Bishop's message

I normally do not post about church stuff, but our bishop's message today was good. The points I really enjoyed (aka: hit home and made me cry):

1. From the Church News: "Acknowledge God": "Gratitude is recognizing that we are nothing without God and others. Joseph Smith taught that "the greatest temporal and spiritual blessings which always come from faithfulness and concerted effort, never attended individual exertion or enterprise" (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 183). The sum of who we are and what we have become is not a result of our individual effort alone but rather must include the countless efforts given by God and others in our behalf."

2. A story from President Eyring: "When President Henry B. Eyring's children were very small, he started to write down a few things about what happened each day.
"Let me tell you how that got started," he said during the October 2007 general conference. "I came home late from a Church assignment. It was after dark. My father-in-law, who lived near us, surprised me as I walked toward the front door of my house.... I knew that he had been building a system to pump water from a stream below us up to our property.
"He smiled, spoke softly, and then rushed past me into the darkness to go on with his work. I took a few steps toward the house ... and just as I got to the door, I heard in my mind — not in my own voice — these words: 'I'm not giving you these experiences for yourself. Write them down.'
"I went inside. I didn't go to bed. Although I was tired, I took out some paper and began to write. And as I did, I understood the message I had heard in my mind. I was supposed to record for my children to read, someday in the future, how I had seen the hand of God blessing our family. Grandpa didn't have to do what he was doing for us. He could have had someone else do it or not have done it at all. But he was serving us, his family, in the way covenant disciples of Jesus Christ always do. I knew that was true. And so I wrote it down."
President Eyring, second counselor in the First Presidency, said he wrote down a few lines every day for years. "Before I would write, I would ponder this question: 'Have I seen the hand of God reaching out to touch us or our children or our family today?' As I kept at it, something began to happen. As I would cast my mind over the day, I would see evidence of what God had done for one of us that I had not recognized in the busy moments of the day. As that happened, and it happened often, I realized that trying to remember had allowed God to show me what He had done.
"More than gratitude began to grow in my heart. Testimony grew. I became ever more certain that our Heavenly Father hears and answers prayers. I felt more gratitude for the softening and refining that come because of the Atonement of the Savior Jesus Christ.""

I am especially greatful for the gospel in my life. I love this time of year that we get to reflect about the birth of our Savior, and especially his Atonement. I love that we can share our thoughts with each other to strengthen each other. I am especially greatful for family and our ability to be together forever, if we strive to do what's right.