...With Happiness

Do you want to be happy? Of course you do! And I found the secret equation for happiness! Are you ready to be happy?

Family + Commandments + Scriptures + Temples + Work + Priesthood = Happiness

How do I know this? And where is the proof? Take a look in the Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 5:

1. Family. Nephi's older brothers don't really like him. In fact, they want to kill him. So what does Nephi do? He "flees into the wilderness" (verse 5) and the first thing he says he takes with him is his family (see v. 6). 

2. Keep the Commandments. Nephi tells of the first thing his family does as they settle in the wilderness: "...we did observe to keep the judgements, and the statutes, and the commandments of the Lord in all things..." (v. 10)

3. Study the Scriptures.  Another thing Nephi mentions bringing as he fled into the wilderness were the "plates of brass" (v. 12), or their current scriptures. Nephi and his family read and prayed about this record often. 

4. Temple Attendance. Once Nephi and his family settled down what was the first thing he speaks of building? Temples! "...after the manner of the temple of Solomon..." (v. 16) they built and worshiped in temples.

5. Work. Work fixes that which doesn't work anymore. Nephi taught his people that they needed to "labor with their hands" (v. 17) or to learn to work for themselves. A valuable trait we all need to learn.

6. Priesthood and Following the Prophet. The last thing Nephi mentions doing is ordaining his younger brothers to "be priests and teachers" (v. 26) so that the people would have the blessings of the priesthood to lead and direct them.

So how does this equal happiness? After describing the pattern that Nephi and his people live, he tells us of their standard of living. He says "And it came to pass that we lived after the manner of happiness." (v. 27) If we follow this pattern, set by a prophet of God, we too will find that we are living "after the manner of happiness." Now go be happy! 

...With Forget-Me-Nots

President Uchtdorf just this last weekend shared a small legend about the small Forget-Me-Not flowers. In Germany they say that just after God had finished naming each plant one was forgotten -- the Forget-Me-Not flower. In despair the flower cried out, "Forget me not, oh, Lord!" and that is how it got its name.

There is great significance in the simple Forget-Me-Nots. President Uchtdorf used its 5 small petals to remind us of 5 simple things:

1. Forget not to be patient with yourself. God is aware that we are not perfect. He is also aware that the people we think are perfect are not. Keep working on learning and growing, but stop punishing yourself for your imperfections.
2. Forget not the difference between a good sacrifice and a foolish sacrifice. We need to ask ourselves if we are committing ourselves to the best things.
3. Forget not to be happy now. If we are always looking forward to our expectations for the future we miss out on the joys of now and today. Don't put your happiness on hold while waiting for some future event. Discover and treasure the small daily moments.
4. Forget not the "Why" of the gospel. Sometimes we get caught up in "what" we need to do, or "how" we need to do it. We should not see the gospel as a long list of tasks that we must somehow fit into our busy schedules. The gospel is not an obligation, it is a pathway. Don't get distracted by what we need to do, but focus on the fire of the "why". The "why" of the gospel transforms the mundane into the magestic.
5. Forget not that the Lord loves you. No matter how dark your days may seem, no matter how insignificant you may feel, no matter how overshadowed you may feel your Heavenly Father has not forgotten you.