I had a plan for a lesson this week, but things didn’t really go the way I wanted it to. Then I had part of a lesson plan for this week. I thought of it during my Priest lesson session (there’s an actual name for that part of church, but words aren’t exactly rushing to my head right now) but then my friend Doom Trot came up to me after the lesson was over (which was about President Uchtdorf’s talk in his year’s Christmas devotional titled “The Generous One,” and said, “You know how you do a lesson on the thing every Sunday?” And then I was like, “Yeah.” And then he was like, “Yeah, do that.”

Well, fine, Doom Trot. Fine.

So, today I will be talking about a certain portion of President Uchtdorf’s talk which is about the Gift of Gratitude. I feel that this is an important lesson to talk about, so I shall. We as humans are very used to taking everything for granted. Not even taking the time to really think about the things that we have and how lucky we are to have them. And we all kind of need to stop and think about everything we have. I sometimes think about the stuff I have and how grateful I am to have it, but I need to start doing it more often. Just so that I can avoid feeling like I have very little. Because looking around my house, I realize I have quite a lot of stuff that I take for granted too often. Even the horse mask and Cookie Monster puppet currently looking at me from the corners of my bed.

Anywho, a story from the days of Jesus teaches us about ten lepers who were struck with a disease that separated them from their lives. They begged for their health to return to them, and were actually cured of their afflictions by the Son of God. Instead of being thankful for their health, nine of the ten lepers went about and celebrated their good health. Only one returned and thanked and praised the Lord for his health. That leper understood gratitude and took the time to be thankful for it.

Guys and gals, it doesn’t take a lot of time to take a look at our lives and realize all of the good that we have. Even if it’s not a lot, or it seems that there’s nothing to be thankful for, you’re wrong. There’s always something to be thankful for. Whether it’s the clothes on your back, a roof over your head, even the chance to eat something. Easy things to take for granted, but I can tell you that if we don’t appreciate everything in our lives, they might just disappear right in front of our eyes. You’ll be thankful for all of that then, won’t you.

This message rings especially true in this Christmas season. In a time of hustle and bustle, stress and overwhelming times, it is beyond easy to forget about the real meaning of Christmas. We’re celebrating the birth of Christ the Lord. We’re celebrating the sacrifice that Heavenly Father had to go through. He gave us his only son so that we can have eternal life. And we take that for granted every single day of the Christmas season. A friendly reminder can go a long way for us to stop and realize that there is a larger reason for this holiday. It’s up to us to continue to remember what why we’re celebrating.

Have a merry Christmas, everyone.

Here’s a neat song from the My Little Pony Christmas album. I link because an iPad 2 is not a very friendly device.
Link

-Joe