Happiness

 

• Places we've lived
  
• Things we've seen
  
• Our history with Perdido
  
• The Lord's plan…does he use us as instruments of His divine will?
  

 

Our family has talked about happiness today. You've probably noticed that we all have had a different take on this topic; we each have addressed various facets of the same phenomenon. The phenomenon of real and lasting happiness may seem somewhat slippery and hard to put labels on. Any of you that have taken a philosophy course know that many of the so-called great philosophers had their disparate opinions on the place of happiness within the mileau of the human experience. To me it seems happiness and its twin "misery" are inextricably entwined! A brief sampling of aphorisms on the topic of happiness illustrates: LISTEN CAREFULLY!!

 

Happiness is good health and a bad memory. (Ingrid Bergman)

 

All who would win joy, must share it; happiness was born a twin. (Lord Byron)

 

Expect everything, and anything seems nothing. Expect nothing, and anything seems everything. (Samuel Hazo)

 

If you suffer, thank God! It is a sure sign that you are alive. (Elbert Hubbard)

 

Life is short. Live it up. (Nikita Khrushchev)

 

We would often be sorry if our wishes were gratified. (Aesop)

 

Joy is not in things, it is in us. (Jess Lair)

 

Happiness isn't something you experience; it's something you remember. (Oscar LeVant)

 

Ask yourself whether you are happy, and you will cease to be so. (John Stuart Mill)

 

A man can do what he wants, but not want what he wants. (Arthur Schopenhauer)

 

Live each day as if it were the last day of your life, because so far, it is. (Unknown)

 

Misery is optional. (S. Gilmary Beagle)

 

I can't complain, but sometimes I still do. (Joe Walsh)

 

 

A string of excited, fugitive, miscellaneous pleasures is not happiness; happiness resides in imaginative reflection and judgment, when the picture of one's life, or of human life, as it truly has been or is, satisfies the will, and is gladly accepted. (George Santayana )

Let me ask a few rhetorical questions:

 

• How many of you have looked in the mirror recently?
  
• A real hard look?
  
• For the ladies: Not one to straighten your hair up or apply your make up
  
• For the guys: Not one to check out how devilishly handsome you are or one involved with a check of where else hair is growing now!
  
• I mean a gaze with these questions in mind:
  
  • Who am I?
    
  • Why am I here?
    
  • Where am I going after this life is over?
    
  • What is my purpose here on earth?
    
  • I'm accelerating towards some sort of destiny….what is it?
    
  • I've reflected on who and what you and I are and how and why you and I are entitled to happiness.
    
• Have you considered that among all of the creations of the Supreme ruler of this universe and He who is Lord over this and infinite worlds, you represent his primary concern AND His crowning achievement?
  
• Do you realize that He has allowed His only begotten Son to condescend to live on this very planet just over 2000 years ago to ensure your everlasting happiness?
  
• Have you paused to acknowledge that among all of the millions upon millions of God's children there is no other individual precisely like you?
  
• We like to think we're unique amongst ourselves and we are, but as humans with limited capacity for appreciating variability even we can see some patterns reoccurring!
  

 

While travelling recently for the Air Force I was held by the Salt Lake Airport Security for approximately 30 minutes because someone has been using the name "Paul Laws" for less than desirable purposes! I was informed my name is on a "watch list" and security procdure may be a regular occurrence for the rest of my life! I will have to certify I am indeed the "good and upright" Paul Laws vs. the other one who is out there using "my" name for foul purposes!

 

Fortunately, our father above has numbered all of His creations and you can bet "He who notes the fall of a sparrow" is intimately concerned with all of the days and events of our individual probations.

 

Inasmuch as we are allotted a finite amount of time here on the planet I feel it behooves us all to ascertain as soon as possible what course will reconcile us to Him!

 

The "pursuit of happiness" is termed an "inalienable right" within the very framework of our republic, the Declaration of Independence. As a people we value the idea of personal liberties and freedom so much we actively promulgate these principles worldwide, even at the peril of lives!

 

Joseph Smith said:

 

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. . . .

