Service = Happiness

“To measure the goodness of life by its delights and pleasures is to apply a false standard. The abundant life does not consist of a glut of luxury. It does not make itself content with commercially produced pleasure, mistaking it for joy and happiness. To find real happiness, we must seek for it in a focus outside ourselves. No one has learned the meaning of living until he has surrendered his ego to the service of his fellowmen. Service to others is akin to duty, the fulfillment of which brings true joy.”

-= Thomas S. Monson =-

Sheila Debois sent this quote to me today. She is my provider of Daily Words of Wisdom (DailyWoW).

What a timely message this is. Yesterday during Sunday school, we started discussing about the teachings of King Benjamin in the Book of Mormon. He was a great leader and a giant of an example of service to his fellowmen. He was a holy man who reigned in righteousness over his people. He labored with “all the might of his body and the faculty of his whole soul”. (Mosiah 1:17-18) In his own words he said, “And even I, myself, have labored with mine own hands that I might serve you, and that ye should not be laden with taxes, and that there should nothing come upon you which was grievous to be borne–". (Mosiah 2:14)

Such was the character of King Benjamin that the people loved him so much. He was a great political and spiritual leader. The balance that he was able to establish among his people was an accomplishment that is yet to be seen in this modern world.

Great was his wisdom as he reminded his sons, Mosiah, Helorum, & Helaman, about the value of the scriptures. “I say unto you, my sons, were it not for these things, which have been kept and preserved by the hand of God, that we might read and understand of his mysteries, and have his commandments always before our eyes, that even our fathers would have dwindled in unbelief, and we should have been like unto our brethren, the Lamanites, who know nothing concerning these things, or even do not believe them when they are taught them, because of the traditions of their fathers, which are not correct”. (Mosiah 1:5)

It is indeed a blessing to have the opportunity, even the luxury to “have his commandments always before our eyes. Have we taken advantage? On the other hand, have we, because of neglect of the scriptures, dwindled in unbelief from time to time in our lives? Have we sometimes “suffered in ignorance, not knowing the mysteries of God”? Mark Twain once said, “A man who won’t read is no better off than a man who can’t.” This is certainly true of reading the scriptures. If we do not read the scriptures, what advantage do we have over those who cannot read them for whatever reason?

By reading the scriptures we come to understand what the Lord would have us do. President Monson in the citation above discusses how to measure a good and happy life. It is by service to others.

King Benjamin taught: “….when you are in the service of your fellow beings, you are only in the service of your God” (Mosiah 2:17). We are eternally indebted to God for the following, among other things: (see Mosiah 2:20-23)

- He has created us
- He has preserved us
- He has caused that we can rejoice
- He has granted that we can live in peace
- He is preserving us from day to day
- He lends us breath
- He allows us agency–that is, the power to live and move according to our wills
- He has granted unto us our lives

Now Benjamin lists the things we can do for God: There are only three of them:

- We can be grateful
- We can serve him
- We can keep his commandments

When we do these things, “….he [God] doth immediately bless you; and therefore he hath paid you. And ye are still indebted unto him, and are, and will be, forever and ever; therefore, of what have ye to boast"? (Mosiah 2:24)
We can never be too confident of our own might until we’ve acknowledged the hand of God in the use of that might. We can never own our accomplishments, regardless of how hard we worked for them and how much effort we put to them until we have acknowledged the help of God in those endeavors.

When we look at our meager efforts in this light, we begin to see why Benjamin could call us “unprofitable servants (see Mosiah 2:21).” Of course, God’s investment in the welfare of his children and his involvement in their lives is not a business venture from which he hopes to turn a profit. Benjamin’s explanation of the goodness of God makes it seem very much as though God pays reverse interest: the more we try to repay him for his goodness and blessings, the more his goodness and blessings upon us increase (Thought by Ted L. Gibbons). This makes it impossible to recompense our debt to him.

In our efforts to give back what is due to the Lord, we ought to serve Him with all our might, mind, and strength. Recalling how it was in the mission, we were blessed if we served Him faithfully. In the service of the people whom we were called to serve, we found happiness as we, in our inadequate state, were able to help them change for the better. After the mission, we are still given many opportunities to serve. In doing so, we forget about ourselves, worry about others, and as we lift them up, we lift our lives in the process.

In the light of President Monson’s words, it is not by traveling or by going to places of interest—finding pleasure by doing so, that we discover lasting happiness. It is not by merely satisfying our wants by acquiring the things we see other people have. It is, indeed, by serving others and learning to recognize the joys by so doing. We can never be content with the kind of life we’re living if we’ve only scratched the surface of our purpose in life. What is the purpose of life? To be
happy—but the kind of happiness that we ought to attain is the kind that is not disrupted by the end of worldly pleasure. It is not the type that is suspended if a loved one dies. The happiness that we ought to arrive at is the type that brings hope and direction—a force that we can reckon with in our quest for eternal life in the presence of our Father in Heaven.