Mormon 9:4

Behold, I say unto you that ye would be more miserable to dwell with a holy and just God, under a consciousness of your filthiness before him, than ye would to dwell with the damned souls in hell.

God's objective is our happiness -- however much happiness we are willing to receive.  If we want the kind of eternal joy he has, he will help us achieve it. But he will not force it on us. If we choose a lesser degree of happiness through living by lesser laws, he will grant it to us. The decision and end result are ultimately ours. God will be wonderfully merciful when mercy is warranted, and he will be just when we reject his mercy.

4 Nephi 1:16

And there were no envyings, nor strifes, nor tumults, nor whoredoms, nor lyings, nor murders, nor any manner of lasciviousness; and surely there could not be a happier people among all the people who had been created by the hand of God.

A Christ-centered life is a happy life. A life without sin is a happy life. These verses tell us that evil did not exist among these happy people. They do not say, however, that they had no challenges, sickness or trials. They still lived in a mortal world where things go wrong, bad things happen to good people, the sun does not always shine, children get sick, accidents happen, and loved ones die. Missing, however, were the unnecessary trials of sin. Life is hard enough without weighing ourselves down with foolish sins. Trials do not destroy happiness, but sin does. It is not the circumstances around us but the attitude within us that determines happiness.

Alma 50:23

But behold there never was a happier time among the people of Nephi, since the days of Nephi, than in the days of Moroni, yea, even at this time, in the twenty and first year of the reign of the judges.

Our happiness is not dependent on external circumstances. The Nephites were in terrible danger, surrounded by enemies, and threatened on every side, but they were still happy because they were keeping the commandments.

Alma 42:8

Now behold, it was not expedient that man should be reclaimed from this temporal death, for that would destroy the great plan of happiness.

God is not in a hurry to relieve us of temporal death, for it serves a useful purpose. It allows us to be mortal and to experience mortal time. With Adam's fall, life had a beginning and an end, and time became linear. We could thus have distinguishable pasts, presents, and futures. We could repent and put things in our past. We could exercise our agency in the present in the hope of creating a better tomorrow. Without a beginning and an end with linear time in between, we could not repent, for our sins would be ever in the present tense. God needed us to experience time as part of our mortal probation.

Alma 34:38

That ye contend no more against the Holy Ghost, but that ye receive it, and take upon you the name of Christ; that ye humble yourselves even to the dust, and worship God, in whatsoever place ye may be in, in spirit and in truth; and that ye live in thanksgiving daily, for the many mercies and blessings which he doth bestow upon you.

The formula for a happy, peaceful life is to live in thanksgiving daily. If we watch for tender mercies from God, we will see them. If we express gratitude to God for his mercies, we will see more of them. Gratitude is at the very core of happiness. We will be happy any time we are grateful. Without gratitude, happiness will elude us every time.

Mosiah 2:4

And also that they might give thanks to the Lord their God, who had brought them out of the land of Jerusalem, and who had delivered them out of the hands of their enemies, and had appointed just men to be their teachers, and also a just man to be their king, who had established peace in the land of Zarahemla, and who had taught them to keep the commandments of God, that they might rejoice and be filled with love towards God and all men.

The result of keeping the commandments is rejoicing and an outpouring of love. True happiness can be found in no other way.

Second Nephi 9:52

Behold, my beloved brethren, remember the words of your God; pray unto him continually by day, and give thanks unto his holy name by night. Let your hearts rejoice.

We are to have a prayer in our hearts at all times, seeking constantly during our day of labor and service for guidance and direction and divine assistance in all we do.

The message of the gospel is one of perfect joy. We have to rejoice even when times are hard and we wonder if we will survive. With a right perspective, we can rejoice in every circumstance. For God gives only good gifts. Sometimes his gifts are not comfortable or pleasurable, but they are always good, for they are designed to save us and bring us back to him.

Second Nephi 8:3

For the Lord shall comfort Zion, he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving and the voice of melody.

In the Last Days, God will gather Israel and restore the gospel. He will dispel the wastelands of apostasy with the verdant garden of revelation. Those who accept the gospel will rejoice, be grateful, and sing the song of redeeming love. The restoration is in full swing, and the revealed gospel is in full bloom. I am learning the lyrics of the song of redeeming love daily.

Second Nephi 5:27

And it came to pass that we lived after the manner of happiness.

Happiness comes not from what we have but from how we live.