A Talk about Gratitude

I recently told my bishop that I enjoyed giving talks in Sacrament Meeting, and it is true. I didn't expect, however, that I would get an email from a bishopric member on Thursday last week to say that his talks for Sunday had to leave town, and would I be willing to speak?

Here is the talk that I gave on Sunday, May 27th, 2012:

For my topic today, I was given a talk which was given by President Monson in 1992, entitled “An Attitude of Gratitude”. In his talk President Monson begins by telling the story of the 10 lepers. I would like to share it with you. In Luke 17 we read: 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 show 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.”(Luke 17:11-19)

In this story, we see that that the Lord blessed the man who returned and expressed gratitude, while the Lord was disappointed in those who did not. President Monson tells us, “Like the leprosy of yesteryear are the plagues of today. They linger; they debilitate; they destroy. They are to be found everywhere. Their pervasiveness knows no boundaries. We know them as selfishness, greed, indulgence, cruelty, and crime, to identify but a few. Surfeited with their poison, we tend to criticize, to complain, to blame, and, slowly but surely, to abandon the positives and adopt the negatives of life.”(An Attitude of Gratitude, Conference Report , April 1992)

Do we enjoy criticizing? Complaining? Blaming? Are we happy when our focus is on the negatives of life? How can we be? We live in a wonderful time.  There is much to be grateful for, if we will just remember.

Years ago, (I think it was in seminary) I was taught that the word “remember” in the scriptures is a kind of marker. It was the author’s way of saying “sit up and pay attention. This is important!” One of the many scriptures that uses the word “remember” is one that should be familiar to all of us. In the last chapter of the Book of Mormon there is an invitation to all that read the book. It says, “Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts. “(Moroni 10:3) The message here is that we should always remember how merciful the Lord has been to us! 

The scriptures are full of stories about people who, like the other nine lepers, received God’s blessings and mercy, but neglected to remember and be grateful.  For example, the Israelites in Moses’ day received the blessing of miraculous delivery from slavery in Egypt. After the many plagues that convinced Pharaoh to let them go, they walked through the Red Sea on dry ground, while the Egyptian armies were drowned. And yet, how quickly they forgot when faced with hunger and thirst in the wilderness! And then when they saw the Promised Land that the Lord had prepared for them, flowing with milk and honey and rich with fruit, were they grateful? No! They forgot the blessings the Lord had given them. They forgot the Lord’s power and mercy, and all they could see were the negative. “There are already people there! Their cities have walls! We can’t do it!” Did they receive the blessings the Lord wanted to give them at that time? No. They had to wander in the wilderness for 40 years!

In the scriptures we also find examples of many who were blessed because they remembered the Lord’s blessings and were grateful. One of my favorites is Daniel in the Old Testament. Daniel and other young Israelites had been brought to Babylon when Jerusalem was destroyed. The Lord had blessed Daniel with health and wisdom and also an understanding of dreams. But one day, his friend king Darius had foolishly issued a decree that anyone who prayed to God would be thrown in a den of lions. Did Daniel forget the blessings the Lord had given him? No! In Daniel 6:10 we read, “Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.” Daniel remembered the Lord’s blessings. He didn’t plead for miracles or beg for the king’s counselors to be punished. He gave thanks, and he was blessed for it. Yes, he was thrown to the lions, but the Lord shut the Lion’s mouths, and “no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God.”(Daniel 6:23)

When we show gratitude for the Lord’s blessings, we are blessed. Elder James E. Foust 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.”(Liahona, Dec 1996, First Presidency Message)

On the other hand, when we don’t show gratitude, we miss out on those blessings. Doctrine and Covenants 59:21 says, “And in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things, and obey not his commandments.” 

We truly have a lot to be thankful for.  As we reflect on the blessings we have and express our gratitude for them, we come to recognize even more blessings for which we can be grateful. Elder James E. Foust also said, “My memory goes back to the Great Depression, when we had certain values burned into our souls. One of these values was gratitude for what we had because we had so little. We had to learn provident living in order to survive. Rather than create in us a spirit of envy or anger for what we did not have, it developed in many a spirit of gratitude for the meager, simple things with which we were blessed, like hot homemade bread and oatmeal cereal and many other things.” (Liahona, Dec 1996, First Presidency Message)

