Seek knowledge and the influence of the Spirit. Discover ways of connecting with God. Joseph Smith reminds us that, "The things of God are of deep import: and time and experience, and careful and ponderous, and solemn thoughts can only find them out. Thy mind, O man! if thou wilt lead a soul unto salvation, must stretch as high as the utmost heavens and search into and contemplate the darkest abyss, and the broad expanse of eternity - thou must commune with God. How much more dignified and noble are the thoughts of God, than the vain imaginations of the human heart!" (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith [1938], p. 137).
Consider the power of the "gift"; whether it is given or received. There is great power in your expression of gratitude. Marcel Mauss wrote, "We must not desire
the citizen to be either too good or too individualist nor too
insensitive or too realist. He must have a keen sense of awareness
of himself, but also of others, and of social reality (in moral matters
is there even any other kind of reality?) He must act by taking
into account his own interests, and those of society and its
subgroups. This morality is eternal; it is common to the most
advanced societies, to those of the immediate future, and to the
lowest imaginable forms of society. We touch upon fundamentals.
No longer are we talking in legal terms: we are speaking of men
and groups of men, because it is they, it is society, it is the feelings
of men, in their minds and in flesh and blood that at all times
spring into action and that have acted everywhere." (The Gift, p. 89
Enjoy the strength and comfort that comes through friendship, kindness, and understanding as you interact with those in our group and those that you will meet along the way. In his De Amicitia, Cicero wrote, "I so enjoy the memory of our friendship, that I seem to have owed the happiness of my life to my having lived with Scipio, with whom I was united in the care of public and private affairs, who was my companion at home and served by my side in the army, and with whom - I was in perfect harmony of purpose, taste, and sentiment. Thus, I am now not so much delighted by the reputation for wisdom...as by the hope that our friendship will live in eternal remembrance."
