Post # 50 -- Live in Thanksgiving Daily

Dear Family and Friends

 This month my posts have been focused on thanksgiving and on giving thanks, especially to our Father in heaven for all that He has blessed each of us with. I hope these posts have helped each of you to remember the Importance of giving thanks to our Heavenly Father for every blessing we have been given. I see so many kids every day and they seem to be so ungrateful, so disrespectful of other people in their lives, it is very sad. Our world is so full of blessings, all around us if we but take the opportunity to look for them.

I know this talk was given a few years ago, but I believe the counsel is still so relevant today. Elder Wirthlin is no longer with us, but his counsel is so priceless that I wanted to share it with each of you. And please, feel free to share it with those you love. I am sure that what he shares would be perfect for a family home evening activity. This talk was given in September of 2001 from a devotional address that was given at Brigham Young University on October 21, 2000. It is called :’Living in Thanksgiving Daily,’ by Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

Think for a moment, if you will, of someone you know who is truly happy. We’ve all met those who seem to radiate happiness. They seem to smile more than others; they laugh more than others – just being around them makes us happier as well.

Now think of someone you know who isn’t happy at all. Perhaps they seem 10 years older than they are drained of energy—perhaps they are angry or bitter or depressed. What is the difference between them?

What are the characteristics that differentiate the happy from the mis miserable? Is there something that unhappy people can do to be happier? I believe there is.

Let me tell you a story to illustrate this observation.

A long time ago in a faraway village lived a man who everyone did their very best to avoid. He was the type of person who believed that there was only one competent person in the world, and that one person was himself. Consequently, he was never satisfied with anything. His shoes never fit right. His shirt never felt comfortable. When his food wasn’t too cold, it was too salty, and when it wasn’t too hot, it was too bland

If a field wasn’t sowed by himself, it was not sowed well. If he didn’t close the door, the door was not closed properly.

In short, he made a career of frowning, lecturing, criticizing, and mumbling about the incompetencies of every other person in the rest of the world.

Unfortunately, the man was married, which made matters all the worse. No matter what his wife did in his eyes it was wrong. No matter what the unfortunate woman cooked, sewed, or cleaned—or even when she milked the cow—it was never satisfactory, and he let her know it.

She tried very hard to be a good wife, but it seemed the harder she tried, the less she pleased him. Finally, one evening she could take no more.

“I’ll tell you what we’ll do,” she told him. “Tomorrow I will do your chores and you will do mine.”

“But you can’t do my chores,” the man replied. “You don’t know the first thing about sowing, hoeing, and irrigating.”

But the woman was adamant. And on top of that, she was filled with a righteous anger that frankly astonished and frightened the man to the point where he didn’t dare disagree.

So the next morning the wife went off to the fields and the man began the domestic chores. After thinking about it, he had actually convinced himself he was looking forward to it. Once and for all, he would demonstrate to his wife how things should be done

Unfortunately, not everything went according to plan. In fact, nearly everything the man touched turned into disaster. He spilled the milk, let the pig get into the house, lost the cow, burned the dinner, and ultimately set the house on fire, narrowly escaping with his own life.

When his wife returned, she discovered her husband sitting on a pile of ashes, smoke still rising from his clothes. But the woman wasn’t the type to rub things in. She helped him up, wiped the soot from his beard, fixed him a little something to eat, and then prepared a bed of straw for them to sleep on.

From that day forward, the man never complained about anyone or anything else for as long as he lived.

What do you suppose this story teaches us?

For one thing, it teaches that those who complain make their own and others’ lives miserable. The story also teaches humility. It reminds us that “pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall” (Prov. 16:18). It teaches us not to judge others until we walk in their shoes for a while.

In addition, the story illustrates a quality that the Roman orator Cicero claimed was “not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others” (Marcus Tullius Cicero, Pro Plancio, 54 B.C.). It is a quality I have found in every happy person I know. It is a quality that instantly makes a person more likable and more at peace. Where there is an abundance of this virtue, there is happiness. Where there is an absence of this virtue, there is often sadness, resentment, and futility.

The virtue I am speaking of is gratitude.

In our story, it was the absence of gratitude that made the man miserable. His inability to appreciate others caused him to be critical of their efforts. Not only did he not empathize with them, he could not allow himself to acknowledge their contributions.

The disasters that confronted him surely made him humble, but, more particularly, they made him appreciate and be grateful for his wife.

Gratitude is a mark of a noble soul and a refined character. We like to be around those who are grateful. They tend to brighten all around them. They make others feel better about themselves. They tend to be more humble, more joyful, more likable.

You might be surprised to know that gratitude is a commandment of the Father. “Thou shalt thank the Lord thy God in all things” (D&C 59:7), the Lord has commanded in these latter days. Even further, He has admonished that “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” (D&C 59:21).

In the Book of Mormon we learn that we should “live in thanksgiving daily” (Alma 34:38). Isn’t that a wonderful thought to live in thanksgiving daily? Can you imagine how your life would improve if you lived in thanksgiving daily? Can you imagine how your life would improve if others did the same? Do you think the world would be a happier place? less stressful? less angry? more spiritual?

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!” (Gospel Doctrine, 5th ed. [1939], 263).

