Notes from Dyer, Wayne W. There's a Spiritual Solution to Every Problem. New York: Harper Collins, 2001 

Why did Our Heavenly Father and the Savior give this counsel and so many times---these are only a few of the similar references in the scriptures?

D & C 59:7 "Thou shalt thank the Lord thy God in all things."

D & C 78:19 "And 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, yea, more."

D & C 98:1 "Verily I say unto you my friends, fear not, let your hearts be comforted; yea rejoice evermore, and in everything give things."

Mosiah 26:38-39 "... Alma and his fellow laborers ... did admonish their brethren ... to give thanks in all things."

1 Thessalonians 5:18 "In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." 

From A course in Miracles. "It takes great learning to understand that all things, events, encounters, and circumstances are helpful." p. 16 of Dyer

"Eventually you acknowledge that virtually every spiritual advance is preceded by a disaster of some kind, and that all of the unwanted events of your life were necessary. Why? Because they occurred, and there are no accidents in this intelligent system we call our universe." p.156 Dyer

Please examine carefully D & C. 59:7 and especially note the 3rd The experiment: Take 3 minutes to list 3 -5 liabilities, failures, weaknesses, etc.; then 5 minutes (roughly) to list some benefit(s), blessings (s) that you probably would not have had, had it not been for those adversities. 

Winnipeg experience with group and Relief Society President

"... if you welcome pain as a messenger of God to make you remember him ... then pain will not be pain anymore. Suffering will not be suffering anymore." p. 218, from the Indian Saint, Divanda

One of Those Massachusetts Drivers By Judy Lubinski Roots Web Review, Vol. 5, No. 27, 3 July 02

A couple of weeks ago a friend and I went to Old Orchard Beach, Maine for a mini-vacation. I also had made arrangements to meet two 3rd cousins who had recently contacted me on the Internet, thanks to my GEDCOM being part of Roots Web's World Connect Project. These cousins told us of the burial place of my grandaunt and the next day after church we went on a cemetery search. The Mount Pleasant Cemetery in South Portland, Maine has narrow roads and there is only room for one car to pass at a time. At one point I heard a car honking and started back toward my car to see what the commotion was all about. A man approached me yelling something about "those Massachusetts drivers blah, blah, blah..." He obviously wanted me to move my car.  I was walking with a cane due to recent knee surgery and was a little slow moving over the uneven terrain of the cemetery, which further annoyed him. My friend also heard the noise and returned to the car. We moved out of his way and actually had to leave the cemetery and come in another entrance. I was tired out at this point so I parked under a shade tree to relax for awhile. My friend, Cecile, still having lots of energy hopped out to keep on searching. Within five minutes I heard her yell that has found the graves! What a thrill to see the old stones still in good repair. My grandaunt Lestinia (LIBBY) WILLARD and her husband, Seth WILLARD, were there with their first little baby--- Flora WILLARD- beside them. We had a good laugh when we thought of the old windbag that had forced us to move to another spot. Thanks to him we found the stones much sooner and could move on to the Bay View Cemetery nearby where other cousins were waiting to be found. Recently a woman shared with us that she had a very good friend who was a concert pianist, accomplished teacher and very lovely person in many ways. When this friend was a teenager (in Idaho) she had a boyfriend that she deeply loved. Then his mother told him not to go with her anymore because her family was too poor-just white trash. I owe nearly everything I am today to that mother, because her statement has been the stimulus to my growth and development.

