Introducing his Sunday morning conference address on the topic of gratitude, President Thomas S. Monson related the biblical account of how only one of the 10 lepers healed by Jesus returned to thank Him. (Luke 17:11-19.)

President Monson, second counselor in the First Presidency, said, "Through divine intervention, those who were lepers were spared from a cruel, lingering death and given a new lease on life. The expressed gratitude by one merited the Master's blessing, the ingratitude shown by the nine His disappointment."Like the leprosy of yesteryear are the plagues of today. They linger, they debilitate, they destroy. They are to be found everywhere. Their pervasiveness knows no boundaries. We know them as selfishness, greed, indulgence, cruelty and crime, to identify but a few. Surfeited with their poison, we tend to criticize, to complain, to blame and, slowly, but surely, to abandon the positives and adopt the negatives of life."

He declared that this is a wonderful time to live, a time of limitless opportunities. While some things are wrong in the world, he suggested, there are many things right, such as teachers who teach, ministers who minister, marriages that make it, parents who sacrifice and friends who help. He suggested following the admonition of a 1940s refrain: "accentuate the positive."

"We can lift ourselves, and others as well, when we refuse to remain in the realm of negative thought and cultivate within our hearts an attitude of gratitude," President Monson emphasized. "If ingratitude be numbered among the serious sins, then gratitude takes its place among the noblest of virtues."

President Monson said as people reflect upon their lives, they will discover much to prompt their personal gratitude. Among them are:

- First, gratitude for mothers. He spoke of the "personal journey into the valley of the shadow of death" mothers make to bring life into the world. This, said President Monson, "deserves our undying gratitude." He spoke of the Savior's example of gratitude and love toward His mother while He was on the cross. President Monson mentioned his own mother who taught him by her life and actions about caring for the poor, the sick and the needy.

- Second, gratitude for fathers. President Monson described the willing sacrifices fathers make for the comfort and well-being of their children. He described seeing a father dressed in an old suit and well-worn shoes who was buying new clothes for a son about to go on a mission. President Monson reflected on his own father, who cared for an uncle with a disability, aged aunts and his family, and served in the ward Sunday School. He said he never heard his father criticize another.

- Third, gratitude for teachers. "The teacher not only shapes the expectations and ambitions of pupils; but the teacher also influences their attitudes toward their future and themselves," President Monson said. He spoke of teachers who influenced his life.

- Fourth, gratitude for friends. "Our most cherished friend is our partner in marriage," he noted. "This old world would be so much better off today if kindness and deference were daily a reflection of our gratitude for wife, for husband." He said the Savior spoke the word "friend" almost with reverence, when He said, "Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you." (John 15:14.) President Monson noted, "True friends put up with our idiosyncracies. They have a profound influence in our lives."

- Fifth, gratitude for country, the land of one's birth. "When we ponder that vast throng who have died honorably defending home and hearth, we contemplate those immortal words, `Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.' " (John 15:13.)

- Sixth, gratitude supremely for the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. "His glorious gospel provides answers to life's greatest questions: Where did we come from? Why are we here? Where does my spirit go when I die? . . .

"He taught us how to pray. He taught us how to live. He taught us how to die. His life is a legacy of love. The sick He healed; the downtrodden He lifted; the sinner He saved.

"Only He stood alone. Some apostles doubted; one betrayed Him. The Roman soldiers pierced His side. The angry mob took His life. There yet rings from Golgotha's hill His compassionate words: `Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.' " (Luke 23:34.)

He said the Savior lamented, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head," (Luke 9:58.) " `No room in the inn' was not just a singular rejection - just the first," President Monson said. "Yet He invites you and me to host Him. `Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.' (Rev. 3:20.)

"Who was this Man of sorrows, acquainted with grief? Who is this King of glory, this Lord of hosts? He is our Master. He is our Savior. He is the Son of God. He is the author of our salvation. He beckons, `Follow me.' (Matt. 4:19.) He instructs, `Go and do thou likewise.' (Luke 10:37.) He pleads, `Keep my commandments.' (John 14:15.)

"Let us follow Him. Let us emulate His example. Let us obey His word. By so doing, we give to Him the divine gift of gratitude."