As we recognize the many blessings great and small that we enjoy in our lives and express our gratitude for them in our daily prayers, we will be greatly blessed with peace and happiness. Elder Robert D. Hales said, “Gratitude expressed to our Heavenly Father in prayer for what we have brings a calming peace—a peace which allows us to not canker our souls for what we don’t have. Gratitude brings a peace that helps us overcome the pain of adversity and failure. Gratitude on a daily basis means we express appreciation for what we have now without qualification for what we had in the past or desire in the future.” (Gratitude For the Goodness of God, Conference Report, April 1992)

In President Monson’s talk, he spoke of gratitude for mothers and fathers, teachers, friends, our country, and finally, of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He said, “[The Lord’s] glorious gospel provides answers to life’s greatest questions: Where did we come from? Why are we here? Where does my spirit go when I die? His called missionaries bring to those who live in darkness the light of divine truth…He taught us how to pray. He taught us how to serve. He taught us how to live. His life is a legacy of love. The sick He healed; the downtrodden He lifted; the sinner He saved.”

 When the Lord instituted the sacrament, the scripture accounts refer to his blessing on the bread and wine as “giving thanks”. (See Matt 26:27 and 1 Cor. 11:23-24) Today, when we partake of the sacrament, we covenant to always remember him. As we take the sacrament each week, do we remember the blessings and mercies of the Lord? Do we remember to be thankful as we ponder the blessings of the atonement? 

Have you ever given a gift that you didn’t feel was truly appreciated? Maybe you made a lunch for a family member, and they said thank you, but then they forgot to take it to school or work. Maybe you gave a gift to a friend, and you received a thank you letter, but you never saw them use it, and months later you find it tucked on a shelf coated in dust. One of the greatest ways in which we can show gratitude is by using the Lord’s blessings. In the pamphlet, For the Strength of Youth, it says, “You also express gratitude to the Lord by the way you live. When you keep his commandments and serve others, you show that you love Him and are grateful to Him.” Remember the Lord said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15) 

Are we showing we are grateful for the atonement if we don’t use it in our lives – if we don’t repent of our sins? Are we showing gratitude for the temple if we don’t have a current recommend and visit the temple often? Can we be truly grateful for the scriptures if we don’t take the time to read them? How grateful for living prophets can we be, if we don’t take the time to learn what he has to say and then do what he asks of us?

Sometimes we may think that there is a lot to remember. Another of the Lord’s blessings for which we should be grateful is the Holy Ghost. In John 14:26, the Lord tells us, “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to you remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” The Holy Ghost helps us to remember the Lord’s blessings. It teaches us the words of Christ and guides us in the things that we should do. We show our gratitude for this wonderful gift when we heed its promptings: when we are inspired to say a kind word, to share the gospel with a friend or neighbor, to reach out to someone in need.

King Benjamin taught “I say unto you, my brethren, that if you should render all the thanks and praise which your whole soul has power to possess, to that God who has created you, and has kept and preserved you, and has caused that ye should rejoice, and has granted that ye should live in peace one with another— I say unto you that if ye should serve him who has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by lending you breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own will, and even supporting you from one moment to another—I say, if ye should serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants.”(Mosiah 2:20-21)

Brothers and sisters, we have much to be grateful for. I pray that we can always remember the Lord’s blessings and mercies, and that we will be thankful for them. Gratitude brings peace. It brings happiness. It helps us to better appreciate our loving Heavenly Father.  

I say this in the name…

P.S. Just something interesting… When I began studying on this topic, I looked up one thing, and then followed a foot note or a reference to something else, and I learned something interesting, to me anyway. According to the Bible Dictionary, in the heading of sacrifice, under the Law of Moses, there were three basic types of sacrifices. There were offerings for sins or trespasses for when someone had sinned and needed the power of the atonement to be forgiven. There were burnt offerings, where the entire animal was burned and the smoke ascended to heaven, and there were peace or thank offerings. These thank offerings were given at one’s own will, not because they had to offer them three times a day or whatever. Kind of like attending the temple today, peace offerings assumed that the person making the sacrifice was at peace with God (they had a temple recommend), and they wanted further realization and enjoyment of that peace. In my reading I learned that when the three types of sacrifices were offered together, they were made in order. First the sin offering (like baptism), then the burnt (gift of the holy ghost), then the peace, or thank offering (going to the temple). This order symbolized the order of atonement, sanctification, and fellowship with the Lord.