. . . . [A]s God has designed our happiness—and the happiness of all His creatures, he never has—He never will institute an ordinance or give a commandment to His people that is not calculated in its nature to promote that happiness which He has designed, and which will not end in the greatest amount of good and glory to those who become the recipients of his law and ordinances. (An essay recorded in the Journal History [HC5:134-35] Aug. 27, 1842) TPJS:255-56; DGSM:27

 

This brings me back to an earlier point; The Father of us all; the omniscient, omnipotent controller of all things HAS A PLAN for our HAPPINESS!

 

Lorenzo Snow once taught:

There is nothing the Latter-day Saints can imagine that would afford them happiness that God has not unfolded to us. He has prepared everything for the Latter-day Saints that they could possibly wish or imagine in order to effect their complete happiness throughout the vast eternities. (Teachings of Lorenzo Snow, p. 63) DGSM:28

 

Lehi, the ancient Prophet knew this truth when he taught his sons:

 

Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy. 2Ne.2:25

 

Adam himself got this revelation early on as is recorded in Moses 5:10-11:

 

And in that day Adam blessed God and was filled, and began to prophesy concerning all the families of the earth, saying: Blessed be the name of God, for because of my transgression my eyes are opened, and in this life I shall have joy, and again in the flesh I shall see God.

 

And Eve, his wife, heard all these things and was glad, saying: Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed, and never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient.

 

 

George Q. Cannon taught:

 

It is not given to men and women on the earth to be entirely satisfied, if they seek for satisfaction and happiness in worldly things. There is only one way in which perfect happiness can be obtained, and that is by having the Spirit of God. (Gospel Truth, 2:317-18) TLDP:319

 

 

This is so true! I recall a small poem I first heard as a missionary too many years ago:

 

As a rule

Man's a fool

When it's hot

He wants it cool

When it's cool

He wants it hot

Always wanting what its' not!

 

Personal Story "Red Truck, Blue Truck, Black Truck, VAN"

 

Life is a challenge and a struggle mingled with happiness and joy. Some of you have heard my witticism on the subject: "Some days you're the windshield, some days you're the bug!"

 

On Friday I found a ten dollar bill fluttering along the ground in a parking lot. I of course pounced on it like the first worm of the day for a ravenous robin and then mused that my fortune was tied to the misfortune of the hapless soul who had lost the 10 spot. This too is the opposition factor at work. If we had no opposition in life there'd be nothing opposing our forward progress and therefore no "realness" to the test. What kind of test would life be if there were no way to fail? Conversely how likely would be our chances of successfully navigating the labyrinth of paths in life without the "iron rod" to cling to? Lehi's vision of the tree of life is highly instructive and vital when taken in the context of the tests and trials of mortality.

 

One other point I should not neglect to make here; we are immortal beings in mortal bodies pursuing happiness in this transitory state and hoping for happiness that extends into all eternity. Ponder that one for a minute! When we forget the important element of eternity looming we may tend to lower our sights from the ultimate goal!

 

The Lord's prophets through all of recorded human history have taught that keeping the commandments results in happiness.:

 

 

King Benjamin:

And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it. (King Benjamin addresses his people, about 124 B.C.) Mosiah 2:41

 

In Proverbs:

Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he. (Proverb of Solomon, king of Israel) Prov.29:18

 

 

Brigham Young (in Discourses of…)

 

 

To make ourselves happy is incorporated in the great design of man's existence. I have learned not to fret myself about that which I cannot help. If I can do good, I will do it; and if I cannot reach a thing, I will content myself to be without it. This makes me happy all the day long. 2:95.

 

 

Truly happy is that man or woman, or that people, who enjoys the privileges of the Gospel of the Son of God, and who know how to appreciate his blessings. 1:309.

236

… We are all searching for happiness; we hope for it, we think we live for it, it is our aim in this life. But do we live so as to enjoy the happiness we so much desire? There is only one way for Latter-day Saints to be happy, which is simply to live their religion, or in other words believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ in every part, obeying the gospel of liberty with full purpose of heart, which sets us free indeed. If we will, as a community, obey the law of God and comply with the ordinances of salvation, then we may expect to find the happiness we so much desire, but if we do not pursue this course we cannot enjoy the unalloyed happiness which is to be found in the Gospel. To profess to be a Saint, and not enjoy the spirit of it, tries every fibre of the heart, and is one of the most painful experiences that man can suffer. 12:168.

