In November 2020, I was excited to learn that Russell M. Nelson, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was going to address the world in a video broadcast. It was during the COVID-19 pandemic, and I wondered what our prophet would say. Would he tell us that an end was soon coming to the pandemic? Would he promise a return to normal life? Would he give us medical advice? Would he announce some new Church policy? There were many possibilities. Still, I was pleasantly surprised by his topic: gratitude (Russell M. Nelson, “The Healing Power of Gratitude” [worldwide broadcast, Nov. 20, 2020], broadcasts.ChurchofJesusChrist.org).
“I view the current pandemic as only one of many ills that plague our world,” President Nelson said in the broadcast, “including hate, civil unrest, racism, violence, dishonesty, and lack of civility.” He stated that skilled scientists and researchers were working diligently to develop and distribute a vaccine against the coronavirus. But he also stated that there was no medication or operation that could fix the many spiritual woes and maladies the world faced. He then proceeded to share the good news. There was a remedy to fix the world’s many spiritual woes and maladies: the healing power of gratitude!
“I have concluded that counting our blessings,” he continued, “is far better than recounting our problems.”
The Prophet Issues Two Challenges
He invited us to do two things: first, flood social media with our own personal gratitude journal for a seven-day period, and second, unite in thanking God through daily prayer.
My wife, Marsha, and I accepted President Nelson’s invitations, but it was a challenge at first. How could we look for the positives when there were so many negatives to consider? For example, how could we feel family unity when we were in isolation from our children and grandchildren? How could we experience the blessings of the temple when the temples were closed?
How We Answered the Call
In answer to the first question, we began holding weekly family home evening meetings via Zoom with our children and grandchildren. We came to treasure these times as we prayed together, shared gospel lessons, memories, and activities, which included a wacky hair night. Each family took a turn organizing the meetings, and we made sure the grandchildren participated in teaching the Come, Follow Me lessons. So even though we were apart, we were able to strengthen our family ties. For that, we were indeed grateful.
Regarding the second question, Marsha and I began doing family research and preparing names to take to the temple for later, when the temples reopened. We learned more about our personal family histories and discovered a wealth of information that was already on FamilySearch. We felt such love for our ancestors and were so grateful for their sacrifices on our behalf.
We shared our feelings of gratitude on social media for seven days as President Nelson encouraged us to do. We were also uplifted by reading the many posts others shared.
The way we prayed changed as well. We focused on what we were grateful for rather than requesting a long list of desired blessings. President Nelson had stated in an earlier general conference address, “The joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives” (in Conference Report, Oct. 2016, 81). We found that to be true. We felt more at peace because we focused on our blessings rather than on our trials.
A Higher Way of Living
In the Book of Mormon, Amulek spoke to a group of people called the Zoramites and counselled them to “live in thanksgiving daily, for the many mercies and blessings which he [God] doth bestow upon you” (Alma 34:38).
What about the phrase “live in thanksgiving daily”? Is it possible to do so, considering the trials we experience in life?
In a general conference talk given in 2014, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf said, “Could I suggest that we see gratitude as a disposition, a way of life that stands independent of our current situation? In other words, I’m suggesting that instead of being thankful for things, we focus on being thankful in our circumstances—whatever they may be… This type of gratitude transcends whatever is happening around us. It surpasses disappointment, discouragement, and despair…When we are grateful to God in our circumstances, we can experience gentle peace in the midst of tribulation. In grief, we can lift up our hearts in praise. In pain, we can glory in Christ’s Atonement” (in Conference Report, Apr. 2014, 70).
We can be grateful for all things in the midst of our adversities, especially as we focus on the empowering and redemptive powers of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. There will always be adversity in our lives, for that is part of the purpose of our mortal experience. But as President Nelson said in his video broadcast, “We can even give thanks for our trials, from which we learn things we would not know otherwise.”
Even in Dire Circumstances, We Can Find Something Good
In 1944, Corrie Ten Boom and her sister Betsie were taken to Ravensbrück prison during the Holocaust. They endured many unimaginable trials, one of which was having to live with fleas in the overcrowded barracks. But as the women came to learn, the fleas were actually a mixed blessing because the guards would not come into the barracks. This allowed Corrie, Betsie, and others freedom to study the Bible and pray without detection. Corrie learned to “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus” (Corrie Ten Boom, The Hiding Place, [1971], 180).
We can receive ongoing tender mercies of the Savior as we adopt a spirit of sincere appreciation. President Nelson promised that we will be happier and more at peace as we experience the healing power of gratitude. Marsha and I have found joy by striving to focus on the positives and live in thanksgiving daily.