Gratitude

This is a talk I am giving tomorrow at church, I thought I would post it here for any who want to read.

Gratitude
The children of God have always been commanded to give thanks
1 Thes. 5:18 “ In EVERYTHING give athanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
In a time of spiritual and temporal adversity, the people of God were ‘suffering all manner of afflictions’, the Lord commanded them to ‘give thanks in ALL things.” Mosiah 26:38-39, p. 198, 199
The prophet Alma taught, ‘When thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God’ Alma 37:37, p. 303
In modern revelation the Lord declared, “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.” DyC 78:19, p..148
Also in DyC 59:7, the Lord states “thank the Lord thy God in ALL things.” P. 108
The phrase “All things” includes blessings great and small—of life, of health, of family and friends, of bounties rarely noticed but given to us freely. Certainly some of our greatest blessings are associated with the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ.” -Visitng Teaching Message “With a Grateful Heart,” Ensign, Aug 1999, 53
Story of Lepers, Luke 17:12-19 (read all verses)
-asked for mercy, to be healed (v13)
-gave them direction on what they should do to find healing (v14)
-they heeded that counsel and were cleansed (v14)
-ONE of them when he saw he was healed turned back and ‘glorified God’, giving him thanks (v15-16)
-Lord pronounces another blessing, ‘thy faith hath made thee whole’ (19)
What is the connection between his faith and gratitude?
Why was it ‘key’ that he return and give thanks for this gift? Why was his faith pronounced whole?
I wish to talk today about how having gratitude blesses our lives. How does having gratitude make us whole?



1-USE IT OR LOSE IT
DyC 88:33 “For what doth it profit a man if a gift is bestowed upon him, and he receive not the gift?”
Gratitude is part of ‘receiving’, if we don’t show gratitude, we haven’t truly RECEIVED a gift (whether it be from God or fellowman)
President James E. Faust said “…ingratitude is self-centered. It is a form of pride.” Gratitude as a Saving Principle, Ensign December 1996
In the Book of Mormon we read of the state of the Nephites and Lamanites after having been at war for years with each other. In Alma 62:41, it reads, “because of the exceedingly great length of the war between the Nephites and the Lamanites many had become hardened, because of the exceedingly great length of the war; and many were softened because of their aafflictions, insomuch that they did humble themselves before God, even in the depth of humility.” Some had become hardened, some humbled from the affliction of war. Moroni then continues with the state of the people, “they did again establish the church of God , throughout all the land…notwithstanding their riches, or their strength, or their prosperity, they were not…slow to remember the Lord their God…yea, they did remember how great things the Lord had done for them, that he had delivered them from death, and from bonds, and from prisons, and from all manner of afflictions, and he had delivered them out of the hands of their enemies.” (v46-50)
President Gordon B. Hinckley has taught: “Gratitude is of the very essence of worship. ..When you walk with gratitude, you do not walk with arrogance and conceit and egotism, you walk with a spirit of thanksgiving that is becoming to you and will bless your lives” (Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley [1997], 250).
“You cannot be bitter, resentful, or mean-spirited when you are grateful.” True to the faith, 78-79
President James E. Faust said “It seems as though there is a tug-of-war between opposing character traits that leaves no voids in our souls. As gratitude is absent or disappears, rebellion often enters and fills the vacuum. I do not speak of rebellion against civil oppression. I refer to rebellion against moral cleanliness, beauty, decency, honesty, reverence, and respect for parental authority. 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, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles at the time, stated: “Think to thank. In these three words is the finest capsule course for a happy marriage, a formula for enduring friendship, and a pattern for personal happiness” (Pathways to Perfection [1973], 254) - President James E. Faust, Gratitude as a Saving Principle, Ensign December 1996