Earlier I asked you to think of someone you knew who was truly happy. Think of the person again, if you will, and grade on this principle: Does he or she live in thanksgiving daily?

Now think of someone you know who is unhappy or resentful. Does this person live in thanksgiving daily?

It is difficult to even imagine a resentful person who is grateful or a grateful person who is resentful. President Gordon B. Hinckley has said:

“Absence of gratitude is the mark of the narrow, uneducated mind. It bespeaks a lack of knowledge and the ignorance of self-sufficiency. It expresses itself in ugly egotism and frequently in wanton mischief. …

“Where there is appreciation, there is courtesy, there is concern for the rights and property of others. Without it there is arrogance and evil” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1964, 117).

I believe that many people are unhappy because they have not learned to be grateful. Some carry the burden of bitterness and resentfulness for many years. Some pass their days as though suffering a deep sadness they cannot name. Others are unhappy because life didn’t turn out the way they thought it would.

“If only I had money,” some might say to themselves, “then I could be happy.”

“If only I were better-looking.”

“If only I were smarter.”

“If only I had a new car, a college degree, a job, a wife, hair that wasn’t so frizzy.” (Or, in my case, if only I had more hair or I were 12 inches taller.)

If we only look around us, there are a thousand reasons for us not to be happy, and it is simplicity itself to blame our unhappiness on the things we lack in life. It doesn’t take any talent at all to find them. The problem is, the more we focus on the things we don’t have, the more unhappy and more resentful we become.

Over the course of my years, I have met thousands of people. I have dined with the prosperous as well as the poverty-stricken. I have conversed with the mighty and with the meek. I have walked with the famous and the feeble. I have run with outstanding athletes and those who are not athletically inclined.

One thing I can tell you with certainty is this: You cannot predict happiness by the amount of money, fame, or power a person has. External conditions do not necessarily make a person happy. The Brethren who have had assignments in poorer countries report that despite the abject poverty, the people are very happy. The fact is that the external things so valued by the world are often the cause of a great deal of misery in the world.

Those who live in thanksgiving daily, however, are usually among the world’s happiest people. And they make others happy as well.

Years ago Elder J. Golden Kimball (1853–1938) of the Seventy was traveling with one of the presiding Brethren in southern Utah. In those days meetings often didn’t have a time limit; they went on as long as the speaker wanted to speak. For those of you looking for something to be grateful for, perhaps I’ve just given you one idea.

One fast Sunday they had been preaching nearly all day. Everyone was hungry, especially Elder Kimball, who felt that he “was pretty nearly dead.”

Finally, at about four o’clock in the afternoon, the presiding Apostle turned and said, “Now, Brother Kimball, get up and tell them about the Era.”

The Improvement Era magazine had just been launched, and the Brethren wanted to encourage subscriptions. Elder Kimball approached the pulpit and then, after a short pause, said, “All you men that will take the Era if we will let you go home, raise your right hand.” There was not a single man who did not raise his hand that day to subscribe to the Era (see J. Golden Kimball, in Conference Report, Apr. 1932, 78).

You see, the power of gratitude is immense.

Rulon Gardner grew up in the small town of Afton, Wyoming. He is one of nine children. His mother and father are faithful members of the Church and instilled proper values in their children.

But because Rulon was so large, his classmates teased him. The taunts and name-calling troubled young Rulon, but he never became angry or resentful. He could have withdrawn and become bitter. Like so many others, he could have counted all the things that were going wrong and simply given up. Instead, he used the insults as motivation. He determined he would use his size to his advantage. He would make something of himself.

“I would go out, as a kid,” Rulon said, “and I could barely pick up a bale of hay. By the time my senior year came around, I was grabbing four bales of hay at a time, each 100 pounds. Just grabbing them and walking with them and seeing how physically strong I could be” (quoted in Alan Robinson, “Wrestler’s Magic Moment,” Associated Press, Sydney, Australia, 28 Sept. 2000).

He milked cows twice a day, often in subzero temperatures. He lifted frozen bales of hay to feed the cows. At times he would carry a newborn calf into the safety of a warm barn. He got up early in the morning, did his chores, then went to school. After school he either went to wrestling or football practice, then back to the farm to do more chores.

Rulon found that his size wasn’t a disadvantage for him as an athlete—in fact, it was an asset. Wrestling particularly came easy to him, and he became the Wyoming state champion. After graduating from high school, he decided that perhaps he might be good enough to compete in the Olympic Games.

In Atlanta in 1996, due to a miscommunication, he arrived at the weigh-in 22 seconds too late and missed his chance to compete. Again Rulon could have despaired. He could have cursed his luck. He could have become embittered and resentful.

But do you know what he did? He worked harder. Instead of burying himself in self-pity, he began speaking at youth firesides about his experience. “I missed the Olympic Games by 22 seconds,” he told his eager listeners. “Don’t you let anything keep you from your goals.”

After four years of hard work, Rulon Gardner wanted to compete in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. The only trouble was, he couldn’t afford the trip. That’s when the members of his hometown rallied to his side. They held bake sales and potluck dinners and raised enough money to allow Rulon and his family to make the trip to Sydney.

