Life's Deceptions

Isn't life great? When someone asks "How are you doing?", we often respond with something like fine or well. But it occurs to me we should respond with fantastic, extraordinary, exceptional, or absolutely incredible. "Why would I possibly reply like that?" you ask. Consider the following:

Of all dispensations of time when we could be alive, we were selected to live in the greatest dispensation of all time. Every dispensation since the beginning of the world has ended in apostasy and loss of the gospel, but this dispensation will not--this dispensation will end with victory and usher in a 1,000-year peaceful reign of Jesus Christ, which has been prophesied in all dispensations since the world began. Of the 7 billion people on earth, we happen to be living as members of God's kingdom in the most free, country on earth. And because we have a great family who were reared in the restored gospel, we are daily recipients of its blessings. Today, the Church fills the earth and blesses the lives of all mankind.

Perhaps that's one reason we are encouraged to learn of our ancestors, so we realize the wealth of blessings we have been given, then participate in sharing our good fortune in this life with others.

Yeah, realizing this, I am doing great. But like everything, life has it's challenges. Nick has been teaching me fly fishing--that has been one of my life dreams. Recently, I went with him one morning early when it was still getting light outside, but my eyes are getting so bad, it was hard to thread the flies and tie knots. At first I thought "Finally, I have achieved one of my life's dreams, but now I am too old to be able to participate in and enjoy it"...but it's fun anyway. Even though I am not as agile and capable as I once was. Life isn't always what you expect. You have to learn to just do the best with what you have. There is a lesson in that anecdote. So much of life is our vision of how things are. When we fail to see the good, our ability to be happy and effective is lost. But when we do our best and try to be positive, that's enough...because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, the best we can do is enough. That's the wonderful message of the great plan of happiness.

Fallacies we seem to learn in life:

• We can't all be winners
• Nothing lasts forever
• I can't be happy in this life; joy will come later on if I do what's right now
• I am not responsible for my own happiness; it's my circumstances

But my testimony to each of you is those claims are deceptions. We can all be winners. Good works, happiness, and family can bless you now and last forever. And perhaps most importantly, it's up to you. An essential component of free agency is that you can decide to be on the Lords side and reap the blessings He promises you now and in the future--if you but choose to follow Him.

That's the plan—the great plan of happiness!