Using Jesus as a model, we look at the 4 areas of life that we need to keep in balance: physical, family/community, work/education and spiritual. We come at it from a Mormon perspective, but the thoughts are generally applicable.

1. Living After the Manner of Happiness
Singapore YSA Conference 2013
Spencer and Channing Christensen

2. 27 And it came to pass that we lived
after the manner of ahappiness.
2 Nephi 5

3. Let’s get some perspective

4. “Coping with the complex and diverse challenges of
everyday life, which is not an easy task, can upset the
balance and harmony we seek. Many good people
who care a great deal are trying very hard to maintain
balance, but they sometimes feel overwhelmed and
defeated… Many people have heavy demands upon
them stemming from parental, family, employment,
church, and civic responsibilities. Keeping everything
in balance can be a real problem”
Elder M. Russell Ballard

5. “Jesus taught us how important it is to use our time
wisely... How we manage time matters so very much,
and we can be good managers of time without being
frantic or officious. Time cannot be recycled. When a
moment has gone, it is really gone. The tyranny of
trivia consists of its driving out the people and
moments that really matter. Minutia holds
momentous things hostage, and we let the tyranny
continue all too often. Wise time management is
really the wise management of ourselves”
President Spencer W. Kimball

6. 28 For which of you, intending to build a
tower, sitteth not down first, and acounteth the
bcost, whether he have sufficient to cfinish it?
29 Lest ahaply, after he hath laid the
foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that
behold it begin to mock him,
30 Saying, This man began to build, and was
not able to afinish.
Luke 14

7. “I am afraid there are many of us who
have approached our education and life
without a vision of what we want or
where we want to go. We have not used
our power of imagination, or any mode
of seeing or conceiving, or any
discernment or foresight.”
Elder L. Tom Perry

8. 18 Where there is no avision, the
people bperish
Proverbs 29

9. “So much depends upon our maintaining gospel perspective
in the midst of ordinariness and the pressures of temptation,
tribulation, and deprivation. As we come to love the Lord more
and more, we can understand, rather than resent, his
purposes... When the Savior urged his disciples to ‘settle this in
your hearts, that ye will do the things which I shall teach, and
command you’ (JST Luke 14:28), he spoke of the high cost of
discipleship. Clearly Jesus was underscoring the importance of
having his followers become thoroughly grounded in the
gospel, rooted in resolve, established in their expectations
about life, and settled in their devotion to the Savior.”
Elder Neal A. Maxwell

10. So, how do we live after the manner of happiness?

11. 52 And Jesus aincreased in bwisdom
and stature, and in cfavour with God
and man.
Luke 2

12. Physical
Work
Family
SpiritualEducation
Community

13. Principle
• Fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the
foundation for one’s belief or behavior
Promise
• All gospel principles have associated promised blessings
that are dependent on obedience
Practice
• The actual application of the principle in everyday living

14. “Know ye not that your body is the temple of the
Holy Ghost which is in you?”

15. PROMISE
18 And all saints who remember to keep and do
these sayings, walking in obedience to the
commandments, ashall receive bhealth in their
navel and marrow to their bones;
19 And shall afind bwisdom and great ctreasures
of dknowledge, even hidden treasures;
D&C 89

16. PRACTICE
• What are the pillars of your physical health?
• How do you ensure you are maintaining your physical health?
• What keeps you motivated to be healthy?
• How can the Spirit or the gospel help you maintain physical
health?
• Can physical well-being enhance spiritual growth?
• Who are some examples in the scriptures or Church history
we can learn from?

17. PRACTICE
EXERCISE SLEEP NUTRITION

18. PRACTICE
“The healthy man, who takes care of his physical
being, has strength and vitality; his temple is a fit
place for his spirit to reside. … It is necessary,
therefore, to care for our physical bodies, and to
observe the laws of physical health and happiness”
President David O. McKay

19. 124 …retire to thy bed early, that ye
may not be weary; arise early, that
your bodies and your minds may be
invigorated.
PRACTICE
2 Nephi 5

