Guaranteed Sucess

 

Focus on Jesus Christ and His Gospel

By Elder I. Raymond Egbo

Of the Seventy

...when we ignore the distractions of the world and focus on Christ and His gospel, we are guaranteed success beyond what we can fully imagine and can feel great joy....

Even severe trials can be “swallowed up in the joy of Christ.”

Are You Looking for Joy?

 

A Higher Joy

By Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Jesus taught, “Seek, and ye shall find.”

I believe this simple phrase is not only a spiritual promise; it is a statement of fact.

If we seek reasons to be angry, to doubt, to be bitter or alone, we will find them too.

However, if we seek joy—if we look for reasons to rejoice and to happily follow the Savior, we will find them.

We rarely find something we are not looking for.

Are you looking for joy?

Seek, and ye shall find....

“When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God,” and God will repay your kindness generously. The joy you give to others will return to you in “good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over.”

“What Shall We Do Then?”

During the coming days, weeks, and months, may I invite you to:

• Spend time in a sincere, full-hearted effort to draw near to God.

• Seek diligently for everyday moments of hope, peace, and joy.

• Bring joy to others around you.

Be of Good Cheer

 

Be Peaceable Followers of Christ

By Elder Quentin L. Cook

Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Striving always to be of good cheer helps avoid being cast down in spirit.

Unhappiness Rose with Screen Time

 

Let Joy Find You

Happiness isn’t a destination; it’s something that finds you along the way.

---

By Emily Smurthwaite Edmonds (BA ’01, MA ’04) in the Winter 2023 issue

Even a small dose of fresh air can be beneficial. “Time outside resets our mental capacities and makes us more effective, productive, and creative.”...

Recent research backs up the benefits of cutting back. One study found that the happiest teens spent less than an hour each day looking at a screen, and unhappiness scores rose with screen time. Similarly, measures of life satisfaction, self-esteem, and happiness drastically fell for adolescents following 2012, the first year more than 50 percent of Americans reported owning a smartphone. While Hill notes the damaging comparison mindset that social media often invites, he believes the greatest danger is tech “distracting us from being fully present with each other as we go about our lives.”

Throw off the Beggar's Coat

 

Rise! He Calleth Thee

By Elder Massimo De Feo

Of the Seventy

As long as we make excuses to feel sorry for ourselves, sorry for our circumstances and problems, and sorry for all the bad things happening in our lives and even all the bad people who we think make us unhappy, we keep the beggar’s coat on our shoulders. It is true that at times people, consciously or not, hurt us. But we need to decide to act with faith in Christ by removing the mental and emotional coat that we might still wear to hide excuses or sin and throw it away, knowing that He can and will heal us.

Kind = Forgiving and Nonjudgmental

 

Hallmarks of Happiness

By Elder Gary B. Sabin

Of the Seventy

We will never regret being too kind. In God’s eyes, kindness is synonymous with greatness. Part of being kind is being forgiving and nonjudgmental....

We are surrounded by innumerable blessings that we can easily take for granted if we are not mindful. Conversely, when nothing is expected and everything is appreciated, life becomes magical....

How our awareness would change if every morning we awoke with only the blessings we were grateful for the night before. Failure to appreciate our blessings can result in a sense of dissatisfaction, which can rob us of the joy and happiness that gratitude engenders. Those in the great and spacious building entice us to look beyond the mark, thereby missing the mark entirely....

I promise you that if we build our lives upon the foundation of Jesus Christ; value our true identity as sons and daughters of God; remember the worth of a soul; maintain an eternal perspective; and gratefully appreciate our many blessings, especially Christ’s invitation to come unto Him, we can find the true happiness we seek during this mortal adventure. Life will still have its challenges, but we will be able to better face each with a sense of purpose and peace because of the eternal truths we understand and live by.

Our Savior Focused on Joy

 President Nelson reminds us that joy played a role in the Savior’s suffering—“for the joy that was set before him [He] endured the cross” (Hebrews 12:2).

“Think of that! In order for Him to endure the most excruciating experience ever endured on earth, our Savior focused on joy!

“And what was the joy that was set before Him? Surely it included the joy of cleansing, healing, and strengthening us; the joy of paying for the sins of all who would repent; the joy of making it possible for you and me to return home—clean and worthy—to live with our Heavenly Parents and families.

“If we focus on the joy that will come to us, or to those we love, what can we endure that presently seems overwhelming, painful, scary, unfair, or simply impossible?”

Russell M. Nelson, “Joy and Spiritual Survival,” Liahona, Nov. 2016, 83.

