Be Forgiving

In The Greatest Story Ever Told, Peter says, “A thief has stolen my coat.”  Jesus asks, “Is that all?”  “Is that all,” asks Peter.  “It was the only coat I had.”  Then Jesus begins to teach an important lesson while Peter, who I see as representing all of us, continues to whine about his coat.  Jesus says, “But of what value is a thing which can be stolen by a thief?  Go and find that thief.  Give him your cloak also, and give him anything else he wishes, within your power to give him, for he is poor in spirit and in need.”  Peter responds, “But if everyone did what you say, thieves would soon take over the world.”  Jesus says, “Thieves and murderers walk in darkness.  You must be their light, not their judge.”  Peter says quietly, “All I am saying is someone has taken my coat.  I think it wrong to have taken it.” 

Finally Jesus gets to the point of the lesson.  “All I am saying, Peter, is that, as you have been judging, you will be judged.  With your measure, it will be measured to you.”  Like many of us, Peter continues to talk about what has happened to him as though he has not heard Jesus at all.  “Best coat I ever owned.”  Jesus goes a little further with His lesson by reminding Peter about how God will take care of us.  “Be not troubled about your coat.  See the lilies of the field grow.  They neither toil nor spin, but even Solomon in all his glory was never arrayed like one of these.”  Peter continues to whine, saying, “How am I to keep warm?” Finally Jesus offers His coat to Peter, who backs away, too ashamed to accept that which is offered to him. 

Jesus is not condoning the sin of stealing.  He is teaching Peter a higher law, and that is that we should be compassionate and forgiving.  He is teaching that we should not judge the sin of another, because we do not know why they committed the sin, what drove them to it, what circumstances they are struggling with.   

If Jesus were talking to the one who stole the coat, His lesson, I am sure, would have been quite different.  He would have taught what the thief needed to hear to help him overcome his weakness and repent of his sins. 

I’m not going to get into the question of legal punishment or personal responsibility to earn what one needs in this life.  All I want to discuss now is the blessing that is called forgiveness.  We all want, at various times in our lives, to be forgiven.  We regret what we have done.  We want to escape the consequences of bad choices we’ve made.  We want to go back to the way things were before we made a mistake or hurt someone.  We would like to erase what we did so that there would be no knowledge of it for us or anyone else.  And of course we want to escape God’s punishment for our sins. 

The only way that can be done is through the atonement.  Jesus took upon Himself all the sins that any of us have ever or will ever commit.  That means that, if we allow it to be so, He satisfies justice for what we have done.  Then He offers us mercy, forgiving us, wiping away the eternal consequence of our sin and then forgetting whatever it was we did. 

So how do we allow it to be so?  We must accept the sacrifice Jesus made for us.  We must partake of the atonement by repenting and doing all that He has taught us to do. 

And now, my beloved brethren, I would that ye should come unto Christ, who is the Holy One of Israel, and partake of his salvation, and the power of his redemption. Yea, come unto him, and offer your whole souls as an offering unto him, and continue in fasting and praying, and endure to the end; and as the Lord liveth ye will be saved.  (Omni 1:26)

If we accept His sacrifice, we are accepting that He paid the price for our sins, that with His suffering and death, He wiped away the consequences, and that He made us clean.  As such, we are no longer accountable for our sins.  Jesus is.  If we accept His atonement, we accept that it applies to everyone.  Therefore, we accept that those who sin against us are also forgiven of their sins.   

Wherefore, I say unto you, that ye ought to forgive one another; for he that forgiveth not his brother his trespasses standeth condemned before the Lord; for there remaineth in him the greater sin. I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men.  And ye ought to say in your hearts--let God judge between me and thee, and reward thee according to thy deeds.  (D&C 64:9-11)

When we refuse to forgive someone without conditions, we are denying the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ.  We do not accept that He paid for their sins.  We pass judgment and require that they suffer for what they did.  We want them to be punished.  We wait for them to show remorse, make restitution and prove that they have changed. 

Jesus illustrated the error in this in the incident of the woman caught in adultery.  Her sin merited death by stoning according to the Law of Moses.  He did not deny that.  He just said, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” (John 8:7) 

We cannot deny the redeeming power of the sacrifice of the Savior for someone else while at the same time accepting it for ourselves.  We either accept this gift of redemption or we do not.  This great blessing relieves us of the responsibility to make sure people are punished for their sins.  We leave it in the hands of He who knows all things. 

