Why would a salesman say, “I’ve never met a Mormon who wasn’t happy”?
Some years ago I was shopping for a used car. The salesman found out I was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He remarked, “I’ve never met a Mormon who wasn’t happy!” I didn’t have the heart to tell him there are some. But I can agree with the salesman, if we change his statement just slightly.
My wife Virginia and I have never met a fully committed and practicing member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who wasn’t happy. That doesn’t mean they don’t suffer the same pains, challenges, and disappointments others face. Certainly there are reasonably happy people of all faiths and of no faith at all. But we are convinced that in the teachings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (whose members are commonly known as “Mormons”) there are unique elements which makes it possible for followers to find a greater inner peace and a deeper joy than can come from any other belief system on earth.
We hope you will enjoy the articles which follow. Should you have questions, you are welcome to write me at doncazier@yahoo.com, and I’ll do my best to respond.
Why Latter-day Saints Should Be the Happiest People on Earth
It is self-evident that everyone does what he thinks will make him happy, at least in the short run. No one deliberately chooses to be miserable, though mature individuals may defer gratification in favor of anticipated future satisfaction. Yet it is obvious that not everyone succeeds in their pursuit of happiness. The US, despite material prosperity, comes in at only 23rd place in the latest World Happiness Report, down twelve spots since 2012. It also leads the world in per capita consumption of anti-depressants.
Researchers have reported several recent studies of what makes people happy. Some of the results may seem surprising. For example, winning the lottery produces only very temporary happiness. Once the euphoria wears off, winners return to their prior level of happiness, no higher than that of those who have never won. Major life changes, such as a move or a big raise may be momentarily exciting, but the happiness they produce typically dissipates after a few months. Likewise, those experiencing tragedy, such as being paralyzed due to an accident, generally return within a few months to the same level of happiness they had been experiencing before.
Does money bring happiness?
Does money bring happiness? Only up to a certain point, found to be about $75,000 per year. Once basic needs are met, there is no evidence that higher incomes are accompanied by higher levels of satisfaction. Sonja Lyubomirsky, a psychologist at the University of California, Riverside found that when people making $30,000 a year were asked what kind of annual salary it would take to make them truly happy, the average answer was $50,000. But those making $100,000 per year said they’d be truly happy if only they made $250,000 per year. Those making $1,000,000 said they’d need three times as much. Those making $3,000,000 said the same thing.
What does research show?
What, then, really does bring happiness? Interestingly, a 2009 Gallup poll survey found that Utah, with its predominantly Latter-day Saint population, was number one among all fifty states on the happiness index.
Some of the findings of happiness researchers correlate well with teachings and practices of virtually all religions, but particularly so with those of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For example:
Strong social connections are found to correlate with happiness. Multiple studies have shown that Latter-day Saints are the most “pro-social” group in America. Active members reportedly volunteer an average of 35.6 hours per month, not counting missions.
Having responsibility for someone or something else — a child, a pet, a garden — makes you happier. In one study, residents of a nursing home were given plants. Half were responsible for caring for the plant themselves. The other half were told that a staff member would do it for them. After six months, 30 percent of those who had no personal responsibility for their plant care had died — twice the rate of those who cared for the plants themselves. The Latter-day Saint ministering program can obviously do as much for the ministering elders and sisters as for those to whom they are assigned.
Arthur C. Brooks of the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research in Washington, D.C., told a BYU audience that “The most charitable state is Utah,” which gives twice as much as the second-place state does. He added: “People who give get happier as a result … happiness is the secret to success … you can be a happier person by giving.” Significantly, Latter-day Saints give four times as much to charity as the average non-Latter-day Saint.
A study at Emory University found that a knowledge of family history was a great predictor of a child’s psychological well-being. No group puts a higher emphasis on family history than Latter-day Saints.
Having purpose and meaning in life was found to be highly correlated with overall happiness. No religion has a more profound concept of life’s purpose and man’s origin and potential destiny than does The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Spending to buy time and doing things with family and friends was found to produce more happiness than spending to acquire more possessions. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints strongly emphasizes spending time with family, and virtually all religions deemphasize the pursuit of material riches.
Lyubomirsky found that 50% of a person’s happiness is genetically determined (what we’re born with), 10% is determined by rather fixed circumstances (health, status, geography, economic level, etc.), and 40% is determined by a person’s thoughts, actions and attitudes, totally within his control. This fits well with the Latter-day Saint concept of agency and personal responsibility.
