Happiness is

So here I am enjoying my oatmeal, reading in the Book of Mormon where Moroni is talking about the people in our day. I run into a verse that really hits me and I think, "Maybe I should write down my thoughts on this one." Good thing we have a blog (I don't do journals very well).

In Mormon 9:14, Moroni is talking to those who don't believe in Christ, warning them that their day of judgment will come. That's pretty typical Book of Mormon repentance language, but what I really like is how he describes our final state:

"And then cometh the judgment of the Holy one upon them; and then cometh the time that...he that is happy shall be happy still; and he that is unhappy shall be unhappy still."

This made me ponder the question, "Am I happy?" Because if I'm happy now, I can be sure that I will be happy forever.

I don't mean to make this about righteousness. I'm interpreting Moroni's words to mean that if our attitude is one of doom and gloom, sadness and want, we're choosing that existence for eternity. It reminds me of two sayings that Molly and I have spoken about a few times recently. The first is, "Decisions determine destiny." We are masters of our attitude, which means we can choose to be happy; no one else can choose happiness for us. The other is, "Don't save something for a special occasion. Every day of your life is a special occasion." To me this amounts to not waiting for that day in the future to be happy. The future doesn't come and today is just as worth a smile as tomorrow.

So in answer to that question Moroni posed in my mind, "Am I happy?" I choose to say, "Yes, most definitely."

I won't have time to write and you won't have patience to read a list of everything that makes me happy, but let me give you the big picture.

I'm happy because God has blessed me with the gift of the Gospel, and an eternal companion who is perfect for me. These things will never be taken away from me. I can smile about that even when work sucks and homework stresses me out and I realize that maybe I won't be able to get into a program on time to get a teaching credential and I'll end up cooking hotdogs for a living.

I'll end with a quote from a song on You're a Good Man Charlie Brown called "Happiness Is":

Happiness is being alone every now and then

And happiness is coming home again.

Happiness is morning and evening,

Daytime and night time too.

For happiness is anyone and anything at all

That's loved by you.