Archaeological and Historical Evidence

What Brings Happiness?

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Obeying Eternal Laws.
We all obey a certain amount of eternal laws.  For example the law of gravity needs to be understood and obeyed.  Young children soon learn something about the law of gravity the first time they fall off the bed onto the floor.  The law of health, in the eating of proper food and water, needs to be obeyed in order for us to be able to continue to live, grow and have good health.  The law of breathing oxygen and keeping our bodies protected from extreme temperatures must be obeyed in order to sustain life. 
Learning understanding and obeying these laws will help keep us healthy, safe and alive.
There are also eternal laws that when they are understood and obeyed, bring us happiness. 
Our Heavenly Father has been kind enough to let us know about these eternal laws; they are recorded in the scriptures and taught by living Prophets.
Each of us obeys a certain amount of eternal laws.   Each of us possesses intelligence.   And each of us enjoys a certain amount of happiness in life.

These three thermometers represent a measurement of the eternal laws we obey, the intelligence we posses, and the happiness we enjoy.

The 1st Thermometer.    Measures the amount of Eternal Laws that we keep.
The 2nd Thermometer.   Measures how much Intelligence we have.
The 3rd Thermometer.   Measures how much Happiness we have, or how happy we are.

As we keep more eternal laws, including the laws of God, the reading rises on the Law thermometer. 
As we choose not to obey eternal laws the reading on our thermometer lowers.

The higher the reading on the Eternal Law Thermometer, the more Happiness we enjoy and the more Intelligence we are. 

As we choose to keep more Eternal Laws. The reading on the Happiness and Intelligence Thermometer raises.
As we choose to keep less Eternal Laws.  The reading on the Happiness and Intelligence Thermometer lowers.

The more eternal laws of God we keep the happier we become and the more intelligent we are by doing the things, which bring us happiness. 
For example if we decided to break the law "thou shalt not steal” (Exodus 20: 15), then we would be putting ourselves in jeopardy of being punished and may soon find ourselves in jail.  It is not very smart to put ourselves in the situation in which we may suffer consequences from breaking this law or any eternal law.  By stealing we put ourselves in jeopardy of suffering undesirable consequences, which would be an indication that we have less intelligence for making this choice.  Also obliviously being punished for stealing or ending up in jail brings more sadness into our life.
Pick any eternal law if you chose to obey that law, by doing so it will raise your intelligence and the amount of happiness you will enjoy.  If you chose not to keep that law it shows a lack of intelligence and the natural consequence will be that you will have less happiness, sadness, even misery.
The exception to this rule is that our happiness may be temporarily lowered when:  Someone else hurts us or we may have an accident, sickness or poor health.  We may also be saddened or it may make us sad to see others that we love and care about break eternal laws, us knowing that it will eventually bring sadness to them.  (Phil Michel)
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The Prophet Alma, Lehi, Helaman and other Prophets understood the result of disobeying eternal laws wrote;

  "...wickedness never was happiness."  (Alma 41:10)  About 73 B.C.
“… men are, that they might have joy.”  (2 Nephi 2:25)  Between 588 B.C. & 570 B.C.
“… he that keepth the law, happy is he.”  (Proverbs 29:18)  About 73 B.C.
“… for ye have sought all the days of your lives for that which ye could not obtain; and ye have sought for happiness in doing iniquity, which thing is contrary to the nature of that righteousness…”  (Helaman 13:38)  About 6 B.C.
“Happiness is the object and design of our existence; and will be the end thereof, if we pursue the path that leads to it; and that is virtue, uprightness, faithfulness, holiness, and keeping all the commandments of God.”  (The Prophet Joseph Smith)
“But behold there never was a happier time among the people of Nephi, since the days of Nephi, than in the days of Moroni, yea, even at this time, in the twenty and first year of the reign of the judges.”  (Alma 50:23)  About 70 B.C.
“And it came to pass that we lived after the manner of happiness.”  (2 Nephi 5:27)  Between 588 B.C. & 570 B.C.
"And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God."  (Mosiah 2:41)   About 124 B.C.
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Satan wants us to ignore the eternal laws of God so that;
"...all men might be miserable like unto himself."  (2 Nephi 2:27)  Between 588 B.C. & 570 B.C.

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The Savior taught;
“… I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”  (John 10:10)
"If ye know these things happy are ye if ye do them"  (John 13:17)

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Prophets in our day teach and give the same advice;

"We declare that the Gospel, the glad tidings of great joy, is the true guide to mankind; and that men and women are the happiest and most content who live nearest to its teachings."  (President David O. McKay, April 1910)

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  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints showed the movie "Man's Search for Happiness", at the New York World’s fair in the 1964/1965.   Also in the 1960's, this same movie was shown at Temple Square in Salt Lake City.  
“Man’s Search for Happiness”   (Video 13:11 min.)

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