Designed by Amanda Page of the Greater Good Science Center at the University of California at Berkeley.
Counting blessings and expressing gratitude were also found to correlate with happiness. One study of severely depressed patients found that taking time to record just three things daily over 15 days led to a reported increase in well-being in 94 percent of those studied. Meditation for as little as ten minutes a day has also been found to increase happiness. Such religious practices as prayer and scripture reading obviously fit in well here.
Purposeful work was found to be more pleasurable than mere leisure. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints not only provides plenty to do for its members during their employment years but offers unmatched opportunities for volunteer service on missions and in temples after retirement.
Good health is another predictor of general satisfaction levels. Latter-day Saints, with their abstinence from alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs and with their emphasis on periodic fasting have better health than the general population and tend to live five to ten years longer.
Religious people are much more likely to report being very happy than non-believers. The Austin Institute for the Study of Family and Culture studied the link between religious affiliation and happiness in 15,738 Americans between the ages of 18 and 60 years of age. They found that 45% of those who went to at least one religious service during the week described themselves as very happy, while just 28% of those who never went did so. However, evidence suggests that it may not be church attendance per se which produces happiness but the social network that it fosters. Thirty-three percent of those who attended religious services every week and reported having close friends at church said they were extremely satisfied with their lives, while only 19% of those who went to church but had no close connections to the congregation reported the same satisfaction. Latter-day Saints, with their emphasis on a lay ministry, with callings for everyone, in addition to their network of ministering to each other, provide a social framework which psychologists would consider unusually conducive to happiness.
The deepest happiness is a spiritual gift
All the preceding points may be impressive, but if we stopped there, we would be missing the single biggest reason that Latter-day Saints can and should be the happiest people on earth. It has to do with spiritual factors of which most psychologists are quite unaware, but which are very real and available to all who will follow the recipe.
The secret is found in Galatians 5:22, where Paul tells us that both love and joy (the deepest and most wonderful form of happiness) are fruits of the Spirit. But neither is acquired by seeking for it directly. Rather, as Mormon also makes clear in Moroni 7:48, they are received by divine infusion as a result of righteous living. He said: “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ.” He could have substituted the word “joy” for the word “love,” and the statement would have been just as true.
While all, both in and out of the Church, may enjoy spiritual gifts on a limited and temporary basis, they are guaranteed permanently only to those who choose to exercise faith in Jesus Christ, repent of their sins, covenant to follow Him by entering the waters of baptism, and who thereafter receive the gift of the Holy Ghost through the laying on of hands by those authorized to bestow it. Those who comply with those four steps and who thereafter keep their baptismal covenants can find a supernal joy in life despite the hardships and trials all are given as part of the mortal experience. They will come to know what Joseph Smith meant when he said, “Happiness is the object and design of our existence; and will be the end thereof, if we pursue the path that leads to it; and this path is virtue, uprightness, faithfulness, holiness, and keeping all the commandments of God.”
What the scriptures say about happiness
A review of entries in the Topical Guide under the headings of “happiness, happy” and “joy” is instructive. Here are a few highlights:
“Men are that they might have joy.” (2 Nephi 2:25.)
“The righteous … shall inherit the kingdom of God,… and their joy shall be full forever.” (2 Nephi 9:18.)
“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.)
“Ammon said unto him … my joy is full, yea, my heart is brim with joy, and I will rejoice in my God.” (Alma 26:11. The entire chapter is evidence of Ammon’s being almost giddy with joy, despite having been gone on a mission for fourteen years and having suffered all kinds of hardship and abuse at the hands of those he was trying to serve.)
“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.)
“I will impart unto you of my Spirit,… which shall fill your soul with joy.” (D&C 11:13.)
“If thou art sorrowful, call on the Lord thy God with supplication, that your souls may be joyful.” (D&C 136:29.)
“We were filled with the Holy Ghost, and rejoiced in the God of our salvation.” (Joseph Smith-History 1:73. Joseph Smith’s account of how he and Oliver Cowdery felt immediately following their baptism.)
“Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven.” (Matthew 5:11-12.)
“If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love…. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.” (John 15:10-11.)
“For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” (Romans 14:17.)
“I am exceeding joyful in all our tribulation.” (2 Cor. 7:4.)
“And it came to pass that I beheld a tree, whose fruit was desirable to make one happy…. And as I partook of the fruit thereof it filled my soul with exceedingly great joy.” (1 Nephi 8:10, 12.)