If we are forgiving, relinquishing all the hurt and resentment and anger that results from the sins of another, we can experience the love of the Savior healing our broken hearts and our injured souls.  We can be Happy Like Jesus.

Be Obedient

Jesus Christ said, “I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise.” (D&C 82:10)  What has He said?  “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”  (John 14:15)  And what is He bound to do?  Bless us.  Obey the commandments, and you will be blessed.  Seems pretty simple, and yet how often do we fail to be obedient?  The all-knowing, all-powerful God has said He will bless us, that He must bless us, if we obey Him.  And we mere mortals, who only wish we knew what the future holds, choose time and time again to say, “No, thanks.  I can get by without those blessings for now.”  

If you search the scriptures, you can find many blessings that are promised to those who are obedient, but since the overarching topic here is being happy like Jesus, let’s look at what He’s said about that.

Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him…..These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.  Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.  (John 14:23-27)

If we are obedient, the greatest gifts promised to us for this life are the Holy Ghost, and through Him, peace.  This is the kind of peace which shields us from depression, hopelessness, sadness and despair.  Some of the emotional upheavals we suffer are a necessary part of our life experience, and they cannot be avoided.  Others are brought on by our choices and our failure to be obedient to a loving Heavenly Father who has provided guidance through the commandments.  When we choose to disobey, we choose to relinquish His divine protection from misery. 

In “Mere Christianity,” C.S. Lewis writes about the law of gravity and the moral law we all live under and contrasts them as one allowing us to choose whether or not we will obey and the other giving us no choice.  Man did not make either of these laws, but he finds himself subject to both of them. 

The moral law is inside us.  We know it because we feel its influence.  It would move us to always choose the right, do the humane thing, be charitable and care about others as we care about ourselves.  There is an outside force that is prodding us to not respond to the promptings to obey that moral law.  We have a choice to make.

The law we cannot choose to disobey is the law of gravity.  However, there are outside forces that play with that law.  Those forces allow planes to fly and feathers to float on the wind.  Eventually gravity will have its way, but the other forces appear to defy the law for a time.   If a rock is dropped, it falls to the ground.  If it hits something on the way down, its course may be changed or slowed, but it will still go where gravity takes it.  Something like a feather, however, plays with the law of gravity.  It may fall gently to the ground.  It may be carried about by the wind, up, down, around in circles, even across a long distance if it is light enough and the wind strong enough.  The feather appears to have a little bit of freedom, deciding if and when it will obey the law of gravity. 

We are not forced to obey the moral law, God’s law.  God gave us agency, freedom to choose to obey or not, freedom to choose good or evil, freedom, it seems, to choose which external force will control where we go.  We can go straight down like the rock as we obey perfectly His law, or we can float around like a feather as we allow our choices to carry us about on the wind. 

Because none of us are perfect, none of us is the rock.  The rock is Jesus.  He perfectly obeys the moral law.  We are all like the feather.  We all start out free and enjoying the opportunity to make our own choices.  Then the wind, that outside force, blows us, perhaps gently at first.  Then the wind gets a little stronger, and we get whipped around a little more than we find comfortable.  We try to get some control over our direction, but different ideas, experiences, even people blow us one way and then the other.  We may find the external force leading us to go far from where we started, or we may just get tossed around in circles, moving only a short distance.  We may get blown against some hard object that prevents us from going anywhere but does not allow us to land.  The wind just batters us over and over against the immovable object. 

We learn that our freedom to choose does not make us free at all if we make the wrong choices.  When we cannot stand being blown about anymore, we might choose to bind ourselves to that rock that will weigh us down, seemingly forcing us to obey the law and freeing us from the battering wind.  It is not really force, though, because we choose to be bound to the rock.

He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.  (Deuteronomy 32:4)

The rock is always completely obedient, and if we are attached firmly to the rock, so are we.  If we are lightly attached, we may be held somewhat in place, but the wind will continue to move us around until we finally choose to firmly attach ourselves or completely let go of the rock.  Letting go could be a conscious decision, or it could just be the natural consequence of trying to have both the anchor of the rock and the freedom of the feather in the wind at the same time.  It just cannot be done.

We have our freedom to choose.  We can choose to not obey the commandments, and we will be buffeted by the wind, losing our freedom to progress to consequences of bad choices.  Or we can choose to obey by surrendering our will to the Father.  Then we attach ourselves completely to Jesus Christ, and through the atonement, the consequences are wiped away.  Just as a rock may be kicked around, we may have a hard time of it.  We may have difficult experiences and tough trials that toss us here and there, but as long as we are firmly attached to Christ, it will only serve to send us in the right direction as we progress toward perfection. 

