Happy Under Every Circumstance

To  my daughter, 

                One of your strengths is the ability to easily find joy. You have been given a spirit that is cheerful and prone to be happy, and you can bless many lives because of that. The Prophet Joseph taught, “Happiness is the object and design of our existence; and will be the end thereof, if we pursue the path that leads to it.” I hope to encourage you to continue to seek to find happiness throughout your life. The scriptures speak often about joy and how our whole purpose is to find joy. Lehi said to his son Jacob, “Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy” (2 Nephi 2:25). Adam rejoiced with his wife Eve in these words, “In this life I shall have joy, and again in the flesh I shall see God” (Moses 5:10). In this life indeed we are to have joy, and the Lord promised Hyrum Smith, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, I will impart unto you of my Spirit, which shall enlighten your mind, which shall fill your soul with joy” (Doctrine and Covenants 11:13). Our joy is truly the greatest when it is centered in Jesus Christ. He taught His disciples shortly before His death, “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full” (John 15:11). He further explained to them that though they would have great trials, their sorrow would “be turned into joy” and “your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you” (John 16:20,22). I know that you will indeed have trials and sorrow during your mortal experiences, but I also know that through Jesus Christ your sorrow can be turned into joy as you seek happiness through Him.

                President Nelson gave a talk several years ago about joy. In it he told a story about a group of saints who were driven out of their homes in the middle of winter because of the actions of very wicked people. He told of an account of one particular sister, Eliza R. Snow, who wrote about her experience.  “One evening, Eliza’s family spent the night in a small log cabin used by refugee Saints. Much of the chinking between the logs had been extracted and burned for firewood by those who preceded them, so there were holes between the logs large enough for a cat to crawl through. It was bitter cold, and their food was frozen solid. That night some 80 people huddled inside that small cabin, only 20 feet square (6.1 meters square). Most sat or stood all night trying to keep warm. Outside, a group of men spent the night gathered around a roaring fire, with some singing hymns and others roasting frozen potatoes.” President Nelson then related her words describing this difficult experience, “Not a complaint was heard—all were cheerful, and judging from appearances, strangers would have taken us to be pleasure excursionists rather than a band of gubernatorial exiles…. That was a very merry night. None but saints can be happy under every circumstance.” President Nelson then declared, “That’s it! Saints can be happy under every circumstance. We can feel joy even while having a bad day, a bad week, or even a bad year! My dear brothers and sisters, the joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives.” That can perhaps be hard to believe, but we can indeed find joy even in the midst of a bad day or a difficult experience. If we always focus on the bad things that are happening to us or the difficulties that we face, then we will struggle to find joy. But if we focus on finding joy in Jesus Christ, we too can be happy in any circumstance. Thank you for being such a great example of finding joy, and I pray that no matter what difficulties you face in your life you will be able to find joy in living the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Love,

Dad