the pursuit of happiness.

"...since we don’t always desire that which is good,

having all our desires granted to us would not bring us happiness..."

Happiness and unhappiness are much of our own making.

Being less selfish and looking to help others feel a bit happier when they are down is something huge that can make us happy.

It's not the short, instant gratification we get from having things we want,

right when we want them.

“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”

We will find ultimate happiness in faithfully keeping God's commandments for us.

"...Happiness is not given to us in a package that we can just open up

and consume. Nobody is ever happy 24 hours a day, seven days a week..."

It's a wonderful concept that our Creator understood well. Without unhappiness, we would never really know how it feels to have true happiness. We wouldn't know the difference. Thankfully, we are given trials and bad days, and these are what make our good days so exceptionally lovely.

"Rather than thinking in terms of a day, we perhaps need to snatch 

happiness in little pieces,

learning to recognize the elements of happiness and then

treasuring them while they last."

"Pleasure is often confused with happiness but is by no means synonymous with it. We are enticed daily to pursue worldly pleasures that may divert us from the path to happiness."

That's what makes life hard sometimes. We may not recognize is because the adversary is so subtle, but not all pleasures lead to lasting happiness.

"...how many times do we look for our happiness at a distance in space

or time rather than right now,

in our own homes, with our own families and friends?"

"...many of us try to consume happiness, rather than generate happiness..."

I think on Sundays from now on, I'll do posts like these. If I remember to, anyway. And at the end, perhaps, I'll leave a challenge. Today, I challenge us all, including myself, to generate as much happiness as possible. I challenge us to think about ourselves a little less, and think about how we can help others be happy. For, as we have learned, that is what will help us to find true, lasting happiness. 

**Quotes by James E. Faust in Our Search for Happiness, Oct. 2000.