Monthly Principles - Expanding

Within the main principles, there are a lot of ways to take them in a specific direction.  Maybe this list will be helpful in connecting some of those harder-to-connect lenses.  PLEASE add your own ideas!!!  This was a pretty quick list, so I'm sure I'm missing some important ones.

LIFE/HAPPINESS

service

agency

gratitude

personal peace

hope

standards

divine nature

example

cheerfulness

commitment

LIBERTY

sacrifice

education

preserving others' liberty

agency

honoring others' agency

obedience to law

idealism

WORK/PROPERTY

endurance

sacrifice

creativity
excellence
stewardship

education

teaching

beauty

God's work

duty

first things first

GOD/CREATOR

natural law

characteristics/attributes

sure foundation

Child of God

miracles

charity

truth (source of)

personal revelation

self-worth

faith/believe

divine potential

honoring God and others

LEADERSHIP

service-oriented

servant

guide

influence

ministering

responsibility

example

character

conducting

honesty

conscience

good shepherd
stewardship

charity

delegation

introspection

SOCIETY

unity

obedience to law

home/family (influence on society)

government

proper role of government

security vs. freedom

trust

welfare/self-reliance

councils

accountability

justice/mercy

neighbor

honoring others' agency
self-government

CITIZENSHIP

obedience to law

doing the right thing

we are all enlisted

dare to stand alone

courage

responsibility

neighbor

conscience

duty

first things first

Life and the Pursuit of Happiness

What does it take to have life?  It is one of the basic "rights" our founding fathers claimed everyone should possess.

What did they mean by "the pursuit of happiness"?  What truths can we learn--from history, from others, from our own lives--about what makes a meaningful life?  How can we effectively "pursue happiness"?

The following are some quotes and resources that you can use to explore this concept on your own, teach to others, or add to as you come across other things.  They are in no particular order of importance to me.  I included them here, rather than on the resource blog, for clarification of this concept.

"When we accept duties willingly and faithfully, we find happiness.  Those who make happiness the chief objective of life are bound to fail, for happiness is a by-product rather than an end in itself.  Happiness comes form doing one's duty and knowing that his life is in harmony wiith God an His commandments..."  (Joseph B. Wirthlin)

Books:
"Charlie's Monument"
"Carry On, Mr. Bowditch"
"The Secret Garden"
"The Door in the Wall"

Movies:
"The Ultimate Gift"

Scriptures and poems may be found on the "Poem" list post.

Children's books (one of my favorite teaching mediums):
"The Sugar Child" by Monique De.Varennes- an incredible book about a girl made of sugar (kind of like the idea of the gingerbread man) and her parents, knowing that any kind of bad weather or crying will make her sugar melt, protects her from the weather and from grief.  However, it turns out that it is by crying for the sickness of a friend, that the girl find out that her tears do indeed melt the sugar away and transform her into a real girl.  A powerful parable about how a meaningful life and one full of happiness is not found in protecting us from sorrow or pain, but from experiencing the good and the sad... "A time to weep, a time to mourn..." Eccles. 3:1-8 

Article by Marlin K Jensen: http://www.lds.org/new-era/1999/08/how-to-be-happy?lang=eng

"The Sugar Child"

Those who know me, know how much I believe in the power of "simple" children's stories as powerful analogies and teaching tools.  They can be a powerful combination of art, truth, and simplicity.

Here are one of those books:
I updated this book onto the theme month of "Life and the Pursuit of Happiness," but since I felt that it powerfully captured the principle of this month, I wanted to share it in it's own posting:

"The Sugar Child" by Monique De.Varennes- an incredible book about a girl made of sugar (kind of like the idea of the gingerbread man) and her parents, knowing that any kind of bad weather or crying will make her sugar melt, protects her from the weather and from grief.  However, it turns out that it is by crying for the sickness and suffering of a friend, that the girl find out that her tears do indeed melt the sugar away, but that this process transforms her into a real girl.  A powerful parable about how a meaningful life and one full of happiness is not found in protecting ourselves from sorrow or pain, but from experiencing the good and the sad... "A time to weep, a time to mourn..." Eccles. 3:1-8