President Hinckley

• Chapter 3: Cultivating an Attitude of Happiness and a Spirit of Optimism Teachings of Presidents of the Church

Cultivate

try to acquire or develop (a quality, sentiment, or skill).

Attitude of Happiness

Spirit of Optimism

1

• Even when many people are negative and pessimistic, we can cultivate a spirit of happiness and optimism.

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• We’re constantly fed a steady and sour diet of character assassination, faultfinding, evil speaking of one another. …

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• I come … with a plea that we stop seeking out the storms and enjoy more fully the sunlight.

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• I’m suggesting that we accentuate the positive.

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• I’m asking that we look a little deeper for the good

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• that we still our voices of insult and sarcasm,

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• that we more generously compliment virtue and effort.

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• Walk with faith, rejoicing in the beauties of nature, in the goodness of those you love, in the testimony which you carry in your heart concerning things divine.

2

• Rather than dwell on our problems, we can let a spirit of thanksgiving guide and bless us.

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• How magnificently we are blessed! How thankful we ought to be! … Cultivate a spirit of thanksgiving for the blessing of life and for the marvelous gifts and privileges each of us enjoy.

Walk with gratitude before him who is the giver of life and every good gift.

How do we cultivate a spirit of thanksgiving and walk with gratitude?

COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS

• Let us not dwell upon the few problems we have. Let us rather count our blessings and in a great spirit of gratitude, motivated by a great faith, go forth to build the kingdom of God in the earth.

WORK AT IT

• Let a spirit of thanksgiving guide and bless your days and nights. Work at it. You will find it will yield wonderful results

3

• The gospel of Jesus Christ gives us a reason for gladness.

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• I meet so many people who constantly complain about the burden of their responsibilities. Of course the pressures are great. There is much, too much, to do. There are financial burdens to add to all of these pressures, and with all of this we are prone to complain, frequently at home, often in public.

Be Happy

• Turn your thinking around. The gospel is good news. Be happy! Let that happiness shine through your faces and speak through your testimonies.

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• You can expect problems. There may be occasional tragedies. But shining through all of this is the plea of the Lord:

Matthew 11:28-30

• “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. "Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. “For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Be Thankful for the Ride

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• I repeat, my brothers and sisters, the trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride; and really, isn’t it a wonderful ride? Enjoy it! Laugh about it! Sing about it! Remember the words of the writer of Proverbs:

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• I repeat, my brothers and sisters, the trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride; and really, isn’t it a wonderful ride? Enjoy it! Laugh about it! Sing about it! Remember the words of the writer of Proverbs:

Proverbs 17:22

• “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.”

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• In all of living have much of fun and laughter. Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured.

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• With knowledge that we are all children of God, we can stand a little taller, rise a little higher, and be a little better.

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• Don’t waste your time feeling sorry for yourself. Don’t belittle yourself. Never forget that you are a child of God. You have a divine birthright. Something of the very nature of God is within you.

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• Believe in yourself. Believe in your capacity to do great and good things. Believe that no mountain is so high that you cannot climb it. Believe that no storm is so great that you cannot weather it. … You are a child of God, of infinite capacity

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• Stand a little taller, rise a little higher, be a little better. Make the extra effort. You will be happier. You will know a new satisfaction, a new gladness in your heart

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• Look to the positive. Know that He is watching over you, that He hears your prayers and will answer them, that He loves you and will make that love manifest

John 14:27

• In a dark and troubled hour the Lord said to those he loved: “Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27.)

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• These great words of confidence are a beacon to each of us. In him we may indeed have trust. For he and his promises will never fail.