View source for Question: Do Latter-day Saints claim to be the only ones that can experience the fullness of happiness on this earth?

{{FairMormon}}
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==Question: Do Latter-day Saints claim to be the only ones that can experience the fullness of happiness on this earth?==
===Introduction to Question===
Many former members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and even active members of the Church become troubled from time to time by the reality that many people outside of the Church and even those that go against the Church appear to be happy people and sometimes happier than members of the Church. 

A pithy mantra of former members of the Church is that "what's unique about the Church isn't good and what's good isn't unique."

This confusion seems to stem from a notion that only active, believing, fully-practicing members of the Church can experience the fullest measure of happiness in this life. There appears to be an assumption that leaders of the Church or the Church’s official scriptures make this claim. That assumption is true, but there needs to be some context added to it and an answer to this criticism fleshed out. This article attempts to answer these concerns and criticisms.

===Response to Question===
====Claims from Church Leaders====
There are claims from Church leaders that are roughly the same as the one made above. For instance, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland made the following claim in the April 2009 General Conference of the Church:

<blockquote>I testify that one cannot come to full faith in this latter-day work—and thereby find the fullest measure of peace and comfort in these, our times—until he or she embraces the divinity of the Book of Mormon and the Lord Jesus Christ, of whom it testifies.<ref>Jeffrey R. Holland, “[https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2009/11/safety-for-the-soul?lang=eng Safety for the Soul],” ''Ensign'' 39, no. 11 (November 2009): 89&ndash;90.</ref></blockquote>

Sister Jean B. Bingham taught this in the October 2017 General Conference:

<blockquote>Jesus instructs His disciples to keep His commandments because He knows that as we follow His example, we will begin to experience joy, and as we continue on His path, we will come to a fulness of joy. He explained, ‘These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.’”<ref>Jean B. Bingham, “[https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2017/11/sunday-morning-session/that-your-joy-might-be-full?lang=eng That Your Joy Might Be Full],” ''Ensign'' 47, no. 11 (November 2017): 87. Citing [https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/nt/john/15.11?lang=eng John 15:11].</ref></blockquote>

What perhaps gets misunderstood, however, is that the claim is not ''just'' that one can experience a fullness of joy in this life by following the teachings of the Savior, but that one can experience the fullest measure of peace and happiness in this life ''and'' the next life when we reach the eternities. [https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/59.23?lang=eng Doctrine & Covenants 59:23] claims that “he who doeth the works of righteousness shall receive his reward, even peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come.” The scriptures consistently describe eternal life as ''never-ending'' or ''everlasting'' happiness.

But still, you might ask, why are people happy and sometimes happier outside of the Church?

====He Maketh His Sun to Rise on the Just and the Unjust====
Basically all human beings cooperate with one another to mutually achieve pleasure and happiness. It’s a basic tendency of human nature to prefer life and happiness over death and/or pain. That means that most people will follow Jesus’ injunction in [https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/nt/matt/7.12?lang=eng Matthew 7:12] quite naturally: “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you: do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets”. A large amount of happiness will be reaped by people as they do this. We believe that this is a manifestation of the truth that people have the law of God written on their hearts as taught in Romans.<ref>[https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/nt/rom/2.14-15?lang=eng Romans 2:14&ndash;15]. Other scriptures seem to imply that the law is not written on our hearts but can be written on our hearts ([https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/nt/heb/10?lang=eng Hebrews 10:16]). But these scriptures may mean more generally that God will remind those he communicates to of what is already there and soften their hearts to the truth that is already there.</ref> It is also a manifestation of the truth that "the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil".<ref>[https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/moro/7.16?lang=eng Moroni 7:16]</ref>

But Jesus tells us [https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/nt/matt/5.44-45?lang=eng this]:

:Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: <span style=“color:blue>for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.</span>

It’s interesting to notice where this observation about happiness and unhappiness comes. Jesus is in the middle of telling his disciples to love their enemies. That is something that is not common among the world’s “natural morality”. We tend to hate our enemies. Maybe not murder them or kill them, but we certainly allow ourselves to experience deep feelings of hatred towards those that annoy or injure us. Jesus recognizes that there must be something that sets us apart from other peoples in our practice of love. Jesus wants us to pay very close attention to these finer points of the law. The world will practice the basic law of doing unto others as we would have them do to us, but the covenant people will practice ''the finer points'' of the law and achieve the fullest measure of happiness. It is ''these'' that Jesus likely has in mind when he tells people to come unto him and experience a fullness of joy. It is these that bring us the fulness of peace and happiness in this life and in the life to come.

We often think that the wicked are those that do drastic evils such as rape, murder, incest, and other heinous acts. Of course, those people are wicked, but they are not the entire group of people that make up the wicked. Satan rather works most frequently by counterfeits of the finer points of the law to draw people away from it. He works by using the philosophies of men mingled with scripture. It’s those deceptions that we, as Latter-day Saint Christians, have to become especially adept at recognizing and rejecting. We need to use the word of God as our measuring stick to measure all truth. We need to submit ourselves to its claims regarding our behavior and obey with exactness and not deviate from it. That is the only way that we will recognize how God leads us to the fullest measure of peace and happiness in this life and in the life to come.

