Gratitude should be held in our hearts daily.
D&C 59:7 Thou shalt thank the Lord thy God in all things.
However, with Thanksgiving here it is quite appropriate to study the blessings that come from having gratitude. We should ponder, plus record.
Joseph F. Smith stated:
“One of the greatest sins of which the inhabitants of the earth are guilty of today, is the sin of ingratitude” (in Journal of Discourses, 25:52).
In 1994 Lloyd P. George said in a Conference Address:
"There is a great tendency for us in our prayers—in our pleadings with the Lord—to ask for additional blessings. Sometimes, I feel, we need to devote more of our prayers to expressions of gratitude and thanksgiving for blessings already received. Of course, we need the daily blessings of the Lord. But if we sin in the matter of prayer, I think it is in our lack of expressing thanksgiving for daily blessings. God is not pleased with the inhabitants of the earth but is angry with them because they will not acknowledge his hand in all things."
President Joseph F. Smith proclaimed:
"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. Pride destroys our gratitude and sets up selfishness in its place. How much happier we are in the presence of a grateful and loving soul, and how careful we should be to cultivate, through the medium of a prayerful life, a thankful attitude toward God and man! [GD, 263]"
Dieter F. Uchtdorf stated in his Conference address " Grateful in Any Circumstance, " Oct.2014
" 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.
This type of gratitude transcends whatever is happening around us. It surpasses disappointment, discouragement, and despair. It blooms just as beautifully in the icy landscape of winter as it does in the pleasant warmth of summer.
When we are grateful to God in our circumstances, we can experience gentle peace in the midst of tribulation. In grief, we can still lift up our hearts in praise. In pain, we can glory in Christ’s Atonement. In the cold of bitter sorrow, we can experience the closeness and warmth of heaven’s embrace.
We sometimes think that being grateful is what we do after our problems are solved, but how terribly shortsighted that is. How much of life do we miss by waiting to see the rainbow before thanking God that there is rain?
How blessed we are if we recognize God’s handiwork in the marvelous tapestry of life. Gratitude to our Father in Heaven broadens our perception and clears our vision. It inspires humility and fosters empathy toward our fellowmen and all of God’s creation. Gratitude is a catalyst to all Christlike attributes! A thankful heart is the parent of all virtues.
My dear brothers and sisters, the choice is ours. We can choose to limit our gratitude, based on the blessings we feel we lack. Or we can choose to be like Nephi, whose grateful heart never faltered. When his brothers tied him up on the ship—which he had built to take them to the promised land—his ankles and wrists were so sore “they had swollen exceedingly,” and a violent storm threatened to swallow him up in the depths of the sea. “Nevertheless,” Nephi said, “I did look unto my God, and I did praise him all the day long; and I did not murmur against the Lord because of mine afflictions.”
We can choose to be like Job, who seemed to have everything but then lost it all. Yet Job responded by saying, “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return … : the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”
We can choose to be like the Mormon pioneers, who maintained a spirit of gratitude during their slow and painful trek toward the Great Salt Lake, even singing and dancing and glorying in the goodness of God. Many of us would have been inclined to withdraw, complain, and agonize about the difficulty of the journey.
We can choose to be like the Prophet Joseph Smith, who, while a prisoner in miserable conditions in Liberty Jail, penned these inspired words: “Dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed."
We can choose to be grateful, no matter what."
There is not a day and sometimes hours that go by that I do not feel very most thankful for my Savior Jesus Christ. All of the reasons that desire to study, serve and teach are because I know that this is the way that I do not only say that I am thankful, but that I show Him how thankful that I am for the innumerable blessings that He has given me.
Thank you for letting me share my love for Him so often. Thank you for the patience you have shown so often towards me. Thank you for allowing me to learn from you and to share with you what I am learning through Him.
Thank you for forgiving me if I have ever become overly excited, impatient, late, or if I have ever expressed unwanted opinions.
I am truly blessed by you.
Thank you Katelyn Merrill for prompting me to write some of these quotes that I love in my book for my children.
I say this in the name of Jesus Christ.Amen.
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