If you want to feel happier, try service

I see many articles, including research, about how serving others can help you feel better. I think there are many aspects to service that help accomplish that. There is a scripture in the Book of Mormon that expresses one aspect very well: ...when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God. (Mosiah 2:17). To me, this means that when I take an opportunity to serve others, I am also serving God.

It is a frequent teaching that God often uses us to accomplish his goals and to bless the lives of others. This is a two-way street. It means that we are serving God when we serve others, but also, we are serving God when we allow others to serve us.

Service is sort of an all-encompassing activity. It can be the little things you do in your family on a daily basis. It can be large, like joining the military or serving a mission for a church. It can be a life dedicated to service like a nun or minister. It can be a life dedicated to others such as a doctor, many parents, many teachers, and some in public service. It can be very visible or hidden behind the scenes.

Since there are so many opportunities for service, it can be overwhelming to decide what to do and where to serve. When you are unsure, start at home. Service among family members will tend to create a happier environment. Love is an active verb, and one way to express love is to serve those we love. When we do so, we tend to deepen that love.

Another place to look for service opportunities is where we spend time: at school, at work, at church, in community activities. When I was in an opera group, most of our service to others in the group consisted of bringing snacks. In another place, my service consisted of managing their weekly sing-along program. I served as a Girl Scout leader for longer than I was a Girl Scout myself when I was a child. I have served in a wide variety of capacities in my church.

Service helps us to put our own problems, challenges, and trials into perspective. At times, we will recognize how truly blessed our lives are. At others, we can see how much difference we make in the lives of others and that brings joy to our hearts. We had an excellent lesson in church yesterday about turning outward, rather than inward, during trials. Taking the opportunity to find a way to help and serve others when we are challenged helps us rise to meet those challenges.

One does not need to be in the mood to serve in order to be effective. One only needs to act. I have spent hours in service projects repeating that part of the scripture from Mosiah I quoted above over and over again for the duration of the project. I accomplished what needed to be done. At the same time, I managed to focus on another's needs and that helped me to feel better too. While service may not be a cure for clinical depression, it can certainly help us to feel better able to face our daily struggles. And a nice side benefit is that we usually truly come to love those we serve. And often, we grow through that service to become more of what we truly want to be.