We feel only pity for Ali Hafed as we picture him wandering homeless and friendless farther and farther away from the happiness he thought he would find in digging up diamonds in a far-off place. Yet how many times do we look for our happiness at a distance in space or time rather than right now, in our own homes, with our own families and friends?

The Savior of the world taught us to seek that inner peace which taps the innate happiness in our souls. He said: “My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27).

Years ago, when we were living in São Paulo, Brazil, a new home was being constructed next to ours. The workmen on the project were paid only a few cents an hour and worked from six in the morning to six in the evening. Yet they whistled and sang all day long. Sometimes it was more than we wanted to hear! But I never had the heart to tell them to tone it down.

A few years ago I interviewed a relatively young man who was being called as mission president. He had had a very successful career as an investment counselor. Because he had a young family, I was concerned about how he would take care of them when he returned from the mission field. He made it very clear that he was not interested in making large sums of money. He explained that he had worked for the very wealthy. To him, they did not seem happy or fulfilled, and they seemed preoccupied with acquiring more.

That inner peace spoken of by the Savior seems elusive when we are preoccupied with things we have or things we wish we had. In a time when we are both obsessed and consumed with the possession and the acquisition of objects, the counsel of Moses seems more needed than ever: “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, … nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s” (Ex. 20:17).

قبل بضع سنوات ولد طفل خاص لأم شابة. ولد هذا الطفل بدون عيون. كان من الطبيعي في جميع النواحي الأخرى باستثناء أنه لم يكن هناك ما يشبه العينين أو التجاويف فوق الأنف. ربما قالت هذه الأم في مرارة: "لماذا يجب أن يحدث هذا لطفلي؟" أو "لماذا يجب أن يحدث هذا لي؟" بدلا من ذلك قالت: "يجب على الرب أن يحبنا حقا وأن يثق بنا. يجب أن نكون مفضلين حقا لمنحنا هذا الطفل. إن التفكير في أن الرب اختار منزلنا ، مع معرفة مقدار الحب والرعاية الخاصين اللذين يحتاجهما هذا الطفل ، هو أمر متواضع ومريح للغاية. نحن ممتنون لهذا الطفل المميز وللبركات التي سيجلبها إلى منزلنا ".