Our Stake (Arlington Texas) studies one scripture per month. To help families to integrate the scripture into their homes in meaningful ways, for each scripture we share the following:
- the accompanying challenge
- free printables of the scripture or related challenge for display in the home
- family home evening lessons for all types of families
- ideas for using the scripture in a talk or lesson
You can find all of the resources at A Year in the Scriptures.
The scripture for November 2017 is Doctrine & Covenants 59:7.
Thou shalt thank the Lord thy God in all things.
Challenge
Ponder on the things for which you are thankful and make a list. Then, be sure you thank the Lord for those blessings.
Ideas for accomplishing the challenge:
- Explore all of the resources shared for the November 2016 Stake Scripture
- Consider showing the Lord your gratitude through suggestions he gives in the scriptures. They include:
- singing praise to him
- sharing with others
- living righteously
- taking good care of what you’ve been given
- Write an entry in your journal to share what you are grateful for. Consider making this a recurring exercise.
- Ask someone close to you what blessings they see in your life.
- Repent of something you’ve needed to.
- Say a specific prayer of thanks.
- Share your gratitude with other people for what they have done or been for you.
- Make a plan to develop a spiritual gift the Lord has given you that you have not fully developed.
Special Note:
For the past two years, the scriptures and challenges have been prayerfully selected and created by President Chuck Spitzer. President Spitzer was released on Sunday, October 29, 2017, after nine years of faithful, dedicated, loving, inspired service. The resources for this month’s scripture and challenge are dedicated to him.
Printables
We created a printable for this month’s scripture. You can download it here or by clicking on the image below.
Family Home Evening Ideas
With Children:
Idea #1:
This Thanksgiving lesson from Sofia’s Primary Ideas is perfect for little ones because it’s got a (very simple) craft element.
Idea #2:
This idea from Sofia’s Primary Ideas is also good, but it’s a little less prep.
With Teens:
LDS Living has a great Thanksgiving FHE that works with this verse and doesn’t even have to be associated with the holiday.
With Adults:
- How do the ideas align with what you read in the scriptures?
- Do you agree with his idea that gratitude comes before happiness? How is this similar or different from the idea that faith precedes the miracle?
- How does this compare to the scriptures’ view of joy?
- Do you see a connection between his ideas about small communities and the ward system?
Helps For Talks & Lessons
- You can read the background on this section here.
- Find a list of Conference talks that cite this verse here. (look to the right side)
- What is the difference between this verse and the world’s way of thinking about what you should be thankful for and when you should be thankful?
- What habits lead to a lack of gratitude?
- What are effective ways to express thanks to the Lord? What are ineffective ways?
- If faith without works is dead, is there a parallel with gratitude? Is it possible for thanks to be dead?
- What are the dangers of not feeling or expressing thanks to the Lord? How can we guard against that?
- The word “thankful” means “satisfied” or “grateful” in Old English [þancful]. This word also meant “thoughtful,” “ingenious,” and “clever.” In what ways is it thoughtful, ingenious, or clever to be thankful?
Main Page
If you would like to see the resources for all of the monthly scriptures, visit this page. Be sure to visit our Scripture Memorizing Ideas page for ideas and general help on memorizing scriptures.