Nathan R. Bradford: November 2012

I’m so glad to be back visiting for the day! I was surprised how when preparing this talk, things just came together. I was asked to speak on gratitude and I’d like to begin with lyrics from Josh Groban’s Christmas Album “NOEL.” Somedays we forget to look around us Somedays we can't see The joy that surrounds us So caught up inside ourselves We take when we should give. So for tonight we pray for What we know can be. And on this day we hope for What we still can't see. It's up to us to be the change And even though we all can still do more There's so much to be thankful for.
Look beyond ourselves There's so much sorrow It's way too late to say I'll cry tomorrow Each of us must find our truth It's so long overdue Even with our differences
There is a place we're all connected Each of us can find each other's light So for tonight we pray for What we know can be And on this day we hope for What we still can't see
It's up to us to be the change And even though this world needs so much more
There's so much to be thankful for.

There’s a quote I like that says Gratitude is what turns what we have into enough.

President Monson said: “A grateful heart, then, comes through expressing gratitude to our Heavenly Father for His blessings and to those around us for all that they bring into our lives. This requires conscious effort-at least until we have truly learned and cultivated an attitude of gratitude. Often we feel grateful and intend to express our thanks but forget to do so or just don't get around to it. Someone has said that "feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.”

The Lord has promised, “He who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious” Gratitude is an uplifting, exalting attitude. You can probably

say from experience that you are happier when you have gratitude.

It is difficult to be bitter, resentful, or mean-spirited when you are grateful.

We should be thankful for the wonderful blessings that are ours.

Be grateful for the tremendous opportunities you have. Be

thankful to your loved ones, your parents, your leaders. Let them know of your gratitude.

Thank your friends and your teachers. Express appreciation to everyone who does you a favor or assists you in any way. Thank your Heavenly Father for His goodness to you.

You can express your gratitude to God by acknowledging His hand in all things, thanking Him for all that He gives you, keeping His commandments, and serving others. Thank

Him for His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ. Express thanks for the Savior’s great example, for His teachings, for His outreaching hand to lift and help, for His infinite Atonement.

Thank the Lord for His restored Church. Thank Him for all that it offers you. Thank Him for friends and family. Let a spirit of thanksgiving guide and bless your days and nights. Work at being grateful. You will find that it yields wonderful results.

When we lower our expectations, we are generally happier.

There’s another quote I like that says: Be thankful for the bad things in life. For they open your eyes to the good things you weren’t paying attention to before. One of my favorite stories gives a perfect example of this. It is a fictional story tale of a recently married man and woman. Here is a little preface. The woman’s royal parents make a deal with a treacherous sorcerer who wishes to become king of the land. He makes a deal with them that he will remove their daughters curse in exchange for the kingdom. Desperate to lift the curse, they agree. The married man interferes with the sorcerers plans and the sorcerer becomes bitter towards the man.