“He has poured out his Spirit upon you, and has caused that your hearts should be filled with joy.” (Mosiah 4:20.)
“The king said: What shall I do that … I may … receive his Spirit, that I may be filled with joy?” (Alma 22:15.)
“He that keepeth the law, happy is he.” (Proverbs 29:18.)
“Behold, we count them happy which endure.” (James 5:11.)
“If there be no righteousness, there be no happiness.” (2 Nephi 2:13.)
“Wickedness never was happiness.” (Alma 41:10.)
“There never was a happier time among the people of Nephi, since the days of Nephi, than in the days of Moroni, yea, even at this time, in the twenty and first year of the reign of the judges.” (Alma 50:23. Significantly, this great happiness was due to the righteousness of the Nephites, and the spiritual gifts they were therefore enjoying, and not to their external circumstances. This was during a brief lull in a protracted war with a numerically superior Lamanite force, whose leader, Amalickiah, had sworn to drink Moroni’s blood. Furthermore, they were on the brink of a domestic rebellion, which would place them in even more dangerous circumstances.)
Many other passages could be cited, but these should be sufficient to make the point. Though, as researchers have demonstrated, a certain level of satisfaction can be found in being an active part of Church organization and complying with its visible expectations, there is a much deeper level of happiness, even joy, to be found in internalizing the gospel itself and complying with its ordinances, including that which gives one the right to the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. A synonym for this kind of joy would be peace. Jesus never promised a life of fun, comfort or ease, but He did promise “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.) He repeated the same promise in D&C 59:23 when he said, “Learn that he who doeth the works of righteousness shall receive his reward, even peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come.”
Personal testimony
I am happy to be a personal witness that these things are true. When I live the gospel, I’m happy. When I do not, I am not. And the peace and joy I find through the gospel far surpasses the excitement, pleasure, and mere “happiness” that the world offers. We need some of both, but there is really no comparison between the two. This is the real reason Latter-day Saints, who have accepted the fulness of the gospel and have received the gift of the Holy Ghost as a potentially permanent companion should be the happiest people on earth. Yet everyone on earth is entitled to the same experience and blessings. The Church and its members earnestly invite all to join them in the deep happiness which can be found in no other way. As Nephi’s brother Jacob exclaimed, “How great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth.” (2 Nephi 2:8.)
The claims of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are so spectacular anyone should hope the message is true. But coming to a conviction on that point requires more than mere hope.
The Book of Mormon prophet Alma taught that faith begins with a desire to believe. (Alma 32:27.) But a mature and burning faith will take some work. It will require a serious study of the Book of Mormon with sincere pondering and prayer. (Moroni 10:3-5.) A willingness to give up all one’s sins is part of the equation. (Alma 22:18.) And it may involve acting for a time as if one were already an active Latter-day Saint, beforereceiving a spiritual witness. (John 7:16-17.) But the scriptures promise that one who completes these steps will invariably learn for himself that the message is true. He will thereafter be able to rejoice forever in that conviction. On the other hand, some may hope it is not true, so as to escape the corresponding consequences. The Lord will never impose divine knowledge on an unwilling believer.
The following are some of the Church’s promises. They should cause a sincere seeker to earnestly hope they are all true and resolve never to rest until he knows for sure:
1. The gospel doesn’t promise earthly ease or freedom from suffering, but it does guarantee “peace in this world and eternal life in the world to come.” (D&C 59:23.)
Who could put a price on either? This is what enabled the first latter-day prophet, Joseph Smith, to say as he went to a certain martyrdom in Carthage, “I am going like a lamb to the slaughter but I am calm as a summers morning.”
2. One aspect of the “peace in this world” promised to the faithful is a forgiveness of past sins.
Such forgiveness comes through faith, repentance, and baptism. There is thereafter the opportunity for a weekly renewal of that sinless state through partaking of the sacrament. So many in the world are tormented by guilt and the memory of deeds they can’t undo, or words they can’t take back. But through repentance and baptism we can all “roll back the clock,” as it were. Like Alma, we can be “harrowed up by the memory of [our] sins no more.” (Alma 36:19.)
3. The source of this inner peace is the gift of the Holy Ghost.
After baptism, one is entitled to receive the “gift of the Holy Ghost.” This provides a myriad of priceless blessings, including “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, [and] temperance.” (Galatians 5:22 – 23). One of the titles for the Holy Ghost is the Comforter. Those enjoying its gifts will find they are comforted in times of trial. They are strengthened and given courage to do any righteous thing that the Lord would have them do.
