Communicate Heart to Heart

"Needed are...[souls] filled with compassion, that we might communicate not only eye to eye, or voice to ear, but in the majestic style of the Savior, even heart to heart."

-President Thomas S. Monson

Privilege of Work

"Let us realize that: the privilege to work is a gift, the power to work is a blessing, the love of work is success!"

-President David O. McKay

Trials

"When I was a young man, I served as counselor to a wise district president in the Church. He tried to teach me. One of the things I remember wondering about was this advice he gave: When you meet someone, treat them as if they were in serious trouble, and you will be right more than half the time. We have trials to face because our Heavenly Father loves us. His purpose is to help us qualify for the blessing of living with Him and His Son, Jesus Christ, forever in glory and in families. To qualify for that gift we had to receive a mortal body. With that mortality we understood that we would be tested by temptations and by difficulties."

-President Henry B. Eyring

What The Journey of Life is About

"Those who 'live without God in the world' anxiously glean their few and fleeting satisfactions, but they are unable to find real happiness.... Ignorant of the plan of salvation, many simply do not know what the journey of life is all about. Therefore, modern selfishness and skepticism brush aside the significance of the Savior."

-Elder Neal A. Maxwell

Indicator of our Personal Conversion

"The intensity of our desire to share the gospel is a great indicator of the extent of our personal conversion."
-Elder Dallin H. Oaks

Doubt Not, Fear Not

"Jesus Christ has commanded us, Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not. Doubt, fear, and worry indicate we have taken all of life's burdens and anxieties on ourselves. When plagued by thoughts that you are inadequate, confidently say, I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Then as you 'cheerfully do all things that lie in [your] power,' you can rest assured that the Lord will do the remainder and things will work out all right. The Savior promised, Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. As you cast your burden upon the Lord you will feel the peace of the Spirit."

-Anthony D. Perkins

Faith Fuels Hope

"Faith fuels hope. Our perspective changes; our vision becomes clearer. We begin to look for the best, not the worst, in life and in others. We gain a deeper sense of life's purpose and meaning. Despair gives way to joy."

-Elder David S. Baxter

Count Your Blessings

"You will experience greater joy in life as you eradicate adult-onset pessimism and substitute childlike optimism. Optimism is a virtue that allows us to see God's loving hand in the details of our life. A favorite hymn counsels, Count your many blessings; see what God hath done."

-Anthony D. Perkins

See It Through

"What to do when adversity strikes? There is only one thing to do. Stand steady and see it through. Stay steadfast, constant, and true. The real tragedy in the whirlwinds of life comes only when we allow them to blow us off our true course. At these moments of crisis and challenge, some choose to abandon faith just at the time when it most needs to be embraced. Prayer is ignored at the very hour when it needs to be intensified. Virtue is carelessly tossed aside when it needs to be cherished. God is forsaken in the all-too-human yet mistaken fear that He has forsaken us."

-David S. Baxter

Simplify & Enjoy

"Every Church meeting, every Church program, every fireside, every missionary effort, every temple endowment, every duty we perform is meant to have spiritual meaning, spiritual consequence, bringing us some portion of greater joy. So let's simplify what we can and enjoy all of it a lot more--including the yoke and burden part."

-Patricia Holland

We Are All His Children

"God has given us many gifts, much diversity, and many differences, but the essential thing is what we know about each other--that we are all his children. Our challenge as members of the Church is for all of us to learn from each other, that we may all love each other and grow together."

-Cheiko M. Okazaki

Receive Is A Verb

"We live in an entertainment world, a spectator world. Without realizing it, we can find ourselves coming to conference or going to church with the attitude, Here I am; now inspire me. We become spiritually passive. When we focus instead on seeking and receiving the Spirit, we become less concerned about a teacher or speaker holding our attention and more concerned about giving our attention to the Spirit. Remember, receive is a verb. It is a principle of action. It is a fundamental expression of faith."
-A. Roger Merrill

Happiness

"It is exciting to realize that even though the Lord has all things at his disposition...His greatest interest is still the happiness of each of us."

-Elder John B. Dickson

An Abundant Life is a Spiritual Life

"The abundant life is a spiritual life. Too many sit at the banquet table of the gospel of Jesus Christ and merely nibble at the feast placed before them. They go through the motions—attending their meetings perhaps, glancing at scriptures, repeating familiar prayers—but their hearts are far away. If they are honest, they would admit to being more interested in the latest neighborhood rumors, stock market trends, and their favorite TV show than they are in the supernal wonders and sweet ministerings of the Holy Spirit."
-Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin

The Holy Ghost is Never Misunderstood

"The Holy Ghost is the third member of the Godhead, sent forth by God to reveal all needful things. He teaches and testifies with divine power and clarity. His witness may go unheard or unheeded, forsaken or denied, but it is never misunderstood."

-Bishop Keith B. McMullin

Simple Joy

"A house does not have to be perfect to be a home of joy, a child does not have to behave perfectly to love and be loved, and every moment of life does not have to be perfect to be of value. Too often, I realize, we fail to see the glorious reality of the simple joy that abounds in the seemingly mundane routine of day-to-day living. Instead, we tend to idolize the past, idealize the future, and devalue the present.... What better way to show our appreciation to Heavenly Father for what we have than to embrace our lives, albeit 'ordinary' and 'unexciting,' with joy?"

