The Three S's to Happiness and Eternal Life

By Randal Roberts

If I told you that there are only three things that you needed to do, on a daily basis, to be happy and obtain eternal salvation in the Kingdom of God, would you believe me? I believe this idea to be correct and I hope to prove it to you in this book. No, I hope that you can prove it to yourself. As you read what I have to say, what others have said and what the scriptures have to say about this subject and as you try for yourself the Three S’s to Happiness and Eternal Life, you will find that I may be right.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: May 31, 2015
• ISBN: 9781329178175

Book preview

The Three S's to Happiness and Eternal Life

The Three S’s

To Happiness and Eternal Life

Supplication

*

Scripture Study

*

Service

By Randal Roberts

Dedication

This book is dedicated to those who are still trying to figure out how to make it through the race called life, to those who have known and might not now think they know, and to those who are still plodding along the trail.  It is a long winding road, with many uphill climbs and the end is not in sight.  Find the beauty along the way and enjoy as much as you can.  Keep plodding and good luck.  You can do it! 

To purchase additional paperback copies please go to Lulu.com.  You may also go to Lulu, Amazon Kindle, iBooks, Nook, KOBO and other ebook sites to download a copy for your e-reader.

Cover photo by Craig Weeks

Copyright © 2015

Introduction

If I told you that there are only three things that you need to do on a daily basis to be happy and obtain eternal salvation in the Kingdom of God, would you believe me?  I believe this idea is correct, and I hope to prove it to you in this book.  No, I hope that you can prove it to yourself.  You will prove to yourself and gain a knowledge and testimony of its truths as you read what I have to say, what others have said, and what the scriptures have to say about this subject. Then, as you try for yourself the Three S’s to Happiness and Eternal Life, your surety will increase. I believe that the three daily activities that we must do to attain eternal life are 1) supplicate the Lord in earnest prayer, 2) study the scriptures with real intent, and 3) give of ourselves in service to our fellowman.  I would like to explore these three activities and let you determine, if you believe this to be a correct summation, as I do.

In writing this, I assume that you have entered into the waters of baptism and have taken care of other necessities required for exaltation and that you are just striving to move forward toward the Celestial Kingdom of God.  My purpose here is to help you fine tune your journey and maybe add a spring to your step, instead of plodding along the path.

Sometimes the gospel seems very complicated.  We have to go to church, we have to be kind to our neighbors, we have to love and raise our families so that they too will live and spread the gospel.  We are not supposed to steal or lie or take the name of the Lord in vain.  Other things we must do or not do are to . . . Well, the list goes on and on.  How can I do all that is required when it is so hard and I am so busy and so weak in spirit? you may ask yourself.  That is a question that many of us ask ourselves.  It is a natural thing to wonder how we can do or not do all of the many requirements that we are told it takes to reach our ultimate goal.

It can be a hard road to traverse, but as we commit ourselves to the Three S’s to Happiness and Eternal Life, the road will seem less difficult, and it will actually become a joyful journey.  Let us begin the journey together.

The Race

Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:1-2)

To keep things simple, I like to break things down to the lowest common denominator so it will make sense to me. I’m just one of the guys with no special talent any more than the next.  Make it easy for me, and I think I can do it.

Have you ever run a marathon or completed some other huge task like a marathon?  I have done a couple of marathons, you know, 26.2 miles all on the same day without stopping.  I did not win any awards, but I did finish. I wasn’t even the last person to cross the finish line.  Isn’t life a little like running a marathon?  We must put one foot out at a time and then the other and just keep going until we reach the end where we will find cheering crowds giving us encouragement and welcoming gestures.

How did I accomplish such a big undertaking?  Well, before I started, I talked to others who had done it and I listened to each person and then distilled their advice.  I read about it in books and magazines and tried to figure it out.  Then I made a plan.  The plan broke down the training into daily, weekly, and monthly goals.  Small enough steps (goals) for a novice like me to be able to accomplish the task.

We can liken this to our journey in life.  It can seem very hard to many, but it does not have to be hard. It should not be hard.  In fact, we ought to have fun as we live our lives in the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Nephi told us, Men are that they might have joy(2 Ne. 2:25).  Men in this verse means mankind, men, women, girls, boys, all of us, every living person.  So, according to Nephi we are supposed to have joy.  Life should not be drudgery.  A marathon can be drudgery if you let it.  It can really test your inner-most person.  The race can seem like it will never end.  You just want to quit!   If I could only stop and sit down for a minute, I told myself many times during the race.  But this will not get you to the finish line.  Sitting down will only make your legs stiffen up and once that happens you’re done; you will not be able to go on and complete the race. 

So now, let’s break down our goal of living the gospel into small steps, like a marathon, and learn to keep going until we reach the finish line.  As far as our earthly probation is concerned, the finish line comes at death.  It may be when we are in our later years, or it may come to us sooner.  We may be involved in a terrible mishap that takes us to the eternal realms sooner than we had anticipated.  Either way, we must prepare ourselves today, right now, for whatever comes tomorrow.  Alma put it this way:

And now, my brethren, I wish from the inmost part of my heart, yea, with great anxiety even unto pain, that ye would hearken unto my words, and cast off your sins, and not procrastinate the day of your repentance. (Alma 13:27)

For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors. (Alma 34:32)

Today, right now, is the time to prepare to meet our maker.  Let’s not wait until it is too late.  Let’s heed the pages of this book and the scriptures and figure out what we must do to run the marathon of life and win the prize.  Remember, we do not have to be the first one to cross the finish line. We just have to keep moving to be sure that we cross that line at some point.  Find your pace and stick to it.  If you decide you can pick up your pace, then, by all means, pick it up.  Don’t run the race of life at someone else’s pace.  Run it at your pace.

When I ran my first marathon, I trained with a guy whom I worked with named Mike.  We ran short distances during the week, and on the weekend we did longer training runs together.  The day of the race we began together.  At about mile six or seven there was a pretty good hill, and I began to slow down.  I don’t like to run hills.  Mike began to move ahead of me.  As the uphill progressed, Mike slowly moved farther ahead, and then, in the early morning light, he was gone, lost in the crowd ahead.  I yelled his name once, but no response.  I did not see him again until the finish.  He had crossed the line about thirty minutes in front of me.

Mike had to run the race at his speed, and I had to run it at mine.  There was no way I could keep his pace, especially up hill. If he had stayed with me, it would have taken him longer, and maybe something would have happened to keep him from finishing it at all.  We both had to run the race at our own speed.

And see that all these things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength. And again, it is expedient that he should be diligent, that thereby he might win the prize; therefore, all things must be done in order. (Mosiah 4:27)

Do not run faster or labor more than you have strength and means provided; . . . but be diligent unto the end.  Pray always, that you may come off conqueror. (D&C 10:4-5)

As you read the pages of the Three S’s to Happiness and Eternal Life, think about your life and try to determine how to apply these ideas