Live in Thanksgiving Daily

Ten Lepers, by James Christensen
"This painting is about gratitude, about recognizing the gifts of the Savior in our lives on a daily basis," Christensen explains. "I think we too often fail to realize the blessings that He gives us and, even in our excitement to take advantage of our good fortune, we forget to acknowledge the source of all good things in our lives."

I have had some glum days recently and have been trying to figure out how to pick myself out of the gloom. I don't even have a reason right now to feel sad! Things are going well. So since we are now officially headed towards the "holiday season," the "most wonderful time of the year", I decided to try to cultivate a little more gratitude in my life and see if that will take the gloom right out of me. As I have been reading and learning about gratitude, two things specifically have stuck out to me. The first is this:

Recognizing blessings from Heavenly Father in our life and then thanking Him for them brings more blessings and miracles into our life.

The prophet, Thomas S. Monson, mentions this principle as he tells the story of the miracle of the loaves and the fishes (Matthew 15:13-28) in this talk.

“And [Jesus] commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.

“And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.”

Notice that the Savior gave thanks for what they had—and a miracle followed: “And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full.”

That, to me, is a beautiful thing. The more we recognize and give thanks, the more we find we have to be thankful for in our lives. And the more miracles we see.

The second principle of gratitude that keeps appearing as I study what it really means to "live in thanksgiving daily" (Alma 34:38) is that gratitude makes you glorious. It fills your life and you, yourself, with light and love--and it's contagious. (see D&C 78:19, Alma 26, this, and this)

The best visual example of this idea of gratitude making us glorious is the way George Bailey looks and acts in the last few minutes of the movie It's a Wonderful Life. Sure, he is a bit frenzied in the way he expresses his gratitude--but boy is he full of life and light and just watching him makes me happier.

-Elin
Whose experiment to live in thanksgiving daily and get out of the gloom began 2 days ago. I have had one glorious day and one not so great day. These things take practice, right?

"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!" President Joseph F. Smith, Gospel Doctrine, 5th Edition

Loaves and Fishes - When our efforts are somehow multiplied and magnified

Feeding the Five Thousand, by James Tissot

I recently watched this beautiful depiction of the miracle of the loaves and fishes and found a very personal lesson there for me. 

I—like many people, I suspect—often feel inadequate, that I don’t have much to offer. But as I watched this video and reread the parallel accounts in the New Testament of the Savior feeding the multitudes (see Matthew 14:15-20, Mark 6:35-44, Luke 9:12-17, John 6:5-14), I was reminded yet again of His ability to transform our “little” into “enough and to spare.”

In Matthew 14:15-20, we read:

15 And when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals.

16 But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat.

17 And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes.

18 He said, Bring them hither to me.

19 And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.

20 And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full.

Like the multitudes surrounding the Savior, there are people all around us who are hungry—emotionally, spiritually, physically. Aware of our personal inadequacies, we may be tempted to step back, to “send (them) away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals” (vs. 15). However, one of the important lessons of these verses is that we should bring our “five loaves and two fishes”—our meager “baskets” of time, talents, temporal means, and most of all, our willingness--to the Savior and allow Him to bless them (vs. 19). As we do, and then go forward to serve in faith, these imperfect offerings are magnified into nourishing gifts of love that help others “eat” and be “filled” (vs. 20).

I love the tender way that Elder James E. Faust teaches this principle in this talk from the April 1994 General Conference.

-Marilyn

Who loves baking—and eating--bread.