Be Happy

Hello there! It was quite the week this week. Not gonna lie, I was beat. We had a couple exchanges and zone conference this week. We gave 3 trainings back to back to back at zone conference. So my comp and I talked for an hour and a half. We’ve just been working hard here and I’m trying to keep the energy going in the zone. We also found out 2 days before Sunday that we would be speaking so we prepared some talks. I got to speak about being happy despite our circumstances. I really like that topic so it was pretty easy to prepare for. This week will be pretty wild too. I personally will be out of my area for the next 3 days for exchanges and things. We are also giving trainings to all the districts this week so it’s going to be busy but fun.

Here is my talk I thought I’d share for my email this week🤓
As you are all aware, things have been a bit different over the last 18 or so months than they have in previous years. Covid 19 and other circumstances have come about that may have thrown a wrench in our plans or brought about new challenges we would have otherwise been able to avoid.
For me I have only been a missionary during this pandemic. My mission experience has been anything but normal. I never imagined that it would have gone the way it has. I have experienced the mission pre covid and most of my mission during the pandemic. But throughout it all I have learned that the work of the Lord never stops. His work is still moving forward. Missionaries who have sought the Lords help have been busy as ever. Over the last year missionary work has become more effective and dynamic and new ways of going about the work have been brought up and refined. I have been able to learn more, experience more, and progress more than I ever thought I could, even in a time like this. As I look back I noticed a few things that have helped that progression and what I think have made the biggest differences. President Nelson said in this last GC that If you have responded to your trials with a stronger discipleship, this past year will not have been in vain. I want to talk about a few of those things that have helped me, and that I have seen help others find joy despite our circumstances. The first thing that has helped me is the power of prayer. President Nelson has said that prayer brings forth miracles. I believe that prayer will do that in our lives. I know prayer works and is a way we can receive help and direction and comfort. It is also a way we can share our gratitude to the lord. Cultivating an attitude of gratitude through the power of prayer will bring more joy into your life. I’m am grateful for prayer and the joy it has brought to my life.
The second thing is the peace that comes from the study of the scriptures, specifically the Book of Mormon. President Eyring has said that the Lord has embedded in the Book of Mormon his message to you. I know that is true. In the introduction we read that if we abide by its precepts, or live the principles it teaches we will grow closer to God, than by any other book. I have seen those principles taught in the Book of Mormon change lives and empower people to overcome their circumstances. It is the word of God and it has brought joy into their lives and mine. I encourage you to study it daily.
The next thing is the significance of our attitudes. For this I want to turn to the scriptures and share one of my favorite examples from Nephi and his brothers. 1 Nephi 17:2-3 1 Nephi 17:20-21. What differences do you notice? Nephi’s consistent positive attitude lead him to find happiness and joy in his circumstance. He was able to recognize the blessings. We can see that the circumstances we are in have little to do with our happiness. Nephi and his brothers went through the same exact things but Nephi’s attitude was different. He relied on the strength of the Lord. We can’t always control the circumstance we are in but we can control our attitude and how we respond.

Really quick I want to share a list that researchers made on the study of happy people…
Ten things that supremely happy people do: 1. Happy people surround themselves with other happy people. Joy is contagious. People are four times more likely to be happy in the future with happy people around them. 2. Happy people try to be happy. When happy people don’t feel happy, they cultivate a happy thought and smile about it. 3. Happy people spend money more on others than they spend on themselves. Givers experience what scientists call the “helper’s high.” 4. Happy people have deep in-person conversations. Sitting down to talk about what makes a person tick is good practice for feeling good about life. 5. Happy people use laughter as medicine. A good old-fashioned chuckle releases lots of good neurotransmitters. A study showed that children on average laugh 300 times a day versus adults who laugh 15 times a day. 6. Happy people use the power of music. Researchers found that music can match the anxiety-reducing effects of massage therapy. 7. Happy people exercise and eat a healthful diet. Eating a poor diet can contribute to depression. 8. Happy people take the time to unplug and go outside. Uninterrupted screen time brings on depression and anxiety. 9. Happy people get enough sleep. When people run low on sleep, they are prone to feel a lack of clarity, bad moods, and poor judgment. 10. Happy people are spiritual.

To me these seem like they are all gospel principles.
I know things don’t always work out the way we think they will. But if we learn to accentuate the positive as Nephi did and allow God to put us where he needs us to be, he will make much more of our lives than we ever could. I encourage you to have hope, to increase your faith through repentance and doing things that take faith. I encourage you to believe and seek to find joy and lasting happiness in every circumstance of your life.

President Hinckley said: We have every reason to be optimistic in this world. Tragedy is around, yes. Problems everywhere, yes. But … you can’t, you don’t, build out of pessimism or cynicism. You look with optimism, work with faith, and things happen. Do not despair. Do not give up. Look for the sunlight through the clouds. Opportunities will eventually open to you. Do not let the prophets of gloom endanger your possibilities. Cultivate an attitude of happiness. Cultivate a spirit of optimism. Walk with faith, rejoicing in the beauties of nature, in the goodness of those you love, in the testimony which you carry in your heart concerning things divine. The Lord’s plan is a plan of happiness. The way will be lighter, the worries will be fewer, the confrontations will be less difficult if we cultivate a spirit of happiness.

The most important thing is to remember your savior Jesus Christ. There is a real power in remembering him always. Elder Neal A. Maxwell said that the cavity that suffering carves into our soul will one day be our receptacle of joy. Joy is our capacity to become like our Heavenly Father. Jesus Christ suffered more than us all and because of that he has an infinite capacity for joy. He is most like our father in heaven and he is the example of finding joy and lasting happiness in this life and the life to come. I know there is joy in living the gospel of Jesus Christ. President Hinckley also said: Never forget who you are. … You are in very deed a child of God. … He is your Eternal Father. He loves you. … He wants His sons and daughters to be happy. Sin never was happiness. Transgression never was happiness. Disobedience never was happiness. The way of happiness is found in the plan of our Father in Heaven and in obedience to the commandments of His Beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Brothers and Sisters I know that He is incredibly interested in your happiness. Our joy now and forever is inextricably tied to our capacity to love. Being filled with God’s love is the most joyous of all things and is worth every cost. -Kolipoki I know Jesus Christ loves us and so does our Heavenly Father. And I hope that we can all share that love with others, so they too can be happy. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Have great week. Read the Book of Mormon. Have fun! Love, Elder Souza