Back to the present, the man has steadily grown tired of being a family man and celebrity among the local villagers, leading him to yearn for the days when he was single. So frustrated with his present life, he begins to argue outside with his wife and rashly states that he was happier before he married her. His un-thought out words led to hurtful feelings. After storming off, he encounters the evil sorcerer he had never met, but ruined his plans to get the kingdom in the past without his realization. The sorcerer, who had observed his angry outburst with his wife, seizes his chance. He followed him after the argument and arranged what appears to be an accident where he is trapped under his carriage. The man helps him and the sorcerer being "grateful", gives the husband a ride and a meal for his superficial appreciation. When the husband voices his frustrations, the sorcerer offers to give the man a day to live like he used to when he was single in exchange for a day from his childhood that he would not remember being erased. The man signs the contract with the sorcerer and transports back in time to when he was single. He is kidnapped by witches and taken to the sorcerer, who is now the King of the kingdom. Upon inquiry, the sorcerer reveals that the day he erased was the day that he was born. Therefore, the man never met his wife, never had his kids, and never had parents, family, or friends. In the meantime the evil sorcerer was able to get the queen and king of the land to sign their kingdom away, and to cause them to disappear. When the day ends, this single “happy” man will fade from existence. The man begins to cry over his lost past. After the man explains the situation to a stranger, the stranger helps him find a loophole: the sorcerers contract will be nullified if the man and his wife share true love's kiss. But this is a tough task because since this is in the past now, his wife does not recognize him. The husband does everything he can to gain his wife’s love, but she is too busy preparing an ambush on the sorcerer. She is also bitterly cynical and disillusioned about the power of true love and throws herself into planning the sorcerer’s capture because of how terrible he runs to kingdom as king. While sparring with her, the soon to be wife begins to like this man, but stops short of kissing him. Now the man is discouraged, but his new friend encourages him to continue pursuing her. The man insists that the woman kiss him, saying it will fix everything, but because she does not truly love him it is ineffective. Upon hearing that the evil sorcerer is offering anything desired by the one who captures this single man, the man cleverly surrenders himself in exchange for all the slaves of the kingdom to be released. As the sun rises, the man begins to fade from existence because of the contract. But the woman, having fallen in love with him, kisses him just before he disappears, thereby voiding the contract by the evil sorcerer and restoring him to embraces his friends and family with a deeper appreciation for everything he has, truly living happily ever after. The ending of the story really moves me and has brought me to appreciate everything I have.

A quote is by a greek philosopher says: “A wise man is he who does not grieve for the thing which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.”

A man I admire greatly is David Osmond who is the son of Alan Osmond, and the nephew of Donny and Marie Osmond. Both him and his father battle MS to this day. Alan said that he might have MS, but MS does NOT have him. We all know of the Osmond brothers and their performances everywhere, but the next generation consisted of David and his brothers doing the same thing as his father and uncles. David went on a mission to Madrid Spain. Later he came back home and began to start dating. One Christmas eve he said he felt a pain in his feet like they were being crushed. Then he said the pain grew up past his knees and then started to take over his whole body. He then ended up in a wheelchair, and he said as he was sitting in his wheelchair, watching his older brother wrestling with his child on the kitchen floor he thought, “I won’t ever have the chance to do that,” and thought “why me?” Later he was able to transfer from a wheelchair to a cane. When he started dating his wife Valerie she was told when he proposed that he would be a cripple the rest of his life, and David was like “Are you sure you want to marry a cripple?” And she said: “Yes, in sickness and health.” She has been there with him from day 1. And just before their wedding in the Salt Lake Temple, a miracle happened. On his wedding day he was able to walk again, and ever since that day he has been healthy and performing all over like a regular person. He travels and gives speeches at MS foundations and societies including doTERRA. He emphasizes that pain comes to all of us at different times, but suffering is optional. He also says that “miracles do happen, and that if you don’t believe it, you’re looking at one because to be walking again is a miracle for [him].” He lives life with “greater passion and greater determination” and stated that he “will never forget the moment [his] toes moved for the first time.” He said “it seems crazy, but this trial is the best thing that has ever happened to [him] because it has given [him] a fresh perspective on life.” He said he is living a “richer and more meaningful life” because he has “learned to focus on the ability rather than on the disability.” In a speach he said “I drove a car today. That was awesome! Because I remembered not being able to. And the little mundane things mean so much to me now. What a gift! I wish that I could give that to everybody!!! That moment that my toes moved for the first time was a miracle! Life is a miracle. And we are so excited to be here right now to experience the things that we are because it is awesome, and there is so much positivity on the horizon for the world with MS.” He wrote a song called “The Last Day” talking about how we can’t take anything for granted and how we have to live like it’s our last day. I would like to close with these lyrics: I got to live like it is the last day of my life live for the things that make it right live for the ones that make me free open up your heart and you will see live to be proud that i made the day
somebody else to make a way I got to live, you got to live like it is the last day of your life.

I hope that we can all choose to be happy with our lives now and have an attitude of gratitude. I know my mission has taught me to be grateful for my blessings here in Perry Utah. I believe the gospel is true and have a testimony of Jesus Christ and His life of service. I hope to be able become like Him. And I say this….Amen.