Living With an Attitude of Gratitude

In May of 1992, President Thomas S. Monson gave a talk titled "An Attitude of Gratitude." My Book of Mormon professor challenged us to live with an "attitude of gratitude," especially this Thanksgiving week. I thought that since Thanksgiving is tomorrow I would post and share with you some of the things I am grateful for.

The first thing that I am grateful for is my family. I know that is probably the most common answer, but it is so true. The longer I'm away from home the more I realize how special my family is to me. They have always been there for me, through friend drama, student body officer campaigns, rough patches in school, and all the good times too. I love all of them so, so much and I would be lost without them.

I am grateful for the opportunity to live in the United States. My international relations class has opened my eyes to the world, and I have found more and more reasons why we are blessed to live here. I am grateful for the men and women in the Armed Forces who fight and sacrifice their lives so that we can be free. I have friends that are overseas and others that will be in the next few years, and I am so thankful for their sacrifice.

I am also grateful for the opportunity I have to attend BYU. It is definitely hard, but I am learning a lot about myself and I am developing habits and gaining knowledge that will serve me well for the rest of my life. It really is a blessing to attend a university where my teachers are members of the church and where we relate the gospel to biology, or literature, or international relations, or anything. My testimony has grown by being in Provo, and I love it. I am also so glad that I had the chance to take a class from my Grandpa this semester. :)

I have been blessed with wonderful friends as well. Friends really do make or break you, and I have been lucky enough to find friends who lift me up. Elder Robert D. Hales has said "A friend is someone who makes it easier to live the gospel of Jesus Christ." I am so blessed to be able to say that about my friends. I hope that I have been as good of a friend to my friends as they have been to me.

Last but not least, I am also grateful for the gospel. I always think of the scripture in Helaman 5:12 that was the Seminary theme for last year. The scripture says, "And now, my sons, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall." This scripture is so true! When we build our foundation upon the gospel we can't go wrong. The Lord didn't prevent the storm from coming during Noah's time, but he did prepare a way for Noah and his family to prevail against it. The same holds true for us. The Lord won't prevent us from experiencing the storms of life, but he will help us get through them. The Church is so true! I love going to church each Sunday because it is a refuge from the rest of the world. I know that Heavenly Father knows and loves me, as He does each and every one of us.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Love Always,
Mallory