So if we choose to stop allowing the wind to batter us against all the barriers in life and instead firmly attached ourselves to the rock and guard that attachment with obedience to God’s laws, we can be Happy Like Jesus. 

Be Fruitful

It’s taken me a while to get my head around what the difference is between being serviceable, which I already wrote about, and being fruitful.  I’m not talking about having children.  I’m talking about the other fruit that the Lord talks about us bringing forth.  After studying all the scripture references on the subject, I realized that being fruitful means to live in such a way that the footprint we leave on the world is positive and uplifting.  We participate in building the kingdom of God on earth.  We don’t just pray that his kingdom come on earth as in heaven.  (Matthew 6:10) We do our part to make it happen. 

Yesterday I spent some time outside enjoying a gorgeous, sunny day.  I noticed that the grass in our backyard is green with a very healthy-looking patch of clover growing right in front of the patio.  The bamboo across the back fence, which was brown all last summer, is green and bushy.  Purple and yellow wildflowers are scattered across the yard.  I watched several small yellow butterflies fluttering around.  I could hear birds singing nearby.  It was ideal: peaceful, tranquil, beautiful.  But when I turned my head to the left, I saw, against the blue sky, the barely moving, gray, lifeless, bare limbs of trees in the neighbor’s yard, which reminded me it is still winter.  As I looked back and forth a couple of times from my yard in spring to their trees in winter, I thought what a great analogy it is for what is happening in the world today.

The world is in winter.  Everything is growing old, wearing out, decaying, or just failing to produce.  There is so much ugliness, despair and seemingly little hope of improvement.  The economy is bad.  People are losing their jobs, their homes.  Families are breaking up.   We have the possibility of our entire economic system collapsing, of the money being worth nothing.  Violence and discontent are being bred in the streets of most major cities by young people angry about life being difficult for some while others have too much ease because of their money. We watch the results of economic crises in the rest of the world as they affect us here.

More and more states are redefining marriage.  Religious freedom is being threatened by the federal government as laws are considered that would force people to do that which goes against their moral values.  The government has already put many programs into place that are systematically robbing us of our rights – telling us what our children can and cannot eat at school, what they can wear (going way beyond a dress code for decency).  They want to tell us what we have to buy and what we can’t have because they think it’s not good for us.  They threaten to take away our right to protect ourselves at the same time that they refuse to do so themselves, ignoring the violence coming across our mostly unprotected southern border.  Freedom of speech is under constant attack at schools, in the media, in the military, at places of employment. 

We have terrorists and even nations who hate us and threaten attack.  Many Muslim countries are overthrowing dictators and are ripe to be taken over by Islamic extremists – Egypt, Tunisia, Syria, Turkey.  Iran, whose president has said he wants to wipe Israel off the face of the earth and destroy the United States, will soon have a nuclear weapon. They are already taking aggressive action around and against Israel, which stands ready to defend itself.  Hatred against the Jews has risen all around the world, it seems, including here where we used to believe that all men were created equal and had the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, as well as the right to worship according to the dictates of their own conscience.  Now the hate that is spewed forth in the name of religion isn’t even disguised.  We have people judging who is and is not Christian, saying that some are not, even though they believe in Jesus as the Savior.  We have too many people focusing on what they don’t like about someone else’s religion instead of doing their best to live up to their own.  Jesus’ admonition to “judge not that ye be not judged” is being ignored, which is a shame, considering what the next verse says.  “For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.”  (Matthew 7:2)

What passes for entertainment now is often the worst of what our society has to offer – violence, hatred, abuse, torture, murder, promiscuity, lust, greed, adultery, gluttony, blasphemy, ridiculing everything that is good and glamorizing all the sins that have brought so many nations, kingdoms and empires in the history of this world to destruction.  Yes, it is winter in this world, and not much good fruit is forthcoming.  