 

We must smile more and gripe less

 

Lift more than cause distress

 

Cheer rather than jeer

 

Forget sleights

 

And most of all Accentuate the positive!!

 

Funeral for Roberta Fenwick

I met Sister Roberta at Church for the first time 12 years ago. That was over in the 9th Avenue Building where the Pensacola Ward meets. Since then I have served in the Church with her and been her Bishop or Pastor twice. In 1997 I was ordained a Bishop in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Roberta was an original member of the Perdido Branch and later the Perdido Ward. On 30 May of this year I was once again called as Bishop of the Perdido Ward and was once again Roberta's Bishop. Several personal observations about Roberta

1. She had an extraordinary wit: If you've ever seen the prototypical Roberta grin you know what I mean! That look always seemed to show a remarkable sense of humor and underneath it seemed to indicate that she was up to something and she may or may not tell you what it was!!
   
2. She was remarkably generous: Roberta had a great love of literature and in particular childrens literature. She enjoyed immensely sharing this love with our 4 children. For all of the years that we knew Roberta she took it upon herself (over our half-hearted objections; she said "it's my money ! I'll spend it how I want, thank you!) to give the gift of multiple magazine subscriptions to our children to enlighten and excite their imaginations! Her enthusiasm for the written word was a halmark of the Roberta we knew and loved
   
3. She had a remarkably firm testimony of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. As a Gospel Doctrine (adult Sunday School) teacher she was very effective and persuasive in her teaching style. Her lovingly (if not always legible) handwritten instructional aids were a testament to her dedication to this call to sereve. It was always a joy to hear her testify of her love for the Savior Jesus Christ. She often remarked she didn't feel worthy to invite the Spirit into the class... Now that you're gone Roberta, I'll say one last time RUBBISH!! You we're a true Saint in our midst!
   

 

Near the end of her mortal sojourn Roberta experienced a lot of pain. She wondered aloud to me what was left for her to accomplish...what she still lacked...I was a little taken aback by this thought and assured her that all she yet lacked was the ability to cross the finish line of life with her head held high. One last trial lay ahead; patience with the Lord. One last refining test.

I read her a verse from the Book of Mormon found in Alma chapter 7 verse 23:

    "And now I would that ye should be humble, and be submissive and gentle;     easy to be entreated; full of patience and long-suffering; being temperate in all     things; being diligent in keeping the commandments of God at all times;     asking for whatsoever things ye stand in need, both spiritual and temporal;     always returning thanks unto God for whatsoever things ye do recieve."

After this interlude Bro LJ Carter and I gave Roberta a Priesthood blessing during which she was issued an honorable release from this life. This was a spiritual event I will cherish for the remainder of my life.

Where is Roberta?

Should we mourn her passing?

Will we see each other again?

What do we each face when we step through death's door?

When Roberta passed through the veil of death she transitioned to the next phase of her existence as an immortal spirit waiting the morning of the first resurrection.

I would say to friends and family and all of the rest of you here assembled:

I know where she's at, and I know what she's doing!

    When one of our loved ones passes beyond the veil of this mortal existence the parting brings a deep sadness and longing to each of us that is left behind. We feel disconnected and alone, we pause and consider our own mortality and what we are doing with our lives. We long to know for sure what the future holds for us beyond the certain step with uncertain dimensions we call death. The passing of a loved one invites deep reflection. I believe we may come to know and understand what the Psalmist testified of in the 30th Psalm:

"...weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning."

JST Psalms 30:Verse 5

    But how can joy arise from the ashes of sorrow, when we are so clearly left behind? When our sorrow is so painfully fresh? How can we recover from the incredible vacancy that enters our lives?

