Daily Answers: Is the plan of happiness always happy?

​Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe we are here on earth because of a plan of our Heavenly Father's called the Plan of Salvation, the Plan of Redemption, and the Plan of Happiness. We lived as Spirits with our Heavenly Father before this life. We chose to follow our Heavenly Father's plan to come to earth, receive a body, and make choices. Because we would sin and no unclean thing can live in the presence of our Heavenly Father, our older brother, Jesus Christ, offered himself as a sacrifice to meet the demands of justice. Jesus's atonement allows all those who have lived on earth to be resurrected and all those who follow the doctrine of Christ to live with our Heavenly Father after this life. The doctrine of Christ is to have faith on the Lord Jesus Christ, repent, be baptized, receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, and endure to the end (2 Nephi 31). To endure to the end is to keep the commandments and participate in the ordinances and covenants of exaltation. After the ordinance of baptism we participate in the ordinance of the sacrament weekly if possible. Other ordinances take place in temples. In the temple we covenant to obey, to sacrifice, and to consecrate ourselves to our Heavenly Father. We can also receive the sealing ordinance where a man and woman covenant with each other and God and are promised the blessings of an eternal family.

During this life we experience trials. Those can be a result of our own choices, the choices of another, and living in a mortal body on an imperfect world. When we have trials we want to understand why. Some mistakenly believe that our trials now are a result of choices we made in the life before this or because God is testing us to see if we will endure.

For my scripture study today, my question was about how to help a friend of mine who is experiencing trials. She is having a hard time finding happiness in the Plan of Happiness. I read the newly introduced proclamation, "The Restoration of the Fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ: A Bicentennial Proclamation to the World." I learned that "As a companion scripture to the Bible, the Book of Mormon testifies that all human beings are sons and daughters of a loving Father in Heaven, that He has a divine plan for our lives, and that His Son, Jesus Christ, speaks today, as well as in days of old." What does "a divine plan for our lives" mean? Does a loving Father in Heaven have a plan specifically designed for me or my friend that includes trials, challenges, and seemingly insurmountable obstacles? If so, then how? Why? Then I read, "[Jesus Christ] invites all of us to come unto Him and His Church, to receive the Holy Ghost, the ordinances of salvation, and to gain enduring joy." I don't know if there is a set plan for each of us, but I don't believe God is throwing obstacles in our path to see if we will remain faithful. I think that this mortal life is tough, and the Plan of Happiness will help us endure. That plan is to come unto Christ, receive the Holy Ghost, participate in the ordinances of salvation, and gain enduring joy. That is what Christ offers us. I do believe that God knows each of us personally and wants to help us progress in the plan. The proclamation also states, "God is making known His will for His beloved sons and daughters. We testify that those who prayerfully study the message of the Restoration and act in faith will be blessed to gain their own witness of its divinity and of its purpose to prepare the world for the promised Second Coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ." The way to know how we fit into the plan is to seek for personal revelation through daily scripture study and prayer and to act in faith. In a recent broadcast from "An Evening with a General Authority 2020" with Elder Bednar, he spoke of living in revelation. By doing good things daily whether we recognize them as revelation or not, we are following God's plan for us and helping in the preparation for the Second Coming of Christ.
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While pondering my desire for my friend to be happy in this life, I thought of some resources I could share with her that have helped me. Also through my daily question and scripture study, I learned that there is hope and joy in the Plan of Happiness. Our loving Heavenly Father is continually giving us instructions on how to partake of that plan through current prophets and apostles, scripture, prayer, and personal revelation.