This time he did not miss the weigh-in. He advanced through the preliminary rounds until he reached the final obstacle to his gaining a gold medal.

That obstacle was a man the world called the Siberian Bear, Alexander Karelin. This Russian bear is considered by most as the greatest Greco-Roman wrestler in the history of the sport. Not only had he not lost a single match in 13 years, but no one had scored a point on him in more than a decade. Karelin had won the gold medal in three previous Olympic Games and was the heavy favorite to win an unprecedented fourth gold medal.

But at the end of the gold-medal match, it was the farm boy from Afton, Wyoming, who stood triumphant in what many consider the greatest upset of the summer Olympic Games.

“The reason I think I won,” Rulon said, “is because I work harder than anyone else, train harder. And every day I live my life, I do everything I need to do to put my life in order” (quoted in Robinson, “Wrestler’s Magic Moment”).

Waving an American flag, a grateful Rulon Gardner thanked his family, his God, and his hometown of Afton, Wyoming, for their helping to make the moment possible.

Winning the gold medal in such a stunning way made Rulon an instant celebrity. Sometimes this sort of attention changes people. Sometimes people become more calloused. Sometimes they forget those they owe the most to. But not Rulon Gardner.

Later, while Rulon was a guest on an evening talk show, the host invited him to watch some highlights from his Olympic victory. Without warning, the picture changed to a live shot from Afton, Wyoming. It seemed that the entire population of the town had assembled in the high school gymnasium. They cheered and shouted and held up signs that said, “Rulon’s got milk!” and “My uncle rocks!”

As this man—one of the strongest men in the world—looked into the television monitor at the faces of the people he loved, tears of gratitude came to his eyes.

In a letter written to his stake president, Rulon Gardner said: “The Lord has given me the chance to work for all my dreams. I feel the Church has helped me to focus and live my life in the ways that have helped me to train and become an Olympic champ. … I am blessed … to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints” (letter to President Val J. Call, Afton Wyoming Stake, 20 Oct. 2000).

Rulon Gardner knows what it means to be grateful.

Gratitude turns a meal into a feast and drudgery into delight. It softens our grief and heightens our pleasure. It turns the simple and common into the memorable and transcendent. It forges bonds of love and fosters loyalty and admiration.

Living in thanksgiving daily is a habit that will enrich our lives and the lives of those we love. But how do we make this part of who we are? May I suggest three things that will help as we strive to live in thanksgiving daily?

First, we must open our eyes.

I agree with Robert Louis Stevenson, who wrote, “The man who forgets to be thankful has fallen asleep in life” (Quotationary, electronic quotation dictionary). Unfortunately, because the beauties of life are so abundant, sometimes we take them for granted.

Our minds have a marvelous capacity to notice the unusual. However, the opposite is true as well: The more often we see the things around us—even the beautiful and wonderful things—the more they become invisible to us.

That is why we often take for granted the beauty of this world: the flowers, the trees, the birds, the clouds—even those we love.

Because we see things so often, we see them less and less.

Those who live in thanksgiving daily, however, have a way of opening their eyes and seeing the wonders and beauties of this world as though seeing them for the first time.

I encourage you to look around you. Notice the people you care about. Notice the fragrance of the flowers and the song of the birds. Notice and give thanks for the blue of the sky, the color of the leaves, and the white of the clouds. Enjoy every sight, every smell, every taste, every sound.

When we open our eyes and give thanks for the bountiful beauty of this life, we live in thanksgiving daily.

The second thing we can do is open our hearts.

We must let go of the negative emotions that bind our hearts and instead fill our souls with love, faith, and thanksgiving.

Anger, resentment, and bitterness stunt our spiritual growth. Would you bathe in impure water? Then why do we bathe our spirits with negative and bitter thoughts and feelings?

You can cleanse your heart. You don’t have to harbor thoughts and feelings that drag you down and destroy your spirit.

You can repent of uncleanliness. That is the miracle of Christ’s atoning sacrifice. You can become clean. You can cleanse your heart of impurity.

Begin the process today. Repent of those things you should repent of. Drink deeply of the living waters of the gospel. These latter days are a time of great spiritual thirst. Many in the world are searching, often intensely, for a source of refreshment that will quench their yearning for meaning and direction in their lives. The Lord provides the living water that can quench the burning thirst of those whose lives are parched by a drought of truth.

Pray with all your heart. Consider the love your Heavenly Father has for all His children. Open your heart to His cleansing word. Feast on the words of holy writ. Cherish the messages of modern-day prophets and apostles. Forgive others who have offended you. Don’t waste another moment feeling self-pity. Every day drain from your heart the feelings of resentment, rage, and defeat that do nothing but discourage and destroy. Fill your heart with those things that ennoble, encourage, and inspire.

The great Book of Mormon prophet Nephi certainly had reason to be resentful. Hated by his brothers, bound and beaten and nearly murdered, he had plenty to be bitter about. After his father died, Nephi must have felt completely alone. He surely felt threatened. He surely felt discouraged. He surely felt troubled. But when it came time for him to communicate his feelings, what did he write?

“Behold, my soul delighteth in the things of the Lord; and my heart pondereth continually upon the things which I have seen and heard” (2 Ne. 4:16).

