Millions of people throughout the world are starving. And although physical hunger is a world wide problem, that is not the type of hunger I am referring to. I’m talking about spiritual hunger. We don’t have to look very far to find these hungry, or unsatisfied, individuals….perhaps in our own homes; perhaps in our own souls.
We all seek happiness everyday. We are supposed to be happy. Heavenly Father has said, “…men are that they might have joy.” (2 Nephi 2:25) Why is it, then, that so many of us are unhappy, dissatisfied, empty? Could it be that we are seeking happiness in the wrong places? Or that we have forgotten what real joy is?
A dear friend once shared with me her experience wherein the Lord taught her how she needed to fill her emptiness. She and her husband had always had a strong, healthy relationship. But she had been feeling empty inside, and thought she needed more of his attention and affection. He usually came home from work for lunch. So this particular day, in an attempt to fill her void with his love and adoration, she made his favorite lunch. She carefully set an elegant table for two, and eagerly primped and groomed to look her best before he arrived home.
He was very pleased by the delicious meal, the beautifully set table, and a beautiful wife with whom to enjoy his lunch. They enjoyed their lunch together. Then he thanked her for the lovely meal, gave her a kiss, and headed back to work.
She was severely disappointed. She still felt empty. Why hadn’t he made her happy? Why hadn’t she received the love that she was so desperately seeking? Her initial thought was to fill the void with temporary happiness—chocolate!
Instead she knelt in prayer. She told her Heavenly Father how disappointed she was that her husband was not giving her the love that she so desperately hungered for. She asked Heavenly Father what more she could do. Then the warmth of the Spirit overcame her as these words filled her mind and heart, “It is my love you need. Let me fill you with my love.”
She realized that it was not her husband’s responsibility to fill the void she had inside. Rather it was her responsibility to turn to her Heavenly Father for the love that He is both willing and eager to give, if we would but receive.
What are we seeking to fill the void? Quick, easy happiness? Television? Food? Work? Or any number of addictions? Are those things filling us with joy? Where is true joy and happiness to be found?
In Lehi’s vision he “beheld a
tree, whose
fruit was desirable to make one
happy.”(1 Nephi 8:10)
“And as I partook of the fruit thereof it filled my soul with exceedingly great
joy; wherefore, I began to be
desirous that my family should partake of it also; for I knew that it was
desirable above all other fruit.” (1 Nephi 8:12)
What does the fruit in Lehi’s dream represent? The Love of God. Therefore the Love of God is desirable to make one happy. The Love of God filled Lehi’s soul with exceedingly great joy, and he knew that the Love of God was desirable above all other fruit.
How can we feel the Love of God on a daily basis, and help our families feel the Love of God on a daily basis? I have outlined 9 ways we can do this (in no particular order):
- Daily personal and family prayer
-Daily scripture study
-Keep the commandments
-Exercise faith
-Service
-Work and create
-Express gratitude
-Be good stewards
-Repent
First, personal and family prayer.
Satan would teach us not to pray (2 Nephi 32:8). He would rather we give into temptation—to the quick fix—and lean on our addictions. Alma 13:28 reads “But that ye would humble yourselves before the Lord, and call on his holy name, and
watch and pray continually, that ye may not be
tempted above that which ye can bear, and thus be
led by the Holy Spirit, becoming humble,
meek, submissive, patient, full of love and all long-suffering.” The Savior said, "Pray in your families unto the Father, always in my name, that your wives and your children may be blessed" (
3 Nephi 18:21).
I like this scripture from the Doctrine and Covenants: “If thou art
sorrowful, call on the Lord thy God with supplication, that your souls may be
joyful.” (D&C 136:29)
-Daily scripture study
In Lehi’s dream, what is it that led to the fruit, or the love of God? The iron rod. And the rod represents the word of God. Therefore, it’s the word of God that leads us to the love of God. President Gordon B. Hinckley said, “Through reading the scriptures, we can gain the assurance of the Spirit that that which we read has come of God for the enlightenment, blessing, and joy of his children.”
-Keep the commandments
Jesus said, “If ye
love me,
keep my
commandments.” (John 14:15) “and he that loveth me shall be
loved of my Father, and I will love him.” (John 14:21)
Jesus then told Judas, “If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will
love him, and we will come unto him, and make our
abode with him.” (John 14:23)
King Benjamin reminded his people, “And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and
happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are
blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual.” (Mosiah 2:41)
-Exercise faith.
