“If thou art merry, praise the Lord with singing, with music, with dancing, and with a prayer of praise and thanksgiving. If thou art sorrowful, call on the Lord thy God with supplication, that your souls may be joyful.”
-D&C 136:28-29
“Do you think our Father in Heaven wants you to feel depressed and sad? He wants no such thing. He has provided the commandments, which are the royal road to a life of purpose, peace, and joy. All we need to do is follow it. Knowing and living God’s commandments really do lead to fulfillment and to joy. Our destiny is greater than we can imagine. If only we understood who we are and what is in store for us, our hearts would overflow with such gratitude and happiness that it would enlighten even the darkest sorrows with the light and love of God, our Heavenly Father.
The next time you feel unhappy, remember where you came from and where you are going. Rather than focus on things that dampen your thoughts with sorrow, choose to focus on those things that fill your soul with hope. You will realize that these things are always connected to serving God and our fellowmen. It is well for you to laugh! It is well for you to be happy! Lift up your voices and “praise the Lord with singing, with music, with dancing, and with a prayer of praise and thanksgiving”.
I cannot imagine a heaven filled only with somber beings who never speak up or who do not enjoy music and visiting with each other. That is not heaven for me. I am certain that you were not created to spend the hours and days of your lives isolated from each other in worry or despair. You were created to have joy, so let’s celebrate the merciful blessings of a joyful and loving Heavenly Father!
You don’t need to wait for permission to fill your hearts with thanksgiving and happiness. You can do this nicely on your own. It is my earnest prayer that the knowledge of who you are and what you may become will fill your souls with the peaceable love of God and that this will ignite within you a happiness worthy of your true heritage, for in truth you are princes and princesses, kings and queens.”
-President Uchtdorf
It's hard for me to stay optimistic and upbeat during winter. Everything just seems gloomier, darker, sadder, bader, worser. Turning to Christ and serving those around me is the only way I've found to beat these winter blues. I think sometimes we focus too much on how Heavenly Father wants us to grow and improve to be more like Him and not enough on how extremely super much He wants us to be happy. When we are happy it makes Him happy because we are not only His work and His glory, but His source of joy.
And besides--there is SO much to be happy about! There's family and friends and school and church and scriptures and prayer and sunshine and heated homes and birthdays and books and shoes and socks and food and yummy smells and technology and chocolate and laughter and bodies and music and marriage and service and work and kids and cute old people and the color green and ice cream and washing machines and dirt and showers and chick flicks and letters and smiles and goals and purpose and feelings and so many other wonderful things. Refuse to let Satan pull you down. Fight back, make the hard choices, and be happy.
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