After enjoying a wonderful Thanksgiving with friends, and reflecting on the blessings that God has given us this year, the reality of the Day after Thanksgiving comes to view. I used to enjoy being in the crowds searching for the "elusive item" that was going to be the hot item for Christmas that year. Mainly I did that when my children were young and expected Santa to bring them that one toy.

I remember the one year, we got up at 3AM, stood in line for 3 hours until the store opened to get a Cabbage Patch Doll. That was the rage that year. I remember the anticipation in the crowds as we talked amongst ourselves on who will be the lucky recipient of the prized present. As the hour drew nigh for the store to open, more and more people were in line. The unfortunate thing is that there were only a select few and those people who arrived late would not get the opportunity to get one. It was a lesson on supply and demand. It was also a lesson for me that I strive never to be late for anything - work or church.

Once the store opened, it was a frenzy. People who were talking to you amicably all-of-a sudden become your competition to get the absolute right doll that our child wanted. And there were far less of those particular cabbage patch dolls. So lesson learned there beside supply and demand was want and need. I remember getting elbowed several times as we were picking through the "carnage" to find the right doll. They were all there to get one, some of them (like us) the ONE doll. The crowning event, which made it all pay off was the look of indescribable joy on my daughters face as she opened the gift from Santa, exclaiming "He DID hear me!"

Perhaps this is what turned me off of Black Friday Sales. It may be exhilarating to some, but not for me. As my children are now grown and have families of their own, this designated day has become less and less important for me. Sure, there are things I would love to have at great prices, but it is worth the cost with the all the hassle? Not for me.

Cutting into the Family Day

Each year, I have witnessed more and more stores that are opening on Thanksgiving afternoon/evening to lure shoppers in. Doorbuster sales take some of the prices even lower. Many stores have what they call "pre-Black Friday" sales. We actually took advantage of some of those on Wednesday evening while dress shopping with my wife. But what about the notion of opening a store on a day that has traditionally been set apart as a family day"? Is this an attempt of further tearing the family apart? There are many arguments for and against this. I, personally won't shop on Thanksgiving. It is to me, like a Sunday set aside for the family and a time of giving thanks for everything which the Lord has or may grant us. Some argue that it is a blessing for those who need to work and they enjoy the extra money needed to sustain their families. Others argue that hospitals, police, etc. never get this day off, those are all valid arguments. I was proud to see a store that we frequent join in the, albeit dwindling list of establishments that would be closed for Thanksgiving. I appreciate their stance that they recognize the importance of Thanksgiving. As in all things, let the spirit guide you.

The Law of Wants versus Needs

Another valuable lesson learned in my years, is the law of want versus need and Black Friday. Those ads that come into your mailbox, the ads on the television and Internet sure do have a lot of great deals to be had. For me, as I read through the ads, I find myself going into a "wow, I sure could use that!". It reminds me of the yearly shiny Sears catalog with all the Christmas toys as a young child and replaced in later years with the Toys R Us Christmas catalog. I remember myself and my children poring through the pages, with their "oohs" and "aahs" as they talked amongst themselves about what they liked and what they didn't like. Then came the, sometimes hard decision as our parents told them that "Santa cannot possibly fit all of that into his sleigh without denying another child a gift" and they would have to pick their top 4 choices. Even more poring through the catalogs ensued, as they had to make the decision which toys would "make the cut". This had to be done before we visited "Santa" at the store, where they could tell Santa what they really wanted - or needed.

Back to the ads, they have a tendency to bring out the wants versus the needs. For example, I was looking at an online ad for an iPhone 6plus. A co-worker bought one, and I was admiring it. I determined I NEEDED one. I started to justify my NEED by self-rationalization saying that it was a bigger screen, I could use my iPhone 5 as a trade-in on one. In addition, I could also sell off my iPad mini as I would no longer need it with the bigger screen of the iPhone 6 plus. My NEED turned into actually going into a store to see how much of a trade-in I would get, but they had no iPhone 6pluses in stock (law of supply and need). I am glad that they didn't have one, as it gave me time to reflect on my NEED. In reality, it is a phone. I have a phone. It has a bigger screen. I have an iPad Mini with a bigger screen. My realization that my NEED was really a WANT. And to put it all in perspective, another co-worker still has a flip phone. Not a smartphone. He is happy with it. He as no extra charges added to his bill for the "privilege" of surfing the web on his phone since there is none. Its a phone to begin with.

Again, my purpose here is not to influence you to boycott Black Friday, but perhaps give you insight on what is really important. Satan has a way of making many things attractive and from that starts to justify a NEED in us. A need, which is really a WANT. Satan works simply suggesting simple things that will veer us off the path. And where we have veered off the path for even a small degree, he shows us even more things to entice us even further off the path and so forth. He uses well-intentioned things to distract us from the ultimate need - to return to Father in Heaven's presence and to be able to return and report without guile our earth life.

Having my scriptures available with me any time I open the app on my device is a blessing. I really don't need to have a device to do that because paper scriptures are still very much valid. But I take advantage of what I already have. An iPhone 6 plus is not going to make me a better scriptorian as I already have those tools in my iPhone 5 and iPad mini.

Is the 60" color television on sale for $199  really worth it to replace your 42" color television that is still perfectly in working condition? You have to be the judge of that and decide for yourself what is of more importance and worth to you. If you are one of those who does venture out on the day after Thanksgiving, dare I should mention that you let prayer and the Holy Ghost guide your purchases. He will testify to you - even in the busy store what you REALLY NEED versus WANT if you listen.

Our Father in Heaven DOES hear our pleas and prayers. But he won't grant unto us a long list of items that we really need or want. He asks us to, "Study it out in our minds" first and then come to Him in prayer with those things. We need to pore through our "catalogs" to decide which are the most important things that we approach Him with. And if we are sincere, humble, willing to submit to His will and His answer, He will give us answers, where we can joyfully exclaim, like my child, "He DID hear me!"

As for my day after Thanksgiving, we will start to decorate the house for CHRISTmas - the day after THANKSgiving.
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