Traditionally, every fourth Thursday in November is set aside for the celebration of Thanksgiving Day. On that day there are Thanksgiving parades on television in the morning, followed by football games in the afternoon. It is a day when family, friends, and loved ones gather together to share a bounteous meal and enjoy the company of one another.
However, amidst all the parades, football games, and bounteous meals, Thanksgiving Day should be a day for pausing to give thanks and to reflect upon the many blessings that the Lord has bestowed upon each of us. It is a time to give thanks, not only for the large blessings that are ours to enjoy but for the smallest of blessings as well. Thanksgiving Day, however, should not be the only day that we pause to give thanks. Every day of our lives should be a day of Thanksgiving.
Several LDS music artists including Donny Osmond, David Archuleta, BYU Noteworthy, Camille Nelson, and Monica Scott have recently taken to social media to express some of the things that they are thankful for.
In a Facebook post on Thursday, 9 November 2017, Donny Osmond expressed his gratitude for his loving family. In answer to his question, “What happens when you put 112 Osmonds on a plane?” he posted a decade old video of a massive pillow fight on an airplane just days after his father, George Virl Osmond Sr, passed away as the family was heading back home to Utah after appearing on Oprah. Earlier in the week, he posted a picture on Twitter of him and his father with him riding on his father’s shoulders. The caption of the picture reads, “My father passed away 10 yrs ago today. His influence continues to bless my life & remind me of what matters most — faith, family & hard work.”
My father passed away 10 yrs ago today. His influence continues to bless my life & remind me of what matters most—faith, family & hard work. pic.twitter.com/qEUAW27m4T
— Donny Osmond (@donnyosmond) November 6, 2017
David Archuleta expressed his gratitude for the producers and songwriters who helped work on his new album which was released on Friday, 20 October 2017, called Postcards in the Sky by posting multiple personal thankyou messages on Instagram. Deseret News reports, “In the case of one writer, Trent Dabbs, Archuleta explained that as he recalls, Dabbs was the first writer he worked with upon returning from his mission and one of the writers who helped him see that he could continue to make God a part of his music.” David commented, “Working with Trent was the beginning of me finding that I could be heard speaking up about what mattered most to me and that my own voice was important.”
The Brigham Young University (BYU) a cappella group, Noteworthy, teamed up with the BYU Women’s Chorus to perform a cover for “When You Believe,” a song included on their new album called How Sweet the Sound, from the movie Prince of Egypt.
Camille Nelson demonstrated her gratitude for her God-given talents by playing both the guitar and violin in her new music video, “Israel, Israel, God is Calling,” from her debut album with Stone Angel Music called Lead Me Home. The video was filmed in Provo Canyon, Utah.
And Monica Scott released a wonderful piano arrangement of a hymn medley expressing thanks to the Lord.
None of us should ever take any of our blessings for granted. We should ever be mindful of the words of the Psalmist when he said, “So we thy people and sheep of thy pasture will give thee thanks for ever: we will shew forth thy praise to all generations” (Psalm 79:13). Let us make every day a day of Thanksgiving.
