Find Joy in Everyday Life
An Evening with Elder Quentin L. Cook
Worldwide Devotional for Young Adults • September 11, 2016 • Washington D.C. Stake Center
I consider it a great blessing to be with you this evening.
When we came to this earth, we brought with us our divine nature as children of God. Our individual worth came from heaven. When we understand our divine nature and the purpose for being here, we can overcome challenges and trials and remain true to our covenants. The way we feel about ourselves determines how successful we will be in our mortal journey. Our self-esteem is enhanced when certain basic human needs are met. I will mention three: the need to be loved, the need to be accepted, and the need to succeed or achieve.
When these needs are not met, we feel unloved, unaccepted, and unsuccessful. This causes feelings of frustration, discouragement, self-pity, isolation, and loneliness. We all deal with these emotions.
I was visiting with a friend the other day who shared with me a survey of college-age students. When asked what they considered their biggest concern, many put down “loneliness.” We can be lonely whether we are married or single.
We all feel loneliness at different times in our lives. President Gordon B. Hinckley once said: “I believe that for most of us the best medicine for loneliness is work and service in behalf of others.”1
I think that is good advice.
President Thomas S. Monson put it this way: “Occasionally discouragement may darken our pathway; frustration may be a constant companion. … Trusting in the Lord, let us … make certain our feet are firmly planted in the path of service and our hearts and souls dedicated to follow the example of the Lord.”2
Keep busy and anxiously engaged in the work of the Church. Stay close to your Heavenly Father in prayer and in scripture study. Find examples in the scriptures where others have overcome or dealt with loneliness. Think of Moroni and how lonely he was as he made his record of the destruction of his people. He wrote:
“Therefore I will write and hide up the records in the earth; and whither I go it mattereth not.
“… For I am alone. My father hath been slain in battle, and all my kinsfolk, and I have not friends nor whither to go; and how long the Lord will suffer that I may live I know not.”3
I think it is important to keep in mind that we are never truly alone. The Savior has promised us comfort. If we are worthy, the Holy Ghost is our constant companion. His influence helps us through the lonely periods. We can be alone, but we do not have to be lonely. I love the hymn “I Need Thee Every Hour.”4
The need for love and acceptance is very real.
Stay close to your family, where you are loved and accepted beyond expression. Be involved in your ward or branch. Always be temple worthy. If single, date those who are temple worthy. Don’t be discouraged by imperfections in those you meet; we grow in ability and improve as we develop through life.
The need to succeed is powerful and motivating.
Everyone has a gift from God.5 Find your particular gifts and rejoice in them. Develop them. Look to your patriarchal blessing, and learn its counsel, the warnings, the gifts, and the promises.
My parents did not go to the temple until after I was married and our children were born. I didn’t think we would be sealed as an eternal family. I had to be patient and wait on the Lord for this blessing.
I think about the attribute of patience a great deal and about the many ways the Lord teaches us to be patient. I love the way it is described in Preach My Gospel: “Patience is the capacity to endure delay, trouble, opposition, or suffering without becoming angry, frustrated, or anxious. It is the ability to do God’s will and accept His timing. When you are patient, you hold up under pressure and are able to face adversity calmly and hopefully. … You must wait for the Lord’s promised blessings to be fulfilled.”6
I have always loved Psalm 27:14: “Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.”
Regardless of your situation at this present time, find joy in everyday life. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to wake up every morning and say, “I feel loved, I feel accepted, and I feel successful.” We can all do this!
May you find joy and happiness as you travel this mortal journey. May you live worthy to have the Holy Ghost as your constant companion, and may you receive every blessing the Lord has in store for you is my prayer in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.
© 2016 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. English approval: 6/16. Translation approval: 6/16. Translation of “Find Joy in Everyday Life.” Language. PD60002153 xxx