-Winnie Dalley

Marriage & Families

"Lucifer is determined to devour marriages and families, because their demise threatens the salvation of all involved and the vitality of the Lord's kingdom itself."
-Sheri L. Dew

The Purpose of Prayer

"It is not the usual purpose of prayer to serve us like Aladdin's lamp, to bring us ease without effort. Prayer is not a matter of asking only. It should not be always as the beggar's upturned hand. Often the purpose of prayer is to give us strength to do what needs to be done, wisdom to see the way to solve our own problems, and ability to do our best in our tasks."

-Elder Richard L Evans

The Importance of Callings

"You are called to represent the Savior. Your voice to testify becomes the same as His voice, your hands to lift the same as His hands. His work is to bless His Father's spirit children with the opportunity to choose eternal life. So, your calling is to bless lives . Your call has eternal consequences for others and for you. In the world to come, thousands may call your name blessed, even more than the people you serve here. They will be the ancestors and the descendants of those who chose eternal life because of something you said or did, or even what you were. . .You see, there are no small callings to represent the Lord."

-Elder Henry B. Eyring

This Is The Last And Great Dispensation

"The past few years have shown us that changes of everlasting consequence are evolving rapidly, in the Church and in the world around us. Those who will open their eyes to see will recognize Christ calling them to assume their part in this ministry. I can't comprehend the degree of misery we each may feel when we stand before Christ, who paid such a price for our peace, if we cannot say to him, I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do (John 17:4). That is why we can't waste much time or energy or emotion on what dress to wear or whose backyard is the biggest."
-Patricia Holland

You Know Too Much

"Young men and young women, as you begin to set your priorities in life, remember, the only true security in life is living the commandments. Financial security and public position are hollow without righteousness. I promise you that.

You lived with your Heavenly Father in a premortal life. You were there with Him. Your spirit knows what it is like to live in celestial realms. You can never be truly happy in an uncelestial environment. You know too much. That is one of the reasons that for you, wickedness never can be happiness."
-Elder Larry W. Gibbons

What Else Matters?

President Gordon B. Hinckley spoke of meeting a young naval officer from Asia. The officer had not been a Christian, but during training in the United States, he had learned about the Church and was baptized. He was now preparing to return to his native land.

President Hinckley asked the officer: "Your people are not Christians. What will happen when you return home a Christian, and, more particularly, a Mormon Christian?"

The officer's face clouded, and he replied: "My family will be disappointed. . . . As for my future and my career, all opportunity may be foreclosed against me."

President Hinckley asked, "Are you willing to pay so great a price for the gospel?"

With his dark eyes moistened by tears, he answered with a question: "It's true, isn't it?"

President Hinckley responded, "Yes, it is true."

To which the officer replied, "Then what else matters?"

The Greatest Charity

Perhaps the greatest charity comes when we are kind to each other, when we don’t judge or categorize someone else, when we simply give each other the benefit of the doubt or remain quiet. Charity is accepting someone’s differences, weaknesses, and shortcomings; having patience with someone who has let us down; or resisting the impulse to become offended when someone doesn’t handle something the way we might have hoped. Charity is refusing to take advantage of another’s weakness and being willing to forgive someone who has hurt us. Charity is expecting the best of each other.
-Elder Marvin J. Ashton

Good, Better, Best

"Most of us have more things expected of us than we can possibly do. As breadwinners, as parents, as Church workers and members, we face many choices on what we will do with our time and other resources.

We should begin by recognizing the reality that just because something is good is not a sufficient reason for doing it. The number of good things we can do far exceeds the time available to accomplish them. Some things are better than good, and these are the things that should command priority attention in our lives.

As we consider various choices, we should remember that it is not enough that something is good. Other choices are better, and still others are best. Even though a particular choice is more costly, its far greater value may make it the best choice of all.

Consider how we use our time in the choices we make in viewing television, playing video games, surfing the Internet, or reading books or magazines. Of course it is good to view wholesome entertainment or to obtain interesting information. But not everything of that sort is worth the portion of our life we give to obtain it. Some things are better, and others are best."
-Elder Dallin H. Oaks

Wants v Needs

"If we are not careful, it is easy for our wants to become needs. Remember the line: There, there, little luxury, don't you cry. You'll be a necessity by and by."
-Elder Joe J. Christiansen

Do You Want To Be Happy?

"Do you want to be happy? Forget yourself and get lost in this great cause. Lend your efforts to helping people. Work to lift and serve His sons and daughters. You will come to know a happiness that you have never known before. Let's get the cankering, selfish attitude out of our lives and stand a little taller in the service of others."
-President Gordon B. Hinckley

Perspective

"Those of little faith mistake local cloud cover for general darkness. Keeping spiritually intact results in our keeping precious perspective by seeing things as they really are." (Jacob 4:13)

-Neal A. Maxwell

The Real Miracle

"I have learned that through the trials that have been ours, that we often look for a miracle in the form of a particular outcome. If we do, we may miss the real miracle that comes as we are refined by the spirit in the process of enduring the very trial itself. Christ always provides a miracle, but not always the one we are looking for."
-Steve Peterson (read at his funeral 9/12/05)

Women of God

"Women of God can never be like women of the world. The world has enough women who are tough; we need women who are tender. There are enough women who are coarse; we need women who are kind. There are enough women who are rude; we need women who are refined. We have enough women of fame and fortune; we need more women of faith. We have enough greed; we need more goodness. We have enough vanity; we need more virtue. We have enough popularity; we need more purity."

-Margaret D Nadauld