THE
TEAM
and
MOTIVATIONAL
/ INSPIRATIONAL | - TEAM: (T)ogether, (E)veryone (A)chieves (M)ore
- A Power Decision: A decision which will set a course of action from which you do not allow yourself to retreat under any circumstances whatsoever.
- Dreams are not practical, they are inspirational!
- The non-dreamer lives a life that is just a series of sequences of events, but the dreamer lives a life that is filled with stories of dreams dreamed, and fulfilled!
-- Curtis Ledbetter - God honors faith and commitment -- no act of faith will go unblessed!
-- Jeff Harris - Listen... I know it isn't easy, Rodney. But a dream that you don't fight for can haunt you for the rest of your life. ... It's up to you.
-- Herb Copperbottom, Robots - Steadiness and toil will serve you better than brilliance.
- Jimmy: QUITTING; you'll regret it for the rest of your life. Baseball's what gets inside you; it's what lights you up -- you can't deny that!
Dottie: It just got too hard!
Jimmy: It supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great!
-- From A League of Their Own - You don't have to be sick in order to get better.
- To build your business, you are either plugged-in or plugged-up!
- Schedule your priorities, don't prioritize your schedule.
- Procrastination is the assassination of motivation!
- When it gets ot the point that this business feels like work, you've lost sight of your"why."
- First we make our habits; then our habits make us.
- You can make excuses or you can make money in this business, but you can't do both.
- You can chase a dream -or- you can chase a paycheck -- your choice.
- ANything worthwhile is hard to get!
- Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anone can start from now and make a brand new end.
- If the 20th century taught us anything, it is to be caution about the word impossible!
-- Charles Platt - Be careful the environment you choose for it will shape you; be careful the friends you choose for you will become like them.
-- W. Clement Stone - Cheerfulness keeps up a kind of daylight in the mind, and fills it with a steady and perpetula serenity.
-- Joseph Addison - An optimist is the human personification of spring.
-- Susan J. Bissonette - Life is 10-percent what you make it and 90-percent how you take it.
-- Irving Berlin - Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which one has overcome while trying to succeed.
-- Booker T. Washington - We live in a world of connect-the-dots; it is up to us to draw the lines.
- People don't follow you for what you have done, they follow you for what you are doing.
-- Dave Hampton - Leadership is character in motion.
- You make decisions based on emotion...
and justify them using logic. - I succeeded because:
I listened to the ones who told me I could.
I listened to the ones who believed in me!
-- Ronald Reagan - Excuse me????
When a person, be they close relative, friend, acquaintance, or what-have-you, tried to steal your dream, why do we excuse them by saying things like "they mean well"? No matter how they act, they do not mean well! These people are sealing the most valuable asset you own: your dreams and your self-esteem. There is no excuse for this.
Do not let these people, not matter who they are or how they act, seal this most precious possession of yours! - So you have the enthusiasm for the challenge? Notice I didn't ask you: Do you have the enthusiasm to celebrate victory? We all have the enthusiasm to celebrate our victory. Enthusiasm, not for the victory, but for the challenge that we have to face when things go wrong, and they sometimes will, when challenges happen, when things just don't go perfectly -- do you have the enthusiasm for the challenge? You must have enthusiasm for the celebration of the challenges that you must face on a day-to-day basis; it will not matter what happens.
-- Jody Victor - May the challenges that come you way not be your tombstone, but stepping stones.
-- Jody Victor
| RELIGIOUS
These are mostly from LDS authors. |
|---|
Quotes by the Prophet Joseph Smith- Again it may be asked, how it was that [the false christian churches] could speak in tongues if they were of the devil. We would answer that they could be made to speak in another tongue, as well as their own, as they were under the control of that spirit, and the devil can tempt the Hottentot, the Turk, the Jew, or any other nation; and if these men were under the influence of his spirit, they of course could speak Hebrew, Latin, Greek, Italian, Dutch, or any other language that the devil knew.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - All Spirit Is Matter:
There is no such thing as immaterial matter. All spirit is matter, but is more fine or pure, and can only be discerned by purer eyes. We cannot see it, but when our bodies are purified, we shall see that it is all matter.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - And I continued and said, no man is capable of judging a matter, in council, unless his own heart is pure; and that we frequently are so filled with prejudice, or have a beam in our own eye, that we are not capable of passing right decisions.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - Apostates Persecutions:
From apostates the faithful have received the severest persecutions. Judas was rebuked and immediately betrayed his Lord into the hands of His enemies, because Satan entered into him. There is a superior intelligence bestowed upon such as obey the Gospel with full purpose of heart, which, if sinned against, the apostate is left naked and destitute of the Spirit of God, and he is, in truth, nigh unto cursing, and his end is to be burned. When once that light which was in them is taken from them, they become as much darkened as they were previously enlightened, and then, no marvel, if all their power should be enlisted against the truth, and they, Judas like, seek the destruction of those who were their greatest benefactors. What nearer friend on earth, or in heaven, had Judas than the Savior? And his first object was to destroy Him. Who, among all the Saints in these last days can consider himself as good as our Lord? Who is as perfect? Who is as pure? Who is as holy as He was? Are they to be found? He never transgressed or broke a commandment or law of heaven -- no deceit was in His mouth, neither was guile found in His heart. And yet one that ate with Him who had often drunk of the same cup, was the first to lift up his heel against Him. Where is one like Christ? He cannot be found on earth. Then why should His followers complain, if from those whom they once called brethren, and considered as standing in the nearest relation in the everlasting covenant they should receive persecution? From what source emanated the principle which has ever been manifest by apostates from the true Church to persecute with double diligence, and seek with double perseverance, to destroy those whom they once professed to love, with whom they once communed, and with whom they once covenanted to strive with every power in righteousness to obtain the rest of God? Perhaps our brethren will say the same that caused Satan to seek to overthrow the kingdom of God, because he himself was evil, and God's kingdom is holy.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - As Man Approaches God He Is Enlightened:
We consider that God has created man with a mind capable of instruction, and a faculty which may be enlarged in proportion to the heed and diligence given to the light communicated from heaven to the intellect; and that the nearer man approaches perfection, the clearer are his views, and the greater his enjoyments, till he has overcome the evils of his life and lost every desire for sin; and like the ancients, arrives at that point of faith where he is wrapped in the power and glory of his Maker and is caught up to dwell with Him. But we consider that this is a station to which no man ever arrived in a moment: he must have been instructed in the government and laws of that kingdom by proper degrees, until his mind is capable in some measure of comprehending the propriety, justice, equality, and consistency of the same.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - Avoiding Disputes:
Let the Elders be exceedingly careful about unnecessarily disturbing and harrowing up the feelings of the people. Remember that your business is to preach the Gospel in all humility and meekness, and warn sinners to repent and come to Christ.
Avoid contentions and vain disputes with men of corrupt minds, who do not desire to know the truth. Remember that "it is a day of warning, and not a day of many words." If they receive not your testimony in one place, flee to another, remembering to cast no reflections, nor throw out any bitter sayings. If you do your duty, it will be just as well with you, as though all men embraced the Gospel.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - Do not contend with outers on account of their faith, or systems of religion, but pursue a steady course. This I delivered by way of commandment; and all who observe it not, will pull down persecution upon their heads, while those who do, shall always be filled with the Holy Ghost; this I pronounced as a prophecy, and sealed with hosanna and amen. (HC 2:431)
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - How to Escape Judgments:
And now what remains to be done, under circumstances like these? I will proceed to tell you what the Lord requires of all people, high and low, rich and poor, male and female, ministers and people, professors of religion and non-professors, in order that they may enjoy the Holy Spirit of God to a fullness, and escape the judgments of God, which are almost ready to burst upon the nations of the earth. Repent of all your sins, and be baptized in water for the remission of them, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, and receive the ordinance of the laying on of the hands of him who is ordained and sealed unto this power, that ye may receive the Holy Spirit of God; and this is according to the Holy Scriptures, and the Book of Mormon; and the only way that man can enter into the celestial kingdom. These are the requirements of the new covenant, or first principles of the Gospel of Christ: then "Add to your faith, virtue; and to virtue, knowledge; and to knowledge, temperance; and to temperance, patience; and to patience, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, charity [or love]; for if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful, in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - I have met hundreds of men who have said: 'If it were not for Joseph Smith I could accept your religion.' Any man who does not believe in Joseph Smith as a prophet of the true and the living God has no right to be in this Church. That revelation to Joseph Smith is the foundation stone. If Joseph Smith did not have that interview with God and Jesus Christ, the whole Mormon fabric is a failure and a fraud. It is not worth anything on earth. But God did come, God did introduce His Son; God did inspire that man to organize the Church of Jesus Christ, and all the opposition of the world is not able to withstand the truth. It is flourishing; it is growing, and it will grow more.
-- Heber J. Grant - I see no faults in the church. Let me be resurrected with the saints, whether to heaven or hell or any other good place -- good society. What do we care, if the society is good? I don't care what a character is if he is my friend -- a friend and a true friend. And I will be a friend to him. Friendship is the grand fundamental principle of Mormonism, to civilize the world -- pour forth love. ... I do not swell upon your faults, you shall not upon mine. ... Get all the good in the world, come out a pure Mormon.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - If I were to voice what is in my heart it would seem egotistical to some, but I say to all men everywhere, examine the teachings of the gospel of our Lord as revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith, search them prayerfully, and you shall find the panacea for the ills of this world, and it will be discovered in no other way.
-- George Albert Smith, Conference Reports, October 1931, p. 121 - In Bonds for the Testimony of Jesus:
Know assuredly, dear brethren, that it is for the testimony of Jesus that we are in bonds and in prison. But we say unto you, that we consider that our condition is better (notwithstanding our sufferings) than that of those who have persecuted us, and smitten us, and borne false witness against us; and we most assuredly believe that those who do bear false witness against us, do seem to have a great triumph over us for the present. But we want you to remember Haman and Mordecai: you know that Haman could not be satisfied so long as he saw Mordecai at the king's gate, and he sought the life of Mordecai and the destruction of the people of the Jews. But the Lord so ordered it, that Haman was hanged upon his own gallows.
So shall it come to pass with poor Haman in the last days, and those who have sought by unbelief and wickedness and by the principle of mobocracy to destroy us and the people of God, by killing and scattering them abroad, and willfully and maliciously delivering us into the hands of murderers, desiring us to be put to death, thereby having us dragged about in chains and cast into prison. And for what cause? It is because we were honest men, and were determined to defend the lives of the Saints at the expense of our own. I say unto you, that those who have thus vilely treated us, like Haman, shall be hanged upon their own gallows; or, in other words, shall fall into their own gin, and snare, and ditch and trap, which they have prepared for us, and shall go backwards and stumble and fall, and their name shall be blotted out, and God shall reward them according to all their abominations.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - Man Is His Own Tormentor and Condemner:
A man is his own tormentor and his own condemner. Hence the saying, They shall go into the lake that burns with fire and brimstone. The torment of disappointment in the mind of man is as exquisite as a lake burning with fire and brimstone. I say, so is the torment of man.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - Many Called But Few Chosen:
Behold, there are many called, but few are chosen. And why are they not chosen? Because their hearts are set so much upon the things of this world, and aspire to the honors of men, that they do not learn this one lesson--that the rights of the Priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven, and that the powers of heaven cannot be controlled nor handled only upon the principles of righteousness. That they may be conferred upon us, it is true; but when we undertake to cover our sins, or to gratify our pride, our vain ambition, or to exercise control, or dominion, or compulsion, upon the souls of the children of men, in any degree of unrighteousness, behold, the heavens withdraw themselves; the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and when it is withdrawn, Amen to the Priesthood, or the authority of that man. Behold! ere he is aware, he is left unto himself, to kick against the pricks; to persecute the Saints, and to fight against God.
We have learned by sad experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion. Hence many are called, but few are chosen.
No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the Priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness, and meekness, and by love unfeigned; by kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile, reproving betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost, and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy; that he may know that thy faithfulness is stronger than the cords of death; let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly, then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God, and the doctrine of the Priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven. The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth, and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - Nothing is so much calculated to lead people to forsake sin as to take them by the hand, and watch over them with tenderness. When persons manifest the least kindness and love to me, O what power it has over my mind, while the opposite course has a tendency to harrow up all the harsh feelings and depress the human mind.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - Our Acts Are Recorded:
Our acts are recorded, and at a future day they will be laid before us, and if we should fail to judge right and injure our fellow-beings, they may there, perhaps, condemn us; there they are of great consequence, and to me the consequence appears to be of force, beyond anything which I am able to express. Ask yourselves, brethren, how much you have exercised yourselves in prayer since you heard of this council; and if you are now prepared to sit in council upon the soul of your brother.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - Questions Answered:
- Do you believe the Bible?
If we do, we are the only people under heaven that does, for there are none of the religious sects of the day that do. - Wherein do you differ from other sects?
In that we believe the Bible, and all other sects profess to believe their interpretations of the Bible, and their creeds.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - Renegade "Mormon" dissenters are running through the world and spreading various foul and libelous reports against us, thinking thereby to gain the friendship of the world, because they know that we are not of the world, and that the world hates us; therefore they [the world] make a tool of these fellows [the dissenters]; and by them try to do all the injury they can, and after that they hate them worse than they do us, because they find them to be base traitors and sycophants.
Such characters God hates; we cannot love them. The world hates them, and we sometimes think that the devil ought to be ashamed of them.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - Salvation Comes Through Knowledge:
A man is saved no faster than he gets knowledge, for if he does not get knowledge, he will be brought into captivity by some evil power in the other world, as evil spirits will have more knowledge, and consequently more power than many men who are on the earth. Hence it needs revelation to assist us and give us knowledge of the things of God.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has also had its false spirits; and as it is made up of all those different sects professing every variety of opinion, and having been under the influence of so many kinds of spirits, it is not to be wondered at if there should be found among us false spirits.
Soon after the Gospel was established in Kirtland, and during the absence of the authorities of the Church, many false spirits were introduced, many strange visions were seen, and wild, enthusiastic notions were entertained; men ran out of doors under the influence of this spirit, and some of them got upon the stumps of trees and shouted, and all kinds of extravagances were entered into by them; one man pursued a ball that he said he saw flying in the air, until he came to a precipice, when he jumped into the top of a tree, which saved his life; and many ridiculous things were entered into, calculated to bring disgrace upon the Church of God, to cause the Spirit of God to be withdrawn, and to uproot and destroy those glorious principles which had been developed for the salvation of the human family. But when the authorities returned, the spirit was made manifest, those members that were exercised with it were tried for their fellowship, and those that would not repent and forsake it were cut off.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - The Lord raised up Joseph Smith specially to do the work that he performed. He was ordained and appointed before he was born to come upon the stage of action in this age of God's mercy to man, through the loins of ancient Joseph, who was a descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to lay the foundation of this great and glorious dispensation-a dispensation that will be marked and distinguished in the annals of human history for its grand and mighty, and also its serious and awful events.
-- Wilford Woodruff, Journal of Discourses, 24:51, January 27, 1883 - The Meaning of Salvation:
Salvation means a man's being placed beyond the power of all his enemies.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - The nearer we get to our Heavenly Father, the more we are disposed to look with compassion on perishing souls; we feel that we want to take them upon our shoulders, and cast their sins behind our backs. If you would have God have mercy on your, have mercy on one another.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - The Prophet's Calling:
You don't know me; you never knew my heart. No man knows my history. I cannot tell it: I shall never undertake it. I don't blame any one for not believing my history. If I had not experienced what I have, I would not have believed it myself. I never did harm any man since I was born in the world. My voice is always for peace. I cannot lie down until all my work is finished. I never think any evil, nor do anything to the harm of my fellow-man. When I am called by the trump of the archangel and weighed in the balance, you will all know me then.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - God, man, and angels will not condemn those that resist everything that is evil, and devils cannot; as well might the devil seek to dethrone Jehovah, as overthrow an innocent soul that resists everything which is evil. . .
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - The devil has great power to deceive; he will so transform things as to make one gape at those who are doing the will of God.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - The contention in heaven was -- Jesus said there would be certain souls that would not be saved; and the devil said he would save them all, and laid his plans before the grand council, who gave their vote in favor of Jesus Christ. So the devil rose up in rebellion against God, and was cast down, with all who put up their heads for him.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - When a man begins to be an enemy to this work, he hunts me, he seeks to kill me, and never ceases to thirst for my blood. He gets the spirit of the devil -- the same spirit that they had who crucified the Lord of Life -- the same spirit that sins against the Holy Ghost. You cannot save such persons; you cannot bring them to repentance; they make open war, like the devil, and awful is the consequence.
I advise all of you to be careful what you do, or you may by-and-by find out that you have been deceived. Stay yourselves; do not give way; don't make any hasty moves, you may be saved. If a spirit of bitterness is in you, don't be in haste. You may say, that man is a sinner. Well, if he repents, he shall be forgiven. Be cautions: await. When you find a spirit that wants bloodshed, -- murder, the same is not of God, but is of the devil.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - In conclusion we would say, brethren and sisters, be faithful, be diligent, contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the Saints; let every man, woman and child realize the importance of the work, and act as if success depended on his individual exertion alone; let all feel an interest in it.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - The disappointment of hopes and expectations at the resurrection would be indescribably dreadful [for those who have ignored or rejected revealed truths].
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - It is in vain to try to hide a bad spirit from the eyes of them who are spiritual, for it will show itself in speaking and in writing, as well as in all our other conduct. It is also needless to make great pretensions when the heart is not right; the Lord will expose it to the view of His faithful Saints.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - It is evident from the Apostles' writings, that many false spirits existed in their day, and had "gone forth into the world," and that it needed intelligence which God alone could impart to detect false spirits, and to prove what spirits were of God. The world in general have been grossly ignorant in regard to this one thing, and why should they be otherwise -- "for no man knows the things of God, but by the Spirit of God."
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - I did not like the old man (Elder Pelatia Brown) being called up for erring in doctrine. It looks to much like [the protestants], and not like the Latter-day Saints. [Protestants] have creeds which a man must believe or be asked out of their church. I want the liberty of thinking and believing as I please. It feels good not to be trammeled. It does not prove that a man is not a good man because he errs in doctrine.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - We believe that we have a right to revelations, visions, and dreams from God, our heavenly Father; and light and intelligence, through the gift of the Holy Ghost, in the name of Jesus Christ, on all subjects pertaining to our spiritual welfare; if it so be that we keep his commandments, so as to render ourselves worthy of his sight.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - Highest Order of Priesthood Revealed:
In this council was instituted the ancient order of things for the first time in these last days. And the communications I made to this council were of things spiritual, and to be received only by the spiritual minded: and there was nothing made known to these men but what will be made known to all the Saints of the last days, so soon as they are prepared to receive, and a proper place is prepared to communicate them, even to the weakest of the Saints; therefore let the Saints be diligent in building the Temple, and all houses which they have been, or shall hereafter be, commanded of God to build; and wait their time with patience in all meekness, faith, perseverance unto the end, knowing assuredly that all these things referred to in this council are always governed by the principle of revelation. (May 4, 1842.) DHC 5:1-2.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - Elijah had to flee his country, for they [his country and kindred] sought his life, -- and he was fed by ravens. ... Did these afflictions come upon these prophets of the Lord on account of transgression? No! It was the iron hand of persecution -- like the chains of Missouri! And mark -- when these old prophets suffered, the vengeance of God, in due time, followed and left the wicked opposers of the Lord's anointed like Sodom and Gomorrah; like the Egyptians; like Jezebel, who was eaten by dogs; and like all Israel, which were led away captive, till the Lord had spent his fury upon them -- even to this day.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - Salvation is nothing more or less than to triumph over all our enemies.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - If we would secure and cultivate the love of others, we must love others, even our enemies as well as friends.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - The Lord once told me that what I asked for I should have. I have been afraid to ask God to kill my enemies, lest some of them should, peradventure, repent.
I asked a short time since for the Lord to deliver me out of the hands of the Governor of Missouri, and if it needs must be to accomplish it, to take him away; and the next news that came pouring down from there was, that Governor Reynolds had shot himself. And I would now say, Beware, O earth, how you fight against the Saints of God and shed innocent blood; for in the day so Elijah, his enemies came upon him, and fire was called down from heaven and destroyed them.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - Eternal life is to know the only true God and his Son Jesus, without which there is no salvation.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - It is one thing to see the kingdom of God, and another thing to enter into it. We must have a change of heart to see the kingdom of God, and subscribe the articles of adoption to enter therein.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - If you wish to go where God is, you must be like God, or possess the principles which God possesses, for if we are not drawing towards God in principle, we are going from Him and drawing towards the devil.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - Truth and error, good and evil cannot be reconciled.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - Reading the experiences of others, or the revelation given to them, can never give us a comprehensive view of our condition and true relation to God. Knowledge of these things can only be obtained by experience through ordinances of God set forth for that purpose.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - God brings low before He exalts.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - God will gather out His Saints from the Gentiles, and then comes desolation and destruction, and none can escape except the pure in heart who are gathered.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - God exalts the humble, and debases the haughty.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - Therefore let you heart be comforted; live in strict obedience to the commandments of God, and walk humbly before Him, and He will exalt thee in His own due time.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - Whatever God requires is right, no matter what it is, although we may not see the reason thereof till long after the events transpire.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - Time and experience will teach us more and more how easily falsehood gains credence with mankind in general, rather than the truth.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - "Try the spirits," but what by? Are we to try them by the creeds of men? What preposterous folly -- what sheer ignorance -- what madness! Try the motions and actions of an eternal being (for I contend that all spirits are such) by a thing that was conceived in ignorance, and brought forth in folly -- a cobweb of yesterday! Angels would hide their faces, and devils would be ashamed and insulted, and would say, "Paul we know, and Jesus we know, but who are ye?" Let each man of society make a creed and try evil spirits by it, and the devil would shake his sides; it is all that he would ask -- all that he would desire. Yet many of them do this, and hence "many spirits are abroad in the world."
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - Joseph then related some of his own experience, in many contests he had had with the evil one, and said: "The nearer a person approaches the Lord, a greater power will be manifested by the adversary to prevent the accomplishment of His purposes.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - It is the duty of all men to protect their lives and the lives of the household, whenever necessity requires.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - When you go home, never give a cross or unkind word to your husbands, but let kindness, charity and love crown your works henceforward.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - If the Saints are sick, or have sickness in their families, and the elders so not prevail, every family should get power by fasting and prayer and anointing with oil, and continue so to do. Their sick shall be healed. This also is the voice of the Spirit.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - The man who willeth to do well, we should extol his virtues, and speak not of his faults behind his back.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - We have nothing to fear if we are faithful.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - We are full of selfishness; the devil flatters us that we are very righteous, when we are feeding on the faults of others.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - I do not dwell upon your faults, and you shall not upon mine. Charity, which is love, covereth a multitude of sins, and I have often covered up all the faults among you; but the prettiest thing is to have no faults at all. We should cultivate a meek, quiet, and peaceable spirit.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - I have sometimes spoken too harshly from the impulse of the moment, and inasmuch as I have wounded your feelings, brethren, I ask your forgiveness, for I love you and will hold you up with all my heart in all righteousness, before the Lord, and before all men. ... I will now covenant with you before God, that I will not listen to or credit any derogatory report against any of you, nor condemn you upon any testimony beneath the heavens, short of that testimony which is infallible, until I can see you face to face, and know of a surety; and I do place unremitted confidence in your word, for I believe you to be men of truth. And I ask the same of you, when I tell you anything, that you place equal confidence in my word, for I will not tell you I know anything that I do not know.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He dies, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it. But in connection with these, we believe in the gift of the Holy Ghost, the power of faith, the enjoyment of the spiritual gifts according to the will of God, the restoration of the house of Israel, and the final triumph of truth.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - Flattery also is a deadly poison.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - None but fools will trifle with the souls of men.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - Thus you see, my dear brother, the willingness of our Heavenly Father to forgive sins, and restore to favor all those who are willing to humble themselves before Him, and confess their sins, and forsake them, and return to Him with full purpose of heart, acting no hypocrisy, to serve Him to the end.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - Ever keep in exercise the principle of mercy, and be ready to forgive our brother on the first intimations of repentance, and asking forgiveness; and should we even forgive our brother, or even our enemy, before he repent or ask forgiveness, our Heavenly Father would be equally as merciful unto us.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - One of the most pleasing scenes that can occur on earth, when a sin is committed by one person against another, is, to forgive that sin; and then according to the sublime and perfect pattern of the Savior, pray to our Father in Heaven to forgive him also.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - It is one of the first principles of my life, and one that I have cultivated from my childhood, having been taught it by my father, to allow every one the liberty of conscience.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - The names of the faithful are what I wish to record in this place. These I have met in prosperity, and they were my friends; and I now meet them in adversity, and they are still my warmer friends. These love the God that I serve; they love the truths that I promulgate; they love those virtuous, and those holy doctrines that I cherish in my bosom with the warmest feelings of my heart, and with that zeal which cannot be denied. I love friendship and truth; I love virtue and law.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - When you support my friends, you support me.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - If my life is of no value to my friends it is of none to myself.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - I don't care what a man's character is; if he's my friend -- a true friend, I will be a friend to him. ... Friendship is one of the grand fundamental principles of "Mormonism"; {it is designed] to revolutionize and civilize the world, and cause wars and contentions to cease and men to become friends and brothers. ... It is a time-honored adage that love begets love. ... Friendship is like [a blacksmith] welding iron to iron; it unites the human family with its happy influence.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - God hath said that He would have a tried people, that He would purge them as gold. (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1976], 135.)
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - Yet many of the righteous shall fall a prey to disease to pestilence and by reason of the weakness of the flesh and yet be saved in the Kingdom of God so that it is an unhallowed principle to say that such and such have transgressed because they have been preyed upon by disease or death for all flesh is subject to death and the Savior has said—"Judge not lest ye be judged." (The Words of Joseph Smith, comp. Andrew F. Ehat and Lyndon W. Cook [Provo, Utah: BYU Religious Studies Center, 1980], 15.)
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - By every possible means [satan] seeks to darken the minds of men and then offers them falsehood and deception in the guise of truth. Satan is a skillful imitator, and as genuine gospel truth is given the world in ever-increasing abundance, so he spreads the counterfeit coin of false doctrine. Beware of his spurious currency, it will purchase for you nothing but disappointment, misery and spiritual death. The "Father of Lies" he has been called, and such an adept has he become through the ages of practice in his nefarious work, that were it possible he would deceive the very elect. (Juvenile Instructor, Sept. 1902, 562.)
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - He [Joseph Smith] then observed that Satan was generally blamed for the evils which we did, but if he was the cause of all our wickedness, men could not be condemned. The devil could not compel mankind to do evil; all was voluntary. Those who resisted the Spirit of God, would be liable to be led into temptation, and then the association of heaven would be withdrawn from those who refused to be made partakers of such great glory. God would not exert any compulsory means, and the devil could not; and such ideas as were entertained [on these subjects] by many were absurd. (Discourses of the Prophet Joseph Smith, comp. Alma P. Burton [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1977], 131.)
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - All are within the reach of pardoning mercy, who have not committed the unpardonable sin, which hath no forgiveness. (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1976], 191.)
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - The baptism of water, without the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost attending it, is of no use; they are necessarily and inseparably connected. An individual must be born of water and the Spirit in order to get into the kingdom of God. (History of the Church, 7 vols., 2d ed. [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1967], 6:316.)
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - You might as well baptize a bag of sand as a man, if not done in view of the remission of sins and getting of the Holy Ghost. Baptism by water is but half a baptism, and is good for nothing without the other half-that is, the baptism of the Holy Ghost. (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1976], 314.)
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - The time [will] come when none but the women of the Latter-day Saints [will] be willing to bear children. (In Young Woman's Journal, Nov. 1890, 81.)
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - If a spirit of bitterness is in you, don't be in haste.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - As God governed Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as families, and the children of Israel as a nation; so we, as a Church, must be under His guidance if we are prospered, preserved and sustained. Our only confidence can be in God; our only wisdom obtained from Him; and He alone must be our protector and safeguard, spiritually and temporally, or we fall. (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1976], 253.)
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - If you would have God have mercy on you, have mercy on one another.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - We cannot keep all the commandments without first knowing them, and we cannot expect to know all, or more than we now know unless we comply with or keep those we have already received. (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1976], 256.)
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - Shall I, who have heard the voice of God, and communed with angels, and spake as moved by the Holy Ghost for the renewal of the everlasting covenant, and for the gathering of Israel in the last days,—shall I worm myself into a political hypocrite? Shall I, who hold the keys of the last kingdom, in which is the dispensation of the fullness of all things spoken by the mouths of all the holy Prophets since the world began, under the sealing power of the Melchizedek Priesthood,—shall I stoop from the sublime authority of Almighty God, to be handled as a monkey's cat's-paw, and pettify myself into a clown to act the farce of political demagoguery? (History of the Church, 7 vols., 2d ed. [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1967], 6:78.)
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - The greatest responsibility in this world that God has laid upon us is to seek after our dead. Those Saints who neglect it . . . do it at the peril of their own salvation. (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1976], 193.)
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - This doctrine presents in a clear light the wisdom and mercy of God in preparing an ordinance for the salvation of the dead, being baptized by proxy, their names recorded in heaven and they judged according to the deeds done in the body. . . . Those saints who neglect it in behalf of their deceased relatives, do it at the peril of their own salvation. (Discourses of the Prophet Joseph Smith, comp. Alma P. Burton [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1977], 144.)
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - In the days of Noah, God destroyed the world by a flood, and He has promised to destroy it by fire in the last days: but before it should take place, Elijah should first come and turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, &c.
Now comes the point. What is this office and work of Elijah? It is one of the greatest and most important subjects that God has revealed. He should send Elijah to seal the children to the fathers, and the fathers to the children.
Now was this merely confined to the living, to settle difficulties with families on earth? By no means. It was a far greater work. Elijah what would you do if you were here? Would you confine your work to the living alone? No; I would refer you to the Scriptures, where the subject is manifest: that is, without us, they could not be made perfect, nor we without them; the fathers without the children, nor the children without the fathers.
I wish you to understand this subject, for it is important; and if you will receive it, this is the spirit of Elijah, that we redeem our dead, and connect ourselves with our fathers which are in heaven, and seal up our dead to come forth in the first resurrection; and here we want the power of Elijah to seal those who dwell on earth to those who dwell in heaven. This is the power of Elijah and the keys of the kingdom of Jehovah. (History of the Church, 7 vols., 2d ed. [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1967], 6:251-52.)
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - I have a declaration to make as to the provisions which God hath made to suit the conditions of man—made for before the foundation of the world. What has Jesus said? All sin, and all blasphemies, and every transgression, except one, that man can be guilty of, may be forgiven; and there is a salvation for all men, either in this world or the world to come, who have not committed the unpardonable sin, there being a provision either in this world or the world of spirits. Hence God hath made a provision that every spirit in the eternal world can be ferreted out and saved unless he has committed that unpardonable sin which cannot be remitted to him either in this world or the world of spirits. God has wrought out a salvation for all men, unless they have committed a certain sin; and every man who has a friend in the eternal world can save him, unless he has committed the unpardonable sin. And so you can see how far you can be a savior. (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1976], 356-57.)
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - If others' blessings are not your blessings, others' curses are not your curses. (History of the Church, 7 vols., 2d ed. [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1967], 1:283.)
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - Blessings offered, but rejected, are no longer blessings. (History of the Church, 7 vols., 2d ed. [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1967], 5:135.)
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - Search the scriptures-search the revelations which we publish, and ask your Heavenly Father, in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, to manifest the truth unto you, and if you do it with an eye single to His glory nothing doubting, He will answer you by the power of His Holy Spirit. You will then know for yourselves and not for another. You will not then be dependent on man for the knowledge of God; nor will there be any room for speculation. (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1976], 11-12.)
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - Every man who has a calling to minister to the inhabitants of the world was ordained to that very purpose in the Grand Council of heaven before this world was. (History of the Church, 7 vols., 2d ed. [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1967], 6:364.)
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - Supposing that Jesus Christ and angels should object to us on frivolous things, what would become of us? We must be merciful and overlook small things. . . . If you would have God have mercy on you, have mercy on one another. . . . There should be no license for sin, but mercy should go hand in hand with reproof. (The Words of Joseph Smith, comp. Andrew F. Ehat and Lyndon W. Cook [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1980], 123-24.)
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - The doctrine of baptism for the dead is clearly shown in the New Testament; and if the doctrine is not good, then throw the New Testament away; but if it is the word of God, then let the doctrine be acknowledged; and it was the reason why Jesus said unto the Jews, "How oft would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!"—that they might attend to the ordinances of baptism for the dead as well as other ordinances of the priesthood, and receive revelations from heaven, and be perfected in the things of the kingdom of God—but they would not. (History of the Church, 7 vols., 2d ed. [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1967], 5:425.)
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - Every man that has been baptized and belongs to the kingdom has a right to be baptized for those who have gone before; and as soon as the law of the gospel is obeyed here by their friends who act as proxy for them, the Lord has administrators there to set them free. (History of the Church, 7 vols., 2d ed. [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1967], 6:365.)
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - The Lord takes many away, even in infancy, that they may escape the envy of man, and the sorrows and evils of this present world; they were too pure, too lovely, to live on earth. (History of the Church, 7 vols., 2d ed. [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1967], 4:553.)
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - The only difference between the old and young dying is, one lives longer in heaven and eternal light and glory than the other, and is freed a little sooner from this miserable wicked world. (History of the Church, 7 vols., 2d ed. [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1967], 4:554.)
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - A man is his own tormentor and his own condemner. Hence the saying, They shall go into the lake that burns with fire and brimstone. The torment of disappointment in the mind of man is as exquisite as a lake burning with fire and brimstone. I say, so is the torment of man. (History of the Church, 7 vols., 2d ed. [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1967], 6:314.)
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - St. Paul informs us of three glories and three heavens. He knew a man that was caught up to the third heavens. Now, if the doctrine of the sectarian world, that there is but one heaven, is true, Paul, what do you tell that lie for, and say there are three? Jesus said unto His disciples, "In my Father's house are many mansions, if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you, and I will come and receive you to myself, that where I am ye may be also." (History of the Church, 7 vols., 2d ed. [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1967], 5:426.)
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - It is a day of warning and not of many words. (History of the Church, 7 vols., 2d ed. [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1967], 3:384.)
