Gratitude Challenge - Day 4

10 deceased people you are grateful for:

This one might be a little harder for me today.  I haven't had a lot of people close to me pass away yet and that's something I'm very grateful for.  And I don't have many words to write about the people who are deceased that I am grateful for.  We will see how it goes...

1. Joseph Smith - He translated the Book of Mormon and brought about the restoration of Christ's true church.  I am grateful for the many sacrifices he made to make The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day-Saints possible.

2. Gordon B. Hinckley - He was the Prophet of my youth and I always loved him dearly.  I loved his push for more temples throughout the world.  I loved his Book of Mormon challenge.  I loved his optimistic outlook on everything in life (his wife's too).  He was just a great man and I am grateful he was the prophet for so long and during such an influential time of my life.

3. Grandma Rose - My grandma rose just recently passed away actually and I wouldn't say we were very close, but I am grateful for her raising my amazing mom.  I'm sure she taught my mom many of the skills she knows and I am very grateful for that because my mom has taught me a lot of her trick too!  Oh, and she's Italian and used to make a killer lasagna.  Mine never even come close.

4. Owen's Mammaw - Owen's grandma was one of the first converts to the church in this area of the south.  She is considered a pioneer for the church around here.  Because of her, Owen's dad stayed active and raised Owen in the church also.  It is easy to underestimate the choices we each make, but this shows how much of a legacy for good or bad we create by our choices.

5. Grandpa Norman - I didn't know my Grandpa Norman very well.  He passed away when I was 8 and he was sick most of the other times my family visited.  I am grateful he raised my dad though.  My dad is a great man and I'm sure he picked up some of this from my grandpa.

6. Grandpa Leo - I loved my Grandpa Leo a lot.  I may have been a spoiled little girl to him, but boy, did he let me get away with it!  I'm grateful he put up with me so I can now have many good memories of my grandpa.

7. Johannes Gutenberg - He invented the printing press and because of that many religious texts (including the Bible) were available to more people.  Little catalysts like this were vital pieces to the full restoration of the gospel.

8. Martin Luther - My sister did a project in school about Martin Luther and I remember learning a thing or two about him then.  He is most well known for being the German priest who posted the Ninety-Five Theses on the door of the Catholic church.  This sparked the Reformation.  Many churches came about after this time and the commotion between them all during the 1800s influenced Joseph Smith's desire to find which church was God's true church.

9. Lucille Ball - This one might seem silly, but I first discovered 'I Love Lucy' when I was 12 or 13 and fell in love.  I knew when each episode aired and rarely missed any of the repeat episodes that were played on TV for months and months until I started seeing them over again...and even then I still watched some of them again.  So, I had a lame teenage existence.  Oh well.  I thought she was hilarious and I probably still would if I went back and watched them again.

10. Founding Fathers - I am so grateful to live in the United States of America.  We may have our problems and have definitely come a long way from the world the Founding Fathers lived in (some good things, some not so good at all) but this is still the greatest nation out there.  I am blessed to be a born and raised American.