A Recipe for Happiness

While sitting in a devotional at BYU-Idaho, a scripture in Mosiah was read and I felt that this scripture gave a good guide to happiness

Mosiah 4:11-12

And again I say unto you as I have said before, that as ye have come to the knowledge of the glory of God, or if ye have tasted of his love, and have received a remission of your sins, which causeth such exceedingly great joy in your souls, even so I would that ye should remember, and always retain in remembrance, the greatness of God, and your own nothingness, and his goodness and long-suffering towards you, unworthy creatures, and humble yourselves even in the depths of humility, calling on the name of the lord daily, and standing steadfastly in the faith of that wish is to come, which was spoken by the mouth of the angel.

And behold, I say unto you that if ye do this ye shall always rejoice, and be filled with the love of God, and always retain a remission of your sins; and ye shall grow in the knowledge of the glory of him that created you, or in the knowledge of that which is just and true.

there are 7 things that I picked out that would help us "always rejoice, and be filled with the love of God"

1) "Come to the knowledge and glory God..."
          Or in other words gaining a testimony. I think Alma best describes this process
          Alma 32 is a great chapter on faith in verse 27 Alma invites us to experiment on the word of God and exercise faith, even if its just a particle of faith, or even if we just have a desire to have faith. and then let this "seed of faith" grow by continually nurturing it.

2) "Received a remission of your sins"
          I think its note worthy that King Benjamin states that exceedingly great joy will be brought to our souls when we repent.
          Repentance does not have to be drudgery or painful. But a happy occasion when we can humble ourselves and become closer to our God.

3)Remember the greatness of God and our own nothingness
          I don't believe King Benjamin was trying to say that we are worthless but that God is all powerful and we need him in our lives at all times. BUT without God we are nothing, and worthless.

4) "His goodness and long-suffering towards you..."
          God has never left anyone for a moment. He loves all his children and will always be there for them. His goodness and long-suffering towards the children of men is infinite. If you feel alone, left out, and/or abandoned remember that God is there beside you waiting for you to call upon Him for help

5) "humble yourselves..."
          there must be a difference between being humble and to be humble to the depths of humility. I'm not entirely sure what that may entail, probably because I am not even close to that kind of humility, but this may be something all of us have to ponder and pray upon

6) "calling on the name of the Lord Daily..."
          Alma 34:17-27   Basically it says pray always and when you aren't praying have a  prayer in your heart. (click on the scripture to go to LDS.org and read the verses)

7) "Stand steadfastly in the faith of that which is to come"
          At the time that King Benjamin gave this address they were looking forward to the arrival of there redeemer and the performance of the Atonement ("that which is to come") we can re-word this as:

Stand unfalteringly in the faith of the Atonement

verse 12 promises us that if we do these things we can have 3 things

1) Always rejoice and be filled with the love of God

2) Retain a remission of your sins

3) Grow in the knowledge of the glory of God

Gratitude

As I was sitting in one of the long but spiritually uplifting meetings the church holds twice a year, called Stake Conference, I happened to have found some inspiration.

This conference was being broadcast from the Motherland, otherwise known as Utah. A man, whose name and position in the church escapes me, came up to the podium and started to talk about gratitude and the holiday season

My thoughts turned to thanksgiving and the retail industry's ever increasing desire to incite the general public to spend money on Christmas gifts at an earlier and earlier time every year.

Thanksgiving seems to be overlooked. There are plenty of decorations to be found everywhere for Halloween and then soon after for Christmas. It may seem as if we skip from one candy receiving holiday to the next candy and gift receiving holiday.

I thought, does my life reflect this retail tradition that I disagree with? Do I go from one "me activity" to the next "me activity" not pausing to find a quiet, clean space where I can kneel and pray in thanks to my loving Father in heaven? I think we can all look at our lives and be a little more grateful for all the blessing we have.

To sum up the talk I mentioned earlier:

Gratitude is not just saying thanks. It is an Attitude of recognizing where our blessings come from.

Lets not be like the pig who eats the acorns and never looks up and recognizes from whence they came.

"Arise from the dust, My sons, and be men"

"And now that my soul might have joy in you, and that my heart might leave this world with gladness because of you, that I might not be brought down with grief and sorrow to the grave, arise from the dust, my sons, and be men, and be determined in one mind and in one heart, united in all things, that ya may not come down into captivity;

That ye may not be cursed with a sore cursing; and also, that ye may not incur the displeasure of a just God upon you, unto the destruction, yea the eternal destruction of both soul and body.
Awake, my sons; put on the armor of righteousness. Shake off the chains with which ye are bound, and come forth out of obscurity, and arise from the dust.

Rebel no more against your brother, .... and who hath kept the commandments..."
2 Nephi 1:21-24

Lehi, in the final moments of his mortality, gave some final advise to his wayward sons, Laman and Lemuel. In these few short verses Lehi, the dying prophet, gives some wonderful advise for anyone.

1)Determined in one mind and in one heart
Any group of people whether its a family, a church group, or work related needs a common goal.

2)United in all Things

What good does a common goal do if everyone isn't united in that goal? Unity is probably more important than having a goal, at least in my opinion.

3)Put on the armor of righteousnesses

A righteous life protects us from the evil around us everyday. Much like armor protects the wearer. Living a righteous christ-like life will yield better reward than anything else.

4)Don't Argue, and Keep the commandment

This last one is basically the same. We are all Brothers and Sisters just trying to get through life. There is no reason for hate or envy. If we all just keep the commandments and try to get along we would be living in a much better world.

