Ten Lepers

I am speaking on gratitude in a couple of weeks. Most of the talks I have read include the story of the ten lepers. I have had a few random thoughts as I have read and pondered this passage of scripture the last few days.



Luke 17:11-19

11¶And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.

12And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:

13And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.

Due to the contagious nature of leprosy, those afflicted were required to stand a fair distance away from those who were "clean." By calling Jesus by name, they have at least heard of Him and His power to heal.

14And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.

" . . . as they went, they were cleansed." In some cases the people were required to perform longer tasks to be healed. In this case all they needed to do was obey and go see the priest. From this scripture it appears that they were cleansed before they reached the priest. I think sometimes we just need to show that we are on the right path and we will be blessed even before we obtain our goal.

15And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God,

One man turned back. I would think that the others were grateful too, but in their joy all they could see was the desire to share it with those they loved. One man remembered the Savior, who was the author of the joy and turned back to Him.

16And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.

17And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?

18There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.

19And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.

I have been thinking about the connection between gratitude and faith. The Samaritan returned to give thanks and the Savior blessed him even more because of his faith. I think gratitude is a breeding ground, of sorts, for many other virtues.


Is there anything that impresses you as you read this passage again?

The seed

The idea for this blog was planted last fall as I was reading in the book of Enos.

"Behold, I went to hunt beasts in the forests; and the words which I had often heard my father speak concerning eternal life, and the joy of the saints, sunk deep into my heart." (Enos 1:3)

I would imagine that hunting was one of Enos’s regular responsibilities. He used this time to reflect on items of uplifting and eternal significance. Nephi tells us that we should “liken all scriptures unto [ourselves], that [they] might be for our profit and learning.” (1 Nephi 19:23)

I was very impressed by this passage in Enos. I reflected on it again and again. What do I choose to think about during my responsibilities? I thought about dishes. I tend to think of all the things I would rather be doing or feel obligated to do. This normally leads to chastisement of myself, feeling overwhelmed because I’m not ever doing enough and ending in mild depression. This is definitely not productive. How much better would my attitude be if I followed Enos’s example? At this point in my life I am not able to sit down and spend lots of time feasting on my scriptures. But, I am very able to make this small change in my thought process that
will reap many blessings.

Paul sent the saints in Philippi a letter, part of which says-
“whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” (Philippians 4:8)

This is my goal-to think on true, honest, virtuous things. This blog is a tool I hope to use to help me grow. It is my wish that it will help others grow as well. My life has been blessed by so many people who have taken the time to share their thoughts and feelings which have impacted my life. I will post things they occur and Erica has agreed to help as well.

I want to be better; I want to be more than I am. I want to grow into a woman of great worth. I am sending out a call for us to help each other-to help me. If you come across something that touches you in a book of scripture I hope you will take a minute or two and share it with us.

The seed has been planted. Now it needs to be nurtured to bloom and reach it’s full potential.