Monday, May 17, 2010

Be Grateful

This is the first of a little "mini-series" of FHE's. These are focusing on President Gordon B. Hinckley's "B's". President Hinckley spoke to the youth in November of 2000 (I can't believe it was that long ago!!) and gave them 6 "Be's" that would help enrich their lives and make it easier to live the Gospel Standards.

What You'll Need: A copy of the "Be Grateful" part of President Hinckley's talk. It isn't very long, so I've included it here. You can copy, paste to Word or another word processing program, and print. Way easy, right?!

Be grateful.

There are two little words in the English language that perhaps mean more than all others. They are “thank you.” Comparable words are found in every other language, such as gracias, merci, danke, obrigado, domo.

The habit of saying thank you is the mark of an educated man or woman. With whom is the Lord displeased? He names “those who confess not his hand in all things” (D&C 59:21). That is, those who walk without grateful expression. Walk with gratitude in your hearts, my dear friends. Be thankful for the wonderful blessings which are yours. Be grateful for the tremendous opportunities that you have. Be thankful to your parents, who care so very much about you and who have worked so very hard to provide for you. Let them know that you are grateful. Say thank you to your mother and your father. Say thank you to your friends. Say thank you to your teachers. Express appreciation to everyone who does you a favor or assists you in any way.

Thank the Lord for His goodness to you. Thank the Almighty for His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, who has done for you what none other in all this world could do. Thank Him for His great example, for His tremendous teachings, for His outreaching hand to lift and help. Think about the meaning of His Atonement. Read about Him and read His words in the New Testament and in 3 Nephi in the Book of Mormon. Read them quietly to yourself and then ponder them. Pour out your heart to your Father in Heaven in gratitude for the gift of His Beloved Son.

Thank the Lord for His marvelous Church restored in this great season of history. Thank Him for all that it offers you. Thank Him for friends and loved ones, for parents and brothers and sisters, for family. Let a spirit of thanksgiving guide and bless your days and nights. Work at it. You will find it will yield wonderful results.

-President Gordon B. Hinckley

Activity: Give each person a piece of paper and set a time limit. Have each person list as many things as they can that they are grateful for. At the end of your time limit, see who came up with the most things. Read through your lists and talk about why you are grateful for those things.

Treat: Homemade Ice-cream Sandwiches - Yummy and easy. First make a box of brownies, any kind. Let cool and cut into squares. Take aluminum foil and put one brownie square on it add vanilla ice cream (or any flavor you like) and top with another brownie. Wrap up and put into freezer. Do this with all the brownies. After FHE, serve. I like to drizzle chocolate sauce over it before I eat it.