{"id":5257,"date":"1980-11-25T14:05:56","date_gmt":"1980-11-25T21:05:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/speeches-dev.byu.edu\/?p=5257"},"modified":"2021-04-02T16:10:11","modified_gmt":"2021-04-02T22:10:11","slug":"thanks-things-that-count","status":"publish","type":"speech","link":"https:\/\/speeches-dev.byu.edu\/talks\/w-rolfe-kerr\/thanks-things-that-count\/","title":{"rendered":"Thanks for the Things that Count"},"content":{"rendered":"
It is with a sense of thanksgiving that I acknowledge the privilege of being a part of this great university. I feel deeply that all of us associated with BYU\u2014as students, as faculty, as staff, and as administrators\u2014are blessed with special privileges, and those privileges carry with them special responsibilities.<\/p>\n
May I share with you a privilege I enjoyed late last Saturday afternoon. Far more impressive than anything I observed in a very impressive football game between BYU and the University of Utah was the scene I witnessed in the happy postgame locker room. Now, I have enjoyed the sense of victory and championship in many locker rooms before; and while this occasion was typical in many respects, it took on a different appearance as these champions knelt in prayer, led by their own coach LaVell Edwards<\/a>. The act of praying after the game was not so unique; many teams do this. What was unique was the spirit that was felt and the humble words that Coach Edwards uttered:<\/p>\n We are thankful, Lord, for the love, admiration, and respect we have for each other, for the association we enjoy, and for the dedication and efforts of the coaches and players. We are thankful that there were no serious injuries to either team and that we performed to the level of our capability and preparation. We thank thee, Father, for the privilege of representing thee and our great university. May we always remember who we are and who we represent that our lives and our performance will be consistent with thy will.<\/i> [And then he added, almost as an afterthought:] And we are thankful for this championship.<\/i><\/p>\n As I contemplate this Thanksgiving week I add this experience to my list of things for which I am thankful.<\/p>\n Speaking of Thanksgiving, I am reminded, as we all should be, that Thanksgiving Day, as such,<\/p>\n Began with that little band of Pilgrims who in 1621 expressed their thanks to God in a great harvest feast. History tells us that of the 102 immigrants who landed on the bleak, rocky coast of Cape Cod, nearly half died before their first winter was over. In December, 6 died; in January, 8 more passed away; in February, 17; in March, 13; a total of 44 in four months.<\/i><\/p>\n Today in our comfortable homes surrounded with plenty it is well for us to pause and remember with deep appreciation the sufferings of the survivors. One account tells us that most of these brave people were not used to hardships; among them were delicately nurtured and elite men and women, who during that first year built more caskets for the dead than homes for the living. Notwithstanding all their trials and hardships, these brave founders of a great and glorious nation had so much to be thankful for that they had to appoint \u201can especial day on which to give thanks,\u201d thanks to God for all of his mercies and blessings to them, <\/i>thanks to God for things that count. [Earl Nightingale; emphasis added]<\/p>\n There are obviously many things that count for which we should express thanks, but I would like to focus on thanks for three things that count:<\/p>\n *Thanks for our friends I was blessed with a marvelous friend through the years of my youth. His example saved me in many precarious moments. Just ten years ago an untimely and tragic airplane accident snuffed out this dynamic and productive life. A short time ago I was thrilled by the visit of his handsome young returned-missionary son, who had traveled many miles to ask me to write a chapter for the biography of his father. What a joy that task was\u2014to tell his family, among other things, that my greatest wish for them was that they find friends possessing the qualities their father had possessed and that they strive to be that kind of a friend to those with whom they associated.<\/p>\n What is a friend? Someone has said:<\/p>\n A friend is a source of celebration when you feel there is nothing to celebrate.<\/i> Thanks for our friends<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\n*Thanks for our freedoms
\n*Thanks for our families<\/p>\n
\nA friend is simply one who answers when you call, and who often answers before you call.<\/i>
\nA friend is one who makes your grief less painful, your adversity more bearable.<\/i>
\nA friend is one who makes your disappointments less hurtful, your problems more solvable.<\/i>
\nA true friend is an earthly treasure whom God lends you to help prepare your eyes, heart, mind and soul for the glories He has prepared for you.<\/i>
\nA friend is one with whom you are comfortable, to whom you are loyal, through whom you are blessed, and for whom you are grateful.<\/i>
\nA friend is one who warms you by his\/her presence, trusts you with his\/her secrets, and remembers you in his\/her prayers.<\/i> [Anonymous]<\/p>\n