I gave a talk today in church. The subject was confessing His hand in all things. In the spirit of Thanksgiving I just wanted to highlight a few things in the talk.
Elder Wirthlin suggests three ways that can help us to strive in Thanksgiving daily.
1. Open our eyes.
He agrees with Robert Louis Stevenson, who wrote, "the man who forgets to be thankful has fallen asleep in life." Unfortunately, because the beauties of life are so abundant, sometimes we take them for granted.
Our minds have a marvelous capacity to notice the unusual. However, the opposite is true as well: The more often we see the things around us-even the beautiful and wonderful things-the more they become invisible to us. That is why we often take for granted the beauty of this world; the flowers, the trees, the birds, and clouds-even those we love. Because we see things often, we see them less and less.
2. Open our hearts.
We must let go of the negative emotions that bind our hearts and instead fill our souls with love, faith, and thanksgiving. Anger, resentment, and bitterness stunt our spiritual growth. would you bathe in impure water? Then why do we bate our spirits with negative and bitter thoughts and feelings?
3.Open our arms.
The blessings that come from opening our arms to others are among the choicest this earth has to offer.
Choice blessings await those who live in thanksgiving daily. "He who receiveth all things with thankfulness," the Lord has promised, "shall be made glorious; and the things of this earth shall added unto him, even an hundred fold, yea, more." (D&C 78:19)
Elder Wirthlin's talk has made me focus on the spirit of Thanksgiving and has given three suggestions to use: Open your eyes, heart, and arms!!!
How do you get into the spirit of Thanksgiving?
3 comments:
I heard most of your talk from the foyer today. I love Elder Wirthlin's talk and you did a great job sharing the most important parts of it. Thanks for thoughts during this Thanksgiving season!
I especially appreciate being reminded to open my heart. I need to hear that and do that more. I so often let myself pick and walk around disunited with my family. Thanks Kasey.
"Because we see things often, we see them less and less."
This is so so true. Very good post. :)
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