Yes, his path had been difficult. Yes, his heart groaned because of mistakes he had made, but he did not allow himself to linger in negativity. Instead, he told himself:

“Rejoice, O my heart, and give place no more for the enemy of my soul.

“Do not anger again because of mine enemies. Do not slacken my strength because of mine afflictions.

“Rejoice, O my heart, and cry unto the Lord, and say: O Lord, I will praise thee forever; yea, my soul will rejoice in thee” (2 Ne. 4:28–30).

The third thing we can do to live in thanksgiving daily is open our arms.

One of the best ways we show our gratitude is by blessing the lives of those around us. The great King Benjamin taught his people:

“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. …

“… If ye should serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants” (Mosiah 2:20–21).

And how do we render thanks unto God? King Benjamin told us that as well: “And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God” (Mosiah 2:17).

We can live in thanksgiving daily by opening our arms to those around us. When was the last time you told someone you love how much they mean to you? When was the last time you expressed your gratitude to someone who has always been there for you, someone who has sacrificed for you, someone whose heart has always been filled with hopes and dreams for you?

When was the last time you unselfishly reached out to help another in need? Every time we cheer another’s heart, every time we ease another’s burden, every time we lift a weary hand, we show our gratitude to that God to whom we owe all that we have and all that we are.

Not long ago a mother and father from the Republic of Georgia faced a terrifying reality. The doctors told them their baby had a heart condition, and unless he had surgery he would die. Because they did not have adequate facilities in Georgia, the mother and father walked across their country and all the way to Yerevan, Armenia, seeking medical help.

The Armenian doctors examined the child and agreed that the baby needed heart surgery. They knew how to perform the surgery and they had the necessary facilities, but they couldn’t perform the operation because they didn’t have the right tubing. As much as they wanted to help, there was nothing they could do. They told the couple to take their baby home to die.

As you know, the Church—through its humanitarian service arm—sends millions of pounds of food, clothing, and medical and educational materials throughout the world each year. As it so happened, Elder Robert H. Sangster and his wife, Sister Sandra Sangster, were serving a humanitarian mission in Armenia, and they had just received a container of medical supplies.

You may have already guessed that tucked away in this container of medical supplies was a box of precisely the kind of tubing needed for this child’s operation.

When the doctors discovered the tubing, they rushed the baby into surgery and performed the operation.

That’s a wonderful story and one that repeats itself daily as a result of the tremendous humanitarian help that is given to many nations in the world. The great welfare effort given by the Church benefits members and nonmembers during times of need. It reaches out to care for others. But what happened later makes it an even better story. One day, soon after the operation, Elder and Sister Sangster heard a knock at their door. When they opened it, this loving mother and father fell to their knees and wept as they thanked the Sangsters and their church for supplying the precious tubing that had saved the life of their child.

The blessings that come from opening our arms to others are among the choicest this earth has to offer.

As we strive to open our eyes, hearts, and arms, our step will become a little lighter, our smile will become a little brighter, and the darkness that sometimes broods over our lives will become a little lighter. Don’t be discouraged if you haven’t been an especially grateful person. Rejoice and think of what an impression you will make on those who thought they knew you. Think of how delightfully surprised they will be.

Be grateful. Every day is a new canvas—a new opportunity. Our beloved President Gordon B. Hinckley has said: “My plea is that we stop seeking out the storms and enjoy more fully the sunlight. I am suggesting that as we go through life, we ‘accentuate the positive.’ I am asking that we look a little deeper for the good, that we still our voices of insult and sarcasm, that we more generously compliment and endorse virtue and effort” (Standing for Something [2000], 101).

Choice blessings await those who live in thanksgiving daily. “He who receiveth all things with thankfulness,” the Lord has promised, “shall be made glorious; and the things of this earth shall be added unto him, even an hundred fold, yea, more” (D&C 78:19).

Don’t wait to start. Open your eyes, open your hearts, and open your arms. I promise that as you do so, you will feel greater joy and happiness. Your life will have a new level of meaning. You will forge relationships that will transcend this life and endure through the eternities.

I am grateful for this experience of mortality. I am grateful for the gospel and for the life and testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith. I am grateful for my wonderful wife, my dear children and grandchildren. I am grateful for the support and love shown to me by countless friends and members of the Church throughout the world. I am grateful for life and even more grateful for the glorious promise of eternal life to come.

Not everyone can be a star quarterback; not everyone can be the CEO of a Fortune 500 company; not everyone can win a gold medal at the Olympics; but everyone—everyone—can live in thanksgiving daily.

As a special witness, I bear solemn testimony that Jesus is the living Christ, our Savior and Redeemer. He asks that we believe in Him, that we learn of Him, that we strive to follow His teachings, and that we adhere to the teachings of our prophet, President Gordon B. Hinckley. He inspires him in the direction needed for this life and life eternal.

May we follow our Savior in all we do is my humble prayer.

Let’s Talk about It

Most Ensign articles can be used for family home evening discussions. The following questions are for that purpose or for personal reflection:

1. How can living in thanksgiving daily help us be happy?
2. What are some things we can be thankful for but which we sometimes overlook or take for granted?
3. How can letting go of negative feelings increase our ability to live in thanksgiving daily?

