Individuals are the architects of their own happiness, Bishop Gérald Caussé, first counselor in the Presiding Bishopric, said during a Church Educational System devotional for young adults on Nov. 4. Thousands attended the devotional — filling the Tabernacle on Temple Square in Salt Lake City — while many others around the world listened via broadcast and the Internet.
"Your happiness depends a lot more on the principles that you choose to follow than the external circumstances of your life," he said. "Be faithful to these principles. God knows you and loves you. If you live in harmony with His eternal plan and if you have faith in His promises, then your future will shine."
Life is full of uncertainty with surprises popping up along life's path, he said.
"The uncertainty of life creates in some a lack of confidence, a fear of the future that manifests itself in different ways. … My message for you today is that there is a different path than ones of fear and doubt or self-indulgence — a path that brings peace, confidence and serenity in life. You can't control all of the circumstances of your life. Things, both good and challenging, will happen to you that you never expected. However, I declare that you have control of your own happiness. You are the architects of it."
Bishop Caussé shared three essential principles of happiness for individuals to follow.
First, recognizing personal worth.
"The universe is immense and infinite, yet, at the same time, each of us has unique worth, glorious and infinite in the eyes of our Creator," he said. "My physical presence is infinitesimal, yet my personal worth is of immeasurable importance to my Heavenly Father."
Knowing that God knows and loves each individual personally is like a light that illuminates one's life and gives it meaning, he said.
"Often the feeling we have of our personal worth is based on the love and interest we receive from those around us. Yet this love is sometimes lacking. The love of men is often imperfect, incomplete or selfish."
However, the love of God is perfect, complete and selfless, he said.
"Whoever I am, whether I have friends or not, whether I'm popular or not, and even if I feel rejected or persecuted by others, I have an absolute assurance that my Heavenly Father loves me. He knows my needs, He understands my concerns, He is anxious to bless me."
Second, "become who you are."
"My dear friends, if you were to now receive a letter from your past, what would it say?" Bishop Caussé asked. "What would be contained in a letter you might have written to yourself on the day of your baptism when you were eight years old?"
Bishop Caussé asked, if it were possible for someone to receive a letter from his or her pre-earth life, what would it say, what impact would such a letter from a forgotten but very real world have on someone if they were to receive it today.
"One of the great adventures of life is that of finding out who we really are, where we came from and then living consistently in harmony with our identity and the purpose of our existence," he said.
Drawing from the film, "The Lion King," Bishop Caussé spoke of when the main character Simba fled far from his kingdom after his father's death in an effort to escape his responsibility as heir to the throne. His father appears to him and warns him that he has forgotten who he is and so has forgotten his father. He encourages his son to look inside himself and to take his place in the "circle of life."
"We can all take — or take back — our place in the circle of life. Become who you really are. Your happiness and ability to find balance in your life will occur as you find, recognize and accept your true identity as a child of our Heavenly Father, and then live in accordance with this knowledge."
Third, trust in God's promises.
"Our success and our happiness in life depend in great part on the faith and trust we have that the Lord will lead and guide us to fulfill our destiny," he said. "I have noticed that the men and women who accomplish remarkable feats in life often have great confidence in their future from the earliest years of their youth. … I believe that each one of you young members of the Church of Jesus Christ have far more than a star in the sky to guide you. God is watching over you and has made promises to you."
Bishop Caussé encouraged young people to re-read their patriarchal blessing, because in that blessing the Lord confirms that an individual is an heir to the immense blessings promised to the faithful.
"In reading your patriarchal blessing, pay particular attention to the promises the Lord has made to you personally. Reflect on each one of them. What do they mean for you?"
The promises are tangible, and if individuals do their part, God will do His, Bishop Caussé said.
"These promises do not ensure that everything that happens in our lives will be in accordance with our expectations and desires," he said. "Rather, God's promises guarantee that what happens to us will be in accordance with His will. Sometimes unexpected trials will present themselves that we must overcome; sometimes promised blessings will be long delayed. But the time will come when we will know that these trials and these delays were for our good and our eternal progression."
The greatest thing people can desire in life is to align their will to the will of the Lord, to accept His agenda for their lives, Bishop Caussé taught. The promises of the Lord assure individuals of their final destination — that of the kingdom of heaven, said Bishop Caussé.
"He knows everything from the beginning, has a perspective that we don't have, and loves us with an infinite love."
