Episode 277: Let’s Talk About Happiness | A Conversation with Natalie Brown

Is there a link between “being good” and “being happy?” Author Natalie Brown writes that for Latter-day Saints, “Again and again, happiness is scripted as the result of making the right choices, keeping the commandments, or following the proper path.” In Episode 277, Natalie joins Susan and Cynthia for a conversation about happiness: what that word might mean (or not), what we’re taught about where and how to find it, and trusting ourselves to pursue happiness in our own ways and places. Natalie asks, “How do we find the courage to make visible our own desires and claim our spiritual authority in a culture that has so many techniques for discouraging yearnings that fall outside the sanctioned formulas for happiness?”

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Notes & Quotes:

Find another conversation about happiness in ALSSI Ep. 14, What Plan of Happiness?
Find more conversations with Natalie in ALSSI Ep. 211, Who’s the Decider? and Ep. 235, Is It Too Expensive to be a Latter-day Saint?
After Happiness: Living with Faith in a Time of Crisis, by Natalie Brown

“‘[T]he phrase ‘plan of happiness’ appeared in only one general conference address from the 1850s through the 1960s. There were 2 mentions of the phrase in the 1970s, 12 in the 1980s, and then an astonishing 85 in the 1990s, 125 in the 2000s, and 132 in the 2010s.” During this period, church leaders moved away from messages that focused on the rhetoric of salvation and toward messages that focused on happiness, a term that has greater crossover usage in secular culture. ‘This is not to say that Latter-day Saints did not care about happiness prior to the 1980s,’ explains Mason. ‘Only in recent decades, however, has ‘happiness’ become so closely correlated in official Church teachings with God’s plan for humanity.’ In critiquing the link Church leaders have drawn between between obedience and happiness, Emily Updegraff similarly opines that she does not believe ‘God has made any promises about happiness,’ noting that ‘happiness’ is a modern substitute for ‘joy’ that ‘has little support in the scriptures.’ Specifically, she found that ‘happiness’ only ‘appears 26 times in the LDS scriptures’ whereas ‘joy’ appears over 300 times.

“This stunning shift in church rhetoric mirrored economic and cultural changes in America that de-emphasized community and religion in favor of the pursuit of happiness within a market economy.” —Natalie Brown, (p. 19)

“Again and again, happiness is scripted as the result of making the right choices, keeping the commandments, or following the proper path. Happiness is surprisingly easy to obtain if one but finds and follows the right directions. It is sometimes used synonymously with the term ‘joy.’” —Natalie Brown, (p.22)

“Although Latter-day Saints theoretically believe that Christ’s Atonement offers a way to repair our mistakes, they might be forgiven for internalizing the message that being perfectly happy requires a perfect performance.” —Natalie Brown, (p. 32)

“Happiness comes only to those who know the proper place to look.” —Natalie Brown, (p. 39)

“As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we are blessed to know how and where true happiness is found.” —Becky Craven, (p. 40)

“I am more orthodox and better educated than many male Latter-day Saints of my acquaintance, and it is not enough to give my opinion equal weight with theirs because of my gender. Indeed, my educational credentials, which would be praised in a man, are often a source of suspicion in a Latter-day Saint woman.” —Natalie Brown, (p. 93)

“How do we find the courage to make visible our own desires and claim our spiritual authority in a culture that has so many techniques for discouraging yearnings that fall outside the sanctioned formulas for happiness?” —Natalie Brown, (p. 89)

“Finding the courage to tell our stories often means identifying and setting aside the voices in our heads.” —Natalie Brown, (p. 94)

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