Monday, December 31, 2012

If you search the world for happiness, you may find it in the end, for the world is round and will lead you back to your door.
Robert Brault

During the last year, there have been moments when this blog felt like a futile attempt to figure out what makes me happy. The reality is, I already knew the answer to the this question.
So am I happier than I was 366 days ago? ...
Perhaps a little.

Sunday, December 30, 2012

"Men are, that they might have joy." I testify that much of that joy comes as we recognize that we can communicate with our Heavenly Father through prayer and that those prayers will be heard and answered--perhaps not how and when we expected they would be answered, but they will be answered and by a Heavenly Father who knows and loves us perfectly and who desires our happiness. Hasn't He promised us, "Be thou humble; and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand, and give thee answer to they prayers"?
Thomas S. Monson

Saturday, December 29, 2012

Come walk the path that leads to eternal happiness, joy, and everlasting life in the kingdom of our Heavenly Father.

Friday, December 28, 2012

The purpose of mortality is to learn and to grow to be more like our Father, and it is often during the difficult times that we learn the most, as painful as the lessons may be. Our lives can also be filled with joy as we follow the teachings of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Thomas S. Monson

Thursday, December 27, 2012

Now, brothers and sisters, I'm not encouraging religious zealotry or fanaticism. Quite the contrary! I'm simply suggesting that we take the next logical step in our complete conversion to the gospel of Christ by assimilating its doctrine deep within our hearts and our souls so we will act and live consistently--and with integrity--what we profess to believe. This integrity simplifies our lives and amplifies our sensitivities to the Spirit and to the needs of others. It brings joy into our lives and peace to our souls--the kind of joy and peace that comes to us as we repent of our sins and follow the Savior by keeping His commandments.
M. Russell Ballard

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Testimony brings increased personal accountability and is a source of purpose, assurance, and joy.
David A. Bednar

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
Matthew 1:23

Monday, December 24, 2012

And I looked and beheld the virgin again, bearing a child in her arms. And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father! Knowest thou the meaning of the tree which thy father saw? And I answered him, saying: Yea, it is the love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things. And he spake unto me, saying: Yea, and the most joyous to the soul.
1 Nephi 11:20-23

Sunday, December 23, 2012

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring to you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ The Lord.
Luke 2:10-11

Saturday, December 22, 2012

Today, give a stranger one of your smiles. It might be the only sunshine he sees all day.
H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Friday, December 21, 2012

It is strange what a contempt men have for the joys that are offered them freely.
Georges Duhamel

Like a holiday shutdown...

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Unhappiness is not knowing what we want and killing ourselves to get it.
Don Herold

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

One should be either sad or joyful. Contentment is a warm sty for eaters and sleepers.
Eugene O'Neill

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

We have no more right to consume happiness without producing it than to consume wealth without producing it.
George Bernard Shaw

Monday, December 17, 2012

The happiness of most people is not ruined by great catastrophes or fatal errors, but by the repetition of slowly destructive little things.
Ernest Dimnet

Sunday, December 16, 2012

If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
John 15:10-11

Saturday, December 15, 2012

Happiness is... usually attributed by adults to children, and by children to adults.
Thomas Szasz

Last week with the children's Christmas party and this week with the adult one, I'm pretty sure there are pros to both phases.

Friday, December 14, 2012

Every now and then,
when the world sits just right,
a gentle breath of heaven
fills my soul with delight...
Hazelmarie 'Mattie' Elliot

With the tragedy of today, I pray we can all find a moment to feel the gentle breeze of heaven and feel the assurance and peace that comes from God.

Thursday, December 13, 2012

The search for happiness is unlike any other search, for we search last in the likeliest places.
Robert Brault

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

The secret to happiness is to put the burden of proof on unhappiness.
Robert Brault

I thoroughly enjoy this quote. As learned in my theory of analysis course, sometimes the way to prove something's existence or nonexistence is to disprove or prove the opposite.

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Happiness is a direction, not a place.
Sydney J. Harris

Monday, December 10, 2012

Of all the things you wear, your expression is the most important.
Janet Lane

Sunday, December 9, 2012

For the Lord shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody... Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.
Isaiah 51:3,11

Saturday, December 8, 2012

There is no cosmetic for beauty like happiness.
Lady Blessington

Friday, December 7, 2012

A great obstacle to happiness is to expect too much happiness.
Bernard de Fontenelle

Thursday, December 6, 2012

A happy thought is like a seed that sows positivity for all to reap.
Miriam Muhammad

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Is it not clear, however, that bliss and envy are the numerator and denominator of the fraction called happiness?
Yevgeny Zamyatin

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

People don't notice whether it's winter or summer when they're happy.
Anton Chekhov

Monday, December 3, 2012

The greatest happiness you can have is knowing that you do not necessarily require happiness.
William Saroyan

Sunday, December 2, 2012

The Lord, in His kindness, seeing the attitude of His children, and knowing that they would need guidance, gave us the Ten Commandments, and other commandments that have been given from time to time, to help us to find happiness. You observe people running to and fro in the world, seeking happiness but not finding it. If they would only pause long enough to accept the Lord's advice happiness would follow, but they will find it no other way.
George Albert Smith

Saturday, December 1, 2012

As people spin faster and faster in the pursuit of merely personal happiness, they become exhausted in the futile effort of chasing themselves.
Andrew Delbanco

As this year of happy thoughts is coming to a close, I can't help but wonder have I been running in circles. Am I really happier?