The following is based on a talk
President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Second Counselor in the First Presidency, gave
November 19, 2013, at the Salt Lake Rotary Club. I used his remarks as a
starting point and wove my own thoughts and style throughout. There is enough
of his material remaining here for me to feel compelled to give him some
credit.
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My brothers and sisters, I am grateful for this
opportunity to express my feelings of thanks today. It is particularly
important to maintain a spirit of gratitude as we enter a season which no
longer seems to emphasize gratitude, but gluttony and greed. If our thoughts
are centered on Heavenly Father and his Son, Jesus Christ and their gifts to
us, we will be able to resist these forces that tend to pull us away from them.
Let me share some thoughts on gratitude:
"Not what we say about our
blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving."4
The U.S. has a great and inspiring history. It is
now 392 years since the pilgrims celebrated their Day of Thanksgiving.
These people of the Mayflower Compact were 44
Saints and 66 Strangers.7 Nevertheless,
it was a contract of equality and unity.
H.U. Westermayer said, “The Pilgrims made seven
times more graves than huts. No Americans have been more impoverished;
nevertheless, they set aside days of thanksgiving, days of praise and prayer.”9
I might argue with Mr. Westermayer that the
Latter-day Saints were frequently just as impoverished, and they, too set aside
days of thanksgiving, praise and prayer. And we have been reconciled with our
countrymen, and have offered forgiveness, and obtained a measure of acceptance.
Today, some think that Thanksgiving Day should not
be connected to God the Almighty but only to country and history.
Here is what George Washington had to say in his
October 3, 1789, Thanksgiving Proclamation:
“Whereas it is the duty of all nations to
acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful
for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; both
Houses of Congress have requested me to recommend to the people of the United
States a Day of Public Thanksgiving and Prayer, to be observed by acknowledging
with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by
affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for
their safety and happiness."10
With all the busyness and the business going on
during this time of year, do not let the feasting distract us from our prayer
and praise!
We do well to remember one of our favorite hymns,
which reads, “Count your many blessings; Name them one by one. Count your many
blessings; See what God has done.”11
A wise man once said, “The hardest arithmetic to
master is that which enables you to count your blessings.”12
Enlarging our capacity for gratitude enriches our
entire soul.
Gratitude is one of the most important human
virtues and one of the most common human deficiencies. Gratitude does not
develop without effort.
We can learn this from the fearless handcart
pioneers who pulled their meager belongings in handcarts across the scorching
plains and through the snows of the high mountain passes to escape persecution,
and then expressed their gratitude in peaceful worship in the Salt Lake Valley.
President James E. Faust said, “A grateful heart
is a beginning of greatness.
“[It is with gratitude as with all other] types of
human strength: ‘Use it or lose it.’ When not used, muscles weaken,
skills deteriorate, and faith disappears.”15
President Hinckley said, “I am asking that we stop
seeking out the storms and enjoy more fully the sunlight. I am suggesting that
as we go through life we ‘accentuate the positive.’ I am asking that we look a
little deeper for the good, that we still voices of insult and sarcasm, that we
more generously compliment virtue and effort.”16
And from President John F. Kennedy: “As we
express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is
not to utter words, but to live by them.”17
Henry van Dyke: “Gratitude is the inward feeling
of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that
feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse.”18
These values are expressions of gratitude and
thanksgiving. They are urgently needed in a time of serious challenges and
uncertainty.
We need only to open a newspaper or turn on the
news to realize that we are living in a cynical time. Trust in public
institutions, corporations, and even organized religion is declining.
Almost daily, media reports describe the decline of moral decency and the
erosion of basic ethical conduct.
In this time of uncertainty, mistrust, fear,
rumors of war, and political road rage, we should never forget the Savior’s
instruction to us to love one another. One of the best ways we can show our
gratitude for the atoning sacrifice of our Savior is to love and forgive
others.
A great gift we have received from the Father is
our agency. Moral agency refers not only to the capacity to act for ourselves
but also that we are accountable for those actions.
