Godliness with Contentment | Mary Ellen Edmund | 1995

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Much of our happiness depends not on what we have, but on our gratitude for it. Contentment is not complacency. It is a gift that brings lasting joy.

This speech was given on November 21, 1995.

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"I pray that the Holy Ghost will help us receive what we need this morning—that both your prayers and mine will be answered. I want to begin by sharing a little story I first read many years ago:

Two little children were put early to bed on a winter’s night, for the fire had gone out, and the cold was pouring in at the many cracks of their frail shanty.

The mother strove to eke out the scantiness of the bed-covering by placing clean boards over the children. A pair of bright eyes shone out from under a board, and just before it was hushed in slumber, a sweet voice said, “Mother, how nice this is! How I pity the poor people who don’t have any boards to cover their children with this cold night.”

I suppose one reason this story struck me so deeply is because I want to be more like that: content, aware of my blessings. I can hear myself complaining: “Mom! Charlotte’s board is bigger than mine!” Or “Hey! I’m going to get slivers!” This little girl was able to look at everything from the perspective of what she had—not what she didn’t have. And she was concerned about those who didn’t have as much as she did rather than upset and crabby because some had so much more than she did. She probably knew that some people had electric blankets or buffalo robes or quilts or heated bricks to keep them warm—but still she was content with what she had.

Why is it so hard for me to be that way? Is it ever hard for you? I spend too much time thinking and worrying about what I don’t have instead of being grateful and content with what I do have.

I remember seeing an organizational chart once that had someone listed as a “content specialist.” I know it meant “content,” but wouldn’t it be great if some of us could volunteer to serve as “content specialists”? We could organize a “Content Club,” and the little girl with clean boards could be our club president (or “chairman of the board”)!

In the New Testament there is a letter from the apostle Paul to his beloved young disciple Timothy about contentment. I encourage you to read all of 1 Timothy, chapter 6, because I don’t have time to do that this morning. Here are just a few verses:

But godliness with contentment is great gain.

For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.

And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. [1 Timothy 6:6–8]

The phrase in verse 6 is the title of my message today: Godliness with Contentment. One definition of contentment I especially like is “tranquil happiness.” I want to explore some of the ways in which godliness and contentment go together.

As Moroni was finishing the Book of Mormon, he extended a powerful invitation in our quest for godliness: “Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness” (Moroni 10:32). I’m sure you do the same thing I do—you examine yourself. Perhaps you, like I, find that some aspects of your life and your soul are not yet as godly as you would like. Are there some things in your life, as there are in mine, that don’t seem to bring increased contentment, peace, enjoyment, and happiness?

President David O. McKay often quoted William George Jordan:

Happiness consists not of having, but of being; not of possessing, but of enjoying. It is the warm glow of a heart at peace with itself. [“The Royal Road to Happiness,” The Majesty of Calmness (Old Tappan, New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1900), p. 54; see David O. McKay, CR, October 1955, p. 8]

Happiness is a state of being contented or satisfied. But sometimes it’s hard to be content and satisfied—to have enough. There will always be a newer watch, a more powerful computer, a fancier car or closet organizer. But you can never get enough of what you don’t need, because what you don’t need never satisfies. We spend money we don’t have to buy things we don’t need to impress people we don’t like who don’t come over and get impressed anyway.

President McKay further said that..."