Trust in the Lord=Happiness

Last night at institute class we went over the talk "Trust in the Lord" By Richard G Scott.  As we went through it I was surprised how many times it mentioned being happy or happiness.  He actually mentions it 14 times if you were curious.  The talk was great and I am sure it was one that I really needed to study.  Here are some key points on happiness that I picked up.

• Trust in the Lord brings happiness now and in the eternities
• You won't always get what you want but you will get what you need
• God wants our happiness even more than we do
• As doors close in your life new ones will open
• After trials have been the hardest, the Lord will place packets of spiritual sunlight to guide our way if we exercise faith in him
• Happiness, strength, courage and a capacity to overcome challenges come from a life centered in Jesus Christ
• Recognizing our blessings brings happiness
• God will keep his promises as we come to understand the plan of happiness, accept his will, receive all of the ordinances and keep our covenants
• Christ gave his life for our happiness

My Institute teacher also talked about how often in life we forget that the Lord's plan for us is happiness.  Too often we want to bend God's will for us to our own will.  Because of our limited perspective, we think that we know what will make us happy.  I have already learned from Daniel Gilbert's book that we are terrible at predicting what will make us happy.  Also we may think that we know what will make us happy in this life but we are even more clueless when it comes to what will make us happy in the eternities. 

I have been thinking about how popular it has become lately in society to get God to see things our way.  Some people even equate this with being our authentic selves. I see it with Women who want the priesthood.  Surely in these women's minds, they are convinced that they will be happier if only they have the priesthood now.  They can't fathom in their own minds how it could be possible that women and men can be happier if women didn't have the priesthood.  I see this also with the popular issue regarding same sex attraction.  People with these desires can not fathom that they can ever be happy if they don't act on their desires and trust God.  There is a constant push to bend God's will to ours, which is so silly considering our very limited perspective. Left to our own devices we can sure make a mess of things.

I am not going to claim I have all the answers but I can name multiple times in my life that I wanted something SO bad and I could not understand how I could possibly be happy without it.  God seemed like he was prying out of my hands my only idea of happiness.  I thought that God had to want it for me too because surely he wanted me to be happy, surely he loved me enough to give me what I wanted.  In the end I was much happier without getting what I wanted. 

I heard a really good quote on Sunday in sacrament meeting that I am going to paraphrase because I can't find it but I know it was Elder Holland.  He in essence said, If God equated love for us with lack of suffering then he surely never would have let Christ suffer and die on the cross.  It was also mentioned that God will either give us what we want or he will give us something better.

In life there will be suffering but I will still trust in God and seek to make his will known for me in my life so that I can have happiness now and in the eternities.  I am doing my best to let go of doubt, fear, hopelessness and continue to turn my will over to his.  I have a lot of work to do.  Perhaps it is the hardest thing I will be asked to do but I know that in the end happiness will be my reward.