Gratitude Talk 2

Zach and I were playing pickleball with his parents on Friday and
somebody was a little excited and jumped up on my side of the court

to smash a ball what was high in the air and the follow through ended
up smashing my brow bone instead. I thought I was would be fine after
the initial pain went away but the blood started dripping and the my
vision out of my eye started to be block from the rapid swelling
happening.
In roundabout way my prayers were answered. Looking back now I

should have been a little more specific while praying. I was presented
with a perfect opportunity to put into practice the things that I have
been studying this week and having an attitude of gratitude.
I am grateful:
1. To have a story that hopefully got your attention
2. I am grateful over the past 8 ½ years that I have been married to
Zach that this is the first shiner he has ever given me.
In all seriousness what a great time to look for things to be grateful
during a time when I could be stressed or to look for an excuse of not
wanting to go and not wanting to give a talk.
Elder Uchtdorf in one of his talks on gratitude mentions,” Everyone’s

situation is different, and the details of each life are unique.
Nevertheless, I have learned there is one thing we can do to make life
sweeter, more joyful, even glorious.
We can be grateful!”
The quote Zach and I have lived by this year is from Elder Sabin from
his recent general conference talk, “you will never be happier than
you are grateful.”
Any time that we are not in the best mood or we are really struggling
with something we will remind each other of this. It has helped a lot
and has helped us slowly but surely develop and attitude of gratitude.
As disciples of Christ, we are commanded in D&C 59:7 to “thank the
Lord [our] God in all things,”1 , in Ephesians 5:20 we are told to “sing
unto the Lord with thanksgiving,”2 and in Thessalonians 5:18 “ In
every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus
concerning you.”
Doctrine and Covenants 98:1

One of my favorites is D&C 98:1 “Verily I say unto you my friends, fear
not, let your hearts be comforted; yea, rejoice evermore, and in
everything give thanks;”
Have any of you ever been invited, challenged, or just decided to only
say prayers of gratitude? My mission president would often challenge
us for one day of the week to only say prayers of gratitude. I am not
say that you have to do this but I know there is power when the
attitude of gratitude is happening through prayer.
Zach and I have tried to teach our boys to do the same- of course we
aren’t perfect at it but it warms my heart when I sometimes only hear
a prayer of gratitude.
I have since had days when I only offer prayers of gratitude but it’s still
a very eye opening experience. For example, If I normally would pray
for my mother to get the help she need to heal her back I would pray
instead, I am grateful that she has doctors who are willing and positive
in her treatment to help her. I am grateful that she is able to get it
looked at now instead of putting it off from not thinking its important. I
am grateful that she is in thy capable hands. I am grateful for the
opportunity I have to by thy hands and serve her in anyway that I can.
These are just a few ways that I can think of where gratitude
completely changes a prayer, its more specific, and not repetitive, and
helps me see that she is still being blessed.
I want to invite you to try giving prayers more often of only gratitude.
Have you ever wondered why God commands us to be grateful?
Elder Uctdorf said, “Our loving Heavenly Father knows that choosing to
develop a spirit of gratitude will bring us true joy and great happiness.”
In the book of Luke, chapter 17, we read of Him:
15 “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.”2
I have asked myself which one I thought I would be and of course I
would like to think that I would have been the one and not of the 9.
Are there things though that we might have forgotten about that the
Lord has blessed us with?
The times in life when I have struggled the most is when I forgot the
things that I have been blessed with and focus more on the negative
happening in life and what I am currently going. I came across sign
this past year that said, “ I still remember the days I prayed for the
things I have now." How true is that?! Zachs last year of dental was
the hardest but when I saw that quote I thought wait a minute; I
remember being in undergrad and praying about career options, I
remember praying that Zach could get a good DAT score, I remember
praying that he would be accepted into the U of U dental school… All of
those prayers had been answered and I had forgotten all the blessings
that had led to that point. Since then I have tried harder to look for the
blessing that I might have forgotten about in the past.
I actually love that I get to talk about gratitude because this year Zach
and I have made it a goal to work on our attitude of gratitude. I
started a gratitude journal back in March and the happiness and peace
that I felt from it has made such a different each day and now almost
year. I have been able to be happier, get more done, and have more
energy to spend with my family.
President Monson asked, “My brothers and sisters, do we remember to

give thanks for the blessings we receive? Sincerely giving thanks not
only helps us recognize our blessings, but it also unlocks the doors of
heaven and helps us feel God’s love.”3
I want to share a story that you might have heard about Gordan
Green,
Gordon grew up on a farm in Canada.

