Bread and Gratitude

By President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Second Counselor in the First Presidency

Adapted from “Grateful in Any Circumstances,” Ensign, May 2014, 70–77.

There is an old story of a waiter who asked a customer if he had enjoyed the meal. The man said that everything was fine, but it would have been better if they had given him more than two slices of bread.

The next day, when the man came to eat again, the waiter gave him four pieces of bread. The man said he still wished he had more. So the next day, the waiter gave him eight pieces! But the man still wasn’t satisfied.

Finally, on the fourth day, the waiter was really determined to make the man happy. So he took a nine-foot-long (3-m) loaf of bread, cut it in half, and with a smile, served it to the customer. Instead of being grateful, the man looked up and said, “The food was good, as always. But I see you’re back to giving me only two slices of bread.”

As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are commanded to “thank the Lord [our] God in all things” (D&C 59:7). If we focus on the blessings we think we are missing, it can make us unhappy. Choosing to develop a spirit of gratitude will bring us true joy and great happiness.

Thank-phabet

For each letter of the alphabet, come up with something you’re thankful for!

Tim Loses the Grumps

Don’t read the story yet! First, fill in each blank. The words under each blank tell you what kind of word to use. Then read the story out loud! Then try new words and see how the story changes! Try having a friend write your words in the blanks before you see the story.

noun: a person, place, or thing (like “foot” or “balloon”)

adjective: a word that describes something (like “squishy” or “hairy”)

Tim frowned as he lay in bed. It had been an awful day. First he had to help take care of his sister, and she had spilled [color] [food] on the floor! Then, at school his class studied [adjective] [animals] all day. When he got home, he found out his favorite toy [noun] was broken. Tim’s grumpy thoughts stayed with him as he fell asleep that night.

Suddenly, Tim was taking care of his sister, only now she was [big number] feet tall! It was much harder to help her, and they couldn’t play peek-a-boo the way they usually did. When Tim walked to school, he found out that his teacher had been replaced by a [adjective] [noun]! Instead of learning, he had to clean [nouns] all day. And at home, all of Tim’s toys had turned into [nouns]!

Just then, Tim’s alarm went off with a loud [animal sound]. Tim sat up and rubbed his eyes. It had been a dream! He laughed while playing peek-a-boo with his sister. He smiled while giving his book report at school. Even though his favorite toy was broken, he was happy there were other things he could play with. Tim was glad he could feel grateful instead of grumpy!