by David E Bay, High Councilor

Last week, we celebrated Thanksgiving and took the time to reflect on all the blessings that our loving Heavenly Father has bestowed upon us. For most of us, this meant spending quality time with family and friends, enjoying yummy food, and expressing gratitude for all the good things in our lives.

I remember a particular Thanksgiving when I was seven years old. There were weeks of preparing for family members to come and be with us at our house. I was very excited and even counted down the days to Thanksgiving. This was the first time my parents had invited our extended family to come to our home all at the same time. There was a lot of energy about every detail. I remember these details partly because it was during the time of my first attempt at keeping a journal as a child. Unfortunately, I tended to write down the things in as few words as I could. I certainly did not capture in my written words the things that happened then and today hold the most importance to me. My entry for Thanksgiving Day in my childish journal was, “I ate dinner.” I did not have the understanding to capture the important moments.

My great-grandmother, Gammy, had come to our house for the first time. My mother as part of this great feast had prepared turkey and other meats including venison. Gammy upon tasting the venison, asked “What is this meat? It’s so tasty!” When she was told it was venison, she adamantly replied, “Venison! Why did you serve me venison? You know I don’t like venison!”

My Grandad was an excellent storyteller and told the tale of the three little kittens who lost their mittens. Fortunately for my memory, Dad managed to capture Grandad’s storytelling on his newfangled (it was 1964) reel-to-reel tape recorder. It recorded Grandad’s rich deep and hypnotic voice as he drew his audience into the experience. So instead of hearing this story just once, I listened to it many times. Now I cherish the memory of the story forever.

The experiences that made a difference were all tied up with the relationships and the love that we felt for each other as a family. It wasn’t that “I ate dinner” but that I interacted with people in my family who had a great deal of love for me and my family.

President M. Russell Ballard explained the power of the proclamation of the family and concluded, “Brothers and sisters, as we hold up like a banner the proclamation to the world on the family and as we live and teach the gospel of Jesus Christ, we will fulfill the measure of our creation here on earth. We will find peace and happiness here and in the world to come. We should not need a hurricane or other crisis to remind us of what matters most. The gospel and the Lord’s plan of happiness and salvation should remind us. What matters most is what lasts longest, and our families are for eternity.” (October 2005 General Conference)

As we approach the Christmas season, it’s a tradition to exchange gifts. This is a time when we think of others and try to become more Christlike. When I think of Christmas gifts, I realize that while some gifts I’ve received have been memorable, the ones that have impacted me the most are some of the gifts I’ve given to others. These are the gifts that I’ve put effort into, making sure they would be valuable to the person receiving them.

Jesus Christ taught us about the folly of depending on material things in his parable which is referred to as the parable of the rich fool. In the story, a rich man decides that he is ready to increase the size of his barns so he can store more of his worldly goods.

Luke 12:15-21 “And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

In the Savior’s eyes, the rich man is seen as a “fool” due to his attachment to the material world. Despite his readiness to make changes in his physical surroundings, he fails to recognize that the time has come to leave this temporary existence. The Savior reminds us that the things of this world are fleeting and ultimately hold no value in the eternal perspective. Things belonging to this temporary world do not help us in the eternities.

President Nelson continues to remind us that the most important things that we can do are those things that help bring others to the Savior and which have an eternal impact on their lives. That is the gathering of Israel both here in mortality and for those of our ancestors who have gone on before us.

He taught us in the October 2022 General Conference, “As I have stated before, the gathering of Israel is the most important work taking place on earth today. One crucial element of this gathering is preparing a people who are able, ready, and worthy to receive the Lord when He comes again, a people who have already chosen Jesus Christ over this fallen world, a people who rejoice in their agency to live the higher, holier laws of Jesus Christ.

“I call upon you, my dear brothers and sisters, to become this righteous people. Cherish and honor your covenants above all other commitments. As you let God prevail in your life, I promise you greater peace, confidence, joy, and yes, rest.

“With the power of the holy apostleship vested in me, I bless you in your quest to overcome this world. I bless you to increase your faith in Jesus Christ and learn better how to draw upon His power. I bless you to be able to discern truth from error. I bless you to care more about the things of God than the things of this world. I bless you to see the needs of those around you and strengthen those you love. Because Jesus Christ overcame this world, you can too. I so testify in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.”

I hope that we will be able to receive the blessing given to us by the Lord’s prophet. As we seek to follow Jesus, we can express love for others by sharing ourselves and those things that are important to us with them, and we can invite them to join us. Those things that matter most are those things that last the longest. Helping to gather Israel on both sides of the veil is the most important work that we can be involved with and will bless us and our families.

I hope that each of you has had a memorable and grateful time of thanksgiving and that you will find gratitude in serving others during this upcoming Christmas season.