The
Declaration of Independence states, “We
hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they
are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these
are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”. What do these words mean? What is the “pursuit of happiness”?
So many today seem
to think these words ought to read “Life, Liberty, and Happiness”. They think that their happiness and
self-esteem should be guaranteed by the government. After all, happiness is the foundation for
the “American dream”, right? Whatever
the choices they make, they have a “right” to be happy, and Washington needs to
give it to them. But is man-made
happiness good enough? Well, some think
it is.
If Washington
says it’s okay to slaughter unborn children, ignorant women line up so they can
be happy. If they say it’s okay to marry
your homosexual partner, men and women line up for marriage licenses so they
can be happy. If they say hope and
change will make you happy, people vote for hope and change so they can be
happy.
What all these
people don’t realize is that it is the pursuit
of happiness, not happiness itself that is a God-given right. The freedom to choose the path that we best
feel will bring us that happiness. The
American dream is just that. It’s the
freedom from an over-reaching government so that all people can succeed in
whatever legal money-making endeavors they choose.
So many people
today simply aren’t happy. So, when they
find anything that looks like happiness, they seek after it. They don’t realize where true happiness is
found. Alma, an ancient prophet taught
his sons that “wickedness never was happiness” (Alma 41:10). We can gain some happiness, for a time, when a negative consequence is taken
away from us, but we cannot be truly happy until we choose a path that leads to
that which is good. Joseph Smith taught,
“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.” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pp. 255-56, emphasis added).
True
happiness, the kind of happiness that keeps you smiling through adversity, is
to be found only by living in accordance with the teachings of Jesus Christ. The prophet Lehi taught his son that “men are
that they might have joy” (2 Nephi 2:25).
Truly, it is the will of our loving Father that we, His children, would follow
Him, and thus choose to be happy.
