Brigham Young on contentment and joy from heaven

President Brigham Young (1801-1877) was part of the first Quorum of Twelve Apostles of this dispensation, called and ordained in 1835. He served as the second Church president, succeeding Joseph Smith, from 1847 until his death in 1877.

"It is a mistaken idea in the inhabitants of the earth to conclude that it will not do for them to yield obedience to the commandments of heaven, lest it should abridge them in their comforts and in their enjoyments; for there is no real peace, there is no real happiness in anything in heaven or on the earth, except to those who serve the Lord. In His service there is joy, there is happiness; but they are not to be found anywhere else. In it there are peace and comfort; but when the soul is filled with joy, with peace, and with glory, and is perfectly satisfied therewith a person even then has but little idea of that which is in store for all the faithful.

"Thrust a man into prison and bind him with chains, and then let him be filled with the comfort and with the glory of eternity, and that prison is a palace to him. Again, let a man be seated upon a throne with power and dominion in this world, ruling his millions and millions, and without that peace which flows from the Lord of Hosts—without that contentment and joy that comes from heaven, his palace is a prison; his life is a burden to him; he lives in fear, in dread, and in sorrow. But when a person is filled with the peace and power of God, all is right with him."

- Brigham Young, remarks in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, July 5, 1857; see JD 5:1-2, DBY 33
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The great quest of mankind seems to be happiness—where to find it, how to preserve it. President Young points out the fallacy of his time, dramatically more common in our own day, of men thinking that God's commandments are restricting and confining, and contrary to happiness. He asserts just the opposite; "there is no real happiness in anything in heaven or on the earth, except to those who serve the Lord." Further, he points out that the joy and comfort a righteous soul experiences in this life are but a small taste of things to come.

He goes on to illustrate his belief in this interesting excerpt:

The outer, physical circumstances have little to do with real joy, deep joy. It's what lies in our heart and our spirit that matter, not where we are or what our surrounding circumstances might me.  "All is right" in any circumstance "when a person is filled with the peace and power of God."