20. 8 ¶But Daniel apurposed in his heart that he would not bdefile himself with
the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the cwine which he drank: therefore
he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.
12 Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us apulse to eat, and water
to drink.
13 Then let our acountenances be looked upon before thee, and the countenance of the
children that eat of the portion of the king’s meat: and as thou seest, deal with thy servants.
14 So he consented to them in this matter, and proved them ten days.
15 And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all
the children which did eat the portion of the king’s meat.
17 ¶As for these four children, God gave them aknowledge and skill in all blearning and
wisdom: and Daniel had cunderstanding in all dvisions and dreams.
18 Now at the end of the days that the king had said he should bring them in, then the
prince of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar.
20 And in all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king inquired of them, he
found them ten times better than all the amagicians and astrologers that were in all his
realm.
PRACTICE
Daniel 1

21. “Honor thy father and thy mother”
“Pertaining to the new and everlasting covenant…”
“When thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren”

22. PROMISE
12 ¶aHonour thy bfather and thy
cmother: that thy ddays may be
elong upon the fland which the
Lord thy God giveth thee.
Exodus 20

23. PROMISE
6 …pertaining to the anew and
everlasting covenant, it was
instituted for the fulness of my
bglory
D&C 132

24. PRACTICE
• How should I honor my parents? My siblings?
• What am I actively doing to prepare myself to enter into the
“new and everlasting covenant”?
• What should I be trying to accomplish in my relationships?
• How can I better serve my Church community?
• How can I serve in my local community?
• Is it possible to spend too much time with my friends? How
can I know?

25. “As I understand it, Adam and Eve could have avoided [the
vicissitudes of life] if they stayed in the garden, but in pursuit
of eternal progress they chose to leave for two reasons:
family and knowledge. They would not have had children and
they could not have become like the gods, knowing good
from evil. And against all of those other very attractive and
very accommodating and very pleasant reasons to stay in the
garden, they left to have a family and gain knowledge and
pass that knowledge on to their family.”
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland
PRACTICE

26. “The glory of God is intelligence”
“In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread”

27. “By work we sustain and enrich life. It enables us to survive
the disappointments and tragedies of the mortal experience.
Hard-earned achievement brings a sense of self-worth. Work
builds and refines character, creates beauty, and is the
instrument of our service to one another and to God. A
consecrated life is filled with work, sometimes repetitive,
sometimes menial, sometimes unappreciated but always
work that improves, orders, sustains, lifts, ministers, aspires.”
Elder D. Todd Christofferson
PRINCIPLE

28. PROMISE
6 It is impossible for a man to
be asaved in bignorance.
D&C 131

29. PROMISE
18 Whatever principle of aintelligence we
attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the
bresurrection.
19 And if a person gains more aknowledge and
intelligence in this life through his bdiligence
and obedience than another, he will have so
much the cadvantage in the world to come.
D&C 130

30. “Gaining knowledge and becoming more
Christlike are two aspects of a single process”
Elder Neal A. Maxwell
PROMISE

31. PRACTICE• How do you know what your “life’s work” is? Is there
such a thing as your “life’s work”?
• What do you consider to be part of “all good books” (D&C 90:15)?
• Are some types of knowledge better than others?
• Can you apply the knowledge that you have gained to help those
around you?
• Does the learning you have done strengthen or weaken your
testimony?
• How is work spiritually significant?

32. “All knowledge is not of equal significance.
There is no democracy of facts! They are not of
equal importance. Something might be factual
but unimportant ”
Elder Neal A. Maxwell
PRACTICE

33. “Knowledge, if possessed for its own sake and
unapplied, leaves one's life unadorned. A
Church member, for instance, might describe
the Lord's doctrines but not qualify to enter
the Lord's house.”
Elder Neal A. Maxwell
PRACTICE

34. “For no man can be saved, according to the words
of Christ, save they shall have faith in his name”

35. OBEDIENCE PARTICIPATION CONSISTENCY
PRINCIPLE

36. “Prophets have always taught by repetition; it is a
law of learning. Let me reassure you: this is not due
to a lack of creativity or imagination. We continue
to hear messages on similar issues because the Lord
is teaching and impressing upon our minds and
hearts certain foundational principles of great
eternal importance that must be understood and
acted upon before we can move on to other things”
President Dieter F. Uchtdorf
PRINCIPLE

37. “It frankly does not make sense to
occasionally 'fill up' with water, with long
periods of dehydration in between. The same
thing is true spiritually. Spiritual thirst is a
need for living water. A constant flow of living
water is far superior to sporadic sipping.”
Elder David A. Bednar
PRINCIPLE

