Gratitude
Introduction
My talk today is on Gratitude.
· I only have three things to tell you today: two remarkable examples of the importance of Gratitude and a partial list of the things I am thankful for.
Part 1:
D&C 59:7 Thou shalt thank the Lord thy God in all things.
· Thomas S. Monson wrote, “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.
· The following is one of the stories Cory Ten Boom told of her imprisonment in Ravensbruk, a concentration camp, where her sister, Betsy, and she were imprisoned for helping Jews escape the Nazis during World War II. Both were deeply spiritual and dedicated to serving the Lord and bringing souls to Him.
They were assigned to live in an over-populated, cramped barracks on the second tier of a straw covered platform used as a bed shared with seven other women. Contention was constant among the women and, to make matters worse, as Betsy and she were just settling in, they discovered that the place was infested with fleas.
In her own words, she wailed to her sister, “Betsy, how can we live in such a place!”
“Show us. Show us how.” It was said so matter of factly it took me a second to realize [Betsy] was praying.
“Corrie!” she said excitedly. “He's given us the answer! Before we asked, as He always does! In the Bible this morning. Where was it? Read that part again!”
I Thessalonians 5:15-18. "Comfort yourselves… support the weak, be patient toward all men. See that none render evil for evil… In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."
“That's what we can do. We can start right now to thank God for every single thing about this new barracks!”
"Such as?” I said.
"Such as being assigned here together.”
"Such as…” the Bible the girls had smuggled into camp.
"'Yes! Thank You, dear Lord, that there was no inspection when we entered here! Thank You for all these women, here in this room, who will meet You in these pages.'
"'Yes,' said Betsy, 'Thank You for the very crowding here. Since we're packed so close, that many more will hear!'
Thank You for the jammed, crammed, stuffed, packed suffocating crowds.'
"'Thank You,' Betsy went on serenely, 'for the fleas and for--'
"The fleas! This was too much. 'Betsy, there's no way even God can make me grateful for a flea.'
"'Give thanks in all circumstances,' she quoted. It doesn't say, 'in pleasant circumstances'."
And so we stood between tiers of bunks and gave thanks for fleas.
The sisters began holding devotionals each night, even though owning, let alone reading aloud from the Bible, was a punishable offence. For some reason, even though the rest of the camp was under constant surveillance, their particular area had virtually no supervision. This was a constant source of wonderment to them. Eventually so many fellow prisoners joined them in their worship services that it became necessary to hold two sessions nightly. The results were that the women stopped their bickering and began serving each other.
One night the mystery of why the guards did not bother their building was solved. Two guards were heard complaining about having to enter the barracks because of the flea infestation. It was the fleas.
· Thomas S. Monson wrote, “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.
· The following is one of the stories Cory Ten Boom told of her imprisonment in Ravensbruk, a concentration camp, where her sister, Betsy, and she were imprisoned for helping Jews escape the Nazis during World War II. Both were deeply spiritual and dedicated to serving the Lord and bringing souls to Him.
They were assigned to live in an over-populated, cramped barracks on the second tier of a straw covered platform used as a bed shared with seven other women. Contention was constant among the women and, to make matters worse, as Betsy and she were just settling in, they discovered that the place was infested with fleas.
In her own words, she wailed to her sister, “Betsy, how can we live in such a place!”
“Show us. Show us how.” It was said so matter of factly it took me a second to realize [Betsy] was praying.
“Corrie!” she said excitedly. “He's given us the answer! Before we asked, as He always does! In the Bible this morning. Where was it? Read that part again!”
I Thessalonians 5:15-18. "Comfort yourselves… support the weak, be patient toward all men. See that none render evil for evil… In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."
“That's what we can do. We can start right now to thank God for every single thing about this new barracks!”
"Such as?” I said.
"Such as being assigned here together.”
"Such as…” the Bible the girls had smuggled into camp.
"'Yes! Thank You, dear Lord, that there was no inspection when we entered here! Thank You for all these women, here in this room, who will meet You in these pages.'
"'Yes,' said Betsy, 'Thank You for the very crowding here. Since we're packed so close, that many more will hear!'
Thank You for the jammed, crammed, stuffed, packed suffocating crowds.'
"'Thank You,' Betsy went on serenely, 'for the fleas and for--'
"The fleas! This was too much. 'Betsy, there's no way even God can make me grateful for a flea.'
"'Give thanks in all circumstances,' she quoted. It doesn't say, 'in pleasant circumstances'."
And so we stood between tiers of bunks and gave thanks for fleas.
The sisters began holding devotionals each night, even though owning, let alone reading aloud from the Bible, was a punishable offence. For some reason, even though the rest of the camp was under constant surveillance, their particular area had virtually no supervision. This was a constant source of wonderment to them. Eventually so many fellow prisoners joined them in their worship services that it became necessary to hold two sessions nightly. The results were that the women stopped their bickering and began serving each other.