4. Baptized members are also, through the gift of the Holy Ghost, entitled to personal inspiration and revelation as needed.
This is sort of like the liahona as described in the Book of Mormon, or a spiritual GPS. Only the President of the Church has authority to receive revelation for the entire Church. But every member can receive divine direction for his own life and sphere of responsibility. James promised: “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally,…and it shall be given him.” (James 1:5.) That is just as true for each of us today as it was for the boy Joseph Smith. Prompted by the same passage, he retired to pray in a grove near his home. As a result, he received the vision which launched the latter-day restoration of Christ’s gospel.
5. Worthy saints are also entitled to all the blessings of the priesthood.
These include not only such ordinances as baptism and confirmation, but blessings in time of sickness or other need. Not only Church leaders can provide such blessings. Every worthy male over the age of twelve is eligible to be ordained to the priesthood. Every husband and father has the privilege of providing priesthood blessings for his own family and others.
6. The Lord has promised signs (miracles) to follow those that believe.
If we are observant, we will constantly see the hand of the Lord. Today’s miracles are occasionally as spectacular as those recorded in the Bible. But more often God intervenes in almost imperceptible ways. But the faithful will find things constantly work out better than they ever could through mere coincidence.
7. We have the revealed word of the Lord from thousands of years on two continents to guide and encourage us.
Some of those ancient prophets testified that they saw our day. They knew what challenges we would face. They therefore selected those materials they knew would be essential for our latter-day safety, success, and happiness.
8. Even more significantly, the gospel of Jesus Christ promises ongoing and timely guidance from living prophets and apostles.
At the earthly head of the Church today is 93-year-old Dallin H. Oaks, a former lawyer, law professor, Chief Justice of the Utah Supreme Court, and president of BYU. Latter-day Saints consider him as much of a prophet today as Moses or Elijah were anciently. As a modern witness of Jesus Christ, he testifies that the Lord Himself is the real head of the Church. Under divine guidance, President Nelson is leading the Church forward with the energy of one half his age. He, his two counselors (or assistants), and the members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, each April and October in General Conference provide a spiritual feast to Latter-day Saints and interested friends throughout the world through the marvels of satellite technology and internet communication.
9. We can have our spouses and children sealed to us eternally, as well as have eternal ties to our parents and siblings.
For many, this may be the greatest enticement of all to find out if the gospel is true. For Latter-day Saints, marriage was never intended to be merely “until death do us part.” Truly, heaven would not be heaven to me without my wife and family.
10. The gospel teaches who we are—where we came from, why we are here, and what awaits us.
The gospel teaches not only that we can associate with loved ones eternally in the hereafter. It promises that we can have endless spiritual posterity and the same consequent fullness of joy that God enjoys. Could anything be more exciting?
11. The Church offers us the opportunity to be part of the Lord’s championship team.
It is better than being sent into the Super Bowl with the score tied in the final moments, to be part of the winning drive. Those who get all the way into the Church and serve with all their hearts will have a thrill at a great future awards ceremony that those who were merely spectators will never understand.
12. Statistics show that Latter-day Saints as a whole live longer and have better health than their non-Latter-day Saint counterparts.
While mortal health may not compare with eternal glory, it’s surely preferable to mortal sickness and weakness!
13. The Church allows us to be part of a local ward family or congregation—a support network.
As members of the Church, we automatically have friends ready to welcome us wherever we move (and even to help us move). In times of temporal need, there are resources available to help until we are back on our feet.
14. The Church provides great organizations, activities, and teachings to help us raise our children and have happier families.
15. The gospel provides us with a reason for hope in a downward-spiraling world.
While the world will continue to deteriorate, the promise is that the “righteous need not fear.” (1 Nephi 22:17.) The Lord’s kingdom will grow, and the promised latter-day Zion will become a counterbalance to the evil of the world. It will provide not only the promise of future salvation but temporal protection here and now for the righteous. Such promises, of course, are general, and not specific. Individual saints may still suffer and die from war, crime, sickness, and terrorism. But as a group, the righteous will find protection from the calamities which the disobedient bring upon themselves. And, going back to point #1, even those individual righteous saints who suffer the natural results of living in a fallen world will have a peace in the midst of their trials that the world knows nothing about.