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - The Standard of Truth
The Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions my rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accom0plished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - There can be no genuine happiness separate and apart from the home, and every effort made to sanctify and preserve its influence is uplifting to those who toil and sacrifice for its establishment.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - I never heard of a man being damned for believing too much.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - The Lord once told me that what I asked for I should have. I have been afraid to ask God to kill my enemies, lest some of them should, peradventure, repent.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - It is our duty to concentrate all our influence to make popular that which is sound and good, and unpopular that which is unsound.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - Blessings offered, but rejected, are no longer blessings.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - We should gather all the good and true principles in the world and treasure them up, or we shall not come out true Mormons.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - Could you gaze into heaven five minutes, you would know more than you would by reading all that ever was written on the subject.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - All beings who have bodies have power over those who have not.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - he kindness of a man should never be forgotten.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - It is our duty to concentrate all our influence to make popular that which is sound and good, and unpopular that which is unsound.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - Every man that has been baptized and belongs to the kingdom has a right to be baptized for those who have gone before; and as soon as the law of the Gospel is obeyed here by their friends who act as proxy for them, the Lord has administrators there to set them free. A man may act as proxy for his own relatives; the ordinances of the Gospel which were laid out before the foundations of the world have thus been fulfilled by them, and we may be baptized for those whom we have much friendship for; but it must first be revealed to the man of God, lest we should run too far. 'As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive' (1 Cor. 15:22); all shall be raised from the dead. The Lamb of God hath brought to pass the resurrection, so that all shall rise from the dead.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - All I can offer the world is a good heart and a good hand.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - Search the scriptures, search the prophets, and learn what portion of them belongs to you.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - It will not be by sword or gun that this kingdom [of God] will roll on.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - The doctrine of baptism for the dead is clearly shown in the New Testament; and if the doctrine is not good, then throw the New Testament away; but if it is the word of God, then let the doctrine be acknowledged; and it was the reason why Jesus said unto the Jews, 'How oft would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!' (See Matt. 23:37.) -- That they might attend to the ordinances of baptism for the dead as well as other ordinances of the priesthood, and receive revelations from heaven, and be perfected in the things of the kingdom of God -- but they would not. This was the case on the day of Pentecost those blessings were poured out on the disciples on that occasion. God ordained that he would save the dead and would do it by gathering his people together.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - I could go back and trace every object of interest concerning the relationship of man to God, if I had time. I can enter into the mysteries; I can enter largely into the eternal worlds; for Jesus said, 'In my Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.' (John 14:2.) Paul says, 'There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differeth from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead.' (1 Cor. 15:41.) What have we to console us in relation to the dead? We have reason to have the greatest hope and consolation for our dead of any people on the earth; for we have seen them walk worthily in our midst, and seen them sink asleep in the arms of Jesus; and those who have died in the faith are now in the celestial kingdom of God. And hence is the glory of the sun.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - Order by Which Revelation Comes:
I will inform you that it is contrary to the economy of God for any member of the Church, or any one, to receive instruction for those in authority, higher than themselves; therefore you will see the impropriety of giving heed to them; but if any person have a vision or a visitation from a heavenly messenger, it must be for his own benefit and instruction; for the fundamental principles, government, and doctrine of the Church are vested in the keys of the kingdom. Respecting an apostate, or one who has been cut off from the Church, and who wishes to come in again, the law of our Church expressly says that such shall repent, and be baptized, and be admitted as at the first.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - Take away the Book of Mormon and the revelations, and were is our religion? We have none.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - Baptism:
"Do the Mormons baptize in the name of 'Joe' Smith?" No, but if they did, it would be as valid as the baptism administered by the sectarian priests.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - Baptism is a holy ordinance preparatory to the reception of the Holy Ghost; it is the channel and key by which the Holy Ghost will be administered.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - I will give you one of the Keys of the mysteries of the Kingdom. It is an eternal principle, that has existed with God from all eternity: That man who rises up to condemn others, finding fault with the Church, saying that they are out of the way, while he himself is righteous, then know assuredly, that that man is in the high road to apostasy; and if he dies not repent, will apostatize, as God lives. The principle is as correct as the one Jesus put forth in saying that he who seeketh a sign is an adulterous person; and that principle is eternal, undeviating, and firm as the pillars of heaven; for whenever you see a man seeking after a sign, you may set it down that he is an adulterous man.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - Love is one of the chief characteristics of Deity, and ought to be manifested by those who aspire to be the sons of God. A man filled with the love of God, is not content with blessing his family alone, but ranges through the whole world, anxious to bless the whole human race.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - Let us realize that we are not to live to ourselves, but to God; by so doing the greatest blessings will rest upon us both in time and in eternity.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - The Spirits of Men Are Eternal:
I would just remark, that the spirits of men are eternal, that they are governed by the same priesthood that Abraham, Melchizedek, and the Apostles were: that they are organized according to that priesthood which is everlasting, "without beginning of days or end of years" that they all move in their respective spheres, and are governed by the law of God; that when they appear upon the earth they are in a probationary state, and are preparing, if righteous, for a future and greater glory; that the spirits of good men cannot interfere with the wicked beyond their prescribed bounds, for "Michael, the Archangel, dared not bring a railing accusation against the devil, but said, 'The Lord rebuke thee, Satan.' "
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - He that will war the true Christian warfare against the corruptions of these last days will have wicked men and angels of devils, and all the infernal powers of darkness continually arrayed against him. When wicked and corrupt men oppose, it is a criterion to judge if a man is warring the Christian warfare. When all men speak evil of you falsely, blessed are ye. Shall a man be considered bad, when men speak evil of him? No. If a man stands and opposes the world of sin, he may expect to have all wicked and corrupt spirits arrayed against him. But it will be but a little season, and all these afflictions will be turned away from us, inasmuch as we are faithful, and are not overcome by these evils. By seeing the blessings of the endowment rolling on, and the kingdom increasing and spreading from sea to sea, we shall rejoice that we were not overcome by these foolish things.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - When I was preaching in Philadelphia, a Quaker called out for a sign. I told him to be still. After the sermon, he again asked for a sign. I told the congregation the man was an adulterer; that a wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and that the Lord had said to me in a revelation, that any man who wanted a sign was an adulterous person. "It is true," cried one, "for I caught him in the very act," which the man afterwards confessed, when he was baptized.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - God judges men according to the use they make of the light which He gives them.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - When God offers a blessing or knowledge to a man, and he refuses to receive it, he will be damned.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - There are so many fools in the world for the devil to operate upon, it gives him the advantage oftentimes.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - False prophets always arise to oppose the true prophets and they will prophesy so very near the truth that they will deceive almost the very chosen ones. ... In relation to the kingdom of God, the devil always sets up his kingdom at the very same time in opposition to God.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - I believe all that God ever revealed, and I never hear of a man being damned for believing too much; but they are damned for unbelief.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - The name Mormon, and Mormonism, was given to us by our enemies, but Latter Day Saints was the real name by which the Church was organized.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - We believe that no man can administer salvation through the Gospel, to the souls of men, in the name of Jesus Christ, except he is authorized from God, by revelation, or by being ordained by some one whom God hath sent by revelation, as it is written by Paul, Romans 10:14, "and how shall they believe in him, of who, they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? and how shall they preach, except they be sent?" and I will ask, how can they be sent without a revelation, or some other viable display of the manifestations of God. And again, Hebrews 5:4, "And no man taketh this honor unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron." -- And I would ask, how was Aaron called, but by revelation.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - Adam was a large broad shouldered man, and Eve, as a woman, was large in proportion.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - There is no salvation between the two lids of the Bible without a legal administrator.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith - A man who will whip is wife is a coward.
-- The Prophet Joseph Smith
Pres Ezra Taft Benson quotes- A great challenge and day of preparation is at hand for missionaries to meet and teach with the Book of Mormon. We need missionaries to match our message.
-- President Ezra Taft Benson - Character is the one thing we make in this world and take with us into the next.
-- President Ezra Taft Benson - No one can cuddle a cherished newborn baby... without deepening reverence for life and our creator.
-- President Ezra Taft Benson - The Book of Mormon brings men to Christ through two basic means. First, it tells in a plain manner of Christ and His gospel. It testifies of His divinity and of the necessity for a Redeemer. ... Second, the Book of Mormon exposes the enemies of Christ. It confounds false doctrines and lays down contention. ... It fortifies the humble followers of Christ against the evil designs, strategies, and doctrines of the devil in our day.
-- President Ezra Taft Benson - The Book of Mormon is not on trial--the people of the world, including the members of the Church, are on trial as to what they will do with this second witness of Christ.
-- President Ezra Taft Benson - The secret of a happy marriage is to serve God and each other.
-- President Ezra Taft Benson - The two groups who have the greatest difficulty in following the prophet are the proud who are learned and the proud who are rich. The learned may feel the prophet is only inspired when he agrees with them; otherwise, the prophet is just giving his opinion-speaking as a man. The rich may feel they have no need to take counsel of a lowly prophet.
-- President Ezra Taft Benson - His gospel is the perfect prescription for all human problems and social ills. But His gospel is effective only as it is applied in our lives. Therefore, we must 'feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell [us] all things what [we] should do.' (2 Nephi 32:3.) Unless we do His teachings, we do not demonstrate faith in Him.
-- President Ezra Taft Benson - One of the most important things you can do as priesthood leaders is to immerse yourselves in the scriptures. Search them diligently (see D&C 1:37; 3 Nephi 23:1). Feast upon the words of Christ (see 2 Nephi 31:20; 32:3). Learn the doctrine. Master the principles that are found therein. There are few other efforts that will bring greater dividends to your calling. There are few ways to gain greater inspiration as you serve.
-- President Ezra Taft Benson - Thoughts lead to acts, acts lead to habits, habits lead to character-and our character will determine our eternal destiny.
-- President Ezra Taft Benson - In the Book of Mormon we read that 'despair cometh because of iniquity.' (Moroni 10:22.) 'When I do good I feel good,' said Abraham Lincoln, 'and when I do bad I feel bad.' Sin pulls a man down into despondency and despair. While a man may take some temporary pleasure in sin, the end result is unhappiness. 'Wickedness never was happiness.' (Alma 41:10.) Sin creates disharmony with God and is depressing to the spirit. Therefore, a man would do well to examine himself to see that he is in harmony with all of God's laws. Every law kept brings a particular blessing. Every law broken brings a particular blight. Those who are heavy laden with despair should come unto the Lord, for his yoke is easy and his burden is light. (See Matt. 11:28-30.)"
-- President Ezra Taft Benson - If thoughts make us what we are and we are to be like Christ, then we must think Christlike thoughts.
-- President Ezra Taft Benson - I bear testimony that Joseph Smith was a prophet of the living God, one of the greatest prophets that has ever lived on the earth. He was the instrument in God's hand in ushering in the present gospel dispensation, the greatest of all, and the last of all in preparation for the second coming of the Master.
-- President Ezra Taft Benson - Studying and searching the scriptures is not a burden laid upon Saints by the Lord, but a marvelous blessing and opportunity. Note what the Lord Himself has said about the benefits of studying His word. To the great prophet-leader Joshua, He said: 'This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein; for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success' (Joshua 1:8). The Lord was not promising Joshua material wealth and fame, but that his life would prosper in righteousness and that he would have success in that which matters most in life, namely the quest to find true joy (see 2 Nephi 2:25).
-- President Ezra Taft Benson - Some people intend to make a decision and then never get around to it. They intend to paint the barn, to fix the fence, to haul away that old machinery or remove that old shed, but the time of decision just never arrives. Some of us face a similar situation in our personal lives. We intend to pay a full tithing, to begin keeping the Word of Wisdom, to make our initial home teaching visits early in the month. However, without actual decision followed by implementation, the weeks and months go by and nothing is accomplished. We could drift into eternity on these kinds of good intentions. Thus lack of decision becomes our decision not to do those good things for which we had the best of intentions. The Lord apparently sensed this weakness in his children, for he said: 'Wherefore, if ye believe me, ye will labor while it is called today.' (D&C 64:25) Get the facts—then decide promptly. As an excuse for postponing decisions, do not rely on the old clichés some people use, such as 'I want to sleep on it.' We don't make decisions in our sleep. However, don't jump to conclusions or make snap judgments. Get the facts, be sure of the basic principles, and weigh the consequences. Then decide!
-- President Ezra Taft Benson - I have noted within the Church the difference in discernment, in insight, conviction, and spirit between those who know and love the Book of Mormon and those who do not. That book is a great sifter.
-- President Ezra Taft Benson - Now God expects us to use the Book of Mormon in several ways. We are to read it ourselves-carefully, prayerfully, and ponder as we read, as to whether this book is the work of God or of an unlearned youth. And then when we are finished reading the things in the book, Moroni exhorts us to put them to the test, in these words: 'And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, He will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.' (Moro. 10:4.) I have done as Moroni exhorts, and I can testify to you that this book is from God and so is verily true.
-- President Ezra Taft Benson - It is the pure love of Christ, called charity, that the Book of Mormon testifies is the greatest of all-that never faileth, that endureth forever, that all men should have, and that without which they are nothing (see Moroni 7:44-47; 2 Nephi 26:30).
-- President Ezra Taft Benson - The great test of life is obedience to God. The great task of life is to learn the will of the Lord and then do it. The great commandment of life is to love the Lord.
-- President Ezra Taft Benson - It is better to prepare and prevent than to repair and repent!
-- President Ezra Taft Benson - At present, the Book of Mormon is studied in our Sunday School and seminary classes every fourth year. This four-year pattern, however, must not be followed by Church members in their personal and family study. We need to read daily from the pages of the book that will get a man 'nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.' (History of the Church, 4:461.) And when we are called upon to study or teach other scriptures, we need to strengthen that undertaking by frequent reference to the additional insights which the Book of Mormon may provide on the subject (see 1 Nephi 13:40, 2 Nephi 3:12).
-- President Ezra Taft Benson - The prophet Lehi also saw our day in his great visionary dream of the tree of life. He saw that many people would wander blindly in the mists of darkness, which symbolized the temptations of the devil. (See 1 Nephi 12:17.) He saw some fall away 'in forbidden paths,' others drown in rivers of filthiness, and still others wander in 'strange roads.' (1 Nephi 8:28, 32.) When we read of the spreading curse of drugs, or read of the pernicious flood of pornography and immorality, do any of us doubt that these are the forbidden paths and rivers of filthiness Lehi described?
-- President Ezra Taft Benson - The great test of life is obedience to God. The great task of life is to learn the will of the Lord and then do it. The great commandment of life is to love the Lord.
-- President Ezra Taft Benson - In the Lord's due time His Spirit 'wrought upon' Columbus, the pilgrims, the Puritans, and others to come to America. They testified of God's intervention in their behalf (see 1 Nephi 13:12-13). The Book of Mormon records that they humbled 'themselves before the Lord; and the power of the Lord was with them' (1 Nephi 13:16). Our Father in Heaven planned the coming forth of the Founding Fathers and their form of government as the necessary great prologue leading to the restoration of the gospel. Recall what our Savior Jesus Christ said nearly two thousand years ago when He visited this promised land: 'For it is wisdom in the Father that they should be established in this land, and be set up as a free people by the power of the Father, that these things might come forth' (3 Nephi 21:4). America, the land of liberty, was to be the Lord's latter-day base of operations for His restored church.
-- President Ezra Taft Benson - "The Book of Mormon exposes the enemies of Christ. It confounds false doctrines and lays down contention. (See 2 Nephi 3:12.) It fortifies the humble followers of Christ against the evil designs, strategies, and doctrines of the devil in our day. The type of apostates in the Book of Mormon are similar to the type we have today. God, with his infinite foreknowledge, so molded the Book of Mormon that we might see the error and know how to combat false educational, political, religious, and philosophical concepts of our time.
-- President Ezra Taft Benson - We are commanded to 'feast upon the words of Christ' and not just nibble (2 Nephi 32:3). Remember President Spencer W. Kimball's statement: 'I find that when I get casual in my relationships with divinity and when it seems that no divine ear is listening and no divine voice is speaking, that I am far, far away. If I immerse myself in the scriptures the distance narrows and the spirituality returns' (Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, ed. Edward L. Kimball [1982], p. 135). How many times did President Ezra Taft Benson urge us to read from the Book of Mormon daily? There is no other book that provides us with so much opportunity to 'feast on the words of Christ.' It really is another testament of Jesus Christ. Within its pages are 3,925 references to the Savior. On average, every 1.7 verses make reference to the Lord Jesus Christ. He is referred to by 101 different titles: Lord, Savior, Redeemer, the Only Begotten Son, the Good Shepherd, and so on. If you were to start on January 1st reading just two pages a day, by the time you came to September 22nd, you would have read the entire book. Are you reading from the scriptures every day? If not, now, this very day, is a good time to repent.
-- Joe J. Christensen - Becoming Christlike is a lifetime pursuit and very often involves growth and change that is slow, almost imperceptible. The scriptures record remarkable accounts of men whose lives changed dramatically, in an instant, as it were: Alma the Younger, Paul on the road to Damascus, Enos praying far into the night, King Lamoni. Such astonishing examples of the power to change even those steeped in sin give confidence that the Atonement can reach even those deepest in despair.
-- President Ezra Taft Benson - Just as a man does not really desire food until he is hungry, so he does not desire the salvation of Christ until he knows why he needs Christ. No one adequately and properly knows why he needs Christ until he understands and accepts the doctrine of the Fall and its effect upon all mankind. And no other book in the world explains this vital doctrine nearly as well as the Book of Mormon.
-- President Ezra Taft Benson - There can be no genuine happiness separate and apart from the home.
-- President Ezra Taft Benson - Eternal life, the greatest gift that God can give and the life for which we all should be striving, comes from knowing our Father in heaven and His Son, Jesus Christ. As the Savior said: 'This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.' (John 17:3.) We cannot know God and Jesus without studying about them and then doing their will. This course leads to additional revealed knowledge that, if obeyed, will eventually lead us to further truths. When we follow this pattern, we will receive further light and joy, eventually leading into God's presence where we, with Him, will have a fullness.
-- President Ezra Taft Benson - God can reveal to us our talents and our strengths so that we will know what we can build upon. Be assured that in all our righteous endeavors, we can say, as did Paul: 'I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.' (Philip. 4:13.) Also be assured, as Paul said further, that there will be no temptation befall us but what is common to man: but God will, with each temptation, provide a way to escape. (See 1 Cor. 10:13.)"
-- President Ezra Taft Benson - The greatest events of history are those that affect the greatest number for the longest periods. By this standard, no event could be more important to individuals or nations than the resurrection of the Master. The eventual resurrection of every soul who has lived and died on earth is a scriptural certainty, and surely there is no event for which one should make more careful preparation. A glorious resurrection should be the goal of every man and woman, for it is a reality. Nothing is more absolutely universal than the resurrection. Every living being will be resurrected. 'As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.' (1 Cor. 15:22.)
-- President Ezra Taft Benson - Man is at his best when complemented by a good woman's natural influence.
-- President Ezra Taft Benson
President Gordon B. Hinckley quotes- All of us have to deal with death at one time or another, but to have in one's heart a solid conviction concerning the reality of eternal life is to bring a sense of peace in an hour of tragedy that can come from no other source under the heavens.
-- President Gordon B. Hinckley - Brethren, we can do better!
-- President Gordon B. Hinckley - The race is not always to the swift nor the battle to the strong (Ecclesiastes 9:11). Life's winners are generally those who endure to the end.
-- President Gordon B. Hinckley - There is nothing in this world so satisfying as a task well done.
-- President Gordon B. Hinckley - We cannot begin to measure or calculate the influence of women who, in their own ways, build stable home life and nurture for everlasting good the generations of the future.
-- President Gordon B. Hinckley - That knowledge comes from the word of scripture, and that testimony comes by the power of the Holy Ghost. It is a gift, sacred and wonderful, borne by revelation from the third member of the Godhead. I believe in the Holy Ghost as a personage of spirit who occupies a place with the Father and the Son, these three constituting the divine Godhead.
-- President Gordon B. Hinckley - It is in this spirit that I add my own witness. Our Eternal Father lives. He stands as the great God of the universe, ruling in majesty and power. And yet He is my Father, to whom I may go in prayer with the assurance that He will hear, listen, and answer. Jesus is the Christ, His immortal Son, who under His Father's direction was the Creator of the earth. He was the great Jehovah of the Old Testament, who condescended to come into the world as the Messiah, who gave His life on Calvary's cross in His wondrous Atonement because He loved us. The work in which we are engaged is their work, and we are their servants, who are answerable to them.
-- President Gordon B. Hinckley - Pay your tithes that you may be worthy of the Lord's blessings. I will not promise that you will become wealthy. But I bear testimony that the Lord does reward generously in one way or another those who keep His commandments. And I assure you that no investment counselor to whom you may go can promise you as the Lord has promised: 'I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise.' (D&C 82:10.) The Lord honors His covenants.
-- President Gordon B. Hinckley - I believe without equivocation or reservation in God, the Eternal Father. He is my Father, the Father of my spirit, and the Father of the spirits of all men. He is the great Creator, the Ruler of the universe. He directed the creation of this earth on which we live. In his image man was created. He is personal. He is real. He is individual. He has 'a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man's.'
-- President Gordon B. Hinckley - No nation can rise above the strength of its homes or the virtue of its people.
-- Gordon B. Hinckley - I don't hesitate to say if every family in the world practiced [family home evening], you'd see a very great difference in the solidarity of the families of the world.
-- President Gordon B. Hinckley - No nation can rise above the strength of its homes or the virtue of its people.
-- President Gordon B. Hinckley - If we are to build that Zion of which the prophets have spoken and of which the Lord has given mighty promise, we must set aside our consuming selfishness. We must rise above our love for comfort and ease, and in the very process of effort and struggle, even in our extremity, we shall become better acquainted with our God.
-- President Gordon B. Hinckley - Could any language be more explicit? Does it demean God, as some would have us believe, that man was created in his express image? Rather, it should stir within the heart of every man and woman a greater appreciation for himself or herself as a son or daughter of God. Paul's words to the Corinthian Saints are as applicable to us today as they were to those to whom he wrote. Said he: 'Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.' (1 Corinthians 3:16-17)
-- President Gordon B. Hinckley - This, my brethren and sisters, is our divine right-to choose. This is our divine obligation-to choose the right.
-- President Gordon B. Hinckley - This gospel is an intimate thing. It is not some distant concept. It is applicable in our lives. It can change our very natures.
-- President Gordon B. Hinckley - Our kindness may be the most persuasive argument for that which we believe.
-- President Gordon B. Hinckley - Let us turn from the negativism that so permeates our culture and look for the good. Let us speak of one another's virtues more than we speak of one another's faults.
-- President Gordon B. Hinckley - Here is the kernel of the whole matter. We need not worry about consensus, or reason, or opinion in matters of right and wrong. "The Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil." Most of us know better than we do. As we discipline ourselves in line with our knowledge, in line with the inner convictions of our hearts, rather than the inclination to follow the crowd, we grow.
-- President Gordon B. Hinckley - I believe in the triumph of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the triumph of the Church and kingdom of God on the earth. If ever your faith is inclined to weaken as you see the onward march of evil and oppression, read again the story of Daniel who, putting his trust in the 'God in heaven that revealeth secrets,' interpreted Nebuchadnezzar's dream. He said concerning our day that the God of heaven shall 'set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these [other] kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.' (Dan. 2:44.)
-- President Gordon B. Hinckley - When all is said and done, when all of history is examined, when the deepest depths of the human mind have been explored, nothing is so wonderful, so majestic, so tremendous as this act of grace when the Son of the Almighty, the Prince of His Father's royal household, He who had once spoken as Jehovah, He who had condescended to come to earth as a babe born in Bethlehem, gave His life in ignominy and pain so that all of the sons and daughters of God of all generations of time, every one of whom must die, might walk again and live eternally. He did for us what none of us could do for ourselves.
-- President Gordon B. Hinckley - It is not God who has given us the spirit of fear; this comes from the adversary. So many of us are fearful of what our peers will say, that we will be looked upon with disdain and criticized if we stand for what is right. But I remind you that "wickedness never was happiness" (Alma 41:10). Evil never was happiness. Sin never was happiness. Happiness lies in the power and the love and the sweet simplicity of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
-- President Gordon B. Hinckley - Let us be good citizens of the nations in which we live. Let us be good neighbors in our communities. Let us acknowledge the diversity of our society, recognizing the good in all people. We need not make any surrender of our theology. But we can set aside any element of suspicion, of provincialism, of parochialism.
-- President Gordon B. Hinckley - To every officer, to every teacher in this Church who acts in a priesthood office, there comes the sacred responsibility of magnifying that priesthood calling. Each of us is responsible for the welfare and the growth and development of others. We do not live only unto ourselves. If we are to magnify our callings, we cannot live only unto ourselves. As we serve with diligence, as we teach with faith and testimony, as we lift and strengthen and build convictions of righteousness in those whose lives we touch, we magnify our priesthood. To live only unto ourselves, on the other hand, to serve grudgingly, to give less than our best effort to our duty, diminishes our priesthood just as looking through the wrong lenses of binoculars reduces the image and makes more distant the object.
-- President Gordon B. Hinckley - The course of our lives is not determined by great awesome decisions. Our direction is set by the little day-to-day choices which chart the track on which we run.
-- President Gordon B. Hinckley - No system can long command the loyalties of man that does not expect of them certain measures of discipline, and particularly of self-discipline.
-- President Gordon B. Hinckley - Never assume that you can make it alone. You need the help of the Lord. Never hesitate to get on your knees in some private place and speak with Him. What a marvelous and wonderful thing is prayer. Think of it. We can actually speak with our Father in Heaven. He will hear and respond, but we need to listen to that response. Nothing is too serious and nothing too unimportant to share with Him. He has said, 'Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest' (Matthew 11:28). He continues, 'For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light' (v. 30).
-- President Gordon B. Hinckley - In summary, try a little harder to measure up to the divine within each of you. As Alma said, 'Awake and arouse your faculties' (Alma 32:27).
-- President Gordon B. Hinckley - We seldom get into trouble when we speak softly.
-- President Gordon B. Hinckley - 'And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.' (Matthew 16:13-18.) This rock of revelation is the source of knowledge concerning the things of God. It is the witness of the Holy Spirit that testifies of eternal truth, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against any man who seeks it, who accepts it, who cultivates it, and who lives by it.
-- President Gordon B. Hinckley - He was buried in a borrowed tomb and on the third day rose from the grave. He came forth triumphant, in a victory over death, the firstfruits of all that slept. With his resurrection came the promise to all men that life is everlasting, that even as in Adam all die, in Christ all are made alive. (See 1 Cor. 15:20-22.) Nothing in all of human history equals the wonder, the splendor, the magnitude, or the fruits of the matchless life of the Son of God, who died for each of us. He is our Savior. He is our Redeemer. As Isaiah foretold, 'His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.' (Isa. 9:6.) "The Cornerstones of Our Faith"
-- President Gordon B. Hinckley - Gordon B. Hinckley, Prophet of the LDS Church, said this: "the stultifying effects of prison." The definition of the word stultify: to impair, invalidate, or make ineffective; to have a dulling or inhibiting effect on. This is the most sublime description of what I see happening to a majority of our long-term-incarcerated offenders.
-- Lee Crites
Elder Neal A. Maxwell quotes- The harrowing of the soul can be like the harrowing of the soil; To increase the yield, things are turned upside down.
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - When times of adversity occur, we can either murmur, or ponder.
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - You rock a sobbing child without wondering if today's world is passing you by, because you know you hold tomorrow tightly in your arms.
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - Concerning all of these challenges, a loving God said of us, as we stood on the edge of this mortal experience, 'We will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them.' (Abraham 3:25) Should this stern reminder not be adequate concerning how serious God is about schooling and stretching us, then let us ponder what the Savior said to the Prophet Joseph Smith, who was in the midst of being proved: 'All these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good.' (D&C 122:7)
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - Significantly, those who look forward to a next and better world are usually 'anxiously engaged' in improving this one, for they 'always abound in good works' (D&C 58:27; Alma 7:24).
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - Seventy years ago, Lord Moulton coined a perceptive phrase, 'obedience to the unenforceable,' describing 'the obedience of a man to that which he cannot be forced to obey.' God's blessings, including those associated with consecration, come by unforced obedience to the laws upon which they are predicated (see D&C 130:20-21). Thus our deepest desires determine our degree of 'obedience to the unenforceable.' God seeks to have us become more consecrated, by giving everything. Then, when we come home to Him, He will generously give us 'all that [He] hath' (see D&C 84:38).
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - All of the godly attributes, to the degree developed through our 'diligence and obedience,' will actually rise with us in the resurrection, giving us 'so much the advantage in the world to come' (D&C 130:19). After we leave this life there will be no sudden setting apart that will, for instance, make us instantly perfect in the attribute of patience. Instead, we are to 'work out' this dimension of our exaltation now and subsequently. Hence it is best to aim for steady progression rather than to be intimidated and immobilized by the concept of being perfect or 'finished or completed.' We should display diligent discipleship but not expect it all to happen either at once or easily.
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - We must be willing to let our gears of commitment be hammered and shaped so that they mesh with life's opportunities in ways that are crucial.
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - Hearing, really hearing, will bring obeying. Those who are thus submissive are not content to 'live by bread alone' but instead live 'by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord' (Deuteronomy 8:3; Matthew 4:4).
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - It is accurate to say also that, when we are living well enough, the promptings of the Spirit will guide us in tactical matters (telling us all things we should do [see 2 Nephi 32:3]). Once we really know the 'what' and the 'why,' the 'how' will become clear.
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - Without our individual refining, therefore, life would become merely a pass-through, audited course--not a course for credit. Only in the latter arrangement can our experiences and our performances be sanctified for our own everlasting good (see 2 Nephi 32:9). Mortality therefore is not a convenient, suburban, drive-around beltway with a view. Instead it passes slowly through life's inner city. Daily it involves real perspiration, real perplexity, real choosing, real suffering--and real refining!
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - Striving to incorporate these cardinal qualities makes us more saintly and helps us immeasurably to endure it well. Significantly, submissiveness, that reverent expression of enduring, is mentioned twice. Giving enduring extra emphasis is capped by directing that we 'submit to' and endure 'all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon [us], even as a child doth submit to his father' (Mosiah 3:19). Much of enduring well requires this reverent submissiveness. The living Church greatly facilitates living discipleship in which opportunities and reminders of the needed virtues are all about us.
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - Mostly, brothers and sisters, we become the victims of our own wrong desires. Moreover, we live in an age when many simply refuse to feel responsible for themselves. Thus, a crystal-clear understanding of the doctrines pertaining to desire is so vital because of the spreading effluent oozing out of so many unjustified excuses by so many. This is like a sludge which is sweeping society along toward 'the gulf of misery and endless wo.' (Hel. 5:12). Feeding the same flow is the selfish philosophy of 'no fault,' which is replacing the meek and apologetic 'my fault.' (Ensign, November 1996, p. 21)"
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - Day in and day out the same Lord who parted the Red Sea so that Israel might escape Egypt provides ways for us to escape temptation (see 1 Corinthians 10:13). 'By very small means,' Alma told his son, 'the Lord... bringeth about the salvation of many souls' (Alma 37:7). Scale, therefore, is not the sole measure of spiritual significance; for 'out of small things proceedeth that which is great' (D&C 64:33).
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - Sensual individuals crave and live by sensations. Disciples, instead, walk and 'overcome by faith' (D&C 76:53), accepting gratefully the evidence of things not seen which are true (see Heb. 11:1; Alma 32:21) and using quietly God's spiritual gifts.
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - Yes, you and I should count our blessings, but we should also make them count!
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - When one decides whether or not to deal with hard doctrines, the tendency is to put them off or to be put off by them. Not only are they in some respects puzzling, but they may even offend our mortal pride. Just as there are some good deeds we do gladly and quickly (while others are put off time and again), so it is with certain gospel truths: we accept some with joy and alacrity, but others we keep at arm's length. The hardness is usually not in their complexity, but in the deep demands these doctrines make of us. They are actually harder to accept than to understand, for there is a breathtaking simplicity about them.
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - Each temptation is real, but so is faith in one's identity. Each affliction is to some degree tormenting, but the plan of salvation reassures us about ourselves and outcomes. An irritation will be keenly felt, but it can be overcome by seeing the irritation for what it often is-including seeing it as an extrusion of yet untamed ego! With faith, as did Joseph anciently under serious temptation, one can self-interrogate: 'How... can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?' Joseph knew his own identity and the responsibility it carried. He went further, however, even reminding his temptress of her own identity and responsibility, noting that her husband 'hath [not] kept back anything from me but thee, because thou art his wife.' (See Genesis 39:7-20) The natural man, however, does not put such relevant questions to himself.
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - The gross size of our talent inventories is less important than the net use of our talents.
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - Without balance and pace, therefore, our weaknesses become even more pronounced, causing some of us who would not chastise a neighbor for his frailties to have a field day with our own. Some of us stand before no more harsh a judge than ourselves, sometimes dealing more justly with others than with ourselves. (See Ether 10:11.) Pace is so essential to personal progress lest we magnify our weaknesses instead of our callings.
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - In the economy of heaven, God does not send thunder if a still, small voice is enough, or a prophet if a priest can do the job.
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - Often our best effort is not fully effectual because of someone else's worst effort.
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - We can honestly acknowledge, in those moments of wonderment about our mattering, that if we were to die today, we would be genuinely and deeply missed. Perhaps parliaments would not praise us, but no human circle is so small that it does not touch another circle and another and another.
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - We [need to] make quiet but more honest inventories of our strengths. Most of us are dishonest bookkeepers and need confirming "outside auditors." He who in the first estate was thrust down delights in having us put ourselves down. Self-contempt is of Satan; there is none of it in heaven. We should, of course, learn from our mistakes, but without forever viewing the instant replays lest these become the game of life itself.
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - We [need to] learn that at the center of our agency is our freedom to form a healthy attitude toward whatever circumstances we are placed in. Those, for instance, who stretch themselves in service, though laced with limiting diseases, are often the healthiest among us. The strong Spirit can drive weak flesh beyond where the body first agrees to go!
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - Clearly, we are to help each other in the journey along the straight and narrow path. Even though such helping seems to drain us of energy and surely takes precious time, it will actually strengthen us. We will become more like Him whose followers we are.
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - The prophet Nephi, who had progressed and advanced spiritually to a remarkable degree, still lamented about "sins which do so easily beset me." (2 Nephi 4:18.) Obviously, Nephi's sins were not major. But just as God cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance (D&C 1:31), as we become more like Him, neither can we. The best people have a heightened awareness of what little of the worst is still in them! Indeed, the divine discontent, the justifiable spiritual restlessness that we feel, is a natural follow-on feeling in the disciple who has taken the Lord's counsel to "make you a new heart and a new spirit." (Ezekiel 18:31.) The "new" in us is bound to notice the "old" that remains.
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - Moreover, Latter-day Saints need to remember that we who live now are being called upon to work out our salvation in a special time of intense and immense challenges—the last portion of the dispensation of the fullness of times during which great tribulation and temptation will occur, the elect will almost be deceived, and unrighteous people will be living much as they were in the days of Noah. It will be a time of polarization, as the Twelve fore saw in their declaration of 1845. Hardness of heart in many will produce other manifestations of hardness and coarseness. Civility will be one casualty of these conditions, and a lowered capacity to achieve reconciliation, whether in a marriage or between interest groups, will be another.
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - Let us, therefore, notwithstanding our weaknesses, be reassured that the everyday keeping of the commandments and the doing of our duties is what it is all about. Customized and immediate reinforcement will come to us as we meet our challenges: "And secondly, he doth require that ye should do as he hath commanded you; for which if ye do, he doth immediately bless you; and therefore he hath paid you. And ye are still indebted unto him, and are, and will be, forever and ever; therefore, of what have ye to boast?" (Mosiah 2:24.)
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - If we are righteous and faithful, we will come to see, as did Joseph of Egypt, that character is often developed in the cauldron of trial, for the seeming tragedy of his youth contained within it opportunities (which did not fully appear for many years) to "save much people alive." (Genesis 50:20.) "Much" probably was millions who were fed by Joseph's national food storage plan. The evil intent of Joseph's brothers was folded into the plans of God, who knows the beginning from the end and all that is in between.
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - It was Dostoevsky who warned (in a grim foreshadowing of the secular state) that "love toward men... without belief in God, very naturally leads to the greatest coercion over men and turns their lives completely into hell on earth." Those who rule and govern without any real allegiance to God may use the rhetoric of serving "the people," but they will end up doing wrong things for and to "the people." Whether because of ignorance or malice, such individuals will misread mankind's identity or purpose, and this misreading inevitably means misery. Furthermore, as Brigham Young observed, "Man's machinery makes things alike" (JD 9:370), while God gives to seemingly like individuals pleasing differences. Secularism is no friend of righteous individuality.
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - Each step toward singlemindedness in our worship of God squeezes out some of our selfishness, for so much of the overcoming of this world consists of overcoming selfishness.
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - When we truly love God, we are released from the cruel constraints of our own egos. As our capacity to love increases, we go beyond the giving of time and talents and means—on to the full giving of self. Presently, so many of us send checks where we are not willing to go. So many of us give our time, but our hearts and minds are elsewhere.
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - As we learn so to love, we will become more lovable, making much less taxing the task others have of loving us. Our neighbors will be better treated as we become better, for righteousness is more self-reinforcing than evil is.
