For my November visiting teaching, I have chosen to share with my sisters, Elder Bednar's talk entitled "Pray Always". ( scroll down to the next post and you will see a link that will take you directly to this talk as well as the rest of the October Conference talks) There was a paragraph in his talk that really stuck in my mind as he spoke in Conference, probably because I had in the recent past, done what he admonished us to do with regard to praying to our Heavenly Father. This is the quote that I am referring to....
"As we strive to make our prayers more meaningful, we should remember that “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). Let me recommend that periodically you and I offer a prayer in which we only give thanks and express gratitude. Ask for nothing; simply let our souls rejoice and strive to communicate appreciation with all the energy of our hearts."
Following Conference, the words "Offer a prayer in which we only give thanks and express gratitude," ran thought my mind over and over. I remembered some years back on when I did this very thing and I remembered how uplifted I felt after thanking my Heavenly Father, instead of asking for one thing. I wanted to feel it again, so I took Elder Bednar's recommendation to heart, and for the entire week following October conference, each night when I said my personal prayers, I thanked my Heavenly Father and asked for nothing. Gratitude poured into my heart and soul and more and more memories of the blessings that I had received came into my mind. I became keenly aware that my Heavenly Father was intimately involved in my life. He has been by my side over and over and given me strength when I thought my strength was gone. He has been a listening ear for all of my heartaches & trials as well as my joys and triumphs. He has wept with me and I have felt loving arms wrapped around me. Best of all I realized once again, that He is always there ready to listen to me and that I am never truly alone, He is always there for me and I owe my all to Him
When I think of gratitude in praying, probably the greatest example I know was of my Grandmother Great as we called her. Her name was Mary Jane Cunningham. She was the mother of 12 children, two of which died in infancy. She and Great Grandpa lived in a 3 room cabin in American Fork, Utah. Her husband was a brick mason and was working in Provo, Utah and fell off the scaffolding to his death, leaving Grammy Great to raise her 10 children on her own. I can scarcely imagine the weight of the burden she must have felt when she realized what was ahead of her. But she was a strong woman with great faith and a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Every night she would gather her children to say evening prayer. She would turn the chairs with the seat outward around the kitchen table so that as she and her children knelled to pray, they could rest their arms on the seat of the chair. The picture that paints in my mind is priceless! My own Grandmother Doris Cunningham Robinson, one of Grammy greats daughters, told of how hard it was to kneel on the hard-wooden floors when it was Grammy Greats turn to pray. She said that Grammy Greats prayers lasted what seemed like hours, as she would thank Heavenly Father for every single thing she had, realizing she wouldn't have it if it were not from the Lord. She thanked Him for the cow that provided them milk, and the fruit trees that provided fruit to feed her her family, and enough to bottle for the winter. She thanked him for the birds that sing, each child by name, and on and on. She didn't miss expressing gratitude over and over to Heavenly Father for the simple abundance he had provided. My Grandmother Robinson said that it wasn't until she was a teenager that she realized just how poor her family was, because when her mother prayed thanking Heavenly Father for so many things, she thought they must be really rich to have so many blessings.
How often do we forget that the blessings we are given come to us from the Lord and how often do we take the time to really thank him? I urge you and will challenge the sisters that I visit teach, to take recommendation of Elder Bednar, to pray with thankful hearts asking for nothing and experience for yourselves the wonderful feeling of Thanksgiving that comes. We all have so much to be thankful for! What a more perfect time to contemplate those things we are thankful for, than during the month we celebrate Thanksgiving?
I have been working on a vintage post card collage to give to my sisters for the Month of November. The photo of Sister Manwaring and daughters praying is used Courtesy, ofm L.Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library,Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602.
My inspiration for this collage was that if anyone isn't able to get and in home visit with one of her sisters for whatever reason, print off the post card and send it in the mail along with a copy of the Conference talk. This should not take the place of a visit but I know that sometimes for a variety of reasons, a sister is missed. This way you can contact the sister through the mail and share the message too.
Enjoy! Let me know what you think! Katie
Hear the words of the living prophets.