The above promises obviously overlap and we could easily consolidate them into ten or expand them to twenty. They are so spectacular that one cannot blame a non-Latter-day Saint for having initial doubts about whether they could really be true. One can blame him, however, if he hopes they are not true, so that he can continue with his current lifestyle. We might consider such a one to have the same level of intelligence as the child who would prefer a new quarter to a million-dollar bill—because the million-dollar bill isn’t as shiny and won’t fit into the gum machine!
This is why the Lord can justly warn that those who believe not will face condemnation (another way of saying they will miss out on blessings)—because they prefer not to believe and are unwilling to take a careful look at the more than adequate evidence of the gospel’s truthfulness. The greatest blessing of my life is my testimony that all of the above fifteen points are true. The blessings promised for this life really do come, giving me full confidence that those promised for eternity will also be fulfilled.
Don’t let your fun get in the way of your happiness!
As a child I got hooked on stamp collecting. With little to spend on the hobby, I still loved to order unsorted batches of stamps from around the world. I naively dreamed of someday finding something of value.
Some years later, as a 21-year-old Latter-day Saint missionary serving in Uruguay, I momentarily thought that day had come. We were visiting with an elderly German lady who wasn’t particularly interested in our message. But she did want to sell an old stamp collection. She knew of no place in Uruguay to sell it, but she wondered if we might want it. Looking at it, I saw that virtually all the stamps predated 1900. Having no idea of the collection’s value, but seeing exciting possibilities, I scraped together $60 for half of the collection. My companion put up an equal amount for the other half. We determined that if the collection turned out to be valuable, we would certainly share our proceeds with the seller.
Soon thereafter I returned home from my mission. I found a stamp catalog and looked up the value of the stamps in my half of the collection. I was astonished to find that many of them had a catalog value of hundreds of dollars each. Others were allegedly worth thousands! At their invitation, I shipped off my collection to the H. E. Harris company for their evaluation. I excitedly awaited their offer to purchase the stamps.
Weeks passed. I dreamed of all I could do with the proceeds. I thought of the surprised happiness the lady in Uruguay would feel when I sent her portion. Finally, the collection came back with a letter attached. I eagerly tore it open and proceeded to read. To my astonishment, the letter reported that virtually all my stamps were forgeries! They said it had been a common practice around the turn of the century to market facsimiles of valuable stamps. That way collectors could “complete” their collections. Rather than being worth thousands, my $60 stamp collection was worth absolutely nothing.One could argue that the stamps did have a little value. They looked nice. Perhaps they could serve to play a trick on some friends. At worst, I could use the collection for fuel on a cold night. But it wasn’t worth the $60 I paid (perhaps about $600 in today’s money). Certainly it wasn’t worth the thousands I had envisioned.
Obviously, I was not the first victim of counterfeiting, and I was certainly not the last. In the US alone, there are an estimated $70,000,000 worth of counterfeit bills in circulation. More serious, in a recent year some $1,700,000,000 worth of counterfeit goods were seized at our borders.
Spiritual Counterfeits
Yet infinitely more serious is the emotional or spiritual counterfeiting which is rampant in today’s world. As serious as the counterfeiting of currency is, authorities estimate that only one bill in 10,000 in circulation is fake. But probably most of what passes for “happiness” in today’s society is actuality a poor imitation. Most of it is at best a form of “fun,” or “pleasure,” or “indulgence.” That is about as close to real happiness or joy as my fake stamp collection was to an authentic version.
Jesus Christ taught that deep and lasting happiness doesn’t come from pursuing it directly. Rather, it is the result of a lifestyle and service orientation that initially may not sound like much fun at all. For example, He taught that “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35.) “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad.” (Matthew 5:11-12.) “He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.” (Matthew 10:19.) “Wickedness never was happiness.” (Book of Mormon, Alma 41:10.) Though a “man of sorrows and acquainted with grief,” Jesus also had to be the happiest man in all history. One of my favorite paintings of Him is one with Him smiling.
Through a modern prophet the Lord revealed that joy is more associated with fasting than with eating. (Doctrine and Covenants 59:13.) The Church teaches that blessings come from the payment of tithing and offerings, even when resources are scant. Missionaries serve at their own expense for two years, working harder than they have ever worked in their life. But they come back calling those the best two years of their lives.
