Quick Quotes on Happiness

“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.” - Joseph Smith

I love this quote. A lot of people miss the whole point of our existence (!) and don't realize that we are here to experience joy, here and hereafter. Or they misunderstand where joy can be found and veer off the path that leads to it.

Life is undeniably fraught with real pain (physical and emotional), but our task is to live uprightly, to love and be loved, to eschew evil and celebrate all that is beautiful and good.

Alma had it right when he told Corianton that "wickedness never was happiness." It just looked like happiness from a distance.

Random thoughts for a random Thursday:

When the first baby laughed for the first time, its laugh broke into a thousand pieces, and they all went skipping about, and that was the beginning of fairies. - J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan

And a poem:

Promise Yourself

To be so strong that nothing
can disturb your peace of mind.
To talk health, happiness, and prosperity
to every person you meet.

To make all your friends feel
that there is something in them
To look at the sunny side of everything
and make your optimism come true.

To think only the best, to work only for the best,
and to expect only the best.
To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others
as you are about your own.

To forget the mistakes of the past
and press on to the greater achievements of the future.
To wear a cheerful countenance at all times
and give every living creature you meet a smile.

To give so much time to the improvement of yourself
that you have no time to criticize others.
To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear,
and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.

To think well of yourself and to proclaim this fact to the world,
not in loud words but great deeds.
To live in faith that the whole world is on your side
so long as you are true to the best that is in you. ”

- Christian D. Larson

And, finally, one of my favorite quotes of all time, a quote which I NEED every now and then to re-set my thinking and getting me back on the right track. I discovered this quote in college when I found myself doing a lot of negative self-talk:

Speak gently to yourself.
Speak freely in praise of all you are.
Speak clearly in pride for all you've been.
Speak bravely in hope for all you may become.