President Thomas S. Monson on living with an attitude of gratitude

President Thomas S. Monson (b. August 21, 1927) was sustained to the Quorum of Twelve Apostles in 1963. He served as a counselor in the First Presidency with Presidents Benson, Hunter, and Hinckley until becoming Church president in 2008.

"This is a wonderful time to be living here on earth. Our opportunities are limitless. While there are some things wrong in the world today, there are many things right, such as teachers who teach, ministers who minister, marriages that make it, parents who sacrifice, and friends who help.

"We can lift ourselves, and others as well, when we refuse to remain in the realm of negative thought and cultivate within our hearts an attitude of gratitude. If ingratitude be numbered among the serious sins, then gratitude takes its place among the noblest of virtues."

- Thomas S. Monson, "An Attitude of Gratitude," General Conference April 1992
Click here to read or listen to the full talk

President Monson has always been the consummate optimist. This is one of the keys to his attitude: "While there are some things wrong in the world today, there are many things right...." He seems always able to identify the blessings, the positive things that happen around us. It's a great characteristic to develop.

Learning to have that "attitude of gratitude" makes all the difference. In this talk, President Monson mentions specific aspects where our gratitude has focus:

1. Mothers
2. Fathers
3. Teachers
4. Friends
5. Country
6. Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ

This is a good list to start with; we might each consider our level of gratitude in those areas, and then look for additional areas that might be personally applicable.

(Compilation and commentary by David Kenison, Orem, Utah, 2017)