“The Prophet Joseph said at one time that one of the greatest sins of which the Latter-day Saints would be guilty is the sin of ingratitude. I presume most of us have not thought of that as a great sin. There is a great tendency for us in our prayers and in our pleadings with the Lord to ask for additional blessings. But sometimes I feel we need to devote more of our prayers to expressions of gratitude and thanksgiving for blessings already received. We enjoy so much.”
You could have an experience with the gift of the Holy Ghost today. You could begin a private prayer with thanks. You could start to count your blessings, and then pause for a moment. If you exercise faith, and with the gift of the Holy Ghost, you will find that memories of other blessings will flood into your mind. If you begin to express gratitude for each of them, your prayer may take a little longer than usual. Remembrance will come. And so will gratitude.
You could try the same thing as you write an entry in your book of remembrance. The Holy Ghost has helped with that since the beginning of time. You remember in the record of Moses it says: “And a book of remembrance was kept, in the which was recorded, in the language of Adam, for it was given unto as many as called upon God to write by the spirit of inspiration.” (Moses 6:5.)
President Spencer W. Kimball described that process of inspired writing: “Those who keep a book of remembrance are more likely to keep the Lord in remembrance in their daily lives. Journals are a way of counting our blessings and of leaving an inventory of these blessings for our posterity.”
As you start to write, you could ask yourself, “How did God bless me today?” If you do that long enough and with faith, you will find yourself remembering blessings. And sometimes, you will have gifts brought to your mind which you failed to notice during the day, but which you will then know were a touch of God’s hand in your life.
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One year, a few years ago, I kept a daily gratitude journal. It was wonderful to take the time to notice the everyday blessings that Father in Heaven has given me. These blessings are so much a part of our daily lives that sometimes we don’t even notice them. We take them for granted. Remembering to thank God in our prayers is so important, but keeping a gratitude journal helps you come up with at least 365 things you’re grateful for, or helping you to pay attention to the little usually insignificant things that are blessing straight from God. His way of letting you know He is there, He cares about what is important to you, and He loves you!
I had to smile today at what our sweet daughter-in-law said. She said she knew Heavenly Father loves her because we were having breakfast casserole for Sunday dinner. She had a busy day at church, and was super tired. Having breakfast casserole for dinner felt like a blessing. It was very good!
I really think it’s ok to give God the credit for everything we are blessed with, even breakfast casserole. After all He gave us life and the opportunity to live in the beautiful world. All the yummy food is a blessing of living in a world that provides the necessities of life. Janet needed some breakfast casserole, and God provided it.
I had a wonderful experience the year I kept a gratitude journal. I recommend it. We are blessed more than we realize if we take the time to notice.
Hope your Sunday was the Best! Love, Joy