38. PROMISE
D&C 29
34 Wherefore, verily I say unto
you that all things unto me are
spiritual, and not at any time have
I given unto you a alaw which was
btemporal;

39. “Ordinary people who faithfully,
diligently, and consistently do simple
things that are right before God will
bring forth extraordinary results.”
Elder David A. Bednar
PRINCIPLE

40. PROMISE
28 He that akeepeth his
commandments receiveth btruth
and clight, until he is glorified in
truth and dknoweth all things.
D&C 93

41. “The happiness of the Latter-day Saints, the
peace of the Latter-day Saints, the progress of
the Latter-day Saints, the prosperity of the
Latter-day Saints, and the eternal salvation and
exaltation of this people lie in walking in
obedience to the counsels of God”
President Gordon B. Hinckley
PROMISE

42. PRACTICE
• Am I actively building my testimony?
• How do I know if I’m heading in the right direction spiritually?
How can I tell if I have plateaued?
• How should I consistently make my prayers and scripture
study meaningful?
• How can I make my spiritual life more exciting?
• How can I better serve in my Church community?
• What can I do to magnify my calling?

43. That feels like a lot to do.Woah. How do I manage?

44. 4 Do not run afaster or labor more
than you have bstrength and means
provided…but be cdiligent unto the
end.
D&C 10

45. 27 And see that all these things are done
in wisdom and aorder; for it is not
requisite that a man should run bfaster
than he has strength. And again, it is
expedient that he should be diligent, that
thereby he might win the prize; therefore,
all things must be done in order.
Mosiah 4

46. “Joy not only helps us do our gospel duties but it increases
our individuality. It is sinners who reflect such a stale
sameness. Righteousness lends itself to individuality. Think,
in contrast, of poor Lemuel, who "hearkened unto the words
of Laman" (1 Nephi 3:28). He was Laman's satellite. One
wonders if poor Lemuel ever had any thoughts of his own.
As we see righteousness in someone...then we see a
flowering of individuality and an immense use of
talents and integrity”
Elder Neal A. Maxwell

47. “We all know that the Spirit brings joy. The
revelation to me is that joy brings the
Spirit. When we are happy, the Spirit flows
more freely—otherwise, it does not.”
Truman G. Madsen

48. “Each of us has some control over finding joy. To paraphrase Elder Marion D.
Hanks: "No matter how we live, there will be pain in this world. But misery is
optional." Christ is against sin and selfishness because He is against
despondency and melancholy and morbidity. He is against the shrinking of
our capacity for fulfillment. As the book of Hebrews has it, "For the joy that
was set before him [He] endured the cross" (Hebrews 12:2). Whose joy did He
envision? Ours. He saw beyond our sins and stupidities and our clumsy
mistakes. He knows what we have within us to become. And having paid the
awful price in blood, He is entitled to alert us to reality.
This changes the kinds of questions we ask of life. Instead of "What's in it for
me?" we ask, "What's in it for those I love or should love?" Instead of "Why am
I having such a hard time?" we ask, "Am I growing through my hard times?
Can I see any meaning or purpose for the good of the kingdom in my
struggle?" Instead of "How soon can I get what I want?" we ask, "Can I train
my desires to be a better friend of Christ?” Truman G. Madsen

49. “No matter how rigorous, a quest to be true when
undertaken on one’s own behalf can never put to
silence the disquieting voice that says, ‘You’re still in it
for yourself. It’s your own agenda that you care most
about.’ Stubbornly setting out to be true cannot be
glorious if I do not lift my focus higher than myself…”
How then can a person come to live after the
manner of happiness?

50. “…In Jesus’ way. This teaches us that perfect honesty and
simplicity consists not in devoting attention to oneself, even
when one’s aims are lofty, but in forgetting oneself and
responding to others in love, according to their needs. We
are not oysters or abalones, existing in shells—even though
that is how we may feel when we become self-involved. We
are members one of another, connected to each other, and
especially to God, by spiritual sensitivities and obligations
profound as eternity. And just for that reason, we become
most ourselves when we are most true to God and to one
another. We become most right with ourselves when we are
most right with them. Jesus’ example demonstrates this.”
C. Terry Warner

51. 27 And it came to pass that we lived
after the manner of ahappiness.
2 Nephi 5