how to be truly happy ... according to Nephi // Guest Post by Shelby

Good morning fabulous readers! I'm soooo happy and thrilled to announce that Shelby from Moore Light Shine will be guest-posting on my blog today!! Her blog is so amazing and she is such a fun, creative, beautiful person! Not to mention she has this light about her that totally shines. So go check her blog out, but not until you've read this great post by her! I now present to you .... Shelby!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello lovely readers of Eden's blog! My name is Shelby and I am so delighted to be here today! I blog over at Moore Light Shine. I like to give a little intro to myself each time I guest post so you can know a little bit about who you're hearing from:

• I'm mormon. It makes me so happy and it brings me so much peace! 
• I'm also a teenage blogger! I love getting to know other fantastic people like Eden who are my age! 
• I live on a farm in Kentucky. Sunsets are my very favorite thing ever. 
• I love to take pictures.
• I love to go on adventures.
• Fittingly one of my top dreams is to travel the world and photograph it. (But nothing can beat my dream of getting married in the temple and having a family with some cute kids- that one makes my heart beat pretty happily:)

That's enough about me though. I'm so excited to be here today and I'm so grateful that Eden invited me to post! She did a wonderful post for me here that you should totally check out! I'm so proud of how she is letting her light shine in such an amazing way! Yay for amazing people! 

(This is a part 2 to my post about why doing hard things makes me incredibly happy. I guess you could call it the follow up, the how behind the why)

Everyone wants to be happy. It's the goal in life for most people. 

But how to achieve that goal is a trickier question. So where better to look then in the scriptures? While reading in 2 Nephi 5 I found the key. I didn't really mean to, it came from a long ago marking. But it hit me pretty hard this time. I mean how cool is that?! The direct recipe for happiness straight from a prophet of God!!

A little background first: The Lamanites have become so wicked that the Nephites have decided to break away from them so they aren't killed. (These are 2 groups of people who lived in ancient America). So they flee into the wilderness to start a new life for themselves.

And Nephi says.. "And it came to pass that we lived after the manner of happiness."

Wowza that's pretty great. The manner of happiness! So how did they do this?

• Keep the Commandments// They might seem like rules at times and I don't want to sound like a broken record but I know they are so much for our good. They aren't a fence, but a guardrail. They will keep you safe and happy. If for awhile those people you see who aren't following them seem happy I promise that in the long run you will find more lasting peace and happiness than anything that breaks the commandments could bring. 
• Work Hard// The Nephites focused on planting and raising animals. Maybe you will focus on growing your knowledge by working hard in school, getting a job so you can buy food in your future, or just learning to work hard in general. Because even though it seems icky and gross, work is really such a great thing. It strengthens you and it gives you a happy feeling of satisfaction (that is usually accompanied by tiredness.. haha).
• The Scriptures// For the Nephites this meant bringing the brass plates along but we are so blessed today that we get the whole scriptures! Every single person on this planet can access them in a second online and many own them. Pour your heart and your time in them. Try to understand them and really truly study them. They bring clarity and joy and peace and happiness!
• Family// They found happiness when they created families. I know that when we spend time nurturing family relationships and put effort into being kind and patient then it will be so worth it in the end! True happiness is found in families.
• Be Prepared// The Nephites were prepared for if the Lamanites came to attack them, We have to be prepared for when Satan comes to attack us. Because I promise you he' s going to. Unfortunately while our goal is to become amazing, people; Satan's is to tear us down to misery. If we build our faith and live what we know is right we can form a firm foundation. We can follow Moses' example and say, "Who art thou? For behold, I am a son of God in the similitude of his Only Begotten; and where is thy glory?......Depart hence Satan." (Moses 1)
• Temple// They built temples. Lucky for us we don't have to spend hours lugging heavy materials and donating all our earthly possessions (though it would be worth it...). All we are asked to do is attend it. I wrote more about my love for temples after visiting the Indiana Temple open house. 
• Another dose of Hard work.// I already mentioned this above, but it keeps repeating that they worked hard. So it must be a pretty big deal.I think this quote explains why,  “The best antidote I know for worry is work. The best cure for weariness is the challenge of helping someone who is even more tired. One of the great ironies of life is this: He or she who serves almost always benefits more than he or she who is served.” (Gordon B. Hinckley) As humans we tend to try and avoid hard things but in the end it's crazy amazing how happy hard work makes us.
• Learn new skills// One of our main purposes to come to earth is to learn. And while chemistry is really killing me and I'm pretty sure I won't be using it too soon in the real world, it's so good to grow your brain. (I really need to work on this! Just ask my mom who deals with my complaining.. sorry mom!) While school isn't as fun to think about, let's switch to a topic that you can control! Develop your skills and talents! You've been blessed with certain gifts that you can choose to develop or not. You can choose to use them for bad or good. Choose Good!  
• Support yourself// Become independent and learn new things! We came here to be our best selves and being able to take care of yourself is part of that. 
• Help others// While I'm on that topic, it's okay to ask for help at times. We all fall in ruts and need the help of our Savior and friends. Because we are all so imperfect and will need help at times, return the favor and be kind and support others. In those verses it was always "we." It was never "some of us." I love this quote, “Generally speaking, the most miserable people I know are those who are obsessed with themselves; the happiest people I know are those who lose themselves in the service of others...By and large, I have come to see that if we complain about life, it is because we are thinking only of ourselves.” (Gordon B. Hinckley)
• Be peaceful// The Nephites moved away because they wanted peace. As we try to get rid of anger and contention and our lives and strive towards peace and kindness we will be so much happier! 
• Have faith// The Nephites trusted Heavenly Father. And we should too. Even when following this foolproof recipe life is gonna throw you major curve balls. You'll be knocked off your feet a time or too. But keep following the recipe and have faith like never before and it will all work out.

I know that our Savior and Heavenly Father love us. They have a glorious plan laid out for us. They are just waiting for us to come to them and act so they can do amazing things in our lives. Some people believe that God is waiting to punish us. But I know that is not true. He is waiting to bless us. We are his children and he wants us to be happy! 

Thanks again for letting me crash your blog Eden! I'd love for you all to come visit me over on my blog or instagram! 

Have a wonderful fabulous day! 

-Shelby

Follow