"Anyone can give up, it's the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that's true strength"

Sunday, April 6, 2014

The Plan of Happiness

I think one of my most favorite part of my religion is the Plan of Salvation aka The Plan of Happiness. Happiness can come from knowing where we are from, who we are and where we can go.  The Plan of Salvation gives us the answers to that and gives us an over view of the purpose of our existence from the very beginning to the very end. This is a picture that I have found to show you what I am talking about...

Well my sweet little girl was asked to give a talk about this in Primary at church, we incorporated this and the plan that we have for our individual lives as well in her talk. It was so great to sit down with her and have a chat about the Plan of Salvation and to see her little eyes light up as she understood it and then we talked about how we each have our own individual plans for us as we live here on Earth and how if we listen to the Spirit those plans can help us with the Plan of Salvation as well..if that makes sense. I wanted to share her sweet and simple talk, maybe it will touch you the way that it touched me. Little children have such faith, especially ones that have lost a parent, they seem to understand so much and there are times that I draw my strength from them. 

Hi my name is Alizabeth Joy Flake and just like you I also happily accepted Jesus’s plan for us before we came to Earth and that is when the plan for me started. I was then born on January 14th 2008 to a loving Mom and Dad and 3 brothers. In our home we are taught of  Heavenly Father, and the plan he has for  his children which is called the Plan of Salvation or the Plan of Happiness. There was Pre-mortal life, we were born, we live on the Earth as righteously as we can, we die and then we go to spirit world and wait for the judgment and resurrection and get placed into one of the degrees of glory.  We are also given plans for each of us as we live this life but we don’t know what it all is yet, that is part of  living and learning here on Earth. Sadly part of the plan for our family included my Daddy going back to Heaven early in my life, I was 1 when he died from Colon Cancer but because of the plan we know that we will see and be with him again. 

I don’t know what our plan has in store for our future…Will I become a singer? Will I be a Mom? Will I serve a mission to teach others about the plan? Will my brothers do what they want like becoming a basketball player, a business owner like our Dad, and working as a Police Officer? We don’t know.  But I do know that whatever the rest of our Earth plan is that it is designed to bring us happiness in 2nd Nephi 2: 25 it says Adam fell that men might  be; and men are, that they might have joy.  I am so thankful for the plan of happiness because it makes me happy, even on the sad days when I miss my Daddy I know that because our Heavenly Father loved us so much and gave us this plan that we will be together again, until that happens I am excited to see how the plan continues to bring happiness to me and those around me. 

Its often hard when you are in the thick of things to think "Its all good, this is all part of the plan of happiness" but that is what our Father in Heaven wants for us. As a Widow I have had to work really hard to  remember this and to apply it in my life. Its definitely hard to follow the plan at times and remember that it is designed to bring us happiness but it is easier as I do the things I am supposed to..especially when I lose myself in the service of others. Jeffrey R. Holland from the Quorum of the 12 Apostles said "Some blessings come soon, some come late, and some don’t come until heaven; but for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, they come."  The truth spoken by this remarkable man is what keeps me going and clinging to the plan of happiness!!!!