"Happiness.. .does not depend on obtaining all the desires of our hearts. In large measure, happiness depends on our ability to feel gratitude for the abundance we already have."

Carolyn Wright, Tambuli, Nov 1994, 11

"The minute a man stops supplicating God for his spirit and directions just so soon he starts out to become a stranger to him and his works. When men stop praying for God's spirit, they place confidence in their own unaided reason, and they gradually lose the spirit of God, just the same as near and dear friends, by never writing to or visiting with each other, will become strangers. We should all pray that God may never leave us alone for a moment without his spirit to aid and assist us in withstanding sin and temptation."

Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Heber J. Grant, 173

"Elder James E. Talmage once observed that 'God requires thanksgiving, praise and worship, not for His gratification as the recipient of adulation, but for the good of His children' (Sunday Night Talks by Radio, second edition, Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1931, page 486). The good we receive by developing a thankful heart is immeasurable. It cultivates feelings of reverence for God and thereby opens our souls to the influence of the Holy Spirit. It allows us to find joy in the present time instead of in some future day when all our desires have been granted. A thankful heart allows us to face trials firm in the knowledge of Heavenly Father's love for us."

Carolyn Wright, Tambuli, Nov 1994, 11

"There is no feeling that is more Godlike than that feeling of intense gratitude and thanksgiving to God that comes when we realize and feel that God has blessed us... We should cultivate that spirit and that disposition to so order our lives that we will ever have a feeling of gratitude and of thanksgiving in our hearts, and a desire to praise God for His goodness to us."

Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Heber J. Grant, 173

"President Kimball said this about our need to express appreciation to our Heavenly Father: 'Too often we take blessings for granted, like the sun, the air, health, and opportunity. Or we accept favors, honors, and privileges day after day ., without a word of thanks. We would thank the person who gives us a seat in the bus, the person who offers a ride, the friend who picks up the check after dinner, the person who does the baby-sitting, or the boy who cuts our lawn, but do we express gratitude to Him who gives us all?' (Faith Precedes the Miracle [1972], 202)."

The Latter-day Saint Woman: Basic Manual for Women, Part B, 303

"The revered Abraham Lincoln accurately described our plight: 'We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity; we have grown in numbers, wealth, and power. . But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us."

Thomas S. Monson, Ensign, Nov 2000, 64-66

"Awareness is the first step in developing gratitude. Bishop Henry B. Eyring pointed out that if we count our blessings with faith, the Holy Ghost will often bring other blessings to mind (see Ensign, November 1989, page 13). Many of our greatest blessings have been part of our lives for so long that we may have forgotten they are gifts. How often, for instance, do we recall that our physical bodies are blessings we eagerly longed for as spirit children?"

Carolyn Wright, Tambuli, Nov 1994, 11

"Gaining a knowledge of God's plan leads to many consequences, one of the more profound being an incredible sense of incurred debt to the God of this world, Jesus Christ. We serve out of a sense of gratitude to the Lord for the blessings He has provided us. Moreover, we must remember that the greatest blessing of all is that He suffered, bled, and died to fulfill the
great plan of happiness-a plan designed and executed for us, that we might return with Him into the presence of the Father."

L. Tom Perry, Liahona, May 2002, 10

"The family must hold its preeminent place in our way of life because it's the only possible base upon which a society of responsible human beings has ever found it practicable to build for the future and maintain the values they cherish in the present."

Thomas S. Monson, Ensign, Nov 2000, 64-66

“Others are watching you often unannounced and they don’t want you to let them down. They’re counting on you and your example so they in turn can go forward and have an influence on other people. To do this, you must be honest with yourself.”

Marvin J. Ashton, Tambuli, Mar 1984, 23

"Immerse yourself in the scriptures. You will find your own experiences described there. You will find spirit and strength there. You will find solutions and counsel. Nephi says, 'The words of Christ will tell you all things what you should do.' (2 Nephi 32:3)."

Jeffrey R. Holland, However Long and Hard the Road, September 2002

"In the quiet hours, in the heat of battle, and through the hazards of the day; in times of temptation, of sorrow, of peace and of blessing, let us pray always, both alone, and with our families gathered around us, with gratitude for the blessings of life, for understanding of its problems, and for strength to endure to the end."

Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Heber J. Grant, 173

“My constant and earnest prayer … is that my mind may never become darkened, that I may never depart from the path of rectitude and right, but that as I grow in years I may increase in understanding, that the light and inspiration of the Spirit of God may burn in my heart and enlighten my understanding and keep me firm and faithful in serving my Heavenly Father.”

Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Heber J. Grant, 173

"As we view the disillusionment that engulfs countless thousands today, we are learning the hard way what an ancient prophet wrote out for us 3,000 years ago: 'He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase.' (Eccl. 5:10)"

Thomas S. Monson, Ensign, Nov 2000, 64-66

"Have faith. 'Has the day of miracles ceased? Or have angels ceased to appear unto the children of men? Or has he withheld the power of the Holy Ghost from them? Or will he, so long as time shall last, or the earth shall stand, or there shall be one man upon the face thereof to be saved? Behold I say unto you, Nay; for it is by faith that miracles are wrought; and it is by faith that angels appear and minister unto men.' (Moroni 7:35-37)"

Jeffrey R. Holland, However Long and Hard the Road, September 2002

"Bernadine Healy, in a commencement address, gave this counsel: 'As a physician, who has been deeply privileged to share the most profound moments of people's lives including their final moments, let me tell you a secret. People facing death don't think about what degrees they have earned, what positions they have held, or how much wealth they have accumulated. At the end, what really matters is who you loved and who loved you. That circle of love is everything, and is a great measure of a past life. It is the gift of greatest worth.'"

Thomas S. Monson, Ensign, Nov 2000, 64-66

"There are those who have met disaster, which almost seems defeat, who have become somewhat soured in their natures; but if they stop to think, even the adversity which has come to them may prove a means of spiritual uplift. Adversity itself may lead toward and not away from God and spiritual enlightenment; and privation may prove a source of strength if we can but keep the sweetness of mind and spirit"

David O. McKay as quoted by James E. Faust, Ensign, Feb 1998, 2

"...The Final Judgment is not just an evaluation of a sum total of good and evil acts-what we have done. It is an acknowledgment of the final effect of our acts and thoughts-what we have become. It is not enough for anyone just to go through the motions. The commandments, ordinances, and covenants of the gospel are not a list of deposits required to be made in some heavenly account. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a plan that shows us how to become what our Heavenly Father desires us to become."

Dallin H. Oaks, Ensign, Nov 2000, 32-34

"But let us not panic nor go to extremes. Let us be prudent in every respect. And, above all, my brothers and sisters, let us move forward with faith in the Living God and His Beloved Son."

Gordon B. Hinckley, Liahona, Jan 2002, 83-86

"As parents, we should remember that our lives may be the book from the family library which the children most treasure. Are our examples worthy of emulation? Do we live in such a way that a son or a daughter may say, 'I want to follow my dad,' or 'I want to be like my mother'? Unlike the book on the library shelf, the covers of which shield its contents, our lives cannot be closed. Parents, we truly are an open book in the library of learning of our homes."

Thomas S. Monson, Ensign, Nov 2000, 64-66

"Write down your blessings. Recording our blessings in a journal helps focus our minds on them and enables us to recall them later when we may have forgotten. Others, too, might benefit. President Spencer W. Kimball said, 'Journals are a way of counting our blessings and of leaving an inventory of these blessings for our posterity' (Ensign, May 1978, page 77)."

Carolyn Wright, Tambuli, Nov 1994, 11

"Let us never worry about the time it takes to learn of spiritual things. It is time well spent. It provides a foundation for secular learning. Indeed, the Lord will bless us if we trust in Him and learn about His eternal plan first. We are talking about a widening, not a narrowing, window of opportunity to learn if we attend to first things first."

L. Tom Perry, Liahona, May 2002, 10

“As we have been continuously counseled for more than 60 years, let us have some food set aside that would sustain us for a time in case of need. But let us not panic nor go to extremes. Let us be prudent in every respect. And, above all, my brothers and sisters, let us move forward with faith in the Living God and His Beloved Son.”

Gordon B. Hinckley, Liahona, Jan 2002, 83–86

“Serve others. The heavenly paradox is that only in so doing can you save yourself.”

Jeffrey R. Holland, However Long and Hard the Road, September 2002

"We cannot call back time that is past, we cannot stop time that now is, and we cannot experience the future in our present state. Time is a gift, a treasure not to be put aside for the future but to be used wisely in the present."

Thomas S. Monson, Ensign, Nov 2000, 64-66

“I was sitting behind two teenage girls on a bus. One of them was upset because her parents couldn’t afford to buy a dress she had wanted. She didn’t really like her second choice. ‘Then Mom was upset because I didn’t say thank you,’ she complained. ‘I don’t know what she expected me to say thank you for!’ Ungrateful child, I thought. Not long after that, I began pondering the promise of ‘a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it’ (3 Ne. 24:10). Although I had been paying my tithing and fulfilling my other obligations, I did not feel overwhelmed with blessings. In fact, I felt that I had little to be grateful for. Suddenly, my experience on the bus flashed through my mind. I, too, had been an ungrateful child. First as a trickle and then increasing to a torrent, there came to me a powerful awareness of the blessings I had received. From tiny everyday blessings to the great blessing of the Atonement, the gifts God had given me were both abundant and wondrous. The windows of heaven had been open all the time. I just hadn’t noticed.”

Carolyn Wright, Tambuli, Nov 1994, 11

“Do not do something that you can not ask God to help you to do.”

Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Heber J. Grant, 173