Heavenly Father has also given us other
commandments to guide us as we walk through this life. The Ten
Commandments and other divine laws constitute the commandments of God.
These divine laws were instituted by God to govern His creations and to
prescribe behavior for us, His offspring. If we obey these laws, we will find
joy in this life and eternal happiness in the life to come.
It takes courage and humility to put away old
hatreds, divisions, and traditions that constrict and confine people into a
blind succession of destructive behavior toward others.
“Where there is gratitude, there is humility as
opposed to pride; there is generosity as opposed to selfishness.”21
I believe that it is within our reach to breach
barriers of misunderstandings and build bridges of brotherhood and
understanding among ourselves and others.
Today, the power of Christ’s teachings could bring
to pass a miracle, similar to the one Paul described to the people of Ephesus,
a people ripe with divisiveness.
“Without Christ, we were aliens, having no
hope. But now in Christ Jesus we both have access by one Spirit unto the
Father.22
“Now therefore ye are no more strangers and
foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God.”23
Christ instructed the saints in our day to “let
every man esteem his brother as himself, and practise virtue and holiness
before me.
“And again I say unto you, let every man esteem
his brother as himself.
“I say unto you, be one; and if ye are not one ye
are not mine” (D & C 38:24–25, 27).
Speaking to Joseph Smith and the Three Witnesses, Christ
said: “I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was crucified for the sins of the
world, even as many as will believe on my name, that they may become the sons
of God, even one in me as I am one in the Father, as the Father is one in me,
that we may be one” (D & C 35:2).
As we strive to become unified with each other, we also
draw nearer to Christ. Since he invited all men to “come unto Christ,” this is
a natural first step.
In a beloved hymn, we sing:
“Come, follow me," the
Savior said.
Then let us in his footsteps tread,
For thus alone can we be one
With God's own loved, begotten Son.”
Then let us in his footsteps tread,
For thus alone can we be one
With God's own loved, begotten Son.”
In the scriptures, we learn that Christ “went
about doing good” (Acts 10:38). If we want to become like him, we should also
decide to do good. We should be eager to serve our fellow men in whatever ways
we are able. Often we think that this service requires that we have money or
significant talents or something else that we do not possess. In reality, all
it requires is a willing heart.
Each one of us, from the youngest to the oldest member of
the ward, has the ability to touch the hearts of others. Each one of you has
the power to bless the lives of your fellow ward members. If you don’t try to
do this, you are being like the person who buried his talent.
And this also applies to sharing the gospel with our
friends and neighbors.
It is really very simple: if you are feeling down, serve
others; if you feel like you have no talents, serve others; if you feel like
you have no friends, serve others; if you need the Lord’s blessings in your
life, serve others.
We sing “Shrink not from your duty, however unpleasant, but
follow the Savior, your pattern and friend.”
This raises an important question: do you feel like the
Savior is your friend? Primary children will likely answer without hesitation
that Jesus is their friend, but as we grow older, do we put we put distance
between us?
When I was in Primary, we sang:
“Jesus is our loving friend.
He is always near.
He will guide us when we pray;
Ev'ry child is dear.”
He is always near.
He will guide us when we pray;
Ev'ry child is dear.”
Brothers and sisters, do you know, even as you endure
trials and face the challenges of life, that Jesus is your loving friend? Do
you know that you are a child of God, and that he loves you?
We do not need great doctrinal knowledge to know and
understand these things. All we need is the faith of a child. And then with the
faith of a child, we need to ask the Father, in the name of Jesus Christ for a
witness that we are his children. By the power of the Holy Ghost, he will bear
witness to us that he lives, that we are his children, and that he loves us.
When you receive that witness, you will also know that Heavenly Father hears
and answers your prayers.
Once we have that witness, we should be sharing it with our
families. Can you think of a more significant gift as we approach the Christmas
season?
