Remembrance and Gratitude: President Eyring

I was listening to an old General Conference talk as I was on my morning walk on Tuesday. The talk was given in the October 1989 General Conference by President Henry B. Eyring who was then the 1st Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric of our church. The talk was titled Remembrance and Gratitude. It is a very good talk. He starts by saying this:

"Many of you have had the same experience I have had. And if you haven’t, you will: you will go to a hospital or to a house to comfort someone, and instead they comfort you. Or you try to encourage someone who seems to you to have so little, and yet they will express gratitude for things you take for granted.

To find gratitude and generosity when you could reasonably find hurt and resentment will surprise you. It will be so surprising because you will see so much of the opposite: people who have much more than others yet who react with anger when one advantage is lost or with resentment when an added gift is denied."

A poem describes that contrast: it is called “How Different.”

Some murmur when the sky is clear

And wholly bright to view,

If one small speck of dark appear

In their great heaven of blue:

And some with thankful love are filled,

If but one streak of light,

One ray of God’s good mercy, gild

The darkness of their night.

I have so much to be grateful for. After listening to this talk I feel I need to do better at expressing my gratitude to Heavenly Father for all the many blessings He has given me. President Eyring explained how King Benjamin taught his people (and us) " that none of us is above another because we are all dust, to which God has given life and then sustained it." King Benjamin taught that "unforgiven sin will bring us unending torment. And he described the gift we all have been offered: those whose faith in Jesus Christ leads them to repentance and forgiveness will live in never-ending happiness."

President Eyring goes on to say that "King Benjamin’s teaching had a miraculous effect. Gratitude for what they had led to faith unto repentance. That led to forgiveness. That produced new gratitude. And then King Benjamin taught that, if we can remember and so remain grateful, we will retain a remission of our sins through all the losses and the gains of life."

When we have faith in the atonement of Jesus Christ and repent of our sins this brings happiness and gratitude into our lives.

“To the Lord Jesus we owe an undying debt of gratitude, for he bought us with a great price. It is impossible for us, weak mortals as we are, to fully comprehend and appreciate the sufferings he endured on the cross that he might gain for us the victory over death.” (Ensign, June 1974, p. 3.)

President Eyring says:

"How can you and I remember, always, the goodness of God, that we can retain a remission of our sins? The Apostle John recorded what the Savior taught us of a gift of remembrance which comes through the gift of the Holy Ghost: “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” (John 14:26)The Holy Ghost brings back memories of what God has taught us. And one of the ways God teaches us is with his blessings; and so, if we choose to exercise faith, the Holy Ghost will bring God’s kindnesses to our remembrance.You could test that in prayer today. You could follow the command, “Thou shalt thank the Lord thy God in all things.”

President Eyring tells us that we can have "an experience with the Holy Ghost today".  He tells us to: pray and start counting our blessings and then pause, exercise faith and with the gift of the Holy Ghost "memories of other blessings will flood into your mind". He tells us to express gratitude for each of our blessings. Our prayer might be a little longer than normal but remembrance will come and so will gratitude.

He also tells us to do the same as we write in our journals. President Eyring reminds us that "the Holy Ghost has helped with that since the beginning of time. You remember in the record of Moses it says: “And a book of remembrance was kept, in the which was recorded, in the language of Adam, for it was given unto as many as called upon God to write by the spirit of inspiration.” (Moses 6:5) 

President Spencer W. Kimball said:  “Those who keep a book of remembrance are more likely to keep the Lord in remembrance in their daily lives. Journals are a way of counting our blessings and of leaving an inventory of these blessings for our posterity.” (The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, ed. Edward L. Kimball, Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1982, p. 349.)

President Eyring said something that just stuck with me on my walk. He said: "As you start to write, you could ask yourself, “How did God bless me today?” If you do that long enough and with faith, you will find yourself remembering blessings. And sometimes, you will have gifts brought to your mind which you failed to notice during the day, but which you will then know were a touch of God’s hand in your life."

"How did God bless me today?"  I loved that! This blog has definitely helped me recognize my blessings. When I go back and read my entries I see blessings I did not see before.

President Benson said:“The Prophet Joseph said at one time that one of the greatest sins of which the Latter-day Saints would be guilty is the sin of ingratitude. I presume most of us have not thought of that as a great sin. There is a great tendency for us in our prayers and in our pleadings with the Lord to ask for additional blessings. But sometimes I feel we need to devote more of our prayers to expressions of gratitude and thanksgiving for blessings already received. We enjoy so much.” (God, Family, Country, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1974, p. 199.)

President Eyring finishes his talk by saying:

"The remembrance King Benjamin urged upon us can be ours. Remembrance is the seed of gratitude which is the seed of generosity. Gratitude for the remission of sins is the seed of charity, the pure love of Christ. And so God has made possible for you and me this blessing, a change in our very natures: “And the remission of sins bringeth meekness, and lowliness of heart; and because of meekness and lowliness of heart cometh the visitation of the Holy Ghost, which Comforter filleth with hope and perfect love, which love endureth by diligence unto prayer, until the end shall come, when all the saints shall dwell with God.” (Moroni 8:26)

I pray that we may make the simple choices which will lead us there to dwell with Him. And I pray that we will remember and be grateful for the gift of the Atonement and the gift of the Holy Ghost, which make that journey possible."