Gratitude.

We need to be more grateful. It's one of the marks of strong character, to have a feeling of thanksgiving and gratitude for blessings that are ours. We need more of that spirit in our homes, in our daily associations, in church, everywhere. It's so easy to cultivate the spirit of appreciation. 

- Ezra Taft Benson

Our society is afflicted by a spirit of thoughtless arrogance unbecoming those who have been so magnificently blessed. How grateful we should be for the bounties we enjoy. Absence of gratitude is the mark of the narrow, uneducated mind. It bespeaks a lack of knowledge and the ignorance of self-sufficiency. It expresses itself in ugly egotism and frequently in wanton mischief. We have seen our beaches, our parks, our forests littered with ugly refuse by those who evidently have no appreciation for their beauty.- Gordon B. Hinckley

Gratitude. I recently learned that to be truly grateful, one must express gratitude. If such gratitude is not expressed, then it is wasted – it does not even exist. Only when gratitude is expressed can it be real.

It is all too often that we forget to express our gratitude to our Heavenly Father for even the plain and common aspects of life. I personally take for granted the simplest of things – a beautiful day, a lovely song, and even just the opportunity to make a decision for myself. I go throughout each day of my life being blessed to wake up and live another day on this incredible earth created by our Savior, Jesus Christ. I am blessed with a family that loves me unconditionally and friends that care for me. I have food to eat and I have a bed to sleep in. There are too many people that do not have such things.

Whether we are grateful for a good day, a kind act from a friend or family member, or even something as great as a miracle from our Father in Heaven – I hope we can take the time to express such gratitude where it needs to be expressed. I know that as we do so, we become more like our Savior. We become closer to God and we will feel a greater Spirit in our lives.