Joy and Spiritual Survival

October 2016 general conference

Enduring Joy

 

The Lasting Joy of Gospel Living

By Elder D. Todd Christofferson

Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Enduring joy comes by enduring in the gospel of Jesus Christ and helping others do the same. Lasting joy comes as we abide in the love of God, obeying His commandments and receiving the Savior’s grace. In the gospel path, there is joy in the journey as well as joy at the end. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the path of daily joy.

Peace and Power of God

 President Brigham Young (1801–77) beautifully taught that the circumstances in our lives do not determine our outlook. He said: “Thrust a man into prison and bind him with chains and then let him be filled with the comfort and with the glory of eternity, and that prison is a palace to him. Again, let a man be seated upon a throne with power and dominion in this world, ruling his millions and millions, and without that peace which flows from the Lord of Hosts, without that contentment and joy that comes from heaven, his palace is a prison, his life is a burden to him; he lives in fear, in dread, and in sorrow. But when a person is filled with the peace and power of God, all is right with him.”

Brigham Young, “Remarks,” Deseret News, July 15, 1857, 148.

Days Filled with Sorrow

 

What Church Leaders Have Said about Aging Faithfully

...But whenever my steps led through seasons of sadness and sorrow, my mother’s words often came back to me: ‘Come what may, and love it.’

“How can we love days that are filled with sorrow? We can’t—at least not in the moment. I don’t think my mother was suggesting that we suppress discouragement or deny the reality of pain. I don’t think she was suggesting that we smother unpleasant truths beneath a cloak of pretended happiness. But I do believe that the way we react to adversity can be a major factor in how happy and successful we can be in life.

“If we approach adversities wisely, our hardest times can be times of greatest growth, which in turn can lead toward times of greatest happiness.”⁸

—Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin (1917–2008) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

State of Never Ending Happiness

 

The Divine Purposes of Sexual Intimacy

By Elder Dale G. Renlund

Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

and Ruth Lybbert Renlund

When our circumstances feel unfair to us, it is best to follow King Benjamin’s advice. He said, “I would desire that ye should 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; emphasis added).

Ultimately, nothing compares to the infinite unfairness the Savior endured. Yet, if we are faithful, He will compensate us for any unfairness we experience, and we will achieve a state of never-ending happiness....

Through Jesus Christ and His Atonement, we can be strengthened to resist temptation. All God’s children who experience temptation of any kind can turn to the Savior for help.¹⁸ Jesus Christ understands what we are going through because He “was in all points tempted like as we are,” and we are encouraged to “come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:15, 16).

Increase The World's Happiness

 "You have it easily in your power to increase the sum total of this world's happiness now. How? By giving a few words of sincere appreciation to someone who is lonely or discouraged. Perhaps you will forget tomorrow the kind words you say today, but the recipient may cherish them over a lifetime.

Dale Carnegie 

Holiness = Happiness

Holiness and the Plan of Happiness
BY PRESIDENT HENRY B. EYRING Second Counselor in the First Presidency

Only by faith in Jesus Christ, continuing repentance, and keeping covenants are we able to claim the lasting happiness we all yearn to experience and retain. My prayer for today is that I may help you understand that greater happiness comes from greater personal holiness so that you will act upon that belief....

The scriptures teach us that among other things, we can be sanctified or become more holy when we exercise faith in Christ, demonstrate our obedience, repent, sacrifice for Him, receive sacred ordinances, and keep our covenants with Him. Qualifying for the gift of holiness requires humility, meekness, and patience...

Greater holiness will not come simply by asking for it. It will come by doing what is needed for God to change us.

Power to Overcome the Adversary

Power to Overcome the Adversary
BY ELDER PETER M. JOHNSON Of the Seventy

Let us be careful and not casual in our use of technology. Continually seek for ways that technology can draw us closer to the Savior and allow us to accomplish His work as we prepare for His Second Coming....

My dear friends, please do not let anyone steal your happiness. Do not compare yourself to others....

First, remember that the first and great commandment is to love God with our heart, might, mind, and strength. All that we do should be motivated by our love for Him and for His Son. As we develop our love for Them by keeping Their commandments, our capacity to love ourselves and to love others will increase. We will begin to serve family, friends, and neighbors because we will see them as the Savior sees them—as sons and daughters of God....

Elder David A. Bednar taught: “The ordinance of the sacrament is a holy and repeated invitation to repent sincerely and to be renewed spiritually. The act of partaking of the sacrament, in and of itself, does not remit sins. But as we prepare conscientiously and participate in this holy ordinance with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, then the promise is that we may always have the Spirit of the Lord to be with us.”...

