“The Great Plan of Happiness”

K. Douglas Bassett

Moses 1:39; Alma 12:32; John 13:17; The Book of Mormon: Jacob Through Words of Mormon, BYU Religious Studies Center, p. 14

“The prophet Alma called the plan the ‘great plan of happiness.’ It is known more commonly as the plan of salvation… . The plan teaches that all who have or will live on earth are the spirit children of heavenly parents. We lived with them before coming to this earth to receive our bodies of flesh and bone… . Our Father’s plan provides for redemption from the Fall through the atonement of Jesus Christ… . All shall rise from the dead with immortal bodies as a result of the Atonement. However, the Atonement is conditional as it pertains to each person’s individual sins. It touches everyone to the degree that he or she has faith in Jesus Christ, repents, and obeys the gospel. Exaltation and eternal life with God are reserved for those who keep the commandments. Mortality, then, is the time to test our ability to understand our Heavenly Father’s plan and, of course, our willingness to be obedient.” (M. Russell Ballard, Ensign, May 1995, pp. 22-23)
“In obedience there is joy and peace unspotted, … and as God has designed our happiness—and the happiness of all His creatures, he never has—He never will institute an ordinance or give a commandment to His people that is not calculated in its nature to promote that happiness which He has designed, and which will not end in the greatest amount of good and glory to those who become the recipients of his laws and ordinances.” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pp. 256-257)

Latter-Day Commentary on the Book of Mormon

References