Faith is doing what the Lord has asked of us, especially when it’s the hardest thing to do. When we trust in the Lord, and make that leap of faith again and again, he will be there to catch us, again and again. Not only to catch us, but to lift us to heights we never could have reached on our own. As I have exercised faith in God, I have learned how close He is, and that he knows and loves me. And that has been a source of joy for me. The Lord said, “…put your
trust in that
Spirit which
leadeth to do
good…and this is my Spirit.
I will impart unto you of my Spirit, which shall
enlighten your
mind, which shall fill your soul with
joy.” (D&C 11:12-13)
-Work and create.
I love this quote from President Thomas S. Monson, “God left the world unfinished for man to work his skill upon. He left the electricity in the cloud, the oil in the earth. He left the rivers unbridged and the forests unfelled and the cities unbuilt. God gives to man the challenge of raw materials, not the ease of finished things. He leaves the pictures unpainted and the music unsung and the problems unsolved, that man might know the joys and glories of creation.” (“In Quest of the Abundant Life,” Ensign, Mar 1988, 2)
-Serve others
Jesus Christ said, “Inasmuch as ye have
done it unto one of the
least of these my
brethren, ye have done it unto me.” (Matthew 25:40) Our service to others may be as simple as a kind “hello”, a smile, giving a compliment, or lending a listening ear. That service may be in our homes as we serve and sacrifice for family members.
President Thomas S. Monson said, “One hundred years from now it will not matter what kind of a car we drove, what kind of a house we lived in, how much we had in the bank account, nor what our clothes looked like. But the world may be a little better because we were important in the life of a boy or a girl.”
-Express gratitude
“Think to thank.” Said Thomas S. Monson. “In these three words is the finest capsule course for a happy marriage, a formula for enduring friendship, and a pattern for personal happiness” (Pathways to Perfection [1973], 254). The Lord said, “And he who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious; and the things of this earth shall be added unto him, even an hundred fold, yea, more” (
D&C 78:19).
-Be good stewards
I remember something Sister Swenson, our stake president’s wife said at an enrichment meeting that has impacted my life for good. She said, “Be a good steward over those things with which the Lord has entrusted you, and you will feel closer to Him.” Since then I have recognized the joy I feel as I care for my family in all the ways a wife and mother should. Likewise, I have felt the sorrow that comes from not being a good steward. Heavenly Father also made me a steward over ME, and it is my responsibility and stewardship to take good care of my body, and spirit.
And whoso is found a
faithful, a
just, and a wise
steward shall enter into the
joy of his Lord, and shall inherit eternal life. (D&C 51:19)
-repent
In the scriptures there are so many references of joy after repentance. The one I think of is Alma the younger bearing testimony to his son, Helaman. Alma explains in detail the torment he felt at the realization of his sins. Then he said, “…as I was thus
racked with torment, while I was
harrowed up by the
memory of my many sins, behold, I
remembered also to have heard my father prophesy unto the people concerning the coming of one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to atone for the sins of the world.
18 Now, as my mind caught hold upon this thought, I cried within my heart: O Jesus, thou Son of God,
have mercy on me, who am
in the
gall of bitterness, and am encircled about by the everlasting
chains of
death.
19 And now, behold, when I thought this, I could remember my
pains no more; yea, I was harrowed up by the memory of my sins no more.
20 And oh, what
joy, and what marvelous light I did behold; yea, my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain!
21 Yea, I say unto you, my son, that there could be nothing so exquisite and so bitter as were my pains. Yea, and again I say unto you, my son, that on the other hand, there can be nothing so exquisite and sweet as was my joy.” (Alma 36)
Being happy and joyful is not always easy. But it is a commandment, and the Lord always prepares a way for His children to accomplish the thing which he commandeth them (1 Nephi 3:7). My hope is that we will not reach for the quick fix to satisfy our hunger, but that we will each remember to do those things that will bring us closer to the Lord and enable us to feel His love.
And blessed are they which do
hunger and
thirst after
righteousness: for they shall be
filled. (Matthew 5:6)
Here's all of my family with Mom, Dad and Granny. (Mahonry is trying to hide back there). We took the girls out of school so they could see Lol graduate. What a great example she is for all of us. By the way, for those of you who don't know, our kids call Mom "Lol," a name coined for her by Laurel when she could barely talk. So it doesn't stand for "Laugh out loud," although she does make us do that sometimes. =)
At the after-party we gave Lol a book of artwork done by each one of her grandchildren (it is already outdated!). Here she is opening it with the grandkids watching eagerly.
It was snowing and 
For dessert I had borrowed some heart-shaped ramekins from a friend (I didn't know what a ramekin was either until I got this recipe. It's those little single-size souffle dishes). I made some really 
We washed that down with the rest of the pink milk (from our goblets, of course). After dinner, 