"...Church made life happy?" Life makes us happy! Church was simply a part of our happy life. Happiness did not depend on church. Our/my happiness came from doing the right things and enjoying the consequences. Is that difficult to comprehend?
Not in the least but thanks for responding.
Personal question Ajax: Are you happy?
Sometimes, sometimes I'm not. I think that's how it is for most people in this life.
What makes you happy when you are?
Physical health more than anything, makes me happier, even more than money, though money definitely is up on the list of things that make me happy. Free time, playing here in my sandbox at Mormon discussions, tall women with extra wide hips. While it's preached as being wrong admittedly I'm happy when I avenge myself of a bitter enemy who was able to profit from my pain in times past when I had not the power to resist him. Vengeance is very satisfying to me when it comes my way. I've never gained happiness from obtaining vengeance from a repentant enemy. I've found it easy to forgive the penitent and I would be unhappy to do otherwise. But admittedly the joy I've felt being avenged of an unrepentant and unremorseful enemy is unsurpassed. Not being tired, enjoying a long run are truly amazing blessings when they happen for me. I even enjoy work when I don't feel tired.
Unhappy, if you ever are?
Entropy happens. Being injured when I played sports as a child, being sick as an adult and having to muster strength I don't have to suck it up and go to work anyway, sometimes even when I know ahead of time I'll probably fail. I've flunked out of graduate school programs, been fired from over five jobs for poor performance. Keep in mind I never missed a day of work. The effort was there, but sometimes you can and sometimes you can't do it. Being sick makes the social aspect of being incompetent even more difficult because when people do not want or care to understand your condition, there truly is no mercy. Most of my superiors and peers conveniently viewed me as lazy or just stupid, which admittedly at times I was stupid though it was not a choice of mine. My worst fear was getting sick with something that would not quite kill me, but would leave me incapcitated to die a slow death. Well it happened, and sadly I'm not unique. And yet somehow at this time I am Dr. Ajax as of last month. I've been blessed. But looking at my life and the lives of many others, I firmly believe that the happiness gained in this life was not worth the pain I paid into it and I believe that is true for most of us. If it is not now, it will be true. Even the healthiest individuals will age, begin to lose their capacities and many of them will run out of money. I find it interesting that even when a person does not lose his health until he is 50, it's still just as big of a shock and learning experience that he could not have previously envisioned as it is for the individual who gets sick when he is 20. The only difference is if you have to go to work still or not. They'll be forced to go to work sick, just like an old zebra who knows he probably cannot outrun the lion anymore, but he tries anyway. Younger pack members will lose their patience with them and they'll learn firsthand the true limits of human mercy and compassion.
What religion offers is hope. It's a hope that even if all paths lead to the grave, there is something better. There is a reward and a reason for fighting a fight that we knew from the beginning we ultimately would not be able to win. What I'm still not sure about is organized religion. I guess given my choice, I'd rather be alone and free to find the truth for myself, free to not be told by people like Selek that obedience does not produce happiness and yet try to shame me into doing things that make me unhappy both now and in the future, all for the common good of course:).