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - God is anxious to take us as far as we who are weak are willing to go in this journey toward perfection. It will not be He who disappoints. He knows our possibilities and will not settle for less, though, alas, we may. He knows what we need, while we merely know what we want.
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - But keeping the first commandment [to love God with all our heart, might, mind, and strength] is an act of high trust; we turn ourselves over to our Father and finally give Him all that we have. Happily, He has said that, one day, we can enter His presence and receive all that He has. But we simply cannot contain all that He has to give until we are first emptied and then expanded. Until then, we are only part-time and seasonal workers in His vineyard.
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - Such love of the Lord requires that we become trustingly patient as experiences come to us that God deems are for our good. We must, on this side of the veil, wait out the inexplicable things, maintaining serenity as the storms beat upon us and as the winds of derision howl. We must be willing to submit ourselves "to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict" upon us. (Mosiah 3:19.) This is the unconditional submittal of the soul that lies at the very center of the first great commandment; there can be no holding back. Only as we thus come close to the living Lord can we honestly say, in the midst of the fiery trials of life, "Not as I will, but as thou wilt." (Matthew 26:39.)
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - Just as the love of God for us is unconditional, one day ours for Him must be likewise. This is what the first commandment is all about. But even then, the adoration and awe we have developed for God will take humble notice of the eternal fact, stressed by John, that God loved us first. (See 1 John 4:19.) As we come closer to Him, we not only "stand all amazed" -- we even kneel all amazed!
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - Those who disavow the existence of certain absolute truths must forever forgo disapproving of anything on moral grounds. They may try to evoke a social or political response by using the old words that went with the old values, but they will soon learn that words cannot, for long, be appropriated productively minus their moral content.
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - Efforts to move away from our traditional values, such as belief in God, produce terrible paradoxes. Decrease the belief in God, for instance, and you increase the numbers of those who wish to play at being God. Such societal supervisors deny the existence of divine standards but are very serious about imposing their own—or the lack of them.
It is no accident that the lessening, or loss, of belief in certain absolute truths, such as the existence of God and the reality of immortality, has occurred at the same time there has been a sharp gain in the size and power of governments.
Once we remove belief in God from the center of our lives, as the source of truth and as a determiner of justice, a tremendous vacuum is created into which selfishness surges, a condition that governments delight in managing.
Tens of thousands of regulations emerging from governments receive attention not given the Ten Commandments, perhaps because the Ten Commandments, which are so much a part of our Judeo-Christian heritage, are not flexible; they resist rationalization. Any amendments to the Ten Commandments could come only from the original Source. We cannot amend the seventh commandment to read, for instance, "Thou shalt not commit adultery except between consenting adults."
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - Ambivalence is a hindrance, and indecision is a decision.
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - Human hyperbole is an unreliable source of perspective.
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - Moroni asked rhetorically, "What should we hope for?" and, responding, said: "Behold I say unto you that ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal, and this because of your faith in him according to the promise." (Moroni 7:41.)
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - Thus gospel hope is a very focused and particularized hope that is based upon justified expectations. It is a virtue that is intertwined with faith and charity, which virtues are not to be understood either when they are torn apart from each other or apart from the Lord Jesus Christ, without whom they are all vague virtues. Doubt and despair go together, whereas faith and hope are constant companions. Those, for instance, who "hope" in vain for (and speak of) the day of world peace when men "shall beat their swords into plowshares" ignore the reality that the millennial dawn will be ushered in only by the second coming of Jesus Christ. Neither secular rhetoric nor secular assemblies will succeed in bringing lasting peace to this planet. Secularists, meanwhile, have ironically appropriated the Lord's language of hope while denying Him! It is He and His ways alone that can bring about such desirable conditions. There will be no millennium without the Master.
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - The Spirit can teach us of 'things as they really are' - not just as they appear to be, according to conventional wisdom. Contrariwise, the flesh looks at the outward things, drawing its conclusions from surface appearances (1 Samuel 16:7). The opinions of the flesh, it turns out, are no more reliable than the arm of flesh! Faith, meanwhile, carries us forward even before the full flood of fact reaches and lifts us. Since meekness is not natural to the natural man, however, we must 'learn' some things over and over again - until we get it right! Faith and meekness make allowance for the role of such repeated experiences in Father's plan. Repetition is part of God's long-suffering in our behalf.
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - If we have this kind of ultimate hope, there is no room for proximate despair. If the big things that really matter are finally going to work out in eternity, then the little things that go wrong mortally are not cause for desperation but perhaps only for a little frustration and irritation.
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - Thus it is that our faith and trust in our Heavenly Father, so far as this mortal experience is concerned, consists not simply of faith and gladness that He exists, but is also a faith and trust that, if we are humble, He will tutor us, aiding our acquisition of needed attributes and experiences while we are in mortality. We trust not only the Designer but also His design of life itself, including our portion thereof!
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - Along with believing in the gospel, we need to believe in our own possibilities - not as to status, but as to power to do good. God could surprise - yes, even stun - each of us here today if we could manage such divine disclosures. Such must usually be kept from us (or can only be hinted at) for now. But specific and special opportunities are pending for every person here today, if we can trust God and do each day's duties and bear our present pain.
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - The struggle is intense along the pathway to perfection, yet it is a trek necessitated by Jesus' having asked up to become 'even as I am' (3 Nephi 27:27). Through the Prophet Joseph Smith, either by translation or revelation, great insights came concerning this deepening of one's discipleship.
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - Given the choices made by some, we all end up with more protected pornography than protected children. Of course better self-restraint than censorship, but urging self-restraint on hedonists is like discouraging Dracula from hanging around the blood bank.
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - An omnicompetent God leaves all mortals free to choose, but how grateful we should be that God chose long, long ago to rescue and to resurrect all His children through the Atonement of His Son. Nevertheless, some reject and many are indifferent to these and other divine beckonings, mostly because they are too caught up in the cares of the world. They are strangers to the Savior, who is far from the thoughts and intents of their hearts. (see Mosiah 5:13)
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - Let us be articulate, for while our defense of the kingdom may not stir all hearers, the absence of thoughtful response may cause fledglings among the faithful to falter.
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - Ego trips are almost always made on someone else's expense account.
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - Because God wants us to come home after having become more like Him and His Son, part of this developmental process, of necessity, consists of showing unto us our weaknesses. Hence, if we have ultimate hope we will be submissive, because, with His help, those weaknesses can even become strengths (see Ether 12:27).
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - When we take Jesus' yoke upon us, this admits us eventually to what Paul called the "fellowship of [Christ's] sufferings" (Philip. 3:10). Whether illness or aloneness, injustice or rejection, etc., our comparatively small-scale sufferings, if we are meek, will sink into the very marrow of the soul. We then better appreciate not only Jesus' sufferings for us, but also His matchless character, moving us to greater adoration and even emulation.
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - The gospel of Jesus Christ clearly says to us as far as the world of truth and fact is concerned, there's nothing out there to be afraid of. The Latter- day Saint leans into learning with a gusto, or should.
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - The coming forth of the Book of Mormon is a marvelous episode not only in Church history but also in human history. You and I owe many people for their roles in bringing us the Book of Mormon, a book filled with plain and precious salvational truths which came forth by 'the gift and power of God' (Book of Mormon title page). Through the labors and sacrifices of many, the 'marvelous work and a wonder' foreseen by Isaiah (Isa. 29:14) restored vital truths which had been lost to mankind for centuries! We can best express our gratitude by reading and applying the teachings of the Book of Mormon.
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - Good homes are still the best source of good humans.
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - Even during these difficult times, members 'armed with righteousness' can do so many things. (1 Nephi 14:14.) We can have love at home, even though the love of many waxes cold in the world. (See Matt. 24:12.) We can have inner peace even though peace has been taken from the earth. (See D&C 1:35.)
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - Along with all the foregoing reasons for our individual repentance, Church members have a special rendezvous to keep, brothers and sisters. Nephi saw it. One future day, he said, Jesus' covenant people, 'scattered upon all the face of the earth,' will be 'armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory.' (1 Nephi 14:14.) This will happen, but only after more members become more saintly and more consecrated in conduct.
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - The Atonement is the chief expression of Christ's loving-kindness. He endured so many things. For instance, as prophesied, He was spat upon (see 1 Nephi. 19:9). As foretold, He was struck and scourged (see Mosiah 3:9). Likewise, He was offered vinegar and gall while aflame with thirst (see Ps. 69:21). Yet in His later description of His agonies, Jesus does not speak of those things. Instead, after the Atonement, there is no mention about His being spat upon, struck, or proffered vinegar and gall. Instead, Christ confides in us His chief anxiety, namely, that He 'would that [He] might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink' (D&C 19:18) -- especially desiring not to get partway through the Atonement and then pull back. Mercifully for all of us, He 'finished [His] preparations unto the children of men' (D&C 19:19). Jesus partook of history's bitterest cup without becoming bitter! Significantly, when He comes again in majesty and power, He will cite His aloneness, saying, 'I have trodden the wine-press alone' (D&C 133:50).
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - Damage to ourselves is sufficient reason to resist murmuring, but another obvious danger is it is contagiousness. Even faithful father Lehi, for one brief moment, got caught up in the contagion of murmuring. (See 1 Nephi 16:20.) Similarly, when Moses lapsed, very briefly, it was under exasperating pressure from rebels. (See Num. 20:7-12.) No one knows how to work a crowd better than the adversary. Instead of murmuring, therefore, being of good cheer is what is needed, and being of good cheer is equally contagious. We have clear obligations to so strengthen each other by doing things 'with cheerful hearts and countenances.' (Doctrine and Covenants 59:15; see also Doctrine and Covenants 81:5.)"
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - When we rejoice in beautiful scenery, great art, and great music, it is but the flexing of instincts acquired in another place and another time.
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - In the cumulative process of living, today's small inflection for good adds to what becomes tomorrow's mountain of character. A bad inflection in a defining moment, however, gouges a little more in what later becomes the eroded gully channeling us so swiftly into the 'gulf of misery' (2 Nephi 1:13). Life's experiences of boredom, exhilaration, deprivation, conflict, compromise, mistakes, successes, resentments, loving, excluding, belonging, repenting, and forgiving swirl about us constantly. How will immortal principles be applied by immortal individuals to these swirling situations?
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - At the center of the Father's plan is Jesus Christ, mankind's Redeemer. Yet, as foreseen, many judge Jesus 'to be a thing of naught' (1 Nephi 19:9), or 'consider him' merely 'a man.' (Mosiah 3:9.) Whether others deny or delimit Jesus, for us He is our Lord and Savior! Comparatively, brothers and sisters, it matters very little what people think of us, but it matters very much what we think of Him. It matters very little, too, who others say we are; what matters is who we say Jesus is. (See Matt. 16:13-17.)
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - As the Lord communicates with the meek and submissive, fewer decibels are required, and more nuances are received. Even the most meek, like Moses, learn overwhelming things they 'never had supposed.' (Moses 1:10.) But it is only the meek mind which can be so shown and so stretched -- not those, as Isaiah wrote, who 'are wise in their own eyes.' (Isaiah 5:21; see also 2 Nephi 9:29 and 2 Nephi 15:21.)
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - Life's disappointments often represent the debris of our failed, proximate hopes. Instead, however, I speak of the crucial need for ultimate hope. Ultimate hope is a different matter. It is tied to Jesus and the blessings of the great Atonement, blessings resulting in the universal Resurrection and the precious opportunity provided thereby for us to practice emancipating repentance, making possible what the scriptures call 'a perfect brightness of hope' (2 Nephi 31:20).
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - In the last days, happily, the Church will grow extensively, with its membership being 'scattered upon all the face of the earth' (1 Nephi 14:14). Nevertheless, its dominions will still be comparatively 'small' because of 'wickedness,' which will close the ears of many to the gospel message (see 1 Nephi 14:12). There will also be 'a great division among the people' (2 Nephi 30:10; see also D&C 63:54). This stressful polarization will, ironically, help in the final shaking of that strange confederacy, the 'kingdom of the devil,' in order that the honest in heart, even therein, may receive the truth (2 Nephi 28:19).
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - Real Christianity is contagious.
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - In the anguishing process of repentance, we may sometimes feel God has deserted us. The reality is that our behavior has isolated us from Him. Thus, while we are turning away from evil but have not yet turned fully to God, we are especially vulnerable. Yet we must not give up, but, instead, reach out to God's awaiting arm of mercy, which is outstretched 'all the day long.' (Jacob 5:47; Jacob 6:4; 2 Nephi 28:32; Mormon 5:11.) Unlike us, God has no restrictive office hours.
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - Benjamin was not an 'I told you so' leader. He was genuinely concerned with whether or not his words had been received and applied. He also recognized the role of the family in teaching and implementing the commitments of discipleship. (See Mosiah 2:5-6; Mosiah 6:3.) He apparently did as the Savior did when He taught intensively and then directed His hearers to go and discuss with their families that which had been taught. (See 3 Nephi 17:3.)
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - Listening is one of the forms of love.
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - But this road of discipleship which we are considering here is not easy. It requires sturdy, all-weather souls who are constant in every season of life and who are not easily stalled or thrown off course. Likewise, even with this accurate view of the mortal experience we still need time and the wise use of our moral agency. We still need God's long-suffering to help us. We need all of these combined in order to gain experience in life. Amid this ongoing process, you and I can actually come to know for ourselves, like Alma of old, who 'fasted and prayed many days that I might know' that these immortal principles are true (Alma 5:46).
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - Life in the Church soon teaches us that the Lord does not ask us about our ability, but only about our availability. And then, if we demonstrate our dependability, the Lord will increase our capability.
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - Brethren, as you submit your wills to God, you are giving Him the only thing you can actually give Him that is really yours to give. Don't wait too long to find the altar or to begin to place the gift of your wills upon it! No need to wait for a receipt; the Lord has His own special ways of acknowledging.
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - It is up to us. Therein lies life's greatest and most persistent challenge. Thus when people are described as 'having lost their desire for sin,' it is they, and they only, who deliberately decided to lose those wrong desires by being willing to 'give away all [their] sins' in order to know God (Alma 22:18).
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - Many in the world hold back from making the 'leap of faith' because they have already jumped to some other conclusions -- often the conclusions of Korihor, which are: God never was nor ever will be; there is not a redeeming Christ; man cannot know the future; man cannot know of that which he cannot see; whatsoever a man does is no crime; and death is the end. (See Alma 30:13-18.) The number of modern-day adherents to the Korihor conclusions will grow.
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - Church membership is not passive security but continuing opportunity.
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - The winds of tribulation, which blow out some men's candles of commitment, only fan the fires of faith of [others].
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - Joshua didn't say choose ye next year whom you will serve.
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - There is an inseparable connection between the keeping of the commandments and the well-being of society.
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - Experience by experience, faith can yield to knowledge 'in that thing,' meaning the particularized verifications of gospel truths. (Alma 32:34.) It was so with the brother of Jared: 'He had faith no longer, for he knew.' (Ether 3:19.) Brigham Young assured that 'every principle God has revealed carries its own convictions of its truth to the human mind.' (In Journal of Discourses, 9:149.) Jesus clearly declared that 'if any man will do his will, he shall know.' (John 7:17.) However, Jesus described the steady process as being one of 'line upon line, precept upon precept.' (D&C 98:12.)
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - Our glimpse of Gethsemane should teach us that all prayers are petitions.
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - As we see ourselves, and others, passing through fiery trials, the wisdom of Peter, who had his own share of fiery trials, is very useful: 'Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you.' (1 Peter 4:12.) We do know, however, that God will not suffer us to be tempted above what we can bear. 'There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape.' (1 Corinthians 10:13.) God carefully scales 'all these things,' since we cannot bear all things now. He has told us: 'Behold, ye are little children and ye cannot bear all things now; ye must grow in grace and in the knowledge of the truth.' (DNC 50:40.)
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - The dues of discipleship are high indeed, and how much we can take so often determines how much we can then give! I believe it was George MacDonald who observed that in the process of life, we are not always the already-tempered and helpful hammer which is shaping and pounding another. Sometimes we are merely the anvil. Thus, as already indicated, patience is a vital virtue in relation to our faith, our free agency, our attitude toward life, our humility, and our suffering. Moreover, patience will not be an obsolete attribute in the next world!
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - With the enemy combined, it is so vital to keep 'in the right way.' (Moroni 6:4.) Orthodoxy in thought and behavior brings safety and felicity as the storms come, including 'every wind of doctrine.' (See Eph. 4:14.) Happily, amid such winds the Holy Ghost not only helps us to recognize plain truth but also plain nonsense!
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - I've tried to emphasize repentance, one of the most vital and merciful doctrines of the kingdom. It is too little understood, too little applied by us all, as if it were merely a word on a bumper sticker. Since we have been told clearly by Jesus what manner of men and women we ought to become -- even as He is (see 3 Nephi 27:27) -- how can we do so, except each of us employs repentance as the regular means of personal progression? Personal repentance is part of taking up the cross daily. (See Luke 9:23.) Without it, clearly there could be no 'perfecting of the Saints.' (Eph. 4:12.)"
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - Paul told Timothy, his young brother in the gospel, 'All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, ...for instruction in righteousness' (2 Timothy 3:16). Obviously, all our canonized scriptures today, the Church's standard works, have come to us through men who at the time were living prophets to their people. These writings plus the inspired words of prophets of this dispensation, including those now living, constitute God's word to us.
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - Thanksgiving is historically and rightly connected with the sense of annual blessings of the harvest. Such annualized pauses (whether for Christmas, Easter, etc.) can cause us to ponder and reflect concerning all of that which is good. However, we should not only celebrate our annual Thanksgiving but gladly affirm by our attitudes and behavior the great and continual blessing of life itself.
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - There are times when the only way the strait and narrow path can be followed is on one's knees!
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - God does not send thunder if a still, small voice is enough.
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - Later, when we look back after the trip through the veil, our anxieties will turn out to be naive and perhaps even amusing. After all, in gospel grammar, death is not an exclamation point, merely a comma.
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - Daily hope is vital, since the "Winter Quarters" of our lives are not immediately adjacent to our promised land... Those with true hope often see their personal circumstances shaken, like kaleidoscopes, again and again. Yet with the "eye of faith," they still see divine pattern and purpose.
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - We should not complain about or own life's not being a rose garden when we remember who wore the crown of thorns.
-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell
President David O. McKay quotes- A man can give no greater lesson to his children than that he loves their mother.
-- President David O. McKay - No other earthly success can compensate for failure in the home.
-- President David O. McKay - A person's reaction to his appetites and impulses when they are aroused gives the measure of that person's character.
-- President David O. McKay - The gospel of Jesus Christ can make bad men good and good men better, can alter human nature, can change human lives.
-- President David O. McKay - What think ye of Christ? ... To the Church, and to the world, I repeat this question as being the most vital, the most far-reaching query in this unsettled, distracted world.
-- President David O. McKay - Happiness is one of the aims of the gospel; not pain, not grief, not gloom, not pleasure. There is a difference between pleasure and happiness. Happiness is the joy of the soul, always. The Prophet Joseph Smith declared that, 'Happiness is the object and design of our existence, and will be the end thereof if we pursue the path that leads to it.' And this path is virtue, uprightness, faithfulness, holiness, and living all the commandments of God.
-- President David O. McKay - Men may choose the right or they may choose the wrong; they may walk in darkness or they may walk in the light; and, mind you, God has not left his children without the light. He has given them in the various dispensations of the world the light of the gospel wherein they could walk and not stumble, wherein they could find that peace and happiness which he desires, as a loving Father, his children should enjoy, but the Lord does not take from them their free agency.
-- President David O. McKay - President David O. McKay focused our thinking on the purpose of our earthly existence in 1969 when he said: 'Keep in mind that man's earthly existence is but a test as to whether he will concentrate his efforts, his mind, his soul upon things which contribute to the comfort and gratification of his physical nature, or whether he will make as his life's purpose the acquisition of spiritual qualities.'
- True happiness comes only by making others happy -- the practical application of the Savior's doctrine of losing one's life to gain it.
-- President David O. McKay - Three influences in home life awaken reverence in children and contribute to its development in their souls. These are gentle guidance, courtesy by parents to each other and to children, and prayer in which children participate.
-- President David O. McKay - The first condition of happiness is a clear conscience.
-- David O. McKay - The real test of any Church or religion is the kind of men it makes.
-- President David O. McKay - If there were more reverence in human hearts, there would be less room for sin and sorrow.
-- President David O. McKay - I believe that there is in every human soul a something good calling for something better.
-- President David O. McKay - Thoughts that most frequently occupy the mind determine a man's course of action.
-- President David O. McKay - Thankfulness is measured by the number of words; gratitude is measured by the nature of our actions.
-- President David O. McKay - To be alive only to appetite, pleasure, pride, money-making, and not to goodness and kindness, purity and love, poetry, music, flowers, stars, God and eternal hopes, is to deprive one's self of the real joy of living.
-- President David O. McKay - People look at you six days in the week to see what you mean on the Sabbath.
-- President David O. McKay - We find two classes into which all mankind may be divided -- the builders and the murmurers.
-- President David O. McKay - To be honest means that we are in harmony with divine law.
-- President David O. McKay - There is no development of character without resistance; there is no growth of spirituality without overcoming.
-- President David O. McKay
Elder Thomas S. Monson quotes- Prayer surely is the passport to spiritual power. You can pray with purpose when you realize who you are and what Heavenly Father wants you to become.
-- President Thomas S. Monson - Balanced service is a virtue to be cherished. There is to be time in our life to serve God, to serve our family, to serve our country and community, to serve our employer. Wise persons budget available time so that no significant area of one's life falls into a state of neglect. An axiom to follow: 'When you play--play hard. When you work--don't play at all.'
-- President Thomas S. Monson - So I would plead with all to rid from our lives any spirit of contention, any spirit wherein we might vie one with another for the spoils of life, but rather that we might cooperatively work with our brethren and with our sisters for the fruits of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
-- President Thomas S. Monson - So I would plead with all to rid from our lives any spirit of contention, any spirit wherein we might vie one with another for the spoils of life, but rather that we might cooperatively work with our brethren and with our sisters for the fruits of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
-- President Thomas S. Monson - Should there be anyone who feels he is too weak to change the onward- and downward-moving course of his life, or should there be those who fail to resolve to do better because of that greatest of fears, the fear of failure, there is no more comforting assurance to be had than the words of the Lord: 'My grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.' (Ether 12:27.)
-- President Thomas S. Monson - Should there be anyone who feels he is too weak to change the onward- and downward-moving course of his life, or should there be those who fail to resolve to do better because of that greatest of fears, the fear of failure, there is no more comforting assurance to be had than the words of the Lord: 'My grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.' (Ether 12:27.)
-- President Thomas S. Monson - Our Mediator, our Redeemer, our Brother, our Advocate with the Father died for our sins and the sins of all mankind. The Atonement of Jesus Christ is the foreordained but voluntary act of the Only Begotten Son of God. He offered His life as a redeeming ransom for us all.
-- President Thomas S. Monson - The decision to change one's life and come unto Christ is, perhaps, the most important decision of mortality. Such a dramatic change is taking place daily throughout the world.
-- President Thomas S. Monson - Of Him who delivered each of us from endless death, even Jesus Christ, I testify that He is a teacher of truth -- but He is more than a teacher. He is the Exemplar of the perfect life -- but He is more than an exemplar. He is the Great Physician -- but He is more than a physician. He who rescued the 'lost battalion' of mankind is the literal Savior of the world, the Son of God, the Prince of Peace, the Holy One of Israel -- even the risen Lord -- who declared, 'I am the first and the last; I am he who liveth, I am he who was slain; I am your advocate with the Father.' (DNC 110:4.)
-- President Thomas S. Monson - Home should be a haven of love. Honor, courtesy, and respect symbolize love and characterize the righteous family. Fathers in such homes will not hear the denunciation of the Lord as recorded in the book of Jacob from the Book of Mormon: 'Ye have broken the hearts of your tender wives, and lost the confidence of your children, because of your bad examples before them; and the sobbings of their hearts ascend up to God against you' (Jacob 2:35).
-- President Thomas S. Monson - Do we remember the question posed by one Pontius Pilate as he spoke to those who would shed the blood of Jesus and thus end His mortal life? 'What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified.' (Matt. 27:22.) And so He was. The question each of us must answer is the same: What shall I do with Jesus? He Himself has provided us the answer: 'Follow me, and do the things which ye have seen me do.' (2 Nephi 31:12.)
-- President Thomas S. Monson
Elder Packer quotes- Perhaps no other book has been denounced so vigorously by those who have never read it as has the Book of Mormon.
-- Elder Boyd K. Packer - I had carefully prepared my remarks. But something happened which made it advisable to take only a minute or two. So I slipped the carefully prepared talk into my briefcase in favor of a few off-the-cuff words of parting counsel. I mentioned opportunity and obligation, and I quoted a scripture. Actually, I misquoted it. The following week I received a most interesting letter from a woman who pointed out my error and told of an incident wherein she had misquoted the same verse. What I had said was, 'where much is given, much is expected.' As she pointed out, the scripture, which is in both the Doctrine and Covenants and the New Testament, states: 'Of him unto whom much is given much is required' (D&C 82:3; see also Luke 12:48). There is a big difference, a very big difference indeed, between something that is expected and something that is required.
-- Elder Boyd K. Packer - Now words can be used as weapons against you. If they throw the word diversity at you, grab hold of it and say: "I am already diverse, and intend to stay diverse." If the word is tolerance, grab that one, too, saying "I expect you to be tolerant of my lifestyle -- obedience, integrity, abstinence, repentance." If the word is choice then tell them you choose good, old-fashioned morality. You choose to be a worthy husband or wife, a worthy parent.
-- Elder Boyd K. Packer - In keeping faith I hope you are able to know that there are some things that must be taken on faith; and that, in our insatiable quest for knowledge, always preparatory to and preliminary to gaining spiritual knowledge there is the exercise of faith.
-- Elder Boyd K. Packer - Generally we understand that, conditioned upon repentance, the ordinance of baptism washes our sins away. Some wonder if they were baptized too soon. If only they could be baptized now and have a clean start. But that is not necessary! Through the ordinance of the sacrament you renew the covenants made at baptism. When you meet all of the conditions of repentance, however difficult, you may be forgiven and your transgressions will trouble your mind no more.
-- Elder Boyd K. Packer - The ultimate purpose of the adversary ... is to disrupt, disturb, and destroy the home and the family.
-- Elder Boyd K. Packer - Our critics' belief, based on the Bible, holds that man is saved by grace alone. Theirs is by far the easier way. Our position, also based on the Bible but strengthened by other scriptures, holds that we are saved by grace 'after all we can do,' (2 Nephi 25:23.) and we are responsible by conduct and by covenants to live the standards of the gospel.
-- Elder Boyd K. Packer - While virtue, by choice, will not associate with filth, evil cannot tolerate the presence of light.
-- Elder Boyd K. Packer - There's no credit buying on eternal things, none at all. Anything that is worthwhile has to be paid for in advance.
-- Elder Boyd K. Packer - No message appears in scripture more times, in more ways than, 'Ask, and ye shall receive.' (Matt. 21:22; James 4:3; 1 Jn. 3:22; 1 Nephi 15:11; Enos 1:15; Mosiah 4:21; DNC 4:7; and Moses 6:52 are examples.) While we may invite this communication, it can never be forced! If we try to force it, we may be deceived.
-- Elder Boyd K. Packer - The flow of revelation depends on your faith. You exercise faith by causing, or by making, your mind accept or believe as truth that which you cannot, by reason alone, prove for certainty. (See Alma 32:27-28, 38.)
-- Elder Boyd K. Packer - The code for moral law is found in the scriptures, stated as simply as, 'Wickedness never was happiness.' (Alma 41:10.) The scriptures speak in general terms, leaving us free to apply the principles of the gospel to meet the infinite variety of life. But when they say 'thou shalt not,' we had better pay attention.
-- Elder Boyd K. Packer - It is not an easy thing for us to defend the position that bothers so many others. But, brethren and sisters, never be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Never apologize for the sacred doctrines of the gospel. Never feel inadequate and unsettled because you cannot explain them to the satisfaction of all who might enquire of you. Do not be ill at ease or uncomfortable because you can give little more than your conviction.
-- Elder Boyd K. Packer - There is no shortage of room in the Celestial Kingdom.
-- Elder Boyd K. Packer - It is not an easy church to belong to. The gospel requires dedication and sacrifice. It is not an easy church to administer. With the patterns of the priesthood as they are, men and women are called from every walk of life to teach and to lead and to serve. We have members with every level of gospel knowledge, leadership ability, talents, and testimony. We learn to be patient with one another.
-- Elder Boyd K. Packer - Every hour spent on genealogical research, however unproductive it appears, is worthwhile. It is pleasing to the Lord. It is our testimony to Him that we accept the doctrine of the resurrection and the plan of salvation.
-- Elder Boyd K. Packer
President John Taylor quotes- Let us treat one another with kindness and one another's reputation with respect, and feel after one another's welfare, treating everybody as we would like God to treat us. (emphasis mine)
-- President John Taylor - We are not all alike. Our faces are different, our habits are different, although made of the same material and possessing the same kind of organization. So dissimilar are we that you can hardly find two people alike. I do not want everybody to think as I do, I am willing to grant every one a great amount of leeway in regard to these things; but I would like to see everybody do right and cleave to God. And as for a great many other little things I care very little about them.
-- President John Taylor - Joseph Smith in the first place was set apart by the Almighty according to the counsels of the gods in the eternal worlds, to introduce the principles of life. ... God selected him for that purpose, and he fulfilled his mission and lived honorably and died honorably. I know of what I speak for I was very well acquainted with him and was with him a great deal during his life, and was with him when he died. The principles which he had, placed him in communication with the Lord, and ... with the ancient apostles and prophets; such men, for instance, as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Noah, Adam, Seth, Enoch, and Jesus and the Father, and the apostles that lived on this continent as well as those who lived on the Asiatic continent. He seemed to be as familiar with these people as we are with one another. Why? Because he had to introduce a dispensation which was called the dispensation of the fullness of times, and it was known as such by the ancient servants of God.
-- President John Taylor - Joseph Smith, the Prophet and Seer of the Lord, has done more, save Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man that ever lived in it.
-- President John Taylor - I cannot conceive of anything more beautiful and heavenly than a united brotherhood, organized after the pattern laid down in the Doctrine and Covenants; when all act for the benefit of all -- when while we love God with all our hearts we love our neighbors as ourselves; where our time, our property, our talents, our mental and bodily powers are all exerted for the good of all; where no man grabs or takes advantage of another; where there is a common interest, a common purse, a common stock; where, as they did on this continent, it is said of them that "they all dealt justly to each other," and all acted for the general weal, "when ever man in every place could meet a brother and a friend," when all the generous and benevolent influences and sympathies of our nature are carried out, and covetousness, arrogance, hatred, and pride, and every evil are subdued and brought into subjection to the will and Spirit of God. These principles are very beautiful and would be very happifying for a community, a territory, a state, a nation, or the world.
-- President John Taylor - The object is to get and cleave to everything that is good, and to reject everything that is bad. One reason why religious people in the world are opposed to music and theatres is because of the corruption that is mixed up with them. Wicked and corrupt men associate themselves with these things, and degrade them; but is this any reason that the Saints should not enjoy the Gifts of God? Is that a correct principle? Certainly not. It is for them to grasp at everything that is good, and calculated to promote the happiness of the human family.
-- President John Taylor - It is the corruption of the world, that has made men unhappy; and the corruption of religion that has made it gloomy: these are the miseries entailed by men, not the blessings of God.
-- President John Taylor - If we take good care of one another, God will take care of us.
-- President John Taylor - It matters very little what we are engaged in, it is impossible for us to do right without the guidance of the Almighty.
-- President John Taylor - The religion of God is not a religion of ignorance.
-- President John Taylor - You should never say a word or do an act which you would not want your children to copy after.
-- President John Taylor
General LDS Quotes- A word or two about Joseph Smith. Perhaps there are very few men now living who were so well acquainted with Joseph Smith the Prophet as I was. I was with him oftentimes. I visited with him in his family, sat at his table, associated with him under various circumstances, and had private interviews with him for counsel. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God; I know that he was an honorable man, a moral man, and that he had the respect of those who were acquainted with him. The Lord has shown me most clearly and completely that he was a prophet of God, and that he held the holy priesthood.
-- President Lorenzo Snow, Conference Report, 7 October 1900, p. 61 - Be in the world, but not of the world.
-- President Spencer W. Kimball - Edison was once asked how he accomplished so much. He said, 'It is deceptively simple. You and I have eighteen hours in a day in which we do something. You spend that eighteen hours doing a number of unrelated things. I spend it doing just one thing, and some of my work is bound to amount to something.
-- Elder Sterling W. Sill - Go to the scriptures like a child, willing to be taught, and you will be. Go like a wise man or woman, and you won't come away the wiser.
-- Elder Henry B. Eyring - God hath not given us the spirit of fear: but of power and of love, and of a sound mind.
-- 2 Timothy 1:6-7 - God wants spiritual fruits, not religious nuts.
- Greatness is best measured by how well an individual responds to the happenings in life that appear to be totally unfair, unreasonable, and undeserved.
-- Elder Marvin J. Ashton - Humility is the mother of all virtues.
-- President Spencer W. Kimball - I believe you can train yourself to become a positive thinker, but you must cultivate a desire to develop the skill of setting personal worthy and realistic goals. I suppose that at about every seminar or fireside you go to at your age someone talks to you about goal setting. Maybe some of you get weary of listening to the principle of setting goals. But let me tell you something about goal setting. I am so thoroughly convinced that if we don't set goals in our life and learn how to master the technique of living to reach our goals, we can reach a ripe old age and look back on our life only to see that we reached but a small part of our full potential. When one learns to master the principle of setting a goal, he will then be able to make a great difference in the results he attains in this life.
-- Elder M. Russell Ballard - I have met hundreds of men who have said: 'If it were not for Joseph Smith I could accept your religion.' Any man who does not believe in Joseph Smith as a prophet of the true and the living God has no right to be in this Church. That revelation to Joseph Smith is the foundation stone. If Joseph Smith did not have that interview with God and Jesus Christ, the whole Mormon fabric is a failure and a fraud. It is not worth anything on earth. But God did come, God did introduce His Son; God did inspire that man to organize the Church of Jesus Christ, and all the opposition of the world is not able to withstand the truth. It is flourishing; it is growing, and it will grow more.
-- President Heber J. Grant - If I were a boy, what would I want my dad to be like? I'd probably wish he didn't preach to me so much, but rather, would listen to me more. Many dads spend too much time preaching and not enough time teaching. Sometimes great things happen inside a boy when he's listened to by his dad. He begins to think he is special -- that he is not just another twelve-year old or sixteen-year old. His self-image improves. One of our crying needs is to have young men who have a worthy self-image. .... One successful father said, 'Dads need to give more ear and less lip to their sons.'
-- Elder H. Burke Peterson (Ensign, Nov1982, pg43) - If I were to voice what is in my heart it would seem egotistical to some, but I say to all men everywhere, examine the teachings of the gospel of our Lord as revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith, search them prayerfully, and you shall find the panacea for the ills of this world, and it will be discovered in no other way.
-- President George Albert Smith, Conference Reports, October 1931, p. 121 - If there be but ten men left, who hang on the truth, to Joseph and the Temple, and are willing to do right in all things, let me be one of that number.
-- President Brigham Young - One of the most esteemed spiritual attributes we can acquire in life is sincere gratitude. It enriches our lives as we, through this attribute, enrich the lives of others.
-- President Howard W. Hunter - Prayer is a powerful possession, a great resource, comfort, strength, and a channel of communication. Our Father in Heaven does not forsake any of His children who come to Him for help. Often times, however, we do not understand what is in our own best interest and what we should pray for. Sometimes we also fail to realize when our prayers are answered!"
-- Elder Marvin J. Ashton - Successful people follow successful patterns.
