Elder Jeffrey R. Holland gave a wonderful devotional this past Tuesday at BYU-Idaho about the pursuit of happiness. In that devotional Elder Holland counseled,

“Live the way happy people live. Walk the path that happy people walk. And your chances to find joy in unexpected moments, to find peace in unexpected places, to find the help of angels when you didn’t even know they knew you existed, improves exponentially.”

How do happy people live? What path do they walk? In an article in the April 2014 Ensign titled, Lasting Happiness, several observations of happy people were made:

• Happy people are content with having their basic needs met.
• Even when they live in a materialistic society, happy people are not ruled by the often mistaken idea that “more is better.”
• Happy people are involved in something they believe is bigger than themselves.
• Happy people use their personal strengths to bless the lives of others.
• Happy people foster close friendships and family relationships.
• Happy people focus less on transient, pleasurable pursuits and more on enduring, meaningful ones.
• Happy people strive to become more selfless.

In a nutshell you could say,

Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ.

It was Christ who taught us how to be selfless and to serve others. He showed us the way to live! As we follow Him and teach our children to do the same we will be on that path that leads to happiness. It is through the simple every day acts of consistent family prayer and scripture study, family mealtime, working together, learning to communicate and forgive one another, having weekly family night, and doing family history work that will strengthen our families and draw them closer together. As we simplify our lives and say no to the nonessential activities our families will realize they are the most important.

I love these wise words by Mother Teresa which Elder Holland quoted in his devotional. I think if we apply it equally to our homes we would go a long way in creating a happy home not only for our families but for all who come to visit.

Get back to the basics. Don’t over extend yourself. Be there for your children and your spouse. Live the gospel of Jesus Christ and keep on that path to happiness!

Watch Elder Holland’s devotional

Don’t forget to visit Jocelyn at We Talk of Christ to see her final post to Celebrate Family. We’ve come to the end of another great celebration of The Family: A Proclamation to the World! Next year will be HUGE and EPIC because it will not only be the 20th anniversary of the Proclamation but also the 100th anniversary of the Family Home Evening program!

It’s link-up day today! Link your own posts celebrating family and go read the experiences and advice of others. Please comment on those you read it takes time and effort to put these posts together!