Power of Gratitude

I thought I would begin my BLOG by posting my notes for a talk on the Power of Gratitude. I will be giving this talk at a conference this August.

I expect the content of the talk to keep changing, probably up to the point I give it, and possibly for it to change while I give it, depending on the Spirit that attends. We'll see.

Here it is:


Power of Gratitude


Hello, my name is Tom, and I'm an addict.

I want to express my gratitude for being able to share my thoughts with you today.

At the end of Hebrews chapter 4 we read:


13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.
14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.
15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.


He know us through and through. All of our thoughts and actions are known to Him. He knows the way to heaven. If we follow in His footsteps, we'll arrive in the same place where He is. He understands everything we go through, just as if He had lived through it Himself. But, unlike us, He possesses the knowledge and strength necessary to overcome these things.

Because of this, we can and we should approach Him with complete confidence, knowing that He can render aid according to our needs and wants.

Expressing Gratitude can be one of the ways we can "Come Boldly Unto the Throne of Grace." After coming to the throne and receiving help, we should always render thanks for the help we receive.

Where our focus lies is a very important part of overcoming our addiction.

When I first came to Heart-t-Heart, I was under the mistaken impression that my focus needed to be upon my filthiness - the embarrassing and wicked things I found myself doing in order to cover deeper hurts and problems.

For most addicts, this seems like a natural and logical course of action. How can I stop doing something if I don't focus on it? Shouldn't I be focusing on my filthiness?

One eye-opening scripture the Lord gave me that helped me to understand this paradox is found in 1 Nephi 15 verse 27. Nephi is interpreting the Vision of the Tree of Life for his brothers. He says:

27 ...the water which my father saw was filthiness; and so much was his mind swallowed up in other things that he beheld not the filthiness of the water.


Distraction is not always a bad thing. If we are so distracted by the GOOD THINGS that are happening in our lives that we fail to focus on the BAD THINGS -- under these conditions, our being distracted is a GOOD THING, is it not?

I believe that this is what the Lord wants, in a manner of speaking. He wants our focus to be on Him and His Goodness in our lives...so much so that we take less notice of the negative, including our addiction and our need for acting-out.

There is a word for our "being focused on the Lord's Goodness in our lives." The word that describes this kind of focus is Gratitude.

Now, I don't know about you, but for me, "focusing on the Lord's Goodness in my life" was a bit of a challenge, because you cannot focus on something you can't see. And you cannot see something which you are not looking for. You have to open your eyes to it. We cannot focus on the Lord's goodness if we are looking for it in the wrong places. Our expectations need to change. We need to broaden our vision. We need to take off our blinders. There is a new reality and a new way of looking at the world. It is waiting for us.

In Moroni 7:16 it says:

16 For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God.


I want to make mention of this phrase:

"every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ"

Sometimes we fail to realize that the Lord wants US to be actively looking for the ways in which He is enticing us and persuading us to believe in Him. He desires for us to begin actively looking for evidence that He is helping us, whether or not His help follows with our expectations. Rarely will His help arrive in the package we expect it to. The reason for this is that He Himself has a much broader view of our lives, an eternal perspective. He knows what needs to be worked on, and in what manner, and in what order.

The very essence of gratitude is learning to look for and love what is -- instead of endlessly wishing for something different.

Looking for and loving how the Lord chooses to bless us is also part of how I would define Gratitude.

Now, I want to switch gears for a minute, and discuss one of the subtleties of Gratitude that some of us may not recognize.

Gratitude is much more than having a focus on the Lord's Goodness or learning to look for and love the ways in which He chooses to bless us. Gratitude blesses US!

God does not counsel us to be Grateful because His ego needs feeding or even because He feels "hurt" when we don't recognize His hand in our lives.

God wants us to express Gratitude because Gratitude expressed contains within itself the gift of God revealing Himself and His ways UNTO us. In the midst of our THANKING Him -- we always receive more from Him during our uttered thanks.

Gratitude is God's GIFT to US ---- not our gift to God. Isn't that neat to think about?

True Gratitude always blesses the person rendering thanks.

Here are a few examples from scripture that describe this process:


D&C 78 says:
17 Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye are little children, and ye have not as yet understood how great blessings the Father hath in his own hands and prepared for you;
18 And ye cannot bear all things now; nevertheless, be of good cheer, for I will lead you along. The kingdom is yours and the blessings thereof are yours, and the riches of eternity are yours.
19 And he who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious; and the things of this earth shall be added unto him, even an hundred fold, yea, more.
20 Wherefore, do the things which I have commanded you, saith your Redeemer, even the Son Ahman, who prepareth all things before he taketh you;


Jer. 30: 19
19 And out of them shall proceed thanksgiving and the voice of them that make merry: and I will multiply them, and they shall not be few; I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small.

2 Cor. 4: 15
15 For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.


As we express gratitude for God's blessings, God grants us insights, not only into the blessings we thank Him for, but He also expands our minds so that we become able to recognize other ways He is blessing us and helping us, as well as how He is helping those around us!

My own experience with this happened very gradually. I began listening to the Lord's invitation to stop focusing on my addiction and to first notice and then express gratitude for the other ways He was blessing me. And it worked. I began to thank Him for the successes as well as the apparent failures in all areas of my life, for both are manifestations of His love, or at least they can become so if we choose or allow ourselves to see them that way.

As I began to do this at my place of employment, I started to realize even more just how much the Lord was blessing me! I realized that He was, indeed, giving me as gifts, not only the challenges I encountered, but also the inspiration to see them through. As I began thanking Him for these things, I was able to receive more and have my mind opened to things I had not considered. Concepts that had eluded me for years started to make sense to me.

As I grew in this, it also occurred to me what a wonderful blessing it was to have such a neat co-worker. He was not of my faith, but I was and I still am, amazed at his wisdom and understanding of life and of people around him. I learned a lot just listening to him and being around him. I was able to see that God loves all of his children and blesses them with insight and understanding no matter what their faith, or even if they have no faith or belief in Him at all. This was really eye-opening for me.

My counseling with the Lord in writing has blessed my life in surprising ways. It really has become scripture for me. During the preparation of this talk the Lord reminded me about some things I that I needed to talk about. These things were in my journal. He did not tell me where, just that there were some things I needed to share. How neat it was to read through past entries looking for these precious gems from the Lord to me. As I paged through my journal I could not help but notice how loving and responsive the Lord has been concerning so many varied topics of concern during the past year. My love for Him and my gratitude has grown that much more from doing that searching in my journal.

In this and in countless other areas, the Lord has shown me the nature of gratitude. As I have learned, over a process of years, to exercise my faith and express gratitude for what He has revealed unto me, and for the ways He has chosen to bless me -- I have found myself freed from the very addiction I was so concerned about in the beginning. For me the key was receiving the Gift of Gratitude. Doing so allowed His liberating power to flow into my life in greater abundance.


The Lord asks us this question:

D&C 88:33 For what doth it profit a man if a gift is bestowed upon him, and he receive not the gift? Behold, he rejoices not in that which is given unto him, neither rejoices in him who is the giver of the gift.


People are generally happier when they have gratitude in their hearts. We cannot be bitter, resentful, or mean-spirited at the same time we are full of gratitude!


Henry B. Eyring said:

Remembrance is the seed of gratitude which is the seed of generosity. Gratitude for the remission of sins is the seed of charity, the pure love of Christ.



Thank you, my brothers and sisters for letting me share these thoughts with you today.


In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.