Lesson:
An Autumn Activity:
1. Song, "Its Autumn Time" (from LDS Children's Songbook)Prayer. Family business.
2. (If you can, do this activity before daylight savings when it is still light). (Find a park or favorite canyon or glen. Make sure where you choose there is lots of Fall trees turning color already.)
Read scriptures on the seasons.
D&C 59:18, & 59:15-16.
3. Give everyone a sack and have them search for the most beautiful Autumn leaves that they can find as you will be making something special for Thanksgiving.
4. Eat a nice picnic dinner or barbeque. After, take your leaves to a copy shop or office supply, that might still be open. (If no place is open, take home to do the next day). Arrange leaves on a peachy or yellow or white background paper the size of a placemat. Arrange and tape or glue each leaf in a nice pattern on the colored or white paper. Take this and get it laminated. If you have no place you can do this you may want to laminate it with contact paper. Now you have some beautiful and festive place mats to put around the table for Fall and Thanksgiving.
5.Sing, "We Thank thee Oh Father". {Childrens Songbook).
Prayer & blessing, and have desert over placemats that can be washed off with a damp cloths.
Fall Treats and dishes for Thanksgiving dinner
Scriptures On Thankfulness
1 Ne. 2:7 Lehi Builds Alter to give Thanks
Mosiah 2:19 You ought to thank your Heavenly King
Mosiah 24:21 people of Alma give thanks
Alma 7:23 Always Return Thanks
Alma 37:37Let thy heart be full of thanks
Morm. 9:31 Give thanks for imperfections
D&C 46: 32 Give thanks unto God for blessings
D&C 59:7, 62:7, Thankful heart
D&C 78:19 Thankful people will be made glorious,
D&C 98:1 Give thanks in all things
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Lesson:
A thankful Heart:
Before lesson starts prepare a large white paper heart (poster size) on a poster board. Then make a red heart the same size and cut it into _5__ pieces. Write these statements on the front of each one, and these paragraphs that will go with them on the back of each piece.
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1.
We can generate wondrous feelings of peace, self-worth, and love.
1. Paragraph= I have saved the most important part about prayer until the
end. It is gratitude! Our sincere efforts to thank our beloved
Father generate wondrous feelings of peace, self-worth, and love.
No matter how challenging our circumstances, honest appreciation
fills our mind to overflowing with gratitude.
Why is it that the most impoverished seem to know best how to
thank the Lord? In the highlands of Guatemala, members barely
subsist. Going to the temple requires great sacrifice. A visit
takes a year of preparation. There is hard work, sacrifice to save
money and food, the spinning, dyeing, and weaving of new clothing.
There is the long, barefoot walk out of the mountains, the crossing
of Lake Isabel, the bus rides with little food. Tired and worn,
they arrive at the temple. They scrub until they shine, dress in
their new clothing, and enter the house of the Lord.
Reclothed in white, they are taught by the Spirit, receive
ordinances, and make covenants. One highland woman was greatly
touched by the spirit and meaning of the endowment. Entering the
celestial room, she saw others seated, with heads reverently bowed.
Innocently, she knelt at the entrance to the room, oblivious to
others. She bowed her head, sobbed, and for twenty minutes poured
out her heart to her Father in Heaven. Finally, with her dress
soaked with tears, she raised her head. The sensitive temple matron
asked, "May I help?" She responded, "Oh, would you? This is my
problem: I've tried to tell Father in Heaven of my gratitude for
all of my blessings, but I don't feel that I've communicated. Will
you help me tell Him how grateful I am"?
"Scott Richard G. How to Recognize Answers to Prayer 89-Oct
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2.
Be bigger than that
which happens:
Place following on back of paper.
2. Paragraph: "Recently we read in local newspapers an account of the
devastating effects of a fire that completely gutted a low-cost
housing apartment. Many people were rushed out into the street for
safety. They watched their living quarters and other earthly
possessions go up in fire and smoke. One elderly gentleman who had
escaped the holocaust was interviewed. When he was asked, "What
were you able to save?" he responded with, "Only the things that
you see, my clothing." His next comment was touching and
significant. It was simply, "Thank God there were no serious
injuries or casualties."
What did we hear from this tragedy? A voice of gladness from
someone who could have been bitter and angry with the situation but
chose to share a mature sense of values. He was bigger than that
which had happened. He saw beyond the present and gave appreciation
and hope for conditions and people in the future".
**************
"Thank God for noble souls who can and do weather life's
storms with sincere voices of gladness which overshadow the present
and make the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ real and strengthening".
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After a night of intense pain and suffering, one morning a
husband stricken with a terminal illness said to his wife with
great feeling, "I am so thankful today." "For what?" she asked,
knowing well his difficult and trying situation. He replied, "For
God giving me the privilege of one more day with you." A voice of
gladness is so refreshing when an [p. 20] attitude of despair might
be deemed appropriate.
