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Sometimes I feel like an old man...

...But when I go to High Priest group meeting is not one of them... ;-)

Today's lesson was on gratitude. Brother Vincent spoke about the obligation we all have to each other and to the Lord to be grateful. He quoted President Monson regarding cultivating an "attitude of gratitude". Considering the time of year that this is, and thinking about the new year ahead, perhaps there are ways in which we might improve. I would also humbly suggest that while we perhaps do not express our gratitude enough, we also do not express our love enough. Perhaps gratitude and love are two sides of the same coin...

In that vein, please allow me to tell you how much I love you. While this is a very public forum, I would that I could tell you each individually and privately how much you mean to me in my life. When I was on my mission, our mission president had us put a good, straight crease in a sheet of paper. Afterwards, he asked us, (without destroying the paper - ripping it or whatever) by whatever means we had at our disposal to try to remove that crease. There were some pretty creative attempts - everything from crumpling it up to trying to smooth it out on a book or the back of a chair - but none of them proved successful. Each attempt proved that short of tearing the paper in half, rendering it not even the same paper any longer, it was always possible to see the line created by that crease.

So it is with you. You have touched my life in ways that are indelible. I am who I am today because each of you has left a trace, no matter how faint or deep, in the page that is my life. And I love you for it.

I like who I am. I have been blessed in many ways. One of the greatest manifestations of God's love for me is you and your gentle yet powerful influence in my life. I am grateful beyond expression that our association continues and that you and I will grow stronger and stronger in our love, respect, and admiration for each other. I believe with all my heart that this is the very reason why God put us in each other's paths - so that we may love, serve, and bless each other. You have done so for me. I hope in some small way I have returned the favor.

May the Lord bless you in your new year. May His grace and mercy ever attend you. May His light and life guide you in dark moments. And may His love, and mine, ever be in your hearts, as yours is in mine.

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