Saying Thank You

By Elder Hugh W. Pinnock of the Seventy

Adapted from an April 1987 general conference address.

A lovely young lady told the following story at a stake conference. She said, “I am a convert from upstate New York. My parents wanted their children to have eternal marriages.

“Our family moved to Utah, and eventually I found myself a husband. He was the president of the local motorcycle club and wore a black leather jacket and motorcycle boots. We rode motorcycles together—perhaps not what my mother had hoped—but by that time I had wandered from the Church.

“We moved into a house. Often our friends would gather there. I’m afraid our neighbors were quite uncomfortable with us. At least one neighbor took her children into her house when we were roaming about.

“But do you know what our neighbors did? They mowed our lawn because we didn’t have a mower. They brought flowers when one of us was sick, and quite often they brought food and fixed things around the house. Our little daughter was included in the neighborhood children’s activities and was even given a party on her birthday. When we tried to thank our neighbors, they just said, ‘Well, we all like to help each other.’ They made us feel welcome there.

“About 10 months later, we traded our black leather jackets and motorcycle boots for the white clothing of the temple. As we knelt across the altar from each other and looked around that room, there were our neighbors, those who had been mowing our lawn and making things better for us.”

A renowned business leader and teacher of Christianity in New York City has said many wonderful things about our members. He observed, “One of the most remarkable characteristics of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is that you … concentrate upon doing that which you believe Jesus wants you to do.”

How do we do what Jesus wants us to do? How do we say thank you for the Atonement? How do we show gratitude for His teachings and for the ordinances and covenants of the temple? We do it by loving God, by loving our neighbor, and by living the commandments.

Illustrated by Larry Winborg