20 O, how could you have forgotten your God in the very day that he has delivered you?
We have short memories. We have to discipline ourselves in order to maintain our focus over time and avoid distractions. As a result, we can easily be guilty of ingratitude, simply because the intense emotion we feel when we are delivered from a crisis tends to fade so quickly.
What can we do to sustain our commitment and avoid distractions? We can develop habits of frequent religious behavior such as praying, reading the scriptures, and partaking of the sacrament at church each Sunday. We can also place tangible reminders in our surroundings, such as gospel-oriented art. However, ultimately, it is up to us to discipline our minds and avoid dwelling on the distractions which are a part of daily life. After Nephi asked the question above, he explained why the people forgot their God so quickly: because they valued fame and wealth so much that they were willing to abandon righteousness in order to obtain those ephemeral rewards.
Today, I will remember the deliverance I have experienced in the past, I will avoid being distracted from my eternal responsibilities, and I will be grateful to my Heavenly Father for the many times He has delivered me.
Great thoughts. I like the way Pres Uchtdorf talked about gratitude a year ago in conference. He differentiated being “grateful for things” and being “grateful in our circumstances”. We usually think of the former, and we are grateful for our blessings, but that can lend us to our shortsightedness and self centeredness as we wait (sometimes impatiently) for the next big thing we can be grateful for. Alternatively, when we are “grateful IN our circumstances” we maintain an eternal perspective, demonstrate an attitude of gratitude, and can more easily recognize the ever present hand of the the Lord in our lives.