Gratitude - It's Thanksgiving next week

Thanksgiving so often gets lost in the hustle, bustle and anxiety of Christmas preparations. Let's take time to stop and think about all our blessings and "The Giver of ALL Good Gifts".

Here are some QUOTES on Gratitude

Be Grateful

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. --John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Charity never humiliated him who profited from it, nor ever bound him by the chains of gratitude, since it was not to him but to God that the gift was made. --Antoine de Saint-Exupery


Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it. --William Arthur Ward

Let's be grateful for those who give us happiness;
they are the charming gardeners who make our soul bloom. --Marcel Proust

“Cicero calls gratitude the mother of virtues, the most capital of all duties, and uses the words grateful and good as synonymous terms, inseparably united in the same character.” – Bate

We can lift ourselves, and others as well, when we refuse to remain in the realm of negative thought and cultivate within our hearts an attitude of gratitude. If ingratitude be numbered among the serious sins, then gratitude takes its place among the noblest of virtues. --Thomas S. Monson

“An ungrateful man is like a hog under a tree eating acorns, but never looking up to see where they come from.” - Timothy Dexter

Gratitude begins with attitude. While to some every apple shines, to others the remaining blemishes after the polishing process are all that’s visible. We must use caution not to be drawn into the growing populace of ungrateful people who have become calloused to blessings as they bicker in misery. -Gordon T. Watts

“Gratitude is twin sister to humility; pride is a foe to both.” -James E. Talmage

“A grateful heart is a beginning of greatness.” - James E. Faust

God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say "thank you?" ~ William A. Ward

We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures. ~ Thornton Wilder

“Through expression of prayerful gratitude and thanksgiving, we show our dependence upon a higher source of wisdom and knowledge—God the Father and his Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” – Robert D. Hales

“And so, my beloved brothers and sisters, let us rejoice together now as we celebrate with appreciation the wondrous doctrines and practices which have come as a gift from the Lord in this most glorious time of His work. … Let us ever be grateful for these most precious gifts and privileges and act well our part as those who love the Lord.” – Gordon B. Hinckley

Remember to thank your Heavenly Father for his blessings. This is a very important step, not just because Heavenly father wants us to be grateful, but because it does so much for us. Most of the time we think of prayer only when we want something; but when we start by expressing gratitude for the things we already have, we begin to see our lives in a new way. - Dwan J. Young

HYMNS
#62 "All Creatures of Our God and King"
#91 "Father, Thy Children"
#92 "For the Beauty of the Earth"
#93 "Prayer of Thanksgiving"
#94 "Come, Ye Thankful People"
#95 "Now Thank We All Our God"
#193 “I Stand All Amazed”
#219 “Because I Have Been Given Much”
#241 “Count Your Blessings”
#227 “There is Sunshine in My Soul”
#306 "God's Daily Care"

Because I Have Been Given Much
Grace Noll Crowell
Because I have been given much, I too must give;
Because of thy great bounty, Lord, each day I live
I shall divide my gifts from thee
With ev’ry brother that I see
Who has the need of help from me.
Because I have been sheltered, fed by thy good care,
I cannot see another’s lack and I not share
My glowing fire, my loaf of bread,
My roof’s safe shelter overhead,
That he too may be comforted.
Because I have been blessed by thy great love, dear Lord,
I’ll share thy love again, according to thy word.
I shall give love to those in need;
I’ll show that love by word and deed:
Thus shall my thanks be thanks indeed. (Jacob 2:17-19;Mosiah 18:27-29)

Earth Life ~
Trials and tribulations: mandatory
Misery: optional - Neal A. Maxwell

If every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ, then why not do so now? For in the day of that collective confession it will mean much less to kneel when it is no longer possible to stand. ~ Neal A. Maxwell

Worrying does not empty tomorrow of its troubles It empties today of its strength. - Mary Englebreit

You don’t count your hardships; You count your blessings.

Holding a grudge is like taking poison yourself and waiting for the other person to die.

I believe I have come to better understand that the Lord’s tender mercies are the very personal and individualized blessings, strength, protection, assurances, guidance, loving-kindnesses, consolation, support, and spiritual gifts which we receive from and because of and through the Lord Jesus Christ.” - David A. Bednar

An Attitude of Gratitude / Think to Thank ~ Thomas S. Monson

Gratitude is said to be the memory of the heart. - Joseph F. Smith

"If you can't say somethin' nice, don't say nothin' at all." ~ Thumper, in “Bambi”

“The United States Post Office dead-letter department receives annually thousands and thousands of children’s pre-Christmas letters addressed to Santa Claus asking for things. After it was all over one year, a single, solitary letter thanking Santa Claus was received. Could this be one of the problems of this troubled world that people think only of getting—not giving? Of receiving—and not even expressing their gratitude for that which they do receive?” --Thomas S. Monson

“Gratitude is deeper than thanks. Thankfulness is the beginning of gratitude. Gratitude is the completion of thankfulness. Thankfulness may consist merely of words. Gratitude is shown in acts.” –David O. McKay

We must make certain that we do not offend God by our failure to confess His hand in all things. -Harold B. Lee

Gratitude is expressed in prayer and thanksgiving; but more so in living lives of honor and integrity, of kindness and compassion, in awareness of others and their needs, and an honest expression of gratitude for all those who bless and affect our lives for good. Thanksgiving is best expressed in thanks-living—in lives of goodness and obedienceand love and service. --A. Theodore Tuttle

He who has a thankful heart and cultivates the spirit of appreciation will find much to be grateful for each hour of every day. -Hugh B. Brown

Thanksgiving day gives each and everyone of us an invitation and a wonderful opportunity to pause and count our many blessings and to give thanks to God and praise Him from whom all blessings flow. -N. Eldon Tanner

Let us see to it that from henceforth no day shall pass in which we do not fervently, in family and in private prayers, express our gratitude to our Heavenly Father and seek His guidance and protecting care. -Marion G. Romney

It would be very difficult to be grateful without being good, or to be good without being grateful. As we feel and express our appreciation TO God and FOR God, we tend to become more like him. - Sterling W. Sill

Lasting happiness is the result of endurance. -- Chris Heimerdinger

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said,
"My son, the battle is between two "wolves" inside us all. One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.
The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: "Which wolf wins?"
The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."


Way to B!
~ Gordon B. Hinckley
Be grateful
Be smart
Be clean
Be true
Be humble
Be prayerful
Be Involved
Be Positive
Be Still


"How Different”
Richard Chenevix Trench
Some murmur when the sky is clear
And wholly bright to view,
If one small speck of dark appear
In their great heaven of blue:
And some with thankful love are filled,
If but one streak of light,
One ray of God’s good mercy, gild
The darkness of their night.