Living After the Manner of Happiness

We are taught to watch for patterns “because repetition is a pattern related to receiving and recognizing revelation” (David A. Bednar, “Repeat Over Again … the Same Things as Before,” BYU-I Devotional, 26 January 2016). Sitting in sacrament meeting yesterday, the speaker mentioned a pattern he had recently noticed in which several talks he had been studying all used this quote from Pres. Nelson: “[T]he joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives. When the focus of our lives is on God’s plan of salvation … and Jesus Christ and His gospel, we can feel joy regardless of what is happening—or not happening—in our lives. Joy comes from and because of Him. He is the source of all joy” (“Joy and Spiritual Survival,” General Conference , October 2016). This past week we studied some of my favorite chapters in the Book of Mormon. In 2 Nephi 2, Lehi teaches us that we have been created to have joy (vs 25). Then, in 2