How Can I Live My Life with Optimism?

Being optimistic and being of good cheer is a decision each of us can make. This attitude usually begins with being grateful. Gratitude is the first step toward optimism and good cheer.

There is much for which to be grateful. We live in the final dispensation and have the restored gospel of Jesus Christ to not only guide us now but also to provide us with a bright and glorious future hereafter.

The doctrine and culture of the gospel of Jesus Christ is optimistic. The plan of happiness is the plan of a loving Father in Heaven to bless all His children. There are no racial or cultural limitations in this all-inclusive plan.

It is my personal prayer that we can share the gospel more fully with all of our Father’s children. It is also my prayer that we can be unified with diversity and that we can be one with the Savior.

I love the Savior’s pleading intercessory prayer in our behalf. It occurred in literally the closing hours of His mortal life as recorded in the Gospel of John. That prayer directed to followers of Christ, including us, was the Savior’s petition to His Father: “that they may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us.” In the following verse the Savior continues, “And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one.” Oneness is what Christ prayed for prior to His betrayal and Crucifixion.

A profound challenge for our dispensation is set forth at the beginning of the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The pathway of righteousness is established by the Lord upon simple but eternal principles: We are to esteem our brothers and sisters as ourselves. We are to practice virtue and holiness. We are to be one. If we are not one, we are not His.

To be one, we can learn from the past and prepare for the future.

What are some of the ways that we can find peace in this divisive and contentious world?

• We can be in the world but not of the world.

• We can be determined not to let the world’s wickedness, contentions, and divisions invade the sanctity of our united effort to follow and worship the Savior in our homes and families.

• We can live on the sunny side of the street as we stay firmly on the covenant path.

• While we cannot control others, we can achieve the peace that comes from personal righteousness.

We can be one in our congregations wherever we live. The Apostle Paul was aware that the callings, service, and contributions of the members were dramatically different, but equally important. He also compared the parts of the individual human body to the body of the Church. Each part of the body is important to the whole body.

Some members have challenges in feeling they are important and necessary to the body of the Saints. The Apostle Paul’s point was that each member is both necessary and important.

In conclusion: If you focus your life on the Savior, you will find yourself on the sunny side of the street and have joy.

As President Nelson has eloquently taught:

“Life is filled with detours and dead ends, trials and challenges of every kind. Each of us has likely had times when distress, anguish, and despair almost consumed us. Yet we are to have joy?

“Yes! the answer is a resounding yes!

“… Saints can be happy under every circumstance. We can feel joy even when having a bad day, a bad week, or even a bad year! …

“The joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives.”

That focus is the Savior!

I testify that if we are determined to live on the sunny side of the street, with the light of the Savior as our focus and our guide, we will be on the covenant path. As we love, follow, and worship the Savior, we will have “peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come.”