Seeking Happiness and Joy

“And He entered into the synagogue; and there was a man which had a whithered hand. And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the Sabbath day; that they might accuse him. And He saith unto the man which had the whithered hand, Stand forth. And He saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath days, or to do evil? To save life, or to kill? But they held their peace. And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other.” Mark 3:1-5 “And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the Sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the Sabbath days.” Matthew 12:11-12 Jesus taught by His example that we are to do well on the Sab...

Growing up my mom always sent us off by saying, “Be good. Learn all you can. Have fun.” It is evident by this statement and her life that she values education and learning. My mother went back to college when I was in elementary school to become a registered nurse. She received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing the same semester I graduated high school. A couple years ago, she received dual Masters Degrees. She was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints her freshman year of college. She is the only member of the Church in her family, and it is no coincidence that she is also the only member of her immediate family who has received advanced college degrees. She is truly converted and her testimony and eternal perspective has increased her drive for learning. At the end of my freshman year of college, I attended a CES broadcast with President Henry B. Eyring who was then a member of the quorum of the twelve apostles as the speaker. He gave a talk that has...

As my mom was finishing her two Master's programs, she decided to reward her own hard work by purchasing her dream car--a bright red Jeep. Her Jeep is the fanciest car anyone in my family has ever owned. It has heated leather seats, power everything, radio/CD controls on the steering wheel, a sunroof, and many other things we had only seen in the movies. Her Jeep is also ridiculously smart. The Jeep's message board tells you which direction you are facing, how many miles until the gas tank is empty, and when to change the oil. I freaked out the day the message board told us the spare tire had low air pressure. How does the Jeep know that? Sure enough, when we checked it, the spare tire needed 8 psi. My mother and I were going for a ride in her fancy red Jeep. My mother was telling me that she was stressed, depressed, and overwhelmed. She asked me what she could do to gain control and find peace in her life. Before I could answer, the Jeep chimed in with an answer. We recognized...

"As soon as we learn the true relationship in which we stand toward God (namely, God is our Father, and we are his children), then at once prayer becomes natural and instinctive on our part ( Matt. 7: 7-11 ). Many of the so-called difficulties about prayer arise from forgetting this relationship. Prayer is the act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other. The object of prayer is not to change the will of God, but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant, but that are made conditional on our asking for them. Blessings require some work or effort on our part before we can obtain them. Prayer is a form of work, and is an appointed means for obtaining the highest of all blessings." I gave the closing prayer in a church meeting not long ago. Since then, I've been thinking a lot about prayer. I know God hears and answers prayers. I testify of that. As I prayed at ...

This is an experience from my vacation in Canada this summer. Growing up in Florida, I spent a lot of time in water. I would swim in the natural spring on my great aunt's property all the time. We didn't live very far from the beach. For girls' camp and mutual activities, we would canoe down the river. I love the river. Moving to St. George was a little disappointing when I saw the size of the rivers which were more like streams or ditches. Nonetheless, I spent a lot of time at the river with my friends. I respect the great power of water--the constant pull of the current and the mystery of what lies below the surface. The river took the life of my dear friend, Jonny. That day took the joy of the river from my life. It was almost a year before I was able to even walk to the shore of the river. One of the planned activities for this trip was tubing down the St. Mary River. I was very anxious. I dreamed about my friend, Jonny, all night. I was incredibly nervous...

I woke up Sunday morning in American Fork. I was spending my last weekend before school started at my friend's house. She and I were living the easy life. She had taken Saturday off of work--her first in months. We watched movies, went shopping, went out to eat, but mostly talked. I didn't have any responsibilities. I had planned to remain in this state of freedom and relaxation one more day. I woke up Sunday morning at eight planning to attend church at nine at any nearby chapel. As I lay on the couch, I felt prompted by the Spirit to get in my car and drive home. I was enjoying my stay. I didn't want to leave. I didn't even know why I should leave. I started gathering my stuff. Within fifteen minutes, I was on my way home. The sky was full of storm clouds and it was still a little dark. I couldn't believe I was leaving. As I approached Payson, it started to snow. When I got to the South Santaquin exit, I was too scared to continue. The snow was comin...