So, these are some very good questions to either ask ourselves or ask our family during our next family home evening. I hope you have learned as much from this talk as I have. Let each of us try to be grateful every day for each of our blessings. Tell your Father in heaven how grateful you are for all He has blessed you with. I challenge each of you to show more gratitude and give thanks daily. Be in thanksgiving daily. Until my next post, have a spectacular week!

Post 49 – What Think You of Thanksgiving?

Dear Family and Friends

It is now almost November, I don’t know about you, but this year seems to have flown by. Maybe it is because my life consists much of the same things day after day – which I am so very grateful for. Each day is a blessing in my life and I have so much to be thankful for and being alive is just one of them!

Have you ever just stopped to think of all the things in your life that you have, to be thankful for – even when your life is not going according to your plan or how you think your life should be going at this time. If you have not done so, perhaps this month is a great time to begin to do so.

Stop right now and ponder on the things in your life that you are grateful for – or should be grateful for and write them all down. I bet you will be surprised at how long your list of gratitude is. Now, once you have made your list, the next step is to say a prayer of gratitude to your Heavenly Father for all those blessings He has so generously provided for you and those you love – family and friends!

All this month I want to share with you articles on some form of Thanksgiving. I hope you will enjoy them as well as learn from them. Each one gives a different approach to the upcoming day of Thanksgiving. Here is the first one:

What Think You of Thanksgiving?

John B. Stohlton Nov. 20, 1984 • Devotional

Several years ago, a close friend wrote a provocative little book that she entitled What Think You of Christmas? With all due credit to my friend, I’d like to pose the question to you: “What think you of Thanksgiving?”

Is Thanksgiving celebrated in your home as a significant religious holiday, or is it a day filled with food, football, and plans to begin really serious Christmas shopping?

It is symptomatic of our time that Thanksgiving has lost much of its spiritual flavor. The same pagan attitudes and pressures that have led many to substitute Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny for our Savior at Christmas and Easter celebrations have had a profound effect on our Thanksgiving observances. Many of our observances have become celebrations of consumption rather than spiritual feasts of love, gratitude, and sharing. Somehow we have lost the custom of sharing the blessings of God’s providence with those who are in need.

One tradition we have had in our family as my children have grown was to invite someone who would otherwise either be alone for Thanksgiving or would not have a Thanksgiving dinner to our home to spend the day with us. Many times, we would make plates and take them to those who worked with my husband. Recently we volunteer with the community YMCA to gather food for the local food banks in our town. It is very rewarding to do and it is a family affair – we invite as many of our family members as are available to help out at this event. Then we deliver the food we have collected to the food bank. I know that this is what the Savior did in His earthly ministry was to serve others and to provide for their temporal needs – like when He fed he five thousand with the five fishes and the two loaves of bread. We too can help feed those who are in need and otherwise would go without. I know this is nothing grand, but I believe that it is the simple and small things that sometimes make the biggest difference😊

It hasn’t always been so. The first community Thanksgiving was celebrated by our Pilgrim forefathers at Plymouth in the fall of 1621. Theirs was a celebration of gratitude to a Heavenly Father who had sent a bounteous harvest to that beleaguered little colony. Almost half of Plymouth’s original 101 settlers had died during the severe winter of 1620–21. Those who survived that first winter struggled to understand the vagaries of farming in the new land. Most of the Plymouth Pilgrims had been merchants and artisans in England, and they were woefully unprepared to live off the land. They had little seed and had to depend upon corn kernels and other unfamiliar seed left behind by the Indians. Yet their very lives depended upon reaping a harvest sufficient to see them through another winter. As the bounteous harvest was gathered in the storehouses in the fall of 1621, a grateful and relieved Governor Bradford proclaimed a three-day period of fasting and celebration. That celebration was at least partially borrowed from the admonition found in Leviticus that provides: “When ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the Lord . . . and ye shall rejoice before the Lord, your God” (Leviticus 23:39–40).

It is hard to celebrate the true meaning of Thanksgiving when you may live with others who would rather celebrate the game on the television, but in our house my kids make sure that we at least give a prayer of thanks before we all sit down to enjoy our meal and we also give thanks for the time we are able to spend together. I am not sure how each of you celebrate your Thanksgiving, but maybe the articles I share with you this month will be of some help even if you don’t have a special celebration for the day.

Maybe we can all use a boost of giving thanks to our Heavenly Father and turn our day of Thanksgiving into a day of giving to those in need and of giving thanks for our blessings to our Heavenly Father for those blessings in our lives – and yes like the Pilgrims we too can be thankful for the struggles in our lives and the fact that we are here to celebrate this upcoming day in such a grand way.

That first feast and many subsequent celebrations of Thanksgiving focused upon man’s relationship with his Heavenly Father. Our forefathers understood well their dependence on God. George Washington, in his proclamation establishing the 1789 Thanksgiving celebration, said in part,

Whereas, it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor. . . that we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks for his kind care and protection of the people of this country. [The Writings of George Washington from the Original Main Source, 1745–1799, vol. 30 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1939), pp. 427–28]

I have found the importance of keeping my focus on my Heavenly Father and on my Savior, Jesus Christ – as well as the importance of giving thanks to Them for all the blessings in my life. I have made it practice -- each time I get a new journal, I flip through every few page and write at the top of those pages: “How have I seen the hand of the Lord in my life today?” and “What has the Lord blessed my with this week?” this helps me to refocus every time I come to those pages and be sure to thank my Heavenly Father for the gifts He has given me. It is important to be thankful every day, but especially during the holiday season.