The marvelous truth is that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has provided a way for us to be reunited with our loved ones on the other side! He has prepared a plan with God our Heavenly Father that ensures eternal happiness and joy awaits each one of us. John chapter 3 verse 16 records probably the most often quoted passage in all of scripture:

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

John 3:16

Everlasting life...this sounds like a long-term affair! When we come to terms with the eternal truth that we are eternal beings and that we will exist forever a massive measure of comfort enters our hearts. Job the afflicted prophet of old declared:

For I know [that] my redeemer liveth, and [that] he shall stand at the latter [day] upon the earth:

And [though] after my skin [worms] destroy this [body], yet in my flesh shall I see God:

Job 19: 25-26

The glorious remarkable truth which applies to Helen and to each of us that we will have the ability in a future day to regain our physical bodies only with the added blessing of inheriting a perfected immortal body which is incapable of suffering all of the vicissitudes of this life.

The other day John and I took a moment to reflect on how wonderful it must have been for Helen to arrive on the other side and find herself alert and free from the cares and worries of this world! How marvelous must have been the reunion with Roy and other family and friends in that elevated sphere! What a great blessing to know we have the opportunity to receive the same welcome home when we depart this world! The Holy Scriptures testify to us of the plan of God for his children's happiness. Let me share three of my favorites with you:

For since by man [came] death, by man [came] also the resurrection of the dead.

For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

1 Corinthians 15:21-22

Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,

And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life…

John 5: 28-29

In my Father's house are many mansions: if [it were] not [so], I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, [there] ye may be also.

John 14: 2-3

A Prophet declared, speaking of those who mourn for their deceased relatives:

....when I talk to these mourners, what have they lost? Their relatives and friends are only separated from their bodies for a short season: their spirits which existed with God have left the tabernacle of clay only for a little moment, as it were; and they now exist in a place where they converse together the same as we do on the earth,

I have a father, brothers, children, and friends who have gone to a world of spirits. They are only absent for a moment. They are in the spirit, and we shall soon meet again. The time will soon arrive when the trumpet shall sound. When we depart, we shall hail our mothers, fathers, friends, and all whom we love...

 

Let us not unduly mourn the passing of Roberta. She is not gone forever nor doth she sleep! Her physical tabernacle resides in this chapel, her magnificent eternal spirit has taken its place among the millions that have gone before!

    Near the end the faithfulness of Roberta was given one more stiff test through which she marvelously forged ahead. All of this was a real chore for her because of health concerns she was struggling with. I admire the quality of her perseverance in the face of adversity, and I hope that as we take a moment today to remember Roberta, we might consider what more we can do in this world to be like her in this way.

    I feel confident that Roberta is marveling in the splendor of the paradise in which she is a new citizen. We too are drawing ever closer to the transition to eternity we call "death". May we each have peace and clarity knowing that there is indeed a place "prepared for us".

Love

P.D. Laws

Roy 24^th Ward Sacrament Meeting Address 28 Jan 2001

 How do you define love? 

How do you grab a bar of wet soap in the shower?

Getting your hands around the subject of love is like trying to catch the wind.

Love is an emotion.

Love is a state of mind.

Love can be a state of body.

A state of being.

 

It can be expressed or repressed.

It is compulsive and sometimes obsessive.

It can kill or heal

Love is a phase of the heart.

It can be warm, cold, tough, or even puppy. Sensual, sexual, public, or private.

Love has 1,001 permutations.

 

Usually not served a la Carte, it is much better buffet-style.

You can think you are in it, but be light-years from it.

Love can be judgmental, although it shouldn't be conditional.

It should be preferential, although all-to-often our love compasses don't point to the direct-route to happiness

Love is not loud, boastful, brash, or demanding.

It is patient, kind, and long-suffering but not in an "un-cool" way.

 

Love is everything!

You will die without it, and do anything for it.

Love is something we all must learn how to do, and do well and right in order to be truly happy and fulfilled as human beings.

Love is open to free interpretation.

 

Let me illustrate with a brief list of things I love and don't love.