His father always helped him and his siblings understand that the work
they did amounted to something- how they had been blessed after
harvest time. It was a great gift from his dad.
On Thanksgiving morning he would take them to the cellar and barn
and see the stored barrels of apples, beets, carrots, and mountains of
sacked potatoes as well as peas, corn, string beans, jellies,
strawberries, and other preserves which filled their shelves. In barn the
tons of hay and all the animals.
He really wanted them to realize on that feast day how richly God had
blessed them and had smiled upon all their hours of work.
The Thanksgiving he remembered most thankfully was the year they
seemed to have nothing for which to be grateful.
The year started off well: they had leftover hay, lots of seed, and
animals and even money set aside for a hay loader.
This was the year that electricity came about but it was expensive
One night when Gordon’s mother was doing her big wash, his father
stepped in and took his turn over the washboard. They discussed it
over a decided it was worth getting electrical so she would be spending
all day over the wash.
So the electrical line went up their lane that year. They acquired a
washing machine that worked all day by itself and brilliant lightbulbs
that dangled from each ceiling. There were no more lamps to fill with
oil, no more wicks to cut, no more sooty chimneys to wash. The lamps
went quietly off to the attic.
The coming of electricity to their farm was almost the last good thing
that happened to them that year. Just as their crops were starting to
come through the ground, the rains started and killed their crops two
different times. Their potatoes rotted in the mud. They sold a couple of
cows and all the pigs and other livestock they had intended to keep,
getting very low prices for them because everybody else had to do the
same thing. All they harvested that year was a patch of turnips that
had somehow weathered the storms.
Then it was Thanksgiving again. Their mother said, “Maybe we’d better
forget it this year. We haven’t even got a goose left.”
On Thanksgiving morning, however, Gordon’s father showed up with a
jackrabbit and asked his wife to cook it. Grudgingly she started the job,
indicating it would take a long time to cook that tough old thing. When
it was finally on the table with some of the turnips that had survived,
the children refused to eat. Gordon’s mother cried, and then his father
did a strange thing. He went up to the attic, got an oil lamp, took it
back to the table, and lighted it. He told the children to turn out the
electric lights. When there was only the lamp again, they could hardly
believe that it had been that dark before. They wondered how they had
ever seen anything without the bright lights made possible by
electricity.
The food was blessed, and everyone ate. When dinner was over, they
all sat quietly. Gordon remembers from this account
“In the humble dimness of the old lamp we were beginning to see
clearly again. …
“It [was] a lovely meal. The jack rabbit tasted like turkey and the
turnips were the mildest we could recall. …
“… [Our] home … , for all its want, was so rich [to] us.”
This story hit my heart the most because it is in times of hardships that
we are sometimes reminded just how blessed we truly are.
There are many things to be grateful for. I love the holiday season
because it helps remind us and helps us focus more on one of the most
important things to be grateful for and show our gratitude towards.
That is of course gratitude for our Savior, Jesus Christ. It is His glorious
gospel provides the plan of salvation and his gospel that brings to
those who live in darkness the light of truth.
I love what President Monson says about Christ in his talk, “He taught
us how to pray. He taught us how to live. He taught us how to die. His
life is a legacy of love. The sick He healed; the downtrodden He lifted;
the sinner He saved.
Let us follow Him. Let us emulate His example. Let us obey His words.
By so doing, we give to Him the divine gift of gratitude.”
The Lord has given us His promise that those “who [receive] all things
with thankfulness shall be made glorious; and the things of this earth
shall be added unto [them], even an hundred fold, yea, more.” 17
I want to invite you to find blessings in the midst of serious challenges.
Find a way to develop an attitude of gratitude whether it is starting a
gratitude journal, saying only prayers of gratitude, or using social
media to post things you are grateful for. I can testify that you will be
happier and find joy NOW the more you are grateful.

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Zach and I were playing pickleball with his parents on Friday and

somebody was a little excited and jumped up on my side of the court

In roundabout way my prayers were answered. Looking back now I

Elder Uchtdorf in one of his talks on gratitude mentions,” Everyone’s

Doctrine and Covenants 98:1

Have you ever wondered why God commands us to be grateful?

In the book of Luke, chapter 17, we read of Him:

President Monson asked, “My brothers and sisters, do we remember to

Gordon grew up on a farm in Canada.

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