My Post-Thanksgiving Thoughts

So it has long been a tradition in my family, as I am sure it has been in many of yours, to spend a portion of Thanksgiving day pouring through the ads in the news paper to find out the best deals. The last few years, stores have begun to open earlier and earlier to the point this year some stores opened on Thanksgiving day. As I sat with my family, ads spilt all over the table, I began to get something tugging at the back of my mind. All of the sudden I recognized the irony of what was going on. Here we were on a day in which we focus our thoughts on gratitude, evaluating all the additional things we need and want. This thought ate at me as I went out late last night to surround myself by the mayhem of the sales. As I watched the lines building with people resting in chairs waiting for their desired product to go on sale, I found myself become disgusted by the whole seen. This feeling ate at me more when I heard that the Walmart my brother visited had fist fights and people ripping items out of other people's hands. I mean not to offend any serious Black Friday-ers, because I was there too. I just could not but think of the prophesy regarding this the last days, that "the love of men shall wax cold" (D&C 45:27). While some of the purpose of the craziness is with the intent to give and bring happiness to others, it seems the love in that intent is lost to many and it has been replaced with greed. I, for the first time in my life, felt I could understand the pain Mormon felt when he looked out on the savagery of his people and mourned for them. Now, like I said, I was out there in the midst of this. I spent a good part of today finishing my Christmas shopping. I just pray that my heart was in the right place as I walked the isles trying to find those gifts for which I was seeking. As we now enter officially into the Christmas season, I wish the best for all of you. That the Spirit of Christ may ever be present in your celebrations.