However, as winter rages on all around the world, there are some spots, like my backyard, where spring is bringing forth fruit.  There are still people who love God, whatever they call Him, who are trying to do what would please Him.  They are trying to do His will, to serve Him by serving others.  They are looking for a way out as calamity approaches, but they are not leaning to their own understanding (Proverbs 3:5) or trusting in the arm of flesh (2 Nephi 4:34, Psalm 44:3).  They seek guidance from the Holy Ghost.  They try to live God’s law so they can count on God’s protection.  They obey His commandments so they can receive His blessings.  They notice the miracles that happen around them, and they thank the Lord for His Mercy.  They don’t lose hope because they know that those who are with us are more than those who are against us. (2 Kings 6:16)

While Satan is strong in the world right now and his plan is moving forward with increasing speed, we know he will ultimately lose.  I am so grateful for this very real reminder I got yesterday that, even as Satan rages in the earth, I can find peace, hope and happiness in my own little Garden of Eden if I live so as to enjoy the presence of the Holy Ghost and the protection of the Lord’s omnipotent power.  At the same time, I am reminded that I am not completely protected from harm as I continue in my mortal probation.  There is one tree in the far left corner of my yard that looks like those dead trees of winter in my neighbor’s yard, and there is a dead vine under the bush just outside my bedroom window.  But the bush is green and healthy, and the dead tree rises from a garden plot that has green plants growing in it, even all around the bottom of that barren tree. 

So as the evil in the world tries to infiltrate my righteous realm, I am fully dedicated to putting on the whole armor of God (Ephesians 6:11) and living in faith.  Instead of giving in to fear, despair and hopelessness, I will cling to peace, tranquility and security that come through living with an eye single to the glory of God.

And if your eye be single to my glory, your whole bodies shall be filled with light, and there shall be no darkness in you; and that body which is filled with light comprehendeth all things. (D&C 88:67)

If we abide in the Lord and He abides in us, we will be fruitful, bringing forth goodness, righteousness and truth, by obeying the Lord’s word, living by faith, being cleansed of sin and walking worthy of the Lord.   When we are fruitful, then we will be saved by the Lord, be worthy of the kingdom of heaven, enter into the Lord’s rest and have joy.  That truly is being Happy Like Jesus.

Be Peaceful

I pulled my head up out of the sand this week and took a look around.  So much is not going well as the economy of just about every nation spins out of control, violence consumes much of the world, and people are increasingly showing a general lack of civility.  Men’s hearts are waxing cold.  Even the so-called good people are turning on each other as religious arguments rage on the Internet and TV.  There seems only to be more trouble and difficulty to come. 

All this “reality” could put me in a very worried, anxious and hopeless state, but I refuse to let that happen.  I have been working very diligently this year on being Happy like Jesus.  I have continued to strive to be holy, spiritually-minded, humble, knowledgeable, serviceable and prayerful, and this week I added peaceful. 

This world’s right and wrong, good and evil, true and false change consistently.  That is not my reality.  My reality is the truth that is eternal, and that truth teaches me that the turmoil in this world is fleeting and avoidable.  Even as we experience the events as they play out, we can be shielded from the turmoil by the inner peace that comes with a vibrant and active testimony of Jesus Christ, what He has already done and what He has yet to do but which He surely will do. 

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27)

These were the words of the Savior a little before He died to save us.  He told his apostles that He would not leave them, nor us, without comfort.  If we are true believers and followers of Jesus, we should not be moved by the evil that is swirling around us.  We should be moved by what the Holy Ghost whispers to us.  We should be moved by what the prophets have told us in the past and what they are telling us now.  We should be moved to action to prepare for whatever is coming.  We should be moved to focus more on building up the kingdom of God and protecting ourselves from the evil that is becoming more prevalent and acceptable in today’s world.  But in all that moving, we should not be stirred up to fear, doubt, complain and attack.  We should live always with the inner peace that the Lord promised to those who believe Him, who love Him and who follow Him.

We are told that the righteous will not perish.  There have been many examples in history of how He has saved the righteous through miraculous means: the parting of the Red Sea and its closing on the Egyptian soldiers; the death of thousands of Assyrians in their sleep as they camped around the city of Jerusalem; the victory of a small, untrained, unprofessional group of rebels over the British empire.  He has done it before.  He can do it again.  If we qualify for his miraculous protection, God will protect His people again.

Peace comes with knowing we do not have to depend upon ourselves or the government to save us from destruction or unimaginable horrors that the evil of this world could inflict upon us in so many ways.  Peace comes from knowing that the One who can do everything will protect us if we obey His commandments.  Peace comes from knowing we have done our part in preparing to receive the blessings He has said we don’t have room enough to receive. 

