Do we learn something of Christ's ability to perform miracles?
Well, we have many other accounts that could give us this kind of knowledge. So, without the 10 lepers account, we would already know Christ can perform miraculous healings-blind to see, lame to walk, dead to rise, demons to leave.
Do we learn something of the requirement of faith to have miracles performed? Again, there are other accounts where Christ is clear that faith must come before a miracle is to be given-Mark 9:39,
Mark 9:23-24.
But what of the last part of that story, where the 1 leper returns to thank Jesus?
That part of the story contains 5 of the 9 verses that tell the whole story, (and the first verse merely orients us as to where Jesus was traveling). So more than half of the account of the 10 lepers speak of the leper who returned to give thanks.
Is it not important then if more is written about gratitude and thanks than is written of the plea for help and the miracle?
The lepers cried from afar off. But after their plea, they do not speak to Jesus again.
Do we do that?
Cry to God in prayer or in our minds for help, and that's it?
Or do we remember to thank Him for each and every blessing and help we asked him for?
It must mean a whole lot to God for someone to return and give thanks.
I know people who "live in thanksgiving daily" and they are some of the happiest people I know. Are they void of all hardship? No. But they understand where the focus should be and they don't forget.
Just like the 1 leper.
A few other articles that speak of the wonders of gratitude:
O How Great the Plan of Our God "We are surrounded by such an astonishing wealth of light and truth that I wonder if we truly appreciate what we have."
Gratitude on the Sabbath Day "Of all the blessings we can count, the greatest by far is the feeling of forgiveness that comes as we partake of the sacrament. We will feel greater love and appreciation for the Savior, whose infinite sacrifice made possible our being cleansed from sin. As we partake of the bread and water, we remember that He suffered for us. And when we feel gratitude for what He has done for us, we will feel His love for us and our love for Him."
The Divine Gift of Gratitude Sincerely giving thanks not only helps us recognize our blessings, but it also unlocks the doors of heaven and helps us feel God’s love.
Said the Greek philosopher Epictetus, “He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.”
Notice that the Savior gave thanks for what they had—and a miracle followed: “And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full.”
“And in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things.”
In the Book of Mormon we are told to “live in thanksgiving daily, for the many mercies and blessings which [God] doth bestow upon you.”
If ingratitude be numbered among the serious sins, then gratitude takes its place among the noblest of virtues. Someone has said that “gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.”
President Joseph F. Smith, sixth President of the Church, said: “The grateful man sees so much in the world to be thankful for, and with him the good outweighs the evil. Love overpowers jealousy, and light drives darkness out of his life.” He continued: “Pride destroys our gratitude and sets up selfishness in its place. How much happier we are in the presence of a grateful and loving soul, and how careful we should be to cultivate, through the medium of a prayerful life, a thankful attitude toward God and man!”
