i ran into my sacrament meeting talk on gratitude. i read it on thanksgiving and it was a great reminder of some of the things i learned and felt about gratitude over the last couple years. i especially needed to remember that gratitude is really a sign of faith. sometimes it takes a lot of faith that God really is in charge and has a plan for me and hears my prayers, to hush fears and feel grateful.
we had a good thanksgiving with dave's family. his mom and sisters had prepared a beautiful meal. we belong to good families. i especially enjoyed making pies with sadie and kai the night before. it started snowing outside and it felt so holiday-ish. i love this family of mine.
MY TALK
I was asked to speak about one of the October topics from the youth’s Come Follow Me curriculum:
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO BE GRATEFUL? I am pretty sure the youth have had this lesson because I have noticed the youth in my family saying thank you to me a lot lately. I have even dropped Abe off at a friend’s house and had him come back to the car and tell me thanks. I don’t want to say I’m shocked, but it does surprise me and every time, it feels good. I’m sure this is how Heavenly Father feels when we return to say thanks.
Quote: President Faust said:
A grateful heart is a beginning of greatness. It is an expression of humility. It is a foundation for the development of such virtues as prayer, faith, courage, contentment, happiness, love, and well-being.
But there is a truism associated with all types of human strength: “Use it or lose it.” When not used, muscles weaken, skills deteriorate, and faith disappears. President Thomas S. Monson stated: “Think to thank. In these three words are the finest capsule course for a happy marriage, a formula for enduring friendship, and a pattern for personal happiness.” (Pathways to Perfection, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1973, p. 254.) Said the Lord, “And he who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious; and the things of this earth shall be added unto him, even an hundred fold, yea, more.” (D&C 78:19.)
thoughts about the quote
bubble gum experiment: When we were moving from Flagstaff, my kids were old enough to really feel this move. They were so sad. As we drove out of our driveway, i handed them each a piece of bubble gum and told them they could cry their eyes out and feel sorry for themselves until the flavor of the gum was gone, then we were going to switch our thinking and count all the good things we could think of about this move.
It didn’t take long before we were laughing and remembering all the opportunities and experiences and even decided we were grateful that we felt sad to be leaving because that meant we had a wonderful three years with so many good friends in Flagstaff.
President Monson said: We can lift ourselves and others as well when we refuse to remain in the realm of negative thought and cultivate within our hearts and attitude of gratitude…The grateful man sees so much in the world to be thankful for and with him the good outweighs the evil, love overpowers jealousy, and light drives darkness out of his life.
As my family made a mental shift to focusing on the positive, we felt happier and hopeful.
Gratitude is a choice.
Quote #1: President Uchtdorf
Everyone’s situation is different, and the details of each life are unique. Nevertheless, I have learned that there is something that would take away the bitterness that may come into our lives. There is one thing we can do to make life sweeter, more joyful, even glorious.
We can be grateful!
It might sound contrary to the wisdom of the world to suggest that one who is burdened with sorrow should give thanks to God. But those who set aside the bottle of bitterness and lift instead the goblet of gratitude can find a purifying drink of healing, peace, and understanding.
As disciples of Christ, we are commanded to “thank the Lord [our] God in all things,”1 to “sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving,”2 and to “let [our] heart be full of thanks unto God.”3
Why does God command us to be grateful?
All of His commandments are given to make blessings available to us. Commandments are opportunities to exercise our agency and to receive blessings. Our loving Heavenly Father knows that choosing to develop a spirit of gratitude will bring us true joy and great happiness.
Being Grateful for Things
But some might say, “What do I have to be grateful for when my world is falling apart?”
Perhaps focusing on what we are grateful for is the wrong approach. It is difficult to develop a spirit of gratitude if our thankfulness is only proportional to the number of blessings we can count. True, it is important to frequently “count our blessings”—and anyone who has tried this knows there are many—but I don’t believe the Lord expects us to be less thankful in times of trial than in times of abundance and ease. In fact, most of the scriptural references do not speak of gratitude for things but rather suggest an overall spirit or attitude of gratitude.
It is easy to be grateful for things when life seems to be going our way. But what then of those times when what we wish for seems to be far out of reach?
Could I suggest that we see gratitude as a disposition, a way of life that stands independent of our current situation? In other words, I’m suggesting that instead of being thankful for things, we focus on being thankful in our circumstances—whatever they may be.
thoughts about the quote
pondered gratitude this month my thoughts have turned to the experience Jesus had with the ten lepers.
11 ¶And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.
12 And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:
13 And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.
14 And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.
15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God,
16 And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.
17 And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?
18 There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.
19 And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.
three parts of this story that stuck out to me.
first is verse 15…
I think this is the first step to feeling gratitude. The leper NOTICED GOD’S HAND in his life and then he GLORIFIED GOD because of it.