We can never achieve peace through our own efforts.  Peace comes through the Holy Ghost.  That is what Jesus was telling the apostles.  If we have the gift of the Holy Ghost and live so as to have His constant companionship, He will give us peace by dispelling the darkness that enters our hearts and minds, by providing counsel when necessary and by reminding us of the Savior’s promise to deliver us.  If we have the Holy Ghost as our guide and companion, we will be peaceful, and then we can be Happy like Jesus.

Be Prayerful

Prayer is a privilege that has been granted to us by a loving Heavenly Father who gives us the opportunity to stay in contact with Him for our benefit.  He knows our thoughts and our needs, our suffering and our joy.  He does not need to hear from us to keep track of what is happening in our lives.  We, on the other hand, are separated from Him and do not know His thoughts and desires.  We do not know His will for us, nor do we have the knowledge of who He really is unless we pray in faith.  It is only through this heavenly channel of communication that we gain access to the secrets that He would share, the comfort that He extends and the power that He offers to those who love and reverence Him.

A powerful prayer comes from the heart and has a purpose.  It is stated in simple terms that express our feelings and desires.  It is a communication with our Father, not an attempt to connect with a stranger.  If we struggle to stay connected because our mind is wandering or we are so tired that we are drifting off to sleep, then our prayer is not going to bring us into the Lord’s presence.   If our prayers have become routine and hollow, if they do not take much thought on our part or can’t even hold our attention, they are certainly not powerful enough to call on the powers of heaven. 

When we pray, we must be focused on what we are saying.  We cannot pray with little thought and expect to be rewarded with blessings.  For our prayer to be efficacious, we must pray with faith.  We must expect to be heard and understood.  We have to believe what the scriptures tell us. 

“Ask, and it shall be given unto you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.  For every one that asketh, receiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth; and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened.”  3 Nephi 14:7-8

Not all prayers are the same.  There are times when we pray with a light and happy heart to thank the Lord for all the blessings we have received.  We pray with reverence and awe when we pray to acknowledge His greatness.  We pray with gratitude when a prayer has been answered.  We may pray with urgency when we face a problem that overwhelms us, and that urgency may increase at times when we are especially weighed down by pain and suffering.  When we have sinned and have need for forgiveness or when we are struggling to find immediate relief, we pray with our entire heart and soul.  When we feel a real need for divine intervention, we will pray as Enos did. 

“And my soul hungered; and I kneeled down before my Maker, and I cried unto him in mighty prayer and supplication for mine own soul; and all the day long did I cry unto him; yea, and when the night came I did still raise my voice high that it reached the heavens.”  Enos 1: 4

If we are to dispel the darkness that invades our thoughts and feelings, we must bring the Holy Ghost into our lives with all the intensity and frequency we can muster.  Our prayers are not all going to have the same effect on us, but we should expect in every heartfelt prayer to be able to sense the presence of the Holy Ghost. 

“Pray always, and I will pour out my Spirit upon you, and great shall be your blessing--yea, even more than if you should obtain treasures of earth and corruptibleness to the extent thereof.”  D&C 19:38

Sometimes it seems we cannot pray; the words just won’t come.  The Savior knows our thoughts.  He can tell what prayer we have in our hearts.  In those times, we reach out with an unspoken prayer and spirit speaks to Spirit.

“Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”  Romans 8:26

The Lord gives us what we need when He deems the time to be right.  He blesses us with moments of great peace and tranquility as we offer prayers of gratitude, repentance and love.  He answers our pleas for relief and gives us access to the Comforter.  Our mighty prayers will provide frequent interaction with the Holy Ghost, and we will be Happy Like Jesus.

Be Serviceable

“I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.”  (Jeremiah 17:10)

I have long felt that being serviceable was one area I need a lot of work in.  I have devoted a lot of time trying to improve myself and trying to increase my knowledge, but I have felt that I do not spend enough time helping others.  I have struggled in part because of a strange and compulsive desire to be alone.  Those who know me best know that my favorite place to be is home, but only those who have lived with me know that even in my home I often seek isolation.  For many, solitary confinement sounds horrifying, but for me, I just think that if I could have something to read, something to write on or music to listen to, that would be fabulous.  And in the short term, I could do it without anything.  I love Simon and Garfunkel’s song, “I Am a Rock.” 

“I am a rock.  I am an island.  I have my books and my poetry to protect me; I am shielded in my armor, hiding in my room, safe within my womb.  I touch no one and no one touches me.  I am a rock, I am an island.  And a rock feels no pain; and an island never cries.”