Betsy in Corrie Ten Boom's, The Hiding Place

Tina Wesson Illustr. Arthritis Today, July -August, 02, p.66

She Lived Yes Focus on the Family, April 2000: 16, 19

    It's been one year since Brad and Misty Bernall, along with 14 other families, had their world shaken by America's most horrific act of teen violence: the shooting massacre at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo.
    In the midst of the chaos, however, inspiration emerged from a story about Cassie, Brad and Misty's 17-year-old daughter. Cassie was in the library with several students when two student gunmen turned it into a shooting gallery on April 20, one of them approached Cassie, asking her if she believed in God. He shot her when she answered yes. She died instantly.
    The irony is that Cassie herself had walked a path similar to that of her killers. Nor would she have been at Columbine if her parents hadn't tried to rescue her from that path by pulling her out of another high school just two and a half years earlier.
Dwelling in darkness
    When Cassie hit ninth grade, her parents noticed her slipping away. Her grades were falling; she was skipping school and hanging out with students who did the same. Brad said her personality changed; she wasn't the gregarious, outgoing young lady they had known.
    When asked if everything was all right, the answer was fine. "I kept thinking maybe this is just normal teenage rebellion, yet something kept nagging at me," Misty said.
    Misty was right. One day in December 1996, after quitting her full-time job to spend more time with Cassie and their son, Chris, Misty went into Cassie's room to look for a teen Bible. Instead she came across some letters written between Cassie and her best friend. They were full of sex talk, gory drawings, satanic spells, suicide and murder. Though they were just letters, Misty and Brad too them seriously. SO did the sheriff when he read the girls' plans to kill their parents. 
    That's when the Bernalls decided to enroll Cassie in a private Christian school. But it was a long hault to bring Cassie out of the darkness she was dwelling in. "On top of this, we began regular searches of her room, backpack, monitored her use of the phone and forbade her to leave the house without our permission," Misty said. They also allowed her too contact with her old friends. The only thing Cassie was permitted to participate in was youth group at West Bowles Community Church, which her parents hoped would remove the temptation to maintain her destructive lifestyle.
    As time went on, the Bernalls, realized Cassie's descent into darkness had gone beyond notes between friends. She was filled with hate and anger toward God and her parents, which was expressed by her smoking pot, drinking, mutilating herself with metal objects and listening to music with dark, evil messages. 
Turning around
    Three months after Cassie changed schools, she asked permission to attend a youth retreat with a new friend. "Cassie seemed to be making progress, yet we were cautious and protective," Misty said. "The idea of letting her go off for a whole weekend on her own seemed like an enormous risk at the time." 
    But that weekend things changed. God captured Cassie's heart. When the Bernalls picked her up ,she hugged her mom and said, "Mom, I've changed. I know you are not going to believe it, but I'll prove it to you." Her parents kept their guard up, but it was true. Cassie had found new life in Christ.
    Later that year, at Cassie's request the Bernalls let Cassie enroll in Columbine High School in the fall of 1997. Cassie thought  the Christian school was stuffy, but also told her mom, "I can't witness to the kids at Christian school."
 Mixed emotions
    "We knew Cassie had a story before April," Brad said. "Misty had hoped that when Cassie was older the two of them could speak with parents and teenagers and share her story. 
    "Once Columbine happened, we felt the only way that we can tell this story now is through a book."
    "So Misty wrote. Friends of Cassie's and her youth leader contributed, and now the journey from darkness to brilliance is recorded in She Said Yes. 
    "We realized Cassie's life had come full circle," Misty said. "We thought that was important to share, especially with parents. No matter how troubled your teenager is or how bad things are, there's always hope for change." 
    A portion of the proceeds from the book's sales go to the Cassie Bernall Foundation. The West Bowles youth group is the primary benefactor , but as the foundation grows, the Bernalls would like the finances to be able to help other youth-related ministries and provide scholarships.
    For now the story is a ministry on its own. The responses have been overwhelming. "Misty and I have gotten letters from hundreds of kids who have turned their lives either back to the Lord or to the Lord for the first time," Brad said.
    The Sunday night before Cassie's funeral, Christian musicians, Steven Curtis Chapman and The Cry performed at West Bowles. Afterward three girls approached Misty. "They said, "We're some of Cassie's old friends.'" Misty said, "One of them had turned her life to Christ. It was amazing to talk with these girls because I thought they hated us for what we did [pulled Cassie away from them]."
    As the word of Cassie's declaration of faith has spread, people have come to God through that as well. "Right after the funeral a man came up to me, tears streaming down his face," Brad said, "He just wanted to let me know that he had been asleep in his faith fro 25 years; this awakened him and he would never fall asleep in his faith again." 
    "But in the entire scope of things," Misty said, "what was said in the library doesn't make a difference to us. It's just something that God has used out of the tragedy."
    Unfortunately, it is still a tragedy in the Bernall home. Chris, 16, s being home-schooled this year because it was too hard to go back. And there are still a lot of tears. "We still suffer loss every single day," Brad said. "We're  still left with great haunting questions."
    But there is hope-from the impact on others' lives to the way the entire community, both Christians and nonChristians, have taken care of them by feeding them, praying with them, doing housework and taking care of funeral arrangements." 
    "I was drying my hair one morning and I heard God tell me that he had been grooming Cassie all along for something like this, and it had to be big," Misty said. "If it wasn't big, then no one would listen."
    "It has been difficult to stand on that at times, but when I start getting really upset, I remember what Cassie said when we were discussing how awesome heaven would be: 'Wouldn't you be happy for me? You'd know I was in a better place.'"