 

 

 

 

Things I Love…	Things I Don't Love…
The skin of fried chicken…	Chicken Liver…
Jumping out of anything that flies…	Horse Flies…
Fast Computers…	My Pentium 120…
Ketchup…	Tomatoes…
Being Right…	Always Being Right…
Flannel Sheets…	The First 20 Seconds…
Myself…	Others More…
Breathing Underwater…	Getting Out of the Water…
Pork & Beans…	Lima Beans…
Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream	Chocolate Ice Cream
Being on Time…	Being Behind Someone Slow…
College Football…	Professional Football…
Our New President…	Our Old President…
A Good Clean Joke…	The Fact that so Few Exist…
Honesty…	Compromise…
Becky's Home-made Wheat Bread	Store-bought White Bread
A Box of Chocolates…	Having to Bite them all to Find a Good one…

 

As I related my personal preferences I'm sure there were many other opinions among those of you that are here today. We are all different people! We represent different genders, ethnic and social backgrounds, and even different lifestyles. Each of us has been blessed or cursed (just kidding) with a certain personality and a whole bag of propensities about life. We all have a view, a take, an opinion.

Opinions are a truly universal part of life; everyone has them! Whose opinion truly matters? Is there a chief opinion-aire?

What and where is the common denominator?

What IS truly important? And why?

Will any of the things I have listed as my loves save me from sin and death- the two truly awful forces in our universe?

The answer is NO!

Let me give you another list of loves and not loves:

 

Things I Love…	Things I Don't Love
My Heavenly Father and Savior	Satan and his followers
His Commandments and Prophets	The Teachings and Philosophies of Man
Myself as One of His Choice Sons	When I Forget My Divine Heritage
My Personal Covenants With Him	When I don't fulfill My Promises
My Wife and Family	The Thought of Being Without Them

 

 

 

 

 

Lehi taught his sons that: "Men are that they might have joy" (2 Nephi 2:25).

 

Joseph Smith further illuminated this concept with this statement:

"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" (Smith 255-56).

 

Of all of the loves that we must pursue in life; of all of the things that we chase after with our hearts and heads, I believe there are at least 5 loves that we must understand and demonstrate in order to be saved in our Father's Kingdom:

They are:

 

1. Love of the Godhead for Man (the greatest love story ever told)
   
2. Love of Man for God
   
3. Love of Man and Wife
   
4. Love of Family
   
5. Love of all Mankind
   

   
    

 

 

 

1. Love of the Godhead for Man (the greatest love story ever told)
   

 

 

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

                                        John 15:13

 

For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent;

 

But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I;

 

Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit--and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink--

 

Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men.

 

Wherefore, I command you again to repent, lest I humble you with my almighty power; and that you confess your sins, lest you suffer these punishments of which I have spoken…

D&C 19: 16-20

 

What more can be said than this! Our Heavenly Father condescended to allow His only perfect son; His best and most righteous son to suffer the weight and responsibility for the sins of all mankind. He looked on as evil men colluded in an awful plan to wrongfully accuse and crucify the first among all of His favorite sons. Then he allowed the humiliation of interrogations, scourgings, the open scorn and ridicule of the creator of the very earth upon which they stood. I know of no greater love than that. No love that is of greater worth or enduring value. No love that redeems so perfectly and completely every spirit that take up flesh on this and other worlds.

 

1. Love of Man for God
   

 

In Ancient times a lawyer tried to accuse the Savior with this question:

 

Master, which [is] the great commandment in the law?

 

Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

 

This is the first and great commandment.

 

And the second [is] like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

 

On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Matthew 22: 36-40


We are required by our Heavenly Father to love him in order to gain Celestial Exaltation because it is only through love that we will value His program and commandments enough to do all that is commanded of us. In a simplified manner, almost to a circumstance, earthly parents require certain things of their children because they believe/know ultimately what will lead to the most happiness for the child. They know these things not through some magical power that parents possess, but because they are more experienced in the matters they are attempting to teach the child. Just as children are generally well served to heed to earthly parental guidance so to are we all infinitely better off to heed to our Heavenly Father!! Religion i.e. the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ is the tool with which eternal promises and eternal Life are realized and made possible. We must be knowledgeable of its doctrines!