Maybe some of that comes from all the time I spent in depression, but even though depression has taken a back seat in my life, I still cling to that desire to be alone.  However, life was not meant to be lived in isolation.  Everything we do or don’t do has an effect, not only on us but on others as well.  Our influence may be small or great.  It may be for good or bad, but it does exist. 

When God asked Solomon, “What shall I give thee,” Solomon’s reply demonstrated a true desire to be of service to the people he had been called to reign and rule over as their king. 

“O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in.  Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?”  (1 Kings 3:7, 9)

The Lord was pleased with Solomon’s desire and gave him what he required to serve his people.  He also gave him the things that He was pleased Solomon had not requested: riches, honor and long life.  These were his reward for seeking first to serve the Lord by serving His people, Israel.

“…when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.” (Mosiah 2:17)

Service can be given with physical efforts, such as cooking and cleaning, mowing and trimming, visiting and transporting.  It can also be given through spiritual means, such as teaching and inspiring. 

Just as we all experience other aspects of the gospel on a personal level and in our own time, we can fulfill the requirement to serve the Lord in different ways and at different times.  Sometimes our service is to our family, sometimes to friends, sometimes to acquaintances and sometimes to people we have never met before.  That service often involves time and physical labor.  It may involve the sacrifice of money.  It may require the sacrifice of personal space and comfort.  Service is sometimes given in response to a request and sometimes as an anonymous response to a need that has been made known in one way or another.  It may require everything we have to offer, or it may require nothing more than a few minutes and a listening ear. 

We all have or will receive service at some time in our lives.  Most of us are receiving some type of service from someone in one way or another on a regular basis.  If we are to find true happiness in this life, if we are to be Happy like Jesus, we must all give service, for truly no man is an island. 

Be Knowledgeable

“And if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come.” (Doctrine & Covenants  130:19)

I understand that for many this may be a difficult step to take.  Becoming knowledgeable can seem like a daunting task, especially for someone who equates gaining knowledge with what we had to do in school, all that reading and studying.  For some this step is made a little easier because of a love for reading, which is what makes it so enjoyable for me. 

I do enjoy reading.  I love learning something new, and I really like sharing what I learn with others.  I first realized this when I was in college.  I was reading a book that I found to be so fascinating that I couldn’t keep it to myself.  Every day I would tell my roommate about what I had read.  I didn’t realize how much I was sharing until one day she said, “I’ll never have to read another book for the rest of my life.”  I’m not sure if she wanted me to stop or if she had made a happy discovery.  I don’t remember if I kept telling her about my reading experience or not, but knowing me, I probably did.  And that love of sharing what I learn is why I’m writing this blog.  

A couple of decades later, I stumbled across a new reason to study.  The more I learn, especially about the gospel, the happier I am, the more hope I have for the future and the more faith I have that everything that happens is for my good.  The most amazing thing happens when we dedicate a portion of each day to studying the gospel.  Our connection to the Holy Ghost becomes stronger.  The light that the Spirit shines in our minds grows brighter.  It is not only easier to grasp the meaning of what we’re reading, but we have a greater desire to read more, to understand more and to apply it in our lives.  The overall effect is an increase in spirituality. 

Strangely enough, I learned this while studying the gospel connection to depression.  I learned about depression, but more importantly I learned that the companionship of the Holy Ghost, which can be enhanced through gospel study, is an important and very large component of staving off depression, at least in my case.  So the knowledge I gained in this case was two-fold: what I was actually reading about and pondering, as well as the very real effect studying the gospel had on my emotional and spiritual well-being.  

Not all learning comes through reading.  We can also learn from listening to others or from experience, but in all learning we must never forget that gaining knowledge is to learn what is true.  Something that is not true is not knowledge.  How do we know if something is true?

“Behold, he hath heard my cry by day, and he hath given me knowledge by visions in the night-time." (2 Nephi 4:23)  

All knowledge ultimately comes through personal revelation.  We may acquire information in many ways, but the knowledge, knowing that what we have learned is true, always comes from the Holy Ghost.  “And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.” (Moroni 10:5)

The more we learn about the gospel, the more we will want to learn.  As we take in knowledge, our testimonies strengthen, branch out and touch upon new and perhaps unexplored areas of God’s plan for us.  We begin to see how everything fits together perfectly.  There may be some mysteries that escape our understanding, but we have the promise that at some time, in God’s time, even those things will be made plain to us.

