September 12, 2010

He Lives! All Glory to His Name!

Do you want to know how to be successful in life? And I mean truly successful, the type of successful that doesn't necessarily buy everything you can possibly imagine or surround you with the most influential people, but the type of successful that provides you with the capacity and the knowledge and the means to have confidence in times of trial and peace in times of turmoil. The type of successful that affords true and lasting happiness.

In the most recent General Conference, Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles stated, "There is an imperative need for each of us to strengthen our understanding of the significance of the Atonement of Jesus Christ so that it will become an unshakable foundation upon which to build our lives."

He also taught that, "Your understanding of the Atonement and the insight it provides for your life will greatly enhance your productive use of all of the knowledge, experience, and skill you acquire in mortal life."

As we study and learn more about this essential ingredient of our Father in Heaven's plan of happiness, we become increasingly successful. Truly successful. For "all who obey His commandments will earn the most glorious blessings imaginable."

Read all of Elder Scott's words in his article, "He Lives! All Glory to His Name!," (Ensign, May 2010, 75-78). He is an apostle of the Lord and his words are the words of the Lord.

Our Heavenly Father loves us. Your Heavenly Father loves you. He truly desires your eternal happiness and success. He sent His Only Begotten Son to the earth to atone for the sins of all mankind and to take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people. Ours is the responsibility to ponder what the scriptures teach of the sacred events of the Atonement that they "become woven into the very fiber of [our] being[s]" that we may attain happiness in this life.

This is true.

Jeremy

September 05, 2010

Your Happily Ever After


In today's world we are surrounded by a barrage of countless messages about who we should be, how we should dress, how we should act, what we should look like, and how all of that together makes us successful or beautiful or popular or all three together. Very superficial things are designed to give us what the world defines as "happiness." Everyone is searching for their "happily ever after" in the next popular diet, the next clothing line, or the next reality TV show.

The adversary is very good at using the world to deceive us and redefine happiness. He would have us think that a certain amount of money, a kind of dress, or lifestyle will keep us from trials and adversity when putting material things first in our lives actually creates genuine unhappiness.1

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf spoke to the young women last March about seeking their own "happily ever after." He said, "We all search for happiness, and we all try to find our own 'happily ever after.' The truth is, God knows how to get there! And He has created a [plan] for you; He knows the way. . . . 'Happily ever after' is not something found only in fairy tales. You can have it! It is available for you! But you must follow your Heavenly Father's [plan]." He didn't say that we should follow Cosmopolitan or the celebrity lifestyles on E!. Indeed, such lifestyles are contrary to the Lord's will and plan for us.

Read President Uchtdorf's talk, "Your Happily Ever After." He talks about how we can experience great happiness and fulfillment in life. He teaches:

Isn't it remarkable to know that our eternal Heavenly Father knows you, hears you, watches over you, and loves you with an infinite love? In fact, His love for you is so great that He has granted you this earthly life as a precious gift of "once upon a time," complete with your own true story of adventure, trial, and opportunities for greatness, nobility, courage, and love. And, most glorious of all, He offers you a gift beyond price and comprehension. Heavenly Father offers you the greatest gift of all--eternal life--and the opportunity and infinite blessing or you own "happily ever after."

If you feel that you are continually searching yet never finding, constantly chasing but never catching, or striving yet never feeling accomplished, come, cease to spend your money for that which is of no worth, nor your labor for that which cannot satisfy. Come unto Him who offers true happiness, a well of living water. Let your hearts rejoice. (See 2 Nephi 9:51-52; D&C 63:23.)

This is real. This is true.

Jeremy

1 Do not misunderstand me when I speak about the latest fads or fashions. Having money and dressing well is not inherently wrong or evil. The problem lies with the priority worldly possessions hold in our lives and the energy with which we seek them. The prophet Jacob taught, "But before ye seek for riches, seek ye the kingdom of God. And after ye have obtained a hope in Christ ye shall obtain riches, if ye seek them; and ye will seek them for the intent to do good" (Jacob 2:18-19, italics added). It is the love of money and "things" that is the root of all evil (1 Timothy 6:10). The adversary through the media would have us perpetually seeking to find satisfaction and happiness in worldly things when the only way to find true, lasting happiness is in the gospel of Jesus Christ, in eternal family relationships, and in obedience to His commandments.