Elder Dallin H Oaks, October 2000 General Conference)

With current issues now challenging the world and causing much controversy, I need to know where I stand.  Now, more than ever, I need to be converted to the gospel.  But in addition to that, Elder Oaks suggested that I need even more.  I need to “become something.”

“Final judgement is not just an evaluation of the sum total of good and evil acts – what we have done.  It is an acknowledgment of the final effects of our acts and thoughts – what we have become.”

Heavenly Father knows of my divine potential.  He knows what I need to do to return to Him.  He knows who I am capable of becoming and who He needs me to be. The choices I make each day make a difference in who I become.  I can show others what I believe and what is important to me by my actions.  If I can understand what I believe and why, if I can allow the Atonement of Jesus Christ to change me, I can become who Heavenly Father needs me to become. 

All of the experience I have here on earth are to help me become.   They are opportunities for me grow and learn and become who Heavenly Father needs me to become.  Sometimes it is for my own growth and learning, and other times it is for someone else.  I need to allow myself to change and hopefully have “no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually.”  (Mosiah 5:2)

I have seen that change as I serve in my calling as a mother or at church.  I find that I want to live up to what Heavenly Father knows I can do.  He believes I can do more, He knows where He needs me to be, and He knows that I can become what He needs me to become.

“We must not give up hope.  We must not stop striving.  We are children of God, and it is possible for us to become what our Heavenly Father would have us become.”