Buying Happiness

I agree with Stephen W. Gibson and his attitude towards money. Money isn’t inherently good or bad, it’s what we do with money that makes it so. I truly believe that we can do so much good with money. I don’t think that money can buy happiness, but we can. When my parents and I sacrificed money so that I could serve a mission in Peru, I have never felt so much joy. The money itself didn’t buy the happiness, but our sacrificing it for others did. When a member of the church in Peru sacrificed a huge chunk of their life savings to make it to the temple to be sealed as a family, the money didn’t buy happiness, but they did by sacrificing it. We can use money to buy happiness, we can use time to buy happiness, we can use talents to buy happiness. By definition the word buy means to obtain in exchange for payment. I think happiness is something we can only obtain by payment, whether that be money, talents, time, or personal comfort. I believe this because I believe that the only way we can truly be happy is through obedience and service, both of which will always require sacrifice.