Bountifully

Counting our blessings can be a beneficial exercise, and gratitude for specific gifts is important. But it’s also worth recognizing that we receive far more blessings that we can possibly count or acknowledge. That awareness can deepen our sense of gratitude and our love for God.

The word “bounty” originally meant “a gift, a reward, a favor bestowed freely.” It carried a connotation of kindness bestowed by a sovereign. Ammon used this word to describe the blessings received by Lamanite converts: “They are encircled about with the matchless bounty of [God’s] love” (Alma 26:15).

Several of the Psalms express gratitude by testifying that God has “dealt bountifully” with the author. (See Psalm 13:6, Psalm 116:7, Psalm 119:17, Psalm 142:7.) When Lehi and his family arrived at the sea during their journey to the promised land, they called the place Bountiful, “because of its much fruit and also wild honey” (1 Nephi 17:5). Subsequent generations of Nephites named a land in the Americas “Bountiful” (Alma 22:29), and that is the place where the Savior appeared to them after His death and resurrection. (See 3 Nephi 11:1.)

Amulek used that word when he addressed a group of Zoramites.

I think that it is impossible that ye should be ignorant of the things which have been spoken concerning the coming of Christ, who is taught by us to be the Son of God; yea, I know that these things were taught unto you bountifully before your dissension from among us.

Alma 34:2

These people were beaten down and dejected, having been excluded from the worship services of their more wealthy neighbors. They wondered how they could worship God under those circumstances. Alma taught them how to begin to exercise their faith, and Amulek wanted to remind them that these teachings were not new. They had been taught bountifully before, and so they knew these things.

When we recognize how generous God has been in the past and how generous He is today, then we can have no doubt of His generosity in the future. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said:

I testify that the future is going to be as miracle-filled and bountifully blessed as the past has been. We have every reason to hope for blessings even greater than those we have already received because this is the work of Almighty God, this is the Church of continuing revelation, this is the gospel of Christ’s unlimited grace and benevolence.

“A Perfect Brightness of Hope,” General Conference, April 2020

Today, I will remember how bountifully I have been blessed. I will be grateful for countless blessings which a loving Father in Heaven has bestowed and will continue to bestow upon His children.