How delightful it
is to be around people who radiate cheerfulness and enthusiasm!
These qualities are contagious. The Spirit comes through with
greater power and influence
in the presence of those who are of a cheerful disposition than
those who aren't cheerful.
A recent convert
described how she was lifted spiritually by the cheerfulness she
observed in the missionaries who taught her: "They always
seemed to be so happy. I
knew there must be some connection between what they believed and
the contentment
that was so obviously a part of their lives. I was never around
people who smiled so much.
I wanted more than anything to share such happiness. Since
my baptism I'm coming to
know more about true happiness, especially since I received the
gift of the Holy Ghost."
Think of the people
whom you'd most like to be like. They are not likely to be
those who are always complaining or who are glum, despondent, discouraged,
unhappy,
or depressed. Just as we don't like to be around grouchy people,
neither, apparently,
does the Spirit. Spirituality is rarely cultivated in such
an atmosphere.
In literally dozens of scriptures, the Lord counsels us to "be of good cheer."
The Lord does not
say, "Be of good cheer if the temperature is comfortable, if
you're getting along well economically, if the people you love love
you, or if you're in
good health. The Lord said that we should "be of good cheer."
It is not a suggestion--
it is a commandment. There is a direct cause-and-effect relationship
between being
cheerful and reaping the richest spiritual blessings.
If by nature you
are not happy, perhaps you should analyze yourself to find out
what the problem is and then correct it so that you can be of good
cheer and thus enjoy
the Spirit more fully.
Start with your
outward expressions. Let your face know you are happy. Smile.
Although mere appearance is not the final solution, you can at least
begin there. Smiling
regularly and looking happy are very important for our spiritual
well-being.
A missionary convinced
of the importance of appearing happy shared this experience:
"To illustrate how important a smile can be in missionary work,
our mission president asked
my companion and me to try an experiment and return to the home
of a woman who had
really given the preceding pair of missionaries a rough time.
She was so upset that she had
practically shoved them off the porch. We went to the same
door, with instructions that
regardless of what the woman said this time, we were not to say
anything at first, but would
just smile. When the woman came to the door, she recognized
who we were, and I think
she was more upset than before. But we just smiled.
She told us that she didn't want any
of our literature, that we ought to get out of the city, that we
shouldn't be bothering people--
and through it all we continued to smile. After this had gone
on for several minutes, she
stopped, hesitated, and finally said, 'Oh, come on in.' We
went in and taught her the gospel.
A few weeks later, she was baptized into the Church."
Obviously, a conversion
will not be made every time someone smiles, but a lot more
people would catch the spirit of the gospel if missionaries and
all other members of the
Church were to smile and be of good cheer.
Smiling and sharing
the outward appearances of happiness are important, but you
must strive to become genuinely cheerful if you are to achieve and
maintain rich spirituality
over a period of time.
Becoming genuinely
cheerful is not always easy because unhappiness, grief, misery,
disappointment, discouragement, despondence, and depression do come
into our lives.
Things don't always go along well, and as a result we may not always
be happy or feel
much like smiling. Yet everyone can smile honestly and be
happy even on those days
when things don't seem to be going well. Here's a suggestion
that can literally change
your life for the better:
Take a blank sheet
of paper (perhaps one in your personal journal so you can find
it and enjoy reading it years from now) and write on it all of the
things for which you are
most grateful, in whatever order they come to your mind. Then,
on another page, put all
of these blessings in the order of their importance to you, writing
the most important blessing
first and then on down the list.
In all likelihood the
blessings you list as most important to you are so valuable that
you would pray for the courage to die rather than to lose them--such
blessings as your
faith and testimony of the reality of the existence of your Heavenly
Father and your
Savior, Jesus Christ; the restoration of the gospel; family and
loved ones; freedom;
and friends. In fact, it is amazing how far down most lists
one has to go before he
finds anything that money could buy. The most priceless blessings
are really without
price. We are all so blessed, and remembering that makes it
easier for us to be happy.
Then, when days
filled with discouragement come and you feel least like smiling,
think of the list of your many blessings, and you will still be
happy. You can literally come
to feel better physically as well as emotionally. If you are
happy, smiling, and cheerful, the
sweet, comforting influence of the Spirit will come into your life
in greater abundance. The
next time you sing the words to this hymn, pay special attention
to the message:
Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
Count your many blessings; every doubt will fly,
And you will be singing as the days go by.
When you look at others with their lands and gold,
Think that Christ has promised you his wealth untold.
Count your many blessings; money cannot buy
Your reward in heaven nor your home on high.
So amid the conflict, whether great or small,
Do not be discouraged; God is over all.
Count your many blessings; angels will attend,
Help and comfort give you to your journey's end."
According to the
Prophet Joseph Smith, "Happiness is the object and design of our
existence; and will be the end thereof, if we pursue the path that
leads to it; and this path
is virtue, uprightness, faithfulness, holiness, and keeping all
the commandments of God."
Spirituality accompanies
an attitude of cheerfulness, and with it we are assisted to
achieve ultimate happiness. The gospel contains "glad tidings
of great joy" and is designed
to bring the Spirit into everyone's life in greater measure.
Therefore, if you do not feel you
are a happy person by nature, make changes where necessary.
Count your many blessings.
Become the genuinely cheerful person around whom others and especially
the Spirit, will
enjoy being present.