The story of the 10 lepers is a perfect example of how to live gratefully, but not for the reason you'd think. When Jesus came upon 10 men who suffered the terrible, incurable, highly fatal disease of leprosy, they saw Him, and all recognized Him, if not as the very Son of God, as the great Prophet and Healer that He was. "Have mercy on us," they cried, with all the energy of their souls; they had nowhere else to turn, nobody else to ask that could legitimately ease their intense pain, end their suffering, and cure their ailment. The Savior, full of compassion, instructed them to show themselves to the priests, a simple request, and as they went they were "cleansed." It is then that we get the lesson. All 10 had called on the Savior with hope that he would help them. When he gave instructions, they all obeyed with the faith that it was for their good. All 10 were healed. But how many returned to give thanks? We know that only one did. But how did he give thanks? With all the love and gratitude of his heart, he fell on his face before the Savior and cried on His holy feet. And so that was it, right? The Savior said "You're welcome" and he went his way, right? No. He said, "Arise, go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole." (See Luke 17:11-19)
Faith and Hope allow us to receive and recognize our blessings. But true gratefulness comes from Love. We will not live gratefully without loving our Heavenly Father and His Son. An essential part of living gratefully is getting down on our knees and giving heartfelt thanks for specific blessings we've received. Anyone could have gone and said thank you. I'm sure at least a few of the others would have returned had they seen the Samaritan giving thanks. But we would do well to follow the example of this Samaritan, an outsider of the faith, who gave thanks in a way that many of us would not even think to. He bathed the Savior's feet with his tears of gratitude. I, personally, often get in the habit of saying "I thank thee for this day" to start my prayers. I've had to break the habit- but not of saying it, but saying it without meaning it. It's one of those things I say a lot in prayers, but I always try to ponder in my heart, "Why am I thankful for this day?" Then it has more meaning. It is one thing to recognize that the Lord gives us all we have and another to truly praise Him for it:
"Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name." (Psalms 100:3-4)
President Thomas S. Monson, in a First Presidency message from May of 2000, talked about how we can cultivate an "attitude of gratitude." He contends that if we focus on specific areas of our lives, we can improve our ability to recognize more swiftly our great blessings and life, and then act accordingly. First, we should be grateful for our mothers. For more counsel on this specific topic, see Elder Holland's talk from this past conference, "Behold Thy Mother." Next, we should "reflect gratitude for our fathers." Third, our teachers. Fourth, we should be grateful for our friends. Fifth, "may we acknowledge gratitude for our country"- gratitude for veterans of our respective countries is included here. Lastly comes the most important. He says, "Sixth and finally- even supremely- let us reflect gratitude for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ...He taught us how to pray. he taught us how to serve. He taught us how to live. His life is a legacy of love. The sick He healed; the downtrodden He lifted; the sinner He saved." (see the entire message here.) When things get complicated in life, I add to President Monson's counsel, by saying that we should go to the basics of our lives. Family and friends, and most importantly, the Savior: if we can focus on these things in our lives, we can treasure them that much more. We hold tight to our treasures; we respect our treasures; we take care of our treasures. That is how we live gratefully--we love others, especially those closest to us. We do it by loving the Savior.
Check out the following Mormon Message, "In the Spirit of Thanksgiving," where people from all walks of life are asked what things they are grateful for. Notice how their unique perspectives and experiences in life shape what things they mention they are thankful for. A perfect example for me is the man who says he's thankful for Mac and Cheese. I'll let you see why. We should ponder on these things this week, as we enjoy good food and good company; if we do, I feel like we can greatly improve our ability to live our lives more gratefully.
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