Winter Beauty

This morning as I was praying, I was struck with gratitude for the wonder and beauty of the natural world in Winter.  I was specifically thinking about even how the leaf-less trees can symbolize hope and steadfast faith.  During Winter, deciduous trees may lose their leaves and, to some, may appear devoid of life and boring or ugly.  However, it occurred to me that those trees "know" something I don't see or often appreciate.  The biological processes involved in tree growth, even including the processes involved in preserving the symbiotic relationships of some trees, ensure the long-term life and well-being of the tree.  They can symbolize hope for us because we know, as sure as we know the sun will rise, that in the spring a healthy tree full of green leaves will return.  For the most part, there is no fear that Spring will never come.  The surviving tree simply "waits" for the right environment to continue growing in a different way.  Whether I think the tree is beautiful in the winter or not is irrelevant because the tree serves its purpose in the world without fail -- yes, even in its eventual death it serves a great purpose.  How can I be more like that tree?  What can I do to obtain the courage to stand like a tree, serving my purpose on Earth not regarding the praise or judgement of the world?

Barriers to Happiness pt2

The second barrier to happiness identified in the "6 Barriers to Happiness" article referenced in my earlier blog entry, is living at a breakneck pace.  I saw in this a good correlation to the counsel found in Psalms 46:10 "Be still, and know that I am God . . .".  The breakneck pace many of us keep can decrease our level of happiness if we do not take time to allow our hearts and souls to be still and ponder quietly the God of heaven. 

A Key to Happiness

I was listening to a BYU devotional address this morning called "What do you expect?  A Key to Happiness" given by Jeffrey Larsen.  The title intrigued me because of all the personal study I've been pursuing for the past couple years about happiness and success in general.  The prophet Joseph Smith said that happiness is the object and design of our existence and will be the end thereof if we pursue the path that leads to it.  Brother Larsen spoke about perfectionism (maintaining false expectations) as a great barrier to happiness.  I was also recently reading Elder Robert D. Hales' address from last General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in which he spoke of Jesus' statement in John 17 that "this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent".  Elder Hales said that gaining this true knowledge of God would lead to our greatest happiness.  I am trying to make all the connections in the principles of happiness.  Here is what I see in correlating these statements from these three individuals:  The path of happiness must consist of doing things that will help me come to know God and must help me maintain accurate expectations.  Furthermore, pursuing this path must help me get along well with people and be positively productive in my life.  

Barriers to Happiness

I recently read an article about happiness on WebMD.  The author listed 6 barriers to happiness and I saw in each one a direct correlation to counsel found in the scriptures.  I will comment on each of these in different posts.

1.  "Complexity in your life is a barrier to happiness".  This can be true or false depending on how one understands the commandment "Thou shalt have no other God's before me".  Other Gods are entities, objects, passions in our lives that capture our affections in such a way that they are not subjected to the power and authority of the one true God.  Complexity is a natural part of life, and its relationship to one's degree of realized happiness is based on the elements of the complexity and the purpose for which those elements are employed in one's life.  If the elements of one's complexity are arranged around God and establishing His Kingdom and righteousness, complexity can lead to great happiness.  Anyone who has ever done anything good or worthwhile in this world knows that complexity is not inherently a bad thing -- rather it is a natural phenomenon that must be confronted and managed by anyone who hopes to accomplish something extraordinary.  For example, a recent book entitled "Team of Rivals" discusses Abraham Lincoln's Presidency and the group of individuals he surrounded himself with and with whom he led the broken country through the turbulent years of the US Civil War.  I'm sure that bringing former rivals into your close confidences as the President of the United States led to some complexity in managing affairs of state.  However, due to President Lincoln's character and particular skills, developed and honed through years of practicing Christian principles, he was ultimately able to help establish the framework for a unified country.   

Jesus the Christ

I was just thinking this morning about the Lord and wonder at the faith of those who followed him.  Even as  I consider those whom he called and eventually became the twelve apostles; what was their faith based on?  In all respects and standards of their society Jesus was a man of no consequence and I wonder if everyone who believed in him knew about his miraculous birth and the angelic visit to the shepherds.  I wonder about his followers' level of understanding of the scriptures and the doctrines of God or the many prophecies about the Messiah.  I think about the lepers or the blind, the maim, and the deaf who possibly didn't have access to the scriptures and certainly weren't experts on the law or the prophets, yet they believed he had power to heal them and they were healed and made whole.  Did all of them believe that he was the Messiah?  Did they know that He was whom they had known as Jehovah -- he was the God of their fathers, he who had given Moses the law, he who had caused the Red Sea to part allowing their fathers to escape the Egyptians?  What did they know?  Truly, I want to "Ponder anew what the Almighty can do" and reconsider my faith in Him as Jesus the Christ.  My faith, born of the witness of the Holy Ghost through study of the scriptures and the teachings of men whom I accept as living prophets and apostles. 

Known by their fruits

Recorded in the book of Matthew is a passage wherein the Lord warns us "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.  Ye shall know them by their fruits.  Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?  Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.  A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.  Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.  Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them."  (Matthew 7:16-20)  I was thinking about Joseph Smith as I read these verses.  There are three basic facts about Joseph Smith about which none can dispute.  1) Joseph Smith declared to the world that he had seen and spoken with God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ  face to face 2) He came as a Prophet  3) His work bore fruit.  What the world must do, then, is judge him and his work by his fruits, most prominent among which is the Book of Mormon.  What is the message of the Book of Mormon? What are the results of abiding by the words written on its pages?  Even more generally, how is "evil fruit" or "good fruit" to be judged?
These are some questions that any sincere seeker should wonder about--the Lord himself gave us the warning, so it behooves us to be sure we can actually heed his warning and discern between good and evil. 

I read this passage in an article called "Shop Class as Soulcraft" by Matthew B. Crawford.  The author is discussing the satisfaction of skilled labor -- something that has been fading from American society.  When I read it, I was reminded of the Lords "know them by their fruits" counsel.  The book of Mormon actually exists, it was either a creation of Joseph Smith or translated from ancient records as he claimed, but Joseph Smith doesn't need any aggrandizement; that fruit, The Book of Mormon, stands on its own.

 "The satisfactions of manifesting oneself concretely in the world through manual competence have been known to make a man quiet and easy. They seem to relieve him of the felt need to offer chattering interpretations of himself to vindicate his worth. He can simply point: the building stands, the car now runs, the lights are on. Boasting is what a boy does, who has no real effect in the world. But craftsmanship must reckon with the infallible judgment of reality, where one’s failures or shortcomings cannot be interpreted away."

Barriers to Happiness

I recently read an article about happiness on WebMD.  The author listed 6 barriers to happiness and I saw in each one a direct correlation to counsel found in the scriptures.  I will comment on each of these in different posts.

1.  Complexity in your life is a barrier to happiness.  I recognized in this a correlation to the commandment that we must have no other Gods before [the one true God].  Other Gods are entities, objects, passions in our lives that capture our affections in such a way that they are not subjected to the power and authority of the one true God.