King Benjamin clearly taught the sacred origin of Thanksgiving when he proclaimed unto his people:

O how you ought to thank your heavenly King!

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, if ye should serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants. [Mosiah 2:19–21]

Regrettably, with prosperity came false and foolish notions. People who once rendered thankful praise to their God soon came to praise their own industry and intellect. Reverend Adam Reid, in celebrating Thanksgiving in 1840, prophetically observed:

And yet it is difficult to tell how long this revered custom [of Thanksgiving] shall be permitted to prevail; for in spite of all that is said about the.march of intellect and the enlightenment of the age, the temper of the times is rash and revolutionary. There is a spirit of infidel independence and reckless radicalism widely at work, which spurns at every sacred restraint. [Principles of National Prosperity: A Discourse Delivered at Salisbury, Conn., on the Day of the Annual Thanksgiving, Nov. 19th, 1840, (Hartford: Elihu Geer, 1841), pp. 6–7]

Even the most cursory reading of the Book of Mormon should give all of us reason to pause and consider. The circumstances and attitudes described by Reverend Reid were repeated time after time as succeeding generations became prosperous and inevitably estranged from their God. The significance of Thanksgiving goes far beyond the legal holiday. Thanksgiving is the essence of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The proper observance of the holiday places us in proper relationship with our Heavenly Father. It acknowledges our dependence upon him and our responsibility for one another.

This month it might be a good idea to seriously ponder our dependence upon our Heavenly Father and our responsibility to care for those in need. It may also be a time to give gloves and mittens as the days and nights are going to be getting colder here soon😊 Let us show our love for our Savior by following His example of kindness and humbly following His example of providing for those around Him.

I would hope that as we make plans for our Thanksgiving celebration we would contemplate the great blessings we enjoy. As we contemplate our blessings, thought should be given as to how we can share a portion of our material blessings with those who have so little—for it is through sharing with our brothers and sisters that we most eloquently express our thanksgiving to our Heavenly Father.

Our task today is to reconnect to the sacred principles of the past—to proclaim with joyful hearts and voices that we are the literal children of God, that the gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored to the earth, that through the atonement of Jesus Christ we can enjoy eternal life, that we are led by a mighty prophet of God, that we live in a blessed land of promise, that we share together as brothers and sisters the blessings and vicissitudes of mortal life.

These thoughts are good – we need to reconnect to the sacred principles of the past – to proclaim the great blessings we enjoy with our family and friends at this time of year. We can take the time to let our Heavenly father kn0w that we know that we are His children and that we need to thank Him for all of His many blessings hat we have received throughout our year.

May we as a people proclaim these truths with thankful voices and hearts, I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Well, we have come to the end of out talk for this post. I hope and pray that each of you who read this post and those that follow this month, that you have gained a little insight about the pilgrims who had their first thanksgiving celebration all those years ago and then those who created the tradition we still have today. Let us each think about all that our Father in Heaven has blessed us with and let us each remember to give thanks to Him for those blessings daily. Until my next post – everyone please make it a week of giving thanks. Some ideas for giving thanks -- send a thank-you card to someone for something they have done for you, said to you that uplifted your spirits one day, or how their smile and greeting each day at work or wherever has been a bright spot in your day! There are many ways you can say thanks to those around you, but first give thanks to your Father in heaven.

Post # 48 – The Small and Simple Things

Dear Family and Friends

I have been reviewing the last general conference talks this month to help me be better prepared for our upcoming General Conference the first part of October. I love listening to conference. And even though I live in a home where there are only two of us that attend church each week, they know that during Conference week end they shouldn’t plan on me for things to do because I will be listening to conference.

Small and Simple Things

April 2018 General Conference

By President Dallin H. Oaks                             First Counselor in the First Presidency

We need to be reminded that in total and over a significant period of time, seemingly small things bring to pass great things.

I.

My dear brothers and sisters, like you, I have been profoundly touched and edified and inspired by the messages and music and the feelings of this time together. I’m sure I speak for you in expressing thanks to our brothers and sisters who, as instruments in the hands of the Lord, have given us the strengthening effect of this time together.

I am grateful to speak to this audience on Easter Sunday. Today we join other Christians in celebrating the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. For members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the literal Resurrection of Jesus Christ is a pillar of our faith.

Because we believe the accounts in both the Bible and the Book of Mormon about the literal Resurrection of Jesus Christ, we also believe the numerous scriptural teachings that a similar resurrection will come to all mortals who have ever lived upon this earth. That resurrection gives us what the Apostle Peter called “a lively hope” (1 Peter 1:3). That lively hope is our conviction that death is not the conclusion of our identity but merely a necessary step in our Heavenly Father’s merciful plan for the salvation of His children. That plan calls for a transition from mortality to immortality. Central to that transition is the sunset of death and the glorious morning made possible by the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior that we celebrate on this Easter Sunday.

