Eyring - To My Grandchildren - October 2013

President Eyring has a couple grandchildren that will be married soon and they have asked him for advice on what decisions will bring them the most happiness in their lives.  He shares his thoughts with the entire church in this General Conference talk.

• A loving Heavenly Father has set the same path to happiness for all of His children. Whatever our personal characteristics or whatever will be our experiences, there is but one plan of happiness. That plan is to follow all the commandments of God.
  

He shares the words of the Savior to teach us what will bring us the most happiness in life.

• Here is the Bible wording of the Lord’s advice to all who want to live together forever in loving happiness:
  
  • “Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, “Master, which is the great commandment in the law? “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. “This is the first and great commandment. “And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
    
• From that simple statement it is not hard to summarize all I have learned about what choices lead to happiness in families. I start with the question, “What choices have led me toward loving the Lord with all my heart and soul and with all my mind?” For me it has been to choose to put myself where I felt the joy of forgiveness through the Lord’s Atonement.
  

He offers some little tidbits of advice throughout telling stories about people that have turned their life to the Savior.

• Go to the Savior for relief from pain, a relief only He can give.
  
• While serving others, we are most likely to plead for the companionship of the Holy Ghost. Success in the Lord’s service always produces miracles beyond our own powers.
  
• It is only with the companionship of the Holy Ghost that we can hope to be equally yoked in a marriage free from discord. The miracle of becoming one requires the help of heaven, and it takes time.
• Heavenly Father has perfect foresight, knows each of us, and knows our future. He knows what difficulties we will pass through. He sent His Son to suffer so that He would know how to succor us in all our trials.
  
• We must expect that it will take the help of God and time to polish us for eternal life, to live with our Father.
  

Despite our efforts, some will not follow this eternal plan of happiness.  We should not forget them.  We should continue to pray for them and ask the Lord to help His child to come back to Him.

• I have prayed with faith that someone I loved would seek and feel the power of the Atonement. I have prayed with faith that human angels would come to their aid, and they came. God has devised means to save each of His children.

He offers advice to parents and Grandparents.

• The way for loving parents and grandparents and all of God’s servants will not be easy in a decaying world. We cannot force God’s children to choose the way to happiness. God cannot do that because of the agency He has given us. Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son love all of God’s children no matter what they choose to do or what they become. The Savior paid the price of all sins, no matter how heinous. Even though there must be justice, the opportunity for mercy is extended which will not rob justice.

If we are faithful, joy will be granted to us in our marriages and families.  That does not mean we will not have trials and difficulties.  It just means that we will see the trials as necessary for God to make us into what He wants us to become.

• There is joy guaranteed for the faithful. From before the world was, a loving Father in Heaven and His Beloved Son loved and worked with those who They knew would wander. God will love them forever.
  

He concludes with this comment of hope.

• We can always take courage from the assurance that we all once felt the joy of being together as a member of the beloved family of our Heavenly Father. With God’s help we can all feel that hope and that joy again.
  

I have shared my thoughts with my children about what will bring them the most happiness in life.  I tell them that true happiness is only found within the Savior's teachings.  We will never find true happiness in life if we are not living the life that the Savior wants us to live.  Temporary happiness can occur, but happiness that lasts through eternity will only be found in the Savior.   I am grateful for a plan of happiness that is guaranteed by the Savior's ultimate sacrifice.  It is a sure anchor we can rely on despite any storms in our lives.  We are blessed to have this knowledge in our lives.  For me, my challenge is to live so that all the blessings of the plan of happiness can be mine.  At times I don't seek the Savior's presence as much as I should.  Sometimes I think I know the better way to make me happy.  But I know if I can put off those tendencies to want to make it my way, I will be blessed with even more happiness and joy in this life and have that assurance that I am on the right path to creating happiness throughout eternity.  President Uchtdorf in a recent conference said that we need to recognize that our lives today are part of eternity.  We need to be happy today as well as in the future.  I know that true happiness comes from living the gospel and participating with God in His plan of happiness.