 

Joseph Fielding McConkie has written:

 

…how does one gain such a knowledge? How do we come to know that we are on course, that our lives are in order and thus approved of the heavens? The members of the School of the Prophets were taught-and this is one of the transcendent verities of the Restoration-that we must be willing to sacrifice all things for the gospel cause. If we would become inheritors of all that the Father has, we must be willing to give up all that we have. With us, it must be the kingdom of God or nothing. We must be willing to yield our hearts unto God (see Helaman 3:35), have an eye single to his glory (see D&C 88:67), and be willing to surrender to the Captain of our souls. Like the father of Lamoni, we must be willing to give up all we possess, forsake our individual kingdoms, and give away all our sins to know God (see Alma 22:15, 18). "Let us here observe," the Prophet declared, "that a religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never has power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation" (Lectures on Faith 6:7). Only a church that will ask everything of its members-everything!-is in a position to promise its members the riches of eternity. Total surrender is always prerequisite to total victory. Only those who reach the point in their spiritual development where they are at last able and willing to fully consecrate themselves to the Lord and his church and kingdom and to do so without hindrance can gain that confidence before God of which the scriptures speak (see D&C 121:45), a confidence that results in the promise of eternal life.

 

3. Love of Man and Wife

 

We know that the Scriptures say "man cannot live by bread alone". It is also a verity that a man cannot make it into the royal courts of the Father without a woman at his side. And not just any woman! The woman at his side is a daughter of God! She is one of God's grandest achievements. She is pure and holy and without guile. She is the mother of his children. She is the Queen to his King. She has made sacred covenants in His holy house along side of her husband, that bind them together throughout all eternity!

In my opinion the love of a righteous man & woman is one of the crowning jewels of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

With this bright future in store what husband would ridicule or demean his spouse? What husband would have two faces, one for public consumption and one within the walls or bedrooms of his home?

What husband would fail to treat his wife now like what she will be then?

I answer: Only a fool!

Only a man who has lost sight of what he has within his grasp if he will but reach for it. It is all too common (and sad) to see sealed couples treating each other as if there really were no tomorrow or that eternity will never come! The possibilities are so great!

 

President Spencer W. Kimball has said:

 

Happiness in marriage requires continued effort. Two people coming from different backgrounds soon learn after the ceremony is performed that stark reality must be faced. There is no longer a life of fantasy or of make-believe; we must come out of the clouds and put our feet firmly on the earth. Responsibility must be assumed and new duties must be accepted. Some personal freedoms must be relinquished and many adjustments, unselfish adjustments, must be made.

One comes to realize very soon after the marriage that the spouse has weaknesses not previously revealed nor discovered. The virtues which were constantly magnified during courtship now grow relatively smaller, and the weaknesses which seemed so small and insignificant during courtship now grow to sizeable proportions. The hour has come for understanding hearts, for self-appraisal, and for good common sense, reasoning, and planning. The habits of years now show themselves; the spouse may be stingy or prodigal, lazy or industrious, devout or irreligious, may be kind and cooperative or petulant and cross, demanding or giving, egotistical or self-effacing. The in-law problem comes closer into focus and the relationships of the spouses to them are again magnified.

 

1. Love of Family
   

 

 

We get to choose many things in this life, to include Baskin Robbins "thirty-wonderful" flavors, BUT we don't get to choose our families or the members thereof. We can't "return" a family member to the "point-of-sale" because we don't like their performance or the weird noises they make (see 4-year-old). We are placed together for a reason. Our mission in life is to discover every wonderful aspect of the divine spirit of every member of our family! When we can't agree, we need to seek peaceful, constructive means to resolve our differences. The mortal testing that we each are taking part of has some of its most trying tests within the walls of our homes. Listen to the Lord's words concerning contention:

 

29 For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another.

 

3 Nephi 11:Verse 30

30 Behold, this is not my doctrine, to stir up the hearts of men with anger, one against another; but this is my doctrine, that such things should be done away.

Contention has no place in our homes

 

And the second [is] like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

Matthew 22

 

5. Love of all Mankind

 

We are commanded to love others. What's more, we are commanded to love others as we love ourselves. For most of us self-love is a deep and abiding love that knows no limits! We would do well to do "unto the least of these my brethren" (

Matt 25:40)

 

1 John 4:15-21:

 

15 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.

 

16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.

 

17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

 

18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.

 

19 We love him, because he first loved us.

 

20 If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?

 

21 And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.

 

 

 

 

D&C 121:Verse 45-46

 

Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven.

 

The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth; and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever.