Americans will celebrate
Thanksgiving on Thursday. This is a day set apart in our nation to proclaim our
gratitude for our many blessings. It is a day for expressing thanks to God. We should
give thanks in all things and at all times. In fact, our lives reflect whether
or not we feel gratitude because we always have enough when we are thankful for
what we have.
We are commanded to be grateful. In
fact, showing gratitude is not only a commandment, but it is a commandment with
a promise.
Ye must give
thanks unto God in the Spirit for whatsoever blessing ye are blessed with (Doctrine and Covenants 46:32).
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 (Doctrine and Covenants 59:21).
And 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, yea, more (Doctrine and Covenants 78:19).
The last scripture promises us that
our blessings will be multiplied if we are grateful for what we have. Most of
us are familiar with the Parable of the Ten Lepers. Leprosy was a terrible
disease that caused much physical suffering as well as social and emotional
problems. At the time of Jesus Christ the people who suffered from leprosy lived
isolated lives and were required to proclaim themselves as being “unclean” as
shown in Luke 17:11-19.
11 And it came
to pass as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria
and Galilee.
12 And as he
entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which
stood afar off:
13 And they
lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.
14 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.
15 And one of
them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice
glorified God,
16 And fell down
on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.
17 And Jesus
answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?
18 There are not
found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.
19 And he said
unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.
We should all take this lesson to
heart. We know that the one leper was healed because he had the faith to be
healed and was grateful for the blessing. We do not know what happened in the
long run with the other nine lepers. Were they healed, or did their leprosy
return?
Obviously, God is aware of whether
or not we are grateful for the blessings that He pours down upon us as
individuals, families, and nations. The following statement by President
Brigham Young tells us that ingratitude may cause the loss of blessings. “The
Lord is more merciful than we are; but there may be a termination to His gifts,
if we do not receive them with gratitude and take good care of them when we
have them in our possession” (“Cultivating Gratitude, Humility, and Honesty,” Teachings of the Presidents of the Church:Brigham Young).
President Young’s successor,
President John Taylor named some blessings and taught that we are indebted to
God for each and every blessing in our life.
If we have life, or health, or
possessions; if we have children, and friends and homes, if we have the light
of truth, the blessings of the everlasting gospel, the revelations of God, the
holy priesthood, with all its blessings and government and rule, all these, and
every true enjoyment that we possess come from God. We do not always realize
this, but it is nevertheless true that to God we are indebted for every good
and perfect gift (“Temporal Blessings and the Law of Tithing, Teachings of the Presidents of the Church:John Taylor).
Since we are commanded to have
gratitude to God for our many blessings, we must realize that ingratitude is a
sin that requires repentance. If we are ungrateful for what we have, we bring
darkness into our lives by wanting more and more. When we are grateful for what
we have – even if it is little, we move closer to God and bring His light into
our lives.
President Thomas S. Monson is one of
the most positive people in the world and seems to always look on the bright
side of whatever is happening, as shown by the following quote.
This is a wonderful time to be on earth.
While there is much that is wrong in the world today, there are many things
that are right and good. There are marriages that make it, parents who love
their children and sacrifice for them, friends who care about us and help us,
teachers who teach. Our lives are blessed in countless ways.
We can lift ourselves and others as well
when we refuse to remain in the realm of negative thought and cultivate within
our hearts an attitude of gratitude. If ingratitude be numbered among the
serious sins, then gratitude takes its place among the nobles of virtues (“The
Noblest of Virtues,” A Future as Bright as Your Faith, p. 358).
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