Happy Thanksgiving! This piece is profoundly personal. I ask your indulgence.

I would be a liar if I told you that my heart is brim to the top with gratitude this year. I have a lot to be bitter and angry about. I am facing numerous serious challenges that have afflicted me and weighed me down. Truly, I have much to grumble about. Don’t we all? Life is hard, and we all suffer setbacks and trials, pain and heartache, sorrow and the fire of affliction.

That said, I would also be a liar if I claimed I have nothing for which to be grateful this Thanksgiving. I do. So do you. Every person, regardless of circumstances, has much for which to express gratitude to the Almighty. We should each be grateful for at least the following: 1) Life; and 2) the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

If you are alive, then you have access to the Atonement of Christ which can help you improve, become better, blot out your sins, repair your broken parts, heal your wounds, make your weaknesses into strengths, and draw you closer to God. If you are alive, it means there is more for you to do, to learn, to teach, to experience, or to witness. Be grateful for life, the chief blessing of all the blessings of God.

Next to life is the gift of Liberty, or free will. For all those with proper mental faculties, we have the right to choose. Even in terrible circumstances, we may react or act according to the dictates of our conscience. No one – no government, church, friend, family member, of crowd – can deprive you of your God-given right to choose. Even God will never twist your arm and force you to choose. Thanks to your Father in Heaven and His Son Jesus Christ, you are totally and truly free; the tyranny of man be damned. Be grateful for that superlative blessing. It is the very blessing that Satan sought to destroy before this earth began; an inestimable privilege that makes life worth living.

I am grateful for more than just my life and my Savior’s Atonement. I am grateful for my wonderful family. I love them and miss them and I’m thankful for their prayers and kind acts and support. My parents are amazing. I love my siblings. My wife is so hardworking and faithful. My daughters are indescribably beautiful and stunning in every way; just seeing them or hearing their little voices makes me happy. That they can sing and dance and talk and run and jump and play and draw and say “I love you” injects me with joy. I thank the Lord for them! I sure miss them. . .

Additionally, I am grateful for my Freedom as vouchsafed under the inspired U.S. Constitution. No nation has a constitution like ours. If we would simply follow it, we would remain the freest and most prosperous society in the world in perpetuity. I am grateful for the Pilgrims, Founding Fathers, and Pioneers of America’s past who settled this savage but sacred land, raised the greatest nation in world history upon it, and extended the blessings of civilization across it from sea to shining sea. Many breathe out vile dissent against our forefathers, claiming they were wicked men, cruel conquerors, genocidal maniacs, brutal enslavers, racists, bigots, and imperial tyrants. That is a devilish lie. I am sincerely grateful for a true understanding of our incredible history and a knowledge of our noble ancestors whom God chose out of the world and placed here to accomplish the work of building the first free nation in modern times and creating an asylum for the pure Gospel of Jesus Christ to be restored and take root.

I am grateful to know such illustrious names as William Bradford, John Winthrop, Benjamin Franklin, James Otis, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Caleb Strong, James Wilson, James Madison, Patrick Henry, Samuel Davies, John Parker, Jonas Clark, James Barrett, Samuel Whittemore, Mercy Otis Warren, Elias Boudinot, Davy Crockett, Daniel Boone, William Travis, Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, John Moses Browning, and too many more to list. These were stalwart, hardy, adventurous souls who did special work and who ought to be remembered for their service to God and country.

I am also more grateful than I can express for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I have testified time and time again that I know this is the Lord’s Church. I have lost so many followers and friends for bearing this testimony, but what can I do, deny what I know is true? I will not deny it. I will testify of it until my dying breath because my knowledge comes from God through the Holy Spirit, not from books, family, my own intellect, hypothesis, or mortal sources. I did not have an “emotional experience,” as some like to dismiss my spiritual witness, but an authentic and personal revelation from the Holy Spirit to my spirit. As Paul was “not disobedient unto the heavenly vision” he received, so will I stay faithful to the spiritual witness I have received (see Acts 26). I am thankful for the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in these latter days as was prophesied throughout the Bible from Isaiah to Daniel to Paul to John. I honor the Prophet Joseph Smith and his contributions to the Kingdom of God. This truly is the Dispensation of the Fulness of times, and I’m part of it. What a blessing!

There are many other things for which I am grateful: The immaculate beauty of nature; the songs of birds; the breeze on a warm day; the sunshine; peaceful and quiet locations; the color green; majestic mountains and sprawling forests; good books; clean comedy; tasty food; spices like garlic, cayenne, cumin, curry, and black pepper; raw honey; pecan pie; the beauty and nutrition of dandelions; colorful flowers; a home in which to live; firearms; the crackle and smell of a campfire; writing; music; poetry; the internet with its store of generational wisdom; general health and physical strength; ad infinitum.

All of us have things to gripe about, sometimes even extremely serious things. But all of us also have things for which to give thanks. Sometimes, we are guilty of emphasizing the bad and downplaying the good. I am certainly guilty of this, especially as the days and months fly by without my family nearby. My youngest daughter is now talking and I can only witness it from a distance. Nevertheless, there is much I thank God for and for which I feel in my soul deeply grateful. Today, I choose to express my gratitude to my Father in Heaven for my life, for the Atonement of His Son and my Savior Jesus Christ, and for the gift of agency.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Zack Strong,
November 27, 2024