Justin and I spoke in church today. I really like speaking at church. I don't know what it is but I like being able to share things I studied with other people. Our topic was Thanksgiving. So I want to just write some of the things that I talked about. It won't be word for word but this is basically the gist.
The ancient prophet in the Book of Mormon Lehi was commanded of God to take his family, tent and a few provisions and head out into the wilderness and eventually go to the promised land. He left almost everything behind! Then when he gets to a valley which was three days away from Jerusalem, Lehi "built an alter of stones and made an offering unto the Lord and gave thanks unto the Lord our God." (1 Ne. 2:7)
Reading this passage makes me think 'What was he grateful for?' He had left most of what he had back in Jerusalem. I bet Laman and Lemuel were thinking the same thing.
Move forward a couple hundred years and we read the story of Alma and his faithful followers. They were busy building up the church but we learn that they had “suffered all manner of afflictions, being persecuted by all those who didn’t belong to the church.” (Mosiah 26:38) I know that it says they were persecuted but it doesn't say here what their afflictions were but I bet that those experiences weren't easy to go through. And then they were commanded in the very next verse to “pray without ceasing” and “give thanks in all things” (Mosiah 26:29). Again I wonder what it was that they were grateful for.
Fast forward a couple thousand years. I'm standing in front of a new school in a new state and I know no one. I felt completely alone. No one talked to me, I ate lunch alone. It was a very lonely day. I came home from school and my mom encouraged me to pray. So I went upstairs to my room and I knelt down by my bed and I just wanted to complain and tell God how hard it was for me. I wanted to ask him for things, but insteadI felt like I needed to just thank him for all that I had. And the thought came, 'but what do I have to be grateful for?'
Elder Eyring taught that “Each Person living is in the midst
of a test. We have been granted by
God the precious gift of life in a world created as a proving ground and a
preparatory school. The tests we face, their severity, their timing, and their
duration will be unique for each of us. They are a part of design for mortal life”
Trials come to us all. They can’t be
avoided. And when they come we might feel like there is nothing to be grateful
for.
I know that for me as a 17 year old,
the answer came to me as I opened my mouth. I prayed for a long time and not
once did I complain, not once did I ask for something. I only expressed my
gratitude. When I stood up from that prayer I felt lighter. I felt strength and
I knew that I could keep on going
I bet that Alma and his followers
were grateful for the truth that they had received. I bet they were grateful
for the direction they had from God and that they could rely on him for comfort
in their time of difficulty.
I bet Lehi was grateful for his wife
who had supported him through the difficulties he had faced. I bet he was grateful
for revelation and that he had been directed by the Lord.
How do we respond to trials? Do we
build a figurative alter of stones and offer up thanks to the Lord? Or do are
we the way that Elder Worthlin describes:
Those who are ungrateful “carry the
burden of bitterness and resentfulness for many years. Some pass their days as
though suffering a deep sadness they cannot name. Others are unhappy because
life didn’t turn out the way they thought it would.”
Even when things are tough, and I
know that they can be, Elder oaks said that “we should even give thanks for our
afflictions because they turn our hearts to God and give us opportunities to
prepare for what God would have us become… we should thank God for our
adversities and pray for guidance in meeting them...”
When I was younger I remember hearing people thank Heavenly Father for their trials in their prayers. I would always think, "Don't do that! He'll send you more!" I have come to understand through going through trials of my own that I am grateful for the way I have changed because of my trials. I am better because of them.
Elder Oaks continues: “Through that attitude and through our
faith and obedience, we will realize the promises God has given us. It is all
part of the plan... When we give thanks in all things, we see hardships and
adversities in the context of the purpose of life. We are sent here to be
tested. There must be opposition in all things. We are meant to learn and grow
through that opposition, through meeting our challenges, and through teaching
others to do the same.”
Gratitude
as well as faith in Christ has helped me get through the trials I have faced
and continues to help me climb the mountains that I have been given to climb.
I
have gone through trials much more difficult that moving my senior year of high
school. But I can tell you right now that I am grateful for them. I don’t think
that I would ever want to go through them again, but I am grateful that
Heavenly Father has used them to teach me. I find that as I express gratitude to those around me and also to my Heavenly Father during my trials I
am lifted up and I am happier. Turn to him, thank him, pray without ceasing, have a spirit of thanksgiving daily.
So that's what I talked about... I know that it's true!
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