II.

In a great hymn whose words were written by Eliza R. Snow, we sing:

How great, how glorious, how complete

Redemption’s grand design,

Where justice, love, and mercy meet

In harmony divine!¹

In furtherance of that divine design and harmony, we assemble in meetings, including this conference, to teach and encourage one another.

This morning I have felt to use as my text Alma’s teaching to his son Helaman, recorded in the Book of Mormon: “By small and simple things are great things brought to pass” (Alma 37:6).

We are taught many small and simple things in the gospel of Jesus Christ. We need to be reminded that in total and over a significant period of time, these seemingly small things bring to pass great things. There have been many talks on this subject by General Authorities and by other respected teachers. The subject is so important that I feel to speak of it again.

I was reminded of the power of small and simple things over time by something I saw on a morning walk. Here is the picture I took. The thick and strong concrete sidewalk is cracking. Is this the result of some large and powerful thrust? No, this cracking is caused by the slow, small growth of one of the roots reaching out from the adjoining tree. Here is a similar example I saw on another street.

The thrusting power that cracked these heavy concrete sidewalks was too small to measure on a daily or even a monthly basis, but its effect over time was incredibly powerful.

So is the powerful effect over time of the small and simple things we are taught in the scriptures and by living prophets. Consider the scripture study we’ve been taught to incorporate into our daily lives. Or consider the personal prayers and the kneeling family prayers that are regular practices for faithful Latter-day Saints. Consider attendance at seminary for youth or institute classes for young adults. Though each of these practices may seem to be small and simple, over time they result in powerful spiritual uplift and growth. This occurs because each of these small and simple things invites the companionship of the Holy Ghost, the Testifier who enlightens us and guides us into truth, as President Eyring has explained.

Another source of spiritual uplift and growth is an ongoing practice of repenting, even of seemingly small transgressions. Our own inspired self-evaluations can help us see how we have fallen short and how we can do better. Such repentance should precede our weekly partaking of the sacrament. Some subjects to consider in this process of repentance are suggested in the hymn “Have I Done Any Good?”

Have I done any good in the world today?

Have I helped anyone in need?

Have I cheered up the sad and made someone feel glad?

If not, I have failed indeed.

Has anyone’s burden been lighter today

Because I was willing to share?

Have the sick and the weary been helped on their way?

When they needed my help was I there?²

Surely these are small things, but surely they are good examples of what Alma taught his son Helaman: “And the Lord God doth work by means to bring about his great and eternal purposes; and by very small means the Lord … bringeth about the salvation of many souls” (Alma 37:7).

President Steven C. Wheelwright gave an audience at Brigham Young University–Hawaii this inspired description of Alma’s teaching: “Alma confirms for his son that indeed the pattern the Lord follows when we exercise faith in Him and follow His counsel in small and simple things is that He blesses us with small daily miracles, and over time, with marvelous works.”³

President Howard W. Hunter taught that “frequently it is the commonplace tasks … that have the greatest positive effect on the lives of others, as compared with the things that the world so often relates to greatness.”⁴

A persuasive secular teaching of this same principle comes from former Senator Dan Coats of Indiana, who wrote: “The only preparation for that one profound decision which can change a life, or even a nation, is those hundreds and thousands of half-conscious, self-defining, seemingly insignificant decisions made in private.”⁵

Those “seemingly insignificant” private decisions include how we use our time, what we view on television and the internet, what we read, the art and music with which we surround ourselves at work and at home, what we seek for entertainment, and how we apply our commitment to be honest and truthful. Another seemingly small and simple thing is being civil and cheerful in our personal interactions.

None of these desirable small and simple things will lift us to great things unless they are practiced consistently and continuously. President Brigham Young was reported as saying: “Our lives are made up of little, simple circumstances that amount to a great deal when they are brought together, and sum up the whole life of the man or woman.”⁶

We are surrounded by media influences and cultural deteriorations that will carry us downstream in our values if we are not continually resisting. To move upstream toward our eternal goal, we must constantly keep paddling. It helps if we are part of a team that is paddling together, like a rowing crew in action. To extend that example even further, the cultural currents are so strong that if we ever stop paddling, we will be carried downstream toward a destination we do not seek but which becomes inevitable if we do not constantly try to move forward.

After reciting a seemingly small event that had great consequences, Nephi wrote, “And thus we see that by small means the Lord can bring about great things” (1 Nephi 16:29). The Old Testament includes a memorable example of this. There we read how the Israelites were plagued by fiery serpents. Many people died from their bites (see Numbers 21:6). When Moses prayed for relief, he was inspired to make “a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole.” Then, “if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived” (verse 9). Such a small thing for such a miraculous result! Yet, as Nephi explained when he taught this example to those who were rebelling against the Lord, even when the Lord had prepared a simple way by which they could be healed, “because of the simpleness of the way, or the easiness of it, there were many who perished” (1 Nephi 17:41).

That example and that teaching remind us that the simplicity of the way or the easiness of the commanded task cannot mean that it is unimportant to achieve our righteous desire.