2-Gratitude gives us helps our ability to see -‘LENS OF SPIRITUALITY’
Elder Dallin H. Oaks stated “When we give thanks in all things, we see hardships and adversities in the context of the purpose of life. We are sent here to be tested. There must be opposition in all things. We are meant to learn and grow through that opposition, through meeting our challenges, and through teaching others to do the same.”
“If we see life through the lens of spirituality, we can see many examples of the works of God being furthered through the adversities of His children.” - “Give Thanks in All Things,” Liahona, May 2003, 95–98
What blessing did the one leper who returned to thank the Lord receive? His ability to truly ‘see’ things as God intended them to be increased as will ours as we follow his example.
In a Visiting Teaching message from an Ensign in 1993, it reminds us that “For three days, more than 4,000 people had stayed in the wilderness with the Savior without eating, and Jesus did not want to send them away hungry. But even His disciples questioned, “Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude?” (Matt. 15:33). Like many of us, the disciples saw only what was lacking. Nevertheless, Jesus gave thanks for what they did have (see Matt. 15:36), and a miracle followed: “They did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full” (Matt. 15:37).
We all face times when our focus is on what we lack. Maybe our time, means, patience, or even feelings of love do not measure up to our expectations. At such times, we would find it helpful to adopt President Brigham Young’s attitude and view our difficulties with a grateful heart: “There is not a single condition of life [or] one hour’s experience but what is beneficial to all those who make it their study, and aim to improve upon the experience they gain” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young [1997], 179).
“Miracles can happen in our lives as we look to God with a grateful heart. Understanding comes, and strength to endure grows.
One sister struggled with negative feelings after a divorce. She found it difficult not to dwell on what she no longer had. Her marriage had fallen apart—along with so many hopes and dreams. She would sit next to families at church and wonder what was wrong with her. During this difficult time, she remembered the counsel of her patriarchal blessing: “Sister, be grateful for all your blessings.” And so she sincerely tried to be.
Each day, as she paused to thank God for all He had given her, a healing took place in her soul. She was able to fight off feelings of bitterness and despair and felt an outpouring of God’s love. “Gratitude,” she says, “kept my heart soft.”
When we understand …that God offers us opportunities for blessings and blesses us through our own adversities and the adversities of others, we can understand why He has commanded us again and again to “thank the Lord thy God in ALL things” (D&C 59:7).” Visiting teaching message
My mind turns to the Israelites as they left Egypt. The Lord so abundantly blessed them with manna from heaven, yet they continued to forget Him and murmur. They would turn their thoughts to when times were good in Egypt, all the good food they had to eat.
I wonder how long their sojourn in the wilderness might have been had they ‘remembered’? How many times are we left to wander in our own wilderness incessantly on account of our unwillingness to simply acknowledge the Lord’s hand in our lives? There is great power behind this principle.
President Henry B. Eyring counsels us “…find ways to recognize and remember God’s kindness. It will build our testimonies. You may not keep a journal. You may not share whatever record you keep with those you love and serve. But you and they will be blessed as you remember what the Lord has done…. It won’t be easy to remember. Living as we do with a veil over our eyes, we cannot remember what it was like to be with our Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, in the premortal world; nor can we see with our physical eyes or with reason alone the hand of God in our lives. Seeing such things takes the Holy Ghost. And it is not easy to be worthy of the Holy Ghost’s companionship in a wicked world.” G.C. October 2007
We not only show gratitude for what the Lord has done for by vocalizing it or writing it down, but also in our actions. Mosiah 2: 21, 22 “I say unto you, my brethren, that if you should render all the athanks and bpraise which your whole soul has power to possess, to that God who has created you, and has kept and cpreserved you, and has caused that ye should drejoice, and has granted that ye should live in peace one with another—
21 I say unto you that if ye should serve him who has created you from the beginning, and is bpreserving you from day to day, by lending you cbreath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own dwill, and even supporting you from one moment to another—I say, if ye should serve him with all your ewhole souls yet ye would be funprofitable servants.
22 And behold, all that he arequires of you is to keep his commandments; and he has cpromised you that if ye would keep his commandments ye should prosper in the land; and he never doth dvary from that which he hath said; therefore, if ye do ekeep his fcommandments he doth bless you and prosper you.”
President Gordon B. Hinckley said, “Meekness implies a spirit of gratitude as opposed to an attitude of self-sufficiency, an acknowledgment of a greater power beyond oneself, a recognition of God, and an acceptance of his commandments” (“With All Thy Getting Get Understanding,” Ensign, Aug. 1988, 3–4).
President Faust also says that “A grateful heart is a beginning of greatness. It is an expression of humility. It helps us develop such virtues as prayer, faith, courage, contentment, happiness, love, and well-being. “ -President James E. Faust, Grateful Heart, Liahona, Nov 1998, 5
I don’t know that I fully understand how the life of the one leper was truly affected by his decision to ‘turn back’ and glorify God. I do understand the power in giving thanks in ALL things and how it has blessed my life. It has provided me with understanding that I lacked, it has been a healing balm to deep wounds of the heart, it has been a means of lifting the hands that hang down. I know that if we but pause each day to reflect and thank God, God will honor His promises He has given us in the scriptures. He ‘never doth vary from what He hath said.” Mosiah 2:22. He IS preserving you from day to day, he will lend you breath when you feel you have none left in you, IF you but remember Him. I know this is true.