President Gordon B. Hinckley on finding happiness in spite of problems in life

President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910-2008) was called to the Quorum of Twelve in 1961. He served as a counselor in the First Presidency from 1981-1995, then as Church President until his death in 2008.

"You have all heard my talk on the Be’s—Be grateful, Be smart, Be clean, Be true, Be humble, Be prayerful. And I add for you, Be happy.

"All of us have problems. We face them every day. How grateful I am that we have difficult things to wrestle with. They keep us young, if that is possible. They keep us alive. They keep us going. They keep us humble. They pull us down to our knees to ask the God of Heaven for help in solving them. Be grateful for your problems, and know that somehow there will come a solution."

- Gordon B. Hinckley, "A Challenging Time—a Wonderful Time," Teaching Seminary: Preservice Readings (2004), 15–19
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This excerpt comes from a collection of material prepared to help teachers in various levels of the Church's religious education programs, and provides some classic counsel from President Hinckley on teaching youth. The whole article is very worth reviewing. In this excerpt, President Hinckley teaches about confronting challenges and obstacles with optimism and confidence.

Recognizing our problems and challenges as opportunities and blessings is a critical skill to develop. President Hinckley lists many of the ways that those apparent difficulties can turn into positive things in our lives, and ways in which they help us learn and grow. Truly we should "be grateful for [our] problems," knowing that they will not last forever.

(Compilation and commentary by David Kenison, Orem, Utah, 2019)