Chapter 32: Helping Children Feel Thanksgiving
Every fourth Thursday of November, American families gather to eat turkey and watch football. The holiday is called Thanksgiving. The prevailing reason for Thanksgiving is to remember the Pilgrims’ feast after their plentiful harvest of 1621. But the first and sixteenth presidents of the United States declared a loftier purpose for the holiday.
President George Washington issued a proclamation in November 1789. He declared a day of “public thanksgiving and prayer” devoted to “the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be” (See heritage.org/washingtons-thanksgiving-proclamation).
In 1864, President Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a national holiday. In his proclamation, he expressed gratitude for: “the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies”; the population increase and expansion of the "borders of our settlements”; and the prosperous mines of coal and precious metals that “have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore.” He asked “his fellow citizens” to remember “the gracious gifts of the Most High God.”
President Washington asked the people to beseech God “to pardon our national and other transgressions.” President Lincoln asked citizens to pray for forgiveness for “our national perverseness and disobedience.” He lamented that the Civil War had caused so many widows and orphans. He asked citizens to “fervently implore” God “to heal the wounds of the nation.”
Lincoln’s proclamation concluded: “I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States… to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens” (abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/speeches).
As you can tell, Thanksgiving was designed to be much more than turkey, football, or even a token Pilgrim remembrance or two on the table. The purpose was to unite the nation in a formal day of gratitude, prayer, praise, worship, repentance, and service to God. Americans have strayed from that intent, which most likely, only a major catastrophe will change and bring the people of the nation to their knees.
The truth is: we can’t change the mindset of the nation as a whole. What we can do is return to the values of Washington and Lincoln as individuals and families. We can strive in our own lives to make every day a thanksgiving day. Amulek advised the Nephites: “Live in thanksgiving daily, for the many mercies and blessings which [God] doth bestow upon you” (Alma 34:38).
We can humbly and fervently express gratitude to God in our thoughts, prayers, and actions. We can praise Him, worship Him, and serve Him by serving each other. We can petition Him to forgive us and heal our hearts, our homes, and our nation.
Parents teach thanksgiving when humble prayer happens daily. Humble prayer is not rote, repetitious, or routine but sincere and specific. The Russell family speaks to God in real-time as though He were in the room and aware of their every need: “We thank thee Heavenly Father for the sleep we received last night. We thank thee for the eggs, toast, and orange juice we are about to eat. We are grateful to be a family. Please help us be kind and find ways to serve each other today. We are thankful for the changing color on the mountains and the pumpkins that are growing in our garden. We are thankful that Mom’s headache is better. Please bless Grandpa to have a day without so much pain. Please help Jacob to get his book report finished. Please forgive us for being impatient with each other when we were late for soccer practice last night.”
Then when the family experiences answers to their prayers, they express gratitude: “We are grateful that Jacob got his book report turned in on time. We are thankful that Grandpa is home from the hospital.”
This open communication teaches the reality of God our Eternal Father. The respectful use of His name at the beginning of prayer and the reverent ending in the name of Jesus Christ unites under the Spirit of the Lord. Every morning and every night and whenever gratitude or need is felt, there is opportunity to pray.
Thanksgiving is so much more than turkey, football, and Pilgrims. Thanksgiving combines thanking, praising, worshiping, repenting, and giving service. When we pray “with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all [God’s] wondrous works” (Psalm 26:7) we “live in thanksgiving daily” (Alma 34:38).
(c) Marilynne Todd Linford
President George Washington issued a proclamation in November 1789. He declared a day of “public thanksgiving and prayer” devoted to “the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be” (See heritage.org/washingtons-thanksgiving-proclamation).
In 1864, President Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a national holiday. In his proclamation, he expressed gratitude for: “the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies”; the population increase and expansion of the "borders of our settlements”; and the prosperous mines of coal and precious metals that “have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore.” He asked “his fellow citizens” to remember “the gracious gifts of the Most High God.”
President Washington asked the people to beseech God “to pardon our national and other transgressions.” President Lincoln asked citizens to pray for forgiveness for “our national perverseness and disobedience.” He lamented that the Civil War had caused so many widows and orphans. He asked citizens to “fervently implore” God “to heal the wounds of the nation.”
Lincoln’s proclamation concluded: “I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States… to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens” (abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/speeches).
As you can tell, Thanksgiving was designed to be much more than turkey, football, or even a token Pilgrim remembrance or two on the table. The purpose was to unite the nation in a formal day of gratitude, prayer, praise, worship, repentance, and service to God. Americans have strayed from that intent, which most likely, only a major catastrophe will change and bring the people of the nation to their knees.
The truth is: we can’t change the mindset of the nation as a whole. What we can do is return to the values of Washington and Lincoln as individuals and families. We can strive in our own lives to make every day a thanksgiving day. Amulek advised the Nephites: “Live in thanksgiving daily, for the many mercies and blessings which [God] doth bestow upon you” (Alma 34:38).
We can humbly and fervently express gratitude to God in our thoughts, prayers, and actions. We can praise Him, worship Him, and serve Him by serving each other. We can petition Him to forgive us and heal our hearts, our homes, and our nation.
Parents teach thanksgiving when humble prayer happens daily. Humble prayer is not rote, repetitious, or routine but sincere and specific. The Russell family speaks to God in real-time as though He were in the room and aware of their every need: “We thank thee Heavenly Father for the sleep we received last night. We thank thee for the eggs, toast, and orange juice we are about to eat. We are grateful to be a family. Please help us be kind and find ways to serve each other today. We are thankful for the changing color on the mountains and the pumpkins that are growing in our garden. We are thankful that Mom’s headache is better. Please bless Grandpa to have a day without so much pain. Please help Jacob to get his book report finished. Please forgive us for being impatient with each other when we were late for soccer practice last night.”
Then when the family experiences answers to their prayers, they express gratitude: “We are grateful that Jacob got his book report turned in on time. We are thankful that Grandpa is home from the hospital.”
This open communication teaches the reality of God our Eternal Father. The respectful use of His name at the beginning of prayer and the reverent ending in the name of Jesus Christ unites under the Spirit of the Lord. Every morning and every night and whenever gratitude or need is felt, there is opportunity to pray.
Thanksgiving is so much more than turkey, football, and Pilgrims. Thanksgiving combines thanking, praising, worshiping, repenting, and giving service. When we pray “with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all [God’s] wondrous works” (Psalm 26:7) we “live in thanksgiving daily” (Alma 34:38).
(c) Marilynne Todd Linford
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