Latter-day Saint researcher on how cultivating thankfulness and indebtedness to God increases overall happiness

Church News

Religion, Christianity, Religion & Spirituality, News

4.9 • 782 Ratings

🗓️ 21 June 2022

⏱️ 35 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

An iconic Christian hymn encourages listeners who may be “tempest-tossed” or otherwise burdened to “Count Your Blessings.” Jenae Nelson, who has conducted research on indebtedness with Brigham Young University professors Dr. Sam Hardy and Dr. Dianne Tice, bolsters this claim. In a yearlong study, Nelson found that recognizing what God has done, and feeling an indebtedness toward Him, doesn’t create feelings of obligation, but rather leads to increased overall happiness, well-being and even prosocial behavior. Nelson received her doctorate from Brigham Young University and is now a postdoctoral research fellow at Baylor University and a research affiliate at Harvard University. She joins this episode of the Church News podcast to discuss her research and share how cultivating gratitude and indebtedness can improve a person’s life and deepen his or her connection to God.

The Church News Podcast is a weekly podcast that invites listeners to make a journey of connection with members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints across the globe. Host Sarah Jane Weaver, reporter and editor for The Church News for a quarter-century, shares a unique view of the stories, events, and most important people who form this international faith. With each episode, listeners are asked to embark on a journey to learn from one another and ponder, “What do I know now?” because of the experience. Produced by KellieAnn Halvorsen.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	After researching and finding that indebtedness to God was actually related to religious conversion,
0:15.2	more happiness, more psychological well-being, I thought, man, maybe we really are onto something. King Benjamin
0:21.6	had something wonderful. And the interesting thing was when we started that, I started off by
0:27.5	reading Mosaic 2 and asking them about indebtedness. And before they kind of were a little bit
0:34.6	put off by the word. But when I would rephrase it and say things like,
0:39.5	do you feel like you owe God for your life?
0:42.0	Do you feel like you could never repay him for everything that he has done for you?
0:46.4	They would, yes, oh yes, I feel that way.
0:48.8	Yes, absolutely.
0:50.3	So we found that they endorsed this idea of indebtedness,
0:53.9	even if they didn't love the word.
1:01.0	I'm Sarah Jane Weaver, editor of the church news.
1:04.1	Welcome to the church news podcast.
1:06.1	We are taking you on a journey of connection as we discuss news and events of the Church of Jesus Christ
1:11.3	of Latter-day Saints.
1:16.8	An iconic Christian hymn encourages listeners that when you are tempest-tossed or otherwise
1:22.6	burdened to counter many blessings, and you will be surprised by what the Lord has done for you.
1:28.5	While this advice may seem contrary to logic, gratitude research has time and time again
1:33.8	shown that cultivating thankfulness will make you happier, healthier, and more resilient.
1:39.2	For Jeney Nelson, her recent study conducted with BYU-P Professors, Dr. Sam Hardy and Dr. Diane Tice bolsters this claim.
1:47.7	In a year-long study, they found that recognizing what God has done for you and feeling an indebtedness
1:54.0	towards him doesn't create feelings of obligation, but rather leads to increased overall happiness,
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Church News, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Church News and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.