I had an interesting experience this past Sunday and decided to share it with my philosophical view.

I went to a Relief Society class in a different ward than my own. The lesson was taken from a talk by President Eyring and focused on the Plan of Salvation, often referred to as the Plan of Happiness. The teacher said, “What is the difference between joy and happiness?” The consensus was that joy is long-lasting, while happiness is usually not sustainable. Often our happiness is deflected by what is happening to us at the time. It comes from our circumstances and surroundings. Joy, on the other hand, is all-encompassing and is always a part of our lives perhaps made stronger by what brings us happiness.

I’ve included a few pictures of my favorite things – things that bring me sustainable happiness and long-term joy. The following video is of Rosemary, my first great grandchild. I love the happiness in her laugh as she lands from the slide and I absolutely adore the way she strides back swinging her arms to experience the whole thing over again. I’m her Grammy and I adore here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cym6XdPQwPU

“Church activity brings us long-term sustainable joy,” declared the teacher and then added, “What about those who leave the church and yet appear to be happy?” This discussion went on with a few sisters determining the happiness these people appear to have is not real. One sister said, “Real happiness comes by living the Gospel of Jesus Christ within the confines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”  That’s when the whole discussion got heated. One sister declared that six of her seven children had left the Church and all declared quite convincingly they had never been happier. She went on to say she felt quite uncomfortable with the statement that her children could not possibly be truly happy.

I’ve thought of this since that religious discussion on Sunday, and I’ve talked about it with other family members after the meeting. There were some great remarks made and I’ve come to some conclusions of my own based on all the discussions.

I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and have been since I was about nine years old. I can’t say that I have had a burning testimony throughout all those years. I believe in God and His Son, Jesus Christ and I believe there is a third member of the Godhead referred to as the Holy Ghost. I believe we all lived together in a pre-existence before our mortality on this earth began and that The Plan of Salvation, also called the Plan of the Lord, becomes the Plan of Happiness as we live it. The best result of this wondrous plan is that we all end up living once again with God and our family members for eternity, thus bringing us further happiness.

The detail of this Plan of Salvation means that we are born on earth into family units where we will learn about God and our Savior, Jesus Christ. We will take upon ourselves sacred covenants such as baptism and those made in a Temple of God and we will live our lives by faith. That Plan also involves Christ, in that He will likewise be born into mortality to an earthly mother. He will learn and as the only begotten of God, will have very special responsibilities to which He agreed in the pre-existence. He knew that He would live an exemplary life for all of us to follow, be baptized, set up His church, atone for our sins in the Garden of Gethsemane, die on the cross and would resurrect. Because of all this, we as mortals have the great opportunity to repent of our sins, take upon us the atoning sacrifice of Christ and experience the miracle of resurrection. We will stand before God as our judge and live an eternal life within the glory we’ve attained based on our worthiness while living on this earth.

Now, as far as happiness goes. Of course, it is possible to be happy and not be living within the confines of my faith. It is not up to me or anyone else to determine what happiness is for other people. I enjoy living within those confines. I don’t feel restricted. I enjoy the Gospel of Christ and the method I’ve chosen to learn more about it. I have faith that I’m doing the right thing for me. I have members of my family who have chosen to live differently and I admit I haven’t always handled those decisions well. I’ve decided to do what makes me happy and part of that happiness involves my loved ones. Being able to enjoy them, one and all, and enjoy my level of activity in my Church has been liberating to me. I don’t have to approve or disapprove of what they do. I live my life in a manner that brings me happiness and I openly love others. I don’t have to worry about their eternal goals, that is their business.

Living the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the way I understand, keeps me quite busy. I’m living in the last quarter of a hundred-year life span. I’ve spent the first three quarters being relatively happy. I’ve had many sad times, times when I’ve felt defeated, underappreciated, etc., but for the most part, I’ve been happy. It won’t be long before I will finish my time as a mortal and will experience the next part of my eternal existence personally. If I’m wrong about that existence or the way I’ve chosen to live my earth-bound state, I don’t think I’m out anything. I’ve made mistakes and I’ve tried my best to rectify those mistakes using the principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I believe in a loving God who will know that and I believe in His Son, Jesus Christ, who will look upon me with love because He will know that I know Him.

All in all, I’ve lived my life in a way that has brought me happiness.  I feel that my existence on this earth with the family and friends I’ve had, has left me filled with joy and I appreciate that.  I think we’d all be better off only to be concerned about helping others to navigate collectively through this life with genuine concern.

In the meantime, I will enjoy those who make my life interesting and full of life. These are only a few of my favorite things.