A Grateful Heart
A Grateful Heart
President Quinn’s Weekly Message
California Santa Rosa Mission
June 1st, 2026
We extend a warm welcome to the 12 new missionaries who joined us last Wednesday. We are grateful to serve with you in CASRM. We look forward to getting to know you better as we serve together in the work of the Lord.
Forty- eight years ago today, I departed for missionary service in the Bolivia Santa Cruz Mission. The two years I spent sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ have blessed my life beyond measure. I do not remember a day since my mission when I have not been blessed by something I learned as a young missionary. I am deeply grateful to my Father in Heaven and my Savior, Jesus Christ for the abundant blessings that have come to me from my missionary service. I am confident you will feel the same in the years to come.
My reflections of gratitude today have me remembering a quote given by President Monson, “…gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.” (GC October 2010)
Think for a minute of the many virtues we can foster by practicing gratitude – kindness, love, forgiveness, patience, and humility to name a few. Even the virtue of faith is strengthened through gratitude. In Luke 17, we read of the experience when the Savior healed 10 lepers. Only one of the cleansed lepers returned to express his appreciation to the Savior. He fell at the Savior’s feet to express his profound gratitude. The Savior’s response to this man was:
“Arise, go thy way: Thy faith hath made thee whole.” (Luke 17:12-19)
It is interesting that the Lord did not say, “Your gratitude has made you whole.” Instead, He said, “Thy faith hath made thee whole.”
The leper’s expression of gratitude was recognized by the Savior as an expression of his faith. As we express gratitude to our loving Heavenly Father in prayer, we are also expressing our faith in Him. Gratitude is our sweet acknowledgment of the Lord’s hand in our lives; it is an expression of our faith. Bonnie D. Parkin, a former General Relief Society President, taught how gratitude builds our faith in God:
“Gratitude is a Spirit-filled principle. It opens our minds to a universe permeated with the richness of a living God. Through it, we become spiritually aware of the wonder of the smallest things, which gladden our hearts with their messages of God’s love. This grateful awareness heightens our sensitivity to divine direction. When we communicate gratitude, we can be filled with the Spirit and connected to those around us and the Lord. Gratitude inspires happiness and carries divine influence.”
Missionaries have asked me in interviews how they can strengthen the faith of their prayers. I have counseled them to fill their prayers with sincere expressions of gratitude, rather than a long list of requests for blessings. In my own life, I have felt the deepest connection to my Father in Heaven in prayers filled with expressions of gratitude for my blessings – rather than a prayer filled with requests for blessings.
Please spend some time this week reflecting on your many blessings – big and small. Write them down. Study the list you have made and then kneel to express your gratitude to your Father in Heaven for the blessings of your life. I promise you will feel the Spirit and your faith in the truth that your Heavenly Father hears and answers your prayers will increase.
I love this promise from the Lord given to those have a grateful heart:
“…he who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious; and the things of this earth shall be added unto him, even an hundred fold” (D&C 78:19).
Sister Quinn and I count each of you among our choicest blessings. You are a blessing to us!
Love,
President Quinn
(707) 758-6380
