Belated Thanksgiving

The week before Thanksgiving, I was asked to give a talk in church. The theme? Thanksgiving. Quelle surprise! Anyway, it was really good to have an excuse to really think about Thanksgiving for two whole weeks (they forgot about me and I didn't actually give the talk until the following week). I loved trying to think about Thanksgiving in a different way, and it made me even more grateful for all that I have.

Some great thanksgiving-related thoughts:

"Receive [the Holy Ghost], and take upon you the name of Christ; . . . humble yourselves even to the dust, and worship God, in whatsoever place ye may be in, in spirit and in truth, and . . . live in thanksgiving daily,

for the many mercies and blessings

which he doth bestow upon you."

-Alma 34:38

"Thou shalt thank the Lord thy God in all things."

-D&C 59:7

"In nothing doth man offend God, or against none is His wrath kindled,

save those who confess not His hand in all things."

-D&C 59:21

"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."

-Pres. Hinckley

"He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not,

but rejoices for those which he has."

-Greek philosopher Epictetus

"Do material possessions make us happy and grateful? Perhaps momentarily. However, those things which provide deep and lasting happiness and gratitude are the things which money cannot buy: our families, the gospel, good friends, our health, our abilities, the love we receive from those around us. Unfortunately, these are some of the things we allow ourselves to take for granted."

-Pres. Monson

"He who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious, and the things of this earth shall be added unto him, even an hundredfold, yea, more."

-D&C 78:10

"Know ye that the Lord He is God . . . Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name."

-Psalms 100:3-4

I LOVE this Mormon Message, taken from a talk by Elder Wirthlin:

President Hinckley's first Be:

Be grateful. There are two little words in the English language that perhaps mean more than all others. They are “thank you.” Comparable words are found in every other language, such as gracias, merci, danke, obrigado, domo.

The habit of saying thank you is the mark of an educated man or woman. With whom is the Lord displeased? He names “those who confess not his hand in all things” (D&C 59:21). That is, those who walk without grateful expression. Walk with gratitude in your hearts, my dear friends. Be thankful for the wonderful blessings which are yours. Be grateful for the tremendous opportunities that you have. Be thankful to your parents, who care so very much about you and who have worked so very hard to provide for you. Let them know that you are grateful. Say thank you to your mother and your father. Say thank you to your friends. Say thank you to your teachers. Express appreciation to everyone who does you a favor or assists you in any way.

Thank the Lord for His goodness to you. Thank the Almighty for His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, who has done for you what none other in all this world could do. Thank Him for His great example, for His tremendous teachings, for His outreaching hand to lift and help. Think about the meaning of His Atonement. Read about Him and read His words in the New Testament and in 3 Nephi in the Book of Mormon. Read them quietly to yourself and then ponder them. Pour out your heart to your Father in Heaven in gratitude for the gift of His Beloved Son.

Thank the Lord for His marvelous Church restored in this great season of history. Thank Him for all that it offers you. Thank Him for friends and loved ones, for parents and brothers and sisters, for family. Let a spirit of thanksgiving guide and bless your days and nights. Work at it. You will find it will yield wonderful results.

Well, they obviously can say it better than I can. But I hope that we can all just think about how to make thanksgiving a part of our daily lives, and that we can take the time each day to recognize the Lord's mercies in our lives.