“In the church of Jesus Christ, we teach not to teach people thing they didn’t know but to teach them to do things they aren’t doing.” (1) It seems as though we are taught gratitude multiple times over. It’s apparent that we still not grateful for everything we have in this life and therefore we must be humbles and learn to be grateful again. The problem is that we grow to expect certain pleasures we enjoy; parents doing the laundry, mother making dinner every night, and parents helping to pay for necessities. The key is to take the time to remember how much others help us and to be grateful.
“He who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious” (2). Gratitude is a feeling of appreciation and thankfulness for blessings or benefits we have received. It is an uplifting exalting attitude. The Lord wants you to have a spirit of gratitude in all you do and say. As we live with a spirit of thanksgiving and cultivate a grateful attitude, we will have greater happiness and satisfaction in life and be stronger spiritually. We cannot be mean spirited when we are grateful.
We also are advised to find gratitude while in our trials. The fact is, it’s hard to be grateful when you facing a trial but the trial continues to be hard until you realize how grateful you are for things and once you have a grateful attitude the trial becomes easier to bear. Being grateful for past mistake and trials in my life is something I try to do because they make me who I am. Even if I wasn’t grateful for them at the time it all works out in the end. We resonate with the Prophet Joseph’s petition after he had been falsely accused and imprisoned in Liberty Jail for months: “O God, where art thou? And where is the pavilion that covereth thy hiding place?”The Lord’s answer is reassuring:“My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;“And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high.” (3) One of the essential doctrines illuminated by the Restoration is that there must be opposition in all things for righteousness to be brought to pass. This life is not always easy, nor was it meant to be; it is a time of testing and proving. Elder Harold B. Lee taught, “Sometimes the things that are best for us and the things that bring eternal rewards seem at the moment to be the most bitter” (4)
Of course our ultimate gratitude should be towards Christ and his atonement. Without Christ, we would all have to suffer outer darkness. “There is no grief, no pain, no sickness so great that the Atonement of Christ and the love of Christ cannot heal.” (5) We should thank our Heavenly Father for His goodness to us by acknowledging His hand in all things through thoughtful prayer. We should especially thank Him for His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, for the Savior's great example, for His teachings, for His outreaching hand to lift and help, for His infinite Atonement.
Showing our gratitude is an essential part of being grateful. Express gratitude to the Lord by the way you live, by doing so you show that you love Him and are grateful to Him. Keep his commandments, pray, serve others and express appreciation to everyone who helps you in any way in the name of Christ. The story of the ten lepers is the classic example of giving thanks to those who bless your life. And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. 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. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole. (6)
It is essential that we take the time to have a grateful mind and attitude towards life. Not only will our lives improve, but we can help others on their way to salvation. Christ is the ultimate example of perfect gratitude and we should follow in his example. I know that through a humble attitude and a grateful look on life we can strive to be more like our older brother. This gospel is the only way back to our father in Heaven and I know that if we do our best, one day we will be reunited with those we love. Amen.
Works Cited
1. Missionary Fireside –President Bradford Brazil Sao Paulo Interlagos mission
2. D&C 78:19
3. D&C 121:7
4. Harold B. Lee quotes
5. Teaching of the Prophet Joseph Smith
6. Luke 17 11-19
“He who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious” (2). Gratitude is a feeling of appreciation and thankfulness for blessings or benefits we have received. It is an uplifting exalting attitude. The Lord wants you to have a spirit of gratitude in all you do and say. As we live with a spirit of thanksgiving and cultivate a grateful attitude, we will have greater happiness and satisfaction in life and be stronger spiritually. We cannot be mean spirited when we are grateful.
We also are advised to find gratitude while in our trials. The fact is, it’s hard to be grateful when you facing a trial but the trial continues to be hard until you realize how grateful you are for things and once you have a grateful attitude the trial becomes easier to bear. Being grateful for past mistake and trials in my life is something I try to do because they make me who I am. Even if I wasn’t grateful for them at the time it all works out in the end. We resonate with the Prophet Joseph’s petition after he had been falsely accused and imprisoned in Liberty Jail for months: “O God, where art thou? And where is the pavilion that covereth thy hiding place?”The Lord’s answer is reassuring:“My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;“And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high.” (3) One of the essential doctrines illuminated by the Restoration is that there must be opposition in all things for righteousness to be brought to pass. This life is not always easy, nor was it meant to be; it is a time of testing and proving. Elder Harold B. Lee taught, “Sometimes the things that are best for us and the things that bring eternal rewards seem at the moment to be the most bitter” (4)
Of course our ultimate gratitude should be towards Christ and his atonement. Without Christ, we would all have to suffer outer darkness. “There is no grief, no pain, no sickness so great that the Atonement of Christ and the love of Christ cannot heal.” (5) We should thank our Heavenly Father for His goodness to us by acknowledging His hand in all things through thoughtful prayer. We should especially thank Him for His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, for the Savior's great example, for His teachings, for His outreaching hand to lift and help, for His infinite Atonement.
Showing our gratitude is an essential part of being grateful. Express gratitude to the Lord by the way you live, by doing so you show that you love Him and are grateful to Him. Keep his commandments, pray, serve others and express appreciation to everyone who helps you in any way in the name of Christ. The story of the ten lepers is the classic example of giving thanks to those who bless your life. And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. 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. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole. (6)
It is essential that we take the time to have a grateful mind and attitude towards life. Not only will our lives improve, but we can help others on their way to salvation. Christ is the ultimate example of perfect gratitude and we should follow in his example. I know that through a humble attitude and a grateful look on life we can strive to be more like our older brother. This gospel is the only way back to our father in Heaven and I know that if we do our best, one day we will be reunited with those we love. Amen.
Works Cited
1. Missionary Fireside –President Bradford Brazil Sao Paulo Interlagos mission
2. D&C 78:19
3. D&C 121:7
4. Harold B. Lee quotes
5. Teaching of the Prophet Joseph Smith
6. Luke 17 11-19
6 comments:
I like that you included the idea that we cannot be mean-spirited when we are grateful. These two things truly go hand in hand. Gratitude invites the spirit into our lives, which in turn allows us to be kinder to others. Thanks for your thoughts!
I love how you said to have gratitude in out trials! It is something everyone should think about. The story of the lepers. It made me think, are we not all lepers? The lord has done so much for us, he makes us whole. We all need to be the one that was so grateful! thank you for your words!
Gratitude... something so often disregarded in this life of better, faster, more, everything. This really made me think about all the things I have.
We should always be grate full for many things. Sometimes I fell I am not being grateful to the lord. I should say it more often. Also we should have our family in mind for gratitude to. Thank you this topic came in a good time because of Christmas we do not have any excuse on not sharing the gratitude.
I enjoyed your blog. It is true that it is hard to appreciate trials when we are in the middle of them, but they definitely make us appreciate things a lot more once we are finished with them. Some of our greatest trials also bring us our greatest rewards too, as they push us to limits we did not know we had. Some of my favourite classes throughout school have been the hardest.
Having gratitude is the best attitude!! Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I especially liked how you included the example of Joseph Smith's gratitude after he was arrested.
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