I was touched as I recently reread Joseph Smith’s witness
of the Savior:
“By these things we know that
there is a God in heaven, who is infinite and eternal, from everlasting to
everlasting the same unchangeable God, the framer of heaven and earth, and all
things which are in them;
“And that he created man, male
and female, after his own image and in his own likeness, created he them;
“And gave unto them
commandments that they should love and serve him, the only living and true God,
and that he should be the only being whom they should worship. …
“Wherefore, the Almighty God
gave his Only Begotten Son, as it is written in those scriptures which have
been given of him.
“He suffered temptations but
gave no heed unto them.
“He was crucified, died, and
rose again the third day;
“And ascended into heaven, to
sit down on the right hand of the Father, to reign with almighty power
according to the will of the Father;
“That as many as would believe
and be baptized in his holy name, and endure in faith to the end, should be
saved“(D & C 20:17-25).
Christ also revealed a similar doctrine to the
Nephites:
“Behold I have given unto you
my gospel, and this is the gospel which I have given unto you—that I came into
the world to do the will of my Father, because my Father sent me.
“And my Father sent me that I
might be lifted up upon the cross; and after that I had been lifted up upon the
cross, that I might draw all men unto me, that as I have been lifted up by men
even so should men be lifted up by the Father, to stand before me, to be judged
of their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil—
“And for this cause have I been
lifted up; therefore, according to the power of the Father I will draw all men
unto me, that they may be judged according to their works.
“And it shall come to pass,
that whoso repenteth and is baptized in my name shall be filled; and if he
endureth to the end, behold, him will I hold guiltless before my Father at that
day when I shall stand to judge the world. …
“Now this is the commandment:
Repent, all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me and be baptized in my name,
that ye may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, that ye may stand
spotless before me at the last day.
“Verily, verily, I say unto
you, this is my gospel; and ye know the things that ye must do in my church;
for the works which ye have seen me do that shall ye also do; for that which ye
have seen me do even that shall ye do;
“Therefore, if ye do these
things blessed are ye, for ye shall be lifted up at the last day”
(3 Nephi 27:13-16, 20-22).
As we look at these two passages, we see that the gospel of
Jesus Christ is not as complicated as some make it out to be. A testimony of the gospel is based on these
simple truths.
Once we gain this testimony and help those we love to gain
this testimony, we will be blessed with the strength to resist temptation, and
the ability to overcome the challenges we face, and to endure our trials, as we
become more like our Savior. If you feel a little uncertain right now, if you
feel a little shaky, lean on those of us who have received this witness until
you know for yourself.
I testify to you that we are the children of the living
God, our Heavenly Father, who loves us and wants us to return to him. He
established a plan so that we can know the way back to him. An important part
of that plan was to send his son to atone for our sins.
I know that Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God. He
is our Savior: yours, and mine. He came to earth to set the example for us. He
truly “marked the path and led the way.”
More importantly, he suffered and died for us, and was
resurrected. He overcame sin and death so that we may also overcome our sins
and our death, if we will follow the path he indicated.
I stand all amazed at the great love he has for each of us,
that he would make such a great sacrifice for all of his Father’s children.
In this season of Thanksgiving and celebrating his birth,
we should be thankful for all that the Savior has done for us. This is what
makes Christmas meaningful.
I am eternally grateful for my Savior and his great gifts
to me. I am also grateful to be numbered among you, my brothers and sisters, as
the least among you.
I wish you all a happy Thanksgiving. That a spirit of
thanks may carry through the Christmas season and throughout the coming year is
my prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
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Notes (from Pres. Uchtdorf’s portion)
3Melody
Beattie, The Language of Letting Go: Daily Meditations on Codependency (Center
City, Minnesota: Hazelden, 1990), 218.
8Nathaniel Philbrick
(2006). Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War. New
York: Penguin Group, 80–84.
10“Thanksgiving
Proclamation, 3 October 1789,” Founders Online, National
Archives (ver. 2013-09-28). Source: The Papers of George Washington,
Presidential Series, vol. 4, 8 September 1789 – 15
January 1790,
ed. Dorothy Twohig. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1993,
131–132.
17"Proclamation 3560 -
Thanksgiving Day, 1963," November 5, 1963. Online by Gerhard Peters and
John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project.
