November, the month when Americans traditionally observe Thanksgiving Day, is imbued with added significance this year, which marks the sesquicentennial of the beginning of the handcart saga in the history of the Mormon pioneers.

It was on Nov. 9, 1856, that rescuers brought the suffering and starving members of the James G. Willie handcart company into Salt Lake City. The similarly distressed Edward Martin handcart company would arrive in the city three weeks later on Nov. 30.

There is something instructive about pondering the experience of these ill-fated travelers in the context of the principle of gratitude which undergirds the Thanksgiving holiday. Consider, for a moment, the recorded testimonies from some of them.

Emily Hill of the Willie company, for example, suffered privations and hardships, not just on the trek, but for years after her arrival in Utah. Yet she wrote, "I doubt not that all my troubles have been for my good, and today I am more than thankful for my standing in the Church."

Elizabeth Horrocks Jackson, Martin company, whose husband, Aaron, perished on the trek and afterward appeared to her in a dream to encourage her and assure her that help was on the way, wrote in later years to her posterity: "I ... desire them to know that it was in obedience to the commandments of the true and living God, and with the assurance of an eternal reward — an exaltation to eternal life in His kingdom — that we suffered these things. I hope, too, that it will inspire my posterity with fortitude to stand firm and faithful to the truth, and be willing to suffer, and sacrifice all things they may be required to pass through for the Kingdom of God's sake."

And Captain James Willie remained ever faithful, declaring near the end of his life: "My earnest desire is that the Spirit of God may direct all my actions in life. It is highly necessary for us to set such an example before our youth that we will be pleased to see them follow our example." (All quotations from Andrew D. Olsen, The Price We Paid, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2006.)

The example set by these devoted souls is reminiscent of the prophet Nephi who, while at sea, was ill treated and bound with cords by his rebellious brothers. He recorded, "Nevertheless, I did look unto my God, and I did praise him all the day long; and I did not murmur against the Lord because of mine afflictions" (1 Nephi 18:16).

Torn from the arms of his loving family and from his association with the people he led, the Prophet Joseph Smith was unjustly confined for months in a dank, squalid jail at Liberty, Mo.

There, he had the humility and spirituality necessary to receive a revelation from the Lord assuring him, "Thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high" (Doctrine and Covenants 121:7-8).

The foregoing examples remind us that greatness and nobility are found not in merely experiencing hardships — for such are the common lot of all humankind — but in the manner in which such hardships are endured.

When we are faced with adversity, cultivating the attribute of gratitude can help us "endure it well." Something about doing so nurtures the seed of divinity within us. Humility and patience flow naturally from gratitude. So do obedience, kindness, love and a disposition to serve others.

How do we cultivate gratitude? Perhaps a key is found in the words to the hymn, "Count Your Blessings," first published in 1899, wherein author Johnson Oatman Jr. declared that "it will surprise you what the Lord has done" (Hymns, No. 241).

Famous American songwriter Irving Berlin expressed a similar thought in 1952:

When I'm worried and I can't sleep,

I count my blessings instead of sheep.

And I fall asleep counting my blessings.

(White Christmas Movie Vocal Selections, Milwaukee: Hal Leonard Corp., p. 15.)

In the aforementioned revelation to Joseph Smith, the Lord in fact did remind the Prophet of the blessings he had been given: "Thy friends do stand by thee, and they shall hail thee again with warm hearts and friendly hands" (Doctrine and Covenants 121:9).

This month, as we give thanks for our blessings, may a memory of them fortify us against any present and future afflictions we may face.