“If thou shalt ask, thou shalt receive revelation upon revelation, knowledge upon knowledge, that thou mayest know the mysteries and peaceable things--that which bringeth joy, that which bringeth life eternal.” (Doctrine & Covenants 42:61)

Knowing that Jesus is the Christ and that He died for us that we might be forgiven and live again is the most important piece of knowledge anyone can gain.  Learning more of the gospel helps us to better understand what it means to be forgiven, how to seek that forgiveness, and how to prepare for the life that awaits us after this one ends.  Studying the word of God daily gives us an advantage in this life.  It is a way to lay claim to the companionship of the Holy Ghost.  It gives us the power to withstand temptation, the courage to face hardships, and the strength to overcome challenges.   

My suggestion for this step:  Pick a subject and devote time every day to reading and pondering what the Lord has to say about it.  Pray about it.  Write about it in your journal.  Look for every connection to the subject that you can think of in the Topical Guide.  Read what the prophets have written on the subject.  (Gospelink.com is a great resource.  At a minimal cost, you have thousands of books available to you.)  I have done this with several different topics and have found it a very productive way to study and an amazing way to internalize some of the teachings of the Savior.  

This is one step I already put into practice, but I have to make sure I don’t get lazy and stop.  As we learn from the allegory of the tree of life, we must cling to the word of God if we are to find our way to Him so that we can truly partake of His love and receive the greatest gift of all.  If we are clinging to His word, our knowledge will be increasing day by day, and we will be Happy Like Jesus.

Be Humble

“Be thou humble; and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand, and give thee answer to thy prayers.” (Doctrine & Covenants 112:10)

When I worked at the American Red Cross, I joined a lunch group that got together once or twice a month to practice public speaking.   In my one and only speech before the group, I started out by saying, “Most of my life I have wanted to be perfect.  I have come very close, but I still lack humility.”  I got the laugh I was going for, but ironically, I stopped attending the luncheon shortly thereafter because I liked my speaking style and didn’t want to change.  (See, that’s ironic because to be humble means to be teachable, and I was not being teachable.)

Being humble is one of those attributes that can seem quite elusive as you try to make improvements.  How do you improve without recognizing progress?  Can you acknowledge progress while being humble?  If you say you are humble, then have you just lost some of your humility? 

Having a thorn, as Paul puts it, that we just can’t get rid of, helps to keep us humble.  I may be able to change some things about myself, but if it were really in my power, I would not still be working on the same problems that have plagued me since my youth. 

Seeing the miraculous conversion that takes place over time also helps with the humility.  I recognize that some of the things that have changed in me could not have been accomplished through anything I did.  I actually stand in awe when I think of the effect the Lord has had on me. 

Another part of being humble comes from just realizing how inexplicable God’s power and knowledge are.  How is it God knows everything before it happens?  How does He know thousands of years in advance exactly what will come to pass?  How could He tell the prophets of the Old Testament about the Savior to come, how He would die and even what He would say on the cross?  It’s beyond my comprehension. 

When David went before Goliath, a young boy with a slingshot and stones facing a giant of a man with armor and heavy weapons, David said he knew he would prevail because he knew the God of Israel would show that He was God.  He didn’t go out to face this champion of the Philistines with pride that he was stronger and more courageous than all the Israelite men who had failed to take Goliath’s challenge.  He went before the enemy of the Lord’s people with faith that came from being humble and acknowledging that not only was he small and weak before God but so was his enemy.   Being humble gave him courage.  He knew the outcome did not depend on him. 

If we were able to overcome every obstacle in life and resist every temptation and acquire every virtue and always act with perfect faith – well, we can’t, so why go on?  None of us is perfect.  Imagine we are almost perfect and only fail once to do the right thing.  That one act makes us unclean.  It separates us from God.  Just one little transgression and we are helpless to recover what we have lost - exaltation. 

There is only one way to recover it.  We must accept the atonement of Jesus Christ.  He alone can save us.  Only He can undo the damage we have done.  Through an act of love and sacrifice that is as incomprehensible as God knowing everything before it happens, the Lord is able to do what no one else can do.  Without that act, without Him, we are lost; we are the most pitiful of creatures.  When we understand that fact, it is not difficult to be humble. 

Nothing we can ever do will make as much difference as what has been done for us by the Savior.  Nothing even comes close.  The totality of our thoughts, words and deeds do not even move the scale if the atonement is weighted on the other side.  When we realize this, all we have left to do is acknowledge, “My God, how great thou art.”

