After Captain Moroni’s first battle, where he defeated Zerahemnah on the banks of the river Sidon, he and his men returned to the capital city as heroes. While the Nephites were accustomed to defeating the Lamanites in battle, they were shocked at the lopsidedness of this victory. Captain Moroni’s use of armor had worked better than anyone hoped, and everyone was even more impressed that the Lamanites had entered into a covenant of peace. The record states, “Behold, now it came to pass that the people of Nephi were exceedingly rejoiced, because the Lord had again delivered them out of the hands of their enemies; therefore they gave thanks unto the Lord their God; yea, and they did fast much and pray much, and they did worship God with exceedingly great joy.” (Alma 45:1).
Did you know we can fast in gratitude? Usually, we fast for special blessings on behalf of ourselves or others, but if you think about it, a fast is like a day-long prayer. According to the Bible Dictionary, prayer is a form of work, an exercise in faith. The whole time we are not eating, we are essentially exercising faith that God can and will provide the blessings we seek as part of a meaningful fast. Because of the additional sacrifice of food and drink, fasting can make available blessings that may not come by prayer alone. (Matthew 17:21). When we pray, we give thanks for our blessings, and request blessings. In a way, fasting is like a supercharged prayer. God has commanded us to “seek” and “ask” and “knock,” we are supposed to pray for blessings and fast for blessings. Nevertheless, occasional prayers expressing only gratitude are both appropriate and meaningful. Fasting is no different. We can give thanks as well as ask for blessings in our fasts, but too often we only ask for blessings as part of our fast. In our defense, it may not have occurred to many of us that we can also fast in gratitude—not because we are bad people, but because we didn’t realize it was an option.
So, I’m not suggesting we fast on Thanksgiving, that beautiful, delicious holiday we get to enjoy every November, I’m just saying that, like the Nephites, sometimes when we fast we can begin with a prayer as usual and tell Heavenly Father that we are so thankful for a particular blessing or blessings we or others close to us have received, that we aren’t even asking for anything during our fast, but only fasting in thanksgiving.
In addition to fasting for blessings and in gratitude, we can also fast in mourning. The Nephites often fasted when their loved ones had been killed in battle. (Alma 30:2). Fasting brings us closer to the Spirit, and nothing is better than the Spirit at comforting those who are mourning.
Learning about the power and importance of the fast is one of the great blessings of the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Most of us have already seen the blessings that come into our lives through fasting. In accordance with the Book of Mormon, these blessings become even richer if we also fast in thanksgiving and in mourning. So, no, don’t skip Thanksgiving dinner this week. But, as you consider the richness of your blessings during this holiday of thankfulness, you just may decide to skip a couple of meals in gratitude this next Fast Sunday. Because sometimes, after some blessings, even sincere, heartfelt prayers of gratitude don't feel like enough to show God how thankful we truly are.
The above is adapted from an excerpt in my recently published book, Shake the Powers of Evil with Captain Moroni, published by Cedar Fort, and now available at Deseret Book.
