As a world-renowned heart surgeon, President Russell M. Nelson is no stranger to offering prescriptions for wellness, but on Friday morning, he offered perhaps his most important prescription ever. Speaking to a world that—though it may feel divided—is united by a need for healing, President Nelson offered two prescribed ways to find it: 1. "Turn social media into your own personal gratitude journal” 2. “Let us unite in thanking God through daily prayer.”
On YouTube alone, over 345,000 people tuned in to hear the prophet’s words. At the end of the message, President Nelson asked listeners to join him in prayer, in which he expressed his thanks to God for families, those who are striving to combat the pandemic, and leaders of nations, and those who strive to lift us. He also prayed for relief and asked for a healing spirit to unite us.
See quotes from the prophet's message and watch the video below.
“Jesus Christ frequently expressed gratitude. Before raising Lazarus from the dead, before miraculously multiplying loaves and fishes, and before passing the cup to His disciples at the Last Supper, the Savior prayed and gave thanks to God. No wonder the Apostle Paul later declared, ‘In every thing give thanks’ (1 Thessalonians 5:18).”
“Over my nine and a half decades of life, I have concluded that counting our blessings is far better than recounting our problems.”
“No matter our situation, showing gratitude for our privileges is a fast-acting and long-lasting spiritual prescription. Does gratitude spare us from sorrow, sadness, grief, and pain? No, but it does soothe our feelings. It provides us with a greater perspective on the very purpose and joy of life.”
“We can all give thanks for the beauties of the earth and the majesty of the heavens that give us an inkling of the vastness of eternity.”
“We can give thanks for the gift of life, for our amazing bodies and minds that allow us to grow and learn. We can give thanks for art, literature, and music that nurture our souls. We can give thanks for the opportunity to repent, start over, make amends, and build character.”
“We can give thanks for our families, friends, and loved ones. We can give thanks for the opportunity to help, cherish, and serve one another, which makes life so much more meaningful. We can even give thanks for our trials, from which we learn things we would not know otherwise.”
“First, I invite you—just for the next seven days—to turn social media into your own personal gratitude journal. Post every day about what you are grateful for, whom you are grateful for, and why you are grateful. At the end of seven days, see if you feel happier and more at peace. Use the hashtag #GiveThanks. Working together, we can flood social media with a wave of gratitude that reaches the four corners of the earth. Perhaps this will fulfill, in part, the promise God gave to Father Abraham, that through his descendants ‘all families of the earth [shall] be blessed’ (Genesis 12:3).”
“Second, let us unite in thanking God through daily prayer. Jesus Christ taught His disciples to pray by first expressing gratitude to God and then petitioning Him for the things we need. Prayer brings forth miracles.”
We are excited to act on President Nelson's invitation. Here is a reminder of the invitations he extended to help us heal our fractured relationships and our communities:
- Turn social media into your own gratitude journal for the next seven days.
- Say a prayer of thanks.
Lead image: YouTube screenshot
