The Mount of the House of the Lord
" We give THEE thanks,' I heard them say. This is not merely a formula to be reiterated neither is it just merely a song to be rehearsed from time to time, but by the realization of their conscious religious conviction they say automatically and unthoughtfully, I thank YOU, FATHER!' Hence, we do not wait until this great memorial day or holiday, whichever, for the purpose of giving GOD thanks for the Blessings we have received.
"You, MY Fellow Citizens and Fellow Hearers, in your infancy the majority of you have been taught by your mother and by your father to pray, and pray GOD'S Blessings upon your daily food, wherein you have said: LORD, make us truly thankful for the Blessings we are about to receive.'
"A good many have gotten away from the Fundamental. A good many have gotten away from the place wherein they were first instructed to give thanks every day; not to wait until Thanksgiving Day to give thanks, but: LORD, make us truly thankful for the Blessings we are about to receive, for the nourishment of our bodies and for the benefit of our souls.'
"I heard you pray. I mean, all the way back down there a good many of you prayed it around the breakfast table, instructed by your mother and others to be thankful indeed.
"But we make at times a custom and a fashion of giving thanks; but when you shall have imbibed the spirit and the meaning of it and lived it and expressed it until it is awakened in you, you will no longer wait until Thanksgiving Day but you will say, I thank YOU, FATHER!' every day! It will come forth into expression, for the seed idea implanted in the soil of your soul in your infancy, I Came to quicken it, awaken it and cause you to say it automatically and unthoughtfully, I thank YOU, FATHER!' Aren't you glad!"
The Brigantine Hotel, Brigantine, N.J., November 26-27, 1942 A.D.F.D.