By Very Small Means

"And the Lord God doth work by means to bring about his great and eternal purposes; and by very small means the Lord doth confound the wise and bringeth about the salvation of many souls.                                                                                                        Now ye may suppose that this is foolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise."                                          -Alma 37:6-7

This life, and the purpose for which we are here is quite simple.  We have a specific purpose, and we have been provided the guidance and instructions needed to fulfill that purpose.  What is our purpose in life?  What keeps us from fulfilling that purpose?  What can we do today and everyday to progress towards our eternal goal?

The purpose of our lives is to have joy and to one day obtain eternal life. Nephi, a great ancient prophet taught that "Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy" (2 Nephi 2:25).  We have been sent to this earth so that we may be joyful and learn how do to so despite experiencing trials and hardships.  Joy is something that is searched for by all men, and acquired by few.  There is only one way to acquire true happiness in this life.  Joy isn't bought, or bartered for.  It isn't won in a competition nor is it obtained through mediocre efforts.  It can only obtained in one way. Henry B. Eyring taught that"there is but one plan of happiness.  That plan is to follow all the commandments of God."  King Benjamin, reminded us of the importance of commandments when he said, "I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of god.  For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness."  The purpose of our entire existence is to be joyful and there is only one way to obtain that true joy.  This joy is obtained by obedience to all that we have been commanded to do, even those things that are considered small and simple

Why does God give us commandments and what are the small and simple things that he commands us to do?  We are Gods children, he loves us more than we could possibly imagine and he wants us to be happy.  The commandments are simple steps to happiness.  They are instructions given to us directly by the supreme, all knowing, all powerful being of the Universe.  It would be incredibly foolish for us to disregard these instructions.  Every so often we allow ourselves to get distracted by things of the world that have no real significance.  We often give more importance to these insignificant things rather than the God that gave us life.  We may think that this is someone else's problem as we so often ignore our own errors and mistakes.  We are all imperfect and fail to have our priorities straight all the time.. or even most of the time.  We put sports, work, video games, social media, popularity, and countless other things above God on our priority list from time to time.  These are the small distractions that can be highly detrimental if we fail to recognize how much they are blocking our connection with God.

Our Heavenly Father has provided us with small and simple means, by which we can purify ourselves and be happy.  These are not tasks that require much time or physical exertion.  It is merely a question of willingness and desire.  We have been instructed and commanded to pray always, feast upon the words of the scriptures, serve others, and make and keep promises with the Lord. These are things that every man and woman are capable of.  They are small and simple but have the capacity to change your life completely.  If you don't believe me, try it out.  Whether you have heard about these things your whole life or are hearing them for your first time, trying them will make you happy.  I promise you that God loves you and desires your happiness.  If you aren't at peace with your life, it is likely because you are disregarding God's guidelines.  I would suggest putting your own ideas aside and experimenting on the small and simple things that God himself has established to make you happy.  I know that if you do so, the peace and happiness that you are looking for will be yours.  I know this because I have experienced it personally in my life. Try it, experience it, and be happy.