It's possible that people can keep the basic law and the finer points inadvertently. Perhaps they don't have exposure to specifically The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but perhaps they can work out substantial portions of what it means to live the Law of Love to its fulness rationally. It's unlikely, but possible. If a person could rationally work it out without the repository of the revealed word of God recorded scripture to guide their decisions, it's possible that they experience much if not most if not all of the happiness and joy that the Gospel offers.

====We're Going to Experience Heartache and Pain Just Like the Rest of the World====
The Gospel promises that ''as we live by its moral injunctions'' that we will be able to experience the fullest measure of peace and happiness in this life and in the life to come. It does not mean that hard things, whether by natural causes or by the sinful choices of others, will not happen to us in this life. Jesus flat out tells us "[i]n the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."<ref>[https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/nt/john/16?lang=eng John 16:33]</ref> The Lord told Brigham Young that "[m]y people must be tried in all things, that they may be prepared to receive the glory that I have for them, even the glory of Zion; and he that will not bear chastisement is not worthy of my kingdom."<ref>[https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/136?lang=eng Doctrine & Covenants 136:31]</ref> The Lord himself will chasten us from time to time because he loves us.<ref>[https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/ot/prov/3?lang=eng Proverbs 3:11-12]; [https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/nt/heb/12.6?lang=eng Hebrews 12:6]; [https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/hel/15.3?lang=eng Helaman 15:3]; [https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/95?lang=eng&id=1#p1 Doctrine & Covenants 95:1]</ref>

The promises of Jesus mean that he is instructing us in the fullest practice and meaning of love and that, as we follow his instructions that he gives either himself or through his appointed prophets, we'll experience the fullness of joy. It does not mean that that will always be easy or that evils, whether natural or human, will not come upon us. The challenge is to bear our burdens with patience and turn to the Lord continually for help.

The Lord teaches us that the way to find happiness is not to seek happiness and pleasure in and of itself, but to seek to love our neighbor and become virtuous. As a byproduct of that, you'll find happiness.

====Addressing the ExMormon Mantra====
A final thing that we can address is the above mantra of former members: What's good about the Church isn't unique and what's unique isn't good.

*A person or entity does not have to be sole propagator nor origin of a particular idea in order to be considered unique. They can be one of a few that propagate a certain idea and that can be considered unique and good.
*It is not necessarily the case that unique goodness must be found in even one of the individual ideas that the Church teaches. The Church can have a ''collection'' of ideas and the collection be unique (in the sense of not being found anywhere else) and good. People may be staking their pride in the Church in the wrong thing.
*There are things about the Church that are unique that may be considered good. For instance, the Church teaches that it is morally wrong to consume coffee. Part of the reason they teach this is because being coffee marks the Church as the Lord's people. It is a unique identifier that marks us as the Lord's. The last verse of the revelation giving the Word of Wisdom alludes to the Exodus where the Israelites placed Lamb's blood above their doors.

It is a common misconception, among both members and non-members, that the Word of Wisdom exists primarily, or only, to promote the health of the members.  Health protection is an important benefit of the Word of Wisdom. This is made clear by verses 18-20 of the revelation. But an equally the most important reason for the Word of Wisdom is the promise given in the last verse of D&C 89, in which the members are told:

<blockquote>
And I, the Lord, give unto them a promise, that the destroying angel shall pass by them, as the children of Israel, and not slay them.({{s||D&C|89|21}})
</blockquote>

This refers to the last curse put on the Egyptians prior to the Exodus from Egypt. The Israelites were to mark their houses with lamb's blood at the first Passover. Houses so marked were protected from the "destroying angel." (See {{b||Exodus|12|1-30}}.)

Is lamb's blood "magic?" Does it repel angels like garlic does vampires? Hardly. The Word of Wisdom marks us as people under covenant to God. Consumption of coffee and tea is a common practice in many cultures&mdash;when others notice a member of the Church abstaining, it sets them apart as willing to forgo something that is culturally popular. When they notice such unique things, they may be drawn to learning more about the Church and what it teaches. As they learn the Church's moral standards as founded on Jesus' law of love, they will become better people. Thus, not drinking coffee may have delayed but still beneficial consequences in the realm of teaching people what is morally right and wrong and leading them to the fulness of joy offered to those that keep the commandments with exactness.

====Defending the Church's Moral Teaching====
It may be wise to include here a link to articles that address some of the rules that people have the most trouble with. That way, one can see the utility that comes from them.

{{Main|Latter-day Saint teachings/Clarifying Latter-day Saint Teachings}}

===Conclusion===
While confusions like this are common and forgivable, it should also remind us that we need to do more at reading scripture and the words of living prophets and apostles both contextually as well as holistically. [[Question: How can one best read and understand the scriptures?|Another article on the FAIR wiki instructs in how to do that]].

Hopefully this article will allow all of us to more fully understand how we can become more of one heart and one mind.<ref>[https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/nt/philip/2.2?lang=eng&clang=eng#p1 Philippians 2:2]; [https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/nt/1-pet/3.15?lang=eng&clang=eng#p14 1 Peter 3:15]; [https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/pgp/moses/7.18?lang=eng&clang=eng#p17 Moses 7:18].</ref> 
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