-- Elder Sterling W. Sill - The Lord raised up Joseph Smith specially to do the work that he performed. He was ordained and appointed before he was born to come upon the stage of action in this age of God's mercy to man, through the loins of ancient Joseph, who was a descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to lay the foundation of this great and glorious dispensation-a dispensation that will be marked and distinguished in the annals of human history for its grand and mighty, and also its serious and awful events.
-- President Wilford Woodruff, Journal of Discourses, 24:51, January 27, 1883 - The nearer a person approaches the Lord, a greater power will be manifested by the adversary to prevent the accomplishment of His purposes.
-- Elder Orson F. Whitney - The only "direction" you can give which is truly worthy is this: "follow me"
- The only testing ground for the heroic is the mundane. The only preparation for that one profound decision which can change a life, or even a nation, is those hundreds of half-conscious, self-defining, seemingly insignificant decisions made in private.
-- Jeffery Sermon, Enduring Life's Heartaches and Challenges - The words of God given by prophets will only be received by those with the spirit of prophecy, [which is] a gift of the spirit, which both follows from and confirms the testimony of Jesus Christ.
-- Elder Henry B. Eyring - There is one thing more serious than merely to not believe, and that is to not care.
-- Elder Sterling W. Sill - There isn't any way to cheat nature, to bypass law, to run away from life. The commandments haven't been repealed; the laws of morality, the spiritual laws, the laws of life are still in force and effect.
-- Richard L. Evans - When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.
-- Mosiah 2:17 - You learn to do by doing. You learn to be by being.
-- Elder H. Burke Peterson - With these privileges comes great responsibility, for 'unto whom much is given much is required' (D&C 82:3), and at times the demands of discipleship are heavy. But shouldn't we expect the journey towards eternal glory to stretch us? We sometimes rationalize our preoccupation with this world and our casual attempts to grow spiritually by trying to console each other with the notion that living the gospel really shouldn't require all that much of us. The Lord's standard of behavior will always be more demanding than the world's, but then the Lord's rewards are infinitely more glorious-including true joy, peace, and salvation.
-- Sheri L. Dew, "We Are Women of God," "Ensign," Nov. 1999, p. 98 - The Lord expects us to live lives of integrity and to be obedient to his commandments. He said, 'Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?' (Luke 6:46), and 'Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven' (Matthew 7:21). A little lying, a little cheating, or taking a little unfair advantage are not acceptable to the Lord. These are Satan's ways to lead us 'carefully down to [destruction].' (2 Nephi 28:8, 21) To Saints of the Restoration, the Savior said, 'Of him unto whom much is given much is required.' (D&C 82:3) Latter-day Saints have been given much indeed: the gospel of Jesus Christ. That blessing carries a risk. We have been warned, 'To him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.' (James 4:17)
-- Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin - Our Father in Heaven also waits and coaxes and literally gives us hope-and something about the perspective of hope maintains in our vision an optimal distance between the ideal and the real. When our capacities are small, God's expectations are not very demanding-as with some commandments that are 'adapted to the capacity of the weak and the weakest of all saints, who are or can be called saints.' (D&C 89:3.) But just as we master these elementary demands, we discover greater expectations that we didn't quite see before. Gradually our capacity grows, but so does our understanding of what more we must become. 'For of him unto whom much is given much is required.' (D&C 82:3.) The Lord would have us stretch-but not out of shape. As Elder Neal A. Maxwell has said, the soul is like a violin string-it makes music only when it is being stretched.
-- Elder Bruce C. Hafen - We learn last of all that the ultimate proof of our repentance is in its permanence. (See D&C 58:43) Its blessings should be in our memories constantly, compelling us to continue in the cause of truth and to lend our best efforts to the work of God. Alma's testimony is that from the very hour of his conversion 'until now, I have labored without ceasing, that I might bring souls unto repentance; that I might bring them to taste of the exceeding joy of which I did taste; that they might also be born of God, and be filled with the Holy Ghost...' (Alma 36:24).
-- Elder Jeffrey R. Holland - Success, spiritually and temporally, will only be achieved to the degree that the laws involved are obeyed. The highest degree of success is accomplished by rendering the fullest degree of obedience to the fundamentals and the principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ; and the same is true in any line of endeavor that we may choose to follow.
-- Elder Joseph L. Wirthlin - I cannot give you a testimony of the divinity of the work-you cannot give me one-it must come through the Spirit of God. There are laws governing these spiritual matters as well as the physical and mental.... And a testimony of the divinity of the Church is received only by obedience to the spiritual law-'If any man will do his will, he shall know'-that means study, work, pray, keep the commandments, and our Heavenly Father will reveal to each of us, as he did to Peter, the divinity of his Son. When Jesus asked Peter, 'But whom say ye that I am?' Peter answered, 'Thou art the Christ, the son of the Living God.' Notice what Jesus answered: 'For flesh and blood'-the Christ was flesh and blood-'for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.' (Matthew 16:15-17).
-- Thomas E. McKay, "Conference Report," April 1946, p. 153 - We are repeatedly told our mortal body is a Temple of God. It holds our immortal spirit. Those who would casually use or abuse this mortal tabernacle, or moral temple created by God, do so at their own eternal peril. Pornography, of all kinds, physical and sexual abuse, torture, slavery are obvious examples of this unrighteous use. Other untoward uses can come from those who, because of their particular profession, seem to have open access to the mortal bodies of others. These should be very cautious in their work to ensure they do not mis-use or abuse the mortal tabernacle, and thus find themselves under serious condemnation.
- Joseph Smith said if one ever becomes corrupt, and you know it, you must immediately put it away, or it will either injure or destroy the whole body. The sympathies of the heads of the Church have induced them to bear a long time with those who were corrupt until they were obliged to cut them off, lest all become contaminated; you must put down iniquity, and by your good examples, stimulate the Elders to good works; if you do right, there is no danger of your going to fast.
He said he did not care how fast we run in the path of virtue; resist evil, and there is no danger; God, men, and angels will not condemn those that resist everything that is evil, and devils cannot; as well might the devil seek to dethrone Jehovah, as overthrow an innocent soul that resists everything which is evil.
-- Eliza R. Snow - When the Lord indicated that if one does not enter into this everlasting covenant of marriage he will be 'damned,' he did not mean that one is consigned to eternal burning in a lake of fire and brimstone, as most Christians understand damnation. He simply informed the people that the progress of such an individual is stopped; he cannot have eternal increase and hence he cannot enter into 'my glory.'
-- Elder LeGrand Richards - Marriage for time and for eternity is the 'straight gate and the narrow way (spoken of in the scriptures) that leadeth unto the exaltation and continuation of the lives, and few there be that find it,' but 'broad is the gate, and wide the way that leadeth to the deaths; and many there are that go in thereat.' (Doc. and Cov. 132:22, 25.) If Satan and his hosts can persuade you to take the broad highway of worldly marriage that ends with death, he has defeated you in your opportunity for the highest degree of eternal happiness through marriage and increase throughout eternity. It should now be clear to your reasoning why the Lord declared that in order to obtain the highest degree in the Celestial glory, a person must enter into the new and everlasting covenant of marriage. If he does not, he cannot obtain it.
-- President Harold B. Lee - We must recognize the hazards of shortcuts and looking for the easy way. We must obey the law and pay the price if we are to receive the reward or achieve the goal.
-- Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin - Learning by faith is an obtainable reality. I know it from experience myself. The Prophet spoke truth when he said that 'all the minds and spirits that God ever sent into the world are susceptible of enlargement.' He also spoke the truth when he said: 'If a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come.' (D&C 130:19.)
-- Elder Marion G. Romney - President Brigham Young taught that education should 'improve our minds and fit us for increased usefulness,' and 'make us of greater service to the human family.' 'Education,' he explained, 'is the power to think clearly, to act well in the world's work, and the power to appreciate life.'
-- Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin - As a special witness of the name of Jesus Christ in all the world, I promise you that if you seek the Lord, you will find Him. Ask, and you shall receive.
-- Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin - Eternal life or exaltation grows out of the continuation of the family unit in eternity. Exalted beings-who shall sit with God on his throne and be as he is-shall go to the highest heaven in the celestial world. Such is the sole and only place where the family unit continues. There they will have eternal increase, meaning spirit children in the resurrection forever and ever. Those who go to all lower kingdoms do not and cannot have such an increase.
-- Elder Bruce R. McConkie - With a knowledge of the plan of salvation as a foundation, a man who holds the priesthood looks upon marriage as a sacred privilege and obligation. It is not good for man nor for woman to be alone. Man is not complete without woman. Neither can fill the measure of their creation without the other (see 1 Corinthians 11:11; Moses 3:18). Marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God (see D&C 49:15-17). Only through the new and everlasting covenant of marriage can they realize the fullness of eternal blessings (see D&C 131:1-4; 132:15-19).
-- President Howard W. Hunter - A truly committed person does not falter in the face of adversity. Until one is committed, there is a chance to hesitate, to go off in another direction, or to be ineffective. Members within our ranks who are committed to living the gospel of Jesus Christ will not be affected by the rationale of hecklers.
-- Elder Marvin J. Ashton - The scriptures become personal messages to us when we liken them unto ourselves. (1 Nephi 19:23.)
-- Ardeth Greene Kapp - Nephi said, 'I did liken all scriptures unto us, that it might be for our profit and learning.' (1 Nephi 19:23.) He was advising us to weave the fiber of scriptural wisdom into the fabric of our own being.
-- Elder Russell M. Nelson - People today face the same temptations that have been common throughout history, plus many others that were unknown to earlier generations. However, God will not allow us to be tempted beyond our ability to resist. (See 1 Corinthians 10:13.) He does not give us challenges that we cannot surmount. He will not ask more than we can do, but may ask right up to our limits so we can prove ourselves. The Lord will never forsake or abandon anyone. We may abandon him, but he will not abandon us. We never need to feel that we are alone. The reason to stay on course in a marathon is obvious. Staying on a course that leads to a righteous life may be less obvious but is much more important. In simple terms, a righteous life is the way-the only way-to happiness, joy and peace.
-- Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin - We should never abandon the quest for a better self. But neither should we allow ourselves to become immobilized, thinking we are nobody. One of Satan's greatest tools is to convince us that we are worth nothing, to lead us to deny our divine heritage. He would have us 'be miserable like unto himself.' (2 Nephi 2:27.) It is stabilizing to be able to say, 'This is who I am, and I am happy to live with me.'
-- Elaine L. Jack - If a person chooses to set aside the things of the Spirit while pursuing only academic endeavors, the outcome is predictable. For those who choose to row with only one oar for an extended period of time, one set of muscles is strengthened while the others become atrophied. At a later date, as graduates with degrees, such individuals may stack their acquired academic knowledge against the thin threads of a faith that has been weakened through neglect. Their spiritual strength may have remained at or retrogressed to an elementary school level. And when they endeavor to make judgments of things of the Spirit that come only by faith, the great reservoir of truth into which they could have dipped will be shallow, discolored, or stagnant.
-- Ardeth Greene Kapp - The inability of the learning of the world to successfully deal with our sick society today is due to the fact that both the learned and the unlearned reckon without knowledge of or belief in the realities of eternity, past and future. So doing, their prospects for success, in spite of their boasted advances in behavioral and social sciences, are no greater than would be those of a playwright writing what he considered to be a one-act play, but which in fact was to be the second act of a three-act play. The first act would have already been presented and would have dealt with matters that he had no knowledge of or belief in; and the guidelines for the third act, which he likewise had no knowledge of or belief in, would have already been irreversibly established.
-- Elder Marion G. Romney - I warn you of a pervasive false doctrine. For want of a better name, I call it 'premeditated repentance,' by which I mean consciously sinning with the forethought that afterward repentance will permit the enjoyment of the full blessings of the gospel, such as temple marriage or a mission. In an increasingly wicked society, it is harder to toy with evil without becoming contaminated.
-- President James E. Faust - Let us not grow so busy in our daily activities that we thoughtlessly fail to 'feast upon the words of Christ.' (2 Nephi 32:3)
-- Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin - Perhaps we would do well to involve ourselves in praying more quietly and continually. Strength, power, and discipline are rewards for communicating with God on a continuing personal and private basis. Quietly we can pray for the patience to have our secret prayers answered. Sometimes we fail to recognize answered prayers because we are expecting more than quiet answers.
-- Elder Marvin J. Ashton - What makes a person unaccountable? Some would say it is some type of mental condition, which is true, as far as it goes. But there are people who do not have a mental handicap who the Lord would consider unaccountable. The point is this: their ability to express their agency. When a person, for whatever reason, is incapable of expressing their own agency, then they are no longer accountable for their actions. It is the same between individuals. If you deny a person the expression of their agency, through force, abuse, or otherwise, then you also remove from them their accountability. They are no longer accountable for the actions you deny their agency over. It is you who are accountable for their actions and what they could have done.
- The great tragedy of life is that, loving us and having paid that awful price of suffering, in the moment when He is now prepared to reach down and help us we won't let Him. We look down instead of up, accepting the adversary's promptings that we must not pray; we cannot pray; we are not worthy to pray. But, says Nephi in response to that, 'I say to you that ye must pray always, and not faint.'
-- Truman G. Madsen - Submissiveness to God is not a weakness; it represents the learning of an eternal principle.
-- Robert E. Wells - Note the phrase "no sexual relations" is much more restrictive than "no sexual intercourse." Your husband or wife, to whom you are legally and lawfully married and eternally sealed to, become as one flesh in the eyes of God and angels. Full obedience to the covenant commitments we freely take upon ourselves, including those to have no sexual relations, means there will be no sexually related interaction with another individual of the opposite sex. No limiting subnotation or exclusion exist. No member of the opposite sex shall ever see your nakedness, either in person or in print, or touch you in any sexually explicit way, for any reason.
- Alma said it well. He had tasted the bitterness of a sinful life and of spiritual rebellion, so he knew well what he was saying - 'Wickedness never was happiness.' (Alma 41:10.) And since happiness brings peace, wickedness brings its antithesis - strife and turmoil."
-- President Spencer W. Kimball - Why are you seeking a higher education? At least two great reasons emerge. One: You are to learn in your youth to keep the commandments of God. There is no other way you can achieve your divine destiny. A prophet said: 'As you have commenced in your youth to look to the Lord your God, even so I hope that you will continue in keeping his commandments; for blessed is he that endureth to the end. (Alma 38:2)' Reason number two: Learn wisdom so that you can render significant service of worth to your fellowmen. How frustrating it would be to have desire only and little or no ability to help people. Prepare your minds and your hands so that you can qualify to serve people and bless their lives. Gain competence that others do not have. That takes work-it takes effort-but it is worth the price."
-- Elder Russell M. Nelson - Contention is a tool of the adversary. Peace is a tool of our Savior. What a wonderful tribute we pay people when we describe them as being gentle, firm, and calm! Contention stops progress. Love brings eternal progression. Where contention prevails, there can be no united effort in any purposeful direction.
-- Elder Marvin J. Ashton - The Master warned 'The spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil' (3 Nephi 11:29). We are inconsistent if we resort to Satanic tactics in attempting to achieve righteous ends. Such inconsistency results only in frustration, loss of the Spirit, and ultimate defeat.
-- Elder Carlos E. Asay - We say to all youth regardless of what country is your home, and regardless of the customs in your country, your Heavenly Father expects you to marry for eternity and rear a good, strong family. ... There will be a new spirit in Zion when the young women will say to their boyfriends: 'I am sorry, but as much as I love you, I will not marry out of the holy temple.'
-- President Spencer W. Kimball - Why is it that so many of the authorities make comments to the young women about the young men not going on missions? Because history has proven that a young woman will not wait for him to return, no matter what her stated intentions are before he leaves. So the young men know if they are to marry you, they have to do it now. Asking them to give up all hope of marriage to you in order to go on a mission is just too much. To correct this pattern, the young women of the church must start to do these things: 1) Demand their husband be a return missionary who will take them to the temple. 2) Stop seriously dating young men who have not yet served a mission. 3) If you cannot follow the previous two, and do seriously date a young man before he goes and give your heart to him, then be as true to him while on his mission as you expect him to be about his mission. Be there when he returns to greet him.
You young women hear the same things the young men do concerning every young man preparing for, and honorably serving, a mission. So long as your actions in regard to this hamper their ability, then you will continue to hear the authorities telling you to change. We are telling the young men to prepare. Now we are telling you to help them. - I honor and revere the name of Joseph Smith. I delight in hearing it; I love it. I love his doctrine. ... I feel like shouting Hallelujah, all the time, when I think that I ever knew Joseph Smith, the Prophet whom the Lord raised up and ordained, and to whom he gave keys and power to build up the Kingdom of God on earth and sustain it.
-- President Brigham Young - There is not so great a man as Joseph [Smith] standing in this generation. His mind, like Enoch's, expands as eternity, and only God can comprehend his soul.
-- President Wilford Woodruff - I bear my testimony to you and to the world, that Joseph Smith was raised up by the power of God to lay the foundations of this great latter-day work, to reveal the fullness of the gospel to the world in this dispensation, to restore the Priesthood of God to the world, by which men may act in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, and it will be accepted of God; it will be by his authority. I bear my testimony to it, I know that it is true.
-- President Joseph F. Smith - Many have belittled Joseph Smith, but those who have will be forgotten in the remains of mother earth, and the odor of their infamy will ever be with them, but honor, majesty, and fidelity to God, exemplified by Joseph Smith and attached to his name, will never die.
-- President George Albert Smith - Live so as to have a quiet conscience.
-- Elder Richard L. Evans - When we say man may become like our Father, we do not mean to humanize God, but rather to deify man-not as he now is but as he may become. The difference between us is indescribably great, but it is one of degree rather than of kind.
-- Elder Hugh B. Brown - One of the most important ways to manifest integrity is to be loyal to those who are not present. In doing so, we build the trust of those who are present.
-- Stephen R. Covey - One reason for the decline in moral values is that the world has invented a new, constantly changing, and undependable standard of moral conduct referred to as 'situational ethics.' Now individuals define good and evil as being adjustable according to each situation; this is in direct contrast to the proclaimed God-given absolute standard: 'Thou shalt not!' as in 'Thou shalt not steal' (Exodus 20:15).
-- Elder David B. Haight - We need not expect nor seek open visions and personal interviews.... We do not need them. These great revelations to the Prophets were given to open dispensations and are for the benefit of all. We are expected to get our concepts of the true and living God from them, particularly from the teachings and testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith; for the Lord has said that this generation is to receive His word through the Prophet. (See D&C 5:10) This we can and must do. But we must go further. We must each obtain for ourselves a personal witness that the testimonies of the prophets are true.
-- Elder Marion G. Romney - As I read the scripture, I feel that Joshua's obedience to the teachings of Moses and to the contents of the book of the law was the test of his strength and courage. The extent to which he was to prosper, be unafraid and undismayed, and have the Lord with him depended upon his rating in that test. We can demonstrate our strength and courage in the same way, and be unafraid and undismayed and have the Lord with us whithersoever we go, by observing the teachings of the living prophets and observing to do according to all that is written in the standard works of the Church.
-- Elder Marion G. Romney, - When two Latter-day Saints are united together in marriage, promises are made to them concerning their offspring that reach from eternity to eternity. They are promised that they shall have the power and the right to govern and control and administer salvation and exaltation and glory to their offspring worlds without end. And what offspring they do not have here, undoubtedly there will be opportunities to have them hereafter. What else could man wish? A man and a woman in the other life, having celestial bodies, free from sickness and disease, glorified and beautified beyond description, standing in the midst of their posterity, governing and controlling them, administering life, exaltation and glory, worlds without end!
-- President Lorenzo Snow - As with baptism, so it is with celestial marriage. It opens the door, a second door. It starts one out in the direction of exaltation. It puts one on the path that leads to eternal life. You cannot get on the path without entering the gate, but having entered the gate then you must traverse the length of the path. The process of going up that path is the process of keeping the covenant made in connection with this holy order of matrimony. It is the process of obeying the laws, commandments, principles, and ordinances of the gospel.
-- Elder Bruce R. McConkie - Because the daughters of Noah married the sons of men contrary to the teachings of the Lord, his anger was kindled, and this offense was one cause that brought to pass the universal flood. You will see that the condition appears reversed in the Book of Moses. It was the daughters of the sons of God who were marrying the sons of men, which was displeasing unto the Lord. The fact was, as we see it revealed, that the daughters who had been born, evidently under the covenant, and were the daughters of the sons of God, that is to say of those who held the priesthood, were transgressing the commandment of the Lord and were marrying out of the Church. Thus they were cutting themselves off from the blessings of the priesthood contrary to the teachings of Noah and the will of God .... Today there are foolish daughters of those who hold this same priesthood who are violating this commandment and marrying the sons of men; there are also some of the sons of those who hold the priesthood who are marrying the daughters of men. All of this is contrary to the will of God just as much as it was in the days of Noah.
-- President Joseph Fielding Smith - The secret of the popularity of Christmas is that it brings peace to the minds of millions who, for one day at least, think more of others than of themselves, more of giving than of getting. If this formula for happiness-love one another-is effective for one day, may it not work at other times, at all times? If by giving we receive, and by dividing we increase, why not make happiness permanent by carrying the Christmas spirit throughout the year?
-- Elder Hugh B. Brown - In the midst of discordant sounds of hate, bitterness and revenge expressed so often today, the soft note of forgiveness comes as a healing balm. Not least is its effect on the forgiver.
-- President Spencer W. Kimball - In our own lives today, we receive revelation through the still, small voice that whispers 'Yes, that applies to me.' The Prophet Joseph Smith received this kind of revelation when he read in James 1:5 that he should pray and ask God. It was in a similar circumstance that President Joseph F. Smith, after reading and contemplating the scriptures, had the vision of the redemption of the dead (D&C 138) opened to his mind. Regular study of the scriptures and meditating upon them are essential for continual revelation.
-- Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin - And so the Master Teacher admonishes us to read the scriptures and learn the lessons of life from the word of God. But we must read with more than mere academic interest if we are to achieve spiritual growth. We must see in them more than a history of the past, more than things, however marvelous, which were done for our fathers. The writers of those sacred pages must challenge our thinking, renew our aspirations, color and flavor our daily living, and be an inspiration in our search for the abundant life.
-- Elder Hugh B. Brown - It is interesting that Satan, who voted for 'no opposition', has become the main source of it!
-- Mary Ellen Edmunds - If we do righteous acts and refrain from evil acts, we have clean hands. If we act for the right motives and if we refrain from forbidden desires and attitudes, we have pure hearts. Those who would 'look up to God,' those who would ascend and stand in the ultimate 'holy place,' must have 'clean hands, and a pure heart.'
-- Elder Dallin H. Oaks - The most important, life-changing information that I know of is the knowledge that we are truly children of God or Eternal Father.
-- Elder Ballard - Whenever a meeting drags, or it is spiritless, let any one get up and testify to the mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith, and see how quickly light will dispel the darkness.
-- Susa Young Gates - If I went to the temple five times and nothing happened, I would stop going. But I've gone hundreds of times, and the high hopes of new knowledge with which I go up the hill every week are never disappointed.
-- Hugh Nibley - Many of us live or work in an environment where humility is often misunderstood and considered a weakness. Not many corporations or institutions include humility as a value statement or a desired characteristic of their management. Yet as we learn about the workings of God, the power of a humble and submissive spirit becomes apparent. In the kingdom of God, greatness begins with humility and submissiveness. These companion virtues are the first critical steps to opening the doors to the blessings of God and the power of the priesthood.
- The word saint in Greek denotes "set apart, separate, holy." If we are to be Saints in our day, we need to separate ourselves from the evil conduct and destructive pursuits that are prevalent in the world.... If we are to be worthy Saints, we should minister to others and adhere to the Savior's admonition to love God and our fellowmen.
-- Quentin L. Cook - Certain thoughts are prayers. There are moments when, whatever be the attitude of the body, the soul is on its knees.
-- Victor Hugo - The knowledge of truth, combined with the proper regard for it and it's faithful observance, constitutes true education.
-- President Joseph F. Smith - Those who stand at the threshold of life always waiting for the right time to chance are like the man who stands at the bank of a river waiting for the water to pass so he can cross on dry land. Today is the day of decision.
-- Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin - It seems that every task I do becomes ennobled if I do them in the spirit of an offering to God.
-- Virginia Pearce - The moral virtues, without religion are but cold, lifeless, and insipid; it is only religion which opens the mind to great conceptions, fills it with the most sublime ideas, and warms the would with more than sensual pleasures.
-- Joseph Addison - Men will stand or fall -- eternally -- because of what they think of the Book of Mormon.
-- Elder Bruce R. McConkie - The gospel of Jesus Christ challenges us to change. "Repent" is it's most frequent message, and repenting means giving up all of our practices -- personal, family, ethnic, and national -- that are contrary to the commandments of God. The purpose of the gospel it so transform common creatures into celestial citizens, and that requires change.
-- Elder Dallin H. Oaks. - It matters not where we live or what our individual circumstances may be. Each day our righteous living can demonstrate a faith in Jesus Christ that sees beyond mortal heartaches, disappointments, and unfulfilled promises. It is a glorious thing to possess a faith that enables us to look forward to that day "when all that was promised the Saints will be given."
-- Anne C. Pingree - We get nearer to the Lord through music than perhaps through any other thing except prayer.
-- Elder J. Reuben Clark, Jr - In essentials let there be unity, in non-essentials liberty, and in all things charity.
-- Elder B.H. Roberts - To me, the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon is most evident in the mighty change that comes into the lives of those who read it 'with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ.' (Moro. 10:4.) Many of them forsake much that they held dear to be true to their new commitment to abide by the precepts of that book. The Book of Mormon truly is a treasured testament. There is no other book quite like it. Can you find any other book delivered by an angel? Can you think of any other book prepared for people to read centuries later? Its writers did not write it for readers of their day. No royalties accrued to its authors from sales to contemporary consumers. In fact, its authors paid dearly for their privilege of authorship, as did its translator.
-- Elder Russell M. Nelson - Real charity is not something you give away; it is something that you acquire and make a part of yourself. And when the virtue of charity becomes implanted in your heart, you are never the same again.
-- Elder Marvin J. Ashton - We should teach, particularly ourselves, that nobody is a nobody. We are someone, and with God's help we can accomplish all things.
-- Elder Marvin J. Ashton - Charity, or love, is the greatest principle in existence. If we can lend a helping hand to the oppressed, if we can aid those who are despondent and in sorrow, if we can uplift and ameliorate the condition of mankind, it is our mission to do it, it is an essential part of our religion to do it.
-- President Joseph F. Smith - A true friend is one who not only is willing to love us the way we are, but is able to leave us better than he found us.
-- Elder Marvin J. Ashton - I feel like shouting hallelujah, all the time, when I think that I ever knew Joseph Smith, the Prophet.
-- President Brigham Young - The Lord has promised to heal our broken hearts and 'to set at liberty them that are bruised' (Luke 4:18); to give power to the faint, to heal the wounded soul, and to turn our weakness into strength (see Isa. 40:29; Jacob 2:8; Ether 12:27); to take upon Him our pains and sicknesses, to blot out our transgressions if we repent, and loose the bands of death (see Alma 7:11-13). He promised that if we will build our lives upon His rock, the devil will have no power over us (see Hel. 5:12). And He has vowed that He will never leave us or forsake us (see Heb. 13:5). There is simply no mortal equivalent. Not in terms of commitment, power, or love. He is our only chance.
-- Sheri L. Dew - Someday, maybe years after the trial of our faith, we will receive a witness that our decisions were right. (See Ether 12:6.) But until then, those who try to live in tune with the promptings of the Spirit must exercise no small degree of faith and courage in following that Spirit.
-- Ardeth G. Kapp - Profound spiritual truth cannot simply be poured from one mind and heart to another. It takes faith and diligent effort. Precious truth comes a small piece at a time through faith, with great exertion, and at times wrenching struggles. The Lord intends it be that way so that we can mature and progress. Moroni said, 'Dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith' (Ether 12:6).
-- Elder Richard G. Scott - When one hears the still small voice of the Spirit testifying that Jesus is the Christ, this kind of knowledge, for that person, is as valid as a mountain of so-called "scientific" evidence. That person really knows a truth. It affects his whole being. It affects all other kinds of knowledge that he may have.
-- Elder A. Theodore Tuttle - Put love first. Entertain thoughts that give life and when a thought or resentment, or hurt, or fear comes your way, have another thought that is more powerful -- a thought that is love.
-- Mary Manin Morrissey - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as it is now constituted is the kingdom of God on earth. Nothing more needs to be done to establish the kingdom. (D. & C. 35:27; 38:9, 15; 50:35; 62:9; 65; 136:41.) The kingdom is here, and it is the same kingdom which Daniel said would be set up in the last days. (Daniel 2:44-45.) This same kingdom has been set up in past ages whenever the gospel has been on earth, for the plan of salvation is the gospel of the kingdom. The Church and kingdom are one and the same.
-- Elder Bruce R. McConkie - One of the secrets that God has revealed unto his Prophet in these days is the Book of Mormon; and it was a secret to the whole world until it was revealed unto Joseph Smith, whom God has raised up as a Prophet, Seer, and Revelator unto His people. It... points out the establishing of this our own nation, with the conditions for its progress, and those predictions contained in the Book of Mormon-the stick of Joseph in the hand of Ephraim, will as truly be fulfilled as those contained in the Bible-the stick and record of Judah; and both these sticks or records contain prophecies of great import concerning the Gentile nations, and especially this land and nation, which are not yet fulfilled, but must shortly come to pass: yea, their fulfillment is nigh, even at the doors.
-- Elder B. H. Roberts - Biblical scholars have failed to offer a satisfactory explanation of this prophetic utterance (Ezekiel 37:15-17). Where is the stick of Joseph, also called the stick of Ephraim? How shall this stick, or book, be joined with the stick of Judah, or the Bible? How can these sticks become one in the hands of God for the enlightenment of humanity? The Book of Mormon answers these questions. It is the only answer. The Book of Mormon, as you know, is a powerful witness. It is a builder of faith. It is a converter of souls to the truth, and the Book of Mormon is true, and truth will triumph even against strong and determined opposition.
-- Alma Sonne - As I read this, I went to the Interpreter's Bible, which is written in twelve volumes, and is a commentary on all of the Old and New Testaments. This commentary was prepared by thirty-six consulting editors with over one hundred recognized, capable contributors and deals with all quotations from the Bible, taking them verse by verse and explaining their meaning and application. When I came to Ezekiel 37th chapter, verses 15 through 17, which I have just read, no feasible explanation was given, but conjectures only were made. This is no reflection on the editors or contributors to this great commentary, as they knew of no way to get the meaning. Here again, by direct revelation and by direct revelation only, do we understand clearly what Ezekiel meant.
-- Elder N. Eldon Tanner - The Lord promised he would take the record of Joseph that was in the hands of Ephraim and put it with the record of Judah and make them one in his hands. (See Ezek. 37:16-17.) Can't we believe that God would do that which he said he would do? If the Book of Mormon isn't that record, where is it?
-- Elder LeGrand Richards - There were two duties imposed upon us in early days; one was to seek to gather out the honest, to do all in our power to gather out the people who loved and received the Gospel, and to be diligent in our labors doing all in our power to find them. We were sent out as fishers, we were sent out as hunters, we were sent everywhere carrying this Gospel, seeking out the Israel of God scattered among the Gentiles. This was one duty. Then there was another duty, to warn the people, to warn all men in the most solemn manner that the hour of God's judgment was near at hand, to declare to the inhabitants of the earth that the approach of our Lord was near, that the Lord Jesus Christ was about to descend from heaven, and that vengeance and anger and judgment were about to be poured out upon the nations of the earth.
-- President George Q. Cannon - The God of Israel has set his hand to gather his elect and prepare the world for the sanctifying reign of righteousness. He will accomplish what he has undertaken, using for that purpose every means consistent and available. Christ died to save the souls of men, and save them he will -- by mild measures whenever these will avail; but by stern methods if necessary, after the mild have proved ineffectual. First, the 'fishers,' with gentle, kind persuasion. Then the 'hunters' -- war, commotion and destruction. Such is the divine program.
-- Elder Orson F. Whitney - At various times in our lives, probably at repeated times in our lives, we do have to acknowledge that God knows what we do not know and sees what we do not see. If you have troubles at home with children who stray, if you suffer financial reverses and emotional strain that threaten your homes and your happiness, if you must face the loss of life or health, may peace be unto your soul. We will not be tempted beyond our ability to withstand. Our detours and disappointments are the straight and narrow path to him...
-- President Howard W. Hunter - One of the advantages of having lived a long time is that you can often remember when you had it worse. I am grateful to have lived long enough to have known some of the blessings of adversity.
-- President James E. Faust - What is the significance of the words of the Prophet Joseph that we will 'build temples to the Most High'? Why were all of these temples built at such cost and sacrifice? Why are they still being built at an ever-increasing pace? It is because the deepest questions of our existence are answered in the temple. These answers tell us where we came from, why we are here, where we may go, and how we may cope with the matter of death. This life makes no logical sense unless we think in terms of the eternities. The transcendent blessings of life and eternity are received within the sacred walls of the temple. The Savior's supernal gift to mankind gave us the opportunity for eternal life, but eternal life without our loved ones would be bleak.
-- President James E. Faust - Keep the commandments. In this there is safety and peace.' ('Keep the Commandments,' Hymns, no. 303.) Nothing this world has to offer can surpass the joy of living the gospel! No worldly wealth or possession, no degree of fame or recognition can supplant the satisfaction of feeling the warmth and peace of the Spirit of the Lord in our hearts and in our homes. 'Sweet is the peace the gospel brings.' ('Sweet Is the Peace the Gospel Brings,' Hymns, no. 14.) As we strive for success, we cannot allow 'any vain or foolish thing' to divert us from the path of faith and lead us away from being true to our covenants.
-- Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin - The Book of Mormon is tough. It thrives on investigation. You may kick it around like a football, as many have done; and I promise you it will wear you out long before you ever make a dent in it.
-- Hugh Nibley - At the heart of the message of the Savior of the world is a single, glorious, wonderful, still largely untried concept. In its simplest terms the message is that we should seek to overcome the selfishness we all seem to be born with, that we should overcome human nature and think of others before self. We should think of God and serve Him, and think of others and serve them.
-- President James E. Faust - It seems to me that the moral teachings of Christ might be summarized under two great ideas. The first is integrity and the second is love.
-- Lowell L. Bennion - Sometimes we will receive counsel that we cannot understand or that seems not to apply to us, even after careful prayer and thought. Don't discard the counsel, but hold it close. If someone you trusted handed you what appeared to be nothing more than sand with the promise that it contained gold, you might wisely hold it in your hand awhile, shaking it gently. Every time I have done that with counsel from a prophet, after a time the gold flakes have begun to appear and I have been grateful.
-- Elder Henry B. Eyring - Great possibilities await all of us, but always remember that in order to make our dreams come true, we must wake up and get to work.
-- Elder Franklin D. Richards - Think of the idols of prosperity: the car, the camper, the boat, the color TV, the football game, two weeks of hunting. These become idols when more enthusiasm and time are given to them than to the worship of God.
-- Arthur Henry King - Just as Jesus' anxious Apostles were given peace by 'another Comforter,' so today can all men and women receive the same marvelous blessing each day of their lives: the teenager challenged by peer pressure, the person torn by seemingly overwhelming passions or emotions, the person encircled about by loneliness and despair, the hungry, the oppressed, the forgotten, the frightened, the abused, the abuser, the liar, the thief--all who will surrender, follow the Master, and do His works are entitled to the same peace.
-- Dennis E. Simmons - By praying for charity and by practicing service, we can reform our motives and come to be filled with the pure love of Christ that is characteristic of the pure in heart.
-- Elder Dallin H. Oaks - As I think of the world that I knew when I was young, the basics that we talk about were in place then. With all of the things that I've seen happen since I've lived upon the earth, nothing has come along to change the basics. We now have the great ability to communicate as rapidly as we do and in the various ways that we do. We can travel faster -- through the air, in automobiles, and so on -- but the basics, the eternal principles, haven't changed a bit.
