Becoming Grateful Day 27: Read About Jesus Christ to Increase Gratitude for Him

Read About Jesus Christ to Increase Gratitude for Him

And ye must give thanks unto God in the Spirit for whatsoever blessing ye are blessed with.

Doctrine & Covenants 46:32

—See True to the Faith (2004), 78-79

     

During this whole month of Becoming Grateful I can't help but feel an immense sense of gratitude, and indebtedness really, to God, the Eternal Father and His Son Jesus Christ for all the goodness in my life. I have been granted life long blessings as well as daily mercies to be grateful for. Most importantly I'm grateful for the life of the Savior, Jesus Christ, and His Atonement. When we cultivate gratitude, we will also increase in our love for God and His Son. Christ is also the supreme example of how to live in gratitude, and as we read about His life we can learn how to live with gratitude in our hearts. When we do this, we will also grow more happy and spiritually strong. 

One story I love about Jesus Christ is found in the New Testament where we learn about Jesus healing the ten lepers. When I think of this story I ask myself, "Would I have been the one who returned to thank Jesus? Or would I have been one of the nine?"

In the New Testament we read in Luke 17:

11 And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.

12. And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:

13 And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.

14 And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.

15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God,

16 And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan

17 And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?

18 There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save the stranger.

19 And he said unto him, Arise, go they way: thy faith hath made thee whole.

by James Christensen

Unto thee, O God, do we give thanks, unto thee do we give thanks: for that they name is near thy wondrous works declare.

Psalms 75:1

This time of year is a great time to read about Jesus Christ, especially as we approach the Christmas season. As I've been working on another project, I've been reading several short holiday stories. I came across a beautiful story about a couple who lost both their daughters while crossing the plains to Salt Lake City. A young boy from another family lost his mother, and soon after reaching the Salt Lake Valley, his father. The couple took the young boy in, but the mother had a very hard time as Christmas approached to celebrate, even for the young boy's sake. In fact, she found it hard to love the boy at all while still mourning the loss of her own children. The little boy told the woman his own mother used to sing a song at Christmas about Jesus, but he couldn't remember it. On Christmas Eve, she went out to the barn to find the little boy playing in the hay with a makeshift cradle he'd fashioned from some sticks. The woman was suddenly overcome with emotion at the sight and began singing Silent Night. The little boy turned and said it was song his own mother used to sing to him. The story goes on to tell how they prepared a small Christmas celebration and that the woman loved the young boy as her own from then on. 

I hope as we continue to cultivate our own grateful heart we can especially thank God for the wonderful gift of His Son during Thanksgiving and Christmas.

-Rachael

But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:57

Rachael has written some beautiful thoughts and I just want to add a few of mine to this one.  As you can see, Rachael has used a lot of scriptures about Jesus Christ.  That is the best place I know of to read about Jesus Christ.  Alma 34 is one of my favorite chapters of scripture because it teaches me the meaning of mercy and more particularly the mercy provided by Jesus Christ.  Alma and Amulek taught that we need to "live in thanksgiving daily, for the many mercies and blessings which He doth bestow upon you." (Alma 34:38).  And isn't that so true?  When we LIVE in thanksgiving we see His mercy and grace.  We see that He has done all things for us and provided us a way back to the presence of God.  We see and understand that He blesses us every chance He can because, simply because He loves us.

Here's my some of my favorite scriptures to study that help me understand Jesus Christ better:  reading the miracles Jesus performed in the 4 Gospels in the Bible.  Abinadi's story (study it specifically with the purpose to understand Christ) in Mosiah 11-16, King Benjamin's sermon in Mosiah 2-5, Isaiah's beautiful prophecies in Isaiah 52-54, and 3 Nephi 11-27.  I am grateful for a loving, merciful, forgiving Redeemer, Jesus Christ.  I am grateful to learn of Him and strive to become like He is.  I know as you read and study about Him, your gratitude for him will increase too.  - Sarah