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This devotional address entitled The Pursuit of Happiness was given on June 13th of

1995 by W. Mac Lawrence, then a member of the second quorum of the 70 of the Church

of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Greetings to all. What a great blessing it is to me personally, to be here to share a few thoughts with you and express my testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ. I have so many blessings,

all too many, to enumerate here. My family, as with most of you,

is at the top of the list. Another great blessing that we take for granted all too often is this

outstanding school of higher education.

This is a blessing.

It's also a blessing to be a student here.

And by the way, it's okay to lose once in a while to that school to the north.

When first asked if I would accept this invitation to be with you today, the thought rushed through my mind, what could I say that would be helpful that would cause students to pause

and to think? One of my outstanding teachers, an English teacher, incidentally, once said that the only

goal we had all year long was to learn to think.

In this quest, and after prayerful consideration, it came to me that we're all looking

for happiness and joy.

Wherever we are, whatever our past.

The pursuit of happiness has been a dream of all people from the time of Adam and Eve.

It's a founding principle of this great country of ours.

The Declaration of Independence declares that among our inalienable rights are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

How would you define happiness?

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