Welcome to Altruistic August! Can I just say that I love the fact that altruism and service is the center of Action of Happiness’ August calendar? I’ve written about finding joy through service before, and it never gets old because it never stops helping (everybody involved—the giver and the givee).

If you want to read about the subject from an expert in service and love, check out “Finding Joy through Loving Service” by Elder M. Russell Ballard from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Here are a few highlights from his talk:

• Where can you serve others? Home, church, and community
• How do you serve? Heartfelt kindness, love, small and simple things (like a smile, a kind word, listening ears)

Another great talk about the connection between joy and service is “Happiness, Your Heritage” by Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf. Look at some of these great quotes:

“When we reach out to bless the lives of others, our lives are blessed as well. Service and sacrifice open the windows of heaven, allowing choice blessings to descend upon us.”

Or:

“As we lose ourselves in the service of others, we discover our own lives and our own happiness.”

And:

“President Gordon B. Hinckley believed in the healing power of service. After the death of his wife, he provided a great example to the Church in the way he immersed himself in work and in serving others. It is told that President Hinckley remarked to one woman who had recently lost her husband, ‘Work will cure your grief. Serve others.'”

If you need any more inspiration for Altruistic August, check out today’s idea:

“Treat everyone you interact with as though they are a friend.”

Go forth, friends, and serve! And find your happiness.

Choose Joy.

—A