-- Elder David B. Haight - Teaching by precept, without example, is mighty poor teaching.
-- President Heber J. Grant - Parents are deceiving themselves in imagining that their children will be born with a knowledge of the gospel.
-- President Heber J. Grant - Sometimes the decision of a child or a grandchild will break your heart. Sometimes expectations won't immediately be met. Every mother and father worries about that. Even that beloved and wonderfully successful parent President Joseph F. Smith pled, 'Oh! God, let me not lose my own.' That is every parent's cry, and in it is something of every parent's fear. But no one has failed who keeps trying and keeps praying. You have every right to receive encouragement and to know in the end your children will call your name blessed, just like those generations ... before you who hoped your same hopes and felt your same fears.
-- Elder Jeffrey R. Holland - A lie lives only until it is found out, but truth lives and survives.
-- President Heber J. Grant - Brethren, we must never let the great powers of the holy priesthood of God lie dormant in us. We are bound together in the greatest cause and the most sacred work in all the world. To exercise these great powers, we must be clean in thought and action. We must do nothing which would impair the full exercise of this transcendent power.
-- President James E. Faust - A lie can travel around the world while truth is getting his boots on.
-- President Heber J. Grant - Ordinary men-including, and perhaps especially, young men-blessed with the privilege of holding the priesthood of God may be called upon to do extraordinary tasks. Holders of the holy priesthood can accomplish mighty feats of heroism, bravery, and service through faith in that sacred power.
-- Elder Jack H. Goaslind - The plan is really very simple when considered in its essence. The Lord has told us that we are here to be tried -- to be proven, to see whether we will be valiant and be obedient to His teachings. You among all of the people on earth have the best possibility of doing that because you have access to the fullness of the restored gospel and the teachings of the Savior. In quiet moments when you think about it, you recognize what is critically important in life and what isn't. Be wise and don't let good things crowd out those that are essential.
-- Elder Richard G. Scott - Conversion requires consecrating our lives to caring for and serving others who need our help and to sharing our gifts and talents. The Lord didn't say tend my sheep when it is convenient, watch my sheep when you aren't busy. He said feed my sheep and my lambs; help them survive this world, keep them close to you. Lead them to safety -- the safety of righteous choices that will prepare them for eternal life.
-- Elder Robert D. Hales - When we use these sacred words, 'in the name of Jesus Christ,' they are much more than a way to get out of a prayer or out of a testimony or out of a talk. We are on holy ground, brothers and sisters. We are using a name most sublime, most holy, and most wonderful -- the very name of the Son of God. We are now able to come unto the Father through His Beloved Son. What power and reassurance and peace come when we really pray in His name. This conclusion to the prayer may, in many ways, be the most important part of the prayer. We can appeal to the Father through His victorious Son with confidence that our prayers will be heard. We can ask and receive, we can seek and find and subsequently find the open door.
-- L. Edward Brown - Good Samaritanism starts in the home as parents teach children by example and precept. Acts of assistance, kindness, and concern among family members reinforce the desire to 'go, and do thou likewise.' (Luke 10:37)
-- Elder H. David Burton - Your responsibility to endure is uniquely yours. But you are never alone. I testify that the lifting power of the Lord can be yours if you will 'come unto Christ' and 'be perfected in him.' You will 'deny yourselves of all ungodliness.' And you will 'love God with all your might, mind and strength.' (Moro. 10:32)
-- Elder Russell M. Nelson, - Gifts have only limited value unless they are used. The Holy Ghost will be our constant companion if we submit ourselves to the will of our Father in Heaven, always remembering Him and keeping His commandments.
-- Elder L. Tom Perry - Anyone can be pleasant and patient and forgiving on a good day. A Christian has to be pleasant and patient and forgiving on all days.
-- Elder Jeffrey R. Holland - Life isn't always easy. At some point in our journey we may feel much as the pioneers did as they crossed Iowa -- up to our knees in mud, forced to bury some of our dreams along the way. We all face rocky ridges, with the wind in our face and winter coming on too soon. Sometimes it seems as though there is no end to the dust that stings our eyes and clouds our vision. Sharp edges of despair and discouragement jut out of the terrain to slow our passage. Always, there is a Devil's Gate, which will swing wide open to lure us in. Those who are wise and faithful will steer a course as far from such temptation as possible, while others -- sometimes those who are nearest and dearest to us -- succumb to the attraction of ease, comfort, convenience, and rest. Occasionally we reach the top of one summit in life, as the pioneers did, only to see more mountain peaks ahead, higher and more challenging than the one we have just traversed. Tapping unseen reservoirs of faith and endurance, we, as did our forebears, inch ever forward toward that day when our voices can join with those of all pioneers who have endured in faith, singing: 'All is well! All is well!' (Hymns, no. 30).
-- Elder M. Russell Ballard - It is interesting that within verse 3 [Moro. 10:3], the verb for what we are to do with the teachings of the Book of Mormon changes from 'read these things' to 'receive these things.' Then verse 4 [Moro. 10:4] begins with the words, 'And when ye shall receive these things,' and goes on to tell us what we are to do after receiving something. Why the word change from read to receive? Because Moroni is talking about two different states of mind. It is one thing simply to have something to read; it is quite another thing to be willing to let that which we read enter our minds and hearts in order to give it full consideration. Thus, in his usage of receive in verse 3, Moroni asks us to receive into our minds and hearts the realization of God's mercy from the Creation until now, a realization that comes after remembering God's goodnesses to the children of men. Now, in verse 4 he again uses the word receive in exactly the same way-but this time he is talking about the thing we have in our hands to read-the Book of Mormon. He is talking about the step of receiving the teachings contained in that which we have read-considering them or receiving them into our minds and hearts so that we can ponder them in order to be prepared for the next step, which is to accept an answer from our Heavenly Father.
-- Gene R. Cook - The doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints regarding grace is forthright. We understand that since we have all become spiritually unclean because of sin (see 1 John 1:8), and since 'there cannot any unclean thing enter into the kingdom of God' (1 Nephi 15:34), no individual can receive eternal life solely on the merits of his or her own effort. We believe that only as we rely on the Savior's grace and demonstrate our changed nature through obedience to His laws and ordinances may we receive eternal life.
-- Elder M. Russell Ballard - Left to his own devices, the natural man inevitably succumbs to Satan (see Mosiah 3:19), who abandons his prey once he lures them from the straight and narrow path. But the Savior will guide those who follow Him all the way home. Lehi's family endured an intense wilderness experience designed to teach, test, and sanctify them. Likewise, the path from our former home to eternal life runs right through this earthly wilderness, where we may expect similar challenges and difficulties. But in our journey we are not alone, for the Lord's promise to Lehi is the same to us: 'I will prepare the way before you [and] inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall be led towards the promised land.... After ye have arrived... ye shall know that... I, the Lord, did deliver you' (1 Nephi 17:13-14).
-- Sheri L. Dew - Remember it was the Lord who put us here. He sent us from his presence to be Germans and Japanese, to be Koreans and Turks, to be Russians and Brazilians. He is the one who scattered Israel and decreed that 'the covenant people of the Lord' would be 'upon all the face of the earth' at the day of his Second Coming. (1 Nephi 14:14.) He knows the probationary experiences we need while here in mortality. He knows who he needs to labor in all the various parts of his vineyard. What a blessed privilege it is for us to have the call that is ours and to labor in the field of our present assignment!
-- Elder Bruce R. McConkie, - There is no danger of any man or woman losing his or her faith in this Church if he or she is humble and prayerful and obedient to duty. I have never known of such an individual losing his faith. By doing our duty, faith increases until it becomes perfect knowledge.
-- President Heber J. Grant - You will find that those who do not do their duty, are always complaining about somebody that does, and making excuses for themselves. I have never found a man who was keeping the commandments of God that had any criticism to offer concerning any administration of the affairs of the Church.
-- President Heber J. Grant - No obstacles are insurmountable when God commands and we obey.
-- President Heber J. Grant - We are told that faith without works is dead; that as the body without the spirit is dead, so also is faith without works dead (see James 2:17, 26).
-- President Heber J. Grant - The all-important thing for you and me is to discover whether we are walking in the straight and narrow path that leads to life eternal, and if we are not, wherein have we allowed the adversary to blind our minds and to cause us to depart from that path which will lead us back into the presence of God? Each one should search his own heart to find out wherein he has failed, and then he should diligently seek our heavenly Father for the assistance of His Holy Spirit, that he mayh come back into the straight path.
-- President Heber J. Grant - Joseph Smith was the agent through whom the Lord saw fit to begin the great latter-day work. To him the Father and Son appeared in heavenly vision, upon him the keys of the everlasting priesthood were conferred, with authority to transmit them to others, with the promise that the priesthood should never be taken from the earth again, until the purposes of the Father were accomplished.
-- President Heber J. Grant - The most glorious thing that has ever happened in the history of the world since the Savior Himself lived on earth, is that God Himself saw fit to visit the earth with his Beloved, only begotten Son, our Redeemer and Savior, and to appear to the boy Joseph.
-- President Heber J. Grant - We are taught in the scriptures that there must be opposition in all things (see 2 Nephi 2:11). It is not a question of if we are ready for the tests; it is a matter of when. We must prepare to be ready for tests that will present themselves without warning.
-- Elder Robert D. Hales - We need not become paralyzed with fear of Satan's power. He can have no power over us unless we permit it. He is really a coward, and if we stand firm, he will retreat. The Apostle James counseled: 'Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.' (James 4:7.) And Nephi states that 'he hath no power over the hearts' of people who are righteous. (1 Nephi 22:26.)
-- President James E. Faust - Many make their contributions in unsung ways. Ishmael traveled with the family of Nephi at great personal sacrifice, suffering 'much affliction, hunger, thirst, and fatigue.' (1 Nephi 16:35.) Then in the midst of all of these afflictions, he perished in the wilderness. Few of us can even begin to understand the sacrifice of such a man in those primitive times and conditions. Perhaps if we were more perceptive and understanding, we too would mourn, as his daughters did in the wilderness, for what a man like this gave-and gave up! - so that we could have the Book of Mormon today.
-- President Howard W. Hunter - Jesus taught the same thing to the Nephites, who also lived in a difficult world. 'For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed,' he said, 'but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed [from thee]' (3 Nephi 22:10; see also 3 Nephi 22:13-14). I love that. The hills and the mountains may disappear. The seas and oceans may dry up completely. The least likely things in the world may happen, but 'my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed [from thee].' After all, he has, he reminds us, 'graven thee upon the palms of my hands' (1 Nephi 21:16). Considering the incomprehensible cost of the Crucifixion, Christ is not going to turn his back on us now.
-- Elder Jeffrey R. Holland - There are three dangers that threaten the church from within, and the authorities need to awaken to the fact that the people should be warned unceasingly against them. As I see them, they are flattery of prominent men in the world, false educational ideas, and sexual impurity.
-- President Joseph F. Smith - Jesus taught that we pass through all these trials to refine us 'in the furnace of affliction' (1 Nephi 20:10), and that we should not bear them unaided, but 'in [the] Redeemer's name' (Doctrine and Covenants 138:13). In spite of our feeling, at times, that He has forgotten us, He testifies, 'Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.... Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands.' (1 Nephi 21:15-16.)
-- Gene R. Cook - No matter how much of a minority they were when they got into the Ark, Noah and his family were the majority the moment they stepped back out.
- If any man has a truth that we have not, we say, "Let us have it." I am willing to exchange all the errors and false notions for one truth, and should consider that I had made a good bargain.
-- President Wilford Woodruff - I long for the day prophesied by Isaiah when 'the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord.' (Isaiah 11:9; 2 Nephi 21:9.) In an inspired utterance, the Prophet Joseph Smith described the Lord's 'pouring down knowledge from heaven upon the heads of the Latter-day Saints.' (DNC 121:33.) This will not happen for those whose 'hearts are set so much upon the things of this world, and aspire to the honors of men.' (DNC 121:35.) Those who fail to learn and use 'principles of righteousness' (DNC 121:36) will be left to themselves to kick against those in authority, 'to persecute the saints, and to fight against God' (DNC 121:38).
-- Elder Dallin H. Oaks, - My dear brothers and sisters, when pain, tests, and trials come in life, draw near to the Savior. 'Wait upon the Lord,... look for him' (Isa. 8:17; 2 Nephi 18:17). 'They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint' (Isa. 40:31). Healing comes in the Lord's time and the Lord's way; be patient.
-- Elder Robert D. Hales - An understanding of the plan of salvation, of premortality, earth life, and life after death provides perspective that helps one endure. As stated in the scriptures, the earth was created by God as a testing ground (see Abraham 3:24-26). Mortal life on earth is a probationary period (see Alma 12:24; Alma 34:32). Opposition, disappointments, pain, suffering, and death are necessary to protect agency and provide for spiritual development (see 2 Nephi 11). On the other hand, if life were limited to our mortal experience, adversity could not be understood and life would be unfair. Without an understanding of God's plan, it is natural to define moral standards in terms of the natural man. Without an eternal perspective, there are no meaningful explanations for man's inhumanity to man or for earthquakes, floods, or children with disabilities.
-- Elder Merrill J. Bateman - "The Book of Mormon tells us that when Lehi was in the desert, he told his son Joseph that the Lord had promised Joseph who was sold into Egypt that he would raise up a prophet in the latter days from his loins like unto Moses; that his name would be Joseph, his father's name would be Joseph, and that he should bring forth his word. (See 2 Nephi 3:6, 9, 15.) That obviously was the Prophet Joseph Smith. He brought us the Book of Mormon. He brought us the Doctrine and Covenants. He brought us the Pearl of Great Price and many other writings. Then the Lord said: '...unto him will I give power to bring forth my word... and not to the bringing forth my word only,... but to the convincing them of my word, which shall have already gone forth among them.' (2 Nephi 3:11.) In other words, he would bring them to a true understanding of the Bible.
-- Elder LeGrand Richards - Another indispensable resource that assists us in using our agency wisely is holy scripture. The Apostle Paul explained, 'All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness' (2 Tim. 3:16). Nephi gave the additional prophetic promise that when we 'feast upon the words of Christ,... the words of Christ will tell [us] all things what [we] should do' (2 Nephi 32:3). In short, the scriptures are our life script, our instruction manual in mortality, if you will. But of course, if the universal teachings in holy writ are to benefit us, we must follow Nephi's additional counsel to 'liken all scriptures unto us, that it might be for our profit and learning' (1 Nephi 19:23).
-- Spencer J. Condie - We cannot survive spiritually with one foot in the Church and the other foot in the world.
-- Elder Bruce R. McConkie - If you pray for an angel to visit you, you know what he'll do if he comes. He'll just quote the scriptures to you -- so you know you're wasting your time waiting for what we already have.
-- Hugh Nibley - Yes, the question is, do our outward devotions translate into a Christlike life? It is not enough that we just talk of Christ, preach of Christ, or even prophesy of Christ (see 2 Nephi 25:26). We must live of Christ, for it is by our own personal, everyday living that the Savior will determine whether we are one of His true disciples, a friend.
-- Richard C. Edgley - Our weaknesses are like dogs, you see. If we walk towards them, they will run away from us. But if we run away from them they'll chase us.
-- Hugh Nibley - How can they [children] know of these most important matters unless we teach them? According to the scriptures, parents should teach children 'that all men, everywhere, must repent, or they can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God' (Moses 6:57). Children should learn 'to pray, and to walk uprightly before the Lord' (D&C 68:28), and 'to walk in the ways of truth and soberness; . to love one another, and to serve one another' (Mosiah 4:15). Our children should know 'to what source they may look for a remission of their sins' (2 Nephi 25:26), and they should learn that they are to 'love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might' (Deut. 6:5).
-- Elder M. Russell Ballard - [Natural disasters] are tragedies, but they may have another significance. The Lord uses adversities to send messages to his children. Isaiah prophesied that in the last days the Lord would visit all nations with great natural disasters (see Isaiah 29:6; 2 Nephi 27:1-2). In modern revelation, the Lord speaks of calling upon the nations of the earth by the mouth of his servants and also 'by the voice of thunderings, and by the voice of lightnings, and by the voice of tempests, and by the voice of earthquakes, and great hailstorms, and by the voice of famines and pestilences of every kind' (D&C 43:25).
-- Elder Dallin H. Oaks - No nation can fully preserve its institutions and wholly disregard God.
-- Elder Milvin J. Ballard - The world in which we live would benefit greatly if men and women everywhere would exercise the pure love of Christ, which is kind, meek, and lowly. It is without envy or pride. It is selfless because it seeks nothing in return. It does not countenance evil or ill will, nor rejoice in iniquity; it has no place for bigotry, hatred, or violence. It refuses to condone ridicule, vulgarity, abuse, or ostracism. It encourages diverse people to live together in Christian love regardless of religious belief, race, nationality, financial standing, education, or culture.
-- President Howard W. Hunter - No mah has any influence or power for good when angry.
-- Elder J. Golden Kimball - The Savior's Atonement is stunningly inclusive! 'For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive' (1 Cor. 15:22; emphasis added). Come one, come all, the Lord has invited. The gospel of Jesus Christ is for every man and woman, boy and girl. He doesn't change the rules for the rich or the poor, the married or unmarried, the Portuguese or the Chinese. The gospel is for every one of us, and the spiritual requirements and rewards are universal. In matters pertaining to salvation, 'all are alike unto God' (2 Nephi 26:33; emphasis added). The Lord's motives stand in stark contrast to those of Lucifer, who is obsessed with attempting to make us feel less than who we are as sons and daughters of God. He despises a consecrated people and delights at obscuring our vision and enticing us away from the path that leads back to our heavenly home.
-- Sheri L. Dew - Grace: (6) Wherefore, we search the prophets, and we have many revelations an the spirit of prophecy; and having all these witnesses we obtain a hope, and our faith becometh unshaken, insomuch that we truly can command in the name of Jesus and the very trees obey us, or the mountains, or the waves of the sea. (7) Nevertheless, the Lord God showeth us our weakness that we many know that is is by his grace, and his great condescensions unto the children of men, that we have power to do these things.
-- The Book of Mormon, the Book of Jacob 4:6-7 - Courage is acting in spite of fear.
-- President Howard W. Hunter - Because our purpose here on earth has not changed, nor will it ever, our Father steadily and regularly supplies additional gifts to make our world safe and strengthen our wise use of agency. Think about the gift of prayer -- opportunities to be heard and understood. Think about the gift of the Holy Ghost, who will show us all the things that we should do (see 2 Nephi 32:5). Think about sacred covenants we have made, the scriptures, priesthood and patriarchal blessings. Think about the ultimate gift of the Atonement and its reminder in the sacrament that blankets us with love and hope and grace. These gifts help us use our agency wisely to return back to our heavenly home, where 'eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him' (1 Cor. 2:9).
-- Sharon G. Larsen - Real character is formed in the midst of the battles for the soul.
-- Elder Hugh B. Brown - For anyone seeking the courage to repent and change, I remind you that the Church is not a monastery for the isolation of perfect people. It is more like a hospital provided for those who wish to get well. Do whatever you have to do to come into the fold and be blessed. For some of you that is simply to live with greater faith, to believe more. For some of you it does mean to repent -- right here. Today. For some of you it means to be baptized and come into the body and fellowship of Christ. For virtually all of us it means to live more by the promptings and promises of the Holy Ghost and to 'press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men.' (2 Nephi 31:20)
-- Elder Jeffrey R. Holland - The Holy Spirit does not teach the proud, the unteachable, the indolent, or the doubter. A deep desire for truth and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ will prepare one's heart to be taught spiritual things.
-- L. Aldin Porter, - How can a man have communion with God if he does not have fellowship with his fellow men?
-- Elder Hugh B. Brown - The first part of the ninth article of faith states, 'We believe all that God has revealed.' Through the ages, God's messages to His children generally have been revealed through prophets. Amos tells us, 'Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets' (Amos 3:7). These are the prophetic oracles who have tuned in over the centuries to the 'celestial transmitting station,' with a responsibility to relay the Lord's word to others. The principal qualifications of a prophet in any age are not wealth, title, position, physical stature, scholarship, or intellectual attainment. The two qualifications are, first, a prophet must be called as such by God and ordained by one known to have legal and spiritual authority (see D&C 42:11), and second, he must receive and declare revelation from God. No man knows the ways of God except they be revealed unto him (see Jacob 4:8).
-- President James E. Faust - All of us have much to learn and need good counsel. And beyond sound human help, beyond the 'arm of flesh,' it is written, 'Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good' (Alma 37:37). 'He will console you in your afflictions, and he will plead your cause' (Jacob 3:1).
-- Elder Marion D. Hanks - To love the Lord and our fellowmen is the key by which we unlock the power of the priesthood.
-- President Howard W. Hunter - We ought to keep the commandments simply as a favor to ourselves.
-- Elder Richard L. Evans - Inspired Book of Mormon prophets repeatedly teach us that the Fall was a necessary and foreseen part of the great plan of happiness and that "the way [to salvation] is prepared from the fall of man" (2 Nephi 2:4; see also Mosiah 4:7). Far from being a great disappointment and disgrace to their Heavenly Father, Adam and Eve were his instruments to further the divine plan "which was prepared from the foundation of the world" (Mosiah 15:19). Indeed, Father Lehi taught his son Jacob that "if Adam [and Eve] had not transgressed [they] would not have fallen, but [they] would have remained in the garden of Eden....
-- Spencer J. Condie - The mind is an attribute of the spirit.
-- Elder James E. Talmage - A change of heart and a will to live righteously can bind Satan. Thus, in the Book of Mormon we find accounts of those who had received a mighty change in their hearts and could say, 'We have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually' (Mosiah 5:2; see also Alma 19:33)
-- Clyde J. Williams - The most important step in spiritual preparation is prayer. Prayer is a means of seeking help and understanding. It is recognition that 'man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend.' (Mosiah 4:9.)
-- Elder Loren C. Dunn - No man can rise very high who lives by earthly things alone.
-- Elder John A. Widtsoe - In one of the most classic confrontations in the Bible, the Lord asked Cain, 'Where is Abel thy brother?' Cain answered, 'Am I my brother's keeper?' (Gen. 4:9). I put to each of us that same query: Are we our brother's keeper? King Benjamin taught, 'Ye will teach them to love one another, and to serve one another' (Mosiah 4:15). One of the great transcending principles that we teach in the Church is that we're trying to meet the needs of others. We talk frequently about service. Why? The needs of the Saints aren't any different from those of anyone else, because we're just people, and our needs are, above all else, primarily spiritual. Elder Marion D. Hanks once said to a celebrated psychiatrist, 'In a word, tell me what you do for people.' The psychiatrist said, 'In a word, what I do for people is to try to convince them that God loves them.' Love is the first great need. How do we know that? Because the Lord said so. The first commandment is to love God and serve him, and the second is like unto it: love our fellowmen and serve them (see Matt. 22:37-39). So we know that one of the first principles of the gospel has to be service.
-- President James E. Faust - Preach the gospel at all times -- use words, if needed.
- The only thing, it seems to me, that will save the world today is to acknowledge God and use good common sense.
-- Reed Smoot - When the Holy Ghost is really within us, Satan must remain without.
-- ElRay L. Christiansen - There can be no true happiness and no true joy, in my judgment, without righteousness.
-- Elder Stephen L. Richards - We are not saved in our sins, as by being unconditionally saved through confessing Christ and then, inevitably, committing sins in our remaining lives (see Alma 11:36-37). We are saved from our sins (see Helaman 5:10) by a weekly renewal of our repentance and cleansing through the grace of God and His blessed plan of salvation (see 3 Nephi 9:20-22).
-- Elder Dallin H. Oaks - Charity is not just works or gift giving, but a condition of the soul, a quality of our character. The gift of charity flows from God as He reveals His love for us, and from our reciprocating-feeling love for God, His work, and His children. That is why Alma could prophesy, 'And see that ye have faith, hope, and charity, and then ye will always abound in good works' (Alma 7:24). Pride is the opposite of charity. Selfishness, indifference, and indolence are enemies of charity.
-- V. Dallas Merrell - The Lord deals with individuals; and salvation is an individual affair; but, nevertheless, he deals also with nations. for he is the God of nations, which are set up or put down, are preserved or destroyed, according to their fitness; and all this is done in the Lord's due time and way. 'Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,' sang the psalmist. 'Righteousness exalteth a nation; but sin is a reproach to any people,' declared the author of the book of Proverbs.
-- Elder James E. Talmage - No man is so wise that he cannot benefit by talking things out with others.
-- Elder Richard L. Evans - If you have not done so yet, decide to decide.
-- President Spencer W. Kimball - God is at the helm of the ship Zion, and He will never allow it to run upon the rocks.
-- Reed Smoot - No people can ever prosper and florish very long unless they can abide in God's truth.
-- President Joseph F. Smith - No men are greater than when they are upon their knees in communion with God.
-- Elder Matthew Cowley - Someone has to do everything that is done.
-- Elder Richard L. Evans - Though this world has a way of diminishing and demeaning men and women, the reality is we are all of royal, divine lineage. In that unprecedented appearance of the Father and the Son in the Sacred Grove, the very first word spoken by the Father of us all was the personal name of Joseph. Such is our Father's personal relationship with each of us. He knows our names and yearns for us to become worthy to return to live with Him.
-- Elder M. Russell Ballard - People cannot change truth, but truth can change people.
-- John H. Vandenberg - To see the way that some people act, you might suppose that they are going to live here eternally, and that their eternal destiny depends upon the number of dollars they have.
-- President Wilford Woodruff - Brethren, there is too little religious devotion, love, and fear of God, in the home; too much worldliness, selfishness, indifference, and lack of reverence in the family, or it never would exist so abundantly on the outside. Then, the home is what needs reforming. Try today, and tomorrow, to make a change in your home.
-- President Joseph F. Smith - A creditor is worse than a slave-owner; for the master owns only your person, but a creditor owns your dignity, and can command it.
-- Elder Victor Hugo - Heaven will not perform the labour that it has designed us to perform.
-- President Brigham Young - The truth is frequently shocking just because of its simplicity and consequent grandeur.
-- Elder James E. Talmage - We have great concern that our lives may someday come to an end, but the real tragedy is that so many lives never really have a beginning.
-- Elder Sterling W. Sill - I have never seen a happy person who was not thankful.
-- Elder Hartman Rector, Jr. - You cannot lift another soul until you are standing on higher ground than he is... You cannot light a fire in another soul unless it is burning in your own soul.
-- President Harold B. Lee - That which we persist in doing becomes easier for us to do; not that the nature of the thing itself is changed, but that our power to do is increased.
-- President Heber J. Grant - The more perfect one becomes, the less he is inclined to speak of the imperfections of others.
-- ElRay L. Christiansen - Joy comes when we have the Spirit in our lives (see Alma 22:15). When we have the Spirit, we rejoice in what the Savior has done for us.
-- Quentin L. Cook, - The fire of faith and testimony soon falters if it is not fed. Few who have drifted far away have experienced the frequent referral to gospel principles that is needed to drive essential truths into the soul to the extent that behavior begins to change. Few are familiar with the scriptures, those powerful witnesses of Christ. (See John 5:39.) Their knowledge of the saving and redeeming truths found in the Book of Mormon is especially deficient. In a word, most require conversion. We have found that without conversion, activation is fleeting and superficial. These perceptive words from Alma 23:6 say it best: 'As many as believed, or... were brought to the knowledge of the truth... and were converted unto the Lord, never did fall away.'
-- Alexander B. Morrison - Contrition is costly -- it costs us our pride and our insensitivity, but it especially costs us our sins. For, as King Lamoni's father knew twenty centuries ago, this is the price of true hope. 'O God,' he cried, 'wilt thou make thyself known unto me, and I will give away all my sins to know thee... that I may be raised from the dead, and be saved at the last day.' (Alma 22:18.) When we, too, are willing to give away all our sins to know him and follow him, we, too, will be filled with the joy of eternal life.
-- President Howard W. Hunter - The greatest mystery a man ever learned, is to know how to control the human mind, and bring every faculty and power of the same in subjection to Jesus Christ; this is the greatest mystery we have to learn while in these tabernacles of clay.
-- President Brigham Young - Peace among men and nations will be the natural sequence when enough individuals have peace in their hearts.
-- Elder Marion G. Romney - One of my Book of Mormon heroes, Ammon, the great son of Mosiah, explains how much two people can accomplish when one of them is the Lord: 'Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever' (Alma 26:12).
-- Elder Jack H Goaslind - Do we choose to be obedient? Or do we let disobedience choose us? It's one or the other.
- The fork in the road is not the time to prepare for the decision.
- Praying keeps a man from sin; sin keeps a man from praying.
-- President Brigham Young - Obedience is better than repentance.
- If our home is in chaos, the Lord's Spirit will not be there.
- A negative example might be hard to overcome, but that is no excuse.
- True Conversion: proactive obedience to True Gospel Covenants.
True Gospel Covenants are revealed from On High, not dictated by human organizations. - It is not your calling or position that unlocks revelation, it is personal righteousness.
- The evil one has attempted on many occasions in all dispensations to put out of existence, if you will, many of God's children. Sometimes he, himself, has assumed the deluder's role. Other times he has worked through those who have stepped to his side of the line. For instance, in the Book of Mormon, we read of three anti-Christs. Each was deceived, each preached against those who believed in Christ, and each sought openly to destroy the church of God. Their patterns of deceit were similar. They taught false doctrines, spread lies, referred to prophecies as foolish traditions, accused Church leaders of perverting the right way of God, and baited the people by referring to their faith as a foolish and vain hope. (See Jacob 7; Alma 1; and Alma 30.)
-- Elder Carlos E. Asay - We know that there is an opposition in all things. (See 2 Nephi 2:10-11, 15.) Not surprisingly, therefore, faith, hope, and charity have their opposing forces. As illustrated in the letter from which I read, the antithesis of faith (For descriptions of faith, see Heb. 11:1; Alma 32:21.) is doubt; the opposite of hope is despair. And the opposite of charity is disregard or even disdain for the Savior and his commandments.
-- Elder Russell M. Nelson - Procrastination and indecision can hamper our efforts to prepare for the life after mortality. Elder Joseph Fielding Smith said, 'Procrastination, as it may be applied to Gospel principles, is the thief of eternal life -- which is life in the presence of the Father and the Son.' (The Way to Perfection, 10th ed. (1953), 202.) In the Book of Mormon we read Amulek's plea: 'I beseech of you that ye do not procrastinate the day of your repentance until the end. ... For that same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world.' (Alma 34:33-34.)
-- Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin - Faith can be fortified through prayer. Prayer is the powerful key to making decisions, not only concerning your physical body, but concerning all other important aspects of your life. Humbly seek the Lord in prayer with a sincere heart and real intent, and He will help you. (See Alma 33:23; Moroni 7:9; Moroni 10:4; D&C 9:7-9.)
-- Elder Russell M. Nelson - The Lord is the ultimate caregiver. We must surrender ourselves to the Lord. In doing so, we give up whatever is causing our pain and turn everything over to Him. 'Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee' (Psalms 55:22). 'And then may God grant unto you that your burdens may be light, through the joy of his Son' (Alma 33:23). Through faith and trust in the Lord and obedience to His counsel, we make ourselves eligible to be partakers of the Atonement of Jesus Christ so that one day we may return to live with Him.
-- Elder Robert D. Hales - The world is not big enough that you can run away from the testimony that the Lord plants in your heart.
-- Elder LeGrand Richards - We must take a positive approach to our religion and literally make it a way of life, a plan of daily action. We must reform ourselves day by day along gospel lines, for this is the time of our probation and it is now that we must prepare to meet our God. (See Alma 34:32.)
-- Elder Mark E. Petersen - So the question of questions is: What makes people repent? As near as I have been able to determine, once a person has sufficient faith in the Lord Jesus Christ that he believes Christ has paid for his sins, then he will repent. And it seems that very few, if any, will repent until they believe this truth. Therefore, it is vital to teach the truth about Jesus Christ as the literal son of God and our Lord and Savior and Redeemer in order to bring souls to repentance. Faith in Jesus Christ unto repentance is the saving power of the gospel of Jesus Christ. (See Alma 34:16.)
-- Elder Hartman Rector Jr. - Faith is not a substitute for truth, but a pathway to truth.
-- Elder Hugh B. Brown - Generally our Heavenly Father will not interfere with the agency of another person unless He has a greater purpose for that individual. Two examples come to mind: Saul, who became the Apostle Paul, and Alma the Younger. Both these men were deterred from their unrighteous objective of persecuting and trying to destroy the church of God. Both became great missionaries for the Church. But even as the Lord intervened, they were given choices. Alma, for example, was told, 'If thou wilt be destroyed of thyself, seek no more to destroy the church of God.' (Alma 36:11.)
-- Elder Marvin J. Ashton - The fact that some members do not have functioning traditional families is no reason to move in a direction that would diminish or abandon family activities among those who can and should foster them. With the increased onslaught of forces that cause families to disintegrate, we ought to dig in our heels to preserve all that is great and good in the family. We are reminded that in times of tribulations, the Nephites were not fighting for a political cause, such as monarchy or power; rather, they 'were inspired by a better cause.' For 'they were fighting for their homes and their liberties, their wives and their children, and their all, yea, for their rites of worship and their church.' (Alma 43:45.)
-- President James E. Faust - The ultimate form of love for God and men is forgiveness.
-- Elder Marion D. Hanks - While his enemies gained power through fraud and deceit, Moroni empowered the Nephites by teaching them to be faithful to God (see Alma 48:7). How do we, like Captain Moroni, create places of security for those around us in these sometimes frightening and perilous times? We can begin by following the admonition found in 1 Timothy 4:12: 'Be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.'
-- Virginia U. Jensen - Generally, those children who make the decision and have the resolve to abstain from drugs, alcohol, and illicit sex are those who have adopted and internalized the strong values of their homes as lived by their parents. In times of difficult decisions they are most likely to follow the teachings of their parents rather than the example of their peers or the sophistries of the media which glamorize alcohol consumption, illicit sex, infidelity, dishonesty, and other vices. They are like Helaman's two thousand young men who "had been taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them" from death. 'And they rehearsed... the words of their mothers, saying: We do not doubt our mothers knew it.' (Alma 56:47-48.)
-- President James E. Faust - he most powerful sermon any of us shall ever preach will be the sermon of our lives.
-- Elder Melvin J. Ballard - If our young folks become familiar with the teachings of the Book of Mormon, they will not only be inspired by the examples of Nephi, the 2,000 sons of Helaman (see Alma 53), and other great Book of Mormon characters to choose the right, they will also be so schooled in the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ that they will be able to know and understand what is right.
-- Elder Marion G. Romney - I think it is time we should all awaken. Our concern isn't about the flames of freedom which burn so brightly in our generation; the concern is that in the upcoming generation the fire has never been kindled. Our youth have never known anything but criticism of the United States of America. We need some faithful, free-loving patriots who will issue forth a clear, loud trumpet call. Remember Paul's counsel: 'For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare... to the battle?' (1 Cor. 14:8.) Freedom ought to ring in the heart of every Latter-day Saint regardless of his country.
-- Elder Vaughn J. Featherstone - No man loses credit by being true to his principles.
-- President George Q. Cannon - Meekness is a condition of voluntary humility.
-- Alvin R. Dyer - When the Lord instills hope and faith and peace and assurance in people, they can bring great things to pass. This, then, is often what we should look for when we ask for help -- not a miracle to solve our problem for us, but a miracle inside, to help us come to the solution ourselves, with the Lord's help and the Lord's power.
-- Gene R. Cook - Testimonies can be acquired, testimonies can be kept, and testimonies can be lost.
-- Elder Franklin D. Richards - Only if you sacrifice for a cause will you love it.
-- Elder Victor L. Brown - Success in preaching the Gospel springs not from the wisdom of this world.
-- President Brigham Young - If we live worthy of divine guidance, as we are privileged to do, we shall not go very far astray.