Similarly, even small acts of disobedience or minor failures to follow righteous practices can draw us down toward an outcome we have been warned to avoid. The Word of Wisdom provides an example of this. Likely the effect on the body of one cigarette or one drink of alcohol or one dose of another drug cannot be measured. But over time, the effect is powerful and may be irreversible. Remember the cracking of the sidewalk by the gradual small expansions of the root of the tree. One thing is certain, the terrible consequences of partaking of anything that can become addictive, like drugs that attack our bodies or pornographic material that degrades our thoughts, is totally avoidable if we never partake for the first time—even once.

Many years ago, President M. Russell Ballard described to a general conference audience “how small and simple things can be negative and destructive to a person’s salvation.” He taught: “Like weak fibers that form a yarn, then a strand, and finally a rope, these small things combined together can become too strong to be broken. We must ever be aware of the power that the small and simple things can have in building spirituality,” he said. “At the same time, we must be aware that Satan will use small and simple things to lead us into despair and misery.”⁷

This is an excellent picture to put in your mind, about the fibers that form a yarn. Imagine yourself hanging onto a rope, at first the fibers are wrapped tightly, firm and strong.  These fibers are made up of you doing the small and simple things in your life, like: saying daily prayers; reading, pondering and studying your scriptures; holding and participating in family home evenings, attending and participating in sacrament meeting and Sunday classes at Church, serving others, sharing what you have with those in need; paying tithing; and these are just to name a few. All these small and simple things build up the fibers in your rope that will hold you safely no matter how hard the adversary blows his strong winds of temptation. These small and simple things help build and keep you spiritually strong.

Just as these small and simple things can build your rope to protect and sustain you spiritually and temporally with many blessings, when you stop doing them you will get adverse effects.  As President Wainwright teaches us it is when we stop doing the small and simple things that are building our spiritual foundation that the erosion begins to creep in and the rope begins to wear away. Bit by bit it will continue to wear away if we do not change our ways and begin again to do those small and simple things which built out ‘rope’ of spiritual strength in the first place.  I do hope my ramblings here are making some good sense to each of you as you read it through😊

President Wheelwright gave a similar caution to his BYU–Hawaii audience: “It is in failing to do the small and simple things that faith wavers, miracles cease, and progress towards the Lord and His kingdom is first put on hold and then begins to unravel as seeking after the kingdom of God is replaced with more temporal pursuits and worldly ambitions.”⁸

To protect against the cumulative negative effects that are destructive to our spiritual progress, we need to follow the spiritual pattern of small and simple things. Elder David A. Bednar described this principle in a BYU Women’s Conference: “We can learn much about the nature and importance of this spiritual pattern from the technique of … dripping water onto the soil at very low rates,” in contrast to flooding or spraying large quantities of water where it may not be needed.

He explained: “The steady drips of water sink deep into the ground and provide a high moisture level in the soil wherein plants can flourish. In like manner, if you and I are focused and frequent in receiving consistent drops of spiritual nourishment, then gospel roots can sink deep into our soul, can become firmly established and grounded, and can produce extraordinary and delicious fruit.”

Continuing, he said, “The spiritual pattern of small and simple things bringing forth great things produces firmness and steadfastness, deepening devotion, and more complete conversion to the Lord Jesus Christ and His gospel.”⁹

The Prophet Joseph Smith taught this principle in words now included in the Doctrine and Covenants: “Let no man count them as small things; for there is much … pertaining to the saints, which depends upon these things” (D&C 123:15).

I have always said, ‘I can do the small things,’ and I have always tried to do what I can – in small and simple ways. Even something so small and simple as a smile can brighten someone’s day. We can each do this for someone. We can each follow the examples of our Savior, which are found in the scriptures, but if we do not read and study them – we will not have the information we need to follow His example or know His gospel. So let each of us promise ourselves that we are going to do better, to be better, from this day forward. And if we forget and our ‘rope’ begins to wear away, we need to begin again to incorporate those things we know will strengthen the fibers of our ‘rope’ – our spiritual foundation. We need to be constantly aware of Satan and his followers who are trying with all their cunning tricks and traps, to get us to do or not do things so that our ‘rope’ will become weakened.

In connection with the earliest attempts to establish the Church in Missouri, the Lord counseled patience for “all things must come to pass in their time” (D&C 64:32). Then He gave this great teaching: “Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great” (D&C 64:33).

I believe we all desire to follow President Russell M. Nelson’s challenge to press forward “on the covenant path.”¹⁰ Our commitment to do so is strengthened by consistently following the “small things” we are taught by the gospel of Jesus Christ and the leaders of His Church. I testify of Him and invoke His blessings on all who seek to keep on His covenant path, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

I love how he has included examples of the positive effects of the small and simple things as well as the negative effects of small and simple things and how we can be caught in Satan’s snares through doing small and simple things that ‘don’t seem so bad’, or I’ve heard from my children on many occasions, ‘there are worse things I could be doing1’ it is the positive things that we can do in our lives that help us to build a firm foundation upon which we cannot fall! I am going to work hard to be more consistent with my daily prayers, my scripture reading and study, my service, and as many of the other things that our Savior has shown us that we need to be doing. Also doing what our living Prophet President Russell M. Nelson has counseled us to be doing every day.  So, until my next post, remember to add to your ‘rope’ each day and make it a great week!