All that Gratitude

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I had to speak in church last year.  Now that in itself is a miracle, because I despise, no, HATE, public speaking.  The rapid heart bead, sweaty hands, shaky knees....yeah, it's not my thing.  But, I thought I would  share my thought with you that I shared on Sunday.  This will be a several part series, because, it is along, and if you have a little attention problem like me, then long posts are a deterrent.

"Between the Bible and the Book of Mormon, the word Thanks and it’s derivatives are mentioned approximately 340 times.  That would be Thank, Thanks, Thanked, Thanksgiving, Thanksgivings, thankful, thankfulness, thanking and thankworthy.  Clearly the Lord is trying to send a message to us on how important it is to Live in Thanksgiving Daily and surely this is a divine principle.   A little research into the word Thanksgiving revealed some interesting observations.  Thanksgiving comes from the Greek word Eucharisteo.  Eucharisteo is a word often associated with the last supper, communions or the sacrament.  The root word of Eucharisteo is Charis which means “Grace or favor”.  When we are thankful we are grateful for a favor or grace.  And a favor or grace from whom?  All favors or graces or blessings ultimately come from our Heavenly Father.  But, there is more.  The root word for Charis is Chara meaning joy.  When we fully are appreciative and thankful, we can live with more joy.  

We can learn as much as we can about the topic of Gratitude and Thanksgiving.  We can listen to or read talks and a book on it, but Thanksgiving is more than learning, it is acting.  Putting into action Thanksgiving, allows us to feel that gratitude all the way through to our heart.   Gordon B. Hinkley said, "When you walk with gratitude, you do not walk with arrogance and conceit and egotism, you walk with a spirit of thanksgiving that is becoming to you and will bless your lives." end of quote. 

In the last hours of Christ’s life he broke bread with his disciples and gave thanks.  He knew he was going to be crucified, but He still gave thanks.  If our Savior is our brother and mentor, the one we try to emulate in all we do, should we not give thanks continually?  When we partake of the Sacrament we do it in remembrance, and we are thankful.  Just as Christ expressed Thanksgiving that last night, we, too, express gratitude as we partake of the Sacrament.  We remember we thank and we partake of the atonement; the greatest gift ever given. 

The act of Thanksgiving or expressing gratitude is so important that our modern day prophets have reiterated it over and over.  “Be Grateful” was one of President Hinkley’s 6 B’s to the youth.  There is a whole section in For the Strengthof youth devoted to Gratitude.  We often hear of the importance of gratitude during General Conference.  Modern day scripture indicates that this being grateful and expressing Thanksgiving is not merely a suggestion but a commandment.  D&C 59:7 says, “Thou shalt thank the Lord thy God in all things” But do we really do this?  If we are honest, my bet is that more than often we fail to thank the Father yet, expect so much more...."  

To be continued....

**Originally published on 11/26/2012**