-- Joseph F. Merrill - President [Joseph] Smith was in person tall and well built, strong and active; of a light complexion, light hair, blue eyes, very little beard, and of an expression peculiar to himself, on which the eye naturally rested with interst, and was never weary of beholding. His countenance was ever mild, affable, beaming with intelligence and benevolence; mingled with a look of interest and an unconscious smile of cheerfulness, and entirely free from all restraint or affection of gravity; and there was something connected with the serene and steady penetrating glance of his eye, as if he would penetrate the deepest abyss of the human heart, gaze into eternity, penetrate the heavens, and comprehend all worlds.
-- Elder Parley P. Pratt - None of the present day preachers are to be censured for the apostate condition of the churches -- they have but inherited that condition; "inherited lies" and cisterns' without "living water." However, they have no divine authority to officiate in the ordinances of the Gospel. John Wesley, co-founder of the Methodist Church, realizing the lack of divine authority in the churches of his day, hesitated to assume authority to ordain others to the ministry. And at the end of his course declared this and the lack of faith "was the real cause why the extra-ordinary gifts of the Holy Ghost were no longer to be found in the Christian Church -- because the Christians were turned heathen again, and only had a dead form left" And Roger Williams, pastor of the first Baptist church established in America, recognizing the face of the apostacy, resigned from his pastorate, saying: "There is no regularly constituted church on earth; nor can there be until new apostles are sent by the great Head of the Church."
-- George Edward Clark - If Superman tried to resist kryptonite rather than avoid it, he'd die.
-- Cheryl Jorgensen - As He knew Peter, the Lord understands you and me when our testimonies may not be the brightly burning bonfire you may think they are or want them to be. Perhaps in some cases, that testimony is constructed unwisely, built on a social foundation of programs and personalities instead of the sure rock of personal revelation. Or perhaps you have allowed your testimony to flicker gradually through the years of disuse and spiritual complacency. Regardless of the reason your testimony may be growing dim, the Savior lovingly urges you to come unto Him and become strengthened in Him. Said He to Moroni: 'If men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble;... for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.' (Ether 12:27.)
-- Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin, - Work is a principle, a privilege, a blessing -- not a curse -- but an absolute essential, a physical and spiritual necessity.
-- Elder Richard L. Evans - As we sincerely pray to the Lord and rely upon his divine whisperings, that still, small voice will come to us. (See Helaman 5:30.) We will receive a peace, knowing that God has answered our prayers. Remember the peace that Oliver received. These spiritual embers can grow into a flame of testimony. (See Helaman 5:45.)
-- Robert K. Dellenbach - A most disquieting aspect of the repeated cycles described in the Book of Mormon is the time frame, for an entire people can 'become weak, because of their transgression, in the space of not many years' (Helaman 4:26). Whether it be individuals or a whole society, it is possible that decay from within can wreak havoc in a relatively short time.
-- Stephen D. Nadauld - When Pilate stood on the stage of life and pondered what to do with Christ, he listened to the voices of an angry mob and consented to his death. Now that we are on center stage, whose promptings will we follow? In the wings of our stage, prophets of the past and present are pleading for us to 'look to God and live' (Alma 37:47), to 'seek this Jesus of whom the... apostles have written' (Ether 12:41), to taste and know of 'the goodness of Jesus' (Mormon. 1:15), and to be men and women of Christ. (See Helaman 3:29)
-- Elder Carlos E. Asay - It may be difficult to begin, but pick up the scriptures and immerse yourself in them. Look for favorite passages. Lean on the Master's teachings, on His servants' testimonies. Refresh your parched soul with the word of God. (See 2 Nephi 4:15-16.) The scriptures will give you comfort and the strength to overcome. (See Helaman 3:29-30.)
-- Elder Richard G. Scott - Activity is the soul of spirituality.
-- President Harold B. Lee - True disciples are those who go beyond simply believing. They act out their belief. Said the Savior, 'If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself' (John 7:17). Disciples follow the Divine Master. Their actions speak in symphonic harmony with their beliefs. They know who they are. They know what God expects of them. They mirror inner peace and certainty concerning the mission and resurrection of Christ. They hunger and thirst after righteousness. They know they are here on this earth for a purpose. They understand life after death. They believe that the transcendent event in the ministry of the Christ was the Atonement, culminating in the Resurrection.
-- President James E. Faust - No one will ever be comfortable without being clean.
-- Elder Richard L. Evans - If we are not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, then we should not be ashamed to live it. And if we are not ashamed to live it, then we should not be ashamed to share it.
-- Elder Delbert L. Stapley - Because of the temptation to intellectual pride, always remember that the sun rises and shines on gentle and simple alike, so the light of truth beams as directly upon the simplest and humblest of God's children as upon you. Do not, therefore, be ashamed of spiritual truths, Do not reject them or think you must amend them because they are common to you and to those who have not had the advantage of higher education. Be not ashamed of Jesus Christ because the poor believe in him and some of the mighty of the world do not. Do not let your scientific intellect discard truths merely because they are not subject to demonstrable proof. Open your hearts and souls so that you may have understanding of spiritual truth. Your natural associations will be with persons of culture, but keep close to those who have warm hearts, character, faith and testimony. Devote yourselves to the calls that shall come to you in life to render service to others and service to God.
-- President Howard W. Hunter - Prayer is the catalyst with which we open the door to the Savior.
-- Elder Marion G. Romney - When first communicated to mankind by prophets, the teachings we now have in the Bible were 'plain and pure, and most precious and easy' to understand (1 Nephi 14:23). Even in the transmitted and translated version we have today, the Bible language confirms that God the Father and his resurrected Son, Jesus Christ, are tangible, separate beings. To cite only two of many such teachings, the Bible declares that man was created in the image of God, and it describes three separate members of the Godhead manifested at the baptism of Jesus (see Gen. 1:27; Matt. 3:13-17).
-- Elder Dallin H. Oaks - There is one thing more serious than mearly to "not believe," and that is not "not care."
-- Elder Sterling W. Sill - Pure hearts in a pure home are always a whispering distance of heaven.
- The first article anchors our belief in God, our Eternal Father, in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost. How grateful we are for a knowledge of Supreme Beings that rule and govern this world. Our belief does not come from the speculations of men about the existence and nature of God, but from firsthand experience from the Prophet Joseph Smith in the Sacred Grove. His experience clarified for mankind the existence of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. Thus to the world came the vision that three personages comprise this great presiding council of the universe and have revealed themselves to mankind as three separate beings, physically distinct from each other as demonstrated by the accepted records of their divine dealings with mankind. We know the occasions where they have been in evidence to mankind as three distinct personages. It is clear that the Father is a personal being possessing a definite form of body, parts, and spiritual passions, that Jesus Christ was with the Father in spirit before coming to dwell in the flesh, and through whom worlds were made. He lived among men as a man, with all of the physical characteristics of a human being. After His Resurrection He appeared in that same form. The Holy Ghost, also called Spirit or Spirit of the Lord, Spirit of God, Comforter, or the Spirit of the Truth, is not tabernacled in a body of flesh and bones but is a personage of spirit. The Holy Ghost is a witness of the Father and of the Son declaring to man their attributes, bearing record of the other personages of the Godhead.
-- Elder L. Tom Perry - A friend is a person who will suggest and render the best for us regardless of the immediate consequences.
-- Elder Marvin J. Ashton - Truth has, it is quite true, but one enemy, and that is untruth. Untruth has two enemies, truth and itself.
-- Levi Edgar Young - Look for the good; build up the good; sustain the good; and speak as little about the evil as you possibly can.
-- President Joseph F. Smith - We must at regular and appropriate intervals speak and reassure others of our love and the long time it takes to prove it by our actions. Real love does take time. The Great Shepherd had the same thoughts in mind when he taught, 'If ye love me, keep my commandments' (John 14:15) and 'If ye love me feed my sheep' (John 21:16). Love demands action if it is to be continuing. Love is a process. Love is not a declaration. Love is not an announcement. Love is not a passing fancy. Love is not an expediency. Love is not a convenience. 'If ye love me, keep my commandments' and 'If ye love me feed my sheep' are God-given proclamations that should remind us we can often best show our love through the processes of feeding and keeping.
-- Elder Marvin J. Ashton - More is included in the gospel than all Scripture thus far written.
-- Elder James E. Talmage - Giving us weakness is one of the Lord's ways of getting out attention.
-- Elder Hartman Rector, Jr. - It is impossible to understand what happened on Calvary without some understanding as to what went on in Gethsemane. Likewise, the birth at Bethlehem must be tied to the significance of the empty tomb which signaled the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The ministry of the Master cannot be understood fully either, unless we understand about his ministry on this hemisphere to the other sheep which were not of the fold in Jerusalem (see John 10:16; 3 Nephi 15:17, 21-24). The more one understands about the ministry of Jesus Christ, the more absurd it is to regard him as any less than the resurrected Son of God.
-- President Spencer W. Kimball - There are some truths greater than other truths.
-- Elder Franklin D. Richards - The first witness [of Jesus Christ] is the Holy Bible, which testifies of the Master from the Middle East. The Lord said in John 10:16 that other sheep would hear His voice. The Lord came to the Americas after His resurrection and said: 'And verily I say unto you, that ye are they of whom I said: Other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd' (3 Nephi 15:21). Two such witnesses cannot be denied without placing the soul in peril."
-- Ted E. Brewerton, "The Book of Mormon: A Sacred Ancient Record" - We should not assume that the desires of our hearts can serve as a substitute for an ordinance of the gospel. Consider the words of the Lord in commanding two gospel ordinances: 'Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.' (John 3:5.) And in respect to the three degrees in the celestial glory, modern revelation states, 'In order to obtain the highest, a man must enter into this order of the priesthood [meaning the new and everlasting covenant of marriage].' (D&C 131:2.) No exception is implied in these commands or authorized elsewhere in the scriptures.
-- Elder Dallin H. Oaks - He who believes knows that he belongs.
-- Elder Marion D. Hanks - Peace among men and nations will be the natural sequence when enough individuals have peace in their hearts.
-- Elder Marion G. Romney - Notwithstanding the numerous New Testament witnesses of the Savior as a resurrected being following his crucifixion (see, for example, Luke 24:36-48), there still persists the fallacious doctrine formulated at the Council of Nicea in A.D. 325 that God the Father, his Son, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are three personages of spirit -- three personages in one. The sacred record of the Savior's appearance to the ancient Nephites is an essential, additional witness of the true nature of the Son and of his relationship to the Father and to the Holy Ghost. After introducing himself as Jesus Christ, he who had taken upon himself the sins of the world (see 3 Ne. 11:11), he warmly invited the multitude to 'come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet' (3 Ne. 11:14). The resurrected Christ had a glorified body of flesh and bone as certified by a multitude who 'did see with their eyes and did feel with their hands, and did know of a surety and did bear record, that it was he' (3 Ne. 11:15).
-- Elder Spencer J. Condie - Too often we are involved in the thick of thin things.
-- Elder A. Theodore Tuttle - Faith in God is a prerequisite to the influence of the Holy Spirit.
-- John H. Vandenberg - The gospel fulfills every requirement of a human life.
-- Elder Stephen L. Richards - Tomorrow is Easter! Christians everywhere will commemorate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though the anniversary date may not be accurate, the Easter season should inspire us to study and reflect upon the infinite and eternal atonement of Christ -- 'the firstfruits of them that slept' (1 Cor. 15:20). The resurrection of Jesus from the tomb is the most glorious of all messages to mankind.
-- Elder David B. Haight - The Lord tests us and tries us. He tests all of His saints. There is no question that the harder the test, the higher the reward for passing it. Abraham laid all that he had on the altar, thus proving himself worthy of exaltation. Our Father knows where we are on the path, and He knows when it is enough and when to provide the ram. We never walk alone. Because He loves us, He will not deprive us of the growth that comes from our tests, however hard they may be. It is comforting to know that He will never test any of us beyond our ability to withstand. We know that 'there hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.' (1 Corinthians 10:13.)
-- Ardeth Greene Kapp - The best way to improve our lives is to improve our thoughts.
-- Elder Sterling W. Sill - The deepest expression of spirituality is love.
-- Robert L. Simpson - In the final analysis, the gospel of God is written, not in the dead letters of the scriptural records, but in the lives of the Saints.
-- Elder Bruce R. McConkie - Surely we live in troubled times, but we can seek and obtain the good despite Satan's temptations and snares. He cannot tempt us beyond our power to resist. (See 1 Cor. 10:13.) When we seek 'anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy,' we are seeking to emulate the Savior and follow his teachings. Then we are on the path that can lead us to eternal life.
-- Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin - It is very significant that when Jesus came forth from the tomb and appeared to his disciples, his first greeting was, 'Peace be unto you.' (Luke 24:36.) Peace-not passion, not personal possessions, not personal accomplishments nor happiness-is one of the greatest blessings a man can receive. Our trust and our relationship with our Heavenly Father should be one similar to that of the little blind girl and her earthly father. When sorrow, tragedy, and heartbreaks occur in our lives, wouldn't it be comforting if when the whisperings of God say, 'Do you know why this has happened to you?' we could have the peace of mind to answer 'No, but you do.'
-- Elder Marvin J. Ashton - The answer of Jesus to the lawyer might be considered as the Lord's touchstone. He said on another occasion, 'Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me' (Matt. 25:40). He will measure our devotion to him by how we love and serve our fellowmen. What kind of mark are we leaving on the Lord's touchstone? Are we truly good neighbors? Does the test show us to be 24-karat gold, or can the trace of fool's gold be detected?
-- President Howard W. Hunter - The brightest light and the clearest signal comes from the cleanest instrument.
-- Elder H. Burke Peterson - Repentance is God's cure for every disease that plagues our lives.
-- Elder Sterling W. Sill - Only righteousness pays dividends.
-- President Spencer W. Kimball - If performed in the right spirit, there is no higher worship than the unpurchased service to another soul of whatever faith, belief, or social stratum. The Savior of the world said it simply, 'Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me' (Matt. 25:40).
-- President James E. Faust - There is a lot of difference in being knowledgeable of a fact and having faith and an understanding of it. I believe there are many people in this world who say, 'I know that Jesus is the Christ.' Well, bless your souls, the devils know that too, and they tremble. But the person who really knows it, is the person who lives it and then drinks from the fountain of righteousness to his soul the great power that makes a man turn and change his life.
-- Paul F. Royall - The path from man to God is prayer.
-- Elder Marion G. Romney - It may not always be easy, convenient, or politically correct to stand for truth and right, but it is always the right thing to do. Always.
-- Elder M. Russell Ballard - No obstacles are insurmountable when God commands and we obey.
-- President Heber J. Grant - God...has bestowed upon us the capacity for infinite wisdom and knowledge, because He has given us a portion of Himself.
-- President Lorenzo Snow - Patience is truly a mighty virtue and can be developed as we become peacemakers and make up our mind to be patient within our own life as well as with others.
-- Elder Franklin D. Richards - We need to know more, but also we need more to use more of what we know.
-- Elder Richard L. Evans - Jesus taught the doctrine that we should pray for those that despitefully use us; that we should love our enemies; that we should do good to them that do evil to us; that we should not return evil for evil, but good for evil. There is no particular credit due to any person who returns good for good. Even the publicans and sinners did this, but it is somewhat difficult to return good for evil. Nevertheless to do so was enjoined by the commandments of the Lord Jesus. We are to love our enemies; do good to them that hate and persecute us; and when we are persecuted, persecute not again; when we are derided, deride not in return; if we are injured, seek not to injure those who injure us; that which is required at our hands is to establish peace on earth and good will to man. Hence, when we forget the object of our calling and step out of the path of duty to return blow for blow, to inflict evil for evil, to persecute because we may be persecuted, we forget the injunction of the Lord and the covenants we have made with God, to keep His commandments.
-- President Joseph F. Smith - It was only after the death of Christ's apostles that revelation ceased. The pure doctrines Christ taught became diluted with the philosophy of the world, and profane innovations appeared in the ordinances of the church. Eventually, that which had once been clear and understandable became mythical and confusing. Confusion is the field where Satan operates to deceive and lead mankind astray. Jesus and His apostles predicted a 'falling away' (see 2 Thes. 2:1-4), which did occur, and Christianity entered a long night of darkness.
-- Elder Delbert L. Stapley - The price of discipleship is obedience.
-- President James E. Faust - The trouble with us today, there are too many of us who put question marks instead of periods after what the Lord says.
-- President Harold B. Lee - We now know what Jesus meant when he said, "The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live" (John 5:25), and the true meaning of his statement to the thief on the cross: "To day shalt thou be with me in paradise" (Luke 23:43). We can now understand Peter's statements about our Lord's ministry in the spirit world, where he preached the gospel while his body lay in the Arimathean's tomb. (1 Pet. 3:18-20, 1 Pet. 4:6.) Paul's statement about baptism for the dead now makes sense (1 Cor. 15:29), as do Isaiah's and Zechariah's statements about freeing the prisoners in the pit (Isa. 42:7, Isa. 49:9, Isa. 61:1, Zech. 9:11) and Obadiah's prophecy about saviors who "shall come up on mount Zion" (Obad. 1:21). Even Malachi's enigmatic promise that Elijah would come before the great and dreadful day of the Lord to "turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers," lest the Lord come "and smite the earth with a curse" (Mal. 4:5-6) -- even this takes on sense and meaning because the doctrine of salvation for the dead has been set out for us in plainness in latter-day revelation.
-- Elder Bruce R. McConkie - Obedience is not blind when it is based on faith.
-- Henry D. Taylor - The devil wages war against the scriptures. He hates them, perverts their plain meanings, and destroys them when he can. He entices those who heed his temptings to delete and discard, to change and corrupt, to alter and amend, thus taking away the key which will aid in making men 'wise unto salvation.' (2 Tim. 3:15-17.)
-- Elder Bruce R. McConkie - It is evident from the scriptures that through the foreknowledge of God the ancient apostles were shown in advance that Christianity would be splintered, that its unity for which Christ had prayed would be destroyed, and that thus would come a general falling away from the original truth.... But the Lord was not content to abandon a shattered Christianity. He was still determined to save mankind if they would obey him. Therefore, knowing in advance that a falling away would take place, he provided for a restoration of the original truth in the latter days. This was voiced through the apostle Peter as one day he discoursed upon the second coming of the Lord. He explained that the Lord's second coming would be preceded in the latter days by a restoration of the gospel which would be so extensive as to return all that God had spoken by the mouth of his holy prophets from the beginning of the world. (See Acts 3.)
-- Elder Mark E. Petersen - Paul's warnings describe apostasy and other dangers of our day. Some of these perils are contrary to God's purposes and are championed by persuasive people possessing more ability than morality, more knowledge than wisdom. Their rationalization breeds justification. The Bible affirms that the 'way of a fool is right in his own eyes.' (Prov. 12:15.) Indeed, individuals with malignity of purpose often wear the mask of honesty. So we must constantly be on guard.
-- Elder Russell M. Nelson - Peace among men and nations will be the natural sequence when enough individuals have peace in their hearts.
-- Elder Marion G. Romney - We never get stomach ulcers because of what we eat; we get stomach ulcers because of what is eating us.
-- Elder Sterling W. Sill - One who practices pure religion soon discovers it is more rewarding to lift a man up than to hold him down.
-- Elder Marvin J. Ashton - Ends and means are completely inseparable. There is no way in which a person can truly accomplish a worthy end by using unworthy means.
-- Stephen R. Covey - The trials through which today's young people are passing -- ease and luxury -- may be the most severe test of any age. Brothers and sisters, stay close to your own! Guide them safely! These are perilous times. Give increased attention. Give increased effort.
-- Elder A. Theodore Tuttle - Today I thought I would like to say a few words about the kind of a foundation we have for our faith, and what we live for, and what our aims and our ambitions really are. I think of the time the beautiful temple here on this block was erected, over a hundred years ago. When the foundation was being laid, we are told that it was sixteen feet wide, and at one time President Brigham Young came and saw the workmen throwing in chipped granite. He made them take it out and put in those great granite blocks with this explanation: "We are building this temple to stand through the millennium." Isn't that a good thought? Each one of us ought to want to build our lives and help our families to build their lives so that we can stand through the millennium.
-- Elder LeGrand Richards - Always remember that if this were not the Lord's work, the adversary would not pay any attention to us.
-- President Spencer W. Kimball - Does it seem reasonable that persons who have lived upon the earth and died without the opportunity of baptism should be deprived throughout eternity? Is there anything unreasonable about the living performing the baptisms for the dead? Perhaps the greatest example of vicarious work for the dead is the Master himself. He gave his life as a vicarious atonement, that all who die shall live again and have life everlasting. He did for us what we could not do for ourselves. In a similar way we can perform ordinances for those who did not have the opportunity to do them in lifetime.
-- President Howard W. Hunter - Perhaps I could begin with an interesting question posed recently and an equally interesting answer. The question was, 'Don't you think the commandments should be rewritten?' The answer was, 'No, they should be reread.'
This may be a good point from which to take off for consideration of some fundamental facts; namely, the commandments of God are there. They come from a divine source. The experience of the ages has proved the need for them, and has proved what happens if they are ignored.
So why spend life in the frustration and unhappiness and sorrow and tragedy of trying to rationalize and wave them away?
-- Elder Richard L. Evans - While the Lord will magnify us in both subtle and dramatic ways, he can only guide our footsteps when we move our feet.
-- Elder Marion G. Romney - In faith, we plant the seed, and soon we see the miracle of the blossoming. Men have often misunderstood and have reversed the process. They would have the harvest before the planting.
-- President Spencer W. Kimball - The righteous molding of an immortal soul is the highest work we can do, and the home is the place to do it.
-- Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin - If you want to make God laugh, just tell him your plans...
-- Janele Windham - Almost like children, we fret over our fuel shortages and other inconveniences. We resent restrictions upon our pleasure-seeking activities. Why don't we admit like grown men and women that a rejection of God is at the very root of all of our troubles? Why do we refuse to wake up to the facts in our situation? Why must we blindly plunge on into catastrophe?
Should we not take right and proper steps to overcome our conflicts, our crimes, and all of our corruptions?
There is but one sure and certain way: return to God! And that must include a sincere acceptance of the Lord Jesus Christ, with full obedience to his precepts.
-- Elder Mark E. Petersen
| MINE
My Quotes and Comments |
|---|
- As long as Peter's focus was fixed 100% on his goal, and he did not fear the outside world, he could walk on water! (see Matt 14:26-33)
- When you pray for help, quit ignoring the prompts to act -- including the prompts to talk to people!
- The spirit world is closer than we imagine; much more real than we are willing to believe; and they have a much better grip on reality than we give them credit for!
- Anger is never the best response.
- Next to eternal life, the most precious gift our Heavenly Father can give to us is one of His Children.
- The spirit of hate must be rooted out from within -- the person must replace it with the spirit of love and charity, themselves, and then continually strive to keep charity and love foremost in their lives and minds.
- Hate will find a target. people who have the spirit of hate in them will find an object to focus their hate on -- and any object will do.
- People don't judge you by your trials -- but by how you handle them.
- If you don't pay attention and write it down and/or acknowledge it quickly, then those fleeting inspirations will just disappear...
- Using flowery words to describe a picture is okay, as long as you don't lose site of the picture.
- How do you resolve when: what you can do, what you think you should do, and what you want to do are all different?
- Pondering on sin leads to sinful results or actions.
- Everyone has to pass through their Abraham-type tests -- something that shakes your faith to its very foundation. Only after that point can you truly say your faith is unshakable and eternal. Only then have you truly passed the test of this life.
- If you haven't had a trial or a test that shook your faith just a little, then you probably haven't had any real trials or tests.
- Could it be that repeated trials are there because you didn't learn the lesson you were supposed to learn? Like those who do not learn from their mistakes are destined to repeat them...
- A good person will never prey on the misfortunes of others; those who do, are not.
- Just because things are falling down around you doesn't mean you have to fall down; always try to make the best of what is still around.
- You will never have a good day if you don't think you will.
- If it is a good day or if it is a bad day, it is up to you. The day is the same, it is you who determine how it is.
- Hate controls you; you control love. If you want to be in control of yourself, it can only be thru love. Anger and hate take over and they control you, thus you have lost your self-control.
- The moment you are absolutely convinced the other person is in need of repentance is the precise moment you are in greater need of more sincere repentance!
- If your spouse is not the kind of person they should be, it is probably because you are not the kind of person you should be.
- Perhaps uncharitable acts against those you feel need to repent is why the Lord said those who do not forgive are guilty of the greater sin.
- The Lord will give you one more inspiring thought than you have room to write.
- The Lord keeps giving you more tests until you don't get 100%, so you know where and what you need to learn.
- We who are sinners at least cone to Church to rub shoulders with the Saints who are still struggling to do things right.
- We are commanded to tend the widows and fatherless -- both are those in their situation due to no fault of their own, so the Lord gives us extra charge for them.
- In each of our lives comes that moment of divine truth, when our faith is truly tried. If we succeed, our "want-amony" then becomes our "testimony."
- I keep telling them: if you don't bring your scriptures, you didn't come to Church.
- You don't just get mad; you choose to be mad!
- Just because "God is in control..." doesn't mean He doesn't expect you to do the steering.
- Just because things seem to "work out" when you don't listen to the Spirit, does not mean things really worked out.
- True Honor is not gained in the eyes of the world. It is what you do in the private, hand-to-hand struggle with those foes which are attacking you. And once you have slayed your dragons, you are content in knowing you won, without the need of bragging about it to the world.
- Joseph Smith said: "God, men, and angels will not condemn those that resist everything that is evil, and devils cannot." I have a few comments on this quote:
- In today's society, there are a lot of men who condemn you for doing good -- or resist evil. I believe this is because they are so inspired by the devil that they no longer speak for themselves. They say they speak for themselves, but this inspired comment from the mouthpiece of the Lord certainly says otherwise.
- There is one caveat to the above point: the individual who is speaking for himself, and who denigrates that which is good, or those who resist evil, is a "devil" in the first instance.
- The part about "devils cannot" struck me as interesting. We see so many people who just "cannot" resist evil or temptations. This certainly puts them and their actions into perspective, doesn't it?
At any rate, those who speak against individuals who are resisting, or at least trying to resist evil are certainly going to find themselves in a seriously uncomfortable situation in the eternities. - You learn from one of two sources: someone else or life. No matter how difficult or expensive the lessons from others might be, it is nothing compared to when life is your teacher. When life teaches you a lesson, you take the test first -- without prior notice or preparation. Only if you survive the test can you then begin to learn the lesson, which can only be seen through hind-sight.
- I have discovered that The Spirit most often moves you when you are actually moving in the first place. Often I have prayed for help knowing what to do, and just sat there waiting for the urge to go do something. When nothing came, I figured it was akin to the "stupor of thought" and waited some more. But as soon as I get up off my duff, inspiration seems to start flowing, sometimes taking me right to where I need to be. So I'm thinking that The Spirit uses enough power and influence to move you, but does not exercise enough power to overcome inertia and make you start moving in the first place.
- There are some who will never respond to your acts of love and kindness, but will take advantage of them all and return bitterness and hate. That does not mean you should not continue to sow love and kindness. One day God will water their barren soil with their tears and the seeds you have sown will finally grow into a ripe harvest. If they are lucky, this will happen while they are still in mortality and can take advantage of this harvest. In any case, you will reap the rewards.
- As difficult as it is to calm down after getting mad, it should be obvious that it would have been easier to have never gotten mad in the first place. Anger is, after all, optional. So it stands to reason that the effort required to stop anger in the first place is less than what it takes to exercise the discipline needed to not express that anger later on.
- The faster you make a judgment, the less real data it is based upon.
- The quicker you are to anger the greater the chance you are wrong.
- Anger is a habit; quick anger a vice.
- When an argument is established by noise and commotion and hand waving, you can know they already understand how weak their argument is.
- The most difficult argument to win is the one where their side is based upon ignorance and lies. Truth and knowledge can be dealt with, but ignorance and lies will constantly shift around, changing as needed, until your strength is wasted.
- When an argument is based upon lies, they already know it. So they express their comments in such a way that if you attempt to call them down for lying, you will look the fool. They know the lie, and so they verbally out-flank you in order to make it more difficult for you to call them on it. So you may understand that when you hear this style of speech, that they already know they are lying.
- Those who hate you for doing good are those who hate doing good.
- There are those corrupt and foolish people who say things like: "no woman is free who does not consciously control whether she will or will not be a mother." I say that virtually every women in our society today does have this control. The issue is not becoming a mother, the issue is demanding she take no responsibility for her breeding habits. Why should the innocent suffer because she refuses to take this most basic responsibility?
- The proud never ask, they accuse; they never want, only want more. Further, they never truly and fully reconcile because that takes away a dominance over others which they know they do not deserve.
- Only the humble and thoughtful will understand why you do not retaliate against those who insult and denigrate you. They see the virtue and honor in this self-mastery. Those who are proud see it as a weakness to exploit, and will continue to do so with impunity. One day they will look back on this in horror. God help this to happen when they can recover from it and repent. But sooner or later, the proud will burn in their hearts for these actions.
- Flattery will only "take you anywhere" with people who are already the kind who will "go anywhere" with you. Flattery is worthless speech, yet what you get with it is of even less real worth.
- I have noticed that when a woman tries to "act like a man," that she picks the worst characteristics of the worst of men to emulate. I have yet to recognize a real life example that was not like this.
- At the moment you take over the interpretation of another's actions and feelings, you take from them the responsibility for them. So long as you are the sole source of legitimate interpretation, you are also the sole source of the responsibility. If you want them to be truly and fully responsible for their actions, then you must also make them fully responsible for interpreting them. The two go hand in hand.
- To argue against a point, you must understand it. Significant understanding is required to make significant arguments against a point. Those who fight the true gospel understand it, perhaps better than we do. They understand it and know it very well, they have simply rejected it.
- The proud will never accept the premise that their actions have anything to do with the negative aspects of the reactions.
- Agency was important enough for our Father to lose one-third of His children over it. That would be roughly equivalent to the average family losing at least one child. When you think about it, this must be a very important doctrinal point. It must be one which we study and try to understand better than we do.
- When you deal with the government, in all of it's bureaucratic mess, you will never come out ahead. You may, if you are lucky, come out even, but eventually, the government wins.
- I love Joseph Smith. He is a hero and example to me like few others. If I can but emulate him in the least degree, then I will be a happy man. If any, even as an accusation, compare me to Brother Joseph, then I will praise God for it. If I could but be given the chance to be his friend, I would be as true a friend as he ever had. For in my eyes, there is no better man you would esteem as your friend, than the man Joseph.
- Pride in those who do not "deserve" to be proud, is the hardest type of pride to be healed from. God can humble a man who is proud of his riches by taking them away from him, but how can He humble one who is proud of being poor? Ditto with those who are proud of their fame or beauty or power. If it is your fame which causes your pride, then you can be humbled by being forgotten. But what if you are proud of being a "nobody"? How can God help you become humble in this situation? Thus those whose pride is based upon things which do not "deserve" it are the hardest to humble.
- Be very careful when you tell others what their motivations are. By so doing, you take from them the responsibility for it and take it upon yourself. That, then, makes you guilty of what you are accusing them of.
- If you are not doing the right thing for the right reason, it matters little what you are doing or why you are doing it.
- Disasters don't bring out the "good" or "bad" in people, it only allows that aspect to come to the surface so other's can see it.
- To the extent that you define the motives and intentions of others, you are responsible for that definition. Only when you humble yourself enough to allow them to do so will they be responsible for it. With responsibility comes accountability.
- Guilt is the natural emotion you feel when your actions are not in harmony with your beliefs.
- The hymn says "millions shall know Brother Joseph again" -- are you one of those millions?
- Listening to the words of the Lord is like watering your garden. If the soil is too hard, the water simply runs off. Your garden must be prepared before the water will do it any good. So it is with your ears and heart. You must have open ears to hear the words, and a soft and receptive heart to understand the words of the spirit.
- General Conference is one of our modern day filters. Most see one session, perhaps Sunday afternoon. Fewer see two sessions, with fewer still seeing more. A small and select group will see (or hear) all sessions. Virtually nobody reads the ones they missed, no matter what they say. But more than that, how many who actually watch or listen to General Conference actually listen and hear the words of the Lord? That is the great filter!
- When Christ taught in parables, the object of His teaching was the righteous members of His Church. When his message was directed at those not of the fold, He did not use parables, but was straight forward in telling them what they needed to hear. So when we read a parable, we need to take into account that the entire parable is directed towards the righteous members of His Church, and act accordingly.
- Weather you look for the best or the worst in others, that is just what you will find.
- What we get out of Sacrament Meeting will never exceed the preparation and spirit we bring in to it.
- If they don't believe you during the interview, then how can you think they will trust you if you are employed by them? If you cannot trust what they say during the interview, what makes you think you will be able to trust them as an employer?
- Finally making the decision is both the beginning and the end: It is the beginning of doing what you have to do to make that decision come to pass; it is the end of the debate within yourself concerning the decision and the direction you should go. If you are not really working it, or you are still debating it, you did not really make a decision -- you just simply took the road where you quit thinking about it at that moment in time.
- Reason holds to these two tenants: 1) You cannot have faith in something you do not believe in, and 2) you cannot believe in something you do not fully understand. Knowledge and understanding are required in order to believe, and then have faith in, something. With this one grand key you can easily see how false many doctrines are.
- If lucifer was so persuasive and so powerful in his arguments that he could talk one-third of Heavenly Father's children into rebelling against Him, while still in His presence, then who are WE to think WE can withstand his wily ways?
- Before you stomp on someone else's differences, make sure those differences are not based upon preferences instead of principles.
- Pure charity means you do what you do because you feel you should do it, not for the reward which you might get. If you quit because you are not getting any type of reward, then you were not being motivated by the Love of Christ, or charity, but by your own greed.
- There is no wrong reason to do the right thing. If you are doing the right thing, you are doing the right thing. The scriptures tell us three things in regard to this: First, you will "in no wise lose [your] reward" for doing the right thing. Second, no corrupt tree can bring forth good fruit. If you are bringing forth good fruit, then you cannot be a corrupt tree -- at least not at that moment. Third, every good thing comes from the Lord. Every right thing done brings you closer to the Lord. Thus it is not possible for there to be a wrong reason to do the right thing.
- Charity means I am doing what I do out of love and compassion and a desire to serve, not for the reward which I might get/expect.
- We now have black children whose grandparents to not remember a time without affirmative action -- a large percentage of them. After three generations of this, are they better off for it? I highly doubt it. They are simply slaves of a different master -- the federal government. This will continue as long as affirmative action continues.
- Footprints in the sand were made by walking feet. Those who do nothing make no mark, temporarily and certainly not lasting.
- Since we believe our body to be a Temple of God, then that makes us the Temple President. As such, we should turn our mind into the Temple Workers and our heart into the Celestial Room. With this shift in thinking, could we not see new ways to make sure that what comes into our Temple, via the eyes, ears, and mouth are a little better? Could we not see ways to ensure that what comes out of our Temple, via our acts and words is a little better? It has been declared to be a Temple, it is up to us to show which god it is a temple to.
- I heard these comments from an Apostle. Since I cannot quote him exactly, I'll just say these are my thoughts on what impressed me:
- If you brethren want a revelation, I can tell you how to get one right now, today, guaranteed. How? Sit down with your wife in a quiet room and ask her what you need to do to become a better husband and father. Then sit back and be prepared to take notes! You will receive a revelation, and it will be from on high, and it will come from the only living person who has a true and vested interest in the answer!
- If you think you cannot ask your wife this kind of question, for whatever reason, then you have your work cut out for you. You will have to change and work on your relationship until you can ask this kind of question.
- If you want to say in your heart that you cannot ask your wife because she is fill-in-the-blank, then you probably are the cause of it. Use that as a solemn witness of something you have to work on. Then when you feel like you are ready, go and ask her.
