God's Plan of Happiness Gives Me Purpose and Direction

We believe that God is literally the Father of our Spirits, that we lived with Him before we were sent here to earth and that our loving Heavenly Father has a plan for us.   We chose to follow His plan in that pre-existence, we came to earth to receive a body and to learn and grow in ways we couldn't there with Him as spirits (not unlike sending our kids away to college).  Here on earth, we are separated from Him which requires faith.  Here on earth, we each have a body which allows us to serve and experience things in ways that we cannot without a body and gives our spirits the opportunity to develop self-discipline in the face of carnal desires, appetites and passions.    Here on earth we are subject to temptations and sometimes we will make mistakes (sins) but those temptations give us the opportunity to grow.  If we choose to exercise faith and learn and grow, then we will be ready to return to live with our  Father in Heaven, ready to meet the challenges of the next step in our eternal progression (not unlike graduating from college and being ready to embark on a career).  We will find purpose and happiness in this life and in the next life.  I love this doctrine because it gives me purpose in my everyday life and helps me to know what I need to teach my children.
This Plan of Happiness is also called the Plan of Salvation, because mortality and sin, separate us from God, and we needed a Savior to bring us home.  Jesus Christ is central to the Plan of Salvation become He alone can Redeem us from our sins (because He was perfect)  and He alone was able to break the bands of death (because He was physically the Son of God).

Here is a great quote by an Apostle of the Lord about the Plan of Salvation:

"Every day, every hour, every minute of your span of mortal years must sometime be accounted for. And it is in this life that you walk by faith and prove yourself able to choose good over evil, right over wrong, enduring happiness over mere amusement. And your eternal reward will be according to your choosing.

“A prophet of God has said: ‘Men are that they might have joy’—a joy that includes a fullness of life, a life dedicated to service, to love and harmony in the home, and the fruits of honest toil—an acceptance of the Gospel of Jesus Christ—of its requirements and commandments.

“Only in these will you find true happiness, the happiness which doesn’t fade with the lights and the music and the crowds.”   Elder Richard L. Evans