“[We] are that [we] might have joy.”
The prophets of the Book of Mormon envisioned our pre-millennial era with joy. They assure us not only of the happiness we can anticipate in Christ’s return but also of the happiness we can savor in His reality—an accessible, daily rejoicing.
With this in mind, I took a closer look at just what the Book of Mormon has to say about living “after the manner of happiness.” Here are four characteristics I’ve noticed that happy people share.
1. Happy People Are Curious
Happy people love to learn. They recognize that all truth is a gift; they pursue and share it with eagerness.
After what must’ve been a heart-breaking separation from the Lamanites, Nephi records that his people immediately set about building a temple and ordaining religious teachers. They were anxious to internalize the word of God. Of everything that lay ahead of them, this was a top priority.
Perhaps they knew that the grief, fear, and uncertainty of their circumstances could be soothed by knowledge of the good—remembrance of eternal realities. So, they cultivated places where they could receive and discuss beautiful truths.
In choosing to be curious, happy people apply truth as a balm to life’s daily uncertainties.
2. Happy People Are Creative
People all throughout the Book of Mormon are recorded as being creative and industrious.
- Alma’s people “pitched their tents, [tilled] the ground, and [built] buildings; yea, they were industrious, and did labor exceedingly…. And they did multiply and prosper exceedingly.”
- The Jaredite descendants “were exceedingly industrious, [working] all manner of fine work…. And never could be a people more blessed… and more prospered by the hand of the Lord.”
- Mosiah’s people “labor[ed] with their own hands…. And they did abound in the grace of God. And there began to be much peace…. And the Lord did visit them and prosper them.”
From fabrics to farmlands to families, the common thread is creative, passionate labor. It’s in our divine DNA. Children of the ultimate Creators are innately creative; making things makes us happy!
In choosing to be creative, happy people find rejuvenating fulfillment in everyday work.
3. Happy People Are Cooperative
After seeing Jesus Christ in His full, resurrected glory, the Nephite people became unified like never before. Perhaps it was because, in glimpsing His eternal redemption, they saw life with a wider perspective than ever before.
They realized that they truly needed each other in order to eternally succeed.
“They were married, and given in marriage,” they “[met] together oft both to pray and to hear the word of the Lord,” and they considered themselves “one, the children of Christ, and heirs to the kingdom of God.… and surely there could not be a happier people among all the people who had been created by the hand of God” (4 Nephi 1:11, 12, 17, 16).
United through prayer, promise, and purpose, they found happiness. They actively chose to engage with each other, to work together in harmony, to be bound with wholehearted fidelity.
In choosing to be cooperative, happy people are stretched and strengthened by others.
4. Happy People Are Compassionate
The culmination of these three happy characteristics is, as far as I can tell, compassion. Not just a sense of empathy, but an unquenchable, covenant longing to alleviate suffering.
Compassion binds us to Christ. It fills us with “that joy which is unspeakable and full of glory.” It spills into even the most mundane, frustrating, and discouraging corners of life—the same joy that enabled Christ to see beyond Gethsemane and Golgotha, the same joy that filled Him as He shone among rubble and ruin, praying for the Nephites:
“No one can conceive of the joy which filled our souls at the time we heard him pray for us unto the Father. …So great was the joy of the multitude that they were overcome. [And Jesus said,] Blessed are ye because of your faith. And now behold, my joy is full” (3 Nephi 17:17, 18, 20).
Enveloped in such transformative compassion, it is little wonder that these people went on to cultivate one of the happiest societies recorded in scripture.
In receiving Christ’s compassion, happy people can’t help but be compassionate.
We Worship a Happy God
We worship a happy God. I think that’s easy to forget. Our heavenly parents are joyful people. It’s why They do what They do! They adore all truth, They love to create beautiful things, They enjoy working among Their flawed human children, and They are brimming with unspeakably joyous compassion.
Look around you. You may notice that these patterns hold true among the happiest people you know—because, I believe, they are divine characteristics. Curiosity, creativity, cooperation, and compassion invite divine power into our lives. They are active ways to remember our identities and rejoice in our purpose.
In my stage of life, sometimes creativity looks like figuring out how to fold laundry while keeping a baby away from playing in the toilet, or curiosity sounds like, “Why on earth would you do that?!,” or cooperation means sending emails back and forth—but I love that life keeps me asking, moving, and working. I love that this world is teeming with odd little channels that lead to truth and goodness. I love how easy it is to collect and share reminders of Home—both temporary and eternal—where we were meant to be happy.
More articles for you:
▶ 7 Book of Mormon verses that have changed my perspective on body image
▶ 6 Book of Mormon verses every parent should know
▶ How can I love life? The hopeful answer I found watching my daughter learn to swim
▶ 13 life-changing books to help you study the Atonement of Jesus Christ
