Beautiful Simplicity

"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication."

-Leonardo DaVinci

I so often hear men and women alike reminisce about the simplicity they once had as a child, and the freedom that came along with such simplicity in life. As children we don't have to worry about paying bills, putting food on the table, or making deadlines for work and school, often the only concern a child has --at least it was the only concern I had as a child-- is simply, what fun thing will I do today? Or in other words, what thing can I do today that will make me happy? Often times they complete that objective. It seems to me that adults, young and old, get so caught up with worrying that they never consider how they can be happy that day. Another mistake that adults seem to make is that they confuse complexity and being busy with the true source of happiness, that being simplicity and balance. I would like to help anyone who reads this realize what they can do to bring that simplicity back into our lives regardless of our circumstances. 

Now please understand, I don't want to create any confusion, when I suggest that we bring simplicity back into our lives I am not suggesting that we become simple minded, nor that we should be ignorant to the responsibility that comes with growing up. However, it continually becomes clearer to me that simplicity is a result of greater understanding, i.e. the more we understand the simpler things become. As President John Taylor put it, "It is true intelligence for a man to take a subject that is mysterious and great in itself, and to unfold and simplify it so that a child can understand it." (The Gospel Kingdom, Sel. G. Durham (1943), 270) Going along with that line of thinking, would it not stand to reason that the more we understand about life and the purpose of it the simpler it would become?

That is where religion comes in. Ever wonder why people who are faithful to their religion seem happier? Now you know. Perhaps the reason many people are drawn to religion is because they feel like it provides answers to the purpose of life, on that same note, perhaps the reason many people are separating themselves from religion is because they feel like the answers that many churches provide are not adequate enough to calm a worried soul. All in all, people want answers to the purpose of life. Answers that will simplify their lives, and that quench the thirst of a person who is earnestly seeking for a glass of pure understanding.

I want to assure you that the right answers are in fact out there, answers that embody all that we yearn for. That is the unique message that we as missionaries share with the world; we proclaim to the world that the everlasting gospel of Jesus Christ has once again been restored to earth in its fullness. This message will bring simplicity into your life of that I can testify. It does that because the Gospel in and of itself is simply beautiful and beautifully simple. In fact, that is the pure genius of the Gospel, that it is so simple that even a child can understand it. That fact alone is also a demonstration of God's love for us, as Gerald Causse put it, "God would indeed be unjust if the gospel were accessible only to an intellectual elite." Let us not reject this loving gift from our Heavenly Father by overly complicating our lives, or "looking beyond the mark." (Jacob 4:14)

The more I understand about the Gospel of Jesus Christ the more I have come to realize that there is nothing complicated about it. It is a simple answer to the great questions of life, and the deeper we dig the simplicity continues to remain a constant unchanging characteristic. All the while, greater understanding helps us transform the complicated algorithms of our lives into simple arithmetic.

If you are someone who is looking for more simplicity in their life, and you have never fully considered the wonderful message that we teach than feel free to click on one of the links above, shoot me a message on Facebook, or wave down one of the local Mormon missionaries when you see them. I promise that if you do, you will not regret it, and that it would give you the simplicity, balance, and joy that I know we all want in life; you will finally be able to get back to the mindset of, "what fun thing will I do today"? Of these things I testify, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.