One night the mystery of why the guards did not bother their building was solved. Two guards were heard complaining about having to enter the barracks because of the flea infestation. It was the fleas.
Sometimes I don’t recognize things as “blessings” per se, but since the commandment is to give thanks in ALL things...
Part 2.
According to Marion G. Romney, “Commandments put us under a solemn obligation to develop gratitude and the spirit of thanksgiving. We should be thankful and express appreciation for all of our blessings.”
Mosiah 2:20 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—
21 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…ye would be unprofitable servants.
22 And behold, all that he requires of you is to keep his commandments; and he has promised you that if ye would keep his commandments ye should prosper in the land; and he never doth vary from that which he hath said; therefore, if ye do keep his commandments he doth bless you and prosper you.
23 And now, in the first place, he hath created you, and granted unto you your lives, for which ye are indebted unto him.
24 And secondly, he doth require that ye should do as he hath commanded you; for which if ye do, he doth immediately bless you; and therefore he hath paid you.
· One night, while watching the evening news, a spectacular near-death story was aired about a young man who was attacked and killed by an assailant. His heart was literally cut in half. They even showed pictures the wound.
o Later, in an interview with the young man, he emotionally disclosed his remarkable experience. He said that when he left his body, his brother who had died sometime before him, was present and told him to go back; that it was not his time to die. Suddenly, he was seized by an overwhelming sense of his ingratitude. He was astonishded by how insensitive he had been to all those that had served him throughout his life. Even though the young man did not want to return to mortality, he was humiliated by his selfishness, he returned to life determined to make things right.
Part 3
Mosiah 2:20 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—
21 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…ye would be unprofitable servants.
22 And behold, all that he requires of you is to keep his commandments; and he has promised you that if ye would keep his commandments ye should prosper in the land; and he never doth vary from that which he hath said; therefore, if ye do keep his commandments he doth bless you and prosper you.
23 And now, in the first place, he hath created you, and granted unto you your lives, for which ye are indebted unto him.
24 And secondly, he doth require that ye should do as he hath commanded you; for which if ye do, he doth immediately bless you; and therefore he hath paid you.
· One night, while watching the evening news, a spectacular near-death story was aired about a young man who was attacked and killed by an assailant. His heart was literally cut in half. They even showed pictures the wound.
o Later, in an interview with the young man, he emotionally disclosed his remarkable experience. He said that when he left his body, his brother who had died sometime before him, was present and told him to go back; that it was not his time to die. Suddenly, he was seized by an overwhelming sense of his ingratitude. He was astonishded by how insensitive he had been to all those that had served him throughout his life. Even though the young man did not want to return to mortality, he was humiliated by his selfishness, he returned to life determined to make things right.
Part 3
Steven E. Snow wrote, “Gratitude may be increased by constantly reflecting on our blessings and giving thanks for them in our daily prayers.”
o Alma 34: 37 And now, my beloved brethren, I desire that ye should remember these things, 38 That ye contend no more against the Holy Ghost, … [but] worship God, in whatsoever place ye may be in, in spirit and in truth; and that ye live in thanksgiving daily, for the many mercies and blessings which he doth bestow upon you.
o Alma 34: 37 And now, my beloved brethren, I desire that ye should remember these things, 38 That ye contend no more against the Holy Ghost, … [but] worship God, in whatsoever place ye may be in, in spirit and in truth; and that ye live in thanksgiving daily, for the many mercies and blessings which he doth bestow upon you.
· With this in mind, I am thankful:
· For my husband when I come home from work and he is watching TV football, because he is home with me and not in Wyoming,
For the taxes I pay because it means I am employed, and for all the complaining I hear about the government because it means we have freedom of speech, For the clothes that fit a little too snug because it means I have enough to eat, For my huge heating and cooling bills because it means I have a comfortable home, for fussy babies in Sacrament Meeting because it means I can hear, For the pile of laundry and ironing because it means I have clothes to wear, For weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day because it means I have been capable of working hard,
· For my children when they complained about having to get up for seminary because it meant they were learning correct principles and values,
for the Pilgrims and their pursuit of religious freedom, and that the Americas were founded on the Christ’s teachings, because they prepared the way for the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ,
· For the scholars that recorded the words of the prophets, for those that died to protect the records, and for those that translated them into many languages so that the Gospel can go forth to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.
· I am thankful for those who raised me in the Gospel and to my teachers that taught me in such a way that I could understand the messages because it was through them that I began to develop my testimony.
· I know that this is the true Church of Christ, that President Monson is a prophet of God, and that the Book of Mormon is a Second Testament of Christ’s divinity.
· For the scholars that recorded the words of the prophets, for those that died to protect the records, and for those that translated them into many languages so that the Gospel can go forth to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.
· I am thankful for those who raised me in the Gospel and to my teachers that taught me in such a way that I could understand the messages because it was through them that I began to develop my testimony.
· I know that this is the true Church of Christ, that President Monson is a prophet of God, and that the Book of Mormon is a Second Testament of Christ’s divinity.
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