Giving Thanks

 

 Today is Thanksgiving Day! It is a day of eating a lot of delicious food, playing football, and gathering together with family. On Thanksgiving my family always gathers together for the annual family feast and shares all of the many things we are thankful for. We go around the table and everyone shares their thoughts and feelings. Some are solemn, others are funny, and still others are...let's just say...creative. But always we have a good time and our family comes a little closer together.

This morning I was pondering some scriptures that relate to giving thanks and being grateful for what we have. They come from both the Bible and the Book of Mormon. I'll share just a couple of them here.

On Thanksgiving we always talk about how grateful we are for our many blessings. These blessings come to us from God, our Heavenly Father. He has "created [us], and granted us [us our] lives", and as we keep his commandments, He "doth immediately bless [us]."  We are always in His debt, and nothing we can do in our lives will ever be enough to repay Him (Mosiah 2:20-25). This passage from the Book of Mormon really helps me to be more grateful for every little blessing that I have in my life: my family, my missionary experiences, my food, shelter, and clothing, and the opportunity to be on the earth right now.

I learn from Philippians 4:6-7 that as I pray humbly and with the spirit of thanksgiving in my heart, God will hear my words and bring me peace. I have felt that in my life every time I have prayed to my Heavenly Father. I know that the best way that we could ever show our gratitude on this Thanksgiving Day would be to offer a humble prayer of thanks to God, the one who has granted us all of our many blessings. I invite you to do that on this day of gratitude. I know that He will hear you and answer your prayers. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

About this Blog

Since this is the very first post, I figured I would share my reasons for writing this blog.

I am a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I have set aside 2 years of my life to leave home and come to this part of the world to teach people about Jesus Christ and His gospel, and invite them to follow Him. The truths I am teaching are very important to me because they have taught me my purpose in life and why I am here on this earth. They have revealed the truth to me, and helped me to find answers to the deepest questions of my soul. Because of what this message has done for me in my life, I have come here to share it with everyone I come in contact with.

I know that the message that I share is true and that it can and will bless your life as you apply it in your life. Here in this blog I will share inspirational thoughts, messages of truth from the scriptures, and teachings from prophets and apostles of Christ who are on the earth today. As you read them, pay attention to the thoughts that come to your mind and the feelings of your soul. I promise you that as you listen to the Holy Ghost, you can know for yourself that this message is from God.