The Way to Happiness: Family is the way to Happiness

The way to happiness is through living the gospel of Jesus Christ

Heavenly Father created us to be happy. “Men are that they might have joy.” 1 The more we strive to become like God and keep his commandments the greater becomes our capacity for happiness because the commandments are principles of happiness.

The opposite is true: “Wickedness never was happiness.” 2 The way to happiness cannot be achieved through sin.

The way to happiness is through family

Heavenly Father’s way to happiness and his greatest joy is his family, which consumes his entire attention: “This is my work and my glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” 3

We can become like God and experience his way to happiness, described as a fullness of joy, 4 by:

receiving a physical body,

entering into the marriage covenant and keeping that covenant with full fidelity,

and obeying the all teachings of Jesus Christ, including proper use of the powers of procreation.

The way to happiness is building marriage and family upon the teachings of Jesus Christ

A righteous family built upon the teachings of Jesus Christ becomes a place of safety, peace and joy—a refuge from the storms of life. Beyond every other means or institution, a righteous family—because it is patterned after the organization of heaven--is the best place to teach, learn, and apply principles of the gospel.

“The righteous molding of an immortal soul is the highest work we can do, and the home is the place to do it.” 5

The prophet and apostles speak about family and the way to happiness

“Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities.” 6

Questions about 'The Way to Happiness: Family is the way to Happiness'

• Did Heavenly Father create within us the way to happiness?



• How does the way to happiness connect to keeping the commandments?



• Can the way to happiness ever be achieved through wickedness?



• What is Heavenly Father’s way to happiness and his greatest joy?



• How can we become like God and experience his way to happiness?



• The way to happiness in marraige and family in built upon what principle?



• What do the prophet and apostles say about family and the way to happiness?

References for 'The Way to Happiness: Family is the way to Happiness'

1. 2 Nephi 2:15
2. Alma 41:10
3. Moses 1:39
4. 3 Nephi 28:10 – And for this cause ye shall have fulness of joy; and ye shall sit down in the kingdom of my Father; yea, your joy shall be full, even as the Father hath given me fulness of joy; and ye shall be even as I am, and I am even as the Father; and the Father and I are one;
5. Joseph B. Wirthlin, Ensign, May 1993, 69
6. The Family: A Proclamation to the World