- Once you ask, you had better be prepared to act on what you have been told. This is a revelation, brethren, and you will be under solemn duty to follow the teachings and council you receive.
- If you won't listen to her answer, you wouldn't listen to mine. If you can think of a reason to discount her comments then you will eventually come up with a reason to discount mine. After all, I am only an Apostle; she is a Queen and Priestess.
- If you won't ask her, for any reason, then don't expect the answer to come from any source which your Heavenly Father has power over. You have been told where this revelation will come from, now go and get it.
- Sisters: the same advice goes for you as well.
- On rare occasions, the problem truly is with the spouse and you cannot ask him or her for this kind of revelation and advice. Be very careful in this judgment. The Lord frequently sends the foolish to confound the wise. So before you count your spouse as the fool, make sure you are not the one wise in your own sight who the Lord is trying to confound!
- I've noticed that when people complain that others treat them like jerks that they are, themselves, the jerk that caused it in the first place. That should certainly make us take a second look at our own actions the next time some random person starts treating us badly.
- There are many things I might say in supposed authority which could be argued in such a way that my stand on the subject could be changed completely. But on a few items my understanding has reached the state of full knowledge, namely: 1) That the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ is completely and totally true. It is a divine work designed for us, today. 2) That Joseph Smith was, and is, the central figure in the Lord's work. As The Prophet of the Lord, he opened this last dispensation in preparation for the Lord's return. That no other individual, save Jesus Christ only, has done more for the salvation of mankind. That no work in this dispensation is valid without his stamp of authoritative approval. 3) The ordinances of the Holy Temple are completely true and valid. Thus families can be sealed, not just until death parts them, but for eternity; thus marriages are not made with a built-in divorce decree, but are valid beyond the grave into the furthest reaches of eternity; thus children belong to the parents and family unit eternally. 4) That my love for my wife and family are truly eternal, because only The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has the Priesthood Authority required to honestly put the "eternal" part into love. These are things which I know to be true in a way that no earthly argument can shake or contradict.
- How we tell or recount a story tell who we are much more than what just happened.
- If the way you act on a random Tuesday makes me wonder about the level of your Christianity, then the way you act on Sunday only testifies of the level of your hypocrisy.
- Those who hold grudges are focusing on the past. Those who refuse to allow others to change and repent of past deeds are focusing on the past. We were told to not even focus on the future, but to live for today and focus on the good we can to in this day. How much it must grieve the Lord to see us so focused on the past and the future, and how much it must please lucifer to see this in our lives.
- Those who talk about others in your presence will talk about you when in the presence of others.
- The way you talk about others is a reflection if who you are, not who they are. An honorable person has no need to bad-mouth others. A righteous person has no desire to tell stories which denigrate or put down another, even if that story is true. Further, a person will select which stories to tell from the vast pool of stories which they know, and will select the mode and manner of the telling of the selected story, as well as which aspects of the story will be told. Thus what you say about others and how you express your thoughts on others is a clear and open reflection on who you are much more than who the other person is.
- Before you can brag about the hard times you lived through or the great deeds you accomplished, you have to live through or accomplish it. You only have bragging rights AFTER you earn them.
- A person of true dignity can communicate with other individuals with dignity, irrespective of their rank or position in life. The lowliest person receives the same respect and honor as the highest born. This is a sure sign of the true level of dignity of the person. For if they look down on those of lesser rank or position, then they are a tyrant, and tyrants have no true dignity.
- All true scripture belongs to the Church of Jesus Christ -- in this dispensation that is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This means that not only is The Book of Mormon uniquely ours, but so is the Holy Bible. While they will argue that point to the death, the protestant churches know this is the case somewhere down in their heart. That is why there is a proliferation of "new" versions of the scriptures, each with some different slant, and all with an ever-lessening portion of the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. Until you finally get to where we are today, and that is where virtually no protestant church teaches the true Christ or His True Gospel, and scarcely recognize the truth when taught to them. In our country today we are a sea of quasi-christians, being christian in name only, who must be taught the truth from the ground up.
- Anger, and especially great anger or hate, must be some type of addictive substance, for we find that those who live with these emotions seem unwilling to express any others, and, in time, perhaps become incapable of doing so.
- Any and all compliments can be handled by simply saying "Thank You" thought it helps if you say it with a Southern accent.
- Be more concerned about your character than about your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think of you.
- Doctors and such are medical providers. I know they like to call themselves medical professionals, but that is another story. Certainly they have endured a significant amount of the educational process, and certainly they have a degree of experience. That is not the same thing. Professionalism is not what you know but how you do your job. It is how you treat your clients or patients; it is how you perform the tasks you are being paid to perform; it is the attitude you bring into your work. And most importantly, it is given to you by your clients. You cannot assume this honor for yourself -- and doing so is the height of conceit, which is unprofessional in the extreme!
- Encouraged and rewarded people achieve the best;
dominated people achieve second best, but still far below the best;
neglected people achieve poorly;
managed people achieved the worst. - Every conspiracy theory is based upon truth, plain and simple. Perhaps the truth has been distorted or augmented, but the truth is there, nonetheless. When the government tries to discount it with some stupid story, it only strengthens it. For instance: if there was no spacecraft, why is Area 51 so secretive about what they found? If there was no second shooter at the Kennedy assassination, how could the bullets have come from various directions? The simple truth is that the wild stories the government has come up with are less believable than any of the conspiracy theories. The truths detailed by a particular theory might be diluted with guesses and assumptions, but they still seem to ring more true than what the "official" story is.
- Excluding those organically caused, the source of a majority of problems I have seen in children is with the parents, and most likely the gender parent. It is frequently more pronounced and exaggerated much like a caricature, each generation magnifying the problems. This cycle continues several generations, until one of two things happens: the child is unable to socialize, thus does not have children, or totally rejects the parents and returns to a more normal state. Thus we see played out in blazing Technicolor before our eyes the pronouncement from God that the sins of the parents are upon their children for three to four generations.
- Few things tell you more about someone then they way they treat fools and idiots.
- Finding fault is easy, requiring no exercise of restraint. It is the task of looking past the faults, seeking for the good and positive which makes of us better people.
- Graciousness in the face of adversity or ridicule might just be the single greatest public virtue I have ever seen or experienced.
- He who says that he has never had any problems in his marriage or family will lie about other things as well.
- I had an old college professor who used to say "...stupidity is the most powerful force in nature." He'd go on to say that knowledge equates to light and understanding, and that darkness to ignorance and stupidity. Furthermore, there is more darkness in the universe than light, so stupidity has to be the most powerful force in the universe.
- I have noticed that those who are the first to cast a stone normally are the most guilty.
- I may grow old, but I refuse to grow up!
- I used to say things like: "All I want is a chance to prove that money means nothing to me!" Then I got it! I was given the opportunity to have no money at all so I could see what really meant something to me and what did not. Of course, what I was wanting was more money than I could ever possibly use. But after thinking about it, I realized that this was the only way God could truly show me the lesson I was asking for.
- If God wanted me to get up at 6 a.m. then He'd have the sun come up at 5:30 -- really, if you think about it, He has control over this situation, right?
- If people do not recognize you as a Christian without you having to tell them, then you probably should evaluate your actions and beliefs. Like that old saying goes: if you were tried for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?
- If you require someone else make you happy, you have doomed the both of you to sure failure. Another person cannot make you happy, and you are not taking responsibility for your own happiness, so it will never come. And since you are placing that responsibility on the wrong shoulders, you will blame them for something they cannot possibly achieve. Thus you will not be happy and your blame and guilt will make them unhappy. Misery is the only result when a person refuses to take full and complete responsibility of their own happiness.
- If your plan for the future is to do what was done in the past, then your future outcomes will be no better than those of the past. You must look to the past for information, but that is all. Something must change in order for your outcomes to also change.
- In marriage, as in all relationships, when there is an issue or problem, attack the issue or problem, not each other. Keep focused on the issue at hand, and skip the personal put-downs. If the issue is real, you should be able to easily do this. If you cannot skip the personal attacks, put-downs, and denigrating comments, then perhaps the problem is you and your stand.
- It has been my experience that the longer someone thinks about a situation, the more their own personality is put into it. They hash and re-hash the event or situation, adding more and more of their own personality into it, until you end up with something which wholly represents their own attitudes and outlook with some references to the original situation here and there. The facts themselves might not change at all in the course of this transition, but the whole meaning of it will be transformed from whatever it was to match that of the individual in question.
- It is possible that you get so busy DOING that you no longer have time to ENJOY what you are doing in the first place.
- It is possible to go through life having never been grateful for your blessings. It is possible to have never been forgiving of the shortcomings of others, or to have been continually critical of others. And it is easy to go through life so wrapped up in yourself that you never see the value of others. This is what I envision as hell.
- It wasn't that long ago that a larger woman was considered to be happy and healthy. Even today, many of our female senior citizens were raised by mothers who were constantly worried that they were not fat enough. Their prospective husbands judged them on the fullness, the rolls and roundedness, of their bodies, finding them much more attractive with them than without. The beautiful women of today would be shunned with distain for most of recorded history. At the same time, the women which virtually all of history records as the most beautiful are today shunned and discriminated against. Or so we are told. You can still find the ever popular Marilyn Monroe calendars showing off a women who would have no chance of stardom today. Perhaps that is because men really still find these women to be more attractive, desirable, and beautiful, even though the culture we find ourselves in attempts to tell us otherwise.
- Just because your child has a temper tantrum does not mean you need to have one of your own. How else will they learn that tantrums are not a proper form of expression?
- Knowledge is power! You hear it all the time, but what does it mean? It is a completely true yet hopelessly incomplete statement. I shall illustrate: Some knowledge gains it's power through being used or shared. You might call this kinetic data. Some knowledge gains it's power by being held. You might call this potential data. The real power is knowing which is which. Kinetic data held back will lose it's power over time, and potential data incorrectly shared could lose much more power than it could have ever gained! You must not only have the knowledge, but you must know when, where, and how to use it. And that is when and how your knowledge will give you power.
- Laundry Day:
I set aside each Monday as laundry day. Yes, I do the laundry. Why? Because it takes a long time, clock wise, but not that much time, work wise. You see, laundry takes a lot of effort, once or twice an hour. The rest of the time, I do other things. So I stack my Monday's schedule up with all of those things that take a lot of effort for a short time. The phone calls I have to return, the forms that need filling out, the follow-up letters or calls -- in short, anything that takes a short amount of time to accomplish, but needs to be done. All of that goes on Monday -- Laundry Day. By focusing my energies that one day on accomplishing all of these to-do items, I not only get them all done, but I start the week off with a sense of accomplishing a lot of things. Not only that, but I have a set routine which allows me to not be disturbed by these kinds of interruptions during the week. - Life is always at some type of turning-point. Each morning you can look in the mirror and say "from this moment on, I will be different." That is the beauty of our life. Every day is a new day and every moment is a new moment and every experience is a new experience. We can repent of past actions and change our lives at any moment. The Lord is there just waiting for it to happen, so He will be more than happy to help you acknowledge that moment, thus truly making it a turning-point. Repentance is, after all, nothing more than turning from your old ways and beginning afresh to do that which is right.
- Mean people produce little mean people; little mean people grow into larger and meaner people; they produce little people who are meaner still. Thus the cycle continues until their offspring are either killed or are unable to reproduce, for one reason or another.
- Most people seem to use Ockham's Razor, not to determine the simplest explanation of the available facts, but to determine which of the available facts to ignore so their explanation is true.
- My feelings on the professionalism of the male medical establishment can be summed up on one quip: What is the major difference between an auto mechanic and a medical doctor? One washes his hands BEFORE he goes to the bathroom.
- My Lesson:
Here is a lesson I have learned at some personal cost -- I am not happy with the lesson, nor the cost to learn it, but here it is nonetheless: Every deceit, no matter how good or noble the purpose, no matter how well executed or planned, and especially, no matter how well your intentions, will rise up in the end and bite you square in the butt! Further, the results will be more pervasive and devastating than you could have ever imagined. They will NOT follow some movie script and after a time say how they understand and how much they love you for what you did and how they now see that what you did was for their ultimate good. Quite the opposite will be the case. The ramifications will spread far past anything you intended, and you will be left powerless to stop it. Once they find out, and they will find out, your integrity will be called into question. And once that happens, it will crumble to the dust as they go back and re-interpret everything you have said or done. What of your intentions? What of your good motives? They will be completely ignored. In their place will be whatever they concoct instead. And you will have to live with it! - Negative and positive reinforcement:
- Negative reinforcement only works for so long. It has a rapidly decreasing return. Used sparingly, it might be effective. Used often, it's effectiveness is lessened. Used exclusively, it is ineffective. In all cases, each use is less effective than the previous one.
- Positive reinforcement, can be effective forever. When genuine positive reinforcement is given, each time it is used, it will be more effective.
- No matter how inane the doctrine is, there are those foolish enough to believe it. Actually, that is not completely true. Let me try that again: No matter how inane a doctrine is, there will be a preacher only to happy to be paid to preach it and a congregation corrupt enough to pay him to do so.
- One day you will realize that if you cannot be happy with what you have, then you will not be able to be happy with anything. Happiness does not come from outside, it comes from within. It is a quality of the heart and soul; what is inside of you. It is not the possessions which surround you.
- Rules of Fighting and Weapons:
The Rules of Fighting- Remember the Four Rules of Weapons before you consider carrying or using one.
- Don't start a fight you are not willing to do everything necessary to win.
- If you have not won the fight before it begins, there is very little chance you will win after it starts.
The Four Rules of Weapons- Do not carry a weapon you are not willing to have used against you.
- Do not carry a weapon you are not willing to use to it's fullest capacity.
- Do not carry a weapon you are not completely capable of using to it's fullest capacity.
- Do not carry a weapon you are not completely capable of defending yourself against.
- Saying you are a "teacher" is not truly accurate. You are a "presenter" and an "encourager" only. The student learns on their own based upon the attitude and the passion of the one who is showing them the new information.
- Some believe that being positive takes more energy than being negative. This is a lie. Being positive takes some initial energy, it is true, but it also returns energy back to you. You control how much energy you put into it and you reap the reward for your energy. Being negative takes no initial effort, it is also true, but it takes from you all of the energy you have to give, and leaves you weaker for it. The net sum of being positive is that you have MORE energy; the net sum of being negative is that you have LESS energy.
- Some people just never seem to actually join the group they belong to. They spend their life fighting the members of their very own group. Take families for instance. How many people spend decades fighting their in-laws instead of realizing this is now half of the family unit which THEY created? Instead of working to build bridges and form relationships, they spend their time and energy fighting. Why? They never actually joined the group, in this case the family, they belong to.
- Some say "beauty is only skin deep." They do not understand. True beauty, like true love, only comes with time. It is the sanctification of the one you love deep within your own heart. This is not a trivial matter. It requires time, effort, and a lot of experiences. It is not "skin deep," it is the whole, the entirety, the sum of all aspects of that person.
- Sometimes it is easier to change banks and open a new account than it is to reconcile your checkbook.
- Success without failure is impossible. Those who have truly succeeded have had to do so on the heels of failure, and perhaps many, many failures.
- Talking down to people never produces greatness.
- The best way to win an argument is to start off by being in the right. Knowing you are in the right allows you to make your point without contention and without animosity, for right will, in the end, win in all cases. Let those who must fight from the gutters be the ones who raise their voice in anger and contention. This will allow all who see the argument to know who is right and who is wrong, even though they many know nothing of the subject matter at hand. This is the power which the LDS Church has within it; we are right from the start.
- The biggest problem with that sage old advice about not putting all of your eggs into one basket is that it assumes you have more than one basket to put eggs in and more than one egg to put into them.
- The doctor stands as an intermediary between the patient and God. It is God who has given the power and reason and intelligence needed to be the doctor. When the doctor ceases to believe this, his work is crippled and he becomes instead an intermediary between the patient and himself. Thus the one who would be the healer often times adds to the suffering and humiliation of those he claims to be helping.
- The behind every successful man is a good woman line really irritates me. Why? None would dare countenance for a moment the logical extensions to it. What of the not so successful man? Was the wife not so good? Or the failure? Was she as well? The only acceptable implication is success is due to her and failure to him. That is unacceptable.
- The Law of the harvest, as found in the Christian Bible, is probably the most true and widely applicable doctrine ever conceived.
- The longer you wait to apologize, the more deeply your repentance will have to be before you are forgiven.
- The man of true character will never feel the need to act in an unchivalrous way towards any other individual, no matter their station in life. Our life is nothing more than one large field of competition where we match our wits and skill against all else. There is no need for the man of true character to inflict injury on his opponents in order to succeed himself. Nay, the ability to win your personal contests without inflicting injury upon your opponents is part of what makes a man of character and nobility.
- The seven "P" rule: proper prior planning prevents piss poor performance
- The sooner someone tells you they are a professional, the less of one they are!
- The trials in your life are what separate the worthless chaff from the grain; the tares from the wheat. They make you grow from a worldly, natural man, to a saint, a man of God.
- The world is like a perfect mirror. If you are frowning, it frowns back at you; if you are smiling, smiles come back. It can be truly said that what you are getting back is a reflection of what you are giving out.
- There are few things more gratifying than seeing your children succeed in something really important to them.
- There are two theories to arguing with women. Neither one works.
- There is a difference between your customer and the end user. The customer is the one who pays you.
- There is nothing so completely inane that some philosopher hasn't already said it -- and has a following of people who are either corrupt or ignorant enough to believe it.
- There's no real difference between most flowers and most weeds. Flowers are things YOU planted, and weeds are things GOD planted.
- Time doesn't just happen. If you need "time" to do something, you have to make it; if you don't make it, it won't happen.
- True love is as much as matter of the mind as it is the heart. You can love anyone you put your mind to loving. Otherwise how could God honestly command us to love all mankind? Back in the days when marriages were arranged, do you think it was easier or more difficult to love your spouse? From some of what I have seen, I would say it was easier. This was when divorce was not possible. Yet the two would find they loved each other. The children would be raised in a home where love was. How is this possible? Because the partners willed themselves to love each other.
- Truly good people, because they focus on doing good for others, frequently do not have the same degree of worldly success as others. When you see someone who is marginally successful by the worlds standards who has lots of friends and people who think they are good, then you are probably seeing one of these kinds of truly good people. On the other hand, those who are wildly successful, by the world's standards, and have few friends, are probably not the kinds of people you would want to have anything to do with.
- We don't seem to elect a corrupt person into office, so why is it we almost always re-elect one?
- What you see in others is a reflection of yourself as much as it is of them. If you see people as dishonest or untrustworthy, make sure THEY are the ones whose integrity is questionable and not your own.
- What's the difference between someone who is a success and a failure? One gets up every time he falls down and the other falls down every time he gets up.
- When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken, or cease to be honest.
- When the outcome of a meeting is to have another meeting, it has been a lousy meeting!
- When the patient is no longer a person but an object; when the disease is the object and not the person who has it; when the body is objectified into it's parts without regard to the whole, then medicine ceases to become a help to humanity and the practitioner becomes the abuser.
- While gratitude and forgiveness seem to be the most difficult of virtues to master, I believe you will eventually find that until they are mastered, no other virtue will be.
- Whoever said "it is easier to get forgiveness than permission" did not have a clue!
- Why is it that the ones who look down their noses at everyone else for being tiresome individuals are themselves the most tiresome of individuals?
- You can only climb the ladder of success as high as you can pick up your own weight. To go any higher, you need others to help you.
- You can tell when a person is trying by the mistakes they are making. Those who do not make mistakes are not trying.
- You cannot convert someone to a gospel you do not live or to an ideal you do not hold to yourself.
- You ever notice how a lot of people will say "no" to something, and they don't even know what that something is?
- You may deceive many people for a short while, but if you believe you have truly deceived them, you have only deceived yourself.
- You should give thanks and say "thank you" as soon and as often as possible. Never procrastinate saying it. A hearty "thank you" given at the time of the service or gift, said with a glad countenance and happy disposition, is one of the signs of a virtuous person.
- You will get the behavior you reward. So make sure you are rewarding the behavior you want. And keep in mind that if your only "reward" is a negative one, thinking you are attempting to convince them to stop doing what you do not want them to do via negative reinforcement (punishment), then you will continue to get the behavior. Why? Because you are rewarding it. It is the recognition and reward which is causing the behavior, not the positive or negative aspect of the reward. This might sound backwards, but it is true. If all you do is punish bad behavior, you will continue to get the bad behavior. You must start to reward the behavior you WANT in order to change the behaviors you are getting.
- When you find all who profess to believe in god gathered together to persecute another, then you may know two things: 1) those who are claiming to believe in god while persecuting others do not truly believe in the God of Heaven, and 2) the god they believe in, and mark my words, they truly believe in and worship their god, is not the God of Heaven. You can also understand that since they are being inspired by the devil, who is their god, that whatever organization they are persecuting is closer to the God of heaven than they will ever be.
- Positive techniques in conversations with spouses:
- Take turns talking, listening when it is the other's turn.
- Don't ever give unsolicited advice.
- Show genuine interest in the actions and comments of the other.
- Communicate understanding of the spouse's problem.
- Take his/her side every time it is possible.
- Express an us against them attitude.
- Show frequent physical affection and constant verbal and emotional affection.
- Validate the spouse's emotions.
- Some business rules I have learned:
- If the story sounds fishy, there is a reason for it.
- Everyone only tells you their side of the story.
- When they say they are telling you the other side of the story, it is still only their side.
- When you hear the other side of the story, you still won't have all of the facts or know what really happened.
- Sometimes those who debate true Christianity say some of the funniest things. Many of these individuals must hide behind pseudonyms because they are dishonest and unwilling to make themselves known. Here are exact quotes from some of my favorite examples:
- After all, any god we could understand and explain would not be worthy of our worship...
- Incomprehensibility allows god to be GOD.
- When Elohim returns from Kolob and beams us all up, will I be one he is particularly angry at?
- When I stand before God someday, and he wants to know why I should get into heaven, I'll show him Jesus.
- Is there any reason why you are choosing fasting as a means of searching for Truth (other than because some scriptures tell you to)?
- They are not persons. They are more like 3 aspects of a whole. And yes, God can be at more places than one and take on any for[m] he wishes, whether that be a human (Jesus), a spirit (HG), or Everything. Heck, he could take on all three at once and still the the same ONE=1, yet in 3 different areas. :) Wild, I know! :) Isn't God amazing?
It's as if they do not even understand the basic tenants of their own dogma. But then again, there is no doctrine so inane and so corrupt that you will not find a preacher only to willing to teach it to a congregation corrupt enough to pay them to do so. - Those who cannot laugh at the folly in themselves soon find they can laugh at nothing but the folly in others, which is, after all, the cheapest form of humor.
- You see people who abandon everything and go out in some quest to "find themselves." Without anchor or direction, they usually drift about, tossed to and fro, until they end up the gutter, in a mind-altered stupor. They have gone nowhere because they have lost themselves in the pursuit of themselves, thus being truly lost. Lucifer, who beguiles the self-indulgent and witless into deeper and grosser paths, will, in the end, abandon them.
Jesus Christ gave us the only path to truly "find ourselves" -- to serve Him. Those who lose themselves in the service of the Master soon find themselves, and thus are truly found. Only Jesus Christ has this power, and He only pours it out upon those who lose themselves in His service. This is His promise, and He is faithful to those who serve Him. - Atheists believe that God, if such a being exists, is unknowable. Thus they doubt his existence, believing that if this all-powerful being existed, that it would show proof of it. Trinitarians believe that God, which they say exists, is unknowable, using insanely contradictory philosophical doublespeak to attempt to describe it/them. Both have many things in common, most importantly being: they both use the Holy Bible to prove the being they call "god" is unknowable.
Christians (True Christians) not only believe in God and the Godhead, but use the Holy Bible to show not only who He is, but how He relates to us, His children. Thus we see that True Christians are on one side of the equation with atheists and trinitarians on the other side. One moving toward Christ and His Gospel and Salvation, the other moving away.
At the moment of that one realization, we can see with crystal clarity the source or root of both the atheist and trinitarian movements: lucifer and his desire to damn all mankind. - Even atheists believe in an after-life -- something which happens to you after you die and leave this mortal life. The most hard-core scientist, who is either agnostic or atheist, still believes that there is something about existence, some aspect of our being, which extends before or after this life. Thus science, while interesting and of practical use today, can, at best, offer only partial reasons or explanations of matters of eternal significance. In order to get around this obvious deficiency, the scientists simply ignore these questions of great import, leaving them to the philosophers to decide upon. Thus the "full science of theopogy" -- meaning everything one must know and understand to comprehend the eternities, has been divided into two separate camps, and then those two have been set at odds with each other. The impression is that one is true and the other false. But the reality is this: they are both false religions. Only a true understanding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and His Plan of Happiness will allow us to understand what both of these errant philosophies claim is impossible to know.
- The scriptural injunction on judging is taken completely out of context. We are commanded to judge others and situations, etc. We are simply told to be very careful in doing so. Why? Because how we judge others is how we are telling the world and the Lord how we should be judged. If we demand sack-cloth and ashes, then the Lord will demand that from us. If we forgive instantly and go on, then so will the Lord. It's our deal and our hand to play, so we had better be careful.
- If the employees will lie to you, then so will there boss. Why do I say that? Honest men will not put up with employees who lie, so when they are found, they are purged from the organization. A dishonest boss will take advantage of the honest employees, thus driving them away. So, in time, dishonest employers gather dishonest employees and honest ones the honest employees.
- An instructor passes on knowledge, it is true. But the biggest thing which is passed along to the students is his/her attitude and example. An instructor who is lax or haphazard in the classroom will pass that along to the students, who will, in large part, be just as lax and haphazard in their use of the information. Those who teach "just enough to get by" develop in the minds of their students an attitude which may corrupt their entire career.
- The only thing we have complete control over is our attitude. It is the only place where our personal agency has full and complete reign. If we choose to see things in a positive, supporting, uplifting way is our choice. The event in question is unchanged because of our choice, as is how others may use their agency to interpret it. Thus we can truly be held eternally accountable for our attitudes and how they effect us and others.
- Judging people by their appearance is not the same as "judging a book by it's cover." The book is a static object. It does not think; it cannot act; it has no agency. It is incapable of making a decision about what cover it has. Someone else makes that decision for it. A person, on the other hand, spends time, effort, and energy deciding upon and fine-tuning their appearance. What you see on the outside is a reflection of what is inside. They have gone out of their way to express their agency in this way. Thus, for the vast majority of people, you may look at them and judge them by what you see.
- We are ultimately responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.
- Either you control your attitude or it controls you.
- The scriptures are not just "Sunday true," but are true every day of the week -- and we should act that way. If we don't, then we don't really believe them on Sunday, either.
- Maturity comes with self-mastery; Self-mastery comes with self-discipline; Self-discipline comes with the realization that you control your own attitudes and actions. There is no short-cut to real maturity.
- Some people are the "salt of the earth," and many, perhaps most, just use them. But then there are a very few who are "salt shakers" -- the kind of people who, by their example and lives, help others to reach their full potential. Just as the salt shaker is used to add savor to all it touches, their lives bring others to a higher level.
- Our attitudes might just be the only aspect of our life where we truly can express our agency completely and totally. We make the choice on how we (re)act to the events in our life. It is an act of our personal agency which causes these things to be interpreted and acted upon. Thus we are truly masters of that aspect of our life. Jesus Christ told us to be very careful in judging other people, because we would be judged in the same way and manner which we judged others. If we are harsh and cruel in our judgments of others, even if we were unable to physically express that, the Lord, who can see into our heart, will know that, and use it in His assessment of our actions. If we, on the other hand, follow His admonition to develop a truly charitable attitude towards others, He will also know that -- and bring that same level of charity to bear when He judges us. This can only be an eternally valid position if our attitudes were truly and completely our own, and a valid expression of just who we truly are, down inside.
- Some knowledge is a heavy burden, which might last a lifetime. There are just some things which, once you know them, could change your life forever. If that item is a confidence which you cannot share, then that knowledge may become a burden of significant purport ions, which you must not only keep, but act as if you do not know. So be very careful concerning what it is you try to find out and discover about others.
- Credentials on the wall do not make you anything more than an individual with credentials on the wall. If you are not a decent human being, then they become little more than wallpaper. If you are not a better person for having gone through the process, then having the resulting certification is of no real value.
- Everyone you know will, sooner or later, do something wrong, in one way or another. They will hurt you or betray you or do something which you know to be wrong. That is part of the human experience. We sometimes call it "growing up" or "bad judgment." Before you judge them harshly, though, keep in mind that the same thing holds true about you from their perspective.
- When you hear a boss talking about how he cannot get any decent help, perhaps what you are really hearing is how his help does not have a decent boss.
- Those who hate, hate most those who love.
- Just because I don't care doesn't mean I don't understand.
- lucifer is so powerful that he talked one-third of Heavenly Father's children to rebel -- even with Him right there trying to talk them out of it!
- Rule of Perception Projection: If everyone around you is acting like a jerk, perhaps it's not everyone around you that's acting that way.
Corollary #1: You never see your own actions, only the actions of others. So if they are acting like jerks, you don't see how your actions are causing that.
Corollary #2: You project your attributes on those around you so you see them not just as they are, but as you are.
Corollary #3: You will only focus on the actions of others which meet your pre-conceived notions of them, so when they are not acting like a jerk, you ignore that. Thus you only focus on the times when they really did act like jerks.
Corollary #4: How you act causes them to react, so you acting like a jerk causes them to react like you are a jerk, so you see them acting like jerks, which reinforces you thinking they are a jerk instead of seeing that you are the jerk.
Conclusion: When you see people around you acting in a certain way, you might want to look at your own actions before you blame them. In the scriptures, this is called "the mote and beam in the eye" doctrine. - Doing It Right versus Doing Is Safe: You can keep trying until you finally get it right. As long as you are trying, people tend to give you another chance. But once you have an accident, that could end it all. So, in the final analysis, do it safe, then do it right, then do it fast. In that order.
- I hear people, women mostly, way that if their spouse did whatever that they would leave them so fast that they'd never know what hit them. Whenever I hear that, I wonder: What has this person done which is bad/worse than that? In time I have discovered it for some, but not all. However, their quick and almost brutal pre-judgment of their spouse always makes me feel that theirs is the beam to the mote in the other. This is a lesson we learn in the scriptures which applies to many areas: those who judge others are often guilty of more or worse than they are judging.
- I have found that much of our greatest opposition is not from those who believe the LDS Church is false, but from those who know it is True, but difficult: They oppose the need to change their lives, not the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Mostly, they oppose the effort it will take to live up to the commandments they now know are there. Thus, I believe, much of our opposition, including the vast majority of the apostates, come from people who know it is true, but also know they are unable or unwilling to live up to it.
- The individual who is coming from a position of knowledge and understanding on a particular subject, can, with impunity, analyze the correctness of comments or statements made by another on that subject. This axiomatic concept is the basis for all educational systems known to man, where the instructor, who by definition comes from a position of knowledge and understanding on the subject matter, judges the correctness of comments and statements made by the students. Or the judge, who is recognized as the final authority of the law, who will sustain or override objections.
So it is also with the Holy Priesthood of God. Those who hold the True Priesthood, can, with impunity, judge the correctness of the doctrines of the various sects and groups and organizations. The logic and correctness of this concept is beyond dispute.
So why is it so vehemently argued against? Because, as Jesus Christ predicted, the Universal Apostasy was so pervasive that none came through unaffected. There were no holders of the True Holy Priesthood of God left, thus none who could make said judgments. Those who pretended to hold the True Priesthood, while perhaps wielding great power, still never truly fool(ed) the masses. They were charlatans, and at some level, everyone seemed to recognize that.
So for over 1,500 years, there were no true authorities. Since people have never recognized the possibility of a true authority in religious matters, it is difficult, near impossible, for them to know what to do when they actually find one. When one finally arrives, as it did in the person of the Prophet Joseph Smith, the bulk of the people are so blinded by the traditions of their fathers, as well as the corrupted teachings of their preachers, to recognize God's True Priesthood within him.
The other religionists, on the other hand, do recognize this True Priesthood Authority, which is why they fight it as much and as blindly as they do. - We pay actors to do and say things which we know are false, and do it so well that we find it believable. Why, then, do we turn around and listen to things which they say, and actually believe them? They are actors. By definition they can say something and make us believe it is true. Doesn't it stand to reason that someone who is paying them to make some political comment could also be paying them to deliver some patently false comments in such a way that we, the unknowing public, will believe them? I should think that reasonable people would completely ignore all such comments from actors.
- Where you are in this life is no mistake. The trials of your life are no mistake. A loving Heavenly Father placed you where you are so you could endure these things with one thing in mind: giving you the best advantage in returning Home to Him. Once you truly realize that our Heavenly Father's number one goal is your Eternal Life and Exaltation (Moses 1:39), then your reaction to your trials and problems will change. Until this change occurs, everyone who does have a clue will know that you don't. When the change does occur, then you will look back on your life and realize just how closely the Lord's hand was in it.
- When you are on the strait and narrow, everything seems in order. But those who have left the path (mostly by murmuring and complaining and refusing to do their duty) soon find themselves way off to the side of the path, heading in who knows what direction. To them the strait and narrow path seems to be going sideways (which it is, but only because of their perception, not reality). So there they are, out in the spiritual wilderness, kicking against the pricks and murmuring and complaining about the path they are on and the path they are supposed to be on, blinded to the reality that it is they who are off on their own.
- Everyone complains, murmurs, pisses-and-moans, bitches and hollers, etc. That is part of the human condition. But those who have the Spirit of God with them will soon repent of it and move forward. You can tell how spiritually in tune a person is by how frequently they complain and murmur. The very act of complaining, murmuring, pissing and moaning, etc, drives the Spirit away. He (the Holy Ghost) doesn't want anything to do with that kind of action, so off He goes, leaving you to yourself. If you recognize that departure, you repent of your attitude and He returns. Thus, again, you can tell how spiritually in tune a person is by the presence of this kind of attitude and action in their daily life.
- Once we really understand just how much the Savior loves us, really understand, and once we understand why He loves us that much, then we cannot help but come to understand our own personal worth. You cannot really understand how much the Lord loves you and not understand how much you are worth; conversely, you cannot esteem yourself to be of little worth and say you believe in the Lord and His love for you.
- The Prophet Ezra Taft Benson was clear in his description that those who fight against the Book of Mormon are the true enemies of Christ. Ever since I heard and understood that point, I have watched, and sure enough, no matter who they were or what their employment, I have found that those who fight the Book of Mormon are, indeed, the enemies of the True Christ. Be they bricklayer or preacher, those who fight the Book of Mormon are fighting the Savior, Jesus Christ, just as must today as those who fought and betrayed him in mortality.
- Did the Jews kill Jesus Christ? No. Apostates killed Jesus Christ. Those with the spirit of lucifer killed Jesus Christ. It just so happened that the individuals who did so were predominately Jewish at the time. If it happened today, they would probably be Southern Baptists or Catholics -- or any of the other myriad of trinity-based churches, who, by definition, are enemies of the True Christ.
- True Believers will Believe the Book of Mormon:
Nephi's closing words include this gem: And now, my beloved brethren, and also Jew, and also ye ends of the earth, hearken unto these words and believe in Christ; and if he believe not in these words believe in Christ. And if ye believe in Christ ye will believe in these words, for they are the words of Christ, and he hath given them unto me; and they teach all men that they should do good. And if they are not the words of Christ, judge ye -- for Christ will show unto you, with power and great glory, that they are his words at the last day; and you and I shall stand face to face before his bar; and ye shall know that I have been commanded of his to write these things, notwithstanding my weakness. ... And you that will not partake of the goodness of God, and respect the words of the Jews [the Holy Bible], and also my words [the Book of Mormon], and the words which shall proceed forth out of the mouth of the Lamb of God [New Testament and Doctrine and Covenants], behold, I bid you an everlasting farewell, for these words shall condemn you at the last day, for what I seal on earth, shall be brought against you at the judgment bar; for thus hath the Lord commanded me, and I must obey. Amen. (2 Nephi 33:10,11,14,15)
I seems pretty clear, that if you truly believe in Jesus Christ, then you will also believe in the scriptures which He has commanded to be brought forth in these latter days. And if you do not believe in the words which Christ caused to come forth, then you also do not believe in Christ. - Pontius Pilate asked the Jews, who were thirsting for the blood of Jesus: "What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified." (Matt. 27:22) That same question is asked of each of us -- what is to be done with Jesus Christ in your life. Jesus Christ gave us the answer He wanted from us: "Follow me, and do the things which ye have seen me do." (2 Nephi 31:12) We answer that question in how we act, how we treat others, and if we accept the fullness of His Gospel. We either honor Him or crucify him afresh -- depending on our actions.