When dave was in residency…
window story (i was pretty discouraged one day as i took out the trash. looked over at my car and light was coming through the window. all i could see were dirty little hand prints all over the window. I slumped a little more at the thought of one more thing I hadn’t done that day. Then I looked up and saw what was causing the light to come through the window. It was the most beautiful sunset. If I would have only concentrated on the dirty window I would have missed the joy of the sunset.)
It hit me hard, that even amidst dirty windows, I can choose to look up and see the gift God has given me and when I notice and am grateful, I am glorifying Him.
I am convinced the more we notice God’s hand in our lives, and glorify him, the more we will feel of his love for us and feel more glorious in return. (those that return and give thanks will be made glorious)
2nd thing that stuck out to me in experience with the lepers is
Verse 19 READ
The word “WHOLE” is really interesting to me. Of course, gratitude helps us feel more content, less critical, replaces fear, basically makes us feel more complete, so “WHOLE” but the word whole in the setting is even more than that.
The Greek word for whole associated with this verse (Luke 27:19) is sojo. which means- to save
President Faust called gratitude a saving principle.
One time in my life I felt gratitude as a saving principle…
When abe was born, it was the best, easiest delivery. i had a lot of bizarre dreams when I was pregnant, so when he was born and all was well, i kept saying, “oh he’s so cute…over and over.
Dave was in medical school at the time and he had a huge test the next day so I told him to go for the night. We were all good. Later that evening my tongue started to feel funny. I noticed but didn’t think much about it and went to bed. I woke really early the next morning with a numb sensation on the left side of my face. I was nervous and called dave who came to the hospital. By the time Dave and the doctor arrived, the left side of my face was drooping and I couldn’t move it at all. The doctor informed us that I had bells palsy, which commonly happened after delivering a baby. The immune system kicks in and attacks the damages the facial nerve. The nerve usually grows back which could take 6-8 weeks and sometimes longer. I geared up for 6 weeks of a drooping face, but when it turned into months and months, it was really hard and there were moments of real discouragement. I remember in these moments, holding Abe close to my face and focusing on how grateful I was for a healthy, adorable, happy baby boy. I got through it by being grateful that it happened to me and not to him. I believe clinging to the things I was grateful for saved me in many ways and even saved me from despair. It allowed me to feel happy even when things were difficult.
The 3rd part that I never really understood until recently …the leper returned and gave thanks, but Christ responded THY FAITH hath made thee whole. I have always wondered about the connection between gratitude and faith that leads to our salvation or us being made whole and saved.
The last few years i have had the opportunity to really ponder this.
President Monson retold this scripture story
In the book of Matthew in the Bible, we have another account of gratitude, this time as an expression from the Savior. As He traveled in the wilderness for three days, more than 4,000 people followed and traveled with Him. He took compassion on them, for they may not have eaten during the entire three days. His disciples, however, questioned, “Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude?” Like many of us, the disciples saw only what was lacking.
“And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And [the disciples] said, Seven, and a few little fishes.
“And [Jesus] commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.
“And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.”
Notice that the Savior gave thanks for what they had—and a miracle followed: “And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full.” 4
This story has a special place in my heart because two years ago when abe was being life flighted and I was driving myself to primary children’s hospital knowing my son was headed into trauma heart surgery, this is the story that immediately came to my mind. We had read it as a family that morning for our family scripture reading. I felt many of your prayers and faith for Abe, mixed with the thought of our conversation that morning-and as I drove to the hospital I had an overwhelming sense of gratitude for Abe overpower me. Even though I didn’t know what would happen. It was a gift, it saved me, and I was able to trust God’s plan.
I have pondered that experience the last few months. How did I feel gratitude in that huge moment, while lately I have had trouble feeling gratitude when I have less traumatic worries fill my heart. (I come from a long line of worriers) I have decided that faith is the answer and what made the difference. I now realize that having gratitude is really and act of faith. We trust God more than we trust ourselves. Remembering that I have seen God’s hand in my life and felt his help and I know He will continue to help.
I have learned this last year that allowing myself to let go of fear and feel gratitude shows that I trust GOD.
President Uchtdorf said, “True gratitude is an expression of hope and testimony. It must have been this kind of testimony that transformed the Savior’s Apostles from fearful, doubting men into fearless, joyful emissaries of the Master.”
He wants to feed us, make us whole, he wants to save us and I believe when we choose to show gratitude we show that we believe he can —we glorify Him.
We all have something we can choose to be grateful for. I am grateful for the experiences that I have had that have helped me see that it is ok to feel gratitude even during hard times because ultimately that is how I show my complete trust and faith in Heavenly Father and in our Savior Jesus Christ-in whom we can all be grateful.
President Monson said: Let us follow Him. Let us emulate His example. Let us obey His words. By so doing, we give Him the divine gift of gratitude.
In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
