Taught by Jeanine M.
I know two women in
their eighties. Both have strong testimonies and have given their lives to
serving the Lord by serving in the church and their families. They are both devoted disciples. When you ask them the question, “How are
you?”, they give very different answers that reflect how the attitude they’ve
chosen to live by. One says, “I’m
happy.” The other tells you all about her aches and pains and day to day
struggles. One is quite bitter about her
ailments, the other tries to ignore them and focuses on drinking from the
goblet of gratitude.
Elder Uchtdorf’s talk
is full of beautiful quotes full of imagery.
For our lesson, we picked quotes from a goblet of gratitude and answered
the questions on the back to further study his words.
How would gratitude help us become more like Christ? How
does it act as a catalyst to develop other attributes?
Ways to develop a Christlike
attribute from Preach My Gospel:
Identify the attribute.
Write a definition and description.
Record questions to answer as you
study. List and study thoroughly passages of
scripture about the attribute.
Record feelings and impressions.
Set goals to make plans and apply the
attribute in your life. Pray for the Lord to help you.
Evaluate your progress periodically.
(Remember it takes one action and
decision at a time to make changes.)
Rainbow before the rain:
It is common to see growth after our trials. How would our
lives be different if we were grateful during our trials?
We can focus on what is in the Gift
(happy if it’s good, depressed if it’s not) or the mere fact that the gift is
given. Therefore, happiness is not dependent on what happens day to day or our
circumstances but we should rejoice that we’ve been given life in the first
place. Rejoice that we have a gift—the
gift of life!
Which comes first: gratitude or testimony?
Maybe they are reciprocal. As the
early apostles increased their knowledge and testimony, they were courageous
and stalwart. They were grateful for a resurrected Christ and understood the
atonement and worked to share their knowledge with the world. As we increase
our testimony, our gratitude increases and vice versa.
If our gratitude
should not depend on any outward circumstances, what exactly makes it qualify
as gratitude?
How is
gratitude expressed if it is an attribute or part of our being? It still helps to count your blessings, write
thank you notes, express gratitude in prayer and to others. As we focus on
BEING full of gratitude it becomes part of our nature.
What can we do to see
our everyday lives with an eternal lens? How can we remind ourselves that we
are eternal beings?
This is especially important when going through trials. We try to remember that this life is just a
small dot on the circle of eternity.
What about those people who, despite their
best efforts, continue in sinful behavior? Should someone with an addiction
be grateful?
As Swedenborg (a 1700 philosopher) has said many times, the Lord's
divine providence makes sure that evils become expressed, because if they
weren't expressed, they could never be removed. So, be grateful for your
weaknesses! If you sometimes fall prey to sin, know that each time you repent
from it you draw closer to God than you were before. Sin, at least as
outwardly-manifest behavior, is thus a great blessing to those who repent (even
if it's again and again)--it teaches you to be humble and patient, and to
always rely on the atonement. (Christian Swenson)
We all fall into this category of imperfect beings struggling to
overcome weaknesses. Let’s be patient with others as well as ourselves. It may
take repeated effort
We divided
into groups and each group read through these snippets from pioneer’s
diaries. There are many modern-day
pioneers in our ward, community and in the church today. Women who express the same hope for miracles
and share the same faith that our early ancestors did. Each group then came up with similar examples
of a modern day pioneer.
“My last act
in that precious spot was to tidy the rooms, sweep up the floor, and set the
broom in its accustomed place behind the door.
Then with emotions in my heart…I gently closed the door and faced
unknown future: faced it with faith in God and no less assurance of the
ultimate establishment of the gospel in the West and of its true, enduring
principles, than I had felt in those trying scenes in Missouri.” ~ Bathsheba Smith
This can be compared to countless couples who go on
missions. Many women face unknown
territory through divorce or death of a spouse.
“As Sarah
Leavitt and her daughters tried to comfort her sick husband, he began to sing,
‘Come Let us Anew, Our Journey pursue..’ He sang the hymn as long as he had
strength to sing it and then wanted Elisa, one of his daughters, to sing it. He
died without struggle or a groan.” ~ Sarah
Leavitt
Death is one of the hardest trials especially when it is
unexplained or sudden. Remembering that we are eternal beings and having that
perspective can help.
“The
thoughts of leaving my family for the Mormon Battalion at this critical time
are indescribable. My family consisted
of a wife and two small children, who were left in company with an aged father
and mother and brother. The most of the
Battalion left families….When we were to meet with them again, God only
knew. Nevertheless, we did not feel to
murmur.” ~ William Hyde
There are modern day pioneers who support military wives and
husbands today.
“When we got to Winter Quarters I was
confined the fifth of November with my oldest son, in a wagon, and a very bad
storm and wind for days, and no fire; one house in camp; went to get a bake
kettle of coals to dress the baby by. Little fellow shook with the cold and I
was very sick, nigh unto death. I sent to Brother Brigham to pray for me. I
soon got better, and I am here yet.” ~ Caroline
Holbrook
We need
to rely on each other as we go through trials in our lives today. We can call
for Priesthood Blessings to help us.
“Mr. Rich was at the time one of the High Council, and had to be
away most of the time, and to help with the temple which was fast being
completed. Of course, I had to be deprived of his society most of the time, but
we had a nice little home not far from the temple, in which I took great comfort
with my little family. But many were the blessings we had received in the House
of the Lord, which was caused joy and comfort in the midst of all our sorrows,
and enabled us to have faith in God, knowing He would guide us and sustain us
in the unknown journey that lay before us.” Sarah
Rich
Countless families give
hours of service in the church and spouses are left at home to take care of
families. We can be mindful of our
leaders and their needs at home and offer to help. We can also seek direction, comfort and peace
from temple attendance.
As we live our lives constantly seeking and submitting to the will
of the Father, we can develop the attribute of gratitude. Living our lives by lifting the Goblet of
Gratitude will bring us greater peace and happiness.
"Being Grateful in our circumstances is an act of faith in God. It requires that we trust God and hope for things we may not see but which are true. By being grateful, we follow the example of our befoved savior, who said, 'not my will, but thine, be done.'" ~ Prsident Dieter F. Uchtdorf
