When Nephi and his people found it necessary to leave their first home on the American continent, they worked hard to establish a new city of peace and security. Nephi lists the activities that kept them busy:
- Planting crops and caring for livestock (2 Nephi 5:11)
- Forging weapons to defend themselves (2 Nephi 5:14)
- Constructing buildings, including a temple (2 Nephi 5:15-16)
- Organizing themselves and establishing roles and responsibilities (2 Nephi 5:18, 26)
After listing these activities, Nephi made the following observation: “We lived after the manner of happiness” (2 Nephi 5:27). I think it’s significant that Nephi was describing the joy of building, not the joy of having completed something. The process of creation is inherently joyful.
The Family Proclamation provides the following guidance for building a happy and successful family:
Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities.
Today, I will participate in activities which will strengthen my family and bring happiness into our lives. Like Nephi, I will find joy in the process and in our incremental progress.
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