True Joy and Happiness
We find one of the greatest scriptural examples of the relationship between sacrifice and joy in the Book of Mormon. In Alma 26, Ammon, the king’s son, reflects on his and his brothers’ experiences during the preceding fourteen years. They had renounced claims to the throne and had given up a life of luxury. They embarked on the seemingly impossible mission of preaching the gospel to their enemies, the Lamanites. Collectively, Ammon and his brothers had suffered imprisonment, starvation, physical abuse, rejection, and “all manner of afflictions.” They had gone without any of the normal recreational and social experiences of youth. But with divine aid they ended up bringing thousands of their once antagonistic brethren to the true faith. In summary, Ammon declared, “Now, have we not reason to rejoice? Yea, I say unto you, there never were men that had so great reason to rejoice as we, since the world began.” All told, there are some forty references in that one chapter alone to joy, love, blessings, praise, singing, and light. All this was from experiences that most would have thought would have brought nothing but misery.
It’s much like what happens when we look into a non-reversing mirror. Apps are available both for Apple and for Android which will convert a phone into a mirror that lets us see ourselves as we really look. It’s quite different from seeing the reversed image which we normally see. You can get the same effect placing two regular mirrors next to each other at a 45-degree angle. Then look at your image in the second mirror as reflected from the first. While it’s interesting to see what you really look like, it’s a bit challenging to comb hair or put on makeup by looking into the non-reversed image. Having been conditioned to look in normal mirrors, we intuitively want to move our hand in the opposite direction of where it really needs to go. (Try it!)
Similarly, we intuitively assume we’ll be happier if we get more rather than give more. Or if we indulge more rather than abstain from harmful substances or inappropriate activities. Or if we pursue leisure and recreation to the exclusion of Church activity, worship, work, and service.
A Slow Learner
I partially learned this principle when I was seventeen and had been working long hours in the potato harvest. After breaking my wrist in a freak accident, I thought it was not all bad. Rather than have to work, I could enjoy the rest of the school’s potato harvest vacation sitting at home. Within a day or two I realized I would much rather have been out working.
I learned it all over again in the summer of 1963, when I had just returned from my mission in Uruguay. I arrived home in late June and planned to leave for school in September. So, the only summer employment I could find was hauling hay for sixteen hours per day in the hot sun. After some weeks of tedious work, the job came to an end. I had a month left before school would start. With no prospects of finding a job for just four weeks, I settled into what I anticipated would be blissful relaxation. I quickly discovered that the long days of hauling hay had been much more enjoyable. They wouldn’t be called fun. But they were satisfying, fulfilling, and led to a much deeper happiness than did my days of idleness.
I have had to relearn this principle repeatedly throughout my life. When I was a missionary, it wasn’t always particularly “fun” to knock on doors or talk to strangers. But I found it deeply satisfying once I had done it. No one has as much happiness from alcohol or indulgence as I have found from refraining. It is more enjoyable to me to spend Sunday in Church and in related service activities than in simply pursuing leisure on the “day of rest.”
Of course, a certain amount of fun, recreation, and relaxation is important. It gives us an opportunity for physical, mental, emotional, and even spiritual renewal. Jesus didn’t always rush toward the multitudes. Sometimes He went in the other direction to escape them. Even He needed time to meditate and renew Himself. Joseph Smith, a modern-day prophet, enjoyed playing ball, running, pulling sticks, and wrestling. He said he didn’t want his mind always strung up any more than an archer would want his bow strung up all the time. Current Church leaders are happy people.
President Dallin H. Oaks, President Russell M. Nelson, President Henry B. Eyring
Recreation and leisure could be compared to dessert after a fine meal. It has its place, but it is not wise to eat too much of it or eat it exclusively. Physical nutrition comes primarily from the main course, not from the dessert. And for our spiritual health, we want to never forget that the scriptures teach that “Man is that he might have joy,” not that he might have mere fun. (Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 2:25.) Or, as Joseph Smith so perfectly summarized it, “Happiness is the object and design of our existence; and will be the end thereof, if we pursue the path that leads to it; and this path is virtue, uprightness, faithfulness, holiness, and keeping all the commandments of God.”
10. The gospel teaches who we are—where we came from, why we are here, and what awaits us.
One could argue that the stamps did have a little value. They looked nice. Perhaps they could serve to play a trick on some friends. At worst, I could use the collection for fuel on a cold night. But it wasn’t worth the $60 I paid (perhaps about $600 in today’s money). Certainly it wasn’t worth the thousands I had envisioned.