My friends, I promise that as we strive to love God with all our heart, pray in the name of Jesus Christ, study the Book of Mormon, and prayerfully partake of the sacrament, we will have the ability, with the strength of the Lord, to overcome the deceptive practices of the adversary, to minimize distractions that limit our divine potential, and to resist the discouragement that diminishes our capacity to feel the love of our Heavenly Father and His Son. We will come to fully understand who we are as sons and daughters of God.

Like a Kite on a String and the Winds Blow

Consistent and Resilient Trust
BY ELDER L. TODD BUDGE Of the Seventy

In a paradoxical way, afflictions and sorrow prepare us to experience joy if we will trust in the Lord and His plan for us. This truth is beautifully expressed by a 13th-century poet: “Sorrow prepares you for joy. It violently sweeps everything out of your house, so that new joy can find space to enter. It shakes the yellow leaves from the bough of your heart, so that fresh, green leaves can grow in their place. It pulls up the rotten roots, so that new roots hidden beneath have room to grow. Whatever sorrow shakes from your heart, far better things will take their place.”

Less Wi-Fi, More Nephi

True Disciples of the Savior
BY ELDER TERENCE M. VINSON Of the Presidency of the Seventy

“What we need here is less Wi-Fi and more Nephi!”...

We can feel enduring joy when our Savior and His gospel become the framework around which we build our lives. However, it’s so easy for that framework to become, instead, the things of the world, where the gospel sits as an optional extra or as simply attending church for two hours on Sundays. ...

it’s not our successes but rather our sacrifice and efforts that matter to the Lord....

There is no treasure, nor any hobby, nor any status, nor any social media, nor any video games, nor any sport, nor any association with a celebrity, nor anything on earth that is more precious than eternal life. So the Lord’s counsel to every person is “consider your ways.”

Happiness in the Midst of the Trial of our Faith

Happiness comes as a result of our obedience and our courage in always doing the will of God, even in the most difficult circumstances. When the prophet Lehi warned the inhabitants of Jerusalem, they mocked him, and, as with other ancient prophets, they sought to take away his life. I quote the prophet Nephi: “I … will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance.”...

Yes, we find happiness in the midst of the trial of our faith. The Lord manifests Himself to us through His tender mercies, which we find along the road of happiness. We see with increased clarity His hand in our lives.

True Happiness:

A Conscious Decision

Elder Benjamín De Hoyos

Of the Seventy

The Spirit of God

President George Q. Cannon (1827–1901), First Counselor in the First Presidency, stated: “Whenever darkness fills our minds, we may know that we are not possessed of the Spirit of God. … When we are filled with the Spirit of God, we are filled with joy, with peace and with happiness no matter what our circumstances may be; for it is a spirit of cheerfulness and of happiness.”

Gospel Truth: Discourses and Writings of George Q. Cannon, sel. Jerreld L. Newquist (1987), 17.

Happiness Doesn't Come Through World Travel

Family: The Fountain of Happiness

By Elder Erich W. Kopischke

Of the Seventy

From a devotional address, “What Do You Envision in Life?” delivered at Brigham Young University on December 2, 2014. For the full text, visit speeches.byu.edu.

Mar 2018 Ensign pg 58

Nothing has provided more happiness and satisfaction in our lives than the joy we have found in one another and in our posterity. Once we understood that these are just the beginnings of our eternal progression and therefore only the very first levels of our joy and happiness, we were—and are—willing to sacrifice all we have to live the doctrine of the family and to see our vision fully realized.

I invite you to ponder this doctrine and to come to know for yourself what really matters most. This type of happiness is at the heart of our existence. And the happiness that stems from congenial relationships among husband, wife, and children always grows.

I invite you to set personal goals regarding your vision. In Preach My Gospel we read: “Goals reflect the desires of our hearts and our vision of what we can accomplish. Through goals and plans, our hopes are transformed into action. Goal setting and planning are acts of faith.”

Happier Lives

President Monson taught: “When we keep the commandments, our lives will be happier, more fulfilling, and less complicated. Our challenges and problems will be easier to bear, and we will receive [God’s] promised blessings.”8 He also said, “The knowledge which we seek, the answers for which we yearn, and the strength which we desire today to meet the challenges of a complex and changing world can be ours when we willingly obey the Lord’s commandments.”

1. Thomas S. Monson, “Keep the Commandments,” Ensign, Nov. 2015, 83.
2. Thomas S. Monson, “Obedience Brings Blessings,” Ensign,May 2013, 92.