“Now was not this exceeding joy? Behold, this is joy which none receiveth save it be the truly penitent and humble seeker of happiness.” (Alma  27:18)

Being humble will not only allow us to receive guidance and blessings that make this life easier, but as we live by faith, it will also give us the courage to do what we must do to be happy like Jesus.

Be Spiritually-Minded

“The light of the body is the eye; if therefore thine eye be single to the glory of God, thy whole body shall be full of light.” (JST Matthew 6:22) 

To be truly spiritually-minded is to have an eye single to the glory of God.  It is possible but requires more than a perfunctory performance of our spiritual duties of praying, reading the scriptures, and attending church meetings.  We can do all of these things and still be just skimming the surface of righteous living. 

The first step to being spiritually-minded is controlling our input.  If we take in garbage, our mind will focus on garbage.  If we take in spiritual food, we will focus on the spiritual.  Our input is everything that enters our minds, whether it be something we read, see, or hear.  Controlling our thoughts is easier than it seems.  Once we consciously start focusing on the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ by letting that be what we read, what we listen to and how we entertain ourselves, our thoughts will naturally turn in that direction. 

I’m not suggesting that we can’t do anything but sit around and read the Bible all day while listening to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.  Our TV does not always have to be tuned to the BYU channel or the Trinity Broadcasting Network.  We just have to be sure to tune in often enough to the messages that help us feel the Holy Ghost so that, even when we are doing something else, the Spirit continues to guide our thoughts and feelings.  At some point, our spiritual-mindedness will change what we want to listen to or watch, and we may naturally begin to leave out some of what used to be a regular part of our life because it no longer is enjoyable. 

To be spiritually-minded means that the flesh is ruled by the spirit.  All worldly attractions are filtered through the spiritual protection that we receive from the Holy Ghost.  We determine the worth of all that we do by measuring it on the scale of righteousness, or one might say holiness since that was the first part of our Be Happy Like Jesus experience.     

“And now Abinadi said unto them: I would that ye should understand that God himself shall come down among the children of men, and shall redeem his people. And because he dwelleth in flesh he shall be called the Son of God, and having subjected the flesh to the will of the Father, being the Father and the Son -- The Father, because he was conceived by the power of God; and the Son, because of the flesh; thus becoming the Father and Son -- And they are one God, yea, the very Eternal Father of heaven and of earth. And thus the flesh becoming subject to the Spirit, or the Son to the Father, being one God, suffereth temptation, and yieldeth not to the temptation, but suffereth himself to be mocked, and scourged, and cast out, and disowned by his people.” (Mosiah 15:1-5)

These verses say that Jesus is the Father and the Son and that the Son, or the flesh, became subject to the Father, or the spirit.  It also reminds us that there is a Father in Heaven and that in becoming subject to the Spirit, Jesus was subject to the Father.  What we can learn from this is that flesh becoming subject to the spirit means the child becoming subject to the Father.  It is not my spirit, my mind, my will controlling my physical desires and passions.  My will or my spirit must be turned over to the Father.  His will must take over.  Then my flesh, my worldly choices will be subject to His will.  Alone, we can never have the true realization of spirit completely dominating the flesh.  We will fail every time – eventually.  It is like trying to earn salvation and exaltation on our own.  There is only so far that we can go.  Jesus has to take us the rest of the way through the atonement.

Jesus warned against trying to hide who we are inside by appearing to others to be righteous.  Righteousness needs to be the inner force that drives what we do and therefore defines who we are.  If we feel the need to disguise our inner selves, we have need to repent.  Righteous living serves no purpose if it is done only for appearance sake.  To receive a glorious reward, righteous living must be the product of righteous thinking and must proceed honestly from the heart.  In the end, all that matters is the true inner self, “for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7)  We will be judged on who we really are, not who we present to the world or how others perceive us to be. 

We must put everything in proper order and realize that everything is spiritual.  It is possible to be one with the Savior if our spirit commands our body, if we have become spiritually-minded.   We must not only accept Him as our Savior intellectually, but we must allow Him to enter our minds and hearts and change the way we think and feel.  By internalizing Him, He becomes part of who we are, and we become part of Him.  He actually changes who we are.  He changes our hearts or desires.  When we truly internalize everything He is, we can no longer live a sinful, carnal life.  Our mind will be single to the glory of God.