Recently, I asked ChatGPT to share some of the scientific evidence behind the power of gratitude. Among other things, it produced a table outlining the measurable benefits including improved mental health, reduced stress, stronger relationships, even better physical well-being.

Further, there is a scriptural promise that comes with gratitude: “And he who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious; and the things of this earth shall be added unto him, even an hundred fold, yea, more” (Doctrine and Covenants 78:19).

Maybe “the things of the earth” includes those benefits listed above.

So when someone tells us we should be more grateful, they probably aren’t wrong. Gratitude really does matter and the benefits are real.

But here’s the tension.

When you are in the throes of depression, grief, or deep trial, gratitude can feel less like a virtue and more like an accusation. Just be more grateful can be easier said than done.

Earlier this year, a comment in Sunday School helped me think about gratitude in a more profound way.

A woman in the class shared the experience of losing her two-month-old child. She spoke plainly about how devastating that loss was and how impossible it felt to be grateful for that trial. She couldn’t force herself into gratitude for the pain, and she stopped trying.

What she could do, however, was be grateful for Jesus Christ.

Through His Atonement, she found comfort in the present, strength to carry grief that didn’t disappear, and hope for the future, rooted in the promise that she would see her child again.

I love that distinction. In difficult times, gratitude doesn’t always start with circumstances—it starts with Him.

When gratitude feels unreachable, we can reach for Christ instead. We can seek His power to save, His capacity to heal, and His presence to sustain. And then we can be grateful not for the pain, but for the Savior who walks with us through it.

No matter the trial, no matter the season, this much remains true:

We can always be grateful for Jesus.

Lead image by Getty Images for Unsplash+

---