- The ninth article in the Articles of Faith states: We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God. So we as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints boldly stand and proclaim that we actually believe in the past scriptures (both the Holy Bible and the Book of Mormon), as well as the current scriptures (the Doctrine and Covenants). We also believe that God will continue to reveal many great things. This position actually makes us unique in that we actually believe in the Holy Bible. Most protestant churches, no matter what they say officially, really don't believe in this text. So the protestant religionists actually have two problems with the LDS Church: 1) we believe in the Book of Mormon, and 2) we actually believe in the Holy Bible.
- Women are demanding their husbands treat them like queens, focusing their entire being on them and their every whim, while at the same time they treat those same husbands worse than surfs.
- How can you tell good music from bad? The Prophet Joseph F. Smith gave this as a possible guideline: "good music is gracious praise of God" If you cannot conceive of God listening to the music you are hearing, then the answer is simple -- it is not good music.
- It's the color of your heart, not your skin, that matters.
- Certainly God has the power to deliver us from our trials -- but it is OUR test, not His. We cannot demand He deliver us to prove His love or His devotion or His existence.
- You see in others what you want to see in them, and what they should most likely see in you.
- As frustrating as some people say golfing is, when they turn around and tell you they can "get as close to god on the golf course" as they can at church, what on earth does that tell you about their church?
- It doesn't really do you that much good if others forgive you and you never take the time to repent and forgive yourself. You still feel the same guilt and pain and still act the same way. Until you repent, you just give them more opportunities to have to forgive you, and make the repentance and self-forgiveness that much more difficult.
- How quickly and easily someone has forgiven you is a representation of their testimony and charity, not a sign of what you have to do to repent and forgive yourself. For THAT, you must look at how YOU have forgiven others.
- Could it be that, when a situation falls apart, the reason it is so hard for some to forgive others is because they have not come to terms with their own culpability in the matter? Perhaps it is because they cannot forgive when they are still blaming others for their own actions, and so have not forgiven themselves. Often it is because they are guilty of the greater blame. It is easy to blame others; difficult to take personal responsibility. Until a person takes responsibility for, and repents of, their own actions, then it is virtually impossible for them to truly forgive another for their part.
- What's the difference between weeds and flowers?
- Weeds are flowers God planted.
- Flowers are weeds you planted.
- Being a thankful person has two parts: you must thank others for their actions, and you must recognize their actions as something to be thankful for. If you are an ingrate, then you will simply refuse to acknowledge the actions of others for which you should be thankful. You will then compound that ingratitude by refusing to see their actions as good. Thus you will justify your attitudes and continue being an ingrate. If you are a gracious person, then you will see things in the actions of others which are praiseworthy, and you will then thank them for it. This spirit will continue to work within you until you start to see more and more things to be grateful for. Thus this one attitude of graciousness or ingratitude will become pervasive: you will become grateful for everything or resentful and bitter about everything.
- Never underestimate your adversary's level of stupidity. They must might play right into your hand while trying to screw you.
- Isn't it interesting that the only (supposedly Christian) churches who teach the trinity god also happen to have a paid ministry? There are those who have a paid ministry who do not teach the trinity got, per se, so it is not exclusive. But I find it rather interesting that all paid clergy in these christian churches also teach the trinity god.
- The whole "let him who is without sin cast the first stone" is perhaps the most direct damnation of the gossipers in all of scripture. After all, when was the last time someone shared some tidbit of dirt on someone and they were "without sin" themselves? Normally the gossipers are the ones with the most to gossip about, right?
- If you act like a duck, you can't call yourself a swan and have anyone believe you. Indeed, if you call yourself a swan while acting like a duck, the only thing you will do is make people wonder what else you will lie about.
- Only the proud and haughty blame others for their actions. Once you become humble, you see your actions are your responsibility, and repent of them. Thus the humble take responsibility for their acts and the proud find others to blame.
- Bitching is the ultimate hate-crime, virtually always perpetrated on those you are supposed to be the most loving towards.
- Have you ever, even a single time, looked at someone making a smart-ass or snide or hateful comment to another, and thought better of the one making the comment? No. Our natural instinct is to wonder what is wrong with the person making the comment, even to the point that most will start to naturally side with the one being denigrated. Why is it, then, that the ones who use this kind of speech pattern always think they are being such great people while doing so? Could it be that they are so pride filled and self-absorbed that they cannot see that one, blatantly obvious, fact?
- I believe there is a special hell for those who bitch at, and otherwise abuse, their loved ones. It is a surround-sound, 360-degree, virtual reality world where they get to see themselves yelling at, screaming at, bitching at, losing their temper, and otherwise verbally and emotionally abusing at those around them. They get to see what they did, how they looked, and just what everyone around them was thinking at the time. All in live-action, living color, and at full volume. They have spent their entire life building this hell and stocking it with countless hours of video entertainment -- thus building the worst hell imaginable!
- The scriptures give us ample information on lucifer, just not in one obvious spot. Why? Probably because people would use that as a pattern in their lives. After all, look at how many people pattern their lives after the dark and evil in society without that clear description. Why would the Lord want to make it easier for them?
- True joy and true happiness can only come from those things that surround the home -- your family associations. Without that foundation of happiness to build upon, nothing you can purchase at the store can really make you happy. At best it can provide a distraction from your un-happy state, but the absence of misery is not happiness. With that foundation of happiness, nothing else is needed, but it does seem possible to acquire objects that can seem to enhance the joy and happiness you feel in your home. But the true joy and the true happiness you feel, which will transcend mortality, will be made up of your family associations -- both up and down the line.
- You are not only who you are today, but who you may become. This is, frankly, due to the Atonement of Jesus Christ, which allows us to repent and renew, and then return to our personal progression.
- Since when did question everything come to mean reject everything? The process of questioning is supposed to equate to accepting everything that is true and rejecting that which is false. So what happened? Nothing. Those who are honest in heart can, and do, question everything, and follow that up by accepting the truth. Those who are not honest in heart use this as a justification for rejecting the truths they probably already know are true. The only thing that has changed is that those corrupt individuals are now proud and bold enough to openly announce their rejection of all that is good, and subtle enough in their speech to justify those corrupt actions, and even make them look good,. The honest are unshaken by the foolishness of the corrupt, so the only people being fooled are the fools, themselves.
- Bigotry is (found) in the pronouns.
- When people leave [the Church] because of the actions of another, irrespective of who that "other" is, then they take the mistakes of another, and make them their own.
- Heavenly Father has designed this petri dish we call "life" in such a way that, unrepented of, our weaknesses come back to haunt us, while the weaknesses of others help us out.
- One of the greatest proofs we have that the LDS Church is truly the Lord's True Church is the kind of people who fight against it. If the LDS Church was not everything it professed to be, then it would be ignored by lucifer and his minions. As it is, they all combine to fight it. lucifer knows the truth, and it is obvious from his actions, to any truthful/righteous observer that he is fighting the very organization that can bring him down.
- Many have great physical strength, but that is not enough. You have to be able to apply that strength in an appropriate way. Being able to do so is called power.
- Those who are not truly converted, those who are not truly convinced that they are on the right path, those who are not sure of their own course, cannot allow others to have a different one. They attempt to force their views, their path, or their course, onto others instead of being able to quietly and patiently allow them to find their own way. The power of example of those who are truly converted is much more significant than the force of will of those who only think they are converted. Which you are is obvious to all around you as they either watch you bear witness, through your acts and testimony, of that which you know to be true as compared to your demands that others follow your way of thinking through sheer power of your will. They will happily follow the one, and will constantly fight the other.
- Complaining is the black hole of personality traits. It grows darker and deeper until nothing positive can escape. The person so afflicted becomes so consumed by the complaining that soon everything around them becomes the subject of another complaint, eventually coming to the point that they must twist the positive things around into negative ones so they can complain about it. Thus it truly becomes like the black hole, sucking in everything around it, and generating nothing positive in return.
- The Simple and Straightforward Question (SSQ) is a very misunderstood conversational tool. It is not just a simple question, nor it is just a straightforward question. "What is the nature of a black hole?" is both simple and straightforward, yet does not qualify. And it is very possible for a SSQ to not be a very simple question, either to state or to ask. The SSQ is a focused rhetorical question that demands an answer, but the answer is not the words that actually answer the question, because everyone involved in the conversation already knows the actual answer -- the answer is the acknowledgement that the answer is true.. And that is why the answer to a SSQ is seldom an easy one to give, nor is it normally simple or straightforward.
- If you are where you do not want to be, then do everyone a favor and just leave until you want to go back. Don't take your frustration and guilt out on the other people around you because you are not where you want to be or you are not doing what you want to do. Take some responsibility for your own feelings and actions and guilt, all on your own, and act accordingly. Then if you decide to attend, then you will not be trying to make everyone else miserable because of your problem(s).
- Especially in spiritual matters, you must know the context of the quote before it can be truly understood. The major aspect of that context only comes through the Spirit, often called the Holy Ghost. So even if you read the entire talk, you only understand the words, which is a minor part of the whole context behind the quote.
- You are a better person every time you give another a leg up on the ladder of life. Jesus Christ said that your fruits are the only real way for others to judge you. Hence by the declaration of deity, every time you help another (a good fruit), you help yourself. True Charity is the Pure Love of Christ (as opposed to the corrupting programs that secular/man-made governments proliferate). So, every time you go out of your way to help another become a better person, you, yourself, become a better person as well.
- The most frightening passage in all of scripture, perhaps in all of the combined literature extant, might just be: Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. (Matt 7:1-1)
- Everyone can easily discern when a person knows that they are wrong. How? They attack the person and not the issue. So one person is talking about issues and actions and the other person is making personal attacks. Thus it is obvious which one is wrong -- and everyone, including the two of them, can easily see which one it is.
- Which was the "greatest sacrifice" of all time? Was it Heavenly Father allowing his one Son, Jesus Christ, to endure what was undoubtedly the singularly worst day in all eternity in order to allow the rest of His children to return to Him, or was it Himlosing a full one-third of all of His children for the principle of Personal Agency?
- In speaking of those who rise up to condemn others, Joseph Smith talked about how they were on the high road to apostasy. He compared that truth to the sign seekers and adulterers. (HC 3:385) Why he tied those together seems logical: open condemnation of others, apostasy, sign-seeking, and adultery all seem to flow from the same source. The manifestations of apostasy and adultery are openly seen with sign seeking and open condemnation of others. So, could it be that those who are constantly condemning and yelling and acting hatefully towards others are also guilty of these other, more heinous sins? According to Joseph, that comparison is "an eternal principle, that has existed with God from all eternity." and that you can "then know assuredly" that this is the case.
- One of the problems with our educational system is that we have lowered the bar instead of raised it. We have dumbed down the schools instead of making them pillars of learning. We are now "teaching to the test" instead of actually teaching the subjects well enough that the students can pass the test on their own. And so, instead of pushing the students upward, we have allowed them to float down to yet a lower standard, and then congratulate ourselves because the best of students is not doing that much better than the worst -- or put into the politically correct vocabulary: the minority and at-risk students are achieving nearly as well as the white students.
- I guess the biggest concern is this: without the technology infrastructure that is available today, could today's technology "experts" (re)create what they have? Could they write an OOP compiler without an OOP compiler? Could they write a graphical interface without a graphical interface? Could they key in a bootstrap loader that loads an operating system they wrote into a virgin computer system, and then, without all of the bells and whistles they have available today, build a complete operating system, from scratch, that is stable enough for them to build the tools they have today in order to stabilize the operating system enough to build an industry -- which is what the older generation had to do? Could they? Could the "hacks" of today build what the analysts of yesterday built for them? Asked in a much more straight-forward way: could the kids of today who take advantage of the technology available to them to do all of these wonderful things actually (re)create that technology from scratch, if needed?
- Some define their position in a relationship by what they can give or provide; some by what they can control or deny. This defines a great deal about who they are at a very basic level. It has everything to do with the kind of person you are.
- Screaming at your kids does nothing but make you a hateful parent; it does not change the kids or improve their behavior. How could it? How can the parent acting like a hate-filled moron inspire the child to act better?
- When you see a person making undirected snide and/or hateful comments in that not-quite-under-her-breath voice, do you shiver in your boots and start begging her for suggestions on how you can regain her favor? No! You look at her like she is an idiot, ignore whatever she is saying, and go on with life. You would think that these people would learn, but whatever thought process causes them to generate these acidic monologues in the first place seems to hamper their ability to realize that they don't work.
- Creationism vs. Evolution is an interesting argument to watch as it plays out. The scientists, you see, are only involved in those things which have been proven as true -- using their own, rather limited, view. As such, they reject out of hand everything else. Creationism claims that God designed and created this existence, along with all of the laws and truths contained in it. Since this is a belief instead of a provable fact, science has no legitimate stand on it! For those like me who believe that God had revealed many great and important things, that He is still revealing, and will yet reveal even more (see The Articles of Faith), then most of these scientists sound a lot like a third-grader who is arguing with the teacher about the existence of imaginary numbers. One day this almost incomprehensible mathematical concept (hence the name: "imaginary") will make sense. Today it is meaningless. And taking the comments of today's scientists on the topics of either creationism or intelligent design as though they are serious is about as meaningless as the unfounded opinion of the third grader about higher math concepts.
- Intelligent Design is a "new" explanation for a creationists view of how the universe and life started. The "pure science" types are decrying it as some kind of ploy to squeeze a creationists view into science. Yea, so what's their point? It was precisely because the secular humanist scientists (and make no mistake, secular humanism is a religion) demanded that the Judeo-Christians come up with a scientific based explanation for creationism that caused them to come up with it in the first place. Real Christians don't need ID to believe that God created the universe. This was an answer to the demands of the secular humanists. Now they are up in arms that we actually came up with something, and are using the fact that we came up with it to answer their demands as a shallow attempt to discredit the explanations. Well did the Apostle Paul tell Timothy (2 Timothy 3:7) that in the last days there would be men who would be "ever learning" and still who would "never [be] able to come to the knowledge of the truth." It takes a particularly pervasive type of high-minded and self-indulgent pride to demand your opponents perform some task, and then when they do it, to condemn them for doing so. These secular humanists have "a form of godliness" (see verse 5), but they "deny the power thereof" -- and then we are instructed: "from such turn away." Honest people will see through the secular humanists, and will "turn away" from them. What the rest do is immaterial.
- One sure way you can discern the truth is by how the wicked take it, for the wicked will always reject and fight against it. So, you can: 1) testify of a known truth and see who fights against it, then, 2) testify of the new thing, and see if the wicked fight it as well. This works because lucifer cannot help but cause his minions to fight against all truths. lucifer will only support just enough of a truth in order to perpetrate a falsehood, and no more. For he is bound to wickedness and falsehood just as God is bound to righteousness and truth.
- So perfect was Jesus Christ's selfless service to us, and so complete was His example of doing the will of His Father, that most Christians cannot tell the one from the other. He truly was "one" with His Father so much so that many consider them to be one being. They do not understand His humble and selfless nature was so pervasive that He didn't want the glory or the recognition -- He just wanted all of that to go to His Father, so He transferred it all to the Father, and kept none for Himself.
- The very moment you seriously think that you have "what it takes" to beat lucifer is the precise moment he has won!
- There are things that you can read / see / experience that can destroy your faith and testimony! There are things that you can allow to happen that can destroy your faith and testimony! This is why we are commanded to be vigilant and to keep far from the temptations of the world.
- Since lucifer and his minions are never involved in "good things," then whatever they are involved in is not a good thing -- no matter what it looks like from the outside!
- For all practical purposes, the only person who really believes the bullshit line is the one dishing it out -- and they don't really believe it, they just believe that everyone else does.
- About the only thing you can really trust in this world are prayers answered in the walls of the Temples.
-- Patricia Crites - Enduring to the end does not mean you just stand around looking stupid until everything falls down around you.
-- Patricia Crites - In this life, trials and tribulations are mandatory -- there must be opposition in all things we are taught. However, and this is very important: misery is optional!
-- Patricia Crites - You don't practice [something] until you can do it right, you practice until you cannot do it wrong!
-- Patricia Crites - Love is impossible to give away because it keeps coming back to you.
-- Patricia Crites - No matter what you have done for yourself or for humanity, if you cannot look back on having giving love and attention to your own family, what have you really accomplished?
-- Patricia Crites
| MEDICAL
see my medical page at: medical.critesclan.com. |
|---|
- A peculiar thing in medicine is that we never believe anything unless it can be demonstrated in animals.
-- John A. Schindler, M.D. - A nurse a day keeps the doctor very busy.
- After seeing my students go out into the world and become doctors in their own rites, I must say this: I live in dread fear that one day I will be rushed to the emergency room only to find one of them will be working on me.
-- Charles Brown, M.D., ret - I can tell almost any woman the quality of her medical visit, the quality of her provider, and even the gender of her doctor, by four simple questions:
- What problem did you go in for?
- Did the doctor actually listen and respond properly?
- How many clothes were you told to remove?
- Describe the breast exam.
Here's how I do it: - I start off with the assumption that you went to a female doctor who gave you good quality care.
- If #1 wasn't vaginal related and the answer to #3 is anything then there is a 62% chance the doctor was male. The more #3 the higher the chances.
- Obviously #2 reflects a significant part of the quality of care. If he makes any personal comments concerning your appearance or attractiveness or sexuality then the quality of care drops very quickly to zero.
- Few female doctors will do a breast exam unless it is warranted; few males will pass up the opportunity. If #4 is anything says it was very likely a male.
- If #4 wasn't proper then it was a male and he was checking you out not your problem. Chances are that if a male doctor's breast exam actually finds a case of cancer then it is probably too far advanced to be helped. Also, if #4 wasn't the proper type and quality then you should assume nothing else was either.
That's it ladies. Very few medical exams require you actually remove clothing. If you thought you were being stared at then you were. A female doctor will more than likely give you better care than a male one simply because the sexual issue is not there. And ladies, don't let them fool you into thinking sexual issues are not there. I've seen that even after 20 years it still is.
-- Gloria Thompson, RN - From inability to let alone; from too much zeal for the new and contempt for what is old; from putting knowledge before wisdom, and science before art, and cleverness before common sense; from treating patients as cases; and from making cure of the disease more grievous than the endurance of the same, Good Lord, deliver us.
--Sir Robert Hutchinson - If you will not stand up to him, which it appears is the case for most of you, then the only way to protect the [female] patients your [male] doctor sees is to go ahead and have sex with him in the morning before he starts seeing them; a quick blow-job should do it. That way he'll be less likely to take advantage of them during the day. The choice is yours: if you will not put your job on the line for the [female] patients, then put your sexuality on the line. If you won't do either one, then don't even pretend to imagine yourself as a protector [of the female patients], because you are a facilitator [of the male doctors sexual dealings].
-- Janice Flemming, R. N. - In one recent survey, most oncologists specializing in lung cancer reported that they would not take chemotherapy if they had the disease. Yet, everyday these doctors give their patients chemotherapy. In a conversation with an investigative reporter, one brain cancer specialist admitted that he would never submit to radiation if he had a brain tumor. Nevertheless, he continues to send patients for radiation, because he would be kicked out of the hospital if he didn't follow the accepted protocol.
-- Tounsend Letter for Doctors & Patients, Jan 1998, Spectrum, Mar/Apr 1998 - Isn't it scary that what DOCTORS do is called PRACTICE???
- One of the essential qualities of the clinician is interest in humanity, for the secret of the care of the patient is in caring for the patient.
-- Frances Weld Peabody - The art of medicine consists of amusing the patient while nature cures the disease.
-- Voltaire - The most frightening moment of my life was when I awoke in recovery after emergency surgery and discovered much to my horror that both of the surgeons were past students of mine. That we survive at the hands of these doctors today is a sure testament of a living god who actively protects and heals us and not the skill and abilities of the doctors. May god continue to do so.
-- anonymous - The purpose of a doctor: to cure sometimes, to relieve often, to comfort always.
-- Socrates - The world does not need a new medicine: it needs doctors who know how to pray and obey God in their own lives. In such hands medicine, with all its modern resources, will bring forth fruits in abundance.
-- Dr. Paul Tournier - The National Cancer Institute (NCI) was warned in 1974 by professor Malcom C. Pike at the University of Southern California School of Medicine that a number of specialists had concluded that "giving a woman under age 50 a mammogram on a routine basis is close to unethical." In 1992, Samuel Epstine, professor of the University of Illinois Medical Center in Chicago, along with 64 other distinguished cancer authorities warned about this again, calling mammograms "propaganda." In March of 1992, Dr. Epstien published an article where he said: "The high sensitivity of the breast, especially in young women [under age 50], to radiation include cancer was known by 1970. Nevertheless, the establishment then screened some 300,000 women with x-ray dosages so high as to increase breast cancer risk by over 20 times [~2000 percent]." Then in July of 1995, The Lancet revealed the mammography scam to the world, saying, among other things, that: "The benefit is marginal, the harm caused is substantial, and the costs incurred are enormous." Why is it still being done? Because the American Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute, the two organizations supporting it, are getting financial backing from the producers of the equipment, that's why.
- A recent article in the journal Brain Research documented a study that showed women respond faster and more significantly to an erotic photo, image, or thought, and to any other category, by a margin of over 20%. While men will subjectively rate erotic photos and images higher than others, their brain activity is not as significantly effected. With women, not only is the brain based response faster and stronger, it encompasses larger and more varied areas of the brain. Even the thought of an erotic photo, image, thought, or situation is enough to enhance a woman's brain activity. This might explain part of the prostitution and pornography industry's appeal to women: the men might want the photos, but the very thought that they are going to be part of an erotic situation might just drive a woman to participate. This might also explain why erotic subjects are so much more popular among women than men.
- Those who hold to anti-abortion theory find no mystery in the numbers of cases [of sexual misconduct of female patients by male doctors and staff] that have come to light. The assembly-line clean-up of women, which makes them more available as re-usable sex machines, would be expected to attract practitioners of that mentality. Those with an anti-abortion bias have never bought the argument that "women's rights" is what abortionists are really after. They would see [the ability to sexually abuse their patients] as something to be expected, given the situation.
-- Dr Rachel M. MacNair, Ph.D. - Who said just because he is a doctor and has some paper on the wall that it is now okay for him to see me nude? By fiat? Someone declared it to be so? I do not care. Me and my daughters will not have our bodies exploited by men like this. This is one of those fates which might be worse than death; we shall not succumb to their folly.
-- Mergerette Portagales, M.D. (unknown translator) - What's the biggest difference between a doctor and an auto mechanic? One washes his hands before he goes to the bathroom.
- Basically every [male] gynecologist doesn't like women, otherwise he wouldn't work with them. He enjoys the position of [complete] mastery over them. The fact that he is the god, king, they do what he tells them, which is what he would always want women to do, because [he] wants his women to be subservient to him. The patients are subservient, and when they rebel it's very simple: 'Go to somebody else. Don't come back to me, if you're not going to take my advice.' What better relationship can [he] have with a woman? Besides if you [screw] thirty women a day with [various parts of your body], and in a way you do, this is a form of sexual violation.
-- Dr. Abraham Holtzman (as quoted in In Necessity and Sorrow, vulgarities edited out) - When the doctor tells you to relax because he is a professional, then it is time to close your legs, kick him out, get dressed, and never return. The term "professional" is the medical equivalent of the "don't ask / don't tell" line. As long as he gets away with using it, he will continue to abuse his patients with it.
-- Nancy Drew, R.N. - God heals and the doctor takes his fee.
-- Benjamin Franklin - I suppose one has a greater sense of personal and intellectual degradation after a visit with a doctor than from any human experience.
-- Alice James - The average [medical doctor] thinks he is god because the average patient treats him that way. If we treated them like we do our plumber or auto mechanic then they might just act like real people.
-- Jack Westerly, M.D., ret - Why do men become doctors, spending an exhausting dozen years of college and another three years as an intern? So they can examine a never-ending river of women. Remember that the next time you go to see him.
-- Linda Graves, R.N. - The last time I checked, castration was not part of the established requirements for men going through the rigors of medical training, which is too bad - we'd have so much better doctors if that was the case. Then the majority of men who are in it for what they can get out of it instead of what they can put into it would find other work to do, like digging ditches or cleaning cesspools, both of which match the quality of person we'd lose. Women could go to the doctor without fear; doctors would examine patients because of what was wrong with them. That one requirement, that all men be castrated upon entering medical school, might do more to improve the quality of medical services in this country than any other one thing you could legislate.
-- Marion Wilson, R.N. in testimony to a Senate Subcommittee hearing on medical improvements - There is a significant link between mental illnesses like depression, which are becoming so rampant in our society today, and the lack of living a virtuous and, dare I say, a righteous lifestyle. It is not a coincidence that the fall of our societal moral standards has resulted in a significant rise in the mental illnesses we are now seeing. There should be no shock in the fact that our morally ill society is now doubling the number of mind altering prescriptions given out, or that the strength of the drugs being prescribed, is doubling every few years. This pattern will continue until our society heals itself by regaining it's moral footings and returning to the kind of moral, religious based standards of only a few generations ago.
- There are four types of cancers under the generic term "breast cancer." They are, in order:
- cancers of the mammary glands,
- cancers of the lymph glands,
- cancers of the axillary glands, and
- cancers in the volume of the breast.
The average breast exam has a good chance of finding the last type, which happens to be the least common, making up around 10-percent of the cases. An aggressive breast exam might find a lump within the mammary gland system. These are most commonly found in a mammogram. But virtually no (male) doctor checks the lymph and axillary glands, which makes up nearly half of all cases. Why? Perhaps because it's no fun to examine that part of the patient.
-- Nancy Patterson, M.D. - Asking your doctor for true information about reducing your breast cancer risks is as ludicrous as asking your minister to work without purse or script. It is what you know they should be willing to do. It is impossible to imagine that they wouldn't be willing to do it. So you don't ask because you know they won't do it, and that truth is more painful than the risk of losing your breast or your faith.
- We [Minnesota] are the one state which requires medical professionals to report colleagues who they know or suspect to have had sexual relations with a patient. Few states even allow it, much less require it. National statistics available for the 10 years ending 2002 show that each year, an average of 5.97% of doctors have had sexual misconduct charges brought against them. Because of duplications in reporting over the various years, this comes to roughly 45% of doctors, nationwide, have had charges of sexual misconduct brought against them during this period.
A 2001 Gallup Poll shows that less than 1-in-16 women who have had a doctor sexually molest them would even consider filing charges against them, Further, 3-of-5 women asked stated they felt as though they were personally victims of sexual misconduct at least once in the past 48 months.
It is reasonable to assume that even with everything we are doing here, that much more needs to be done. We must be more aggressive in searching out and disciplining doctors who perpetrate sexual acts upon their patients. Part of doing this could be a renewed focus on pursuing the failure-to-report cases. If physicians know they will be pursued for not reporting cases they were aware of, they might be more forthcoming.
As it stands, every year in Minnesota finds nearly one thousand doctors being charged with sexual misconduct. That is more than every other kind of sexual assault in our state. It must be stopped.
-- Minnesota Board of Medical Practice Update Newsletter - The "new medical standards" which male doctors are trying to get passed have the view that changing social standards require a less stringent approach to the doctor-patient restriction on sexual interaction. The official stand of all medical boards is that no type of sexual interaction is acceptable between the doctor and patient, before, during, or after the doctor-patient relationship occurs. Since many women will allow the sexual relationship, these men argue, it should not be a restriction on the doctor, just because they might have the doctor-patient relationship. The onus is on the doctor to behave in a professional manner. It is unacceptable to assume the patient is at all responsible for the sexual contact, even if she openly welcomes it. The situation is still wrong. The doctor/patient and clergy/parishoner and teacher/student relationships are wrong. In each case the individual must remain professional and above that. These professions require individuals who hold absolute confidence and trust. They transcend social values, and no standard other than the highest one possible can be acceptable.
-- MS Rebecca Forbes, Head of Professional Conduct Section, NSW Medical Board - Of the 35,000 doctors who have had multiple sexual malpractice suits brought against them since 1990, only 7.6-percent of them were ever disciplined. If they were not disciplined, virtually no court will accept a case brought against them. Further, only 13-percent of doctors with 5 or more such suits were disciplined. Less than 10-percent of doctors which have had charges filed ever had a suit brought against them. That is how powerful the medical industry is.
-- MedicalMalpractice, a non-profit organization helping victims of medical malpractice. - In a 2001 survey, women who went to the doctor alone were 25 times more likely to feel some sexual misconduct happened. In cases where she admits having stated to either the doctor or nurse that she was not supposed to be alone, that rose to 60-times more likely. If a woman went to the doctor alone after having gone with her husband every time previously, she was 50-times more likely. The doctors know a woman who is there without her husband, on purpose, can be sexually exploited, and so it seems they do.
-- NSW Medical Board Report - There are currently 57 unique medical conditions which occur only in women who artificially remove the natural hair from their body. Underarm hair is there for a reason, as is pubic hair. Removing it causes broad changes in the body. When those changes occur for long enough, health issues arise. Stop removing the hair, and the health returns to normal after a time. It is that simple.
-- WebMD response to razor commercials stating the health benefits of shaving. - Come on, women, you know that [male doctor] gets a sexual thrill when you take off your clothes, right? He's a man and we men always get a sexual thrill when we see a nude woman. You may not see it but you know his pecker gets a little piqued when he sees and plays with your tits and you *** damn well know it wants to come out and play when he starts poking your [private parts]. He tickles your tities and rubs your clitoris and finger f***s you and generally oggles all over you. So how in the hell is this any different than any other kind of affair? Because you paid him? Hardly. That makes him a whore and you his john. It's legalized prostitution under the thin veil of some legitimate business.
-- Danny David Douglas, Ph.D. Social Anthropologist - I am asked how we (male doctors) can get away with openly sexual contact with (female) patients. It is simply that women can always tell when a man is sexually interested in them, and since we always are, you can see that. The key is that we see enough women that we have learned to pick up on those subliminal reactions. So I now know when she is [open to sexual contact], too. It is then my choice if I will take her or not.
-- Dr. Frank Stanley, M.D. - Women who have sex with an on-going string of male partners do not do so because they love men, but because they hate them. This is not counter-intuitive when you realize that they are reducing the man to little more than an automated dildo, one that must be seduced in order to be used. They do just actually use the men for their own sexual gratification, but they use them and walk away.
- Every study of the subject has shown that living together before marriage is not good. In each case, they found:
- higher divorce rate -- up to 46% higher
- lower quality of life -- rates of depression and abuse are at least three times higher for unmarried couples than married ones
- cohabitation does not lead to marriage -- only 21% were still together after only five years, even if they got married during that time
- commitment sidetracked -- men said they were less likely to get married when they can simply live with a woman and enjoy the same benefits, then walk away with no liabilities
-- Rutgers University study, The National Marriage Project - In a recent double-blind survey of 860 couples, 77-percent of women who responded positively to the either of the comments:
- My doctor looked at me sexually at some point during the exam
- My doctor touched me in a sexual way at some point during the exam
said they "would" or "definitely would" go back to him in the future.
Of the companions to those women, 86-percent thought that either of those acts "would" or "definitely would" be the same as any other sexual indiscretion or affair, and that their wife allowing it and/or returning to him was "enough" or "more than enough" for them to consider divorce.
Of the women, more than two-thirds said they "would not" or "definitely would not" tell their husband if their male doctor looked at or touched them in a sexual way; more than four-out-of-five men said that if their wife had this happen and did not tell them that they "would" or "definitely would" consider that a "significant breach of trust" that "would" or "definitely would" adversely effect their relationship. That jumped to nine-of-ten if they discovered she had purposefully hidden the fact from them.
In the survey group, 557 women felt their male doctor "had" or "definitely had" looked at them in a sexual way at least once, and 190 responded similarly to the doctor having touched them in a sexual way, with 55 stating it was some form of "direct sexual contact." Of the 573 individual women who answered positively to these questions, only 17 admitted to having told their husband.
Only 21 of the 190 husbands claimed to have been told about some type of sexually related issue with their wife's doctor; all of them were able to work things out. One-third of these 190 husbands either "do" or "definitely do" suspect some issue, but no resolution has come about. Of the 383 husbands whose wives felt like they were looked at in a sexual way, 102 claimed to have been told about this, and a resolution was worked out. Only 7 of the other husbands suspected a problem. Of the 287 husbands whose wives reported no sexually related issues with their doctor, 11 had a "strong" or "very strong" suspicion of some sexual issue.
Every husband in this survey group whose wife told him about the issue and they were able to work out a resolution said their relationship was "as strong" or "stronger" than before. Every husband who had a "strong" or "very strong" suspicion of some sexual issue between his wife and her doctor, and only 11 of the 180 were wrong, but she did not, or would not, discuss or help resolve it said their relationship was "weak" or "very weak," ranking "trust issues" as "important" or "very important."
The unanswered question is why such a large percentage of women, nearly 88-percent, seem to refuse to work this situation out? No empirical data was gathered to help answer this. What is clear, though, is that those who do not risk causing significant damage to their marriage.
That women are sexually molested by their male doctors is a fact of life. Not all male doctors do so, but enough do that this is an issue that must be addressed. When a woman hides this fact, for whatever reason, she only helps keep it going, and at the same time, she risks destroying her marriage.
-- National Opinion Surveys - A women's clothing store conducted a survey about size acceptance. It was in the form of "customer feedback" on a set of "new employees." None of them were real employees, but were models used for the survey. "Photos of the new employees are included since they will not always be on duty." was the explanation for why the feedback form had the 5 pictures. Also included in the form, "To help us gather statistics on our customers so we can better serve you," was the customer's clothing size, height, weight, and age. The results showed that the smaller the customer, the less accepting she was of body size. Women size 6 and under, about 15-percent of the customers, ranked the 5 employees strictly by their body size over 97-percent of the time; size 8 to size 12, considered the "average" size, did so 54-percent of the time; size 14 and over, 52-percent of customers, less than 10-percent of the time. The same results could be seen when the customers were ranked by BMI, again with the smaller BMI values judging predominately by size and the larger percent by other factors.
- Children who had a violent or abusive parent, will, themselves, turn into violent or abusive parents. There is a more than positive correlation between the degree of violence of an individual and the violence that individual experienced as a child. There is a more than positive correlation in the abusiveness of an individual and the abuses that individual experienced as a child. More than positive correlation? What does that mean? It means that the child will grow up to be more violent or more abusive. Looking backwards, from the violent and abusive individuals, nearly every single one suffered violence or abuse as children. Looking forward from abusive or violent parents, seven of nine children will be at least as abusive or violent as was their abusive parent.
- The last time a report of this kind could be done was 1982, before the federal regulations barring them were passed. At the time of the 1981 survey, a full 4 of 5 [male] doctors had a sexual motivation as one of their five reasons for going into the medical profession. As other motivating reasons, such as monetary goals, were met, the sexual ones climbed up the scale. This is counter-intuitive, since it is generally thought that once the [male] doctor had been exposed to a certain number of nude women his sexual motivation would decline. It is now obvious this is not the case. Even after 25 years of patient practice, men who were motivated by sexual reasons are still as motivated by them as ever. Frequently such things as retirement are put off simply because of this one factor: seeing more nude women.
-- Journal of the Association for Medical Responsibility
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