Gratitude

Last Sunday Eric and I were asked to speak in our ward. We were asked to speak on Gratitude. I thought I would post our talk's for you to read, but you don't have to. This is my talk. I will post Eric's later.

 

We were asked to speak on gratitude. I looked up gratitude in the dictionary and it said "Gratitude: the state of being grateful." I then looked up grateful and it said "Grateful: expressing gratitude or appreciative of benefits received." That was not much help. So I turned to the church website where it said “Gratitude is a feeling of appreciation and thankfulness for blessings or benefits we have received. As we cultivate a grateful attitude, we are more likely to be happy and spiritually strong. We should regularly express our gratitude to God for the blessings He gives us and to others for the kind acts they do for us.

Grateful people are quick to acknowledge the kindness and help they receive from our Heavenly Father and others around them.

Where there is gratitude, there is courtesy; there is a concern for the happiness and well-being of others.” 

The part that stuck out to me the most is the part that says “We should regularly express our gratitude to God for the blessings He gives us and to others for the kind acts they do for us.” This sentence brought up two questions the first was why should we regularly express gratitude and the second was how to we regularly express gratitude. 

I will start by answering why we should express gratitude. At first the answer seems obvious we should express our gratitude because it helps us realize all the blessings that we have, but I found a better reason. In D&C 59:7 it says “Thou shalt thank the Lord thy God in all things.” We should express our gratitude because the Lord commanded us to. 

The Lord always gives us commandments for a reason and they are always for our benefit. How will being grateful benefit our lives? 

In the True to the Faith it says “The Lord has promised, ‘He who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious’ (D&C 78:19). Gratitude is an uplifting exalting attitude. … You cannot be bitter, resentful, or mean-spirited when you are grateful.”  

James E Faust said “It seems as though there is a tug-of-war between opposing character traits that leaves no voids in our souls. As gratitude is absent or disappears, rebellion often enters and fills the vacuum. I do not speak of rebellion against civil oppression. I refer to rebellion against moral cleanliness, beauty, decency, honesty, reverence, and respect for parental authority. 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.” 

To me these say that being grateful helps us to be more Christ like. Humility, faith, courage, and love are all characteristics of the savior that we strive to have. These characteristics are gained through gratitude and will help us return to our Heavenly Father.  

                While studying for this talk one story kept coming up. I know that you have all heard it before, but I thought I would share it with you again. It is found in Luke 17:11-19. “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.” 

                This shows how we should express our gratitude. The one that opening gave thanks for being cleansed was the one that was praised, and the one that received extra blessings. It is entirely possible that the other nine were grateful for being cleansed but because they did not express their gratitude they were seen as ungrateful and missed out on the blessing of being made whole. It is not enough just to be grateful we need to express it.               

                There are many ways to express our gratitude. The most common way is to say “Thank you.” How many times throughout our day do we have the opportunity to say thanks but don’t? I know that I am guilty of not saying thank you enough. So many things are done for us and we take them granite. When we take things for granite we come to expect them and we no longer see them as blessings in our lives. Sister Hinckley illustrated this when she said, “A grateful heart will give you a touch of refinement that can come in no other way.

I went to high school during the days of the famous depression. It was a miserable experience. But, in a way, I wish you could have been there with us. Somehow it helped me to appreciate much more the prosperity we now enjoy. I know some of you think you are on a tight budget, and you are. I am glad if you are. But it is a tight budget because you have nothing else to compare with it. It isn’t your fault that you have had three square meals a day, most every day of your life. It isn’t your fault that somehow or other you have always been able to get a new pair of shoes, whether you needed them or not. It isn’t your fault that you have at least five or six changes of clothing in your crowded closets. But all of this makes doubly hard for you to be truly grateful.

Has the feat of not being able to get an education ever struck terror into your heart: Probably not, for you knew that somehow or other you would get here and that somehow or other you will stay as long as you so desire, for this is America, where only you own indolence can keep you from the good things in life.

And when you finally develop a little gratitude in your heart, make up your mind to express it. 'Appreciation unexpressed is not appreciation.' If you can’t find someone to say thank you to for something, just take a look at you toothbrush and say, 'Thank you for being. You are a wonderful little gadget.'

'Thank you' is a wonderful phrase. Use it. It will add stature to your soul. Never let a day go by without saying thank you to someone for something- and especially to your Heavenly Father.”

Saying “thank you” is a simple and easy way for us to show our gratitude.  

                Gratitude can also be shown through our actions. The phrase “actions speak louder than words” applies very well when showing gratitude. If you appreciate something that someone has done for you, do something nice for them in return.  You can also show your gratitude by doing the same act of kindness for someone else. Very recently I was talking to my mom and thanking her for the things she had done for me. When I got done she said “All that I ask is that you pay it forward to your children.” She didn’t want anything from me. She did these things for me out of love; all that she asked is that I show that same love to my children. Sometimes all we can do to express our gratitude is to show that same kindness to those around us. This can be applied in many different circumstances from passing the love of your parents onto your children to holding the door open for a stranger. 

                Not only do we need to express gratitude to the people in our lives we need to express gratitude to our Heavenly Father. We express gratitude to our Heavenly Father through our words and action also. In the True to the faith it says “We should thank our Heavenly Father for His goodness to us by acknowledging His hand in all things, thanking Him for all that He gives us, keeping His commandments, and serving others.” 

                We need to tell our Heavenly Father every day the things that we are thankful for through prayer. We should not skip straight to the blessing that we need. We have to take the time to sincerely tell our Heavenly Father that we are thankful for the many blessing in our lives. Our Heavenly Father has given us everything we have and we need to take the time to tell him that we are grateful. By showing gratitude is our prayers we can acknowledge Gods hand in all things. 

We also express gratitude to our heavenly Father through keeping his commandments in Mosiah 2: 19-22 it says “And Behold also, if I, whom ye call your king, who has spent his days in your service, and yet has been in the service of God, do merit any thanks from you, O how you ought to thanks 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 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 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.

And behold, all that he requires of you is to keep his commandments . . .” 

Our Heavenly Father has given us so much the least we can do is keep his commandments.

I know that expressing gratitude to our Heavenly father and those around us will benefit our lives. I know the being grateful for the blessing in our lives makes us happier and that our Heavenly Father blesses us when express our gratitude. I know that our Heavenly Father loves me and that I can show my love for him by being grateful for everything that he gives me.