Alma - Chapter 41

Earlier in The Book of Mormon, Lehi makes a simple yet profound statement:

"...men are that they might have joy."  (2 Nephi 2:25)

Here Alma makes another one:

"...wickedness never was happiness."  (Alma 41:10) 

The corollary is priceless and richly informative.  All around us we see millions pursuing happiness in wickedness.  To the degree that we do that, and we all do to some extent, we keep coming up short.  How desperately we continue to seek joy in the wrong places.  We might as well just sit ourselves down and make up our minds that from now on we will only seek happiness where it is found.  Any other pursuit would be insanity.  A definition of insanity that I like goes something like this.

Insanity is when you keep repeating the same behavior, while expecting different results.

I think solving this problem comes of building our lives on a foundation of truth.  This is why it is so important to begin each day but laying out that foundation afresh as we study the scriptures and The Book of Mormon in particular.  Most of us accept that happiness can't be found in wickedness.  We just need frequent reminding so the onslaught of propaganda that contradicts that notion won't have it's desired affect on us.

Joy is our birthright.  Whether we get to have it is our choice.