Our Potential

Ode on Intimations of Immortality
Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting
The soul that rises with us, our life's star,Hath had elsewhere its settingAnd cometh from afar;Not in entire forgetfulness,And not in utter nakedness,But trailing clouds of glory do we comeFrom God, Who is our home~William Wordsworth
Take a moment to ponder this beautiful poem. The author, William Wordsworth, was trully inspired when he wrote this poem. It sums up God's Plan for the Salvation of his children perfectly, at least in my opinion.
Each of us, our physical and spiritual bodies, were created by God in his image."So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them." Genesis 1:27
And because of that simple truth we are children of God."The spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are children of God:" Romans 8:16
And since we are children of God, We have the same potential God does."And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together."Romans 8:17
"To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne."Revelations 3:21
Why is it so hard to believe that a Loving Father in Heaven, A God, would want his children to have the same things he does. Any earthly father wants his children to have the best."Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?"St. Matthew 7:9-11
I testify that God is our Father and we are his children and if we choose to have faith in the Holy One of Israel and overcome all obstacles through his help, than we can have the privilege of obtaining that potential that God sees in each of us.

The challenge

About 180 years ago a young 20 year old boy came forth with a book he claimed to have translated from ancient text. This book, he claimed, was divinely inspired and given to him by an angel. Some believed and were enlightened, others were afraid and drove him, his family, and the other followers of the church further and further west.

Since that time many have tried to discount the Book of Mormon through countless means only for their efforts to be futile. For those whose faith is still lacking in this wonderful volume of holy writ I issue a challenge:

Write a Book comparable to the Book of Mormon that will have the same impact upon countless billions of people throughout time and include:

• 54 chapters dealing with wars

• 21 Historical Chapters

• 55 chapters on visions and prophecies

  • Visions and prophecies must agree meticulously with the bible

• 71 Chapters on doctrine and exportation

  • Every statement must also agree with the bible

• 21 chapters on the ministry of Christ

  • Everything claimed he said and did and every testimony you write in your book about him must agree with the New Testament

• Must employ figures of speech, similes, metaphors, narrations, exposition, description, oratory, epic, lyric, logic, and parables.

• Has to be dictated in just over 2 months

• Only corrections made can be to the punctuation.

• Cannot use any outside sources

• Account has to be claimed as divine scripture and millions must also testify of the same thing after reading the account.

I testify that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. It was received and translated just as Joseph Smith said it was. It has brought me comfort and given me faith in God in a way that no other book could. My faith comes from a witness from the power of the holy ghost and I can not deny it.

I Believe in Christ

I've had many thoughts today on what to share everything from charity, prophets, and judging. There are so many truths that are close to my heart, but none are closer that the truth that My Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ Lives. As many times as I've shared my thoughts and feelings about the subject none have come closer than the words of the song "I Believe in Christ".

134: I Believe in Christ,” Hymns of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, no. 134

Fervently

1. I believe in Christ; he is my King!

With all my heart to him I’ll sing;

I’ll raise my voice in praise and joy,

In grand amens my tongue employ.

I believe in Christ; he is God’s Son.

On earth to dwell his soul did come.

He healed the sick; the dead he raised.

Good works were his; his name be praised.

2. I believe in Christ; oh blessed name!

As Mary’s Son he came to reign

’Mid mortal men, his earthly kin,

To save them from the woes of sin.

I believe in Christ, who marked the path,

Who did gain all his Father hath,

Who said to men: “Come, follow me,

That ye, my friends, with God may be.”

3. I believe in Christ—my Lord, my God!

My feet he plants on gospel sod.

I’ll worship him with all my might;

He is the source of truth and light.

I believe in Christ; he ransoms me.

From Satan’s grasp he sets me free,

And I shall live with joy and love

In his eternal courts above.

4. I believe in Christ; he stands supreme!

From him I’ll gain my fondest dream;

And while I strive through grief and pain,

His voice is heard: “Ye shall obtain.”

I believe in Christ; so come what may,

With him I’ll stand in that great day

When on this earth he comes again

To rule among the sons of men.

Text: Bruce R. McConkie, 1915–1985. © 1972 IRI

Music: John Longhurst, b. 1940. © 1985 IRI

My words and actions may never be able to express the praise and thanksgiving I have in my heart for my Savior and King. I know that he lives, I know that he watches out for me day by day and hour by hour. In the name of Jesus Christ Amen.

New Insight Into an Old Parable

A popular parable is given in the account of Matthew 18:23-34. It talks about a servant who had a debt of 10,000 talents to his king. In order to more fully understand this debt a simple conversion into today's wages is given courtesy of "Weights and Measures Table in NIV study bible Footnote of NIV Bible Luke 19:13", and "answers.com".

1 talent = 60 minas
1 mina = 3 month's wages
1 talent = 60 x (3 months' wages) = 180 months' wages
1 talent = 180 months' wages / 12 months in a year = 15 years' wages
1 talent = 15 years' wages

10,000 talents = 150,000 years' wages.

So if a yearly wage is $15,000 (about 40hrs/week at CA min wage ($8/hr)
150,000 year's wages = 2,250,000,000

"Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.

And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents.

But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.

The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.

Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.

But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence (approximately 3 months wages): and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest.

And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.

And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.

So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto there lord all that was done.

Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:

Shouldest not tohu also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?

And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due."

Through our works, following his commandments, The Lord has granted us his mercy and has forgiven us of a debt we could have never paid.

Through this example we learn that we should forgive others and be more understanding.