This is a topic
that I feel is always good to hear again and again and again. Gratitude is a
topic that when applied can help us in our lives so quickly.
I
received most of my inspiration for this talk from a LDS General Conference talk from April of 2014 called
"Grateful in Any Circumstance" By President Deiter F. Uchtorf.
Think
of life, it's not a piece of cake. Flooded basements, a job lost, waiting for
promised blessings, money troubles, the loss of a loved one, sickness and
disease… yuck!
These
are trials, hard times, circumstances and life. One Sunday I was taught a wonderful lesson. We had a
beautiful lesson on circumstances of life given by a sister in my Relief Society. She
taught us beautifully that there are trials and hard times in our lives that
happen that are out of our control, that just because they happen does not mean
we are being punished, but that they are part of life and we must find what to
learn out of them and let the Lord guide us and strengthen us. What a beautiful lesson that life is good even when unfortunate
circumstances are in it. No one goes without trials. Not one of us hasn't felt pain and sorrow. Every
single one of you have had circumstances in your life. BUT NOT ONE OF US HAS
TOO MUCH GOING ON IN OUR LIVES TO NOT BE GRATEFUL!
"Everyone’s situation is different, and the details
of each life are unique. Nevertheless, I have learned that there is something
that would take away the bitterness that may come into our lives. There is one
thing we can do to make life sweeter, more joyful, even glorious.
We can be grateful!It might sound contrary to the wisdom of the world to suggest that one who is burdened with sorrow should give thanks to God. But those who set aside the bottle of bitterness and lift instead the goblet of gratitude can find a purifying drink of healing, peace, and understanding." President Uchtdorf
So,
we are told to be grateful… WHY? Why do we need gratitude in our lives?
Let
me tell you of some circumstances in my life that changed my life. When I
became grateful to be a mother even though most of my children were not on this
earth things changed in my life. Losing children is hard, I would say the
hardest thing I will do in this life, but when I became grateful for them, for
who they are, what they taught me and grateful that we have a Savior that died
for us so I could be with them again I felt joy, I saw beauty again, I started
doing things again and loving more and appreciating them. That is when I became
able to talk about them and feel joy instead of sorrow and when I was able to
take what I learned and help others. I am not saying I am a master at being
grateful, I surly am not. It took years and years and years for me to get to
this point and I still have hard times, but I now can see what gratitude does
in my life and can always go back to it.
So
why have gratitude?
Just like everything else we are asked to do, there is a benefit to us, we are not asked to do things that will harm us. We are asked to be thankful and grateful, to use our agency. Using our agency to receive blessings. One of those blessing is to develop an attitude of gratitude (like President Thomas S. Monson says), this attitude will change our lives. Is it easy? Maybe for some, but most of us have to work on in. It takes faith. President Uchtdorf says;
Just like everything else we are asked to do, there is a benefit to us, we are not asked to do things that will harm us. We are asked to be thankful and grateful, to use our agency. Using our agency to receive blessings. One of those blessing is to develop an attitude of gratitude (like President Thomas S. Monson says), this attitude will change our lives. Is it easy? Maybe for some, but most of us have to work on in. It takes faith. President Uchtdorf says;
"Being grateful
in our circumstances is an act of faith in God. It requires that we trust God
and hope for things we may not see but which are true. By being grateful, we
follow the example of our beloved Savior, who said, “Not my will, but thine, be
done.
True gratitude is an
expression of hope and testimony. It comes from acknowledging that we do not
always understand the trials of life but trusting that one day we will."
We either make a conscious choice to dwell on every hard,
miserable, bad thing in life or make a conscious choice to find the light and
joy in our lives and develop into Christ like saints.
"Gratitude
is a catalyst to all Christlike attributes! A thankful heart is the parent of
all virtues."
President
Monson says in a talk called "The Divine Gift of Gratitude" (lds.org)
"If ingratitude
be numbered among the serious sins, then gratitude takes its place among the
noblest of virtues."
Those
two quotes makes me feel like I have underestimated what a grateful heart could
do in my life.
What
are we doing to make our gratitude a higher form of gratitude? One that is a
catalyst to Christlike attributes in our lives? One that is a virtue?
Being
grateful is more than just being grateful for our things. If we are wanting our
gratitude to change our lives and help us to gain more Christlike attributes,
we must be more than just thankful for STUFF. It is so much more that that.
President Uchtdorf says;
"Could I
suggest that we see gratitude as a disposition, a way of life that stands
independent of our current situation? In other words, I’m suggesting that
instead of being thankful for things, we focus on being thankful in our
circumstances—whatever they may be.
We can choose
to be grateful, no matter what.
This type of
gratitude transcends whatever is happening around us. It surpasses
disappointment, discouragement, and despair. It blooms just as beautifully in
the icy landscape of winter as it does in the pleasant warmth of summer.
When we are grateful
to God in our circumstances, we can experience gentle peace in the midst of
tribulation. In grief, we can still lift up our hearts in praise. In pain, we
can glory in Christ’s Atonement. In the cold of bitter sorrow, we can experience
the closeness and warmth of heaven’s embrace."
I have a testimony of having an attitude of gratitude.
Because of gratitude I have been able to face trials that I never believed I
could face. Because of gratitude we can see this world through new eyes and
become saints that love more, judge less, give more and take less. President
Joseph F. Smith said; “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!"
With gratitude we can come closer to our Savior and our Father in Heaven as we attain an attitude of gratitude, I know this to be true. We can show Christlike love to our brothers and sisters around us and live in our circumstances with humble and grateful hearts. President Monson says this about gratitude.
"... to express gratitude is gracious and honorable, to enact
gratitude is generous and noble, but to live with gratitude ever in our hearts is to touch heaven."