Pamela Reser Illustr. Daily Herald, 8/4/02:A17

Handicapped child, Scott, Focus on the Family, 12/01: Front Porch, p. 23

   " Who should we pray for?" my son Scott, asked one day as we drove home from school. 
    "Let's pray for my friend Paulette. She's having a colostomy performed this week." In simple terms I explained the procedure.
    "That's pretty bad," he replied.
    "Well, you know, Son, none of our bodies are perfect. We all have something we must learn to live with. But Jesus gives us the strength and courage to deal with our bodies and their problems."
    "He remained silent for a moment,, then stated, "I haven't figured out what my problem is yet. Have you, Mom?"
    I looked at my precious son. Birth defects affected all his limbs: the tiny arms, the missing fingers, the shortened leg that required a prosthesis. "No, Son, I haven't." -Tracey McMahan, Albuquerque, N.W.    

An example you may wish to follow: Pam & Ben Woody and "Count Your Blessings", Teaching that gratitude is an attitude, Focus on the Family, 1/02: 17.

     After an exhausting day of teaching and disciplining two young children-a day filled with childish fun, sibling squabbles and cranky moments-Pam and Ben Woody wanted to teach their children that gratitude is an attitude. Instead of going to God with requests only, Pam and Ben wanted their girls to be thankful, first and foremost, for God's many provisions. So when Selah and Kaylah were just preschoolers, Pam and Ben began a nightly tradition of singing "Count Your Blessings" with a twist. The tradition continued when baby sister, Deborah, came along. It has now been a nightly ritual for a dozen years. 
    "Each night before bed, we pray together, read the Scriptures and sing 'Count Your Blessings' as we sit together in a circle. It is a good ending for each day," Pam says. 
    The lyrics go like this and can be put to any simple tune: "Count your blessings. Name them one by one. Count your many blessings. See what God has done!" Each night the Woodys sing this song and then choose someone to say what had blessed her that day. When the person is done, she repeats the process by singing the song and choosing another person to testify of God's goodness. They do this until everyone had made a contribution.
    "It's really a simple thing but it makes you think about what you are grateful for, even if you've had a terrible day. And it also brings us together as a family," 13-year-old Kaylah says.
    While Ben's father lived with them for sex years, he participated in their nightly devotional time. "When my dad was dying, even though he couldn't talk, he wanted us to sing that song around his deathbed." Ben says, "It was really touching to see how important that tradition was to him and how it connected us as a family." As part of running a conference center, the Woodys keep families in their homes at least six times a year in addition to frequently housing out-of-town family and friends.
    "I love when we have whole families spend the night. Even the grown-ups join in the song and testimony time," 10-year-old Deborah says. "But it's pretty funny when little kids say things like: 'I'm grateful for my belly button!'"
    Several families who have visited the Woodys' home have adopt3ed the Woody tradition.
    "My Auntie Angie and Uncle Dar do 'Count Your Blessings' every night with my cousin, Aidan," 14 year-old Selah says. "When I recently went to see them in Hong Kong we sang it together in the evening. It was so special to know that we've passed on this heritage to them, and I thought it was snazzy that the song has gone international"

 What are our blessings when we thank the Lord in All things? What does that tell us about the commandments of Our Heavenly Father?

My testimony and invitation to heed this commandment.