Gratitude/Thanksgiving

by Lara Goold

Materials needed: scriptures, GAK #221 (Ten Lepers), blank slips of paper, pens

Purpose: Teach family members to recognize the many blessings in their lives and to learn a little bit about the first
Thanksgiving.

Scripture: “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.” Doctrine & Covenants 78:19

Songs: “Thanks to Our Father”, Children’s Songbook page 20

“Children All Over the World” Children’s Songbook, page 16
“Count Your Blessings”, Hymns, page 241

Opening song and prayer:

Opening Activity:
Five Kernels of Corn: Serve your family just 5 kernels of corn for their dinner (or for your pre-
FHE snack) and wait for them to start complaining. Use this as a jumping off point to talk about the
First Thanksgiving.

“The First Thanksgiving: Using summary and visuals, briefly summarize the story of the First
Thanksgiving.

Discuss: Be sure to remind your family how very little the pilgrims actually had and how much they had
suffered through their first year, and still their hearts were filled with gratitude to God for the blessings
they did have.

Lesson:
Discuss: The scriptures remind us of many things we can be grateful for. In the Book of Mormon, Jacob,
the brother of Nephi, had a difficult time engraving his record on the plates. Even though it was hard, he
was glad to do it because it would last for years and years. He hoped that whoever finally read those
words (the Book of Mormon) would receive them with a thankful heart. In the Bible we can find a story
about people who weren’t grateful. Lead into telling about the Ten Lepers.

Ten Lepers: Using GAK picture #221 and simple summary below tell the story of the ten lepers and use
this as a starting place for a discussion about how we should show gratitude.

Show Blessing House: Velcro pieces into place while talking about the different blessings we have and
why we should be grateful.

Discuss: Discuss how it is good for us to thank our Heavenly Father often. He asks us to be grateful—to
express our thanks—because He knows that a grateful heart will help us to be happier.

Activity:
Cornucopia: Talk a little bit about cornucopias and their meaning (horn of plenty). Emphasize that with
all of the wonderful blessings that we enjoy and we truly have plenty to be grateful for. Have the family
take turns picking the pieces to place inside the cornucopia (or tape onto the outside), talking about each
one as you deem appropriate. We also give our family the opportunity to make their own slips of paper
 and write down other things they’re grateful for. We’ve also made this a tradition where
we have them add slips every day for the week leading up to Thanksgiving (or every
Monday night in November) and then we read them all on Thanksgiving.

Closing song and prayer:

Refreshments: see recipe below

Thanksgiving Blessing Mix

2 cups Bugles
2 cups pretzels
1 cup raisins
1 cup candy corn
1 cup peanuts or sunflower seeds
1 cup M&M's
Chocolate kisses

Mix all but the kisses and put into bags. Put the kiss on top of each bag or use as a place setting at the table or make it
with your kids and they can give everyone a bag when they walk into your home.

Attach this note to the bags:

Bugles - shaped like horn of plenty, a symbol of our nation's abundance.

Pretzels - arms folded in prayer, a freedom sought by those who founded our country.

Candy Corn - the sacrifices of the pilgrims first winter. Food was so scarce that settlers survived on just a few kernels of
corn.

Peanuts - promise of a future harvest, one we will reap only if seeds are planted and tended with diligence.

Raisins - harvest gifts from our bountiful land.

M&M's - memories of those who came before us to lead us into a blessed future.

Hershey's Kiss - the love of family and friends that sweetens our lives.
―First Thanksgiving‖ visuals (6 pieces)—print, cut, laminate if desired, mount onto popsicle sticks (if desired)
―First Thanksgiving‖ visuals (6 pieces)—print, cut, laminate if desired, mount onto popsicle sticks (if desired)
The First Thanksgiving

The Pilgrims, left their native land of England to go to a place where they could attend a church of their choice.
They set sail for Amsterdam and finally settle in Holland where they were warmly welcomed and could worship
God in their own way.

They realized, that to stay in Holland, they would need to give up their English customs and language. The
Pilgrims decided to set sail for North America where they could keep their English language and set up their
own community.

They began their journey across the Atlantic Ocean with two ships, the Speedwell and the Mayflower. The
Speedwell developed a leak and so both ships returned to port. On September 5, 1620 the Mayflower set sail
alone with 102 people aboard.

They had not traveled far when a great storm came up and caused a lot of water to come over the sides of the
ship making the journey very dangerous. Food was scarce and consisted mostly of salted meat and dry biscuits.
There were no fresh fruits or vegetables to eat and many Pilgrims became ill due to these poor conditions.

A few times a week they could make a charcoal fire on sand and placed in an iron box and sit around it to get
warm. They would also cook porridge, soup or stew to something warm, but mostly they were cold and hungry.

On November 21, 1620 the Mayflower finally reached land. Some people stayed on the ship and others went
ashore to work. Many of them were very sick. The first winter was a difficult time for them. There was little
food (sometimes as little as 5 kernels of corn per day) and many people died. Only 51 pilgrims (half) made it
through that winter.

When spring came, the pilgrims plowed the land and planted seeds. They made friends with the Native
Americans who showed them how to plant corn the Native American way by placing a small dead fish next to
each seed. This fertilized the corn and helped it to grow. The Native Americans also showed them how to
grind the corn into flour.

When harvest time came, there were plenty of fruits and vegetables to store for the next winter. The Pilgrims
wanted to have a Thanksgiving feast to thank God for all He had given them. They invited their Native
American friends to join in this celebration.

The Pilgrims provided fruits and vegetables and the Native Americans brought wild turkeys, deer, and shellfish.
There was enough food for all. After the feast they played games and danced. This first Thanksgiving lasted
three whole days.

Today Thanksgiving is a time for family and friends to remember to give thanks for all the blessings they enjo y!
―The Ten Lepers,‖ Friend, Jun 2002, 12

Chapter 38

Jesus went to a small town, where He saw ten lepers. These men had sores all over their bodies. Their skin was
falling off.

Doctors could not help the lepers, and other people were afraid to go near them. The other people thought that
they would get sick, too.

The lepers asked Jesus to heal them. They knew that He could make their sores go away.
Jesus wanted them to be well. He told them to go to the priests, so they did.

On their way to the priests, the ten lepers were healed. Their sores were gone. Jesus had healed them.

Knowing that Jesus had healed them, one of the lepers went back to thank Jesus. Jesus asked where the other
nine lepers were. They had not come back to thank Him. He told the leper who had thanked Him that his faith
had made him well.
―Blessing House‖ – trim, laminate, and place sticky backed Velcro in the middle of each blank space. Use packing tape to tape the two sides together.
―Blessing House‖ –trim, laminate, and place sticky backed Velcro in the middle of each blank space. Use packing tape to tape the two sides together.
―Blessing House‖ –cut, laminate, cut again, place opposite side of the sticky backed Velcro onto the back of
each piece (24 pieces)
―Blessing House‖ –cut, laminate, cut again, place opposite side of the sticky backed Velcro onto the back of
each piece (24 pieces)
Cornucopia—cut, laminate, cut again. Taking care not to cover the slot, tape or Velcro the pieces around the
cornucopia, then tape a small envelope or baggie behind the slot of the cornucopia to catch the slips of paper.
Cornucopia—cut, laminate, cut again. Taking care not to cover the slot, tape or Velcro the pieces around the cornucopia,
then tape a small envelope or baggie behind the slot of the cornucopia to catch the slips of paper. (9 pieces+cornucopia)