How helpful and rewarding it would be if all of us would
likewise thank God for one more day. For what? For the opportunity
to take care of some unfinished business, to express appreciation,
to repent, to right some wrongs, to influence for good some wayward
child, to reach out to someone who cried for help--in short, to
thank God for one more day to prepare to meet Him.
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From guidelines given to us in the scriptures and by the
words of prophets, we learn that life is a teaching experience.
Self-pity and discouragement do not come from the teachings of the
gospel of Jesus Christ. But life can be both bitter and sweet. It
is up to us to choose whether we want to reflect the voices ofgloom or gladness.
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May I share my witness and testimony that I know God is
pleased when we declare glad tidings of truth, righteousness, and
His reality. My voice of gladness today is God lives. Jesus is the
Christ. Let no one or any situation take this reality from you. I
declare this message with a voice of gladness in the name of JesusChrist, amen".
Ashton Marvin J.A Voice of Gladness talk . 91-Apr
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3.
Gratitude is the foundation of repentance, dependence on God, appreciation, and is a divine principle.
Put the following on the back.
Paragraph 3."The point I would like to make is that when we express
thankfulness to God and to his Son, Jesus Christ, we base our faith
and repentance upon their forgiveness and their goodness.
How grateful I am for the scriptures, which give examples of
Jesus' expressing thanks to his Heavenly Father.
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. At the Last Supper, "the Lord Jesus the same night . . . he
was betrayed took bread:
"And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take,
eat: this is my body, which is broken for you." (1 Cor. 11:23-24;
italics added.) "And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave
it to them: and they all drank of it." (Mark 14:23; italics added.)
Like the Savior, it is important for each of us to prepare
ourselves to give thanks for the atoning sacrifice each week as we
partake of the sacrament.
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"Through expression of prayerful gratitude and thanksgiving,
we show our dependence upon a higher source of wisdom and
knowledge--God the Father and his Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ. We are taught to "live in thanksgiving daily." (Alma34:38.)
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"We must remember to give thanks to our Heavenly Father for
the blessings and gifts that have been given to us.
"And ye must give thanks unto God in the Spirit for
whatsoever blessing ye are blessed with." (D&C 46:32.)
"And all these gifts come from God, for the benefit of the
children of God." (D&C 46:26.)
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Gratitude is a state of appreciation, an act of thanksgiving,
which causes us to be humble because we recognize an act of
kindness, service, or caring from someone else which lifts us and strengthens us.
Ingratitude is the attitude of being unaware or not
recognizing when someone has assisted us or helped us or, even
worse, when we know we have been helped and have not given thanks
privately or publicly.
In some quiet way, the expression and feelings of gratitude
have a wonderful cleansing or healing nature. Gratitude brings
warmth to the giver and the receiver alike.
Gratitude expressed to our Heavenly Father in prayer for what
we have brings a calming peace--a peace which allows us to not
canker our souls for what we don't have. Gratitude brings a peace
that helps us overcome the pain of adversity and failure. Gratitude
on a daily basis means we express appreciation for what we have now
without qualification for what we had in the past or desire in the
future. A recognition of and appreciation for our gifts and talents
which have been given also allows us to acknowledge the need for
help and assistance from the gifts and talents possessed by others.
Gratitude is a divine principle:
"Thou shalt thank the Lord thy God in all things." (D&C59:7.)
This scripture means that we express thankfulness for what
happens, not only for the good things in life but also for the
opposition and challenges of life that add to our experience and
faith. We put our lives in His hands, realizing that all that
transpires will be for our experience.
When in prayer we say, "Thy will be done," we are really
expressing faith and gratitude and acknowledging that we will
accept whatever happens in our lives.
That we may feel true gratitude for the goodness of God for
all the blessings that have been given to us and express those
feelings of thankfulness in prayer to our Heavenly Father, is my
prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, amen".
Hales Robert D.Gratitude for the Goodness of God talk
92-Apr
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4.A marvelous virtue: an attitude of gratitude.
Paragraph 4. In the book of Luke, chapter 17, we read:
"And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed
through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.
"And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten
men that were lepers, which stood afar off:
"And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master,have mercy on us.
"And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves
unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, theywere cleansed.
"And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back,
and with a loud voice glorified God,
"And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and
he was a Samaritan.
"And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but
where are the nine?
"There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save
this stranger.
"And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made
thee whole." (Luke 17:11-19.)
Through divine intervention, those who were lepers were
spared from a cruel, lingering death and given a new lease on life.
The expressed gratitude by one merited the Master's blessing, the
ingratitude shown by the nine His disappointment.
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Well could we reflect upon our lives as individuals. We will
soon discover much to prompt our personal gratitude.
First, there is gratitude for our mothers.
Second, let us reflect gratitude for our fathers.
Third, all of us remember with gratitude our teachers.
Fourth, let us have gratitude for our friends. Our most
cherished friend is our partner in marriage. This old world would
be so much better off today if kindness and deference were daily a
reflection of our gratitude for wife, for husband.
Fifth, may we acknowledge gratitude for our country--the landof our birth.
Sixth and finally--even supremely--let us reflect gratitude
for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. His glorious gospel provides
answers to life's greatest questions
Let us follow Him. Let us emulate His example. Let us obey
His word. By so doing, we give to Him the divine gift of gratitude.
My sincere prayer is that we may, in our individual lives,
reflect that marvelous virtue: an attitude of gratitude. In the
name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Monson Thomas S.An Attitude of Gratitude talk
92-Apr
5.One of the greatest sins that we, are guilty of is the sin of ingratitude.
Paragraph 5. "I believe one of the greatest sins that we, the children of
our Heavenly Father, are guilty of is the sin of ingratitude.
President Smith continues by saying, "One
of the greatest sins of which the inhabitants of the earth are
guilty today, is the sin of ingratitude" (in Journal of Discourses,25:52).
I presume most of us have not thought of that as a serious
sin. There is a great tendency for us in our prayers--in our
pleadings with the Lord--to ask for additional blessings.
Sometimes, I feel, we need to devote more of our prayers to
expressions of gratitude and thanksgiving for blessings already
received. Of course, we need the daily blessings of the Lord. But
if we sin in the matter of prayer, I think it is in our lack of
expressing thanksgiving for daily blessings. God is not pleased
with the inhabitants of the earth but is angry with them because
they will not acknowledge his hand in all things.
"And in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his
wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things,
and obey not his commandments" (D&C 59:21).
I publicly express my gratitude. I am grateful this day to
be able to testify to you that I know and [page 28] understand the
plan of our Father, that I can accept it with dedication and with
thanksgiving, knowing the plan and the purposes for us being here
on earth. I am grateful that the Lord loves us so much that he has
allowed his Only Begotten Son to be sacrificed for us. I am also
grateful for Joseph Smith--the prophet who is, was, and always will
be a prophet of God, ordained and chosen to stand at the head of
the dispensation of the fulness of times, with all the keys to
unlock the doors into the kingdom of God.
God help us to be grateful for our blessings, never to be
guilty of the sin of ingratitude, and to instill this same
gratitude into the lives of our children. The Lord has said, "And
he who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made
glorious; and the things of this earth shall be added unto him,
even an hundred fold, yea, more" (D&C 78:19).
This great principle of gratitude, made a daily part of our
lives and our prayers, can lift and bless us as individuals, as
members of the Church, and as parents and families.
This testimony, and with a love unfeigned to all the special
children of our Heavenly Father, I bear humbly and in the name of
Jesus Christ, amen".
George Lloyd P.Gratitude 94-Apr.
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Lesson:
A thankful Heart:
1. Song "Did You think To Pray", Prayer, Family business.
2. Show Poster Heart. tell them we have to fill in the color.
3. Give each member a puzzle piece of the heart with the paragraphs on the back, and a phrase on the front.
4. One by one have them read them in order (or read them for those who can't) (If they can't read tell the summary in your own words), and have them fit them over the heart. (put tape on the back).
5. Discuss each one in detail.
6. Display poster somewhere so the family can reflect on it through the week.
7. Song: "Come Ye Thankful People Come" LDS Hymnbook.
8. Prayer and Desert
Fall Treats and dishes for Thanksgiving dinner
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Lesson:
Thanksgiving game
1. Prayer, Song, "Count your many blessings".
(Get a large piece of poster board and draw a
tree with lots of branches. Using colored paper, cut out lots of leaves for each person. (At least 5 each)
Start by having family members tell five things they are thankful for and write them down on a paper. (If they are duplicated have them mention something else so there is not all of the same blessing up on the tree. You want every blessing that your are thankful for different on the tree.)
2. Have each person write the things that they are thankful for on their leaves. (Making sure that they are all different).
3. One at a time have each family member go up an place a leaf up on the tree (use tape), and tell why they are thankful for the blessing mentioned.
4. When the tree is full of leaves,then discuss why these blessings are so important. (make sure testimony, Heavenly father, and Jesus Christ, family, Knowledge, & our lives, are up there)
5. Now tell each family member that they must remove the least important blessings. That all of our blessings will be taken away at this point.
6. One by one have them choose the things that are not of major importance.
7. There will be a point that you get to your life. Tell them that it is alright to give up your life on earth because you will always be alive and live.
8. When you are down to; testimony, Heavenly Father, and Jesus Christ, love, family, & knowledge, stop the game. Tell family members that these are the most important blessings we have that will be with us for eternity. That they will never be taken away from us.
9.That is why we as family members should work on in this life. nothing else really matters because it can all be taken away from us.
10.Song; "I need Thee Every Hour" & Prayer. desert.
